Team Vehicle Current Supply System Cable Collision Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional current supply systems for team vehicles fail to ensure a coordinated cable guiding arrangement during turning maneuvers, leading to potential collisions between cable connections in formations of team vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A current supply system with a base mast on the towing vehicle and an additional mast on the agricultural rear-mounted device, both equipped with rotatable winding drums and detachable coupling devices, allows for a safe and coordinated cable connection between team vehicles, preventing collisions during turns by maintaining a predetermined wire tension and using a dragging chain for safe deflection around vehicle structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a cable-interconnected energy supply system is used for team vehicles, then electrical energy can be transmitted to following vehicles, but cable collisions occur during turning maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The cable guiding system is segmented into multiple independent cable guiding arms (first cable guiding arm on the towing vehicle, second cable guiding arm on the agricultural rear-mounted device). Each arm independently manages cable routing for different connection points, preventing cable entanglement and collisions during turning maneuvers while maintaining continuous electrical energy transmission to multiple team vehicles.
2Productivity
If multiple team vehicles are connected in a formation, then coordinated work is enabled, but cable management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable guiding system is divided into segmented, modular components (multiple cable guiding arms with individual actuators and support structures). Each arm independently manages cable routing for specific vehicle connections, allowing the system to scale to multiple team vehicles without proportionally increasing overall complexity. The modular design enables easy configuration for different formation sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable guiding arms are designed as dynamic, actively controllable components that can independently adjust their positions and orientations. This dynamic capability allows the system to adapt to changing formation configurations and turning maneuvers in real-time, maintaining proper cable routing complexity despite varying team vehicle arrangements.
3Device complexity
If the additional mast is positioned upstream of the working equipment, then cable routing is simplified, but cable collisions occur during turns
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of positioning the additional mast upstream of the working equipment (conventional approach), the invention positions it downstream. This inverted arrangement, combined with the second cable guiding arm, creates a cable routing path that naturally avoids collision zones during turning maneuvers, solving the reliability issue while maintaining acceptable routing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A current supply system of a team vehicle includes a towing vehicle operable in a cable-interconnected manner and an agricultural rear-mounted device coupled to the towing vehicle. The agricultural rear-mounted device has working equipment for performing a ground processing function. A base mast is allocated to the towing vehicle for producing a cable connection to a current supply interface of a first team vehicle that is travelling ahead, and an additional mast includes a further current supply interface allocated to the agricultural rear-mounted device for producing a further cable connection to a second team vehicle that is following. The additional mast is downstream of the working equipment of the agricultural rear-mounted device when viewed in a forward direction of travel of the team vehicle.