Pivotable Tractor Grille Guard for Debris Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural vehicles, such as tractors, face operational safety risks due to material falling onto the engine hood while using front loaders, which can damage the grille elements and clog cooling fins with plant fragments, affecting engine performance.
Innovation Solution
A multi-part protective device is attached to the vehicle body with pivotable and detachable protective elements, comprising brackets and struts that extend horizontally over the engine hood to prevent falling material from reaching the grille elements, and can be easily assembled, disassembled, or pivoted away for maintenance without needing to be fully dismantled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a front loader is attached to the agricultural vehicle, then the vehicle can work with straw or silage bales and load trailers, but material picked up from the shovel may fall onto the engine hood and damage the grille elements
Solution Approach 1:
A protective device is introduced as an intermediary element between the front loader and the engine hood. This protective device includes a protective element that extends horizontally over the engine hood, preventing falling material from directly contacting and damaging the grille elements while allowing the front loader to perform its intended function
2Ease of operation
If the protective device is made detachable and pivotable, then it can be easily assembled, disassembled, or positioned away for maintenance, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective device is divided into separate components: a holding device with brackets that attaches to the vehicle body, and a protective element that can be pivotally connected to the holding device. This segmentation allows the protective element to be easily detached or pivoted away for maintenance while keeping the overall structure relatively simple through the use of standard connection mechanisms
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an agricultural vehicle (1), in particular a tractor (2), with a vehicle body (3) on which an engine and an engine hood (11) surrounding the engine at least partially are arranged, a front chassis (6) and a rear chassis (7) and a receiving device (10) for attaching a work implement (8) that can be pivoted into a position above the engine hood (11), wherein the agricultural vehicle (1) has a protective device (16), in particular a multi-part one, for frontal arrangement on the vehicle body (3) of the vehicle (1), which extends partially at least in a horizontal direction over the engine hood (11).