Twin Windguard Roller Assembly for Continuous Crop Intake
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural balers face inefficiencies in crop material intake and handling due to the limitations of conventional windguard rollers, which can lift crop material vertically, reducing efficiency and handling irregular crop flow, and adding additional equipment increases complexity and cost.
Innovation Solution
Agricultural balers are equipped with a dual roller assembly where the primary and secondary rollers are independently pivotable or locked together, allowing adjustment for different crop conditions, guiding crop material efficiently into the bale-forming chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single windguard roller is used, then the structure is simple, but it cannot maintain continuous control over crop flow and lifts crop material vertically reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The windguard system is divided into two separate rollers (first windguard roller and second windguard roller) that can operate independently or together. Each roller is mounted on its own arm assembly that can pivot independently, allowing each to perform specific functions: the first roller prevents vertical lifting while the second roller maintains continuous crop flow control. This segmentation enables better crop handling efficiency without requiring a single complex multi-functional roller.
Solution Approach 2:
Both windguard rollers are mounted on pivotally mounted arm assemblies that allow dynamic adjustment of roller position and angle during operation. The arms can pivot to adjust the rollers' orientation relative to the crop flow, enabling the system to adapt to varying crop conditions. This dynamic capability allows the rollers to maintain optimal contact with crop material for continuous flow control while preventing vertical lifting, thereby improving productivity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple windguard rollers are permanently connected, then they move in unison, but the system cannot adjust to varying crop conditions and adds complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The windguard system uses two separately mounted rollers on independent arm assemblies rather than a single permanently connected unit. Each arm assembly can pivot independently to adjust the roller position and angle, allowing the system to adapt to varying crop conditions such as different crop densities and flow rates. This segmentation provides adjustability without requiring a complex permanently connected multi-roller structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The arm assemblies are designed to pivot dynamically, allowing the windguard rollers to adjust their position and orientation in response to varying crop conditions. The pivot mechanism enables real-time adjustment of roller angle and position, providing adaptability to different crop flow rates and types. This dynamic adjustment capability enhances versatility while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure compared to permanently connected multi-roller systems.
3Ease of operation
If windguard rollers lift crop material vertically, then they can guide crop flow, but intake efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The windguard system divides the crop flow guidance function between two rollers with different orientations: the first windguard roller is positioned to prevent vertical lifting of crop material, while the second windguard roller is positioned to guide crop flow horizontally into the bale-forming chamber. This segmentation of functions allows each roller to specialize in one aspect of crop handling, preventing the vertical lifting that reduces intake efficiency while maintaining effective crop flow guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivotally mounted arm assemblies allow dynamic adjustment of each roller's angle and position independently. This enables the system to optimize the orientation of each roller for its specific function: the first roller is angled to prevent vertical lifting, while the second roller is angled to guide crop flow horizontally. The dynamic capability allows the system to maintain optimal geometry for both functions simultaneously, improving intake efficiency while preserving crop flow guidance effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an agricultural baler assembly having, a pickup assembly, a primary roller assembly and a secondary roller assembly. The pickup assembly includes a tine reel with tines that rotate about a rotation axis and a pickup drum surrounding a portion of the tine reel. The primary roller assembly has a primary roller mounted to the baler assembly frame by primary roller arms that pivot about a primary roller arm pivot axis. The secondary roller assembly has a secondary roller mounted to the primary roller arms or the baler assembly frame by secondary roller arms that pivot about a secondary roller arm pivot axis. The primary roller rotation axis is spaced a first distance from the primary roller arm pivot axis; and the secondary roller rotation axis is spaced a second distance from the primary roller arm pivot axis, and the second distance is less than the first distance.