Wavy Profile Support Rail for Crop Lifter Wear Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing support rails for crop lifters in harvesting machines experience significant abrasive wear due to increasing working speeds and uneven ground surfaces, leading to reduced durability and efficiency in lifting bent or stored stalks.

Innovation Solution

A support rail with a section designed as a skid featuring a wavy profile, providing enhanced bending and torsional rigidity, and a wear protection layer, which helps in distributing wear evenly and maintaining stability over time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the support rail is guided close to the ground surface to lift kinked or stored stalks, then the crop lifting capability is improved, but the support rail experiences considerable abrasive wear

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecrop lifting capabilityVSAvoidsupport rail durability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The support rail is given a wavy profile instead of a straight configuration. This curvature allows the rail to follow the ground contour more effectively, maintaining close contact with uneven surfaces while distributing wear across multiple contact points along the wavy geometry, thereby reducing localized abrasive wear and improving durability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

2Strength

If the support rail section is made rigid to maintain structural stability, then the structural integrity is improved, but the wear resistance deteriorates due to increased contact pressure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural integrityVSAvoidwear resistance

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The support rail features a wavy profile with varying local geometries. The undulating structure creates zones of different stiffness and contact characteristics along its length, allowing areas of higher flexibility to absorb wear while maintaining overall structural integrity. This local variation in properties optimizes both strength and wear resistance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Productivity

If the support rail operates at higher working speeds to improve productivity, then the harvesting efficiency is improved, but the abrasive wear increases due to greater friction and heat

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveharvesting efficiencyVSAvoidabrasive wear

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The wavy profile increases the effective contact length between the support rail and ground surface. This distributed contact reduces friction and heat generation at any single point, allowing the rail to operate at higher speeds with reduced abrasive wear compared to a straight rail configuration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentEP3103320B1Support rail for a crop lifter

Publication Date: 2017.10.11 GEBR SCHUMACHER GERATEBAUMBH

Figure 1~2b
Figure 3~5e
Figure 6a~7c

AI summary

Support rail (5) of a crop lifter (10) for harvested crop, with a main extension direction (X), wherein a section (12) designed as a skid is arranged between a first end (8) and a second end (9) of the support rail (5), and a crop lifter (10) for a mower of a harvesting machine, with a stalk lifter and a support rail (5) carrying the stalk lifter.