Agricultural Implement Wing Tool Bar Lifting Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
As the span of fertilizer application implements increases, lifting and folding the tool bar becomes more difficult, making it challenging to efficiently transition between working, transport, and lifted positions while maintaining consistent height and avoiding contact with the ground or crops.
Innovation Solution
A system with a central tool bar and wing tool bars, actuated by hydraulic or pneumatic systems, where a solenoid-controlled valve and angle sensor facilitate fluid flow to raise and fold the tool bars, ensuring consistent lifting and folding based on detected angles, allowing for wider fertilizer distribution and easier operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the span of the fertilizer application implement is increased to distribute fertilizer over a wider swath, then productivity is improved, but the difficulty of lifting and folding the tool bar increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tool bar is divided into multiple independent sections (central tool bar and wing tool bars) that can be controlled separately. Each section has its own actuator and control valve, allowing independent lifting and folding operations. This segmentation enables the wide-span implement to be managed in manageable portions, resolving the operational difficulty while maintaining high productivity.
2Reliability
If the tool bar is lifted to a higher position to avoid contact with ground or crops, then reliability is improved, but the complexity of the control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
Angle sensors are installed on each tool bar section to detect the angle between adjacent sections. This feedback information is used by the control system to automatically adjust hydraulic valve operation, ensuring consistent lifting to predetermined angles. The feedback mechanism maintains reliable contact avoidance while managing control system complexity through automated control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated hydraulic control system. Instead of manual operation of lifting mechanisms, the system uses hydraulic actuators controlled by solenoid valves that respond to angle sensor feedback. This substitution reduces the complexity of manual operation while maintaining reliable height control.
3Device complexity
If manual control methods are used for lifting and folding tool bars, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision of consistent height positioning is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Angle sensors provide real-time feedback on the relative angles between tool bar sections during lifting and folding operations. This feedback enables the control system to precisely control hydraulic actuator operation, ensuring that each section reaches its target position with consistent accuracy. The automated feedback control achieves precise height positioning that would be difficult to obtain through manual control alone.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables efficient lifting and folding of tool bars, maintaining consistent height and reducing the risk of contact with the ground or crops, thereby improving operational efficiency and facilitating wider fertilizer distribution across fields.
Implementation Method 1
a solenoid controlled valve having a first position configured to enable fluid flow to the first actuator
Implementation Method 2
actuated by hydraulic or pneumatic systems
Implementation Method 3
actuated by hydraulic or pneumatic systems
Data Source
AI summary
A method for lifting wing tool bars of an agricultural implement includes receiving a fluid at an input port of a fluid control system. The fluid is configured to induce raising a central tool bar of the agricultural implement using a first actuator extending between the central tool bar and a main frame of the agricultural implement, and then to induce rotating a first wing tool bar relative to the central tool bar using a second actuator extending between the first wing tool bar and the central tool bar after the central tool bar is raised. The method also includes detecting an angle between the first wing tool bar and the central tool bar using a switch. The method further includes controlling fluid flow to the second actuator based on the detected angle via a solenoid controlled valve electrically coupled to the switch.