Harvesters – Motorized harvester – With selective control of drive means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-11
2001-06-19
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Motorized harvester
With selective control of drive means
C460S020000, C056S010800
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247296
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns the drive arrangement of a crop conveying and/or processing mechanism of a harvesting machine with a main drive engine that is arranged to drive the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism through power transmission elements in a first operating mode in a first direction at a first speed, and a reversible motor that is arranged to drive the crop conveying and/or processing arrangement in a second operating mode at a second speed in a second direction that differs from the first direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
A drive arrangement of this type is described in DE 37 08 550 A. In a combine a reversible motor is driven mechanically in normal harvesting operation and it operates as a pump and hydraulically drives a motor that operates a reel. The feederhouse is also driven mechanically in normal harvesting operation. In reverse operation the reversible motor and the motor driving the reel are driven hydraulically, so that the intake devices driven by these motors are moved in the opposite direction in order to conduct crop that had been jammed out of the combine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,218 discloses a forage harvester and a combine with a similar drive for the intake devices.
In the prior art, only a normal harvesting mode and a reverse mode are provided by the drive of the intake devices.
The problem underlying the invention is seen in the fact that the two known operating modes of the drive mechanism of the intake devices are not adequate in all cases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This problem is solved according to the present invention by the provision of third and fourth operating modes for the drive arrangement in addition to the first operating mode (normal harvesting operation in which the crop conveying and/or processing mechanisms are driven by the main drive engine) and a second operating mode (reverse operation by means of the reversible motor) operated in another manner. In some embodiments of the invention, only one of the third and the fourth operating modes are made available in addition to the first and the second operating modes. It is the preferred embodiment to make both the third and the fourth operating modes available. It is obvious that the aforementioned operating modes can only be applied after each other, not simultaneously.
In the third operating mode, the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism is driven in the direction in which it is also driven in normal harvesting operation (that is, the first operating mode), however, with a reduced speed compared to the normal operating mode. This operating mode is particularly appropriate for the slow introduction of a larger amount of crop into a harvesting machine after a jamming of the machine. The fourth operating mode is an emergency stop, in which the drive of the internal combustion engine is uncoupled from the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism. It can be actuated by an emergency stop button. In order to dissipate the kinetic energy of the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism as rapidly as possible, the reversible motor is used as a brake. The fourth operating mode, therefore, makes possible a rapid stopping of the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism in an emergency. An additional brake is not necessary.
In this way additional, useful operating modes are made available for the drive arrangement of the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism.
It is an advantage that the drive of the reversible motor is connected to the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism not only in the second, third and/or fourth operating modes, but also in the first operating mode. The advantage lies in the fact that in the fourth operating mode no time consuming clutch engagement, or the like, of the reversible motor is needed any more. In the case of an emergency stop, the drive arrangement should be able to shift directly and rapidly from the first to the fourth operating mode. Furthermore, in this embodiment the reversible motor can be employed as a pump in the first operating mode, in case it is a hydraulic motor, and the oil pressure generated can be used to drive a second hydraulic motor. The speed of the second hydraulic motor is preferably variable. This can be controlled by an adjustable throttling valve arranged in parallel or in series with it. The adjustment can be performed mechanically, hydraulically or by means of an electric motor from the operator's cab. It is also conceivable to employ an electric motor as a reversible motor, and to convert the electromotive force [EMF] generated by it in the fourth operating mode into heat by resistance.
Most appropriately, the drive of the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism is separated from the internal combustion engine in the second and third operating modes. Hence, in these operating modes, the reversible motor alone drives the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism. The separation of the drives can be performed in known manner by an electric clutch that is arranged in a belt pulley or by a drive belt whose tension can be varied by a hydraulically adjustable tension pulley, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,218, whose contents are incorporated herein by reference.
As already mentioned, in the fourth operating mode the reversible motor is used as brake for the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism. For this purpose the reversible motor that is used as a pump has its oil pressure dissipated and converted into heat. Therefore it is proposed that the oil pressure generated by the reversible motor in the fourth operating mode be dissipated through a valve, in particular a pressure relief valve. In addition, the oil pressure can also be dissipated through the second hydraulic motor that converts it into mechanical movement and friction energy.
Furthermore, it is recommended that the speed of the reversible motor be adjustable in the second and/or third operating modes. For this purpose an adjustable throttling valve may be employed that preferably can be controlled from the operator's cab (mechanically, hydraulically or by means of an electric motor). As an altemative, the reversible motor may be a hydraulic motor with adjustable speed, whose speed can be controlled by means of a swash plate.
The reversible motor and the second hydraulic motor may be operated in series in the second and/or the third operating modes. The oil originating at a source of oil pressure, with which the two aforementioned motors are driven, therefore flows initially through the reversible motor and then through the second hydraulic motor (or in the opposite order). The advantage lies in the saving of an additional hydraulic line, which would be necessary in a parallel circuit, and the fact that no valves are necessary for switching for the first and/or the fourth operating modes, in which the aforementioned motors are also routed in series, since the reversible motor also conveys the oil to the second hydraulic motor in these operating modes. As a result, the hydraulic circuit is simple and low cost.
The invention can be applied to every harvesting machine with a reversible conveyor and/or header. It can be used in particular on forage harvesters in which the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism is provided with a chopper drum and/or a kernel processor and/or a pair of supply rolls. The invention is also appropriate for combines in which the crop conveying and/or processing mechanism is provided with a feederhouse, preferably with a conveyor chain and/or a header (in particular a cutting plafform). In combines the second hydraulic motor may, in particular, drive a reel, that also can be reversed in the second operating mode.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4138837 (1979-02-01), Love
patent: 4218864 (1980-08-01), Allemeersch et al.
patent: 4430847 (1984-02-01), Tourdot et al.
patent: 4512139 (1985-04-01), Musser et al.
patent: 4663919 (1987-05-01), Stroh et al.
patent: 5462486 (1995-10-01), Norton
patent: 5527218 (1996-06-01), Van den Bossche et al.
paten
Becker Klaus
Kempf Bernd
Weissig Jörg
Deere & Comapny
Kováacs ÁArpáad Fáabiáan
Pezzuto Robert E.
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