Macdon Industries Ltd

Brent Gabriel

James Thomas Dunn

Leonard Bergman

Don MacGregor

Rheal G Remillard

In a swather formed by a tractor and attached heeder for cutting standing crop to form a swath, reel speed and optionally draper speed are controlled relative to ground speed by a control system including a manually operable input and display available to the operator. The control system can be used in an automatic mode to set an index value for an actual difference in reel speed relative to ground speed and to vary reel speed accordingly. In this mode a manually operable control varies the index. The control system can be switched by the operator to manual in which case the same control varies the actual reel speed. Minimum reel speed can be set by the same control and when operative the automatic system does not allow reel speed to fall below the minimum set value despite the values of index and ground speed. A crop-lodged switch is also provided which when operated acts to move the header to a lowered position and the move the reel to a forward most and lowermost position in a single operation controlled by the single switch.

Swather with automatic reel control

A tractor has hydraulically driven wheels at a cab end and castor wheels at an engine end. It can be driven cab forward in a working mode with a header on the forward end. It is rotated to engine forward in the transport position for more stable higher speed travel. The driver's console is rotated in the cab with the steering and speed control elements moved with the seat for the driver to face forwards and its position is detected by switches. In the engine forward position for transportation, the control system detects the seat position and operates the controls for higher speed drive and to prevent operation of the header. The engine has a series of ratings which can be selected depending upon whether the header motor is engaged so that a highest engine speed is used only when the header is disengaged and the lower speed is used for higher fuel efficiency when the header is operating.

Tractor with two engine settings

A tractor has hydraulically driven wheels at a cab end and castor wheels at an engine end. It can be driven cab forward in a working mode with a header on the forward end. It is rotated to engine forward in the transport position for more stable higher speed travel. The driver's console is rotated in the cab with the steering and speed control elements moved with the seat for the driver to face forwards and its position is detected by switches. In the engine forward position for transportation, the control system detects the seat position and operates the controls for higher speed drive and to prevent operation of the header. A vehicle emblem SMV is located on the back of the driver's seat so that it is visible to a person behind regardless of the direction of travel.

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Winnipeg, Canada

Brent Gabriel