Deere & Company

Christopher Allen Myers

Donald Keith Landphair

Richard Hugo Clark

Robert Wallace Martin

Patrick E Pinkston

Chris Warren Foster

Chad Erik Braden

Noel Wayne Anderson

Nathan Albert Mariman

Alan David Sheidler

Andrew K Rekow

Bryan Kirk Buerkle

Craig Alan Puetz

Gary S Keys, Ii

Matthew Brian Hagen

James R Allen

Patrick Eugene Pinkston

Bryan K Buerkle

A vehicle includes an operator station, a propulsion system, a steering system a hitch, and a vehicle positioning system. The positioning system includes positioning controls outside the operator station of the vehicle and adjacent to the hitch, such as on a rear fender. The positioning controls include a forward switch, a reverse switch, a left switch and a right switch. A controller is connected to the positioning controls, to the propulsion and steering systems. The controller moves the vehicle forward or rearward in response to actuation of the forward or reverse switches. The controller operates the steering system in response to actuation of the left or right switches. The steering system may include a brake control valve which brakes one of a pair of driven wheels while the other driven wheel is rotating. The steering system may include a steering control valve which is operable to turn steerable wheels.

Vehicle positioning system

A steering control system is disclosed for a vehicle train with a tow vehicle, a first towed vehicle with at least one ground-engaging member, and a second towed vehicle. A steering assembly may be configured to control steering of the at least one ground-engaging member. One or more sensing devices may be configured to determine orientation information for one or more of the tow vehicle, the first towed vehicle, and the second towed vehicle, during operation of the vehicle train. A steering correction may be determined for the second towed vehicle based upon the determined orientation information. The steering correction may be applied for the second towed vehicle by controlling the steering assembly to steer the first towed vehicle.

Steering control for vehicle trains

Left and right main hoppers offset laterally from each other on opposite sides of the centerline of a seeding machine provide an operator access area between the hoppers. A third hopper located forwardly of and between the two main hoppers has a capacity less than that of each of the main hoppers for refuge or male seed. The hoppers are sized to maximize productivity. In one embodiment, first and second hoppers communicate with downstream conduit structure, and valve structure selects one or the other of the first and second hoppers for delivery of the material. The valve structure can be operated remotely and can be map based. Alternatively, selectively blockable nozzle structure is located in the first and second hoppers. Easily changeable connector structure facilitates row pattern selection and hose routing.

Seed hopper and routing structure for varying material delivery to row units

Left and right main hoppers offset laterally from each other on opposite sides of the centerline of a seeding machine provide an operator access area between the hoppers. A third hopper located forwardly of and between the two main hoppers has a capacity less than that of each of the main hoppers for refuge or male seed. The hoppers are sized to maximize productivity. In one embodiment, first and second hoppers communicate with downstream conduit structure, and valve structure selects one or the other of the first and second hoppers for delivery of the material. The valve structure can be operated remotely and can be map based. Alternatviely, selectively blockable nozzle structure is located in the first and second hoppers. Easily changeable connector structure facilitates row pattern selection and hose routing.

An agricultural seeding machine includes a mechanical drive; a seed meter including a driven shaft; and a planetary gear set. The planetary gear set includes an input shaft connected with the drive, an output shaft connected with the driven shaft, a ring gear, and a motor coupled with a ring gear.

Variable speed drive for agricultural seeding machines

A product-on-demand delivery system for agricultural product overcomes the problem of over pressuring near application units in order to achieve sufficient pressure to feed further application units. The invention provides two or more main hoppers, each hopper pressurized to a different level by a fan that charges the air nozzles on the hoppers. The near row application units have product delivery hoses that are coupled to a first hopper. The far row application units have longer product delivery hoses that are coupled to a second hopper. The fan charging the second hopper is configured to pressurize the second hopper to a higher pressure than the pressure of the first hopper. The invention provides separate product-on-demand delivery systems to better control the product flow to the row application units on the machine. A product-on-demand delivery system is also provided that can dispense two different products from two main hoppers operated at different pressures.

Agricultural machine with variable pressure product distribution system

In an articulated combine, front and rear bogies are connected by spaced-apart upper and lower links. The upper link permits relative lateral movement between the bogies due to oscillation about a longitudinal axis. At the lower link, a rigid tongue of the rear bogie is connected to the front bogie by a ball hitch. Steering of the vehicle is through a pair of hydraulic cylinders controlled in part by a feedback cylinder. The steering cylinders are connected together to the rear bogie, at a common ball joint. All other connections of the hydraulic cylinders are ball and socket type and their effective pivot centers define respective transverse (kneel) and longitudinal (oscillation) axes, intersecting at the ball hitch. Forward connections of the steering cylinders and one end of the feedback cylinder lie on the kneel axis. The common rearward steering cylinder connection and the connection of the other end of the feedback cylinder lie on the oscillation axis. This arrangement isolates the steering system from oscillation and tipping movement of one bogie relative to the other in the sense that such movement, by itself, does not directly impose length changes or axial loading in the steering system cylinders.

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Rock Island, IL, United States of America

Christopher Allen Myers