Deere + Company

Case Corporation

Cnh America LLC

Glenn Everett Pope

Ryan Patrick Mackin

Aaron J Bruns

Robert A Matousek

Jon E Ricketts

Bruce Alan Coers

Daniel James Burke

Clint J Imel

Sheldon Joseph Grywacheski

Jeffrey Ray Payne

Alan David Sheidler

Ryan Scott Herlyn

Dale R Tanis

Chad Allen Dow

Bradley K Yanke

Kevin Laverne Ehrecke

Kenneth Ralph Clifton

Jeffrey Allan Schlautman

Jason Michael Healy

Edward L Farwell

John P Vandevoorde

Jonathan Eugene Ricketts

Nathan R Vandike

Duane M Bomleny

Aaron Scott Ritter

Jim Milton Shoemaker

Matthew T Wold

Mark Charles DePoorter

James Kelley Adamson

Mark Michael Chaney

Ronnie Dean Stahlhut

David John Rix

Jeffrey R Walter

Shane Marty Anderson

Jacob G Schoeny

John L Peters

Bhanu Kiran Palla

Snehalrao Jadhav

Eric Allan Risius

Aniruddha Patankar

Ronnie D Stahlhut

Pickup belt headers may include a ramp disposed in a gap formed between a first endless belt of a pickup belt assembly and a second endless belt of a transfer belt assembly. Fingers may be provided on the first endless belt, and the fingers may be deflected, such as by pivoting or bending, in response to engagement between the fingers and the ramp to avoid contact between the fingers and the second endless belt.

Pickup belt header finger guide ramp

A harvester may include a crop path along which crops are moved, a working member to interact with weed seeds moving along the crop path and a controller. The controller is to receive data indicating forthcoming weed seeds and is to output control signals controlling the working member based on the data.

Weed seed based harvester working member control

A combine harvester may include a chaffer to separate residue from grain in crop material, a fan to direct air through and across the chaffer to carry the residue from the harvester, a sensor to output signals indicating a characteristic of the crop material upstream of the chaffer and a controller to adjust a speed of the fan based on signals from the sensor.

Combine harvester with fan speed adjust

An agricultural combine () includes a rotor (), a concave (), a force sensor () to indicate the force applied to a crop mat located between the rotor and the concave, a position sensor () to indicate the size of a gap () between the rotor () and the concave (), an actuator () to position the concave () with respect to the rotor (), and an ECU () coupled to the sensors () and the actuator (). The ECU () contains an economic operating curve () that relates the force to the size of the gap. The ECU () is configured to receive a signal from the force sensor () and a signal from the position sensor (), and based upon those signals, to control the actuator () to change the force and the size of the gap () to a point on the economic operating curve ().

Self adjusting concave clearance system

A method of controlling a multiengine harvester including the steps of operating the harvester in a first mode, operating the harvester in a second mode, and selecting less than all of the power absorbing loads to be driven. In the first mode, the harvester is operated using a first engine and a second engine to drive the plurality of power absorbing loads. In the second mode, the harvester is operated with the second engine being uncoupled from all of the power absorbing loads. In the selecting step, less than all of the power absorbing loads are selected to be driven dependent upon the sensed load on the first engine while operating in the second mode. The first engine is incapable of driving all of the power absorbing loads.

Harvester load control system

An extendible axle member () is provided for an agricultural harvester (), the axle () having an elongate telescopic portion () with bearing surfaces () for being slidably received in an outer axle member ().

Extendible axle member for the rear of an agricultural harvester

An adjustable vane system for an axial-flow, rotary combine housing that incorporates at least one flat wall section as part of the otherwise cylindrical or oblong, curved housing cover, and adjustable vanes having flat bases that are angularly adjusted on the surface of the flat wall section. The housing includes fixed vanes on a curved portion of the housing cover that have a lead ends, in a direction of circumferential crop movement, substantially in registry with trailing ends of the adjustable vanes. The adjustable vanes include pivot connections near the trailing ends and swing connections near the lead ends of the adjustable vanes. All of the adjustable vanes are gang together and moved together. A mechanism is provided to swing the adjustable vanes from a position corresponding to the normal helical path of the fixed vanes to a bypass position wherein crop flow through the adjustable vanes will skip one or more passes between the fixed vanes on the next pass through the fixed vanes.

Adjustable vane system for an axial flow rotor housing of an agricultural combine

A threshing and separating mechanism for a combine includes an elongated rotor mounted for rotation about a rotor axis on the combine within a rotor housing. The rotor has a threshing portion and a separating portion. The rotor has a rotor tube that is tapered continuously in the threshing portion and has threshing elements extending from the rotor tube. The housing has a threshing section and a separating section corresponding to the threshing portion and the separating portion. The housing surrounds the rotor and is spaced from the rotor tube to form an annular space between the rotor tube and the housing for crop material to flow through in an axial crop flow direction from an inlet end of the housing to an outlet end of the housing. The housing includes a smooth transition section between the threshing section and the separating section of the housing.

Fully tapered rotor nose and threshing section

A method for changing the track of a vehicle () having first and second wheels () disposed on opposing sides of the vehicle () along a line generally perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle, the first and second wheels (are supported on first and second wheel supports () to permit the track of the first and second wheels () to be adjusted, at least one actuator () is coupled to at least one wheel of the first and second wheels () and is configured to change the toe angle of said first and second wheels (), and an electronic control unit () is coupled to the actuator () that is configured to command the actuator () to change the toe angle, the method comprising the steps of changing the toe angle of the first and second wheels (); rolling the vehicle () on the first and second wheels () over the ground to generate opposing lateral forces on the first and second wheels (); and applying the opposing lateral forces to the first and second wheel supports () to change the track of the first and second wheels ().

Method of automatically changing wheel toe angle

A header () for an agricultural combine () comprises a laterally extending frame () supporting a laterally extending cutter bar () and left and right lateral belt conveyors () supported on the frame (). Each of the belt conveyors () has a feeding direction from an outer side end towards a center of the header (). Rotationally drivable left and right crop compression rollers () are supported on the frame () above the left and right lateral belt conveyors (). The crop compression rollers () extend substantially over the length of the left and right lateral belt conveyors () and have a smooth cylindrical surface.

Combine header with crop compression rollers

An agricultural vehicle including plurality of engines, a plurality of mechanical loads, a plurality of electrical generators, a plurality of electrical loads, at least one load sensor, and a controller. The plurality of engines includes a first engine and a second engine. The plurality of mechanical loads includes a first mechanical load and a second mechanical load. The first mechanical load is coupled to the first engine and a second mechanical load is coupled to the second engine. The plurality of electrical generators includes a first generator and a second generator. The first generator is coupled to the first engine and the second generator is coupled to the second engine. The plurality of electrical loads can be separately coupled to the first generator or the second generator. The at least one load sensor is configured to produce a signal representative of the first mechanical load on the first engine, the second mechanical load on the second engine, a sum of electrical loads on the first generator, and/or a sum of electrical loads on the second generator. The controller is configured to shift at least one of the plurality of electrical loads between the first generator and the second generator dependent upon the signal.

Generation and starting system

An agricultural harvester includes a first power unit which is couplable with a first primary load. The first primary load includes a threshing system load. A second power unit has a threshold power output and is couplable with a second primary load. The second primary load includes a propulsion load. A first motor/generator is mechanically coupled with the first power unit. A second motor/generator is mechanically coupled with the second power unit. The second motor/generator and the first motor/generator are electrically coupled together. At least one electrical processing circuit is coupled with each of the first motor/generator and the second motor/generator. The at least one electrical processing circuit is configured for selectively transferring electrical power from the first motor/generator to the second motor/generator, when the second power unit is at or above the threshold power output.

Agricultural harvester with propulsion load shifting between dual engines

The invention provides an improved threshing and separating mechanism and method for a combine. The mechanism includes an elongated rotor mounted for rotation about a rotor axis within a rotor housing on the combine. The rotor has a threshing portion and a separating portion. The housing has a threshing section and a separating section corresponding to the threshing portion and the separating portion. The housing surrounds the rotor and is spaced from the rotor to form an annular space between the rotor and the housing for crop material to flow through in an axial crop flow direction from an inlet end of the housing to an outlet end of the housing. A rear portion of the rotor is tapered in a rearward direction to create an increased volume at the outlet of the rotor housing to prevent stagnation of flow of straw material in the transition of velocity between the housing outlet and the straw beater.

Rear rotor cone

A threshing and separating mechanism for a combine includes an elongated rotor mounted for rotation about a rotor axis on the combine within a rotor housing. The rotor has a threshing portion and a separating portion. The housing has a threshing section and a separating section corresponding to the threshing portion and the separating portion. The housing surrounds the rotor and is spaced from the rotor to form an annular space between the rotor and the housing for crop material to flow through in an axial crop flow direction from an inlet end of the housing to an outlet end of the housing. The housing includes a smooth transition section between the threshing section and the separating section of the housing.

Top cover for axial rotary combine having coned transition

A rethreshing system and method for a combine having a cleaning system that includes at least one sieve or like material separating mechanism. The rethreshing system includes a tailings collection pan for collecting tailings that do not pass through the sieve and a tailings rethreshing mechanism receiving the tailings from the collection pan and rethreshing the tailings. A distribution auger is arranged across a return pan of the cleaning system and is operable to substantially evenly distribute rethreshed tailings on the return pan of the cleaning system. The distribution auger includes a tubular auger housing having an entrance for receiving material to be conveyed, a closed end opposite the entrance, and a longitudinally elongated and tapered slot formation through a sidewall of the tubular auger housing, the slot formation having a small width near the entrance to the tubular housing and a wide width near the closed end of the tubular housing.

Growing community of inventors

Viola, IL, United States of America

Glenn Everett Pope