Deere + Company

Other

Jonathan Lee Engelstad

Kevin Jacob Goering

Leon F Sanderson

Byron Keith Miller

James William Riesterer

Robert Carl Blad

Ted R Myers

William A Best

Row unit lift structure includes electrohydraulic proportional valves connected to an electronic controller which receives inputs from a manual raise/lower switch, a rate response potentiometer, and height control potentiometers in the cab. Signals are also received from row unit height sensing transducers, a tachometer and shaft rotation sensors. When the units are lowered and operational, the controller compares the signals from the height sensing transducers with the signals from the height control potentiometers and sends an electrical control signal to the proportional valves to maintain a selected row unit height. The magnitude of the control signal and thus the rate of correction of height are determined by the rate response potentiometer and the amount of variation between the actual and desired row unit height.

Harvester row unit height control with electrohydraulic proportional valve structure

A harvester head, such as an ultra-narrow row cotton (UNRC) fingerhead, includes one or more rockshaft cylinders connected to a hydraulic circuit including first and second closed center valves connected to a shuttle valve to allow the rockshaft cylinders to be controlled by two separate height sensing shoes, one at each end of the head, which are not mechanically linked to each other. The closed center valves provide a positive displacement of oil to and from the rockshaft cylinders to control the height of the head. The shuttle valve provides head lift when either of the height sensing shoes indicates a raise condition and head lower only when both shoes indicate a lower condition. Electrohydraulic valves connect the source of hydraulic pressure on the harvester to the cylinders through the shuttle valve for operator selection of raise and automatic height control functions.

Height sensing system for a harvester head

The air system on a harvester includes a fan with a remotely actuatable belt tightener assembly controlled by an electric acme thread actuator. A control circuit connected to the actuator includes a fan control switch and an engine speed switch for preventing fan actuation above a preselected engine speed. The actuator retains the belt tightener in the engaged position when the engine is switched off so that belt inspection and tension adjustments can be made easily. The tightener assembly includes simple tension indicating and adjusting structure for providing easy and accurate belt adjustments when the engine is off.

Electric control of a harvester fan

A link chain coupler including a pair of sprockets coupled by a double row chain, and a steel ring axially positionable over the chain to hold the chain in the sprocket teeth while torque is transmitted through the connection. A two-piece coupler shield is assembled over the steel ring to hold the ring in position, to act as a shield and to protect the coupler from the environment.

Double roller chain coupler with shield

The harvesting structure on a plurality of individual row units of a cotton picker are driven by a common drive train while individual torque-limiting is provided to each row unit by a slip clutch located within the unit housing. A gearbox located at the top of each row unit housing includes a shaft projecting into the housing with the slip clutch located at the lower end of the shaft and driving an output gear meshing with the main input gear of row unit transmission.

Torque limiting drive arrangement for a cotton harvester with multiple

Self-adjusting supporting structure for positioning an upright column of doffer pads automatically with respect to corresponding rows of spindles in a cotton harvester row unit. A tapered roller bearing assembly supporting the doffer column includes an externally threaded housing threaded into an internally threaded adjuster housing support mounted on the row unit. The drag of the roller bearings is adjustable, and under normal operation of the row unit the drag force tends to thread the bearing assembly upwardly. However, this force is opposed by an opposite force caused by the weight of the doffer assembly which tends to thread the assembly downwardly to move the doffer pads closer to the spindles. The pitch of the screw threads is selected and the drag on the tapered bearings is adjusted so that the force created to move the doffer column downwardly into contact with the spindles is slightly larger than the drag force which tends to rotate the bearing assembly in the direction to move the doffers away from the spindles so that proper clearance is automatically maintained between the spindles and the doffers.

Growing community of inventors

Ankeny, IA, United States of America

Jonathan Lee Engelstad