Deere + Company

Robert E Haight

Stephen P Lang

Yolanda E Martin

Timothy J Mattson

Stanley M Gregerson

Kendall D Tjepkes

John W Schletzbaum

Lawrence R Klope

Stephen F Jacobi

An interface assembly includes a housing having a pair of side walls lined to a curved upper surface and the upper surface forms a fore-and-aft extending slot. A shaft is supported by and extends between the side walls. A control member is supported on the shaft and has an outer edge aligned with the slot. A limit member is mounted on the shaft adjacent to the control member and has an outer edge aligned with the slot. The limit member is frictionally coupled to the control member. An stop projects from an outer edge of the limit member. A lever is pivotally mounted on the control member and is releasable engageable with the stop. A transducer is coupled to the control member for generating a signal representing the position of the control member. A thumb wheel and gear may be operated to control rotation of the limit member relative to the housing. A tab projects into the slot and is engageable and disengageable with the tab to limit rotation of the control member relative to the housing.

Hitch control interface assembly

A shift lever assembly includes plate having a plurality of intersecting slots formed therein, including fore-and-aft extending directional gear slot and a transverse extending neutral slot. The neutral slot has a recess formed on one side thereof. A lever has a movable shaft received in and guided in the slots. A latch member is engagable with the shaft to releasably hold the shaft in the recess and prevent inadvertent movement of the shaft from the neutral slot into the directional gear slot. A shaft spring is biased to urge the shaft away from the directional gear slot. A latch spring is biased to urge the latch member towards the recess so that the shaft, latch member, the latch spring and recess cooperate to deter inadvertent movement of the shaft in a direction generally parallel to the neutral slot and out of the recess and out of the neutral slot. The latch member is pivotal away from the recess by the shaft when the shaft is moved away from the recess and in a direction generally transverse to the neutral slot, to thereby permit movement of the shaft in a direction generally parallel to the neutral slot and out of the recess and out of the neutral slot.

Transmission shift lever neutral lock

A control system for preventing engagement of a transmisson when its power source is started with the transmission in gear. The system uses a control valve, an engagement override valve, a check valve and a relief valve to interrupt fluid flow to clutch or brake elements during initial startup unless the transmission is in neutral or park. Unwanted triggering of the override system upon a reduction of hydraulic pressure is avoided in this control system. The control valve of this system may be made responsive to clutch pedal or shift lever movement.

Control system for transmission engagement

A fluid filter monitoring system includes a filter relief valve movable in response to a pressure buildup caused by filter clogging to sequentially actuate a pair of pressure-operated switches. A temperature sensor senses the temperature of fluid in the hydraulic system. A control unit, including a microprocessor, controls the energization of a plurality of indicators, depending upon the status of the temperature sensor, the pressure-operated switches and the duration of actuation of the switches.

Filter monitoring system

Disclosed is a fluid-pressure operated mechanism such as a clutch having radial walls defining a fluid-receiving and exhausting chamber between them. The clutch is of the hydraulic-apply, spring-release type, fluid pressure being supplied to engage the clutch and fluid pressure being exhausted to release the clutch. Fluid pressure release is often not rapid enough to enable quick release of the clutch and relief valve means of the centrifugal type is provided to accelerate fluid release. The improvement resides in spring means in combination with the centrifugal valve to prevent operation of that valve during rotation of the clutch at speeds below a predetermined value, whereby to prevent complete dumping of fluid, so as to enable the released clutch to retain a volume of fluid consistent with rapid re-engagement of the clutch when fluid pressure is applied.

Relief valve means for rotatable fluid-pressure mechanisms

In an agricultural vehicle in which a power takeoff modulating valve is shifted in response to a control lever so as to pass pressurized hydraulic fluid through a groove in the outer surface thereof between recesses in an adjacent bore wall for application to a power takeoff clutch to cause engagement of the clutch, application of the hydraulic fluid pressure to the clutch is modulated by an arrangement which selectively diverts the pressurized hydraulic fluid away from the clutch and to a sump in accordance with the rate of pressure increase of the hydraulic fluid to prevent excessively rapid engagement of the clutch. The hydraulic fluid is sumped by a trimmer valve having a first end which immediately responds to high fluid pressures by sliding into a position which sumps the conduit supplying hydraulic fluid to the clutch by an amount directly related to the pressure. An opposite second end of the trimmer valve also responds to the pressure of the hydraulic fluid but much more slowly because of a restriction in the conduit coupling the second end to the hydraulic fluid supply conduit. As sufficient hydraulic fluid passes through the restriction so as to equalize the fluid pressure at the opposite ends of the trimmer valve, the trimmer valve is returned to a position in which the sump is cut off and the hydraulic fluid pressure is applied to the power takeoff clutch.

Clutch modulating system

A piston-type accumulator in a hydraulic circuit is provided with an interior sleeve proximate the gas valve for limiting piston movement and providing a minimum predetermined accumulator gas volume. By monitoring the pressure of the gas charge in the minimum predetermined gas volume, it may be determined whether the accumulator retains sufficient energy for proper operation in the hydraulic circuit or requires recharging.

Growing community of inventors

Waterloo, IA, United States of America

Robert E Haight