Method and power transmission system for operating a road planar machine

Abstract

The method and power transmission system of this invention for driving a road planar machine has the cutter unit in a positive mechanical drive with the drive shaft of a machine power unit through a hydraulically actuated clutch mechanism. The wheel traction units for the machine are continuously driven from the power unit by hydraulic motors operated by variable volume displacement pumps. A control system for retaining the power unit at a set rotational speed required for a predetermined cutting or planing load is responsive to a drop in the set rotational speed, resulting from the cutting unit encountering an overload, to actuate the variable displacement pumps to decrease the forward speed of the machine without appreciably reducing the rotational inertia force of the cutting unit. If the cutting unit overload is of a short duration or momentary the set rotational speed of the power unit is resumed. If the overload, as observed by the machine operator after the occurrence of the drop in the set rotational speed of the power unit, appears to be severe or prolonged, the control system may be manually discontinued and the machine manually controlled until the cutting unit overload has been removed at which time the control system may again be placed into operation.