Cooling systems and methods for an agricultural harvester
AssigneeCNH Industrial America LLC
InventorsCameron Jackson Ivey, Jeffrey D. Thomas, Scott Douglas Wilson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cooling system for an agricultural vehicle includes a housing configured to support one or more cooling components, a debris conduit extending from the housing of the cooling system, a suction fan configured to rotate to apply negative airflow, and a valve configured to move between an open position in which the debris conduit is fluidly coupled to the suction fan and a closed position in which the debris conduit is isolated from the suction fan.
Claims20
A cooling system for an agricultural vehicle, comprising:
- a housing configured to support one or more cooling components;
- a screen positioned at an inlet of the housing;
- a cleaning wand configured to remove debris from the screen;
- a suction conduit extending from the cleaning wand;
- a debris conduit extending from the housing of the cooling system;
- a suction fan configured to rotate to apply negative airflow;
- and
- a valve configured to move between an open position in which the suction conduit is isolated from the suction fan and the debris conduit is fluidly coupled to the suction fan and a closed position in which the debris conduit is isolated from the suction fan and the suction conduit is fluidly coupled to the suction fan.
A cooling system for an agricultural vehicle, comprising:
- a housing configured to support one or more cooling components;
- a cooling fan positioned proximate to the housing;
- a debris conduit extending from the housing;
- a valve configured to move between an open position in which the debris conduit is fluidly coupled to a suction fan and a closed position in which the debris conduit is isolated from the suction fan;
- and
- an electronic controller configured to generate control signals to coordinate rotation of the cooling fan and movement of the valve, wherein the control signals cause the cooling fan to reverse rotation from a first direction in which the cooling fan draws air from an inlet to an outlet of the housing to a second direction in which the cooling fan pushes air from the outlet to the inlet of the housing, and the control signals cause the valve to move from the closed position to the open position at substantially the same time.
A method of operating a cooling system for an agricultural vehicle, comprising:
- rotating a cooling fan to draw air from an inlet to an outlet of a housing of the cooling system;
- operating a suction fan to apply a negative airflow;
- removing debris from a screen at the inlet of the housing with the negative airflow through a suction conduit;
- reversing rotation of the cooling fan to push air from the outlet to the inlet of the housing;
- and
- adjusting a valve from a closed position to an open position, thereby blocking the negative airflow through the suction conduit and enabling the negative airflow through a debris conduit extending from the housing to facilitate removal of debris from the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.