Systems and methods for changing a speed of a belt drive system
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsPAUL D. MARVIN, LOGAN K. TRUEBLOOD
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A belt drive system operable to detect a belt tension may include a driver pully operably coupled to a motive device to rotate the driver pulley, a driven pulley, an endless belt engaged with the driver pulley and moveable in response to motion of the driven pulley and engaged with the driven pulley, an idler pulley engaged with the endless belt and positioned on a tight side of the belt drive system, and a load sensor connected to the idler pulley. The driven pulley may be rotated in response to movement of the endless belt. The load sensor may be operable to generate a signal in response to a load exerted on the idler pulley by the endless belt. The load may be representative of a tension in the endless belt.
Claims11
1-8. (canceled)
A computer-implemented method of automatically controlling altering an operating speed of a belt drive system providing power to an agricultural header, the method comprising:
- receiving, via a speed sensor, a current operating speed of the agricultural header;
- determining whether the current operating speed is within a selected range of operating speeds;
- receiving, from a load sensor, a current operating load on the belt drive system in response to the current operating speed being outside of the selected range of operating speeds;
- determining whether the current operating load on the belt drive system meets or exceeds a selected load threshold;
- and
- performing a gear change operation of a transmission coupled to the belt drive system in response to the current operating speed being outside of the selected range of operating speeds and the current operating load being less than the selected load threshold and not performing a gear change operation when the current operating load meets or exceeds the selected load threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.