Feed rolls having automatic speed control

Abstract

The shiftably supported, rotatable feed rolls on a forage harvester or other material processing machine are operably coupled to a control lever on the hydraulic pump regulating the feed roll drive motor such that the angular velocity of the rolls is increased in response to shifting movement of the rolls away from one another, thereby enabling the rolls to readily rid themselves of a larger-than-normal slug of material should the same be encountered during harvesting. An additional control lever of a second hydraulic pump regulating another drive motor for the standing crop cutter and gathering elements of the harvester is operably coupled to the first control lever by a lost motion connection that permits the control levers to be shifted simultaneously for in unison manual operation of the motors, yet the first lever may be actuated independently by the feed rolls to control the first drive motor in response to relative shifting movement between the rolls. The linkage operably coupling the shiftable rolls and the first control lever has motion dissipating means to permit in unison movement of the levers without shifting the rolls. Two embodiments present alternative forms of actuating linkage for the pump levers.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.