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US 4,171,606 AGranted
Attitude control for a harvester pickup
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsDuane H. Ziegler, Dennis A. Kerckhove
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsDuane H. Ziegler, Dennis A. Kerckhove
Estimating the term…
An automatic attitude control system is disclosed for a harvester having a crop pickup connected for pivoting about a transverse axis near the forward end of a crop-gathering head. The system automatically raises or lowers the crop-gathering head to maintain the angle between the upper run of the pickup belt or conveyor and the head within preselected angular limits to assure proper feeding of the crop from the pickup to a transverse auger or the like on the head. Two sensors are provided, each with a plurality of reed switches, including a group of parallel "raise" switches and a group of parallel "lower" switches, and a magnetic actuator mounted for relative movement with respect to the switches as the pickup pivots with respect to the head. The sensor switches are connected to a circuit for activating a control valve for the head cylinders to raise the head when one or more of the switches in either of the "raise" groups are closed by the actuator. The control valve is actuated to lower the head when at least one of the switches in each of the "lower" groups is closed. A magnetic shorting bar is positioned between the "raise" and "lower" groups to prevent actuation of any of the switches by the magnetic actuator when the angle between the head and the pickup is within the preselected limits.
In a crop harvester with a vertically adjustable head having a transverse platform positionably secured thereto, an auger located above the platform, activatable hydraulic means for adjusting the head height, a crop pickup member pivotally connected near its rearward end about a transverse axis near the forward end of the head, and means for maintaining the forward end of the pickup member a preselected distance above the ground, an automatic attitude control system for maintaining the angle of the pickup member with respect to the platform within predetermined limits comprising:
In a harvester with a vertically positionable crop-gathering head, activator means for positioning the head, a crop pickup member connected near its rearward end for pivoting about a transverse axis near the forward end of the head, means for pivoting the pickup about the axis to maintain the front end of the pickup a preselected distance above the ground, automatic means for maintaining the angle between the head and the pickup member within preselected upper and lower limits comprising:
In a harvester having a vertically adjusting harvesting platform, hydraulic means for raising and lowering the platform, auger means having a transverse axis and supported above the platform to move the crop transversely, and a crop pickup member including a rearward end freely pivotally connected forwardly of the auger means and a forward section positioned a predetermined distance above the ground for removing a crop therefrom, means for automatically adjusting the height of the platform to maintain the angle of the crop pickup with respect to the harvesting platform within predetermined upper and lower angular limits comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.