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US 4,286,669 AGranted
Draft sensing apparatus
AssigneeMassey-Ferguson Services N.V.
InventorJean J. Lasoen
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMassey-Ferguson Services N.V.
InventorJean J. Lasoen
Estimating the term…
A tractor draft sensing apparatus in which an elongated sensing shaft is supported in spaced fulcrum supports and carries a pair of draft links on its end portions located outward of the supports. Draft force signals are provided by an elongate member which is attached at one end to the shaft, extends generally parallel to the shaft, and carries at its other end a follower which engages a cam and pivots the cam to give a signal proportional to shaft bending and hence to the draft forces applied to the shaft. The elongate member also carries a separate follower which engages a guide surface on a guidance member to ensure that the elongate member moves relative to the shaft generally in a horizontal plane only during shaft bending. The shaft may also be shaped so that its neutral axis between the fulcrum supports is displaced transversely of the shaft, generally in the direction of application of the draft force, relative to its neutral axis location within the supports.
A tractor draft sensing apparatus including an elongated shaft having spaced apart support portions for mounting in spaced apart fulcrum supports and end portions positioned axially outward of said support portions to receive a pair of draft members for imposing rearwardly extending draft forces on the shaft as a result of which the shaft bends, an elongate member attached at one end to the shaft and arranged to extend generally parallel thereto, a pivotally mounted cam member, a cam follower carried by the other end of the elongate member for pivoting of the cam member, a guidance member provided with a guide surface, and a separate guide surface follower carried by the other end of the elongate member for engagement with the guide surface to limit relative movement between said other end of the elongate member and the shaft generally to a single plane, whereby on the imposition of draft forces on the shaft said cam follower moves generally in said single plane and pivots the cam by an amount proportional to the draft forces imposed on the shaft.
A tractor draft sensing apparatus including an elongated shaft having support portions for mounting in spaced fulcrum supports and end portions positioned axially outward of said support portions for mounting a pair of draft members, the arrangement being such that rearwardly extending draft forces imposed on the shaft by the draft members cause the shaft to bend, and sensing means arranged to produce a draft signal proportional to the amount of bending of the shaft, the shaft being shaped so that, considering the shaft in an unloaded condition, the neutral axis of the shaft between the support portions is displaced rearwardly of the centerline of the support portions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.