Lubrication system for a cotton harvester

A lubrication system for a cotton harvester having a plurality of harvesting units, each harvesting unit including lubricated mechanisms which are intermittently operated and whose accumulated intermittent operations define an operational cycle having a predetermined duration measured as a function of the lubricant amounts provided to the lubricated mechanisms, said lubrication system comprising:

• lubrication means operable during a lubrication cycle to supply substantially equivalent amounts of lubricant under pressure to corresponding lubricated mechanisms on the harvesting units;
• means for computing accumulated intermittent operations of said lubricated mechanisms during the operation cycle and for initiating a lubrication cycle whose duration is correlated to the lubricant usage of the lubricated mechanisms during the operation cycle of the harvester;
• and
• means for visually indicating the accumulated intermittent operations of the lubricated mechanisms relative to the operation cycle of the harvester.

A lubrication system for a cotton harvester having a plurality of harvesting units mounted thereon, each harvesting unit including a rotatable harvesting mechanism which is cyclically operated for a predetermined duration measured as a function of the lubricant provided thereto, said lubrication system comprising:

• a pressurized source of lubricant;
• lubricant distribution means for simultaneously delivering substantially equivalent amounts of lubricant from the lubricant source to each of the harvesting mechanisms;
• lubricant control means for controlling operation of the lubricant source, said control means including first operative means for monitoring and summing cyclic operations of at least one of the harvesting mechanisms during a harvesting procedure of the cotton harvester and second operative means for enabling operation of the lubricant source for a predetermined period of time and such that lubricant amounts provided to the harvesting mechanisms is correlated to the summed cyclic operations of the harvesting mechanisms during a harvesting procedure;
• and
• display means for visually indicating the summed cyclic operations of the harvesting mechanisms as related to the predetermined duration of the harvesting mechanisms thus allowing the operator to gauge remaining harvesting operation time before lubrication of the harvesting mechanisms would normally be required.

A lubrication system for a cotton harvester having a plurality of harvesting units, each harvesting unit including lubricated mechanisms which are intermittently operated and whose accumulated intermittent operations define an operational cycle having a predetermined duration measured as a function of the lubricant amounts provided to the lubricated mechanisms, said lubrication system comprising:

• lubrication means operable during a lubrication cycle to supply lubricant under pressure to the lubricated mechanisms on the harvesting units;
• means for computing accumulated intermittent operations of said lubricated mechanisms during the operation cycle and for operating said lubrication means in a manner providing predetermined amounts of lubricant to the lubricated mechanisms during a lubrication cycle of the harvester;
• and
• means for indicating the full extent of an operational cycle of the lubricated mechanisms beginning with a first position whereat the lubricated mechanisms are fully lubricated and have not yet commenced operation and a second position whereat lubricant has been substantially exhausted from the lubricated mechanisms, said indicating means providing a visual display indicative of the accumulated intermittent operations of the lubricated mechanisms relative to the full extent of the lubricated mechanisms' operational cycle.