Method of automatically controlling impact ripper

A method of automatically controlling an impact ripper which is mounted on a vehicle body;

• wherein said impact ripper has a vibrating mechanism;
• wherein said vehicle body is provided with an engine, for producing vehicle body tractive force and a vehicle speed, an operator's lever, and an automatic strike switch having an on position and an off position;
• said method comprising:
• determining the vehicle body tractive force;
• determining the vehicle speed;
• providing an activating signal for said vibrating mechanism if said automatic strike switch is in its on position and said vehicle speed is less than a predetermined speed value;
• and
• providing an activating signal for said vibrating mechanism when said vehicle speed is at least as great as said predetermined speed value only if said automatic strike switch is in its on position and said vehicle body tractive force is at least as great as a predetermined tractive force value.

In a method of automatically controlling an impact ripper by an operation of a lever for the impact ripper, wherein the impact ripper has a blade end, is mounted on a rear portion of a body of a vehicle, and has a vibrating mechanism, and wherein said vehicle is driven by a drive train composed of an engine, a torque converter, and a transmission, the engine having a rotational output connected to an input of the torque converter, and the torque converter having a rotational output connected to said transmission;

• the improvement comprising:
• detecting the rotational speed of the rotational output of said engine and establishing a first signal representative thereof;
• detecting the rotational speed of the rotational output of said torque converter and establishing a second signal representative thereof;
• inputting said first and second signals to a controller to determine a vehicle body tractive force required by digging resistance applied to said blade end of said impact ripper;
• determining the vehicle speed and establishing a third signal representative of the thus determined vehicle speed;
• inputting said third signal to said controller;
• and
• when the thus determined vehicle speed is less than a predetermined value and an automatic strike switch is on, outputting an activating signal from said controller to said vibrating mechanism of said impact ripper regardless of the vehicle body tractive force;
• and
• when the thus determined vehicle speed is at least equal to said predetermined value and said automatic strike switch is on, outputting an activating signal from said controller to said vibrating mechanism only when the vehicle body tractive force is at least equal to a predetermined value.