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US 5,325,656 AGranted
Cotton harvester with variable ratio spindle-to-drum speed
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsJoel M. Schreiner, Donald K. Davenport
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsJoel M. Schreiner, Donald K. Davenport
Estimating the term…
In one embodiment of the invention, a speed changing device located between the drum and spindle drives of a cotton picker row unit provides a variable ratio spindle-to-drum speed so that ground and spindle speed can be optimized to match field conditions. An automatic transmission with one or more shift points provides a plurality of gear ratio combinations to optimize spindle speed while ideal harvester ground speed for the prevailing crop conditions is maintained. Shift point selection provides downshifting when the spindle speed begins to exceed the desired maximum RPM and upshifting when the speed drops below a minimum RPM. Alternatively, a compact idler gear arrangement located between the drum and spindle drives on the row unit is shiftable to change the ratio of spindle speed to drum speed without affecting drum speed to ground speed synchronization. In another embodiment of the invention, variable ratio between the drum and spindle drives is provided by introducing an independent spindle drive train. The drum speed is synchronized to the forward speed of the harvester in the conventional manner, and the spindle drive maintains optimum spindle rotational speed independently of the drum speed changes. A further embodiment utilizes a constant speed unit drive to maintain spindle speed within the optimum range, and a gear change in the drum drive gears provides drum synchronization.
A method of operating a cotton harvesting row unit in a field of cotton plants, the row unit having a rotatable picker drum with rotating spindles and picker drum and spindle drives, wherein the rotational speed of the spindles is proportional to the rotational speed of the picker drum, the spindles having an optimum rotational speed for maximum picking efficiency, the method including:
In a cotton harvester having a engine-driven ground drive for moving the harvester forwardly through a field of cotton plants, a picker row unit having an upright housing, an upright picker drum supported in the housing and including upright columns of spindles rotatable about spindle axes, a variable ratio drum-to-spindle drive comprising:
A method of operating a cotton harvesting row unit in a field of cotton plants, the row unit having a rotatable picker drum with rotating spindles, the spindles having a narrow range of optimum rotational speeds for maximum picking efficiency, the method including:
In a cotton harvester having an engine-driven ground drive for moving the harvester forwardly through a field of cotton plants, a picker row unit having an upright housing, an upright picker drum supported in the housing and including upright columns of spindles rotatable about spindle axes, the drum rotatable about an upright axis for moving the spindles into picking relationship with the cotton plants, a variable ratio drive comprising:
In a cotton harvester having an engine-driven ground drive for moving the harvester forwardly through a field of cotton plants, a picker row unit having an upright housing, an upright picker drum supported in the housing and including upright columns of spindles rotatable about spindle axes, the drum rotatable about an upright axis for moving the spindles into picking relationship with the cotton plants, a variable ratio drive comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.