Drive system for a combine with a rotary threshing system

Abstract

An infinitely variable drive system is provided for a rotor assembly of a rotating threshing system of a harvesting machine, such as a combine, having other work system requiring a substantially constant speed. The drive system includes an engine having constant horsepower over a predetermined speed range, a multi-speed transmission and an infinitely variable transmission connected in parallel to the variable speed engine. The rotor being driven by the multi-speed transmission and the other work systems being driven by the infinitely variable transmission. The change in speed of the rotor assembly is controlled by the variable speed engine and the constant speed to the other work systems is controlled by the infinitely variable transmission. The infinitely variable transmission operates in response to a change in speed of the variable speed engine to add or subtract speed thereto to maintain a substantially constant output speed therefrom.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.