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US 6,945,019 B1Granted
Harvester steering probe assembly
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsTom Foster Sonnek, Mark Samuel Philips, Daniel John Johannsen, Scott Francis Stueck
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsTom Foster Sonnek, Mark Samuel Philips, Daniel John Johannsen, Scott Francis Stueck
Estimating the term…
A compact three-bar linkage steering probe assembly, particularly useful with ultra-narrow row cotton harvester units, includes two vertical rocker arms pivotally connected to a harvester row unit at mid-point locations and upper ends connected by a cross link to generally constrain the arms for rocking in unison. Crop guides connected to the lower ends of the rocker arms follow the bases of the plant stalks as the row of plants enter the unit. The vertical arms are maintained within spacer tubes which prevent interference with adjacent rows of plants and which assure the arms are not disturbed by the adjacent rows. A sensor responsive to rotation of the rocker arms is located at the central pivotal connection. Arm leaf springs or a spring biased adjustable upper cross link provides probe flexibility for accommodating different plant stalk sizes.
In a harvester unit with a unit frame for receiving at least one fore-and-aft extending row of plants to be harvested, a row finder probe comprising first and second upright arms with upper ends, lower ends and central portions between the ends, connecting structure pivotally connecting the central portions arms to the unit frame, link structure connected between the upper ends and generally constraining the arms for pivoting in unison, plant receiving structure connected to the lower ends and receiving plants therebetween, the arms pivotable about fore-and-aft extending axes as the position of the harvester unit moves laterally relative to the row of plants, and a transducer responsive to the pivoting of the arms for providing a position signal indicative of the relative position of the unit and the row.
In a harvester unit with a unit frame for receiving at least one fore-and-aft extending row of plants to be harvested, a row finder probe comprising first and second upright arms with upper ends, lower ends and central portions between the ends connecting the central portions for pivoting relative to the unit frame, plant receiving structure connected to the lower ends and receiving plants therebetween, the arms pivotable about fore-and-aft extending axes as the position of the harvester unit moves laterally relative to the row of plants, a transducer responsive to the pivoting of the arms for providing a position signal indicative of the relative position of the unit and the row, and upright probe frame structure connected to the unit frame and generally containing the arms to thereby protect the arms from passing rows of plants.
A row finder probe assembly comprising transversely spaced first and second upright arms having upper ends connected by a link member, spaced lower ends defining a row receiving area for receiving a fore-and-aft extending row of plants, and central portions between the upper and lower ends, a probe frame, pivot structure connecting the central portions to the frame structure, the arms pivotable generally in unison about fore-and-aft extending axes as the position of the frame moves laterally relative to the row of plants, a transducer responsive to the pivoting of the arms for providing a position signal indicative of the relative position of the frame and the row of plants, wherein the probe frame generally contains the arms to thereby protect the arms from the row of plants.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.