Agricultural harvester rear axle arrangement for narrow transport

An agricultural harvester rear axle arrangement for an agricultural harvester (10) having a body (12), the arrangement comprising left and right rear wheels (18, 20);

• means for supporting the wheels for rotation about a generally vertical steering axis (38, 40, 78, 94) and for supporting the wheels for extension and retraction from the body of the combine (26, 28, 30, 90);
• actuator means for steering the wheels (38, 40, 70, 72, 94) and for extending and retracting the wheels (34, 36, 70, 72);
• an electronic controller (50) coupled to the actuator means to steer, extend and retract the wheels, further comprising an operator input device (56) coupled to the electronic controller (50) to indicate to the electronic controller (50) a first mode of operation requiring substantially simultaneous steering, extension and retraction, and at least one other mode of operation in which steering is not substantially simultaneous with extension and retraction.

An agricultural harvester rear axle arrangement for an agricultural harvester (10) having a body (12), the arrangement comprising left and right rear wheels (18, 20);

• means for supporting the wheels for rotation about a generally vertical steering axis (38, 40, 78, 94) and for supporting the wheels for extension and retraction from the body of the combine (26, 28, 30, 90);
• actuator means for steering the wheels (38, 40, 70, 72, 94) and for extending and retracting the wheels (34, 36, 70, 72);
• an electronic controller (50) coupled to the actuator means to steer, extend and retract the wheels, and further comprising a plurality of sensors (64, 64′, 66, 82, 84, 86, 88, 98, 100) coupled to the electronic controller, said sensors being sufficient to determine the degree of steering, extension, and retraction of both wheels, in which the plurality of sensors comprises at least one sensor providing a signal indicative of rear wheel extension (64, 64′, 82, 100, 102, 86 and 84) and at least one sensor providing a signal indicative of a rear wheel rotation (66, 88, 86 and 82, 86 and 84, 82 and 84, 98, 100, 98 and 100).

An agricultural harvester rear axle arrangement for an agricultural harvester (10) having a body (12), the arrangement comprising left and right rear wheels (18, 20);

• means for supporting the wheels for rotation about a generally vertical steering axis (38, 40, 78, 94) and for supporting the wheels for extension and retraction from the body of the combine (26, 28, 30, 90);
• actuator means for steering the wheels (38, 40, 70, 72, 94) and for extending and retracting the wheels (34, 36, 70, 72);
• an electronic controller (50) coupled to the actuator means to steer, extend and retract the wheels, and further comprising a plurality of sensors (64, 64′, 66, 82, 84, 86, 88, 98, 100) coupled to the electronic controller, said sensors being sufficient to determine the degree of steering, extension, and retraction of both wheels, in which the plurality of sensors comprises at least two sensors providing signals indicative of rear wheel rotation (66, 88, 86 and 82, 86 and 84, 82 and 84, 98, 100, 98 and 100).

A method for operating an agricultural harvester rear axle having two steerable rear wheels (18, 20), the method comprising the steps of electronically monitoring an operator input device (54) that provides a signal indicative of a desired steering angle in a first mode of operation;

• calculating a desired degree of extension for the desired steering angle based at least upon the signal;
• and substantially simultaneously steering the rear wheels (18, 20) to the desired angle and extending the wheels (18, 20) to the desired degree of extension.