Agricultural harvester axle
AssigneeCNH Industrial America LLC
InventorMarcel Daffue
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An agricultural harvester includes a chassis, an axle assembly carrying the chassis, a plurality of hub assemblies including a first hub assembly and a second hub assembly, the hub assemblies coupled to a corresponding end of the axle assembly, and a plurality of ground engaging devices each being coupled to a corresponding hub assemblies. The ground engaging devices support the axle assembly and the chassis. The axle assembly includes an extendable/retractable axle for altering a distance between the ground engaging devices that are coupled to the hub assemblies, and a connecting rod extending/retracting from a central portion of the axle assembly, the connecting rod also coupled to a portion of the first hub assembly. The connecting rod is generally vertically displaced from the extendable/retractable axle.
Claims15
An agricultural harvester, comprising:
- a chassis;
- an axle assembly carrying the chassis;
- a plurality of hub assemblies comprising a first hub assembly and a second hub assembly, the hub assemblies each being coupled to an opposite corresponding end of the axle assembly;
- and
- a plurality of ground engaging devices each being coupled to a corresponding one of the hub assemblies, the ground engaging devices supporting the axle assembly and the chassis;
- wherein the axle assembly comprises:
- an extendable and retractable axle configured for altering a distance between the ground engaging devices that are coupled to the hub assemblies;
- and
- a connecting rod configured to extend and retract from a central portion of the axle assembly, the connecting rod being also coupled to a portion of the first hub assembly, the connecting rod being generally vertically displaced from the axle;
- a plurality of actuators configured to coordinate the extension and retraction of the extendable and retractable axle and connecting rod altering the lateral distance between the ground engaging devices;
- wherein the extendable and retractable axle is pivotal about a first pivot with respect to the chassis and the connecting rod is pivotal about a second pivot with respect to the chassis.
An axle assembly for use on an agricultural harvester having a chassis, the axle assembly being coupled to the chassis, the axle assembly comprising:
- a plurality of hub assemblies including a first hub assembly and a second hub assembly;
- an extendable and retractable axle having the first hub assembly coupled thereto, the axle connected to a first actuator configured to control an extension length of the axle to alter a distance between the hub assemblies;
- and
- a connecting rod connected to a second actuator configured to extend and retract the connecting rod from a central portion of the axle assembly controlling an extension length of the connecting rod, the connecting rod being also coupled to a portion of the first hub assembly, the connecting rod being generally vertically displaced from the axle
- the first and second actuators configured to coordinate the extension and retraction of the axle and the connecting rod to keep the first hub assembly in a preferred orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.