MOWER- CONDITIONER HEADER SPEED CONTROL BASED ON FORWARD TRAVEL SPEED

• US 20140144116A1
• Filed: 11/27/2012
• Published: 05/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Kraus, Timothy J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,179,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 56/10.2H
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 34/006 Control or measuring arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/127 Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/1274 for drives
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/14 Mowing tables
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 43/00 Mowers combined with apparatus performing additional operations while mowing A01D37/00, A01D39/00, A01D41/00, take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 43/085 Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 61/00 Elevators or conveyors for binders or combines
• CPC Class Codes: A01F 29/14 Drives

Abstract

A self-propelled mower-conditioner includes a rotary cutter bar that feeds cut crop to a driven crop conveying arrangement which delivers the crop to a windrow forming arrangement. The speed at which the crop conveying arrangement delivers crop to the windrow forming arrangement is controlled so as to be a predetermined ratio of the ground speed.

Claims

1. In a mower conditioner having a frame supported for traveling over a field of crop at a variable ground speed, a header supporting a driven crop cutting arrangement across a forward region of the header, a windrow forming arrangement located at a rear region of the header and a driven crop conveying arrangement located for receiving cut crop from the cutting arrangement and delivering the cut crop to the windrow forming arrangement, a crop conveying arrangement speed control, comprising:

a ground speed sensor providing an electrical ground speed signal indicative of the forward ground speed of the mower conditioner;

an electronic controller coupled for receiving the ground speed signal and being coupled for sending a control signal to the controllable drive device of the conveying arrangement; and

said electronic controller being responsive to a decrease in ground speed for sending a control signal to the drive device of the conveying arrangement for decreasing the speed of the drive device of the conveying arrangement by an amount proportional to a sensed decrease in ground speed.

2. The mower conditioner, as defined in claim 1, wherein a preset minimum crop conveying speed is programmed into the electronic controller;

and

said controller being responsive for preventing the conveying speed from being reduced below about two mph.

3. A method for preventing a bunching of crop in a formed windrow when reducing the ground speed of a self-propelled windrower equipped with a cutting arrangement for delivering cut crop to a crop conveying arrangement for delivering the cut crop rearward to a windrow forming arrangement, comprising the steps of:

a) pre-selecting a desired ground speed range for operation of the mower-conditioner;

b) sensing the ground speed of the mower-conditioner;

c) sensing the speed at which the crop conveying arrangement is moving crop toward the windrow forming arrangement; and

d) in response to the ground speed decreasing below the desired ground speed range, reducing the speed at which the crop conditioning and conveying arrangement are driven by an amount related to the decrease in the ground speed.

4. The method for preventing bunching of crop, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the speed at which the crop conditioning and conveying arrangement is driven is a pre-selected fixed ratio of the ground speed.

5. The method for preventing bunching of crop, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the speed at which the crop conditioning and conveying arrangement is driven is never decreased below a pre-established minimum speed value at which the crop conditioning and conveying arrangement must be driven to prevent plugging.

6. The method for preventing bunching of crop, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the pre-selected minimum speed is approximately two mph.