Title: Sensor arrangement for harvester of stalk-type row crop

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Claims: I claim:

1. In a row stalk crop harvester having a chassis displaceable along the ground in a transport direction determined by a steering mechanism itself operated by an automatic controller, the improvement comprising:

a pair of sensor arms pivotal on said chassis about pivot axes fixed thereon and spaced apart thereon transverse to said direction;

means for pivotally biasing each of said arms into a normal position extending toward the axis of the other arm, whereby forward displacement of said chassis in said direction with a row between said axes deflects said arms backwardly by engagement of said crop with said arms;

generator means connected to each of said arms and having an impedance varying with the extent of deflection of the respective arm backwardly by said crop from said normal position, the impedance of one of said generator means increasing on such backward deflection of the respective arm and the impedance of the other arm decreasing on backward deflection of the respective arm; and

means for connecting said generator means in series and to said controller for feeding to same an input indicating lateral position of said row relative to said chassis.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said axes lie generally in a plane perpendicular to said direction.

3. The improvement defined in claim 2 wherein said generators are potentiometers.

4. The improvement defined in claim 3 wherein said arms are each formed of glass-fiber reinforced synthetic-resin material.

5. The improvement defined in claim 4 wherein said means for biasing includes a pair of springs each engaged between said chassis and a respective one of said arms.

6. The improvement defined in claim 4 wherein said axes are to either side of said row and said arms are both engageable with a common stalk in said row.

Other info:

Inventors: Gail, Josef (Aichach-Unterwittelsbach, DT)

Application Number: 596918
Filing Date: 1975-07-17
Publication_date: 1976-08-03
Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Fahr Aktiengesellschaft (Gottmadingen, DT)
Primary Class(es): 180/401 56/10.2F, 172/6
Other Classes:
US Patent Ref:

2981355	Apr, 1961	Rabuse	180/79.
3038544	Jun, 1962	Richey	172/5.
3208535	Sep, 1965	Fischer	180/79.
3857455	Dec, 1974	Ernst	180/79.
3908345	Sep, 1975	Oni	56/208.

Other Refs:
Primary Examiner: Song, Robert R.
Assistant Examiner: Schrecengost, R.
Attorney: Ross; Karl F., Dubno; Herbert