Title of Invention

BI-DIRECTIONAL POWER TAKE-OFF DRIVE FOR OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE(S)

Abstract

A bi-directional power take-off drive for off-highway vehicle[s] having clutch housmg (2), rear transmission case (3) with transmission mechanism for transmitting power from engine to rear wheels, rear PTO drive (23) and alike, in which bi-directional rotation with neutral position of the said PTO drive is' achieved by means of PTO mechanism (8) comprising of, a hollow PTO input shaft (7) from engine journalized in said clutch housing and having integral gear tooth (12) cut on it; said hollow PTO input shaft (7) drives gear (17) of reverse gear train, which is located at a side, and at the same time drives forward PTO gear (13) located bottom side of the said hollow PTO input shaft, on PTO output shaft (16) rotating freely on the same; said gear (17) located on reverse idler shaft (19) drives gear (18) of the said reverse gear train which is located on opposite side and running at same speed that of the said gear (17); said gear (18) drives reverse PTO gear (14) located at bottom side of said hollow PTO input shaft, on said PTO output shaft rotating freely on the same; said PTO output shaft extends towards the rear of the said rear transmission case at appropriate position; a means of coupling (15) is provided on said PTO output shaft either to engage said forward (13) / said reverse (14) PTO gear or disengage the said PTO drive; a means of mechanical linkages are provided to operate said coupling in three different positions ( 28, 29, 30) for achieving normal / reverse or neutral position of said PTO drive; a means of mechanical linkages are connected to PTO shift lever (24) located near by operator's seat (25).

Full Text

FORM2 [ Refer Section 10, Rule 13] COMPLETE SPECIFICATION TITLE OF INVENTION: Bi-directional power take-off drive for off- highway vehicle[s] APPLICANTS M/S MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LTD. GATEWAY BUILDING, APOLLO BUNDER, FORT, MUMBAI 400001. MAHARASHTRA. INDIA. A company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 NATIONALITY. INDIA The foUowmg specification describes the nature of the invention and the manner m which it is to be performed:- GRANTED ORIGINAL 18-2-2005 Field Of Invention: The present invention pertains to bi-directional rotation of Power Take-Off drive on off-highway vehicles(s) like tractor(s) and / or similar vehicle(s). The operation of this bi-directional PTO drive with a neutral position is by operating a single lever provided near by operator's seat. Background Of the Invention : Rear Power Take-Off drive is provided on off-highway vehicle(s) like tractor(s) and / or similar vehicle(s) ( Herein after mentioned as vehicle(s) ) for the purpose of supplying power to Power Take-Off (Herein after mentioned as PTO) driven implement(s) or attachment(s) like Rotary cultivator. Rear mounted Mower, Water pump. Sprayer, Straw reaper and Harvesting mechanism of Combine Harvester. During regular operation like. Cultivation, Spraying, Mowing and alike the PTO functions normally and rotates only in one direction. However during certain operations like Harvesting, Straw reaping the implement(s) gets choked up and / or clogged due to the nature of the crop being harvested. This condition will cause the vehicle(s) to come to a stop. The clogged / choked up implement(s) has to be cleared thoroughly before putting the machine(s) back to work. This requires the operator to get down from the vehicle(s) to clear the implement(s) or attachment(s) of the choked and / or clogged material. This results in loss of field productivity and causes operator fatigue. This may also cause damage to the internal hardware if the problem is not identified or attended to immediately. Some vehicle(s) manufacturers have provided a feature known as ground PTO in their machine(s). Ground PTO is a feature whereby shifting to the ground PTO speed option, the speed of PTO is synchronized with the vehicle(s) speed. or This feature will help the operator to clear the clogged / choked implement(s) attachment(s) of the choked up material by engaging the ground PTO and moving the vehicles in reverse direction. When the vehicle(s) moves in reverse direction the PTO drive also rotates in the reverse direction causing the implement(s) or attachment(s) to operate in the reverse direction, thereby clearing and / or loosening the clogged material. This ground PTO mechanism also results in loss of field productivity and power since the vehicle is moved in reverse direction to clear the clogging and also may require the operator to get down and do the manual clearing. Japanese Patent JP 8014336 granted to ISEKI and CO LTD on Jan 16 1996, has addressed the requirement of reverse PTO drive for operating PTO driven implement(s) or attachment(s) without using ground PTO. The inventor has made provision in the PTO system and the traveling system in the transmission wherein an improved PTO system is provided between the clutch and speed section of the transmission. This section is provided with a rotation switching mechanism, which is placed, between the opposite position of the double gears of the traveling system. By operation of this mechanism. Bi¬directional rotation of the PTO shaft is achieved when the output of the drive shaft is coupled to the PTO shaft. Thus the arrangement provided as per this Invention to achieve bi-directional rotation is similar to the mechanism being used for forward / reverse shuttle. This System does not completely satisfy the requirements of a reversible type independent PTO drive and also results in reduced field productivity and loss of time. From the operators perspective the current available bi-directional rotation PTO system(s) on off-highway vebicle(s) like tractor(s) or similar vehicle(s) does not completely satisfy the requirements since the operator is required to stop the machine(s) frequently to attend to the problem. This calls for design of a PTO system wherein independent (constant running) PTO drive is achieved by means of operating a single PTO shift lever and eliminates the requirement of the operator to stop the machine(s) and rectify the problem as mentioned above in the previous paragraphs. Summary of the Invention: The prime objective of this invention is to reduce operator fatigue, improve field productivity and reduce machine(s) downtime. It is the objective of the present invention to provide a means to achieve bi¬directional rotation of the PTO drive with neutral position by operating means of a single control lever. By simply selecting the front/rear position of the PTO shift lever, located near the operator's seat normal or reverse rotation of the PTO drive is achieved. Brief description of the Drawings: Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of PTO drive for achieving bi-directional rotation with neutral position for off-highway vehicle[s]. Figure 2 shows the portion of PTO mechanism to achieve normal/reverse or neutral position of PTO drive as and when required. Figure 3 shows the means of mechanical Imkages for operatmg proposed PTO mechanism of PTO drive as and when required. Detailed descriptions of preferred embodiments: Refer Figure-1 for the arrangement of PTO system mechanism A PTO mechanism (8) is arranged m the clutch housing (2) of an off-highway vehicle(s) like tractor(s) or similar vehicle(s) to provide bi-directional rotation with neutral position of PTO drive(23). A PTO mechanism comprising of a hollow PTO input shaft (7) takes drive from the Engine (1) through clutch assembly (5) mounted on the engine Flywheel (4). Further a drive through the direct gear train and reverse gear train provides bi-directional rotation (normal or reverse) and neutral position of PTO output shaft (16). The PTO output shaft (16) of a PTO mechanism (8) protrudes out of the rear transmission case (3) for providing drive to the PTO driven implement(s) or attachment(s) by means of shaft(s) (20) and coupling(s) (21) in between. The required PTO direction of rotation is achieved by shifting the coupling (15) either towards forward (13) or reverse (14) PTO gear located on PTO output shaft (16). The shifting of the coupling (15) is done by means of mechanical linkages connected to the PTO shift lever (24), located near by operator's seat (25), thus obtaining normal or reverse rotation of a PTO drive (23). Refer Figure 1, 2 and 3 for detail explanation of the actual working of PTO mechanism. The diagram shows the gear chamber in the clutch housing (2). The power from Engine (1) through the PTO clutch disc (11) is given to the hollow PTO input shafts (7) of the PTO mechanism (8). The said shaft (7) is supported on the bearings and has integral gear tooth (12) cut on it. The said shaft (7) drives the forward PTO gear (13) located on the PTO output shaft (16), rotating freely on PTO output shaft (16). Output of the forward PTO gear drive (13) is then transferred to the PTO output shaft (16) through the engagement Hub and coupling (15) arrangement provided on the PTO output shaft (16), thus providing the normal PTO drive (23) for PTO driven implement(s). Similarly the hollow PTO input shaft (7) also drives the gear (17) mounted on the reverse idler shaft (19) of reverse gear train. This reverse idler shaft (19) is supported on the clutch housing (2) and is free rotating. This reverse idler shaft (19) supports both the gears (17) and (18), which are placed opposite to each other and running at the same speed. The gear (18) which is splined on the reverse idler shaft (19) transmits the drive from reverse idler shaft (19) to the reverse PTO gear (14) located on the PTO output shaft (16), rotating freely on PTO output shaft (16). Output of the reverse PTO gear drive (14) is then transferred to the PTO output shaft (16) through the engagement Hub and coupling (15) arrangement provided on the PTO output shaft (16), thus providing reverse rotation via reverse gear train to the PTO drive (23) for PTO driven implement(s). The shifting of the coupling (15) is achieved through the means of selector fork (26) and shaft (27) assembly in the gear chamber. This selector fork (26) is actuated by means of mechanical linkage(s) connected to the PTO shift lever (24) located near by operator's seat (25). The operator engages the PTO shift lever (24) towards the front (29) from center (neutral) (30) position in order to get normal rotation of PTO drive (23) for normal PTO operation in connection with PTO driven implement(s). However during clogging and / or choking as mentioned in background of the invention, the operator disengages the PTO clutch disc (11) and engages the PTO shift lever (24) towards the rear (28) from center (neutral) (30) position in order to get reverse rotation of the PTO drive (23). When PTO drive is not required the operator simply keeps the PTO shift lever (24) at center (neutral) (30) position, thereby restricting the power flow towards PTO drive (23). Hence bi-directional rotation of independent PTO drive is achieved during operation of the vehicle(s) with PTO driven implement(s) or attachment(s). We claim: 1 A bi-directional power take-off drive for off-highway vehicle[s] having clutch housmg (2), rear transmission case (3) with transmission mechanism for transmitting power from engine to rear wheels, rear PTO drive (23) and alike, in which bi-directional rotation with neutral position of the said PTO drive is' achieved by means of PTO mechanism (8) comprising of, a hollow PTO input shaft (7) from engine journalized in said clutch housing and having integral gear tooth (12) cut on it; said hollow PTO input shaft (7) drives gear (17) of reverse gear train, which is located at a side, and at the same time drives forward PTO gear (13) located bottom side of the said hollow PTO input shaft, on PTO output shaft (16) rotating freely on the same; said gear (17) located on reverse idler shaft (19) drives gear (18) of the said reverse gear train which is located on opposite side and running at same speed that of the said gear (17); said gear (18) drives reverse PTO gear (14) located at bottom side of said hollow PTO input shaft, on said PTO output shaft rotating freely on the same; said PTO output shaft extends towards the rear of the said rear transmission case at appropriate position; a means of coupling (15) is provided on said PTO output shaft either to engage said forward (13) / said reverse (14) PTO gear or disengage the said PTO drive; a means of mechanical linkages are provided to operate said coupling in three different positions ( 28, 29, 30) for achieving normal / reverse or neutral position of said PTO drive; a means of mechanical linkages are connected to PTO shift lever (24) located near by operator's seat (25). 2. A bi-directional power take-off drive for off-highway vehicle[s] as claimed in claim 1 wherein the PTO drive is achieved by engaging said coupling with said forward PTO gear which is rotating freely on said PTO output shaft of said PTO drive mechanism, therefore power from said engine is transferred to said PTO output shaft in normal direction while flowing from said hollow PTO input shaft through said forward PTO gear and said coupling to said PTO output shaft. 3. A bi-directional power take-off drive for off-highway vehicle[s] as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reverse PTO drive is achieved by engaging said coupling with said reverse PTO gear which is rotating freely on said PTO output shaft of said PTO drive mechanism, therefore power from said engine is transferred to said PTO output shaft in reverse direction while flowing from said hollow PTO input shaft through said gears [17] and [18] on said reverse idler shaft, said reverse PTO gear driven by said gear [18] and said coupling to said PTO output shaft. 4. A bi-directional power take-off drive for off-highway vehicle[s] as claimed in claim 1 wherein the neutral position of said PTO drive is achieved without moving said coupling either towards said forward PTO gear or said reverse PTO gear. 5. A bi-directional power take-off drive for off-highway vehicle[s] as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means of PTO shift lever provided near by said operator's seat is linked to said coupling by means of said mechanical linkages, therefore by operating said PTO shift lever at said positions, the bi-directional rotation with neutral position of said PTO drive on said off-highway vehicle [s] is achieved. Dated this 26th day of May 2004 MAHINDRA & MAHINDR A By their Advocates -IP SHYAM SUNDER IYER Advocate & Patent Agent TAS&CO. To, The Controller of Patents, The Patent Office at Mumbai.

Documents:

596-mum-2004-cancelled page(18-02-2005).pdf

596-mum-2004-claim(granted)-(18-02-2005).pdf

596-mum-2004-cliams(granted)-(18-02-2005).doc

596-mum-2004-correspondence(18-02-2005).pdf

596-mum-2004-correspondence(ipo)-(18-10-2004).pdf

596-mum-2004-drawing(26-05-2004).pdf

596-mum-2004-form 1(26-05-2004).pdf

596-mum-2004-form 19(26-05-2004).pdf

596-mum-2004-form 2(granted)-(18-02-2005).doc

596-mum-2004-form 2(granted)-(18-02-2005).pdf

596-mum-2004-form 26(26-05-2004).pdf

596-mum-2004-form 3(26-05-2004).pdf

596-mum-2004-form 5(26-05-2004).pdf

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