AGRICULTURAL MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

An agricultural motor vehicle has at least two drive units which can be operated in a drive train, each of which is capable of outputting the same amount or different amounts of power, each of said drive units includes a unit for recording operating hours; the at least two drive units have a nearly balanced operating-hour ratio within a certain time period. In this manner it is ensured that either working unit does not experience more wear than the other within the time period; this ensures that service work is performed on the two drive units at nearly the same time, during the same service appointment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a self-propelled forage harvester with a front attachment and two drive units, in a side view and a sectional view, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the rear region of a self-propelled forage harvester, in a schematized top view, in accordance with the present invention.

Claims

1. An agricultural motor vehicle, comprising at least two drive units configured so that they are operatable separately or together in a drive train and outputting a same amount or different amounts of power, each of said drive units including means for recording operating hours, said at least two drive units being configured so that they have a substantially balanced operating-hour ratio within a certain time period.

2. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein said means is configured to include a comparison of the operating hours of the at least two drive units, and a determination of the operating hours takes into account an operating period and drive-specific state information about a particular one of the drive units.

3. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein said means is configured so that before a particular one of said drive units is started up, the operating-hour ratio of the at least two drive units is determined by comparing the operating hours of the particular working unit and, to attain a substantially balanced operating-hour ratio, based on the comparison and with consideration for a power required by the motor vehicle, and additional power is initially provided by the drive unit with fewer numbers of operating hours.

4. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein when more power is required by the agricultural motor vehicle, both drive units are engagable and, when less power is required or when it can be supplied by one drive unit, a one drive unit or the at least two drive units which has fewer operating hours provides the power.

5. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 2, wherein said means is configured so that the drive-specific state information is an information selected from the group consisting of an engine speed, a fill level of an engine oil, a fuel consumption, and a engine temperature.

6. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least two drive units are configured as diesel engines having same or different power classes.

7. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least two drive units form a “V” shape with each other and include a synchronizing drive.

8. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least two drive units are positioned such that they are offset axially and in parallel.

9. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1; and further comprising means for controlling a balancing of the operating-hour ratio of said drive units and selected from the group consisting of a display unit for controlling manually by an operator of the motor vehicle and an electronic control unit for controlling automatically using sensors.

10. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 1; and further comprising means for providing a time period corresponding to a service interval specified by a manufacturer of said drive units.

11. An agricultural motor vehicle, comprising at least two drive units operatable separately or together in a drive train and each capable of outputting a same amount or different amounts of power, each of said drive units including means for recording operating hours; a user interface and display unit; and a control device, said control device being connected via a data transmission system with drive-state sensors and/or control devices which contain drive-state data, and said user interface and display unit displaying the operating hours of a particular one of said drive units and/or the operating-hour ratio of said at least two drive units.

12. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 11, wherein the agricultural motor vehicle is configured as a forage harvester having working units, one of said drive units being configured for operating said working units, while the other of said drive units being configured to form a ground drive of the motor vehicle.

13. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 12, wherein said working units include a chopper drum, a post-fragmentation device, a post-accelerating device, and an intake conveyor mechanisms.

14. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 11; further comprising a same fuel supply, said at least two drive units being configured to share said same fuel supply.

15. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 14, wherein said fuel supply includes at least an engine oil circuit, and whereby one oil filler neck and one oil drainage device are assigned to said at least two drive units.

16. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 11; further comprising a starting device assigned to one of said at least two drive units, while the other of said drive units is configured so as to be started by said one drive unit which was started by said starting device.

17. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 11, wherein said at least two drive units are configured such that assemblies which are service-intensive and are adapted directly to at least one of said drive units are located on the drive unit that can be accessed directly.

18. An agricultural motor vehicle as defined in claim 12, wherein one of said drive units drives said working units and/or said ground drive, while the other of said at least two drive units supports a braking function of the motor vehicle.