Auxiliary axle for an agricultural harvester during road transport

1. An agricultural harvester, comprising:

a chassis;

a feeder housing pivotally mounted to said chassis;

an axle assembly pivotally mounted to said feeder housing, said axle assembly including at least one wheel;

a hydraulic actuator coupled with said axle assembly for pivotally moving said at least one wheel in upward and downward directions from said feeder housing;

a road mode switch providing a first output signal indicative of a field mode and a second output signal indicative of a road mode; and

a controller coupled with each of said road mode switch and said hydraulic actuator, said controller receiving said second output signal from said road mode switch and controlling said hydraulic actuator, whereby said hydraulic actuator provides a substantially constant down force between said at least one wheel and a ground surface.

2. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , further including a hydraulic accumulator fluidly coupled with said hydraulic actuator.

3. The agricultural harvester of claim 2 , wherein said controller is operative to effect said substantially constant down force utilizing a deployment sequence for the axle assembly including:

raising said feeder housing to a predetermined position;

controlling said hydraulic actuator to pivot said axle assembly downward toward the ground surface;

fluidly closing said actuator and said accumulator at a substantially same pressure therebetween; and

lowering said feeder housing until a predetermined fluid pressure is obtained within said accumulator.

4. The agricultural harvester of claim 3 , wherein said axle assembly does not contact the ground surface when pivoted downward by the hydraulic actuator during the deployment sequence.

5. The agricultural harvester of claim 4 , wherein said axle assembly contacts the ground surface when the feeder housing is lowered.

6. The agricultural harvester of claim 3 , wherein said predetermined position of the feeder housing is a fully raised position.

7. The agricultural harvester of claim 3 , wherein said controller is operative to determine if said axle assembly is present on board said harvester, and to only allow the road mode to occur if the deployment sequence is properly carried out.

8. The agricultural harvester of claim 3 , wherein the controller is operative to fluidly close said actuator and said accumulator by closing a valve between said accumulator and a fluid pressure source.

9. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein said axle assembly includes a frame and at least one pivot point at a forward end of said frame, and said at least one wheel is positioned at a rearward end of said frame, said at least one pivot point pivotally coupling said frame with said feeder housing.

10. The agricultural harvester of claim 9 , wherein said at least one pivot point pivotally couples said frame with a bottom of said feeder housing.

11. The agricultural harvester of claim 10 , further including at least one mounting bracket, each said mounting bracket interconnecting said frame with said bottom of said feeder housing at a corresponding said pivot point.

12. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein said road mode switch functions as an interlock for a number of mechanical functions on the agricultural harvester when actuated.

13. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein said agricultural harvester is a combine harvester.

14. A method of operating an agricultural harvester, the harvester having a chassis, a feeder housing pivotally mounted to the chassis, and an axle assembly mounted to the feeder housing and including a wheel, said method comprising the steps of:

selectively actuating a road mode switch corresponding to a field mode or a road mode, said road mode switch providing a first output signal indicative of a field mode and a second output signal indicative of a road mode; and

controlling a deployment of the axle assembly by pivoting the axle assembly from a field position to a transport position using a hydraulic actuator, when the road mode switch is actuated for the road mode, whereby said hydraulic actuator provides a substantially constant down force between the wheel and a ground surface.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said hydraulic actuator is fluidly coupled to a hydraulic accumulator, and wherein said controlled deployment of the axle assembly includes a deployment sequence of:

raising said feeder housing to a predetermined position;

controlling said hydraulic actuator to pivot said axle assembly downward toward the ground surface;

fluidly closing said hydraulic actuator and said hydraulic accumulator at a substantially same pressure therebetween; and

lowering said feeder housing until a predetermined fluid pressure is obtained within said hydraulic accumulator.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein said axle assembly does not contact the ground surface when pivoted downward by the hydraulic actuator during the deployment sequence.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein said axle assembly contacts the ground surface when the feeder housing is lowered.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein said predetermined position of the feeder housing is a fully raised position.

19. The method of claim 15 , including the step of only allowing the road mode to occur if the deployment sequence is properly carried out.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of fluidly closing said actuator and said accumulator is carried out by closing a valve between said accumulator and a fluid pressure source.

21. The method of claim 14 , wherein said road mode switch functions as an interlock for a number of mechanical functions on the agricultural harvester when actuated.