Patent ID: 7603218

Claim:
Apparatus for providing failsafe deceleration of a propulsion driveline of an agricultural windrower, comprising: a FNR lever assembly including a FNR lever having a neutral position and movable from the neutral position to at least in both a first direction and in a second direction opposite the first direction, and a sensor disposed and simultaneously operable for sensing positions of the FNR lever as the lever is moved between any position in the first and second directions and outputting signals representative thereof; a propulsion cylinder assembly including a propulsion cylinder movable for effecting operation of the propulsion driveline; a programmable control module in connection with the sensor of the FNR assembly for receiving the signals outputted thereby, the control module being connected in operative control of the propulsion cylinder and configured operable for outputting control signals thereto for causing movements thereof which track the signals representative of the positions of the FNR lever, the lever configured for movement through a range of positions from the neutral position in the first direction corresponding to a range of forward propulsion commands to the windrower, the control module being programmed and configured for comparing a rate of change of the signals outputted by the sensor configured for sensing positions of the FNR lever to a predetermined threshold value representative of a fault condition, and if the rate of change exceeds the threshold value so as to indicate the presence of a fault condition, then automatically outputting control signals to the propulsion cylinder to effect controlled movement thereof to a neutral position for causing controlled deceleration of the propulsion driveline.