Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
S~3
AXIAL FLOW COMBINE WITH VERTICALLY
OFFSET ACCELERATOP~ ROLLS
RELATED APPI.ICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in~part of
copendinc~ U.S. patent application ',erial No. 283,975
filed July 15, 1981 entitled "Feeder Icller Drum Shaft
with Removable Extensions~ now patent number 4,369,617
issued January 25, 1983.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field
This invention relates to an agricultural
harvester and, more particularly, to an axial flow
combine utilizing accelerator rolls.
Prior Art
Combines are currently being marketed
utilizing an axial flow threshing and separating
cylinder or rotor in which threshed material is
accelerated downwardly toward the cleaning section of
the combine by a pair of accelerator rolls and in which
a rearwardly directed air stream intersects the
downwardly accelerated threshed material blowing chaff
and small stalk particles rearwardly from the combine.
Such a prior art combine is illustrated in U.S. patent
4,007,744 to J. Lyle Shaver issued February 15, 1977
and entitled "Grain Accelerator Precleaner~. In the
beforementioned prior art combine, a pair of side-by-side
accelerator rolls are disposed on parallel horizontal
axes lying in a common horizontal plane.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is advantageously used
in an axial flow combine having a threshing section
which includes a rotor disposed on a generally
horiæontal axis, a concave on the underside of the
rotor and a cleaning section having a grain pan below
the concave. A pair of front and rear accelerator rolls
; ~ are disposed above the grain pan and in underlying
relation to the concave. The accelerator rolls are
disposed on a pair of generally horizontal and
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parallel axes for receiving therebetween the threshed
material Erom the concave. The axis of the front
accelerator roll is vertically offset above the axis of
the rear accelerator roll, causing threshed material to
be accelerated in a downwardly and forwardly direction
en route to the grain pan. Power means are pLovided
for driving the accelerator rolls in opposite
directions so that the threshed material passes
therebetween and air delivery means are provided which
10 direct a predetermined horizontal rearward flo~ of air
through and t~ansverse to the accelerated threshed
material passing from the accelerator rolls so as to
blow chaff and chaff particles rearwardly from the
kernels of grain passing downwardly to the grain pan.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide a combine in which the cleaning section is
moved forwardly so as to decrease the overall length of
the combine and to decrease the distance crop rnaterial
(other than grain) must travel from the threshing
20 section to a downwardly directed opening at the rear of
the combine.
It is a further object of the present
invention to reduce the overali leng~h of the combine
and thereby permit economics in reduced materials and
25 weight as well as reducin~ the discharge distance of
the crop content being disoharged from the threshing
section of the co~bine thereby obviating the need for
an additional discharge impeller or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
__
One embodiment of the invention is shown in
the drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a left-hand side view of a combine;
Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section
through the combine along the line II-~I in Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a partial view of a distribution
auger showing addition of removable flight sections;
Fig. 4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV
in Fig. 3;
713
3 --
Fig. 5 is a view taken alony the line V-V in
Fig. 2;
Fig~ 6 is a view taken along ~he line VI-VI
in Fig. 2; and
Fig. 7 is a view taken along the line VII-VII
in Fig. 2~
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
_. __ _ __ _ __
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, an agricultural
harvester in the foLm of a combine 11 is po~ered by an
10 internal combustion engine 12 mounted on a main frame
16 and connected by a drive train (not shown) to a pair
of front drive wheels 13, 14. The main frame 16 of the
combine supports an operator's cab 15 and a grain bin
20 and the rear end of the frame 16 is supported by a
15 pair of steerable wheels 18, 19. A header assembly 21
at the front of the combine has its rear end pivotally
connected on a transverse horizontal axis 22 to the
main frame 16 and includes a header 23 and a conveyor
housing 24 in which a conveyor 26 is disposed. Crop
20 material cut by the header mechanism 23 is moved
laterally inward by a transverse auger 27 to a central
position where it is conveyed rearwardly by the
conveyor 26 to the front end of a second conveyor 31
which in turn conveys the material rearwardly to a
25 processor or threshing section 33 of the combine 11.
The crop material conveyed rearwardly by the conveyor
31 enters a radial crop receiving opening in a
cylindrical, fora~inous cage 34 where it is threshed by
a rotor 36 supported on left and right sidewalls 77, 78
30 which rotates counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 1 and
which is coaxial to tne cage 34. Threshed material
passing through the radial openings 58 oE the
foraminous cage and openings in an underlying concave
61 falls downwardly to a distribution auger 37 which
35 moves the material laterally to a transverse downwardly
open discharge slot above a pair oE equal diameter
accelerator rolls 41, 42. The accelerator rolls 41,
42, which have overlapping lugs which mesh without
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touching, accelerate the threshed material dow~wardly
across an air stream delivered rearwardly from an air
outlet 43 by a transverse fan 44. The air discharged
fro~ the outlet 43 blows the chaff ancl small stalk
particles rearwardly where they are di.scharged through
an opening 46 at the rear of the cleaning section 47.
The cleaning section 47 includes a shaker assembly 48
having a grain pan 49 at its front encl and screens 50
at the rear of the grain pan. Straw and coarse
10 material which does not pass through the concave or the
radial openings 58 in the cage 34 is thrown rearwardly
into a chute 55 from the threshing section 33 by way of
a radial outle~ or opening in the cage 34 by a paddle
assembly 51 on the left-hand end of the rotor shaft 52.
15 The ~aterial thrown rearwardly by ~he paddle assembly
51 through the cage outlet passes through the discharge
chute 55 and discharges through a downwardly open
discharge opening 55.
, Referring also to Figs. 3 through 7, the crop
20 mater.ial delivered by the upper conveyor 31 to the
foraminous cage 34 is impacted by the rasp bars 57 of
the rotor 36 thereby causing grain to be separated from
the crop material which then passes through openings in
the concave 61 and through ~he radial openings 58 of
25 the cage 34. As seen in Fig. 5, the threshed material
passin~ radially from the cage 34 falls downwardly to a
sloping wall portion 62 of the processor housing 63 in
which the cage 36 is positioned. It will be noted that
the rotor 36 and cage 34 of the processor 33 are
30 positioned at an elevation position on the combine in
order to provide a generous amount of fore and aft
distance between the front wall 66 of the housing 63
and the cage 34 and between the rear wall 66 of the
housing 63 and the cage 34. The elevated position also
35 permits the downwardly converging portions 67, S8 and 62
of the front and rear walls 64, 66 to be pitched at a
,, relatively steep angle. For instance, walls 67 and 62
are each pitched at a 45 angle to the horizon and wall
~5~3
-- 5 --
68 is p.itched at 51 to the horizonO The ample spacing
between the cylindrical cage 34 and the walls 64 and 66
and the steep pitch of the sidewalls 62, 67, 68 insure
gravity movement of the threshed material exiting
radially from the processor 33 to the single hori-
zontal, transverse distribution auger 37 or to the
vertical opening or slot 69 above the accelerator rolls
41, 42. The elevated height of the processor 33 also
contributes to ~he desirable steep downward incline of
10 the bottom wall 111 of the discharge chute 55. The
upward offsetting of the accelerator roll 41 relative
to the rear accelerator roll 42 permits the shaker
assembly 48 to be moved forwardly thus permitting the
combine to be shortened and also per~itting the
15 discharge chu~e 55 to be shortened. The shortening of
the discharge chute 55 contributes to the steep incline
of the bottom wall 111. The wall 111 is sufficiently
steep to cause crop material falling thereon to slide
by gravity to the downwardly open dischar~e opening 56.
20 Thus the steep bottom wall 111 of the discharge chute
obviates the need for auxiliary energy discharging
devices such as an impeller or other devices to impart
additional impetus to crop material discharged by the
paddle assembly 51.
The distribution auger 37 has a first flight
71 secured as by welding to the distribution auger
shaft 72 which is pitched in a first direction so that
upon counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 72, as
viewed in Figs. 5 and 6~ it will move threshed material
30 in the auger trough 73 from left to right as viewed in
Fig~ 2. The distribution auger 37 also includes a
flight 76 which is pitched in the opposite direction to
the pitch of flight 71 so as to move threshed material
falling from the processor 33 from right to left, as
35 viewed in Fig. 2, when it is rotated in a counterclock-
wise direction as viewed in Figs. 5 and 5. The ends of
,~ the auger shaft 72 are rotatably supported by the
laterally opposite upstanding sidewalls 77, 78 o~ the
~ 6 --
combine. In some cr~p or harvesting conditions, it may
be desirable to add flight segments 79, 81 to the
distribution auger as shown in Figs. 3 and 4A The
Elight segments 79~ 81 are releasably secured to the
shaft by clamping brackets 82j 83 bolted to the
segments 79, 81 by bolts 84 and nuts 85~ The flighting
on the rotating distribution auger 37 effects a desieed
positioning or distribution of the threshed material to
the slot 69 so that the side-by-side accelerator rolls
lO 41, 42 will distribute a band of threshed material to
the cleaning section 47.
The accelerator rolls 41, 42 have axes 87~ 88
which are generally horizontal and parallel to one
another. The front accelerator roll 41 is offset above
15 the rear accelerator roll 42, that is, the axis 87 of
accelerator roll 41 is ver~ically offset above the axis
88 of the rear accelerator roll 42. The accelerator
roll 42 is driven through a power train fro~ the engine
12 which includes a V-belt 91 drivingly enga~ing a
20 pulley 92 nonrotatably secured to the right~hand end of
the shaft 93 of accelerator roll 42. As shown in
Fig. 6, a chain 96 engages a sprocket 97 on accelerator
roll shaft 93 which al~o engages a sprocket 98 secured
to a shaft 99 of accelerator roll 41. An idler sprocket
25 101 is rotatably mounted on an adjustable support 102
for purposes of obtaining proper tension of the chain
96. The accelerator rolls 41, 42 are rotated in a
direction to cause the threshed material exiting the
processor 33 to pass between the accelerator rolls 41,
30 42, the latter being driven at a sufficiently high
speed to impart a velocity to the threshed material far
in excess of the velocity such material would have if
merely falling by gravity. By offsetting the Eront
accelera~or roll 41 above that of the rear accelerator
35 roll 42, the threshed material is thrown downwardly and
forwardly to the grain pan 49 of the shaker assembly
,, 48. The rearwardly directed layer of air from the
transverse fan 44 passes transversely through the
~57:~3
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accelerated threshed material causing light chaff and
crop particles 106 to be blown rearwardly out the
discharge opening 46 at the rear of the combine while
accelerated clean grain kernels 107 pass downwardly to
the grain pan 49.
On reference to FigO 2, it will be noted that
the left-hand wall 112 of the cleaning section is
laterally inward from the sidewall 77. Thus, the
cleaning section 47 is laterally narrower than the
10 threshing section 33. It should be understood that the
shaker assembly 48 extends laterally slightly less than
the distance between the sidewall 112 and the left
sidewall 78.
