Grain cleaning system having improved air flow and additional fall step to improve grain cleaning performance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10039236-B2
Application number	US-201615167580-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2016
Priority date	May 29, 2015
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

An agricultural harvester including a chassis, a threshing and separating system for separating grain from MOG, and a grain cleaning system for further separating grain from residual MOG. The grain cleaning system has a main grain pan, an intermediate grain pan located beneath and rearward of the main grain pan, and at least one sieve located beneath and rearward of the intermediate grain pan. The main grain pan, the intermediate grain pan, and the at least one sieve are so arranged that the mixture of grain and residual MOG undergoes a first fall step from the main grain pan to the intermediate grain pan and a second fall step from the intermediate grain pan to the at least one sieve.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An agricultural harvester, comprising:
a chassis;
a threshing and separating system for separating grain from MOG; and
a grain cleaning system for further separating grain from residual MOG, the grain cleaning system comprising:
at least two grain pans for receiving a mixture of grain and residual MOG from the threshing and separating system;
at least one sieve for further separating grain, tailings, and residual MOG located beneath and rearward of the at least two grain pans, the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve being so arranged that, when in use, the mixture of grain and residual MOG undergoes at least two fall steps;
a grain transfer pan located beneath the at least two grain pans; and
a cleaning fan configured for blowing air into and through the mixture of grain and residual MOG as it undergoes the at least two fall steps and as it moves over the at least one sieve, the cleaning fan comprising a fan wrapper terminating in a wrapper cut-off point, the cleaning fan further comprising a fan outlet air guide terminating in a vortex cut-off point, the fan wrapper and the fan outlet air guide together defining a fan main outlet leading to at least one additional fan outlet, the wrapper cut-off point and the vortex cut-off point together defining a fan inlet, the wrapper cut-off point being located at an angle α counterclockwise from a vertical centerline through a center of the cleaning fan, the vortex cut-off point being located at an angle β clockwise from the vertical centerline through the center of the cleaning fan, the angle α being between 40° and 70°, and the angle β being between 30° and 60°.

2. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein the angle α is between 50° and 60° and the angle β is between 40° and 50°.

3. The agricultural harvester of claim 2 , wherein the angle α is about 55° and the angle β is about 45°.

4. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein:
the at least two grain pans further comprise a main grain pan for receiving the mixture of grain and residual MOG from the threshing and separating system, and an intermediate grain pan located beneath and rearward of the main grain pan, and
the main grain pan, the intermediate grain pan, and the at least one sieve are so arranged that, when in use, the mixture of grain and residual MOG undergoes a first fall step from the main grain pan to the intermediate grain pan, and then undergoes a second fall step from the intermediate grain pan to the at least one sieve.

5. The agricultural harvester of claim 4 , wherein the at least one additional fan outlet further comprises:
a fan upper outlet located between the main grain pan and the intermediate grain pan in the area of the first fall step;
a fan middle outlet located between the intermediate grain pan and the at least one sieve in the area of the second fall step; and
a fan lower outlet located beneath the grain transfer pan.

6. The agricultural harvester of claim 5 , wherein a vertical distance between the main grain pan and the intermediate grain pan is one of proportionately greater than, proportionately lesser than, and proportionately approximately equal to a vertical distance between the intermediate grain pan and the at least one sieve, such that the first fall step is one of proportionately greater than, proportionately lesser than, and proportionately approximately equal to the second fall step, respectively, and such that the fan upper outlet has one of proportionately greater area resulting in proportionately greater airflow, proportionately lesser area resulting in proportionately lesser airflow, and proportionately approximately equal area resulting in proportionately approximately equal airflow than the fan middle outlet, respectively.

7. The agricultural harvester of claim 4 , wherein the intermediate grain pan is one of at a greater angle from the horizontal from front to rear than the angle of the main grain pan from the horizontal from front to rear, at a lesser angle from the horizontal from front to rear than the angle of the main grain pan from the horizontal from front to rear, and at an approximately equal angle from the horizontal from front to rear than the angle of the main grain pan from the horizontal from front to rear.

8. The agricultural harvester of claim 4 , wherein the intermediate grain pan is adjustable in its vertical location by an operator, such that a proportion between the first fall step and the second fall step may be adjusted to accommodate properties of differing harvested products.

9. The agricultural harvester of claim 8 , wherein the adjustability of the intermediate grain pan comprises a horizontal component so that lowering the intermediate grain pan results in rearward movement of the intermediate grain pan, such that a proportionately greater first fall step results in a more rearward location of the intermediate grain pan.

10. The agricultural harvester of claim 4 , wherein the main grain pan and the intermediate grain pan are configured to move in a reciprocal motion in order to impart rearward motion to the mixture of grain and residual MOG, the reciprocal motion of the main grain pan and the reciprocal motion of the intermediate grain pan being one of in phase and out of phase.

11. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve are configured to move in a reciprocal motion in order to impart rearward motion to the mixture of grain and residual MOG, the reciprocal motion of the at least two grain pans and the reciprocal motion of the at least one sieve being one of in phase and out of phase.

12. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve are configured to move in a reciprocal motion in order to impart rearward motion to the mixture of grain and residual MOG, a phase relationship between the reciprocal motion of each of the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve being adjustable by an operator to accommodate properties of differing harvested products.

13. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve are configured to move in a reciprocal motion in order to impart rearward motion to the mixture of grain and residual MOG, a magnitude of the reciprocal motion of the at least two grain pans being proportionately lesser than a magnitude of the reciprocal motion of the at least one sieve.

14. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve are configured to move in a reciprocal motion in order to impart rearward motion to the mixture of grain and residual MOG, a proportionate magnitude of the reciprocal motion of each of the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve being individually adjustable by an operator to accommodate properties of differing harvested products.

15. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sieve further comprises a pre-cleaning sieve, a chaffer sieve, and a shoe sieve.

16. A grain cleaning system for separating grain from residual MOG, the grain cleaning system comprising:
at least two grain pans for receiving a mixture of grain and residual MOG from a threshing and separating system;
at least one sieve for separating grain, tailings, and residual MOG located beneath and rearward of the at least two grain pans, the at least two grain pans and the at least one sieve being so arranged that, when in use, the mixture of grain and residual MOG undergoes at least two fall steps;
a grain transfer p

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Duquesne Frank R G
• Ballegeer Stefaan
• Derynck Bart

Classifications

• A01F12/448

  Sieve adjusting means · CPC title

• A01F12/446

  Sieving means · CPC title

• A01F12/444 Primary

  Fanning means · CPC title