Harvester cleaning shoe louver

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10051791-B2
Application number	US-201615293924-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2016
Priority date	Oct 14, 2016
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A harvester cleaning shoe louver includes a head portion about which the louver is to pivot, a tail blade extending from the head portion and fin blades. The fin blades extend from a rear face of the tail blade at spaced locations along the tail blade.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A harvester cleaning shoe louver comprising:
a head portion extending along an axis about which the louver is to pivot;
a tail blade extending from the head portion; the tail blade having a front face and a rear face;
fin blades extending from the rear face at spaced locations along the tail blade, wherein each of the fin blades has opposite fin blade faces extending in respective planes that intersect the axis.

2. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 1 further comprising slots extending into at least one of the head portion and the tail blade to receive fin blades of a consecutively supported harvester cleaning shoe louver.

3. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 1 , wherein each of the fin blades has a convex edge facing away from the rear face of the tail blade.

4. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 3 , wherein each of the fin blades has a lower edge extending between the head portion and the convex edge.

5. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 4 , wherein an entirety of lower edge extends below the head portion.

6. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 3 , wherein the convex edge has a radius of between 25 mm and 60 mm.

7. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 3 , wherein each of the fin blades has a face having a surface area of at least 100 mm 2 .

8. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 1 , wherein each of the fin blades extend perpendicular to the tail blade.

9. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 1 , wherein the head portion, the tail blade and the fin blades are integrally formed as a single unitary body from a polymer.

10. The harvester cleaning shoe louver of claim 1 comprising a sheet having an intermediate band and a pair of bent ends extending from opposite portions of the intermediate band to form a pair of the fin blades, wherein the intermediate band has a face parallel to the rear face of the tail blade and joined to the rear face of the tail blade.

11. A harvester cleaning system comprising:
transversely spaced supports;
a louver extending between and pivotable about an axis relative to the transversely spaced supports, the louver comprising:
a head portion about which the louver is to pivot;
a tail blade extending from the head portion; the tail blade having a front face and a rear face; and
fin blades extending from the rear face at spaced locations along the tail blade;

a second louver extending between and pivotable about a second axis relative to the transversely spaced supports the second louver comprising:
a second head portion about which the second louver is to pivot;
a second tail blade extending from the head portion; the tail blade having a front face and a rear face;
second fin blades extending from the rear face at spaced locations along the second tail blade, wherein the second fin blades are transversely staggered with respect to the fin blades; and
slots through at least one of the second head portion and the second tail blade through which the fin blades pass during pivoting of the louver.

12. The harvester cleaning system of claim 11 further comprising a louver wire extending along the axis perpendicularly between the transversely spaced supports, the louver wire being connected to the head portion of the louver, louver wire to be selectively pivotable to pivot the louver about the axis.

13. The harvester cleaning system of claim 11 , wherein each of the fin blades has a first convex edge facing away from the rear face of the tail blade and wherein each of the second fin blades has a second convex edge facing away from the rear face of the second tail blade.

14. The harvester cleaning system of claim 13 , wherein each of the fin blades and the second fin blades has a first lower edge extending between the head portion and the convex edge, wherein an entirety of the lower edge extends below the head portion.

15. The harvester cleaning system of claim 13 , wherein the convex edge and the second convex edge each have a radius of between 25 mm and 60 mm.

16. The harvester cleaning system of claim 13 , wherein each of the fin blades and the second fin blades has a face having a surface area of at least 100 mm 2 .

17. The harvester cleaning system of claim 13 , wherein each of the fin blades extend perpendicular to the tail blade and wherein each of the second fin blades extend perpendicular to the second tail blade.

18. A method comprising:
pivoting a plurality of louvers about parallel axes from a first orientation to a second orientation, wherein each of the plurality of louvers comprises:
a head portion extending along one of the parallel axes about which the louver is to pivot;
a tail blade extending from the head portion; the tail blade having a front face and a rear face;
fin blades extending from the rear face at spaced locations along the tail blade, each of the fin blades having opposite blade faces extending in respective planes that intersect said one of the parallel axes;

depositing crop material on the plurality of louvers; and
 blowing air between the plurality of louvers, between the fin blades of each of the louvers to separate heavier portions of the crop material from lighter portions of the crop material, wherein the heavier portions of the crop material fall between the plurality of louvers and wherein lighter portions of the crop material are carried away by the blown air.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the pivoting of the plurality of louvers comprises passing the fin blades through slots of an adjacent one of the plurality of louvers.

Assignees

• Deere & Co
• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Meschke Michael T

Classifications

• A01F12/446 Primary

  Sieving means · CPC title

• A01F12/448

  Sieve adjusting means · CPC title

• A01D41/12

  Details of combines · CPC title

• A01F12/444

  Fanning means · CPC title