Sieve installation arrangement in a cleaning system of an agricultural harvester

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12484483-B2
Application number	US-202217748236-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2022
Priority date	May 21, 2021
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

A sieve assembly for an agricultural harvester includes a cleaning shoe having a pair of opposed side rails, and a sieve which is removably installed within the cleaning shoe at a selected location against the side rails. The sieve has an upstream end defining a first angled surface, and a downstream end defining a second angled surface. The cleaning shoe includes a first engagement surface for engaging the first angled surface, and a pair of bolts, with each of the bolts being pivotally attached relative to a respective one of the side rails and engageable with a respective second angled surface. Each of the bolts has a longitudinal axis that is positioned at an acute angle (β) relative to the side rails of the cleaning shoe and biases the first angled surface into engagement with the first engagement surface when the bolts are tightened against a respective second angled surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A sieve assembly for use in an agricultural harvester, the sieve assembly comprising:
a cleaning shoe including a pair of opposed side rails; and a sieve which is removably installed within the cleaning shoe at a selected location against the side rails, wherein the sieve has a downstream end and an upstream end, the upstream end defining at least one first non-zero angled surface, the downstream end defining at least one second angled surface, wherein the cleaning shoe includes at least one first engagement surface for engaging the at least one first angled surface at the upstream end of the sieve, and the cleaning shoe including a pair of bolts, each of the bolts being pivotally attached relative to a respective one of the side rails and engageable with a respective second angled surface, each of the bolts having a longitudinal axis that is positioned at an acute angle (β) relative to the side rails of the cleaning shoe and biasing the at least one first angled surface into engagement with the at least one first engagement surface when the bolts are tightened against the respective second angled surface.

2 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second angled surface each comprises an arcuate surface and a pair of spherical washers, each of the spherical washers being associated with a respective one of the bolts and engageable with a respective arcuate surface.

3 . The sieve assembly of claim 2 , wherein each of the spherical washers has a radius of curvature which mates with a radius of curvature of the arcuate surface.

4 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , the sieve including opposed side members, the at least one first angled surface comprising a pair of first angled surfaces respectively positioned at the upstream ends of the two side members, and the at least one second angled surface comprising a pair of second angled surfaces respectively positioned at the downstream ends of the two side members.

5 . The sieve assembly of claim 4 , wherein the pair of second angled surfaces each include a slot allowing a respective one of the bolts to be pivoted into place within the slot.

6 . The sieve assembly of claim 4 , further including a pair of first corner pieces respectively defining the first angled surfaces, and a pair of second corner pieces respectively defining the second angled surfaces.

7 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the bolts comprises an eye bolt, and further including a spherical washer, lock washer and nut associated with each bolt.

8 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the bolts has an axis of rotation (R) which is positioned below a respective side rail of the cleaning shoe.

9 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first engagement surface comprises an angled surface defined by a bracket extending across the cleaning shoe between the side rails.

10 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the downstream end and the upstream end are defined relative to a direction of air flow (F) through the sieve during operation.

11 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the acute angle (β) lies within a range of 30 degrees to 60 degrees.

12 . The sieve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first angled surface is positioned at an acute angle (α) relative to the side rails of the cleaning shoe.

13 . An agricultural harvester comprising the sieve assembly of claim 1 .

14 . A method of installing a sieve within a cleaning system in an agricultural harvester, said method comprising installing the sieve assembly recited in claim 1 .

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Deprauw Jonas F G
• Vanderstichele Michiel J
• Vanhee Kris S

Classifications

• A01F12/448

  Sieve adjusting means · CPC title

• A01F12/446 Primary

  Sieving means · CPC title

• A01D41/12 Primary

  Details of combines · CPC title