Axial flow combine harvester

Claim 2

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field having standing grain bearing crop material; a header mounted on said frame extending forwardly therefrom, said header having means for severing said crop material and infeed means which receives the severed crop material and conveys it rearwardly; two threshing and sEparating casings mounted on said frame and extending in a fore-and-aft direction in substantially side-byside relation with the axes of said casings lying in a common plane; said two casings being open at forward portions thereof to receive said crop material and each casing having a forward transversely curved concave, a transversely curved apertured separating means rearwardly of said concave, a top wall above said concave and separating means, and a rearward opening for the discharge of straw; means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings, two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each of said casings, said rotors having forward threshing portions and rearward separating portions in operative relation to said concaves and separating means, respectively; drive means to rotate said rotors, said rotors upon rotation drawing said divided crop material into said casings; the threshing portions of said rotating rotors and said concaves removing grain from said crop material, the grain being discharged through said concaves, the rearward portions of said rotors separating additional grain from the crop material and such grain being discharged through said separating means, the straw remaining after the removal of said grain being passed through said casing discharge openings; and grain handling and cleaning means beneath said casings to receive said grain.

Claim 3

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said grain handling and cleaning means is unitary and receives grain from both of said casings.

Claim 4

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said unitary grain handling and cleaning means includes a transversely extending sieve assembly disposed beneath both of said casings.

Claim 5

A combine harvester as recited in claim 2 wherein said unitary grain handling and cleaning means includes a transversely extending grain pan disposed under both of said concaves and a rearwardly disposed transversely extending sieve assembly disposed at least in part under both of said casing separator means.

Claim 6

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of a first tailings return auger assembly disposed under said grain handling and cleaning means and adapted to receive tailings therefrom, an upwardly extending tailings elevator, and a second tailings return auger assembly disposed above said casings, each of said casings having aperture means therein to receive said returned tailings.

Claim 7

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein the transversely curved concave, the transversely curved apertured separating means, and the top wall for each of the casings is supported at one side on the frame of the concave, and at adjacent sides by an intermediate longitudinally extending beam.

Claim 8

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said rotors are rotated in opposite directions.

Claim 9

A combine harvester as recited in claim 7 wherein said rotors pass downwardly with respect to each other at adjacent sides.

Claim 10

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said rotors are rotated in timed out-of-phase relationship with respect to each other.

Claim 11

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein the means on the combine harvester for dividing the crop material is disposed rearwardly of the infeed means and forwardly of the concave of each of the two casings.

Claim 12

A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of a bottom wall structure, and wherein each of said rotors is provided with crop feeding means forwardly of said forward threshing portions, said crop feeding means cooperating with said bottom wall structure to draw in unthreshed crop material from said infeed means and divide said unthreshed crop material into two mat sections, one for each of said casings.

Claim 13

A combine harvester as recited in claim 11 wherein said rotor crop feeding means are augers.

Claim 14

A combine harvester as recited In claim 11 wherein one of the rotor crop feeding means is a right-hand feeding auger and the other one of the rotor crop feeding means is a left-hand feeding auger, and wherein said drive means rotate said rotors in opposite directions downwardly at adjacent sides, the oppositely flighted augers cooperating with the bottom wall structure to divide said crop material received from said infeed means into two mat sections, one for each of said casings.

Claim 15

A combine harvester as recited in claim 11 wherein the rear end of the bottom wall structure peripherally encloses the rotor feed means.

Claim 16

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field having grain bearing crop material; two generally cylindrical casings carried by said frame in generally horizontal side-by-side relation, said casings having concaves extending longitudinally along the bottom of respective casings; means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; longitudinally extending rotors in said respective casings having peripherally spaced apart threshing elements cooperating with said respective concaves for threshing grain-like material from unthreshed crop material; means for rotating said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly at adjacent sides of said casings with said concave positioned to drop grain-like material in a longitudinal mid-area beneath adjacent sides of said casings, whereby threshed grain precipitates in diminishing depths outwardly from the center area, and unitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frame underneath both of said concaves, the grain dropping through said concaves being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 17

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field having grain bearing crop material; two generally cylindrical casings carried by said frame in generally horizontal side-by-side relation, said casings having concaves extending longitudinally along the bottom of respective casings; means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; longitudinally extending rotors in said respective casings having peripherally spaced apart threshing elements cooperating with said respective concaves for threshing grain-like material from unthreshed crop material; means for rotating said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly at adjacent sides of said casings with said concave positioned to drop grain-like material in a longitudinal mid-area beneath adjacent sides of said casings, whereby threshed grain precipitates in diminishing depths outwardly from the center area, and unitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frame underneath both of said concaves, the grain dropping through said concaves being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 18

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to be propelled in a forward direction over a field of grain bearing crop material; means operable to sever unthreshed grain bearing crop material from its stubble; an infeed conveyor means and housing mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, said housing supporting the severing means, and said conveyor means being operable to receive the unthreshed grain bearing crop material and to convey it rearwardly towards the frame in a relatively flat mat; two axial flow threshing and separating casings mounted in said frame and extending rearwardly from said infeed conveyor in substantially side-by-side relation with the axes of said casings lying in the same plane, the casings having two transversely curved longitudinally extending forward concaves, two transversely curved rearward apertured separating means following said respective concaves, and two transversely curved top walls extending longitudinally in spaced relation above said respective concaves and apertured separating means; means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; two rotors extending longitudinally, one in each of said cylinders, and having circumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions and rearward separating portions in operative relation to said casing concaves and said apertured separating means; means interconnected with said rotors operable to rotate said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly at adjacent sides, the threshing and separating portions of said rotors during rotation being operable to engage the unthreshed grain bearing crop material received from said end feed conveyor means and to advance it generally helically along the inner periphery of each of said casings in a relatively thin mat, the forward threshing portions of the rotors cooperating with the concaves to thresh grain and to discharge a portion of the threshed grain through said concaves, the rearward separating portion being cooperaBle with the apertured separating means to discharge a further portion of the threshed grain through said apertured separating means; and grain handling and cleaning means underneath said cylinders to receive the discharged grain, the grain dropping through said concaves and said apertured separating means being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 19

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to be propelled in a forward direction over a field of grain bearing crop material; means operable to sever unthreshed grain bearing crop material from its stubble; an infeed conveyor means and housing mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, said housing supporting the severing means, and said conveyor means being operable to receive the unthreshed grain bearing crop material and to convey it rearwardly towards the frame in a relatively flat mat; two axial flow threshing and separating casings mounted in said frame and extending rearwardly from said infeed conveyor in substantially side-by-side relation with the axes of said casings lying in the same plane, the casings having two transversely curved longitudinally extending forward concaves, two transversely curved rearward apertured separating means following said respective concaves, and two transversely curved top walls extending longitudinally in spaced relation above said respective concaves and apertured separating means; means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; two rotors extending longitudinally, one in each of said cylinders, and having circumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions and rearward separating portions in operative relation to said casing concaves and said apertured separating means; means interconnected with said rotors operable to rotate said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly at adjacent sides, the threshing and separating portions of said rotors during rotation being operable to engage the unthreshed grain bearing crop material received from said end feed conveyor means and to advance it generally helically along the inner periphery of each of said casings in a relatively thin mat, the forward threshing portions of the rotors cooperating with the concaves to thresh grain and to discharge a portion of the threshed grain through said concaves, the rearward separating portion being cooperaBle with the apertured separating means to discharge a further portion of the threshed grain through said apertured separating means; and grain handling and cleaning means underneath said cylinders to receive the discharged grain, the grain dropping through said concaves and said apertured separating means being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 20

In a combine harvester having a frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field of grain bearing crop material, a header mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, said header being provided with means to separate grain bearing crop material from its stubble and means to convey the separated grain bearing crop material rearwardly towards said frame, and grain handling and cleaning means carried by said frame and operable to receive grain separated from the aforesaid separated grain bearing crop material and to clean the grain; the combination thereof of: two axial flow threshing and separating units operable to thresh the grain bearing crop material conveyed rearwardly by said header and to separate grain from its straw, said two axial flow threshing and separating units including two threshing and separating casings mounted on said frame and extending in a fore-and-aft direction in substantially side-by-side relation with the axes of said casings lying in a common plane, said two casings being opened at the forward portions thereof to receive said grain bearing crop material and each casing having a forward transversely curved concave, a transversely curved apertured separating means rearwardly of said concave, a top wall above said concave and separating means, and a rearward opening for the discharge of straw; two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each of said casings, said rotors having forward threshing portions and rearward separating portions in operative relation to said concaves and separating means, respectively; and means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; drive means operable to rotate said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly at adjacent sides whereby more grain is normally received on the mid longitudinally extending area of the grain handling and cleaning means than is received on the side areas of the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 21

In a combine harvester having a frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field of grain bearing crop material, a header mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, said header being provided with means to separate grain bearing crop material from its stubble and means to convey the separated grain bearing crop material rearwardly towards said frame, and grain handling and cleaning means carried by said frame and operable to receive grain separated from the aforesaid separated grain bearing crop material and to clean the grain; the combination thereof of: two axial flow threshing and separating units operable to thresh the grain bearing crop material conveyed rearwardly by said header and to separate grain from its straw, said two axial flow threshing and separating units including two threshing and separating casings mounted on said frame and extending in a fore-and-aft direction in substantially side-by-side relation with the axes of said casings lying in a common plane, said two casings being opened at the forward portions thereof to receive said grain bearing crop material and each casing having a forward transversely curved concave, a transversely curved apertured separating means rearwardly of said concave, a top wall above said concave and separating means, and a rearward opening for the discharge of straw; two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each of said casings, said rotors having forward threshing portions and rearward separating portions in operative relation to said concaves and separating means, respectively; and means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; drive means operable to rotate said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly at adjacent sides whereby more grain is normally received on the mid longitudinally extending area of the grain handling and cleaning means than is received on the side areas of the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 22

A combine harvester mounted on a mobile frame supported on wheels to move in a longitudinal direction with at least two wheels transversely spaced on opposite sides of said frame and comprising two axial flow threshing and separating casings having respectively forward crop material intakes, rear crop material discharges and conveying means between said intakes and discharges for generally helically and rearwardly guiding crop material rotating in said casings, two longitudinally extending rotors rotatably mounted in said casings, drive means connected to said rotors for rotating said rotors in timed relation, said rotors during rotation cooperating with said conveying means to move crop material from said respective intakes to said respective discharges said casings being in adjacent side-by-side relation with longitudinal axes parallel and in an inclined plane extending upwardly and rearwardly, and with the combined width of said casings being substantially greater than the vertical diameters of the casings and less than the spacing of the transverse wheels, said casings each having longitudinally extending threshing means extending circumferentially over a minor arc, said casing threshing means being in side-by-side relation substantially across the width of the frame, said rotors each having longitudinally extending threshing means, passing in separate threshing actions with respective casing threshing means to detach grain from the crop mateRial and pass the detached grain through the casing threshing means across the combined width, said threshing means of each rotor being circumferentially spaced in a given circumferential alignment to sweep said respective threshing means, and said drive means rotating said threshing means of said two rotors in timed out-of-phase relation to distribute the threshing actions, and unitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frame underneath both of said casing threshing means, said grain passing through the casing threshing means being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 23

A combine harvester mounted on a mobile frame supported on wheels to move in a longitudinal direction with at least two wheels transversely spaced on opposite sides of said frame and comprising two axial flow threshing and separating casings having respectively forward crop material intakes, rear crop material discharges and conveying means between said intakes and discharges for generally helically and rearwardly guiding crop material rotating in said casings, two longitudinally extending rotors rotatably mounted in said casings, drive means connected to said rotors for rotating said rotors in timed relation, said rotors during rotation cooperating with said conveying means to move crop material from said respective intakes to said respective discharges said casings being in adjacent side-by-side relation with longitudinal axes parallel and in an inclined plane extending upwardly and rearwardly, and with the combined width of said casings being substantially greater than the vertical diameters of the casings and less than the spacing of the transverse wheels, said casings each having longitudinally extending threshing means extending circumferentially over a minor arc, said casing threshing means being in side-by-side relation substantially across the width of the frame, said rotors each having longitudinally extending threshing means, passing in separate threshing actions with respective casing threshing means to detach grain from the crop mateRial and pass the detached grain through the casing threshing means across the combined width, said threshing means of each rotor being circumferentially spaced in a given circumferential alignment to sweep said respective threshing means, and said drive means rotating said threshing means of said two rotors in timed out-of-phase relation to distribute the threshing actions, and unitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frame underneath both of said casing threshing means, said grain passing through the casing threshing means being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 24

A combine comprising: a wheeled frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field of grain bearing crop material, said frame having a forward inlet end and a discharge; a forwardly extending infeed conveyor and housing mounted on the front end of said wheeled frame; infeed conveyor means in said housing and operable to deliver a mat of unthreshed grain bearing crop material rearwardly to said forward inlet; a pair of side-by-side longitudinally extending axial flow threshing and separating units mounted within the frame, each of said units including a generally cylindrical casing and a rotor mounted for rotation within the casing, said casing having an open forward inlet, an intermediate concave, and an open discharge outlet, and said rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart rasp bars, the rotor being operable upon rotation to cause the rasp bars in cooperation with the concave to thresh grain from the unthreshed grain bearing crop material conveyed to said units and to generally helically advance the crop material through said casing while separating a large proportion of the threshed grain from the residue of the crop material, the residue of the crop material being discharged through the discharge outlet; residue crop material conveying and separating means at the rear ends of said casings, said conveying and separating means including a longitudinally movable conveyor and an apertured structure over which the discharged residue of the crop material is adapted to be conveyed by said conveyor, said conveying and separating means being operable to receive the residue of the crop material generally helically conveyed through said casings and discharged through the discharge outlets and to move the residue in a different direction for reorientation of the residue of the crop material for further separation of grain from the residue of crop material, the grain passing through said apertured structure.

Claim 25

A combine comprising: a wheeled frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field of grain bearing crop material, said frame having a forward inlet end and a discharge; a forwardly extending infeed conveyor and housing mounted on the front end of said wheeled frame; infeed conveyor means in said housing and operable to deliver a mat of unthreshed grain bearing crop material rearwardly to said forward inlet; a pair of side-by-side longitudinally extending axial flow threshing and separating units mounted within the frame, each of said units including a generally cylindrical casing and a rotor mounted for rotation within the casing, said casing having an open forward inlet, an intermediate concave, and an open discharge outlet, and said rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart rasp bars, the rotor being operable upon rotation to cause the rasp bars in cooperation with the concave to thresh grain from the unthreshed grain bearing crop material conveyed to said units and to generally helically advance the crop material through said casing while separating a large proportion of the threshed grain from the residue of the crop material, the residue of the crop material being discharged through the discharge outlet; residue crop material conveying and separating means at the rear ends of said casings, said conveying and separating means including a longitudinally movable conveyor and an apertured structure over which the discharged residue of the crop material is adapted to be conveyed by said conveyor, said conveying and separating means being operable to receive the residue of the crop material generally helically conveyed through said casings and discharged through the discharge outlets and to move the residue in a different direction for reorientation of the residue of the crop material for further separation of grain from the residue of crop material, the grain passing through said apertured structure.

Claim 26

A combine as set forth in claim 19 wherein said apertured structure comprises a plurality of parallel spaced apart longitudinally extending members, and said movable conveyor comprises a plurality of fingers mounted on transversely extending spaced rods, said fingers projecting through said longitudinally extending members.

Claim 27

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile wheeled frame adapted to be propelled in a forward direction over a field of grain bearing crop material; means operable to sever grain bearing crop material from its suitable and to laterally consolidate the severed crop material; an infeed conveyor and housing mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, said housing supporting the severing and consolidating means, and said conveyor being operable to receive the consolidating crop material and to convey it rearwardly towards the frame in a relatively flat mat; two axial flow threshing and separating units mounted in said frame, said units including two casings disposed in abutting side-by-side parallel relation with the axes of the casings lying in the same plane, each of the casings having a forward inlet opening, a transversely curved longitudinally extending concave substantially spanning a transverse threshing width, a transversely cuRved longitudinally extending grate following said concave, and a rearward discharge opening; said units also including two rotors, each rotor being rotatably mounted within an associated casing and including circumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions, and rear separating portions, and said units also including feed means spaced forwardly of said concaves, said feed means being capable of receiving and dividing the crop material received from said conveyor and feeding the crop material into said casings in divided streams, common drive means having interconnected means for rotating said rotors at a common rotational speed and in opposite directions downwardly at adjacent sides, the threshing portions of one rotor being maintained in an angularly offset relation with respect to the threshing portions of the other rotor in such a manner that during rotation the threshing portions will alternately commence threshing traverse over their associated concaves, said units being operable upon rotation of said rotors to thresh grain from the unthreshed grain bearing crop material and to discharge a portion of the threshed grain through said concaves, to discharge a further portion of the threshed grain through said grates, and to discharge the residue of crop material through the rearward discharge opening of said casings, residue crop material conveying and separating means at the rear ends of said casings, said conveying and separating means including a longitudinally movable conveyor and an apertured structure over which the discharged residue of the crop material is adapted to be conveyed by said conveyor, said conveying and separating means being operable to receive the residue of the crop materially conveyed through said units and to move the residue in a different direction for reorientation of the residue of the crop material for further separation of grain from the residue of crop material, the grain passing through said apertured structure, and unitary grain handling and cleaning means underneath both of said casings and said residue crop material conveying and separating means, said grain being discharged through said concaves, grates, and apertured structure being received by said grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable under agitation of the grain handling and cleaning means into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

Claim 28

A combine harvester comprising: a mobile wheeled frame adapted to be propelled in a forward direction over a field of grain bearing crop material; means operable to sever grain bearing crop material from its suitable and to laterally consolidate the severed crop material; an infeed conveyor and housing mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, said housing supporting the severing and consolidating means, and said conveyor being operable to receive the consolidating crop material and to convey it rearwardly towards the frame in a relatively flat mat; two axial flow threshing and separating units mounted in said frame, said units including two casings disposed in abutting side-by-side parallel relation with the axes of the casings lying in the same plane, each of the casings having a forward inlet opening, a transversely curved longitudinally extending concave substantially spanning a transverse threshing width, a transversely cuRved longitudinally extending grate following said concave, and a rearward discharge opening; said units also including two rotors, each rotor being rotatably mounted within an associated casing and including circumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions, and rear separating portions, and said units also including feed means spaced forwardly of said concaves, said feed means being capable of receiving and dividing the crop material received from said conveyor and feeding the crop material into said casings in divided streams, common drive means having interconnected means for rotating said rotors at a common rotational speed and in opposite directions downwardly at adjacent sides, the threshing portions of one rotor being maintained in an angularly offset relation with respect to the threshing portions of the other rotor in such a manner that during rotation the threshing portions will alternately commence threshing traverse over their associated concaves, said units being operable upon rotation of said rotors to thresh grain from the unthreshed grain bearing crop material and to discharge a portion of the threshed grain through said concaves, to discharge a further portion of the threshed grain through said grates, and to discharge the residue of crop material through the rearward discharge opening of said casings, residue crop material conveying and separating means at the rear ends of said casings, said conveying and separating means including a longitudinally movable conveyor and an apertured structure over which the discharged residue of the crop material is adapted to be conveyed by said conveyor, said conveying and separating means being operable to receive the residue of the crop materially conveyed through said units and to move the residue in a different direction for reorientation of the residue of the crop material for further separation of grain from the residue of crop material, the grain passing through said apertured structure, and unitary grain handling and cleaning means underneath both of said casings and said residue crop material conveying and separating means, said grain being discharged through said concaves, grates, and apertured structure being received by said grain handling and cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable under agitation of the grain handling and cleaning means into a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.