EA008359B1 - Air boost to improve straw chopper spreading in a combine harvester - Google Patents

Abstract

A combine harvester with a straw separating system includes a straw chopper and discharge assembly mounted for receiving the straw and having a rotor for chopping the straw and for generating a stream of chopped straw for spreading the chopped straw. A pneumatic air source is provided preferably separately driven from and remote from the rotor for generating a stream of air having an outlet duct forming a stream of air. The air is used either to assist the spreading action from the chopper and can be individually controlled by valves. If used to assist the air stream of the chopper it is fed at the outlet of a rear chopper or directed at the guide wall in an internal chopper arrangement for directing higher velocity air onto the guide fins assisting the spread of the chopped materials.

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to combine harvesters and to the distribution of straw and / or chaff from a combine using a fan to create air flow.

State of the art

In recent years, the market has been mainly occupied by axial flow combines, crowding out the devices of old traditional models. Providing this kind of combines with an axial flow with an internal straw chopper located behind the axial flow rotors is the most cost-effective.

One example of this type of construction is shown in US Pat. No. 3,863,643, by De Po, issued February 4, 1975 to the International Harvester Company (1 & 1/1/1 NagueCheg). In it, the rotary beater is located perpendicular to the combine harvester behind the axial rotors. KeselEych (Sase1N) produces an additional internal chopper mounted on the site of the rotary beater, which feeds straw to the guide wall, which runs across the body and casing of the combine and further down and back in the rear.

A rotary spreader disc is often used at the rear of the casing, which accelerates the flow of chopped straw to eject material to the sides.

The development of combine technology in recent years has put forward even higher demands on devices for chopping and distributing straw. This is due to the fact that large combine harvesters and a large slice width create stronger flows of straw and cuttings; Larger cutting widths require larger distribution widths. The practice of reduced cultivation strengthens the requirements for even distribution of straw and chopping, and plant breeding has led to the creation of varieties with stiffer straw, higher grains and more waste.

Several designs have been proposed to assist in the distribution of straw at the rear of the guide wall and housing. The following are examples of such designs.

US Pat. No. 4,735,216 to Scott, issued April 5, 1988, proposes the use of two counter-rotating fans mounted in a horizontal plane and rotating about a vertical axis, guiding the material to the sides.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,485 to Nieermann, Claas Applicant, issued December 16, 2003, discloses an apparatus for generating air current and distributing material in a rear part of a housing for increasing power output.

In US Pat. Nos. 5,232,405, issued August 3, 1993, and 5,482,508, issued January 9, 1996, one of the inventors of the present invention, Redekop discloses an improved rotor including several ventilation blades that help create enhanced air flow during straw chopping. This device has achieved significant success.

Also in US Application 2004/0043804, published March 4, 2004, Redekop and others disclose a further improvement in which the fan blades are located at the respective ends of the rotor and the cutting elements are concentrated in the central section of the rotor. This design has demonstrated further advantages in creating an efficient air flow and efficient chopping of straw at the same time.

While improvements in rotor design improve straw distribution, difficulties remain in achieving efficient distribution using an internal chopper without the addition of additional operations to chop or distribute the straw at the rear of the guide wall. However, there is a need for more efficient operations for cutting and distributing straw to reduce energy consumption, given that the energy demand of the remaining elements of the combine harvester is increasing due to the features mentioned above.

It is also known to provide additional air flow inside the chopper to enhance straw distribution operations. For example, US Pat. No. 6,113,491 (Holman, Patent Recordholder), issued September 5, 2000, discloses a structure in which an additional fan is located at the end of the rotor and generates air flow that is supplied to the rotor region at an angle to the discharge zone. This design has not achieved significant success.

European patent EP 1187526 (author Schratenecker), published on September 3, 2003, discloses a straw chopper with fans located at both ends of the chopper. Each fan has a rotary nozzle that allows you to direct the air flow to different points on each outer edge of only the hinged side.

US Application 2004/0137974 (by Weichhold), the applicant of Diiri and Company, discloses a combine with a chopper located under the beater at the rear of the threshing rotor, and the device can be adjusted to bypass the chopper.

Disclosure of invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved straw removal system for a combine harvester.

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the combine harvester includes a housing; a straw separation system installed inside the housing, used to separate the grains from the straw for further grain collection and straw transportation for removal; a device for chopping and removing straw,

- 1 008359 installed at the outlet of the straw separation system to produce straw for chopping and creating a flow of chopped straw for spreading chopped straw. A device for chopping and removing straw includes a rotor mounted to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the rotor, having many knives mounted on the rotor to rotate around the above axis to chop the straw and accelerate the chopped material into the stream for unloading at the discharge point; a plurality of guide ribs at the discharge point for guiding the crushed material for spreading; and a pneumatic air source, which serves to create an air stream through the outlet of the outlet nozzle, forming an air stream directed to the plurality of guide ribs and helping to disperse the crushed material.

Preferably, the air flow is arranged so that the air speed is different on different guide ribs.

Preferably, the air flow can be controlled at various points in the flow.

Preferably, the device is provided with two separate nozzles, each of which has an outlet directed to a plurality of guide ribs on the corresponding side of the discharge site.

Preferably, each nozzle has a slit-like opening, the width of which is sufficient to direct air to a plurality of guide ribs.

Preferably, the nozzle has a slit-like opening arranged so as to partially extend to a portion of the flow of ground material.

Preferably, the pressure and / or flow of the air source can be controlled remotely.

Preferably, the air velocity at the outlet of the outlet can be controlled.

Preferably, the nozzle outlet is located immediately adjacent to the guide ribs to guide the material to the ribs.

In the first design, the rotor is an internal rotor located inside the combine body, and the existing guide wall extends from the rotor to the unloading place (straw), where the guide ribs are located and where the nozzle hole is installed in a place adjacent to the ribs.

The nozzle may be located above the guide wall in such a way as to direct air into the stream of ground material from the stream above. However, it may be desirable to mount the nozzle under the stream in order to use air to press the stream against the guide wall. An alternative is to use two nozzles mounted on the respective sides of the flow.

In the first design, the rotor includes two side fan sections, where each side fan section transfers air through a pipe located along the guide wall to a separate nozzle.

The nozzle may include a chamber located above the guide wall, where one side of the chamber is located below the guide wall, and the nozzle is located in front of the step in the guide wall. However, alternative designs located below the guide wall may be used.

Preferably, the guide wall and ribs have a movable member mounted to move from a first position directing the straw to the ribs to a second position directing the straw past the ribs.

Preferably, the movable member includes a guide wall panel rotatably mounted about a transverse axis at a leading edge of the panel so as to move its trailing edge.

Preferably, the panel is located in front of the nozzle.

Preferably, the rotor is mounted in the rotor housing at the rear of the combine so that the material is discharged from the rotor housing to the hinged side located behind the rotor housing and where the nozzle is defined by a chamber located on the rotor housing.

Preferably, the chamber located on the rotor housing is filled centrally through a pipe extending from the air source. However, there may be two separate nozzles, each of which is installed on the corresponding side and is filled separately from a separate auxiliary source.

Preferably, the chamber includes guide walls dividing it into two separate passages, each of which delivers air separately to one of two nozzles, each of which is adjacent to the corresponding side of the rotor housing.

In another design, the rotor is installed in the rotor housing at the rear of the combine to remove material from the rotor housing to the hinged side, located behind the rotor housing, where the nozzle has at least one slit-like opening extending through the rotor housing to add air to the stream exiting rotor housings.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the combine harvester includes a housing; a straw separation system installed inside the housing, used to separate the grains from the straw for further grain collection and straw transportation for removal; a device for chopping and removing straw, installed at the outlet of the system for separating straw, to obtain straw for chopping and creating

- 2 008359 streams of shredded straw for spreading shredded straw. A device for chopping and removing straw includes an internal rotor mounted inside the combine harvester with the possibility of rotation around the longitudinal axis of the rotor, having many knives mounted on the rotor with the possibility of rotation around the above axis to chop the straw and accelerate the crushed material into the stream for unloading at the place of unloading; a guide wall extending from the rotor to the discharge point; a plurality of guide ribs at the discharge point for guiding the crushed material for spreading; and an air source for creating an air flow through the outlet of the outlet nozzle to improve the dispersion of the crushed material, where the nozzle is installed in a place adjacent to the ribs and forming an air stream directed to the plurality of guide ribs.

According to a third embodiment of the invention, the combine harvester includes a housing; a straw separation system installed inside the housing and used to separate the grains from the straw for further grain collection and straw transportation for removal; a device for chopping and removing straw, installed at the outlet of the straw separation system, to produce straw for chopping and creating a flow of chopped straw for spreading chopped straw. A device for chopping and removing straw includes a rotor mounted to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the rotor, having many knives mounted on the rotor to rotate around the above axis to chop the straw and accelerate the chopped material into the stream for unloading at the place of unloading, and the rotor is placed in the rotor housing at the rear of the combine to remove material from the rotor housing to the hinged side located behind the rotor housing; a plurality of guide ribs at the tailgate for guiding the crushed material for spreading; a pneumatic source for creating air flow; and a chamber mounted at the rotor housing for receiving an air flow and having an outlet nozzle with an outlet directed to the guide ribs to improve the dispersion of the crushed material.

According to a fourth embodiment of the invention, the combine harvester includes a housing; a straw separation system installed inside the housing and used to separate the grains from the straw for further grain collection and straw transportation for removal; a device for chopping and removing straw, installed at the outlet of the straw separation system, to produce straw for chopping and creating a flow of chopped straw for spreading chopped straw. A device for chopping and removing straw includes a rotor mounted to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the rotor, having many knives mounted on the rotor to rotate around the above axis to chop the straw and accelerate the chopped material into the stream for unloading at the place of unloading, and the rotor is placed in the rotor housing at the rear of the combine to remove material from the rotor housing to the hinged side located behind the rotor housing; a plurality of guide ribs at the tailgate for guiding the crushed material for spreading; a pneumatic source for creating air flow; and a chamber for receiving an air stream having an outlet nozzle with an outlet opening directed to the guide ribs to improve the dispersion of the crushed material, where the outlet is in the form of a slit protruding above the rotor body to add air to the stream exiting the rotor body.

According to a fifth embodiment of the invention, the combine harvester includes a housing; a straw separation system installed inside the housing and used to separate the grains from the straw for further grain collection and straw transportation for removal; chopping device: and straw removal, installed at the outlet of the straw separation system, to produce straw for grinding and creating a flow of chopped straw for spreading chopped straw. A device for chopping and removing straw includes an inner rotor inside a combine harvester mounted rotatably around the longitudinal axis of the rotor, having many knives mounted on the rotor rotatably around the above axis to chop the straw and accelerate the chopped material into the stream for unloading at the discharge point; a guide wall extending from the rotor to the discharge point; a plurality of guide ribs at the discharge point for guiding the crushed material for spreading; where the guide wall and ribs include a movable element that can move from the first position in which it directs the straw to the ribs, to the second position in which it directs the straw past the ribs.

It is understood that the protection provided by this application also applies to elements necessary for installing components on an existing combine harvester having a chopper and ribs.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described using the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a rear section of a rotary combine, including a rotor of the combine, a straw chopper, and an unloading guide system for removing straw from the chopper of the first embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the embodiment of FIG. one.

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In FIG. 3 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 1, but with guide surfaces shown by a solid line rather than hidden lines.

In FIG. 4 is a sectional side view, partly in cross-sectional view, showing an embodiment of FIG. 1 in position for straw distribution.

In FIG. 5 is the same as in FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical view showing the adjustment of the guide wall to avoid straw distribution.

In FIG. Figure 6 is an isometric image of a partially through image of an air chamber used to mix air and straw flows.

In FIG. 7 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 4 depicting a modified design that uses a separate fan to blow air into the nozzle shown in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 8 is a side elevational view in part of a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of an external chopper at the rear of the combine, in which air is blown directly under the chopper.

In FIG. 9 is an enlarged side elevational view of the embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 8, partially through-image.

In FIG. 10 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 8, again partially through-image.

In FIG. 11 is an isometric rear view from the side of the embodiment of FIG. 8.

In FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 8.

In FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a piping system for blowing air separated from the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8.

In the drawings, the same numbers are used to indicate the corresponding parts in the various drawings.

Description of a preferred embodiment of the invention

FIG. 1-6 show a first embodiment of the invention. In these figures, the relevant elements of the combine harvester are highlighted and shown with a through image (using hidden lines).

Thus, the combine harvester includes a housing (not shown) mounted on the rear wheels 10 supporting various elements of the combine harvester. A combine harvester of this type is shown in the previously mentioned US Pat. No. 3,863,643, the disclosure of which is made here by reference to it. The combine harvester includes a threshing rotor 11, which during operation separates the grain material from the straw and removes the straw from the back of the rotor 12 into the straw chopping and removal system 13.

Typically, the removal system 13 includes a rotor 14 mounted on a shaft 15, rotating horizontally perpendicular to the rear of the threshing rotor 11. The chopping rotor is driven around the shaft axis by a drive mechanism mounted on the shaft end, designated 16, while the drive mechanism is lowered in the drawings for the convenience of the image. On the rotor there are pairs of knives 17 at intervals around the axis of the rotor and at intervals along the axis of the rotor so that the straw coming from the rear of the threshing rotor 11 is crushed and accelerated under the rotor 14 along the guide surface 18 into a guide and distribution element, indicated by the number 19. This unit includes a guide wall 20 that carries straw material back onto the hinge board 21 having several ribs 22 spaced at intervals across the hinge 21. The ribs 22 are curved back and out so that shinstvo edges are directed at a large angle to the longitudinal centerline than the ribs disposed centrally so as to provide distribution of the chopped straw over the ground.

The above-described units and components as a whole are usually used in combine harvesters of this general type, but the designs described here are modified, as will be shown later. Rotor 14 is a rotor of the type described in US application 2004/0043804, published March 4, 2004, the authors Redekop and others, the disclosure of which is made here by reference to it.

Thus, the rotor 14 is divided into a central section 23 lying between the two side sections 24. The side sections include knives on the rotor hub, which are shaped to provide a ventilation effect, while the knives in the central section 23 are mainly or completely cutting elements and therefore, substantially flat in the radial surface of the rotor. Thus, the cutting action takes place mainly in the central section, and two side sections exist to create air flow.

In the above published application, it is possible to move air and move material between the central and side sections so that a certain amount of straw can enter the side sections, and a certain amount of air can flow from the side sections to the central section. In the present construction, the idea is to maintain the sections separately significantly or completely so that the straw does not enter the side sections 24 and the air does not penetrate from the side sections into the central one. So pretty much all the air from

- 4 008359 side sections 24 can be used as an air propulsion device, as will be described below.

For this purpose, covers 25 are provided on the side sections 24, including a partially cylindrical outer wall 26 and a partially annular side wall 27 and 28. These walls serve to prevent air movement, as described above, or at least to prevent most of this movement.

The lateral and central sections usually rotate on a common hub and thus create a flow of material coming from the nozzle 29. For this, the rotor is bounded from below by the bottom wall 18 and from above by suitable guiding elements, including the bottom panel 30, so that the nozzle 29 is located between the back bottom wall 18 and top panel 30.

The guide system 19, formed by the walls having the common designation 20, transfers the straw from the central section 23, and the air from the side sections 24, independently of each other, into the chamber having the general designation 31. After that, the straw and air are mixed and fed to the hinged side 21 and ribs 22.

The ribs are generally of a conventional design, mounted on the bottom of the tailgate and have a bend to allow for straw distribution. The inclination of the ribs with respect to the center line of the tailgate, marked 32, can be adjusted by moving the mounting bolt on each rib along the groove 33 of the rib on the tailgate.

The hinged side is mounted in the usual way with its front end on the transverse pin mount, having the common designation 34, which allows you to adjust the tilt of the tailgate along the horizontal axis on the mounting bracket 35.

The guide system 19, as best seen in FIG. 2 and 4, includes two inlet pipes 36, the width of which is equal to the side sections 24 of the grinding rotor in order to directly receive air from them and carry it back along the guide 19 to the chamber 31. Each of the two pipes 36 is limited by two side walls, the upper and bottom wall so as to create a rectangular cross-sectional closed pipe with 36A at nozzle 29 and 36B at chamber 31. The inner side wall of pipe 36 is formed from a metal sheet that is part of the guide walls 20, and the outer wall can be formed by one of the walls orpusa harvester and therefore not visible in the drawings.

Between the pipes 36, the guiding system is formed by the upper wall 37 of the walls 20, protruding above the pipe 36 and thus forming between the pipes 36 and under the upper wall 37 a channel-shaped area along which the straw is removed from the output nozzle 29. The straw leaves the exit nozzle 29 in a stream up and back so that, having fallen on the surface 37, to be directed along the surface 37 up and back to the chamber 31 and the hinge board 21.

Thus, the straw exiting the nozzle 29, across the entire width of the central section 23, is directed back between the pipes 36 through the walls 37. The wall 37 has a rear edge 37 A located at a distance ahead of the rear opening 36B of the pipes 36. A swivel mounted on the rear edge 37A a panel 38 having a leading edge 38A at the rear edge 37A, on which the panel is mounted to rotate around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the guide system 19 at the rear edge 37A. Thus, the panel 38 has a trailing edge 38B that can move from the first position shown in FIG. 4 to a second downwardly inclined position, as shown in FIG. 5.

In the position shown in FIG. 4, the panel 38 projects downward and backward and occupies a position in which its rear edge 38B is adjacent to the front edge 40A of the lower panel 40 of the chamber 31. Thus, the cleaning material, sliding along the lower surface of the wall 37, falls on the lower surface of the wall 38 and from there it enters the lower surface of the wall 40. The harvested material in crushed form thus passes through these surfaces and is on the lower surface of the hinged side 21, which is inclined slightly downward with respect to the lower inclination of the walls 38 and 40. Thus, the material flow smoothly moves along the surfaces to the lower surface of the tailgate, where it reaches the ribs 22 and is divided into separate streams, which are scattered in the direction of the ribs in the usual way.

Air flow from the rear open ends of the pipes 36 enters the chamber 31, as best shown in FIG. 6, in place above the wall 40 and under the upper wall 41 of the chamber. Between the upper and lower walls 40 and 41 there is a pair of vertical side guide walls 42 and 43 with a nozzle 44 located inside the chamber 31 for air leaving the pipes 36. The nozzle 44 is located between the walls 42 and 43, and the wall 43 is located along one edge of the chamber and the wall 44 is inclined inward so that it ends at the side edge 44A located from the side edge 43A of the wall 43 at a distance greater than the width of the pipe 36. At the same time, as the nozzle increases in width, it also shrinks in height so that the wall 41 is approx presses against the wall 40, leaving a slit hole 45 at the trailing edge of the nozzle 44. The hole 45 has a height determined by the distance between the walls 40 and 41, and a width determined by the distance between the walls 43 and 44. Thus, the air flow entering the nozzle 44, is transmitted in the form of an air stream from a relatively high pipe 36 to a lower wider opening of the nozzle 45.

A plurality of pivoting dampers 46 are located on the nozzle 44, adjacent to the bore 45. The dampers can be adjusted by rotating each damper about an axis through the wall 41 and

- 5 008359 by operating the manual lever 47. Each of the shutters 46 can be independently adjusted so as to vary the amount of air exiting at different positions along the width of the opening 45. In the shown position, the shutters are generally parallel to the air flow, so that they have little effect or do not affect air movement at all. However, it is valuable that turning the dampers 90 ° will block a certain part of the opening 45, thereby redirecting the air flow to another part of the opening 45. Thus, the individual adjustment of the dampers 46 can control the amount of air leaving the right place through the opening 45 on the hinged side 21.

Thus, it is valuable that the straw passing under the wall 40 exits the trailing edge 40B of the wall 40 and passes from there through a small step formed by the height of the nozzle opening 45 and the locking part of the wall 49 between the opening 45 of the flap surface. As the material passes this step, the air stream from the hole 45 is connected to the straw and forms a joint stream. It is also valuable that the straw or crop material in the center adjacent to the locking part of the wall 49 contains less air from the pipes 44 and is thus transported mainly by air from the rotor 14. Additional air is added to the material stream at the moment of passage under the hole 45, so that the side parts of the stream receive additional air from the pipes 36.

It is valuable that the material flow is restricted at the trailing edge 40B by the wall 43 and in particular its component 43A under the trailing edge 40B. The walls 43 are located at a greater distance than the width of the panel 37 and the panel 38, since they also include the width of the pipes 36. Thus, the straw originally enclosed between the inner walls of the pipes 36 begins to spread at the rear end of the pipes 36 into the area enclosed between the walls 43. The pressure inside the stream causes a distribution in which the amount of straw is substantially constant throughout the entire width between the walls 43 at the end of the chamber 41.

The straw is thus guided by the walls 43 onto the hinged side outside of the outermost rib, designated 22A. As seen in FIG. 2, the width of the hole 45 formed by the walls 43 and 44 directs the air flow to the leading end of the first three ribs, designated 22A, 22B and 22C, respectively. Thus, each of these ribs is guided by material supplemented with air from the opening 45. As mentioned above, a certain amount of air directed to each of the ribs can be adjusted using the corresponding damper 46.

Since the remaining ribs after the third rib 22C are located inward from the hole 45, there is little additional air coming from the pipes 36.

Thus, the additional air flow from the pipes 36 enters the flow of cleaning material on the hinged board, to a large extent immediately upon entering or on the step, which is formed by the hole 45 and the plate 49. Thus, additional air flows only to the fins most distant from the center and especially the three farthest from the center, where an improved spreading action is especially required. It was found that the addition of additional air to the material going to the three farthest ribs from the center leads to the best spreading and the greatest accuracy in the distribution of the material over the entire spreading width.

As mentioned above, to prevent straw from entering the pipes 36, which can lead to clogging of these pipes and the nozzle 44, it is desirable that there are casings or covers on the side sections 24 to at least reduce, and if possible prevent penetration straw into the area of the side sections.

Alternatively (not shown), the side sections of the rotor can be completely external with respect to the straw movement zone in the combine so that the air flow passing through the pipes 36 is created by a separate rotor element, so that the pipes 36 are located outside the straw zone.

In FIG. 7 shows another alternative solution in which additional air flow is generated by a fan 50, which is completely separated from the rotor 14. In this embodiment, the fan 50 creates an air flow through the pipe 51, which is then transmitted separately from or away from the walls 37 and 38, through which the straw is transferred to the chamber 31. Thus, the pipe 51 enters one side wall of the chamber 43 and protrudes transversely above the lower wall 40 of the chamber under the upper wall 41 of the chamber and, therefore, above the straw flow so as to supply part of the air about the flow to one of the nozzles 44, and part to the other nozzle 44. Thus, the pipe protrudes across the width of the chamber and is divided so as to separate the required amount of air flow into each of the nozzles 44.

Another alternative would be to use two fans driven either by the rotor directly at the ends of the rotor shaft, or by a suitable drive coming from the rotor. Then, each of the fans includes a separate pipe 51, transmitting the air flow to the nozzle 44 of the chamber 31.

In all of these embodiments, an air stream is injected into the straw stream immediately in front of the tailgate. In all of these embodiments, the air flow is divided into two separate sections, each of which is adjacent to the corresponding edge of the straw flow. In all of these embodiments, the air flow can be controlled by means of rotary dampers or other suitable valve arrangement so as to control the directivity of the air flow to the selected ribs of the tailgate.

In the embodiment where the additional air flow is separated from the grinding rotor, in the rotor

- 6 008359 can be used blades that are completely chopping knives, so that they are largely in the radial plane to the axis of the rotor to provide an improved grinding action. However, some of the blades may be fan blades, which helps in creating an air flow if air flow is required in addition to the straw flow exiting the rotor. It is valuable that the air stream for transporting straw can be provided with various portions of air of additional air stream from pipes 36 or 51 and the rotor itself, depending on the design requirements.

In place of the panel or wall 38 shown in FIG. 5, the panel is rotatably fixed so that it directs the flow of material passing over its surface, bypassing the ribs and the chamber 31 so that the material is directed by the flow straight down towards the ground. This eliminates the spreading action when it is not required by the operator.

Turning to the embodiment of FIG. 8-13. A similar construction is shown using a conventional rear-mounted straw chopper 60. The chopper has a conventional device and includes a hub 61 on which the knives 62 are located from the inlet 63 to the outlet 64. The hinged side 65 is rotatably mounted on a transverse pin mount and can be adjusted when help staples 67. On the hinged side are ribs 68. The chopper is located inside the housing 69, consisting of an upper wall 70 and a lower wall 71, which limits the flow of material from the input th hole to the outlet 64, on the hinge side 65 and ribs 68.

As described previously, the ribs are installed at different angles over the entire width of the tailgate to ensure distribution, and the inclination of the ribs can be adjusted as described above.

Knives 62 interact with fixed knives 73 during grinding. All of these designs are common and well known to specialists in this field, so that only the necessary details are described.

The knives 62 may only be straight cutting knives, or may include blade knives, as is well known from Redecop's previous patents.

The conventional chopper thus described is modified by the addition of additional air flow from the pipe 75, which transfers air to the chamber 76.

The air supply to the pipe may be provided by any suitable fan device driven by the combine harvester. In the example shown, the fan device includes an end fan 77 mounted on the end of the rotor and generating air flow through the fan outlet nozzle 78, which enters the open end 75A of the pipe (duct) 75. However, the fan can be separate from the rotor and installed at any suitable point in the sweeper combine harvester. There may be a single fan supplying air to a single pipe 75, or there may be two fans supplying air separately to two separate pipes 75 that supply air to the chamber separately. In the shown embodiment, there is only one pipe 75 from one fan mounted on one end of the rotor, and the pipe supplies air to the central part of the chamber 76. The chamber 76 is shown in more detail in FIG. 13 and 9.

A chamber 76 is mounted on the bottom wall 71 of the rotor housing 61. The chamber includes a lower wall 80, which generally repeats the shape of the lower wall 71 so that an air passage 82 is formed between the walls 71 and 80 coming from the pipe 75. The chamber includes a connecting part or cuff 83, which is shaped to receive the end 75B of the pipe 75. The upper cuff wall 84 protrudes from the pipe up to the lower side of the lower wall 71, so that the upper part of the air passage 82 is closed by the wall 71 without additional steps, letting air into the rotor housing.

The pipe 82 is described by two side walls 85 and 86, which are deflected outward from the pipe 75 and the sleeve 84 and pass into the discharge nozzle 87 at the trailing edges 85B and 86B of the walls 85 and 86. These trailing edges are spaced apart from each other at a distance equal to the width of the lower wall 71, and form an opening 87 that extends to the edges of the discharge opening 64 of the straw chopper 60.

The air pipe 82 then passes into a U-shaped guide wall 88, including sections of the wall 89 and 90, which converge at the upper point 91, and deviates to the trailing edges 89B and 90B at the hole 87. Thus, the wall 85 together with the wall 89 forms the first part of the pipe 82A, and the wall 90 together with the wall 86 and forms the second part of the pipe 82B. Part of the pipe 82A releases air at the discharge opening 82C, which is part of the opening 87, and part of the pipe 82B releases air at the discharge opening 82Ό. Air does not enter the central part 87A of the hole 87, since it is blocked from it by the inclined walls 89 and 90. Thus, again, as in the previous embodiment, the air flow is divided into two sections at the exit from the nozzles 82C and 82Ό located below the bottom the wall 71 at the outlet 64. Thus, the hole 87 is located under the outlet 64 so that the air is mixed with straw when leaving the outlet 64 and entering the hinge board 65.

The air flow exiting nozzles 82C and 82Ό can again be adjusted using dampers or baffles 92 on manually adjustable levers 93, similar to the rotary dampers described in the previous embodiment.

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As best shown in FIG. 10 and in the rear view of FIG. 12, the discharge nozzles 82C and 82Ό are designed to direct air to the three fins farthest from the center, designated 68A, 68B and 68C. Thus, the straw entering these three ribs has an air stream supplemented by an additional air stream, which increases the speed of the straw flow in these areas for better spreading and distribution of straw.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it should be understood that various modifications can be made in them, and the appended claims cover all such modifications that do not depart from the essence and scope of the invention.

CLAIM

Claims (7)

CLAIM 1. Combine harvester, comprising a housing; a straw separation system installed inside the housing and used to separate the grains from the straw for collecting seeds and transporting straw for removal; a device for chopping and removing straw, installed at the outlet of the straw separation system for producing straw for chopping and creating a stream of chopped straw for spreading chopped straw, where the device for chopping and removing straw includes a rotor mounted to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the rotor, having many knives mounted on the rotor with the possibility of rotation around the above axis for chopping straw and accelerating the chopped material into the stream for unloading in the place of unloading narrow a plurality of guide ribs at the discharge point for guiding the crushed material to spread; and an air source for generating air flow through the outlet of the outlet nozzle, forming an air stream directed to the plurality of guide ribs and helping to disperse the crushed material. 2. The combine harvester according to claim 1, where the air flow is arranged so that the air speed is different on different guide ribs. 3. The combine harvester according to claim 1 or 2, equipped with two separate nozzles, each of which has an outlet directed to a plurality of guide ribs on the corresponding side of the discharge site. 4. Combine harvester according to any preceding paragraph, where the nozzle outlet is located directly adjacent to the guide ribs to direct the material to the ribs. 5. The combine harvester according to any preceding paragraph, where the rotor is an internal rotor located inside the combine body, and there is a guide wall going from the rotor to the discharge point, where the guide ribs are located and where the nozzle hole is installed in a place adjacent to the ribs. 6. The harvester according to claim 5, where the rotor includes two side fan sections, where each side section directs air through a pipe located along the guide wall into a separate nozzle. 7. The combine harvester according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the guide wall and ribs include a movable member that can move from the first position in which it directs the straw to the ribs to the second position in which it directs the straw past the ribs.