Abstract: A cleaning system of a combine is provided with a cleaning shoe having a step pan, a conditioning pan and a chaffer. A cleaning fan is provided with two outlets. The first outlet has two ducts. The first duct directs a primary air blast above the step pan through grain and chaff falling from the threshing system to the step pan. The second duct directs a secondary air blast through grain and chaff falling from the step pan and the separating system onto the conditioning pan. The second outlet directs a chaffer air blast to the chaffer.

Abstract: In an axial flow rotary separator, the crop material engaging elements of the eccentrically mounted rotor include helically oriented deflecting surfaces of significant axial extent which in operation, sweep closely or "wipe" a separating grate of the separator casing while the helical surfaces contribute to axial indexing of the material.

Abstract: In an axial flow rotary separator, a separator grate forming part of a generally cylindrical separator casing consists of a series of circumferentially spaced, axially extending, finger bar assemblies. In each finger bar assembly side by side fingers extend circumferentially in the direction of rotation, supported cantilever fashion by an axially extending finger support bar. The fingers and support bar inner surfaces all lie approximately in a cylindrical surface but the radial offset of the free ends of the fingers relative to the following finger support bar, may be chosen or varied according to the crop handled and the grate characteristics desired. In a second embodiment a threshing concave of the same general structure is used in conjunction with a conventional rasp bar threshing cylinder.

Abstract: In a cleaning shoe arrangement for a combine, an elongated grain pan includes a screen portion and receives crop material directly from an open threshing concave and a return pan under the straw walkers. The screen portion is provided with an under air blast and the grain pan thus does double duty--as a conveyor and as a precleaner or "conditioning sieve". Clean grain passing through this screen portion goes directly to the clean grain auger of the cleaning shoe. Remaining material, conditioned and stratified by its passage across the conditioning sieve of the grain pan, is delivered to a chaffer. Beneath the chaffer, a sieve assembly includes a conventional sieve portion and, extending downstream beyond the chaffer, a chaffer extension coplanar with the sieve portion and spaced from it by a transverse tailings slot, disposed above the tailings auger of the cleaning shoe. The chaffer and sieve assembly are provided with a conventional air blast from the cleaning shoe blower.

Abstract: A self-propelled axial flow rotary combine includes a generally fore-and-aft disposed separator including a separating rotor surrounded by a cylindrical grate. A forward-mounted header gathers crop material from a field and feeds it to the space between the rotor and the grate for threshing and separation, straw being ejected from the rear of the separator and a portion of the crop material, including grain and chaff, passing through the grate and generally downwards to be intercepted by either a reciprocating grain pan under a forward portion of the separator or a reciprocating cleaning shoe immediately rearward of the grain pan and beneath a rearward portion of the separator. The grain pan is shaped so as to compensate for the laterally uneven distribution of the crop material as it passes downwards from the grate so that delivery of material from the rearward edge of the grain pan to the cleaner is distributed more uniformly across the width of the cleaner.