Sperry Corporation

New Holland North America, Inc.

Andre G Dhont

Marc R Jonckheere

Daniel C Witdoek

Jose G Gryspeerdt

Eric P Van Queckelberge

An agricultural harvesting machine having a threshing and separating mechanism for threshing and separating crop material; and cleaning mechanism for cleaning the threshed and separated crop material. The cleaning mechanism comprising: a grain pan for receiving threshed and separated crop material and transporting the latter rearwardly; and an upper and lower sieves installed behind said grain pan and operable to receive the material from said grain pan and move it through and along. At least one portion of said grain pan is inclined in a sideways direction for sideways movement of said threshed and separated crop material while it is being transported rearwardly towards said sieve. This inclination spreads out the surplus of crop material supplied to one longitudinal section of the grain pan and delivers it in an even pattern to the front section of the upper sieve.

Cleaning means for a combine harvester

A torque sensing variable diameter power transfer assembly is disclosed wherein the cam members are provided with an asymmetrical cam surface pattern having first and second cam surfaces meeting the base of the cam at different angles. The opposing first cam surfaces meet the corresponding base members at approximately 45.degree. and interengage to effectively transmit torque between the opposing cam members during normal operating conditions. The opposing second cam surfaces meet the corresponding case member at approximately 30.degree. and interengage to effectively transmit torque between the respective cam members during reverse power conditions, wherein the normally driven sheave temporarily becomes the drive sheave. The asymmetrical cam surfaces generally eliminate belt slippage during reverse power conditions and permit the engine to brake the power delivered by the normally driven sheave.

Torque sensing drive

A tensioning apparatus for a power transfer mechanism utilizing an endless flexible member having a normally slack run and a normally taut run is disclosed wherein the tensioning apparatus is operable to take up the slack in the endless member under both normal operating conditions and reverse power conditions during which the normally slack run becomes taut and vice-versa. The tensioning apparatus varies the amount of tensioning force applied to each run of the endless member in response to the amount of tension within the respective run. A constant biasing force is applied to a pair of tensioning idlers through an elongated rod which positionally changes relative to the tensioning idler pivots to vary the amount of tensioning force applied by the tensioning idlers.

Growing community of inventors

Maldegem, Belgium

Andre G Dhont