International Harvester Company

Richard A DePauw

Richard W Staiert

Neil C Dunn

James R Lucas

Robert L Francis

Richard E McMillen

A self-propelled crop harvesting combine having a variable speed crop threshing and separating rotor. The crop material is delivered from a conventional cleaning system into a grain holding tank. A system is provided to determine the ratio of damaged to undamaged grain from predetermined amounts of grain delivered to the grain tank. An electronic control system varies the speed of the rotor in response to changes in the ratio whereby the speed of the threshing mechanism is automatically varied to minimize grain damage in the threshing process.

Crop damage responsive control of rotor speed

An axial flow combine having a crop harvesting header including a feeder for cutting a crop and feeding it rearwardly into a threshing and separating mechanism. The mechanism includes a casing for receiving the crop material and a rotor within the casing for threshing and separating grain from the crop material. A plurality of crop material directing vanes is disposed within the casing and cooperate with the rotor in directing the material generally helically along the casing. Means are included for selectively and simultaneously adjusting the position of the vanes to change the rate of movement of the crop material through the casing.

Adjustable transport vanes for axial flow combine

An apparatus for accepting unthrashed material that is being fed axially into the cylinder of an axially flow combine. The apparatus includes a three bladed impeller that when rotated generates a frustum of a cone with the larger end of the cone frustum being generated by the leading edges of the impeller blades. The leading edge of each impeller blade being swept back such that the outermost portion of the leading edge of the impeller blade trails a line radiating from the point on the rotor axis where the impeller blade originates from.

Growing community of inventors

East Moline, IL, United States of America

Richard A DePauw