Combine harvester with modified feeder house

Abstract

The header of a combine harvester comprises a conventional forward gathering portion and a feeder house portion which contains elements for processing crop material as well as transferring it from the gatherer to the body of the combine. A threshing cylinder and concave combination receives crop material from the discharge opening of the gatherer and delivers that portion passing between the cylinder and concave to a first separating conveyor extending downstream from the concave, within the feeder house. A simple conveyor underlies the concave and first separating conveyor, to receive grain and chaff passing through the concave and also that passing downwards from the first separating conveyor and delivers it to the body of the combine, for transfer to a cleaning shoe. Material carried on the upper surface of the first separating conveyor is transferred to a second separating conveyor (straw walkers) in the body of the combine. In a preferred embodiment, the first and second separating conveyors comprise a unitary straw walker arrangement with downstream portions of the straw walkers extending cantilever fashion into the feeder house to terminate adjacent the concave discharge end.