Concave ramp for an agricultural vehicle
AssigneeCNH Industrial America LLC
InventorJonathan E. Ricketts
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An agricultural vehicle including a chassis and a threshing system supported by the chassis. The threshing system includes a rotor, a front concave located at a distance radially away from the rotor and at least partially surrounding the rotor, and an infeed ramp connected to the front concave. The infeed ramp is located at a distance radially away from the rotor and has a plurality of slots therein. The threshing system also includes a support member positioned underneath the infeed ramp and a plurality of vanes connected to the support member. Each vane extends through a respective slot of the plurality of slots and is located at a distance radially away from the rotor. The vanes are configured for contacting and directing the crop material rearwardly towards the front concave.
Claims14
An agricultural vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis;
- and
- a threshing system supported by the chassis, configured for threshing a crop material, and including:
- a rotor;
- a front concave located at a distance radially away from the rotor and at least partially surrounding the rotor;
- an infeed ramp connected to the front concave, the infeed ramp located at a distance radially away from the rotor, and the infeed ramp having a plurality of slots therein;
- a support member positioned underneath the infeed ramp;
- and
- a plurality of vanes connected to the support member, each of the plurality of vanes extending through a respective slot of the plurality of slots and being located at a distance radially away from the rotor, the plurality of vanes being configured for contacting and directing the crop material rearwardly towards the front concave,
- wherein the front concave is movable relative to the rotor, and the infeed ramp is fixedly connected to the front concave such that a movement of the front concave causes a corresponding movement of the infeed ramp, and
- wherein the support member is located at a fixed distance from the rotor, and the plurality of vanes are fixedly connected to the support member.
A threshing system configured for threshing a crop material, comprising:
- a rotor;
- a front concave located at a distance radially away from the rotor and at least partially surrounding the rotor;
- an infeed ramp connected to the front concave, the infeed ramp located at a distance radially away from the rotor, and the infeed ramp having a plurality of slots therein;
- a support member positioned underneath the infeed ramp;
- and
- a plurality of vanes connected to the support member, each of the plurality of vanes extending through a respective slot of the plurality of slots and being located at a distance radially away from the rotor, the plurality of vanes being configured for contacting and directing the crop material rearwardly towards the front concave,
- wherein the front concave is movable relative to the rotor, and the infeed ramp is fixedly connected to the front concave such that a movement of the front concave causes a corresponding movement of the infeed ramp, and
- wherein the support member is located at a fixed distance from the rotor, and the plurality of vanes are fixedly connected to the support member.
A method of operating an agricultural vehicle comprising a threshing system for threshing a crop material, the threshing system including a rotor, a front concave located at a distance radially away from the rotor and at least partially surrounding the rotor, an infeed ramp connected to the front concave, the infeed ramp located at a distance radially away from the rotor, and the infeed ramp having a plurality of slots therein, a support member positioned underneath the infeed ramp, and a plurality of vanes connected to the support member, each of the plurality of vanes extending through a respective slot of the plurality of slots and being located at a distance radially away from the rotor, the plurality of vanes being configured for contacting the crop material, wherein the front concave is movable relative to the rotor and the infeed ramp is fixedly connected to the front concave such that a movement of the front concave causes a corresponding movement of the infeed ramp, and wherein the support member is located at a fixed distance from the rotor, and the plurality of vanes are fixedly connected to the support member, the method comprising steps of:
- directing a crop material flow by the infeed ramp toward the front concave;
- stopping the crop material flow, by the plurality of vanes, from spinning along a perimeter of the infeed ramp;
- and
- directing the crop material flow, by the plurality of vanes, rearwardly towards the front concave.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.