Partially-unlouvered sieve mechanism
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsJeffrey R. Walter, Kevin P. Hurley, Michael T. Meschke, Yogesh Chande, Kelli Martin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exemplary sieve mechanism is configured for separating grain from chaff. The sieve mechanism generally includes a frame and a louvered region including a plurality of louvers mounted to the frame. The sieve mechanism further includes and an unlouvered region lacking louvers such that a gap is defined adjacent the louvered region.
Claims19
A sieve mechanism for separating grain from chaff in a cleaning system, the sieve mechanism comprising:
- a frame;
- a louvered region comprising a plurality of louvers mounted to the frame;
- and
- an unlouvered region lacking louvers such that at least one gap is defined adjacent the louvered region;
- wherein the louvers are rotatably mounted to the frame for rotation between a closed position and a fully open position;
- and
- wherein the at least one gap is defined within the frame when the louvers are in the closed position.
A sieve mechanism for separating grain from chaff in a cleaning system, the sieve mechanism comprising:
- a frame;
- a louvered region comprising a plurality of louvers mounted to the frame;
- and
- an unlouvered region lacking louvers such that a gap is defined adjacent the louvered region;
- wherein each louver comprises a body portion and a flange extending from the body portion;
- wherein the body portions of adjacent louvers within the louvered region have an average longitudinal offset distance;
- and
- wherein the unlouvered region has a longitudinal dimension at least twice the average longitudinal offset distance.
A cleaning system for separating grain from chaff, the cleaning system comprising:
- a sieve assembly comprising a sieve mechanism, the sieve mechanism comprising:
- a sieve mechanism frame;
- a louvered region comprising a plurality of louvers rotatably mounted to the frame for rotation between a closed position and an open position;
- and
- an unlouvered region lacking louvers such that at least one gap is defined within the sieve mechanism frame when the louvers are in the closed position;
- a collection area positioned below the sieve mechanism;
- and
- a grain auger extending into the collection area, the grain auger operable to drive grain from the collection area to a grain bin.
A method, comprising:
- providing a partially-unlouvered sieve mechanism comprising:
- a frame;
- a louvered region comprising a plurality of louvers movably mounted to the frame such that each louver has an open position and a closed position;
- and
- an unlouvered region lacking louvers such that at least one gap is defined within the sieve mechanism frame when the louvers are in the closed position;
- sifting a mixture of grain and chaff using the partially-unlouvered sieve mechanism, thereby allowing grain to fall through the partially-unlouvered sieve mechanism while retaining chaff above the partially-unlouvered sieve mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.