Enclosed threshing cylinder with rasp-type bars

Abstract

An improved threshing cylinder for a combine has an enclosed cylinder construction and rasp-type cylinder bars secured to mounting flanges on an outer periphery of the enclosed cylinder. The enclosed cylinder is substantially impervious to crop material so that debris cannot accumulate inside the cylinder during operation. The rasp-type cylinder bars are center-arched, deep-toothed, and have leading edges that slope rearwardly relative to a direction of rotation less than about 15 degrees from a radial line passing through the axis of rotation. The teeth on the rasp-type bars have a substantially constant height from a leading edge to a trailing edge of the bars. The mounting flanges each have a sloped front surface for guiding crop material outwardly to the rasp-type bars, and a mounting surface having a plurality of bores for attaching the rasp-type bars. The leading edges of the rasp-type bars are substantially the same as the trailing edges such that an orientation of the bars can be reversed on the threshing cylinder to extend a service life of the bars.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.