# US 4,397,319 A · Cleaning device for harvesting machines > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 4,397,319 A - Document ID: US4397319A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 06/249,582 - Filed: 1981-03-31 - Granted: 1983-08-09 - Earliest claimed: 1981-03-31 - Assignees: Deere & Company - Inventors: Ernst Schuhmacher - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4397319A ## CPC - B07B 9/00: Combinations of apparatus for screening or sifting or for separating solids from solids using gas currents; General arrangement of plant, e.g. flow sheets - A01F 12/442: {Rotary cleaners} - B07B: SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS BY SIEVING, SCREENING, SIFTING OR BY USING GAS CURRENTS; SEPARATING BY OTHER DRY METHODS APPLICABLE TO BULK MATERIAL, e.g. LOOSE ARTICLES FIT TO BE HANDLED LIKE BULK MATERIAL (wet separating processes, sorting by processes using fluent material in the same way as liquid B03; combinations of dry separating apparatus with wet separating apparatus B03B; using liquids B03B, B03D; sorting by magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges or vortex apparatus for carrying out physical processes B04; hand sorting, postal sorting, sorting by switching or other devices actuated in response to detection or measurement of some feature of articles or samples of material B07C) - A01F: PROCESSING OF HARVESTED PRODUCE; HAY OR STRAW PRESSES; DEVICES FOR STORING AGRICULTURAL OR HORTICULTURAL PRODUCE (devices for topping or skinning onions or flower bulbs A23N15/08) ## Abstract In a cleaning device for threshed crop material, the material is introduced into the upstream end of a drum by a coaxial auger feeder. An air flow whirling around the inner wall of the drum is created by a tangentially connected blower. Heavier fractions of the crop material (grain) tend to be flung against the drum wall and leave through grates into a closed conveyor system, creating dynamic air pressure in the drum. Chaff and straw tend to be held in vortex towards the central core of the drum and are discharged axially through the downstream end of the drum. Various alternative embodiments with multiple blowers, multiple air inlets into the drum, recirculation of the cleaning air, finger rakes in various dispositions inside the drum, crop material fed through the blower delivery duct and adjustable baffles for controlling air flow entering the drum are described. ## Claims ### Claim 1 In a harvesting machine, a crop material cleaning device for processing threshed material comprising: a fixed cleaning drum having an upstream threshed material inlet and a downstream outlet and a generally cylindrical wall including an air inlet including an air inlet portion adjacent and generally downstream of the threshed material inlet and a sieve-like outlet; a feeder conveyor in a crop material delivery relationship with the upstream inlet for feeding threshed material into the drum; a blower assembly connected to the air inlet for delivering a flow of air into the drum in a direction substantially tangential to the wall of the drum adjacent the air inlet for engaging the threshed material and propelling it circumferentially within the drum; and means urging the crop material downstream so that the harvested crops are separated from impurities and discharged through the sieve-like outlet and the impurities are discharged through the downstream outlet. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 and further including air restricting means associated with the sieve-like outlet for contributing to the generation of a dynamic pressure in the cleaning drum. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The cleaning device of claim 2 wherein the device for generating a dynamic pressure in the cleaning drum is an at least partially enclosed conveying means connected to the sieve-like outlet for receiving the cleaned harvested crops. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the sieve-like outlet is circumferentially adjacent the air inlet. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the rotational axis of the blower assembly is approximately parallel to the axis of the cleaning drum and the blower assembly substantially spans the axial extent of the cleaning drum. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the sieve-like outlet extends axially and includes an upstream portion and a downstream portion and further including a separating member associated with the sieve-like outlet for segregating the flow of cleaned crop material entering the respective upstream and downstream portions. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 and further including an auxiliary, at least partially foraminous, separating structure supported in the drum interior by the drum wall and at least partially overlying and being spaced radially inwardly from the sieve-like outlet. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The cleaning device of claim 7 wherein the auxiliary separating structure is, in terms of circumferential air flow direction, disposed in advance of the sieve-like outlet and includes a plurality of substantially parallel elongated fingers extending generally circumferentially and the means for urging crop material downstream includes the fingers being angled somewhat downstream. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The cleaning device of claim 8 wherein the fingers are axially spaced and the axial spacing is greater at the downstream end of the plurality of fingers than at the upstream end. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The cleaning device of claim 7 wherein the auxiliary separating structure approximately spans the axial extent of the sieve-like outlet. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 and further including a plurality of circumferentially spaced auxiliary separating structures carried by the drum wall in the drum interior each such structure intercepting a portion of a crop material as it is propelled circumferentially adjacent the inner wall of the drum and deflecting it inwards away from the wall of the drum. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 and further including means operatively associated with the air inlet for changing the direction of flow of air entering the drum relative to the tangential direction of the drum wall adjacent the air inlet. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 and further including means carried by the drum wall inside the drum adjacent the sieve-like outlet for deflecting at least a portion of the crop material being propelled circumferentially around the wall of the drum inwards away from the wall of the drum. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 and further including a second air inlet in the wall of the drum and a second blower assembly connected to the second air inlet for delivering a second flow of air into the drum in a direction approximately parallel to a tangent to the drum wall adjacent the air inlet. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the connection of the blower assembly to the drum wall includes an axially extending arcuate wall member at least partially surrounding the drum wall and further including a second air inlet circumferentially spaced from the first, the outer wall member cooperating with the drum wall to define an air duct for delivery of air into the drum through the first and second air inlets. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The cleaning device of claim 15 and further including, carried by the drum wall in advance of each air inlet, an auxiliary, at least partially foraminous separating structure diverging inwardly from the drum wall so as to deflect inwards away from the wall at least a portion of the crop material being propelled circumferentially around the wall. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the sieve-like outlet is disposed above the longitudinal axis of the drum. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the feeder conveyor comprises a screw conveyor coaxial with the cleaning drum and an impeller coaxial with the conveyor and drum, for receiving at least a portion of the material from the screw conveyor and imparting an initial circumferential motion to the material entering the drum. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the feeder conveyor includes a coaxial threshing and separating device at least partially axially overlapping the upstream portion of the cleaning drum. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the upstream inlet for the delivery of crop material to the drum by the feeder conveyor is associated with the air inlet so that crop material is entrained in the air entering the drum. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the blower assembly includes an inlet and said inlet is connected to the downstream end of the cleaning drum so that at least a portion of the air delivered by the blower assembly is drawn from the interior of the drum. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The cleaning device of claim 21 wherein the blower assembly is mounted coaxially with the cleaning drum at the downstream end of the drum. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the wall of the cleaning drum includes a discharge outlet towards its downstream end for discharge of impurities separated from the harvested grain.