Combine sieve adjustment mechanism

In a combine having a mobile frame adapted for movement over a field to harvest crop material therefrom;

• crop gathering means supported from said frame to gather crop material, including both grain crop and trash material, from the field;
• threshing and separating means mounted on said frame to receive crop material from said crop gathering means and process said crop material to remove said grain crop from the trash material;
• and cleaning means supported on said frame proximate to said threshing and separating means to receive grain crop therefrom and further separate said grain crop from any residual trash material associated therewith, said cleaning means including an adjustable sieve having a plurality of transversely extending slats pivotally mounted in a sieve frame and an adjustment mechanism operatively connected to said slats to pivotally move said slats within said sieve frame, said slats defining openings through said sieve to permit the passage of said grain, the size of said openings being variable with the pivoted movement of said slats, an improved adjustment mechanism comprising:
• a fore-and-aft extending slat connection member interconnecting said slats to effect a simultaneous pivotal movement thereof upon a fore-and-aft movement of said slot connection member;
• an upwardly extending pivot member pivotally mounted on said sieve frame and connected to said slat connection member so that a pivotal movement of said pivot member causes a corresponding fore-and-aft movement of said slot connection member;
• and
• a retractable handle connected to said pivot member and being movable into an actuation position in which said handle extends upwardly above said sieve and can be operable to effect pivotal movement of said pivot member, said handle also being movable to a retracted position to minimize the obstruction therefrom to the flow of crop material across said sieve.