Weed seeds are destroyed in the chaff from a combine harvester by repeated high speed impacts caused by a rotor mounted in one of a pair of side by side housings which accelerate the discarded seeds in a direction centrifugally away from the rotor onto a stator including angularly adjustable stator surfaces around the axis. Thus the discarded seeds rebound back and forth between the rotor and the stator to provide a plurality of impacts. The seeds are carried axially of the rotor by a controlled airstream so that they move to an axial discharge location where a discharge fan is mounted. The angle of the discharge around the rotor axis can be changed to direct the seeds to the side of the combine away from a straw chopper, towards the guide fins of the tailboard of the chopper, or into the housing of the straw chopper.

Weed seeds are destroyed in the chaff from a combine harvester by repeated high speed impacts caused by a rotor mounted in one of a pair of side by side housings which accelerate the discarded seeds in a direction centrifugally away from the rotor onto a stator including angularly adjustable stator surfaces around the axis. Thus the discarded seeds rebound back and forth between the rotor and the stator to provide a plurality of impacts. The seeds are carried axially of the rotor by a controlled airstream so that they move to an axial discharge location where a discharge fan is mounted. The angle of the discharge around the rotor axis can be changed to direct the seeds to the side of the combine away from a straw chopper, towards the guide fins of the tailboard of the chopper, or into the housing of the straw chopper.

Weed seeds are destroyed in the chaff from a combine harvester by repeated high speed impacts caused by a rotor mounted in one of a pair of side by side housings which accelerate the discarded seeds in a direction centrifugally away from the rotor onto a stator including angularly adjustable stator surfaces around the axis. Thus the discarded seeds rebound back and forth between the rotor and the stator to provide a plurality of impacts. The seeds are carried axially of the rotor by a controlled airstream so that they move to an axial discharge location where a discharge fan is mounted. The angle of the discharge around the rotor axis can be changed to direct the seeds to the side of the combine away from a straw chopper, towards the guide fins of the tailboard of the chopper, or into the housing of the straw chopper.

A windrow system of a combine includes a chopper and a spreader. The chopper includes a chopper housing having a roof and a rotor assembly positioned in the chopper housing, and the spreader is pivotably coupled to the chopper and includes a top surface and an impellor that is positioned below the top surface and includes one or more blades for rotatably conveying crop residue rearwardly and outwardly from the spreader. The windrow system also includes top segment coupled to a main body of the combine, a first curtain, and a second curtain having a portion thereof positioned outwardly of the first curtain. Each of the curtains are movable relative to the main body of the combine when the spreader and/or chopper move between at least one of wide and narrow positions, chopping and windrowing positions, and chopping and stowed positions.

A combine harvester includes a housing, a separating system mounted within the housing for separating a seed material from a straw material, a cleaning system including a cleaning fan configured to produce a motive flow of air, a straw chopper operable to chop the straw material from the separating system into a chopped straw material, a spreading system positioned downstream of the straw chopper and configured to disperse the chopped straw material outside of the housing of the combine harvester, and an air discharge channel located downstream of the straw chopper and above the spreading system and configured to discharge a portion of the motive flow of air produced by the cleaning fan.

A combine harvester includes a housing, a separating system mounted within the housing for separating a seed material from a straw material, a cleaning system including a cleaning fan configured to produce a motive flow of air, a straw chopper operable to chop the straw material from the separating system into a chopped straw material, a spreading system positioned downstream of the straw chopper and configured to disperse the chopped straw material outside of the housing of the combine harvester, and an air discharge channel located downstream of the straw chopper and above the spreading system and configured to discharge a portion of the motive flow of air produced by the cleaning fan.

A combine harvester for carrying out an agricultural harvesting process has a plurality of working units and a driver assistance system for controlling at least some of the working units. The combine harvester accommodates as working units a chaff cutter for comminuting harvested produce and a produce distributing arrangement in the rear area of the combine harvester downstream of the chaff cutter for distributing harvested produce on the field soil in adjustable throw directions. The respective throw direction comprises vector components of a horizontal throw direction and a vertical throw direction. The driver assistance system is adapted to optimize the control of the produce distributing arrangement by at least one of the substrategies including “throw direction correction” and/or “inclination-dependent produce distribution” and/or “produce distribution in longitudinal direction” and/or “produce distribution in transverse direction” with respect to at least one optimization criterion.

A combine harvester for carrying out an agricultural harvesting process has a plurality of working units and a driver assistance system for controlling at least some of the working units. The combine harvester accommodates as working units a chaff cutter for comminuting harvested produce and a produce distributing arrangement in the rear area of the combine harvester downstream of the chaff cutter for distributing harvested produce on the field soil in adjustable throw directions. The respective throw direction comprises vector components of a horizontal throw direction and a vertical throw direction. The driver assistance system is adapted to optimize the control of the produce distributing arrangement by at least one of the substrategies including “throw direction correction” and/or “inclination-dependent produce distribution” and/or “produce distribution in longitudinal direction” and/or “produce distribution in transverse direction” with respect to at least one optimization criterion.

A multistage hammer mill 10 has a plurality of milling stages arranged concentrically so that substantially all material in a first innermost of the milling stages passes through all subsequent adjacent milling stages. A central feed opening 12 enables material flow into a primary impact zone 14 of a first milling stage, which has an impact mechanism 16 and a first screen arrangement 20a. The impact mechanism 16 rotates about a rotation axis 18. The first screen arrangement 20a is disposed circumferentially about and radially spaced from the impact mechanism 16 and has a plurality of apertures 22 through which impacted material of a first size range can pass. A second milling stage has a second arrangement 20b disposed circumferentially about and radially spaced from the first screen arrangement 20a and a circular array of impact elements 50a between the first and second screen arrangements.

A rotor assembly for harvesting a crop. The rotor assembly has a rotating portion defined along a rotation axis, a surrounding assembly at least partially surrounding the rotating portion, the surrounding assembly having at least one separation grate coupled to a support. The support defines an inner surface and has at least one interrupter receiver. The at least one interrupter receiver is selectively coupleable to an interrupter to position the interrupter radially inward of the inner surface towards the rotation axis.