A grain cleaning system in a combine harvester including a pair of side walls, a rear wall that extends between the side walls, a sieve that oscillates in a fore and aft path between the side walls, a fan unit for generating a cleaning airstream, and an outlet for discharging residue from a grain cleaning process. The outlet is framed in part by a lower edge of the rear wall. An aperture is provided in the rear wall to provide a means of air relief to enhance the fore to aft flow of the cleaning airstream. Optionally, an auxiliary fan may be provided to drive air through the aperture.

A combine including a cutting wheel for harvesting crop, a separating system for threshing the harvested crop to separate grain from residue, at least one of a yield monitor or a loss monitor, a crop cleaning system including a cleaning fan, and a controller coupled to the at least one of the yield monitor or the loss monitor. The controller controls the crop cleaning system, and is configured to determine at least one of a throughput from the yield monitor, or a loss from the loss monitor, compare the determined throughput or loss to a respective throughput threshold or loss threshold, and control a speed of the cleaning fan based on the throughput or loss comparison.

An improved self-propelled grain harvester and threshing machine characterized by the sieves, cleaning fan and grain tank being beneath the grain harvester's threshing system which puts the center of gravity in the bottom of the machine and eliminates the need for conveying the grain throughout the machine for cleaning and to the top of the machine for storage. This configuration eliminates several clean grain conveying systems and reduces the length of the reprocess tailings elevator giving the machine a safe low profile and center of gravity when the machine is empty and the center of gravity lowers as the grain tank fills.

A preparation section of a combine harvester that is configured to receive a mixture of grain and material other than grain (MOG) from a threshing section of the combine harvester. The preparation section includes a conveyor positioned beneath the threshing section that is configured to transport the grain and MOG in a downstream direction toward a cleaning section, and a deflector positioned at a downstream end of a conveyor that is configured to launch the grain and MOG into the air and cause at least partial separation of the MOG and grain prior to falling onto the cleaning section.

An agricultural harvester includes a chassis, at least one ground engaging traction member connected to the chassis, a cleaning system held by the chassis and configured to clean crop material, and an elevator supplied with the crop material. The elevator includes a housing having a crop material inlet that receives the crop material, a boot portion that forms a bottom of the housing, and a plurality of paddles configured to convey the crop material through the housing and away from the boot portion in a generally vertical direction. The elevator further includes a hinged wall section that includes a flexible steel sheet and a UHMW material plastic or other durable wear resistant flexible material overlying the sheet and facing an interior of the elevator. The hinged wall section may be a boot door or a head door.

An agricultural harvester includes a chassis, a cleaning system carried by the chassis, and a crop material elevator for receiving crop material that has passed through the cleaning system. The crop material elevator has a top-most end, a bottom-most end, a first inlet between the top-most end and the bottom-most end, and a second inlet between the top-most end and the first inlet. The agricultural harvester also includes an auger system for supplying crop material from the cleaning system to the crop material elevator. The auger system includes a first auger defining an auger axis for supplying crop material to the first inlet, a second auger defining a second auger axis, and a crop material conveyor for supplying crop material from the second auger to the second inlet.

A control system for a harvester having a primary crop cleaner for cleaning a cut crop, and a secondary cleaner for cleaning the cut crop downstream of the primary crop cleaner. The control system includes a processor, a memory, and a human-machine interface. The processor is configured to receive an input corresponding to a desired cleaning level of the crop, monitor an actual cleaning level, control the primary crop cleaner based at least in part on feedback from monitoring the actual cleaning level and including adjusting a speed of the primary crop cleaner to move the actual cleaning level of the crop during harvester operation towards the desired cleaning level of the crop, monitor an error between the desired cleaning level and the actual cleaning level during control of the primary crop cleaner, and control the secondary crop cleaner based at least in part on the error.

A harvesting vehicle including a cleaning section including a blower and at least one sieve. The sieve is configured to transport a layer comprising a mixture of grain kernels and residue material towards an exit edge of the sieve so that kernels fall through openings of the sieve and the residue remains on the sieve until it is ejected from the sieve by crossing the exit edge. The sieve may be subject to a grain loss, including a sieve-off loss and a blowout loss. The cleaning section further includes a sensor configured to determine whether the blowout loss or the sieve-off loss is a highest contributor to the grain loss. The cleaning section may also include a grain loss detector configured to measure the sieve-off loss and at least a portion of the blowout loss and a blowout sensor mounted above the sieve for measuring the blowout loss.

An agricultural vehicle includes a chassis; a crop processing mechanism carried by the chassis and configured to separate crop material and discharge crop residue therefrom; and a residue handling system that receives separated crop material and discharged crop residue from the crop processing mechanism. The residue handling system includes at least one spreader device defining a spreader exit; a windrow exit; a straw door selectively positionable between a first position and a second position, the straw door directed toward the spreader exit in the first position and directed toward the windrow exit in the second position; and a flexible guide associated with the straw door and having a shape that deforms when the straw door switches between the first position and the second position.

A harvesting apparatus for harvesting cereal grains, rice, grains or seeds, is operated as a front, side or rear attachment and has a crop stripper extending over a working width which is generating a rotor air stream, an inclined chute having a first edge facing the crop stripper and a second edge facing away from the crop stripper. The second edge is disposed to lie lower than the first edge facing the crop stripper and is attached between a threshing apparatus and a separation apparatus which extend over the predominant or the entire part of the working width. The harvesting apparatus has a cleaning air channel, wherein air from a fan and the crop stripper rotor air stream flow through the cleaning air channel for cleaning the crop. The cleaning air channel extends over the predominant part or the entirety of the working width.