Patent ID: 7297054

Claim:
Cotton conveyor apparatus for a cotton harvester, comprising: a hollow cotton conveyor duct extending upwardly from a cotton harvesting unit to a discharge end including a discharge outlet separated by a predetermined space from an inlet opening of a cotton receiver, the cotton receiver being movable downwardly relative to the duct; a cover member pivotally mounted on the discharge end of the duct for pivotal movement between a first position extending at least partially across the discharge outlet, and a second position extending outwardly from the discharge outlet across at least a substantial portion of the predetermined space for guiding airborne flows of cotton discharged from the duct into the inlet opening, the cover member being automatically pivotally movable from the first position to the second position by a force exerted thereagainst by a flow of air discharged through the discharge outlet; and elements on the cover member and on the duct automatically cooperatively engageable when the cover member is moved into the second position, for holding the cover member in the second position, the elements being automatically disengageable for releasing the cover member when the cotton receiver is moved downwardly past the duct, wherein the elements automatically engageable comprise a magnet and a ferrous object.