Patent ID: 7473169

Claim:
Apparatus for adjustably transitioning a flow of crop residue being expelled into a discharge opening at the downstream end of a rotor of an axially arranged threshing system of an agricultural combine so as to flow into a crop residue distribution system of the combine, comprising: a deflector construction including a deflector plate and an adjusting mechanism operable for moving the deflector plate, said deflector construction mounted in the discharge opening, said deflector plate having a pivotal mounting located at approximately the height of the axis of the rotor at the downstream end of the rotor and supported thereat so as to be adjustably movable into and out of the path of the flow of crop residue when the crop residue is being expelled into the discharge opening such that, when said deflector plate is positioned in the path of the flow of the crop residue, at least a portion of the flow will impinge the deflector plate and be deflected thereby downwardly into the crop residue distribution system, said adjusting mechanism operable to controllably move said deflector plate into and out of the path of the flow of the crop residue for changing a transverse location at which the flow deflected by the deflector plate will flow into the crop residue distribution system, wherein said adjusting mechanism is operable for moving the deflector plate in a first transverse direction within the discharge opening for moving the location at which the flow deflected by said deflector plate will flow into the crop residue distribution system in the first transverse direction, and is further operable for moving said deflector plate in a second transverse direction within the discharge opening for moving the location at which the flow deflected by the deflector plate will flow into the crop residue distribution system in the second transverse direction, wherein said deflector plate includes an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion being pivotally mounted in the combine such that at least said lower portion is movable between a retracted position generally out of the path of flow of the crop residue and at least one other extended position located in the path of the flow, and further wherein said adjusting mechanism is operable to effect retraction of said detector plate to said retracted position when the rotor is caused to rotate in reverse mode.