Patent ID: 8313362

Claim:
A self-propelled agricultural combine, comprising: harvesting apparatus configured and operable for cutting and gathering crops from a field and conveying the gathered crops to a threshing system contained within a housing of the combine, the threshing system being configured and operable for separating the crops into a first flow consisting essentially of crop residue discharged from a first location, and a second flow consisting essentially of grain and chaff discharged at a second location separate from the first location; a grain cleaning system disposed within the housing for receiving the second flow of the grain and the chaff from the threshing system and creating a third flow consisting essentially of chaff, wherein the grain cleaning system comprises a fan configured and operable for generating a flow of air through the cleaning system for separating the chaff and dust from the grain and for carrying the dust from the cleaning system, and the combine further comprises dust suppression apparatus including ducts positioned to receive the flow if air and the dust, the ducts containing baffles configured and operable to separate at least a substantial portion of the dust from the air and direct the separated dust downwardly from the combine; a chaff conveyor system configured and operable for conveying at least a substantial portion of the third flow to a location adjacent to the first location and discharging the conveyed flow into the first flow; and a baler disposed within the housing and including an inlet passage positioned for receiving the mixture of the chaff and the crop residue of the first flow, the baler being configured and operable for compressing the chaff and the crop residue received from the input path into bales and discharging the bales from the combine.