Patent ID: 8231446

Claim:
In an axial flow rotary separator for a combine, including a housing and a rotor rotatably mounted within the housing and carrying on its surface a plurality of material-treating and controlling elements, the housing being generally cylindrical in form and having a generally cylindrical wall with an upstream inlet end and a downstream outlet end, rotor and housing cooperating as the rotor rotates to process crop material introduced to the housing at the upstream end while transferring it to the downstream end, an adjustable vane system for controlling the axial progress of the crop material through the housing comprising: said generally cylindrical wall of said housing comprising a curved section and a continuous first flat wall section; a plurality of curved, helically arranged, fixed vanes conforming to an inside surface of the curved section and being raised generally radially inwards; a plurality of spaced apart elongated adjustable vanes, each adjustable vane having a flat base conforming across the length of the flat base to the first flat wall section and being raised generally radially inwards from the first flat wall section and being disposed generally helically so as to engage crop material being propelled circumferentially by the rotor, the helical disposition being such that relative movement between the material and the adjustable vane deflects the material axially towards the outlet end of the housing, each adjustable vane including with respect to crop material circumferential movement, a leading end portion and a trailing end portion, one of the trailing end portion or the leading end portion being pivotally fixed at a pivot point to the first flat wall section and the respective other of the trailing end portion or the leading end portion being a swinging end movable in a swinging fashion as the adjustable vane pivots about the pivot point to set a vane angle of said adjustable vane so as to vary the effectiveness of the adjustable vane in deflecting crop material axially, said one of the trailing end portion or the leading end portion of each of said adjustable vanes that is pivotally fixed at a pivot point is adjacent to the an end of one of the fixed vanes.