Patent ID: 6976912

Claim:
A rotor for a combine harvester, wherein the rotor, in use, is mounted to rotate within a housing defined within the combine harvester, the rotor comprising: an elongate body extending from a front portion, over which crop material passes when the crop material enters the housing, to a rear portion over which the crop material passes when the crop material is being expelled out of a rear of the housing; a threshing portion extending along a first portion of a length of the elongate body of the rotor between the front portion and the rear portion, the threshing portion having a plurality of thresher elements connected thereto for threshing crop material; a driver portion extending along a second portion of the length of the elongate body of the rotor between the threshing portion and the rear of the housing, the driver portion having a driver element connected thereto, the driver element being in a form of at least one helical element that extends outwardly from the elongate body of the rotor and spirals around the rotor a plurality of times along the driver portion from adjacent the threshing portion and toward the rear portion of the housing, the driver element, in use, driving the threshed crop material rearwardly from the threshing portion towards the rear of the housing; and wherein a diameter of the driver portion of the rotor being smaller than a diameter of the threshing portion of the rotor.