Patent ID: 7297051

Claim:
A clean grain and tailings conveying system for an agricultural combine, comprising: a pan adapted to be fixedly mounted to a combine beneath a lowermost sieve of a cleaning system of the combine, including a tailings receiving portion disposed below a peripheral edge portion of the sieve for receiving tailings which fall downwardly from the edge portion during operation of the sieve, and a clean grain receiving portion disposed beneath the sieve for receiving clean grain which falls downwardly therethrough during the operation of the sieve, the pan including at least one elongate collecting trough including a clean grain collecting portion which extends longitudinally through the clean grain receiving portion of the pan, and a tailings collecting portion which extends longitudinally through the tailings receiving portion, for separately receiving and collecting the clean grain and the tailings received by the pan; a clean grain transfer conveyor in connection with the clean grain collecting portion of the collecting trough; a tailings transfer conveyor in connection with the tailings collecting portion of the collecting trough; and an elongate helical auger supported in and extending longitudinally through the collecting trough, the auger being rotatable in a predetermined rotational direction about a longitudinally extending rotational axis for simultaneously and separately conveying clean grain contained in the clean grain collecting portion of the collecting trough to the clean grain transfer conveyor, and tailings contained in the tailings collecting portion of the collecting trough to the tailings transfer conveyor.