Patent ID: 7632183

Claim:
A collecting trough construction, having easy accessibility for cleaning, for a material collecting and conveying system of an agricultural combine wherein such material collecting and conveying system includes at least first and second cross-pieces that extend laterally across the combine between opposed sidesheets on the underside of the agricultural combine, such cross-pieces and sidesheets defining a location for a plurality of material collecting troughs, said collecting trough construction comprising a base pan having first and second ends, a length generally corresponding to the distance between the cross-pieces, and upper and lower sides, said base pan configured to have a plurality of longitudinal side-by-side troughs formed in said upper side thereof, said first end of said base pan configured to be positionable proximate to and complementarily engageable with a first cross piece, said second end of said base pan configured to be positionable proximate to and complementarily engageable with a second cross piece, said base pan movable by a user to, first, position said first end of said base pan in at least loose complementary engagement with the first cross piece and, when said first end is at least loosely engaged with the first cross-piece, to, secondly, effect simultaneous complementary engagement of said second end of said base pan with the second cross-piece, said base pan when so simultaneously engaged with the first and second cross-pieces defining and providing the plurality of collecting trough between the cross-pieces, such position of said base pan defining a harvesting use position, said base pan, when in said harvesting use position at certain times, being so secured in position to permit the collection of material deposited into said collecting troughs formed in the upper side of said base pan during a harvesting operation, said second end of said base pan being disengageable by the user from the second cross-piece at other times to permit the second end of said base pan to be tilted downwardly from said first end while said first end remains at least loosely engaged with and proximate to said first cross-piece, such downwardly tilted position of said base pan defining a tilted in-place clean-out position, said in-place clean-out position permitting general in-place access to the collecting troughs formed in the upper side of said base pan by a user for the cleaning of such collecting troughs.