Patent ID: 7390253

Claim:
A flow guide distributor apparatus for a combine spreader having an inlet opening at the top thereof for receiving crop residue, a pair of counter-rotating spreader paddles disposed generally side by side below the inlet opening and forward of a back plate of the spreader, and a discharge opening below the spreader paddles, comprising a flow guide element having front and aft ends, an apex portion, and a pair of opposed laterally extending arm portions depending from said apex portion to free end portions, said arm portions including surfaces extending longitudinally between said fore and aft ends of said flow guide element, said longitudinally extending surfaces defining crop residue flow surfaces, said flow guide element disposed generally adjacent to the back plate of the spreader and generally intermediate to the spreader paddles, with said aft end generally proximate to the frontside of the back plate of the spreader, with said crop residue flow surfaces beneath the inlet opening of the spreader, and with at least said free end portions disposed such that said crop residue flow surfaces are located generally extending beneath portions of the spreader paddles and sidewardly outwardly relative thereto to the free end portions of the flow guide, an adjusting mechanism, and a coupling connector for coupling said adjusting mechanism to said flow guide element, said adjusting mechanism operable to effect directional movement of said flow guide element in at least one of vertical, horizontal, or rotational directions relative to the spreader paddles to adjustably vary the clearance between the outer swept diameters of the pair of spreader paddles and said crop residue flow surfaces of said flow guide element, whereby, as a flow of crop residue is introduced into the inlet opening of the spreader at least a portion of such flow is directed towards said crop residue surfaces of said flow guide element by operation of the counter-rotating spreader paddles and is adjustably directed by said flow guide element, dependent upon its positioning relative to the spreader paddles, sidewardly outwardly upon the discharge thereof through the discharge opening of the spreader to controllably distribute the crop residue in a desired pattern over a field.