CHAFF SPREAD ASSISTED BY CROSS-BLOWN AIRFLOW

摘要

A spreader for a harvesting machine (10) includes a pair of counter-rotating spreader units (18, 20) each having an impeller (26, 28, 64, 66, 104) and a fan (38, 40, 76, 78, 106) supported on a common shaft. A plenum (50, 80) routes at least part of the airflow from a first fan to merge with chaff exiting the opposite impeller and at least a part of the airflow from the opposite fan to merge with chaff exiting the impeller on the machine side of the first fan. In one embodiment all airflow from a fan is ducted (52, 54) to an impeller on the opposite side, while a second embodiment commingles airflow from both fans in a plenum (80) from which portions of the mixed airflows is directed to the chaff exiting each impeller exit. In a third, embodiment an established airflow receives chaff from the impeller (104) on the side on which that airflow is generated.