MEDIALIFE: from images to a life chronicle

An impeller blade for the rotor of an axial flow combine harvester is shaped such that an outer blade portion has a shape of the blade portion defining an inclined edge which joins a forward blade edge lying in a radial plane of the rotor at a first position spaced outwardly from the hub of the rotor and joins the outer blade edge at a second position spaced rearwardly of the first position, the inclined edge having at least a part thereof which is substantially straight and parallel to an inner blade edge so as to be inclined at an angle to the outer blade edge and extend outwardly and rearwardly from the first position to the second position such that the radial distance of the second position from the axis is greater than that of the first position. This reduces the length of the forward edge to 50% to 75% of its conventional length and acts to overcome a long standing feeding problem of this type of rotor in some crops.