Patent ID: 9326459
Filing Date: 2016-05-03
CPC Classification: A01G

Claim Text:
1. A machine for automatically pulling out the cut-off vine branches that are hanging by their tendrils on a tying wire that connects vertical posts installed along a row of vine plants, each of the vine plants carrying a long fruit-bearing branch, the machine comprising: a device for gripping and dragging the cut-off vine branches and the long fruit-bearing branches, the device including a circular element that rotates around a vertical shaft, extends in a horizontal plane, and has gripping notches on its circumferential surface for gripping and dragging the cut-off vine branches and the long fruit-bearing branches; a transfer device including a transfer element having transfer notches, a trajectory of the transfer notches intersecting a trajectory of the gripping notches at an inlet of the transfer device, thereby allowing the transfer device to move the cut-off vine branches and the long fruit-bearing branches from the gripping notches and to drag the cut-off vine branches to an outlet of the transfer device; and a device for detaching the cut-off vine branches from the tying wire, the device including a capture device configured to capture the cut-off vine branches and to exert a traction force generally higher than the resistance of the tendrils that attach the cut-off vine branches to the tying wire, the trajectory of the transfer notches intersecting a periphery of the detaching device so that the capture device can catch the cut-off vine branches dragged by the transfer device, wherein the gripping and the transfer notches are formed so that the long fruit-bearing branches are not torn off the vine plants, and the gripping and the transfer notches are formed to permit the long fruit-bearing branches to slide away from the gripping and the transfer notches so that the long fruit-bearing branches do not reach the intersection between the trajectory of the transfer notches and the periphery of the detaching device.