Abstract:
The invention provides a method and apparatus for recovering food losses from the main recovery system, the handsorters, and the color sorters. A recovery shaker conveyor located beneath the main recovery system to catch food and vines which are tossed off the end of the main recovery system. The food and vines are turned over during the fall, thus loosening some food from the vine. The loosened food falls through the openings in the recovery shaker conveyor onto a recovery cross conveyor which is situated in between the chains of the recovery shaker conveyor and under the handsorters. Food which is rejected by the color sorters also falls onto the recovery cross conveyor and is directed toward a dirt sorter electronic system. The food which is rejected by the handsorters, is placed on a recovery sorter conveyor which is fed into the recovery cross conveyor for re-examination. The dirt, debris, and unsuitable food fall off the recovery cross conveyor through the dirt sorter electronic system to a trash chute and then to the ground. The remaining suitable food is then guided along a recovery feed conveyor which drops the remaining suitable food onto the discharge conveyor, where the suitable food is elevated and discharged into a receiving truck.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention generally relates to apparatus for harvesting above-ground food plants, such as fruit or vegetable plants. More particularly, this invention relates to a tailing, or cull recovery system which allows for further recovery of food losses from apparatus for harvesting above-ground food plants. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Direct-loading harvesters have been known in the art for many years and have enjoyed wide-spread use in the harvesting of above-ground food plants containing food. The above-ground food plants harvested from these direct-loading harvester varies, and may include a variety of above-ground food plants ranging from tomato plants and other fruit plants to cucumber plants and other vegetable plants. Typically, such harvesters are arranged to harvest above-ground food plants grown in rows, to elevate the harvested above-ground food plants to a shaker brush for separating the food on the above-ground foods plants from their vines, to carry the food from the shaker brush to sorter conveyors where unsuitable food and trash are removed, and finally to elevate the remaining food from the harvester to an attendant truck or trailer for delivery to processing plants. 
     Often times, the unsuitable food and trash contain suitable food which is mixed in with the trash for a number of reasons. First, many of the suitable food remains entangled in the vine mass. If suitable food remains entangled in the vine mass the suitable food will fall off the end of the shaker conveyor and onto the ground where the suitable food is regarded as trash. Additionally, some suitable food is lost on the sorter conveyor during the hand sorting process, due to the fact that human hand sorters make mistakes and throw suitable food away. Finally, the color sorters which automatically sort out unsuitable food make mistakes and reject suitable food. 
     This invention provides an improved method and apparatus for recovering food losses from the main recovery system, the handsorters, and the color sorters. This invention provides a recovery shaker conveyor located beneath the main recovery system to catch food and vines which are tossed off the end of the main recovery system. The food and vines are turned over during the fall, thus loosening some food from the vine. The loosened food falls through the openings in the recovery shaker conveyor onto a recovery cross conveyor which is situated in between the chains of the recovery shaker conveyor and under the color sorters. Food which is rejected by the color sorters also falls onto the recovery cross conveyor and is directed toward a dirt sorter electronic system. 
     In another embodiment of this invention, unsuitable food which is pulled as culls by the handsorters, is placed on a recovery sorter conveyor which is fed into the recovery cross conveyor for re-examination. The dirt, debris, and unsuitable food fall off the recovery cross conveyor through the dirt sorter electronic system to the ground. The remaining food is retrieved by the dirt sorter electronic system onto a recovery feed conveyor which drops the remaining food onto the discharge conveyor, where the food is elevated and discharged into a receiving truck. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tomato harvester using a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a tomato harvester using a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrating the paths taken by the tomatoes, vines and debris after they are harvested. 
     FIG. 3 is a central section of part of the harvester illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along lines  4 — 4  in FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a harvester for harvesting above-ground food plants, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. While the harvester may be used to harvest a variety of above-ground food plants containing either fruits or vegetables, a tomato harvester H for harvesting tomato plants will be used to describe one preferred embodiment of this invention, as illustrated in FIG.  1 . The tomato harvester H is adapted to harvest tomatoes T from vines V grown in a row on an elongated planting ridge PR. The harvester H is designed to proceed along the planting ridge PR, sever the tomato vines V at ground level, elevate the vines V for further processing, separate the tomatoes T from the vines V, and transfer the tomatoes T to an awaiting truck TR. The harvester H includes a pickup mechanism PU comprising a header conveyor  17  mounted in a header frame  18 , said header frame  18  being pivotally attached to the main frame of the harvester H. The front end of the header frame  18  is supported by a pair of wheels  20  mounted on a U shaped support frame  21  which is pivotally attached to the front end of said header frame  18 . A pair of lever arms  23  extend upward from the U-shaped support frame  21  and are adapted to raise and lower said U-shaped support frame  21  with respect to the front end of the header frame  18 . A pair of hydraulic piston and cylinder assemblies  24  are attached to the distal ends of the lever arms  23  at the piston rod and to the header frame  18  at the cylinder end. Actuation of the hydraulic piston and cylinder assemblies  24  allows the distance that the front end of the pickup mechanism PU travels below the ground to be adjusted. 
     A cutting device is provided at the front end of the pickup mechanism PU to sever the tomato vines V at or near the ground level. The cuffing device may be of various types, and a rotating cutting bar  26  is illustrated in FIG.  1 . The cutting bar  26  is rotatably attached at both ends to the header frame  18  and is rotated by a hydraulic motor (not shown). As the harvester H is driven forward, the cutting bar  26  encounters the individual vines V and severs them near the ground. After severing, the vines V fall onto the header conveyor  17  and are elevated for further processing on the main frame of the harvester H, as will be described hereinafter. 
     Referring to FIG. 2 the overall operation of the tomato harvester H will now be described in general terms. A longitudinal transfer conveyor  28  is adapted to receive the tomatoes T and vines V from the header conveyor  17 . There is a small gap between the discharge end of the header conveyor  17  and the receiving end of the transfer conveyor  28  which allows loose tomatoes, dirt clods and other debris to drop from the vines V in transit. These loose tomatoes and debris fall onto one of two dirt cross conveyors  29 ,  30  which transfer them to the right side and the left side respectively, of the harvester H (FIG.  2 ). It should be noted that the further processing undergone on both sides of the harvester H is identical and that such processing will be described only for the left side of the harvester H which is fed by the left dirt cross conveyor  30 . 
     The loose tomatoes, dirt and other debris are discharged from the left dirt cross conveyor  30  through a dirt sorter electronic system  32 , where the red tomatoes are retrieved back onto a longitudinal sorter conveyor  27 . The dirt, debris, and green tomatoes fall off the conveyor through the dirt sorter electronic system  32  to a trash chute and then to the ground. Sorters, who stand on platform P, manually remove undesirable tomatoes and dirt that may have reached sorter conveyor  27 . 
     The transfer conveyor  28  discharges vines V with attached tomatoes T to a set of feeder bars  31 . The feeder bars  31  direct the vines V under a shaker brush assembly  15 , which comprises a shaker brush  16  with shaker brush  16 , tines  19 , and a device for vibrating the shaker brush  16 , such as an eccentric weight assembly  14 . When vibrating the shaker brush  16  with an eccentric weight assembly  14 , bearing friction in the drive mechanism or a driven shaker brush, also results in the rotation of the shaker brush  16 . In the specification and claims a shaker brush is defined as a tined brush that provides rotational oscillation. Gravity and bearing friction from the eccentric weight assembly  14  or the driven shaker brush draw the vines V from the feeder bars  31  to a shaker conveyor  37  which moves the vines V in a rearward direction under the shaker brush  16 . The shaker brush  16  is positioned to engage the vines V supported on the shaker conveyor  37 . FIG. 3 illustrates a cut away side view of the feeder bars  31 , the shaker brush  16 , the shaker conveyor  37  and the moving roller  33 . 
     Some of the tomatoes T which have been disengaged by the shaker brush  16  fall through the openings in the shaker conveyor  37  onto either of two food cross conveyors  34 . Other tomatoes T which have been disengaged by the shaker brush  16  are caught between vines V, and at first are not able to reach the openings in the shaker conveyor  37 . The shaker brush assembly  15  is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,859, incorporated by reference. 
     The shaker conveyor  37  causes the vines V with loosened tomatoes T to pass below a vine reel  39 . The vine reel  39  separates the vines V from the tomatoes T, and allows tomatoes T to fall from the vines V and through the shaker conveyor  37  to a food conveyor  35 , located beneath the shaker conveyor  37 . The vine reel  39  is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,269, incorporated by reference. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the remaining vines V and tomatoes T are conveyed by the shaker conveyor  37  to the rear of the harvester H, where they are allowed to fall onto a recovery shaker conveyor  97 . As the vines V fall onto the recovery shaker conveyor  97 , the vines V rotate 180° and impact onto the recovery shaker conveyor  97 . During rotation and upon impact, some of the tomatoes T are further disengaged from the vines V. Some of the tomatoes T which have been further disengaged by the rotation and the impact fall through the openings in the recovery shaker conveyor  97  onto a recovery cross conveyor  95 . 
     The recovery shaker conveyor  97  comprises a first endless belt and a second endless belt with a plurality of metal rods  49  extending in parallel there between. The first and second endless belts extend under the shaker conveyor. The plurality of rods  49 , extending across the recovery shaker conveyor  97 , are spaced apart to allow tomatoes T to pass between the rods  49  to the recovery cross conveyor  95  below the recovery shaker conveyor  97 . In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of rods  49  are spaced a distance “d 1 ” of 4 inches apart. Preferably, the rods  49  are spaced in the range of 3 inches to 6 inches apart. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the section taken along lines  4 — 4  of FIG. 3, illustrating the vine reel  39  and the shaker conveyor  37 . The vine reel  39  is mounted on a shaft  51 , upon which the vine reel  39  rotates. The shaft  51  is mounted on a frame member  53 . A reel drive  52 , which surrounds a significant length of the shaft  51 , is attached to the shaft  51  and driven by the shaft  51 . The shaft  51  is driven by a shaft pulley  57 , which is driven by a drive belt  59 , which is driven by a drive pulley, which is driven by a motor. Spiders  61  are connected to the reel drive  52  and are rotated by the reel drive  52 . The shaft  51  and the reel drive  52  pass through the centers of the spiders  61 . At the end of each arm  67  of the spiders  61  are bats  69 , which extend from an arm  67  of one spider  61  to the arm  67  of another spider  61 . The bats  69  are journaled to rotate with respect to the arms  67 . At the ends of each bat  69  are flanges  71  with the first end of a flange  71  connected to a bat  69 . The second end of each flange  71  is connected to a ring  73  by a pin  74 . The ring  73  is mounted on three rollers  75 . The rollers  75  are mounted on a reel cam  77 . The center  81  between the rollers  75  is offset from the center  65  of the shaft  51  so that the center  65  of the shaft  51  passes through the triangular area  79  at a set distance from the center  81  of the three rollers  75 . In this configuration, center  65  of the shaft  51  rotates around center  81  of the three rollers  75 . A plurality of tines  91  extend downward from the bats  69 . 
     In operation, the shaker conveyor  37  passes vines V and loosened tomatoes T, which are caught among the vines V, under the vine reel  39 . The shaker conveyor  37  rotates in a clockwise direction as indicated in FIG. 3, to carry the vines V from under the shaker brush  16 . The vine reel  39  is rotated in a counter clockwise direction as indicated so that near the shaker conveyor  37  the tines  91  move in the same direction as the shaker conveyor  37 . As viewed in FIG. 3, the tines  91  on the left side of the vine reel  39  enter the vines V in a substantially vertical downward direction with a substantially zero velocity along the direction of movement of the shaker conveyor  37 . The tines  91  on the bottom of the vine reel  39  pass over the shaker conveyor  37  with a velocity along the direction of movement of the shaker conveyor  37 , which is substantially twice the velocity of the shaker conveyor, and with a vertical velocity of substantially zero. 
     As viewed in FIG. 3, the tines  91  on the right side of the vine reel  39  leave the vines V in a substantially vertically upward direction with a substantially zero velocity along the direction of movement of the shaker conveyor  37 . Therefore, as the tines  91  move from left to right under the vine reel  39 , as viewed in FIG. 3, the tines  91  go from a substantially zero velocity along the direction of the shaker conveyor  37 , to twice the velocity of the shaker conveyor  37  along the direction of the shaker conveyor  37 , to a substantially zero velocity along the direction of the shaker conveyor  37 . The change in velocity of the tines  91  with respect to the movement of the shaker conveyor  37 , causes the vines V which engage the tines  91  to be agitated and separated allowing loosened tomatoes T, which are caught between the vines V, to escape from between the vines V and pass through the shaker conveyor  37  to the food conveyor  35 . By keeping the tines  91  substantially vertical, the tines  91  can be easily inserted into and removed from the vines V, and are useful in separating the vines V. 
     The food conveyor  35  carries the tomatoes T forward on the harvester H and discharges them onto either of the two food cross conveyors  34 , with only the left food cross conveyor  34  being shown in FIG.  2 . 
     The tomatoes T which have fallen onto fruit cross conveyor  34  are discharged onto the sorter conveyor  27  where the tomatoes T join the other tomatoes T directed there by the left dirt cross conveyor  30 . The tomatoes which have fallen onto the other food cross conveyor  34  are discharged to the other side of the harvester H where they join the second processing line. The tomatoes T discharged from the sorter conveyor  27 , having been manually and mechanically sorted to remove undesirable tomatoes and debris, are directed to an automatic color sorter  40  where further undesirable tomatoes may be ejected from the harvester H. A suction fan and suction fan housing  38  are provided to further remove debris before the debris reaches the color sorter  40 . Undesirable tomatoes which are ejected from the harvester H by the color sorter  40 , are directed onto the recovery cross conveyor  95  where they can be further inspected. 
     The inspected tomatoes are then discharged onto the cross feed conveyor  41  where they join the inspected tomatoes from the other side of the harvester H, all tomatoes T then being directed to the right hand side of the harvester H. From the cross feed conveyor  41 , the tomatoes T are directed to the discharge conveyor  42  where the tomatoes T are elevated and discharged into a receiving truck TR (FIG. 1) which travels alongside the harvester H. 
     In another preferred embodiment of this invention, the undesirable tomatoes and debris pulled from an after sort conveyor  64 , are placed onto a recovery sorter conveyor  99  which runs underneath the after sort conveyor  64 . This recovery sorter conveyor  99  directs the undesirable tomatoes and debris onto the recovery cross conveyor  95 , where they can be further inspected. 
     The shaker conveyor  37  comprises a first endless belt  45  and a second endless belt  47  with a plurality of metal rods  49  extending in parallel there between. The plurality of rods  49 , extending from the first endless belt  45  to the second endless belt  47 , are spaced apart to allow tomatoes T to pass between the rods  49  to the food conveyor  35  below the shaker conveyor  37 . Preferably, the rods  49  are spaced at a distance “d 1 ” in the range of 3 inches to 6 inches apart. In the most preferred embodiment, the plurality of rods  49  are spaced a distance “d 1 ” of 4 inches apart. 
     The food conveyor  35  also comprises first and second endless belts  83  with a plurality of metal rods  84  extending in parallel there between. Preferably, the rods  84  are spaced at a distance “d 2 ” of 0.5 inches to 2 inches apart. In the most preferred embodiment, the spacing between the metal rods  84  of the food conveyor  35  is a distance “d 2 ” of 1 inch apart. The shaker conveyor  37  extends almost to the dirt cross conveyors  29 ,  30 , under the roller  33 , under the feeder bars  31 , under the shaker brush  16 , and under the vine reel  39 . The shaker conveyor  37  surrounds the food conveyor  35  and the food cross conveyors  34 , so that part of the shaker conveyor  37  is above the food conveyor  35  and the food cross conveyors  34  and part of the shaker conveyor  37  extends under the food conveyor  35  and the food cross conveyor  34 . Because the metal rods  49  extend across the shaker conveyor  37 , the shaker brush  16  is positioned sufficiently above the shaker conveyor  37  so that the tines  19  of the shaker brush  16  do not reach or pass through the shaker conveyor  37 . 
     In operation, the transfer conveyor  28  discharges vines V with attached tomatoes T to a set of feeder bars  31 . The feeder bars  31  direct the vines V under a shaker brush  16 . Gravity and bearing friction pull the vines V from the feeder bars  31  to a shaker conveyor  37  which moves the vines V in a rearward direction under the shaker brush  16 . Falling from the feeder bars  31  to the shaker conveyor  37  allows the vines V to fall out of the shaker head assembly, allowing the volume  5  of the vine mass to expand. The expansion of the vine mass, provides a separation of the vines V, allowing loosened tomatoes to drop from the vine mass, through the shaker conveyor  37  to the food cross conveyor  34 . 
     Although extending the conveyor so that vines V may drop out of the shaker brush  16  and moving the vines V through the shaker brush  16  by use of the shaker conveyor  37  improves the release of the tomatoes T from the vines V, some loosened tomatoes are still caught in the vine mass. For this reason, the shaker conveyor  37  causes the vines V with loosened tomatoes to pass below a vine reel  39 . The vine reel  39  separates the vines V and allows tomatoes T to fall through the vines V and through the shaker conveyor  37  to a food conveyor  35 . 
     The tomatoes, dirt and other debris which have fallen onto the recovery cross conveyor  95  are discharged from the recovery cross conveyor  95  through a dirt sorter electronic system  32 , where the red tomatoes are retrieved back onto a longitudinal recovery feed conveyor  93 . The dirt, debris, and green tomatoes fall off the recovery cross conveyor  95  through the dirt sorter electronic system  32  to a trash chute and then to the ground. Red tomatoes which have been retrieved back onto the longitudinal recovery feed conveyor  93  are then discharged onto the cross feed conveyor  41  where they join the inspected tomatoes from the other side of the harvester H, all tomatoes T then being directed to the right hand side of the harvester H. From the cross feed conveyor  41 , the tomatoes T are directed to the discharge conveyor  42  where the tomatoes T are elevated and discharged into a receiving truck TR (FIG. 1) which travels alongside the harvester H. 
     The invention is an improvement over the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,859 incorporated by reference, in that this invention provides a recovery system which reduces food losses from the main recovery system, the handsorters, and the color sorters. The apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,859 causes a nominal amount of red tomatoes to fall to the ground as trash due to inaccurate sorting by the handsorters and the color sorters. Moreover, since not all the tomatoes T are shaken from the vine V by the shaker brush, many tomatoes T fail to get inspected since they remain entangled with the vines V. In this invention, a recovery shaker conveyor  97  is added beneath the shaker conveyor  37  to loosen more tomatoes T from the vine V. In addition, a recovery cross conveyor  95  is added beneath the recover shaker conveyor and the color sorter  40  in order to recover additional tomatoes T. This improved recovery system is able to recover a greater amount of desirable tomatoes T. 
     While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.