PLANT HARVESTER

Abstract: A mobile plant harvester (20) for harvesting plants having foliage or vines such as cucumbers, includes an inclined main conveyor (40) having an upper run and an inclined gripping conveyor (42) supported by a vertically adjustable sub-frame (36) and having an arcuate lower and upper end portions and parallel upper and lower runs. The foliage gripping conveyor (42) includes a plurality of foliage gripping bars (144) which open when moving around the lower arcuate end portion to gently gather the foliage and crop and then close to grip the foliage and transport the foliage and crop upwardly for release onto the main conveyor (40) with a minimum of crop loss. The harvester (20) also includes means for cutting the foliage horizontally, and means for maintaining the foliage gripping (42) conveyor and foliage cutters at the desired height when moving over rough ground are also disclosed.

Description: The present invention relates to mobile plant or vegetable harvesters, and more particularly relates to method and apparatus for releasing vegetables such as cucumbers from the ground, gripping the vines or foliage of the vegetable, and conveying the vines and vegetables upwardly away from the ground for release upon a main conveyor while minimizing the amount of dirt ad debris deposited upon the main conveyor ad maximizing the amount of vegetables deposited upon the main conveyor. Mobil plant or vegetable harvesters are well known in the art for harvesting vegetables such as tomatoes. One such tomato harvester is disclosed in Assignee's United States Fitzmaurice Patent 4,335,570 which issued on June 22, 1982. A melon harvester is known from US 3678677. These harvesters are not sufficiently appropriate for harvesting cucumbers. It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a harvester suitable for harvesting cucumbers. This object is achieved with a harvester according to the features of claim 1. The components of the plant harvester of the present invention are specifically designed for harvesting cucumbers. The harvester is driven through a field of cucumbers, which cucumbers are attached to vines growing in the ground Vine cutting means first cut a swath of vines using vertical and horizontal vine cutting means. The width of the swath is equal in width to that of a main harvester conveying system A vine gripping conveyor then grips the vines and gently lifts vines ad cucumbers from the soil with a minimum amount of dirt clinging to the vines and with most of the cucumbers attached to the vines. The vines and cucumbers are then released from the vine gripping conveyor and fall onto an inclined main conveyor for movement into means for separating the cucumbers from the vines. The vines are then discharged onto the ground rearwardly of the vehicle, and the cucumbers are collected on the vehicle for conveyance to trucks or the like moving alongside of the harvester. Figure 1 is a perspective of the plant harvester, hereinafter referred to as a cucumber harvester, of the present invention. Figure 1A is a diagrammatic side elevation of the forward portion of a simplified plant harvester having an elongated foliage gripping pinch bar conveyor for pulling the foliage and crop from the ground for transport into a foliage and crop receiving means. Figure 2 is a diagrammatic central vertical section of the forward portion of the harvester illustrated in solid lines in an operative position with a horizontal vine cutter in the soil; and showing the forward portion in phantom lines in a transport position. Figure 3 illustrates a second embodiment of one of a plurality of rotary horizontal vine cutters. Figure 4 is an enlarged elevation looking at the front of the harvester illustrating the position of vertical vine cutting wheels, and conveyor height control mechanisms riding on the flat tops of ridges. Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view illustrating the drive for the vine gripping conveyors. Figures 6, 7 and 8 are operational views illustrating control means for changing the height of the horizontal vine cutter in response to varying elevations of the ground, certain parts being cut away in Figures 7 and 8 to better illustrate the positions of the height control means. Figure 9 is a vertical section taken through the forward end of a preferred embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor, with the vine lifters or pinch bars open to receive the vines and thereafter close to grip the vines. Figure 10 is a perspective of a portion of the forward end of the vine gripping conveyor of Figure 9. Figure 10A is a modification of the vine gripping conveyor of Figures 9 and 10 illustrating a Z-shaped end portion for extending the width of the bars. Figure 11 is a vertical section through the forward end of a second embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor. Figure 12 is a perspective of a portion of the vine gripping conveyor of Figure 11. Figure 13 is a vertical section taken through the forward end of a third embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor. Figure 14 is a perspective of a portion of the vine gripping conveyor of Figure 13. Figure 15 is a vertical section taken through the forward end of a fourth embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor. Figure 16 is a perspective of a portion of the vine gripping conveyor of Figure 15. Figure 17 is a vertical section through the forward end of a fifth embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor. Figure 18 is a perspective of a portion of the vine gripping conveyor of Figure 17. Figure 19 is a side elevation of a modified vertical vine cutter which includes a driven rotary cutter for shearing the vines. Figure 20 is a section taken along lines 20-20 of Figure 19. Figure 21 is a side elevation of the modified vine cutter of Figure 19 but used in conjunction with the rotary horizontal vine cutters of Figure 3. The cucumber harvester 20 (Fig. 1) of the present invention includes a chassis 22 supported on four wheels 24 driven by a motor M which also drives a hydraulic pump and generator (not shown) for providing hydraulic power and electrical power to components of the harvester. An operator station 26 includes a steering wheel 28 and conventional hydraulic and electrical controls (not shown). In general, the harvester 20 includes a generally horizontal vine cutter 30 and vertical vine cutters 32 mounted on caster wheels 34 pivotally mounted on a sub-frame 36 that is movably supported on the pivotal forward end portion 38 of an inclined main conveyor 40. A vine gripping conveyor 42 engages the severed vines (or foliage) of the plants and move the vines V (Fig. 9) and the attached plant (hereinafter cucumbers C) onto the forward end portion 38 (Fig. 1) of main conveyor 40 for movement upwardly to foliage and crop receiving means such as a shaking assembly (not shown) within a housing 44 that separates the cucumbers from the vines. The foliage or vines are discharged on the ground rearwardly of the harvester 20, while the cucumbers or other produce are collected on a horizontal cross conveyor (not shown) within the housing 44 and are thereafter moved upwardly by an elevator 46 and are received by a telescopic cross conveyor 48 which discharges the cucumbers into a bin or the like on a truck (not shown) which drives alongside of the harvester during the harvesting operation. More particularly, the pivotable forward end portion 38 (Fig. 2) of the main conveyor 40 is pivoted to a non-pivotal position of the frame 54 of the main conveyor by pivot pins 56 (only one being shown). The pivotal forward portion 38 of the main conveyor 40 includes a frame 58 to which is attached a pair of upstanding legs 60 (only one pair being shown) of a parallelogram linkage 62. The parallelogram linkage includes two pair of parallel arms 64 which are pivotally connected between the pairs of upstanding legs 60, and upstanding legs 66 of the sub-frame 36, which sub-frame includes frame members which movably support the vine gripping conveyor 42. A first pair of hydraulic cylinders 68 are connected between the non-pivotable frame 54 and the upstanding legs 60. When retracted, the cylinder 68 maintain the pivotal portion 38 of the main conveyor 40 in the harvesting position illustrated in full lines in Figure 2; when it is desired to drive the harvester along roads or the like, the rod ends of the hydraulic cylinders are extended thereby raising the forward end of the harvester to a transport position illustrated in phantom lines in Figure 2. When the harvester 20 is being driven through a field to harvest cucumbers or the like, the forward end of the harvester may be raised or lowered slightly to compensate for differences in the elevation of the ground enabling the horizontal vine cutter 30 and the vertical vine cutters 32 to penetrate the soil the desired depth for cutting the vines V. As best shown in Figures 2, 4 and 5, two height control assemblies 70 are connected to the forward end of the sub-frame 36 by U-shaped brackets 72 that are bolted to a cross member 73. Since each of the height control assemblies 70 are identical, only one will be described in detail. Each height control assembly 70 includes a lightweight wheel 74, such as a bicycle wheel, and is supported for rotation in a yoke 76. The yoke is pivotally connected to a vertical rod 78 (Fig. 2) by a pivot pin 80 for vertical pivotal movement. The rod is rotatably received in a sleeve 82 secured to the U-shaped bracket 72. A bracket 84 is rigidly secured to the upper end of the rod 78 and has a switch actuating member 86 pivotally connected thereto about a pivot pin or bolt 87. The switch actuating member 86 is pivotally connected to the yoke 76 by a link 88 and pivot pins 90,91. A double pole switch 92 is mounted on the bracket 84 and has a switch arm 94 received in a slot 96 formed in the switch actuating member 86. One or more springs 98 are connected between the forward end of the yoke 76 and the bracket 84 to urge the lightweight wheel 74 downwardly to compress the vines as the harvester is driven through the field. Conventional hydraulic and electrical circuits (not shown) control the actuation of a hydraulic cylinder 100 (Figs. 2 and 6-8) in response to the wheel 74 of the height control assembly 70 entering a depression or downward slope as illustrated in Figure 7, or encountering a rise in elevation as illustrated in Figure 8. It is desirable to maintain the front end of the vine gripping conveyor 42 at approximately the same distance above the soil, and to maintain the horizontal vine cutter 30 at approximately the same distance below the soil at all times when harvesting. Accordingly, in response to the positions of the wheels 74 of the height control assembly 70 entering depressions as shown in Figure 7, a signal from the switch will cause the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 100 to retract thereby lowering the sub-frame 36 thus maintaining the desired spacing of the conveyor 42 and the vine cutter 30 relative to the surface of the ground. Similarly, when the wheel 74 contacts an upward slope as illustrated in Figure 8, the signal causes the piston rod of cylinder 100 to extend thereby raising the sub-frame and retaining the desired spacing of the conveyor 42 and cutter 30 relative to the ground. Figure 3 illustrates one of a plurality of driven disc cutters 104 that cooperate to define a second type of horizontal vine cutter. The cutters 104 are supported on the lower end of the upstanding leg 66 of the sub-frame 36 and are used in place of the transversely elongated horizontal vine cutter 30 (Fig. 2). A plurality of overlapping disc cutters 104 (only one being shown) are connected to the shafts of associated right angle gear drives 106 which are secured to the sub-frames 36. Each cutter 104 is driven by a hydraulic motor 108. An important feature of the invention is the provision of the driven vine gripping conveyor 42 (Figs. 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10) which firmly grips the vines V forwardly of the horizontal vine cutter 30 and clamps and thereafter lifts the vines from the ground with the vegetables attached thereto, and transports the vines and vegetables over the forward portion 38 of the main conveyor 40 before releasing the vines and crops onto the main conveyor 40. In this way the vines and vegetables are firmly lifted from the soil thus separating the vines and vegetables from the soil and minimizing the conveyance of dirt, rocks or mud into a vine shaker (not shown) and other components of the harvester within the housing 44 (Fig. 1). The driven vine gripping conveyor 42 is supported on the sub-frame 36 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) and is in the form of two side-by-side endless conveyor sections 42′ and 42″ (Figs. 4 and 5). The upper and lower ends of both conveyor sections 42′,42″ are supported by elongated shafts 114,116 journaled in and extending the entire width of the sub-frame 36. A hydraulic motor 130 is secured to the sub-frame 36 and has its output shaft removably secured to the upper shaft 114 thereby providing a positive drive to both the upper and lower shafts 114,116. Aligned pairs of small diameter pulleys 134,136,138 and 140 are secured to shafts 114,116; and each pair of pulleys have a flexible rubberized fabric belt 142 trained thereover. A plurality of vine or plant gripping pinch bars 144 are rigidly secured to associated pairs of belts 142 as by bolting or bonding. The hydraulic motor 130 drives the vine gripping conveyor so that its horizontal component of speed is substantially equal to the ground speed of the harvester, which ground speed is about three miles per hour while harvesting. The preferred embodiment of the plant gripping pinch bars 144 are best shown in Figures 2, 9 and 10. Each pinch bar 144 includes generally L-shaped end portions 146 (only one end being shown) and an elongated intermediate portion 148. A generally tear shaped vine pinching portion 150 is formed from a resilient material such as rubber that is preferably bonded to the intermediate portion 148 and cooperates with the next adjacent vine pinching portion 150 to grip the vines supporting the plants to be harvested, such as cucumber vines V as illustrated in Figure 9. It will be understood that the pinch bars 144 may be used to grip tops or foliage of vegetables such as carrots and beets, different types of grains, and other plants. If it is desired to extend the length of pinching portion 150 of each bar, it will be understood that the end portions 146′ (Fig. 10A) may be bent in a generally Z-shape thereby permitting the pinching portion 150′ to at least partially overlap the associated belts 142′. As illustrated in Figure 9, the connecting portions of the pinch bars 144 are angled rearwardly about 45° relative to the upper linear run of the vine gripping conveyor 42 at which time the vine pinching portions are in overlapping vine pinching positions. However, as the pinch bars move around the arcuate portions of the lower shaft 116, the pinch bars open significantly and thereafter close slightly before the horizontal vine cutter 30 engages and severs the vines. Thereafter the pinch bars lift the vines and cucumbers from the ground for conveyance upwardly over the main conveyor 40. When the vines reach the upper end of the vine gripping conveyor 42, the pinch bars 144 open allowing the vines and cucumbers to be released onto the main conveyor 40 which includes pins 152 (Fig. 4) which engage the vines or foliage to move them upwardly. It will be noted that the first embodiment of the pinch bars 144 are mounted at one half the spacing on the belts 142 as compared to the pinch bars of the other embodiments thereby providing twice as many pinch points as that disclosed in certain other embodiments such as in the Figure 11 and 12 embodiments to be described hereinafter. The design of the bars 144 (Fig. 9) is such that the vines start to be pinched very close to a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 116. Each pinch bar 144 thereafter gathers a plurality of vines after passing the vertical plane, which as mentioned previously, is at approximately their lowest point in the path of travel of said bars 144. Although a tear shaped resilient vine pinching portion 150 of the pinch bar 144 has been illustrated, it will be understood that other shapes may be used, and also that the pinch bars may be formed entirely of steel if desired. It will be also apparent that the pinch bars 144 will maintain their grip on the vines without preloading the belt 142, since the vine gripping force is substantially a vertical pinching force. The horizontal component of the speed of the lower run of the vine gripping conveyor 42 is maintained at a speed equal to or slightly slower than that of the forward speed of the harvester while harvesting the crop. Figures 11 and 12 illustrate a second embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor 42. Components of the second embodiment which are the same as those of the first embodiment will be assigned the same numerals followed by the letter "a". The vine gripping conveyor 42a includes a plurality of forward transverse pinch or gripping bars 154 and rear transverse bars 156 which are rigidly secured together and to a pair of flexible belts 142a (only one being shown) by legs 158,160 and a plate 162. As illustrated in Figure 11, the forward legs 158 are normal to the linear portion of the flexible belt 142a, while the legs 160 supporting the rear bar 156 are angled relative to the linear portion of the belts 142a and are welded to the legs 158. Having reference to Figure 11, it will be noted that the space between the pinch bars 154,156 as they move around the front shaft 116a is slightly greater than that of the Figures 9 and 10 embodiment thereby providing slightly greater vine gathering capabilities as compared to the Figures 9 and 10 embodiment. However, the initial vine gripping point of the cooperating pinch bars 154,156 is disposed a greater distance rearwardly of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 116a which is a slight disadvantage. Also, the number of pinching points is about half that of the first embodiment. Figures 13 and 14 illustrate a third embodiment of a vine gripping conveyor 42b. Components of the third embodiment which are the same as that of the first embodiment will be assigned the same numerals followed by the letter "b". The vine gripping conveyor 42b includes a plurality of front transverse gripping bars 164 and rear gripping bars 166. Each front gripping bar 164 is rigidly secured to a pair of forwardly angled arms 168 which are rigidly connected to flexible belts 142b (only one being shown). Each rear gripper bar 166 is rigidly secured to a pair of rearwardly angled arms 170 (only one being shown) which are rigidly connected to the flexible belts 242b. As illustrated in Figure 13, as the bars 164,166 move around the axis of shaft 116b the bars 164,166 are in their closed positions which provide a very desirable wide vine gathering space as the bars move downwardly into the vines. However, the vine gripping function does not take place until both bars 164,166 become supported on the lower linear run of the belt 142b of the vine gripping conveyor which occurs a substantial distance rearwardly of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 116b. A fourth embodiment of the vine gripping conveyor 42c is illustrated in Figures 15 and 16. Components of the fourth embodiment which are the same as those of the first embodiment will be assigned the same numerals followed by the letter "c". The vine gripping conveyor 42c includes a plurality of transverse forward gripping bars 172 which are supported by short rearwardly angled (relative to the upper run of the conveyor) arms 174 rigidly secured to the flexible belts 142c (only one being shown) with the arms angled rearwardly at about 75° relative to the upper run of the vine gripping conveyor 42c. A plurality of transverse rearward gripping bars 176 are supported by long forwardly angled arms 177 rigidly secured to the pair of flexible belts 142c (only one being shown) with the angle being about 75°. When the bars 172,176 move arcuately around the axis of shaft 116c, the bars 172,176 are in their open non-gripping position and penetrate the vines V. As the bars 172,176 move around the axis of shaft 116c and into the lower linear run of the conveyor 42c, the bars 172 on the long arms push a portion of the vines rearwardly of the harvester into vine gripping engagement with the associated bar 172 of the short arms thereby lifting the vines and crop from the soil for release onto the main conveyor 40 (Fig. 2) as the vines and crop are moved around the axis of the upper elongated shaft 114 (Fig. 3). A fifth embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 17 and 18. Components of a fifth embodiment which are the same as that of the first embodiment will be assigned the same numerals followed by the letter "d". The vine gripping conveyors 42d includes a first plurality of long transverse pinch bars 182, and a second plurality of transverse pinch bars 184 which are slightly shorter than the first pinch bars 182. Each long bar 182 has two parallel short legs 186, and each short bar has two parallel legs 188, (only one leg of each bar being shown) which legs are bent 90° to the associated bar 182,184 and are welded together to define an angle of about 10° relative to each other. The free ends of the legs are rigidly secured to plates 190 which are rigidly secured to belts 142d (only one being shown). When supported on a linear portion of the belts 142d of the vine gripping conveyor 42d, the long legs 188 are angled about 20° to the plane of the belts 142d and the short legs 186 are angled at about 30° relative to the plane of the belt 142d at which time the pinch bars 182 and 184 are in clamping engagement with the vines when on the lower run of the vine gripping conveyor 42d. When the transverse bars 182,184 move around the axis of the elongated shaft 116d at the lower end of the vine gripping conveyor 42d, the spacing of the adjacent transverse pinch bars 184,186 is quite wide thus enhancing the ability of the bars to gather the vines V. Also, the vines are initially gripped at a point substantially on the vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 116d thus improving the vine gripping operation. Although a plurality of embodiments of pinch bars have been disclosed, it will be understood that other designs may be used. For example, the pinch bars could be in the form of flat plates, molded rubber shapes or fingers secured to the cross bars, and other equivalent shapes. Figure 1A illustrates a simplified plant harvester 200 which grips the foliage and pulls the foliage and attached crop from the ground for movement within a foliage and crop receiving means without first severing the crop and foliage from the ground. The harvester 200 is a self-propelled harvester which is similar to that of the first embodiment except that the automatic height control system, the horizontal and vertical cutters, and the main conveyor are not required. The harvester 200 (Fig. 1A) includes a self-propelled mobile chassis 202 which pivotally supports an elongated downwardly and forwardly inclined conveyor frame 204 pivoted to the chassis 202 adjacent an opening 208 of a foliage and crop receiving means 210 which may include a shaker assembly and conveyors such as that used in the first embodiment when cucumbers or tomatoes are being harvested; or which may merely be a bin and/or conveying system when crops such as carrots or turnips are being harvested. The upper end of the conveyor frame 204 is pivotally mounted on the chassis 202 for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis A. The conveyor frame includes conventional inwardly directed flanges (not shown) upon which the side portions of the endless pinch bar conveyors 212 ride to maintain the lower run in a linear path. The pinch bar conveyor is driven by a hydraulic motor 214 in the direction indicated by the arrow and includes a lower arcuate portion 216 and an upper arcuate portion 218. A plurality of pinch bars 220 are connected to the conveyor 212 and are shown as being of the type illustrated in Figures 9-10a of the first embodiment. However, it will be understood that the embodiments of the pinch bars illustrated in Figures 11-18 may be used if desired. The lower end of the conveyor 212 is raised or lowered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders 222 (only one being shown) pivotally connected between the chassis 202 and the conveyor frame 204. A conventional hydraulic valve (not shown) is actuated by the driver of the harvester to raise or lower the front end of the conveyor 212 to maintain the lower arcuate portion 216 at a desired distance above the ground; and to move the lower arcuate portion between the harvesting position shown in solid lines and the raised transport position shown in phantom lines. In operation of the plant harvester 200 of the second embodiment of the present invention, the harvester is first driven onto a field to be harvested. The front arcuate end of the pinch bar conveyor 212 is then lowered from its transport position to the solid line position (Fig. 1A) in position to engage the foliage of the crop or plant being harvested. As the pinch bars 220 move around the lower arcuate portion 216 of the conveyor, the pinch bars 220 are opened and engage the foliage which have not been severed from the ground. The pinch bars 220 close and grip the foliage in response to being moved from the lower arcuate portion to the lower linear run of the pinch bar conveyor. As the gripped foliage is moved up the lower run, the foliage is gripped tight enough to pull the foliage and crop out of the ground with a minimum loss of the crop. When the foliage and crop reach the upper arcuate portion 218, the pinch bars 220 open and release the vines and crop into the foliage and crop receiving means for further processing. Thus, the simplified embodiment of the plant harvester 200 is capable of harvesting many types of vegetables connected to vines or foliage that is dense enough to be gripped by the pinch bars. The foliage and their crops are gripped and relatively easily pulled out of the soil, especially soil that is moist, sandy or loosely packed thus precluding the need of cutter means to sever the foliage. Figures 19 and 20 illustrate a modified driven shear type vertical vine cutter assembly 230 which is intended as a substitute for the vine cutters 32 (Fig. 3). Although only one vine cutter assembly 230 will be described, it will be understood that two of such cutter assemblies will be used, one on each side of the vehicle. Components of the harvester which are equivalent to those of the first embodiment will be assigned the same numerals followed by the letter "e". The forward portion of the vine gripping conveyor 42e is shown to illustrate the relationship of the pinch bar conveyor 144e relative to the vertical vine cutting assembly 230. The rotary cutter assembly 230 comprises a pair of vertically oriented disc cutters 232 (only one being shown) mounted on opposite sides of the harvester 20e. Each disc cutter 232 is secured to a shaft 234 of a hydraulic motor 236 which is secured to an associated inclined arm 238 bolted to the upstanding leg 66e of the sub-frame 36e. A transversely extending horizontal vine cutter 30e is supported by two legs 240 (only one being shown) which are bolted to associated legs 66e. As shown in Figure 20, a sharpened edge 242 of the disc cutter 232 is disposed closely adjacent to the outer face of the leg 240. While harvesting, the forward movement of the harvester 20a causes vines to move upwardly on the upwardly inclined leading surface 244 to a shear point 246 at which time the sharp edge 242 of the disc cutter 232 shears the vines. The disc cutter is driven in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 19) at a relatively high speed. Figure 21 illustrates a vertical disc cutter assembly 230f which is identical to that of Figure 19 except that the elongated transversely extending vine cutter 30e (Fig. 19) has been removed from the leg 240f and a plurality of generally horizontal rotary disc cutters 104f (only one being shown) of the type disclosed in Figure 3 are used to cut the vines horizontally. As best shown in Figure 20, during harvesting each vertical disc cutter 232 is driven by an associated motor 236 at a relatively high speed. As the harvester moves forward, the sloping forward surface 244 of each leg 240 engages and causes the vines to move upwardly to the shear point 246 at which time the sharp circular edge 242 of the disc cutter 232 cooperates with a side edge of the associated leg 240 to shear the vines. From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a mobile plant harvester is disclosed with cucumbers being illustrated as the preferred crop. The harvester includes an inclined main conveyor having a pivotable front end portion which supports a sub-frame by means of hydraulically operated parallelogram linkages. An inclined vine gripping conveyor, a horizontal vine cutter, a pair of vertical vine cutters and at least one height control assembly are supported by the sub-frame to maintain the lower run of the vine gripping conveyor and the horizontal cutter at the desired distances relative to the surfaces of the ground in response to the height control assembly detecting variations in the level of the ground in front of the harvester. Since the foliage and attached crop is gently gripped by the lower run of the vine gripping conveyor which is moving substantially at ground speed, and since the vines and crop are moved substantially vertically upward from the soil, substantially all of the crop and a minimum of soil and other debris is deposited on the main conveyor in response to the pinch bars being opened at the upper end of the vine gripping conveyor allowing the vines and crop to fall onto the main conveyor for further processing.

Claims: A plant harvester (20) having means for gathering crop with their foliage from the ground and having transport means for movement to a means for separating the crop from their foliage, characterized by the gathering means comprising; a plurality of pairs of cooperating pinch bar means (144) for gathering crop and their foliage from the ground, the pinch bar means are transversely mounted to an inclined endless pinch bar conveyor (42) having upperside and lowerside linear runs; each pair of pinch bar means (144) having at least one pinch bar sloped with respect to the linear runs of the pinch bar conveyor (42) such that each pair of cooperating pinch bar means opens when moving downwardly from the upperside linear run and around a front arcuate portion of the pinch bar conveyor and engulfing foliage therebetween and closes when moving upwardly and rearwardly along the lowerside linear run and pinching the foliage therebetween and then opens when moving upwardly around a rear arcuate portion of the pinch bar conveyor and releasing the foliage and crop onto a transport means for movement to a separating means. The plant harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that the transport means include a main conveyor means (40) carried on the harvester (20) and positioned below the pinch bar conveyor (42) for receiving the foliage and crop released at the rear arcuate portion of the pinch bar conveyor (42) and for conveying it to the separating means. The plant harvester according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by the pinch bar conveyor (42) comprising a sub-frame (36), a parallelogram linkage (62) connecting said pinch bar conveyor (42) to said main conveyor means (40), power-means (68) connected to said parallelogram linkage (62) for raising and lowering said sub-frame (36) and said pinch bar conveyor (42); and ground level sensing means (70) supported by said sub-frame (36) for actuating said power means (100) for raising and lowering said sub-frame (36) for maintaining said front arcuate portion of said pinch bar conveyor (42); at substantially the same distance above the ground when the harvester (20) moves over ground of varying levels. The plant harvester according to claim 3, characterized by severing means (30, 32) connected to the lower arcuate portion of the pinch bar conveyor (42) for severing the foliage from the ground simultaneously with the closing of each cooperating pair of pinch bar means (144) moving upwardly and rearwardly along the lowerside linear run of the pinch bar conveyor (42). The plant harvester according to claim 4, characterized by the severing means (30, 32) comprising a pair of vertically oriented discs (32) supported on said sub-frame (36) and spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the harvester, and a horizontal cutter bar (30) supported on said sub-frame (36) and extending transversely of the harvester (20) a distance substantially equal to the width of the harvester, said rotary discs (32) and horizontal bar (30) penetrating the ground a sufficient distance for cutting a swath of foliage substantially equal to the width of the harvester. The plant harvester according to claim 4, characterized by the severing means (104, 32) comprising a pair of vertically oriented rotary discs (32) supported on said sub-frame (36) and spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the harvester, and a plurality of driven generally horizontal discs (104) extending substantially the full width of the harvester, said vertical discs (32) and said horizontal discs (104) penetrating the ground a sufficient distance for cutting a swath of foliage substantially equal to the width of the harvester. The plant harvester according to claim 3, characterized by a forward portion (38) of said main conveyor (40) pivotally connected to a rearward portion of said pinch bar conveyor (42); and power means (68) connected between said rearward portion of said pinch bar conveyor (42) and said main conveyor (40) for pivoting said pinch bar conveyor (42) and components attached thereto between a lowered harvesting position and a raised transport position The plant harvester according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that each pinch bar of each pair of cooperating pair of pinch bar means (144), comprises a horizontal bar, a pair of mounting legs (146) rigidly secured to said bar and to said pinch bar conveyor (42), and a transversely elongated plant gripping member (150) secured to said horizontal bar and extending into overlapping foliage gripping engagement with the foliage gripping member (150) of a next adjacent pinch bar for firmly gripping the foliage of the plants when in a linear portion of the lower run of said foliage gripping conveyor. The plant harvester according to claim 8, characterized in that each pair of mounting legs (146) are disposed at about 45° relative to the linear run of the pinch bar conveyor (42) causing the adjacent clamp gripping members to initially grip the foliage when passing through a vertical plane that passes through the axis of the front arcuate portion of the pinch bar conveyor (42). The plant harvester according to claim 9, characterized in that said mounting, legs (146) are angled rearwardly at about 45° relative to the linear upperside run of the pinch bar conveyor (42). The plant harvester according to claim 6 or claim 9, characterized in that said mounting legs (146) are parallel to each other when in the linear run. The plant harvester according to claim 10, characterized in that said mounting legs (146) are Z-shaped transversely with respect to the direction of travel of the harvester for extending the effective foliage gripping length of the bars. The plant harvester according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the pairs of cooperating pinch bar means (144) comprise sets of horizontal pinch bars (164) respectively mounted to the pinch bar conveyor (142) by pairs of tall and short legs (168, 170) wherein the horizontal pinch bars (164) mounted on tall legs (170) cooperate with adjacent horizontal pinch bars mounted on short legs (168) which cooperating horizontal pinch bars open when moving downwardly around the front arcuate portion and close when moving upwardly and rearwardly and open when moving upwardly around the rear arcuate portion of the pinch bar conveyor (142). The plant harvester according to claim 13, characterized by the tall legs (170) rigidly secured to the short legs (168) and sloped at an angle rearwardly and upwardly with respect to the upperside linear run of the pinch bar conveyor (142). The plant harvester according to claim 14, characterized in that the short legs (168) are mounted perpenticular with respect to the linear runs of the pinch bar conveyor (142). The plant harvester according to claim 14, characterized in that the long legs (170) are sloped rearwardly and upwardly with respect to the upperside linear run of angle of the the pinch bar conveyor (142) at an angle less than the slope angle of the short legs (168). The plant harvester according to claim 13, characterized in that the short legs are sloped rearwardly and upwardly and the long legs (170) are sloped forwardly and upwardly with respect to the upperside linear run of the pinch bar conveyor (142) wherein the horizontal pinch bars (164) close and overlap when moving in the underside linear run of the pinch bar conveyor. The plant harvester according to claim 6, characterized in that pairs of cooperating pinch bar means (164) comprise sets of horizontal pinch bars (164) each mounted to a respective pair of crossed legs connected to the pinch bar conveyor (142), wherein the horizontal pinch bars (164) contact one another when moving downwardly around the front arcuate portion for the pinch bar conveyor (142) forming a gap for engulfing the foliage between two adjacent sets of contacting horizontal pinch bars and contact one another when moving in the upperside linear path closing the gap and gripping the foliage.

Inventors: BUTLER, LEE D., LENKER, DON H., ORLANDO, FRANKLIN P.
Applicants: FMC CORPORATION
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A01D31
IPC codes: A01D31, A01D45