Abstract:
The present invention includes machines and methods designed for use in harvesting vine-borne crops that is particularly suited for use in wet fields with narrow rows. The machines are relatively compact, and provide for vine borne crops to be severed, separated, cleaned and sorted along a straight path of a single vertical plane. The machines and methods incorporate a blower and adjustable conveyor system for efficient removal of unwanted dirt, trash, vegetation and debris from the crop without re-depositing such removed refuse on the cleaned crop. The machines and methods also provide an upward airstream that blows through the mesh/openings of the conveyors to provide agitation for recovery of additional crop from previously-shaken vines.

Description:
[0001]    This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/514,710 filed on Aug. 31, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/942,078 filed on Sep. 14, 2004, soon to be U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,375, both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to machines and methods for harvesting food crops, and more particularly, to an improved small-scale machine and related methods for separating larger volumes of vine-borne crops from their vines while effectively removing unwanted dirt, vegetation and debris, minimizing damage to the fruit itself, and promoting better sorting of fruit. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Vine-borne crops have traditionally been harvested and processed by hand. However, such manual harvesting and processing was often tedious, time-consuming and expensive. 
         [0006]    Various machines, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,305, have been developed over the years to automate part, or all, of this process. These machines are able to harvest vine-borne crops from the ground at much faster speeds than humans. However, these machines were often inefficient in other aspects of the harvesting process. Early harvesting machines severed entire plants and dropped them upon the ground, with the desired crops remaining affixed to the plants. Then, collection devices would retrieve the mixture of vegetation, dirt and debris for processing. Human sorters would then be required to sort through the mixture to separate the crops from the rest, and extract the former. The human sorters had to quickly process these mixtures to prevent a backlog. As a result, some suitable crops were lost because they were too far entangled within the plants, or simply overlooked by the human sorters. 
         [0007]    Various devices have been developed over the years to improve the mechanized harvesting process, and to minimize the need for human sorters. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,257,218, 4,335,570, and 6,257,978 all disclose harvesting machines utilizing at least one form of agitating device (such as vibrating shaker heads or conveyor belts) to dislodge tomatoes from the vines. Several harvesting machines, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,257,978 and 6,033,305, also utilize forced air pressure systems to further remove dirt and debris. 
         [0008]    Unfortunately, larger is not always better. While wider and larger machines are generally capable of harvesting and processing a higher volume of vine-borne crops, many road and/or field situations make it impossible or impracticable to use or bring these large machines in to perform the desired harvesting. Such machines are also more difficult to maneuver. Such limited maneuverability may require the machine operator to spend additional time repositioning the machines to process each row of crops, or cause the machines to inadvertently trample one or more rows. In addition, larger machines tend to weigh more, and the added weight not only affects maneuverability (e.g. turning), it also makes the larger, heavier machines unusable in moist or muddy fields where they tend to bog down. It is therefore desirable to provide a smaller scale machine that is capable of harvesting larger volumes of vine-borne crops. 
         [0009]    In addition, the design of many existing large and small-scale machines may cause damage to the fruit by imparting numerous drops and/or turns during processing. Many machines require the fruit to drop a distance of several feet over the course of processing through the machine, and to make several turns during the process. Each drop and each turn provides another point where the fruit may be damaged, so it is desirable to minimize the number and/distance that the fruit drops through the machine, and to minimize the number of turns the fruit makes as it travels through the machine. 
         [0010]    Effective separating and sorting of harvested fruit is also important. More efficient removal of dirt, vegetation, trash and debris as well as more accurate sorting of fruit is possible when the harvested materials are widely dispersed, and not bunched together. Another unfortunate side effect of machines in which the fruit makes multiple turns is that the fruit and associated trash and debris tends to bunch together. Rather than the fruits being evenly spaced upon the conveyors (so that they may be easily examined and processed), these comers cause the fruits to become crowded as they are transported onto an intersecting conveyor sometimes forming windrows, making them more difficult to inspect and sort. This bunching makes removal of the trash and debris more difficult, and once removed, the bunching of the harvested fruit makes sorting more difficult as well. Furthermore, each turn involves a drop from one conveyor to another, risking additional damage to the fruit, and requiring more maintenance and cleanup from breakage. Transverse turns also tend to increase the overall width and size of the harvester machine. All of these consequences make it even more desirable to minimize the number of turns the fruit makes as it travels through the machine. 
         [0011]    Several variations of cleaning systems for removal of dirt, vegetation, trash and debris have been implemented in existing machines, each with their own drawbacks. Suction fan systems used on some harvesting machines tend to be expensive, noisy, prone to plugging in wet conditions, at times unreliable, and need significant power. Many machines developed to harvest tomatoes in wetter climates do not utilize suction fans on the harvester for these reasons. Machines which use only a blower for removal of dirt, vegetation, trash and debris suffer from problems related to inadequate space for the air to vent and drop out this refuse, making it difficult to control where all the refuse is going. In many cases, the refuse winds up settling back onto the freshly harvested crop, defeating the purpose of the cleaning blower. On some foreign machines, this problem is solved by placing the blower at the rear of the machine, allowing the blown refuse to vent out the rear. However, it is preferable to be able to clean the crop before it reaches the rear of the machine, to allow room for manual and electronic sorting at the rear of machine. Otherwise, the crop stream would need to change directions in order to come back up the side of the machine for sorting. This would add to the width and bulk of the machine, making it larger and less maneuverable. 
         [0012]    It is therefore desirable to provide a small-scale vine-borne crop harvesting machine capable of processing a large volume of crops that is usable in narrow, wet field situations where larger machines would bog down. It is further desirable that dirt, vegetation, trash and debris be effectively removed early in the harvesting process so that the sorting of crop on the machine may be accomplished at or near the rear, to avoid adding width and bulk to the machine. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The present invention provides a compact crop-vine harvester and separation system that includes machines and related methods for harvesting vine-borne crops. The machines are relatively compact, having a frame that is dimensioned such that its width is substantially the same as the wheel or track base so that it may travel on narrow roads, and be used in narrow, wet field conditions. The machines provide for vine borne crops to be severed, separated, cleaned and machine-sorted along a single vertical plane (straight line). The machines incorporate a unique blower system for efficient removal of unwanted dirt, vegetation, trash and debris without reintroducing such refuse onto the harvested crop. 
         [0014]    In several embodiments, a severing device is provided at the forward end of a machine for severing crop-laden vines from the ground. In these embodiments, a first conveyor (sometimes referred to herein as a “header”) is provided that brings the severed crop-laden vines to an upper position in the machine. The severed crop-laden vines cross an adjustable gap and are delivered onto a transfer conveyor (sometimes referred to herein as an “upper header”), the gap allowing loose dirt and debris to fall through the machine to a dirt removal cross conveyor. The material on this conveyor is passed through a vision system which identifies and returns the red crop back onto the machine as the dirt and debris pass through to the ground. The crop-laden vines are then introduced into a rotating shaker having tines that engage and loosen the vines, causing the crop to be dislodged as it shakes. The dislodged crop drops onto a second conveyor (sometimes referred to herein as a “fruit” conveyor) below the shaker, and the vines are deposited onto a third conveyor (sometimes referred to herein as a “recovery” conveyor) located above the fruit conveyor and extending beyond toward the rear of the machine. 
         [0015]    The fruit conveyor is located along a lower region and extends under the shaker in embodiments of the machines of the present invention, to transport the dislodged crop rearward to a sorter. Meanwhile, the vines deposited on the recovery conveyor are transported rearward for a distance above the fruit return conveyor. The recovery conveyor is provided with large slots or a belted chain having a wider pitch so that crop can pass through, and drop onto the fruit return conveyor below it. Each of these conveyors is lined up along the same vertical plane, so that the crop and related materials remain widely dispersed across the width of the conveyors. 
         [0016]    In most circumstances, some amount of dirt, debris, trash and vegetation is usually deposited on the second (fruit) conveyor along with the dislodged crop. To remove this remaining refuse, the second conveyor transfers the fruit over an adjustable gap between the second and fourth conveyors in which a strong upward air flow is provided through a nozzle attached to a blower The blower may be provided at any suitable location and provided with ducting, if necessary, to direct the airflow through the gap. The nozzle extends along the width of the second (fruit) conveyor and blows air in an upward direction that is angled with respect to the fruit conveyor itself so that all crop and refuse is affected thereby. The airflow may be adjusted in one or two different ways: by adjusting the speed of the blower, and/or by adjusting the angle at which the airflow contacts the underside of a fourth conveyor (sometimes referred to as the “fruit return” conveyor). The fruit return conveyor is located between the sorter conveyor and the recovery conveyor, and above a refuse removal surface, along the same plane as those conveyors. 
         [0017]    The airflow should be strong enough to blow away all loose dirt, debris, trash and vegetation without blowing away the crop itself In preferred embodiments, the airflow should also be strong enough to blow through the fourth (fruit return) conveyor and provide agitation to the vines located above on the third (recovery) conveyor in order to further dislodge crop from the vines located thereon. 
         [0018]    Any crop dislodged by the action of the airflow on the vines on the recovery conveyor drops through the large gaps in the recovery conveyor to the fruit return conveyor directly below the recovery conveyor The fruit return conveyor travels in a direction opposite from that of the recovery conveyor, and brings any such dislodged fruit back to the second (fruit) conveyor, where it joins other fruit and passes over the airflow gap. In order to avoid the removed refuse from being re-deposited onto the crop, it is important that the refuse-laden air be able to escape from embodiments of the machines of the present invention. This is accomplished by first making sure that there is no blockage between the third (recovery) and fourth (fruit return) conveyors which could be caused by, for example, a portion of a skid plate; and second by providing the third and fourth conveyors with sufficiently wide mesh or gaps to allow air to easily pass through. The openings/gaps in the fourth/lower (fruit return) conveyor may be of any suitable size, but are preferably between about 28 mm and about 36 mm; the openings/gaps in the third/upper (recovery) conveyor may be of any suitable size, but are preferably of a size between about 84 mm and about 120 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the openings in the fruit return conveyor are about 32 mm wide, and those in the recovery conveyor are about 84 mm wide. 
         [0019]    The cleaned crop that passes across the airflow gap is then deposited onto a fifth conveyor (sometimes referred to as the “sorter” conveyor) that is also in line with the four previous conveyors. The fifth conveyor takes the fruit to a sorting area, where the crop may be hand sorted, or be sorted using one or more automatic units which kick out unwanted fruit according to programmed instructions. Since the crop has not traveled through any turns up to this point, it remains evenly separated on the fourth conveyor thereby improving the sorting process. Then, in some embodiments, the crop makes a turn where it may be deposited onto a transversally oriented conveyor. Here, hand sorting may be performed, followed by deposit of the crop onto a final conveyor which takes it up, out and deposits it into a waiting hopper alongside the machine. In alternative embodiments, the transversally oriented conveyor and the final conveyor are one and the same, making the crop available for sorting and then elevating it out of the machine to the hopper waiting alongside. 
         [0020]    In some embodiments, a continuously rotating roller is provided adjacent to the airflow to catch any large pieces of vegetation or trash and deposit them on the refuse removal surface located above the fourth sorter conveyor. The roller itself is preferably smooth so that it does not become entangled with the vegetation or trash, but it may be provided with teeth, lagging, textured covering or tines to engage such materials if so desired. The roller may rotate in either direction, but preferably in harmony with the airflow so as to remove large pieces of refuse moving toward the rear of the machine where they are deposited on the refuse removal conveyor. The refuse removal conveyor is textured so that the large pieces of refuse landing on it convey out to one or both sides of the machine and drop to the ground. In some embodiments, a back plate is provided to prevent airborne refuse from settling back onto the cleaned crop. 
         [0021]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide machines and methods for harvesting vine-borne crops in which the harvested crop travels along a path within a machine for separation of crops from vines, the separated crop being cleaned using an upwardly blowing airflow that passes through the fruit stream and vents the air through two conveyors with the refuse being deposited on a cross conveyor. 
         [0022]    It is also an object of the present invention to provide machines and methods for harvesting vine-borne crops in which the vines from which crop is being dislodged are agitated using an upwardly blowing airflow that passes through the conveyor upon which the vines have been deposited. 
         [0023]    It is also an important object of the invention to provide machines and methods for harvesting vine-borne crops in which the harvested fruit is widely dispersed as it is conveyed through a machine to facilitate better removal of unwanted materials from the crops, and to facilitate better sorting of fruit. 
         [0024]    It is also an important object of the invention to provide machines and methods for harvesting vine-borne crops in which unwanted dirt, vegetation, trash and debris is removed through the action of an adjustable lower blower device and an adjustable conveyor carrying dislodged crop. 
         [0025]    It is also an important object of the invention to provide machines and methods for harvesting large volumes of vine-borne crops that may be deployed in wet vineyards and fields where larger machines would be bogged down. 
         [0026]    It is also an important object of the invention to provide improved methods for harvesting and cleaning wet, damp or moist vine-borne crops. 
         [0027]    Additional objects of the invention will be apparent from the detailed descriptions and the claims herein. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of an embodiment of the present invention along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  is a detailed cut away side view along line  4  of  FIG. 1  illustrating the major operative elements of an embodiment of a cleaner of the invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 5A  is a cut away side view along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1  of an embodiment of a cleaner of the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 5B  is a detailed perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5A . 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the mechanical fruit sorter of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  is a rear view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0036]      FIG. 8  is a cut away side view of an embodiment of a cleaner of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0037]    Referring to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and referring particularly to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , it is seen that the illustrated embodiment of the invention includes an apparatus for harvesting above-ground food plants grown in rows. The exterior components of the exemplary apparatus generally comprise a self-propelled vehicle body  10  having a driving compartment  11 , an adjustable arm  12  with a pickup device  14  and conveyor  15 , a separator  19 , a sorting platform  16 , and a discharging chute  17 . 
         [0038]    As shown in the illustrated exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2 , an adjustable arm  12  is affixed to the front end of the vehicle body  10 . The adjustable arm  12  may be any number of commercially available devices that allow the operator to adjust the position of the arm  12  relative to the ground, said position depending upon the characteristics of the particular crop harvested or its environment. A gage wheel  13  for height adjustment is mounted at the front end of the adjustable arm  12 . A pickup device  14  may be any commercially available device capable of severing vines V at or near ground level, such as a cutting disc or plurality of opposing blades, and a lift for placing the severed vines onto conveyor  15 . Pickup conveyor  15  is an endless longitudinal conveyor belt traveling in a rearward direction into the separator  20 . An optional sorting platform  16  may be affixed to the rear end of the vehicle body  10 . Platform  16  allows one or more humans to examine and hand sort the crop, such as tomatoes T, on a conveyor  26  before they are passed along to a discharging chute  17 . Chute  17  is depicted in the rear view of  FIG. 3  in its retracted position, with phantom lines showing its extended position over a receiving hopper in an adjacent row. 
         [0039]    An endless motor-driven longitudinal receiving conveyor  19  is adapted to receive the vines V from the exterior pickup conveyor  15  in this exemplary embodiment. The receiving conveyor  19  travels toward the rear end of the vehicle body  10 . An adjustable gap  18  is provided between the pickup conveyor  15  and receiving conveyor  19 , said gap  18  allowing loose crop (in this example tomatoes T), dirt clods and other debris to drop from the vines V while said vines travel between the two conveyors  15  and  19 . It is to be appreciated that the width of gap  18  may be varied to account for different sizes of vines V, tomatoes T, dirt clods and debris. It is to be appreciated that although these descriptions refer to tomatoes T, the systems, machines, apparatus and methods of the present invention may be used with any vine-borne crop. 
         [0040]    In most embodiments, a shaker brush  20  is positioned for receiving crop-laden vines from processing conveyor  19 . The shaker brush  20  may be any commercially available brush comprising a plurality of tines  31  and an agitating mechanism (not depicted) for concurrently rotating and/or vibrating the shaker brush  20 , such as, without limitation, an eccentric weight assembly or vibrating motor. Brush  20  is rotatable along a central axis in a downward direction, causing the vines V to be pulled underneath the shaker brush  20  toward the rear end of the vehicle body  10 . The vibratory force of the shaker brush  20  is sufficient to dislodge the majority of the crop of tomatoes T from their vines V, along with most remaining dirt clods and debris, without excessively damaging the tomatoes T. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , which is a left side view of the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the dislodged tomatoes T, and an inevitable quantity of unwanted dirt, trash, vegetation and debris, are dropped onto a lower fruit conveyor  22 , while the vines V (along with any tomatoes T still lodged therein) are deposited upon an upper recovery conveyor  23 . Fruit conveyor  22  moves the dislodged tomatoes T, and the associated dirt, trash, vegetation and debris rearward in the machine across an air gap  28  for cleaning, then onto a sorter conveyor  25  which conveys the tomatoes T to a sorting area at the rear. 
         [0042]    In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the sorter conveyor  25  is an endless motor-driven longitudinal conveyor belt traveling toward the rear end of vehicle body  10 . Conveyor  25  is positioned near the rear end of fruit conveyor  22 , and slightly below it. There is an adjustable gap  28  between the fruit conveyor  22  and the sorter conveyor  25 . An air blower  40  is mounted in a lower region of the machine, and has an outlet located below the front end of the sorter conveyor  25  that is directed toward the gap  28  between the two conveyors. This outlet may be provided with an optional nozzle  42  so that the forced air pressure emitted from an optional nozzle  42  in an upwardly blowing airstream  31  contacts the tomatoes T, vegetation, dirt and debris falling from the fruit conveyor  22  onto the sorter conveyor  25 . Such forced air pressure may be varied so that it is of sufficient strength to separate vegetation, dirt and debris from the tomatoes T, and force these unwanted materials upward without blowing the tomatoes themselves away. The upwardly blowing air  61 , now including unwanted dislodged vegetation, dirt, trash and debris first blows through fruit return conveyor  79 , and then through recovery conveyor  23  located above conveyor  79  where it comes into contact with the vines V located thereon and agitates them, as shown in  FIGS. 5A-5B . The majority of the unwanted dislodged materials will be trapped by the underside of the fruit return conveyor  79 , and drop off to the trash cross  72  above sorter conveyor  25 . In some embodiments, a back plate  71  is provided behind and below fruit return conveyor  79  to prevent the dislodged airborne materials from being re-deposited on the cleaned fruit traveling rearward in the machine. 
         [0043]    As shown in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, and particularly the perspective view of  FIG. 5B , recovery conveyor  23  is an endless motor-driven longitudinal conveyor, the upper surface of which travels toward the rear end of vehicle body  10 . Conveyor  23  is made up of segments which provide a plurality of openings or slots that are of sufficient size to allow tomatoes to fall through. It is to be appreciated that the openings or slots of recovery conveyor  23  are larger than those of fruit return conveyor  79 . The upwardly blowing airstream agitates the tomatoes T entangled in vines V on the recovery conveyor  23 , providing loosening and vibratory motions which further separate the tomatoes T that remain entangled with the vines V on conveyor  23 . A recovery shelf track  24  is positioned underneath a rear portion of the recovery conveyor  23  to capture the tomatoes T falling through the slots of the recovery conveyor  23 , and, in conjunction with the return movement of the fruit return conveyor  79 , transport those tomatoes T back to fruit conveyor  22 . It is to be appreciated that recovery shelf track  24  is provided underneath only the rear portion of recovery conveyor  23  so as not to block the upwardly blowing airflow  61  from blower  40  near the front, as best shown in  FIG. 5B , in order to allow that air to reach vines V on the top of the recovery conveyor  23 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 4  provides a detailed side view of an exemplary embodiment of the air blower  40  and the adjustable fruit return conveyor  79  of the present invention. As shown therein, the nozzle  42  of the air blower  40  is positioned in close proximity to and across the width of gap  28  between conveyor  22  and conveyor  25  so that the forced air pressure  61  emitted through nozzle  42  contacts the tomatoes T, dirt, trash, vegetation and debris traveling across this gap. The position of fruit return conveyor  79  may be adjusted by adjusting the position of rollers  63  (not shown) so as to change the angle of a portion of conveyor  79  relative to the angle of the upwardly blowing airstream  61 , changing the profile of conveyor  79  as air  61  passes through it, as shown in  FIG. 8 . In  FIG. 5A , the angle between conveyor  79  and airflow  61  may be nearly orthogonal in order to maximize the amount of air flowing through the gaps and/or mesh of conveyor  79 . This accomplishes both removal of refuse from the tomatoes T, and agitation of the vines on upper recovery conveyor  23 . However, as shown in  FIG. 4 , this angle may be more acute or tangential in order to limit or reduce the amount of air flowing through gap  28 , fruit conveyor  79  and recovery conveyor  23 . It is to be appreciated that this angle may be adjusted to any suitable angle between zero and 90 degrees, depending on such things as the average size and weight of the crop pieces (e.g. tomatoes T) to be harvested, the dampness of the crop, vines and associated refuse, the relative humidity, air pressure, and other similar factors. Flattening the profile of conveyor  79  above the air stream  61  will allow more air to pass quickly for harvesting in heavy green crops, as shown in  FIG. 5A . Taking the profile back to the configuration shown in  FIG. 4  will help to throttle the air down for harvesting in dried dead vine conditions. In some embodiments, an additional throttle or dampener may be provided through means of a drapped belt or flap inside conveyor  79  or  23 . It is appreciated that variations of flaps and drapped belts may be used in various modes to direct and control the air as required in the field. 
         [0045]    As shown in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, a refuse removal conveyor  72  is provided above a portion of sorter conveyor  25  and below a portion of fruit return conveyor  79 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . This surface  72  catches the unwanted materials that have been blown off of the tomatoes T by airstream  61 , and, in conjunction with optional back plate  71 , prevents this refuse from landing on the cleaned tomatoes T traveling rearward on conveyor  25 . Much of this refuse is deflected onto surface  72  from the underside of fruit return conveyor  79  and optional back plate  71 . Part of these unwanted materials in the air settle out and are conveyed to the side of the machine by conveyor  72 . The lighter materials will likely stay airborne and vent out with the air to the side. In some embodiments, the air may be vented off both sides, with the conveyor  72  split to run both directions. 
         [0046]    In some embodiments, additional unwanted refuse may also be deposited onto surface  72  from the action of an optional roller  45  located adjacent to gap  28 . The surface of roller  45  is preferably smooth so that it does not become entangled with the vegetation or trash, but it may be provided with teeth, lagging, textured covering or tines to engage such materials if so desired. Roller  45  may rotate in either direction, but preferably in harmony with the airflow  61  so as to remove large pieces of unwanted refuse material moving toward the rear of the machine where they are deposited on the refuse removal surface  72 . The refuse removal surface  72  is preferably rough, and may be tilted so that the large pieces of refuse landing on it slide out of the machine and drop to the ground. Surface  72  may be tilted in one direction (right), or the opposite direction (left), or it may have a ridge at the center and tilt in both directions. In alternative embodiments, surface  72  may be smooth and sharply pitched to allow refuse to slide off to one or both sides of the machine. In some embodiments, accommodation for trash collection and directing material to the ground is accomplished with a flexible chute  75  made with flaps to prevent light trash from collecting in the wrong places and causing engine or hydraulic overheating. In preferred embodiments, trash conveyor  72  is a flat belt, not a belted chain. 
         [0047]    It is to be appreciated that all of conveyors  15 ,  19 ,  22 ,  23 ,  25  and  79  are provided along the same vertical plane, and some are operatively positioned above and/or below each other. In this way, the tomatoes T removed from the vines travel along a straight path, moving from the front toward the rear of a machine, being directed only by the conveyors and by gravity. This configuration avoids any left or right turns in the path that the tomatoes T travel through a machine, resulting in better distribution of the tomatoes across conveyor  25  when they reach the sorting stage. Left and fight turns in the paths of other machine cause the tomatoes to roll together into windrows that are more difficult to clean, separate and sort. 
         [0048]    In some embodiments, an endless motor-driven transversely oriented output conveyor  26  is positioned near the rear end of conveyor  25 . A small gap is provided between conveyor  25  and the output conveyor  26 . An optional optical/mechanical crop sorter  50  may be mounted in close proximity to this gap. If used, such a sorter  50  may be any commercially device capable of is selecting or rejecting the severed crop, such as tomatoes T, based upon certain predetermined criteria, such as color. It should also comprise means of separating unwanted tomatoes T based upon their satisfaction of the predetermined criteria, such as a mechanical arm or pivoting gates. It is to be understood that the mechanical sorter  50  may be replaced by, or supplemented with, human sorters who can manually examine the crop on conveyor  26  as they stand on platform  16 . 
         [0049]    Regardless of the particular examination method utilized, tomatoes T satisfying the predetermined criteria are transported to output conveyor  26 , while rejected tomatoes are removed therefrom, either by the mechanical sorter  50  or human sorters. The output conveyor  26  is in communication with the discharging chute  17 , which transports the satisfactory tomatoes onto any number of commercially available hoppers, such as a trailer or truck bed  70 . 
         [0050]    The use of the illustrated exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described. If available, the operator inputs a series of predetermined criteria into the mechanical crop sorter  50 , which defines the parameters for the ‘acceptable’ crop to be harvested, in this case tomatoes T. The velocity of the initial airflow  61  for blower  40  is also selected, along with the angle of conveyor  79  relative to airflow  61 . These may be changed during processing to provide appropriate removal of debris. The present invention is then positioned before a row of tomato vines V. The adjustable arm  12  is placed in such a manner that the cutting device  14  will sever the tomato vines V at or near ground level. As the present invention proceeds along the row of tomato vines V, cutting device  14  severs the tomato vines V. The pickup mechanism receives the severed tomato vines V (along with loose tomatoes T, dirt clods and debris), and places them onto the pickup conveyor  15 . The pickup conveyor  15  then transports the vines V rearward into separator  20 . 
         [0051]    Inside the separator  20 , the tomato vines V are transported over the gap  18  between the pickup conveyor  15  and receiving conveyor  19 . As they cross the gap, loose tomatoes T, dirt clods and debris smaller than the width of the gap fall through, and onto the debris conveyor  21 . The debris conveyor  21  passes the mixture through a sorting mechanism. Tomatoes T within the mixture are diverted to the fruit conveyor  22 , while the dirt clods and debris continue along the debris conveyor  21  to be discarded outside the vehicle body  10 . 
         [0052]    The tomato vines V upon the receiving conveyor  19  contact the shaker brush  20 . As the downward rotation of the shaker brush  20  pulls the tomato vines V underneath the brush, the vibration of the brush tines  31  dislodges the majority of the tomatoes T from the vines V, along with the remaining dirt clods and debris. The dislodged tomatoes T, dirt clods and debris fall onto the fruit conveyor  22 , while the vines V (along with any tomatoes T still lodged therein) are deposited by the shaker brush  20  upon the upper recovery conveyor  23 . 
         [0053]    As the recovery conveyor  23  transports the vines V toward the rear of the vehicle body  10 , they are agitated by the upwardly blowing airflow  61 . This motion will dislodge additional tomatoes T still entangled in the vines V traveling on recovery conveyor  23 . These tomatoes T fall through the slots of the recovery conveyor  23  directly onto fruit return conveyor  79  at the front, onto the recovery shelf track  24  at the rear. The vines V continue rearward until they are ejected from the rear end of the vehicle body  10 . The lower return direction of the fruit return conveyor  79  receives the tomatoes T and deposits them upon the fruit conveyor  22 , along with the tomatoes T previously dislodged by the shaker brush  20 . 
         [0054]    The fruit conveyor  22  transports the tomatoes T (and remaining dirt clods and debris) toward the rear end of the vehicle body  10 . During this trip, the tomatoes T and refuse cross gap  28  where they encounter upwardly blowing airflow  61  from blower  40 . The airflow  61  should be of sufficient volume to cause the tomatoes to “dance,” that is, to be moved slightly so that the debris and vegetation around them is removed, while the tomatoes themselves are not. The tomatoes T are then deposited onto sorter conveyor  25  which takes them to the rear of the machine. The air pressure causes the dirt and debris to separate from the tomatoes T and fly upward, where the refuse-laden air encounters the underside of fruit return conveyor  79  and back plate  71 . Conveyor  79  generally prevents larger pieces of refuse from going further upward, and back plate  71  prevents them from landing on the cleaned tomatoes at the rear; instead, these deflected pieces drop onto removal conveyor  72  where they transfer out of one or both sides of the machine, optionally through a chute  75 . The air passing through fruit return conveyor  79  travels upward where it agitates the vines on recovery conveyor  23 , which may loosen tomatoes T located in those vines causing them to drop through the slats of conveyor  23  down onto fruit return conveyor  79  as described previously. 
         [0055]    As the tomatoes T reach the rear end of the processing conveyor  25 , they may be analyzed by a mechanical fruit sorter  50 . Tomatoes T satisfying the particular criteria previously inputted by the operator are transported onto output conveyor  26 , while unacceptable tomatoes are discarded out the bottom of the vehicle body  10 . The output conveyor  26  may alternatively or additionally transport the acceptable tomatoes T past manual sorters standing on platform  16 , and then to the discharging chute  17 , where the tomatoes T are placed into storage hoppers  70 . 
         [0056]    It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the present invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, and that different combinations of the elements described herein other than those illustrated are also within the scope hereof. It is also to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited by the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but only in accordance with the appended claims when read in light of the foregoing specification.