Abstract:
The simultaneous processing of multiple rows of plants, especially trellised rows. Apparatus is provided to process two adjacent rows, using a conventional tractor with narrow gauge front wheels, with rear wheels on opposite sides of the two rows with a larger gauge. The spacing apart of the rear wheels is adjustable. The two processing apparati can be used simultaneously or selectively.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     Simultaneous processing of a plurality of rows of plants, especially trellised rows, for example pruning and harvesting, and apparatus for the process. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     While this invention is useful with many types of plants and crops that are grown in rows, its presently most important application is for the processing of grape vines. The most modern system for establishing and maintaining vineyards is to provide trellises for the vines. The trellis itself includes a series of upright metal posts set in a row. Trellis wires are stretched between and attached to these posts. Usually four or more of these trellis wires are disposed about a foot above or below from one another, extending parallel to the ground, and attached to the posts by fasteners. 
     When the vine is first planted, some of its branches are attached to the lowermost wire, and the owner awaits the passage of time. During this time, the lower branches will grow and be trained to establish the cordon, which extends laterally in both directions from the root. Shoots from the cordon extend in many directions including upwardly from it. Only some of them will be selected to form part of the ultimate vine. 
     Seasonally, workers are brought into the vineyard to train the vines to grow upwardly in a proper pattern. Suitable shoots are selected and trained along the next wire above in order ultimately to provide a trellised vine which covers much of the face of the trellis. However, it is not that simple. 
     Each year the new growth is much in excess of that which is needed for the next wire, as to the number of shoots, their individual length, and their direction. The conventional way to attend to this is to send a large number of workers into the vineyard to prune the vines, to select the suitable shoots for further growth, to prune off the others, and to train the selected shoots along the next wire. The same thing is repeated again next season. 
     This technique is surprisingly expensive. The worker must cut (prune) every shoot to some length. Each cut takes time and human effort. In older vineyard systems which do not train their vines in the more modern technique, this is an accepted expense. However, labor has become much more expensive than it was before, and intensive labor expense is no longer tolerable, except for vineyards that produce extraordinary grapes. 
     Along with the ever-increasing producing acreage of vineyards, grape prices have fallen steeply, sometimes from as high as $2,000.00 per ton to as low as $400.00 per ton for grapes from the same vineyard. It is obvious that labor costs must be reduced, because they have become the major operating expense in vineyard operation. For vineyards of many acres, any labor saving quickly becomes very important. 
     Apparatus is known for mechanically pruning trellised plants and for harvesting the crop. Such equipment generally is bulky and heavy and is mounted on tractors which must be narrow enough to pass between rows. Rows are usually spaced between about 4 to about 6 feet on centers, so the tractor itself must be rather narrow. The tool is carried by an arm pivotally mounted to the tractor so the tool can be positioned appropriately. This becomes part of a top heavy structure because it must often overhang an adjacent row. 
     It is informative to note that both sides of a single row are usually engaged by the tool. The tool and its supporting arm exert both a sidewise-tilting and forward-leaning force on a narrow tractor. As a consequence, the tool and tractor can be dangerous to its driver. For example while turning around at the end of a row, the tool adds a tilting centrifugal torque on the tractor. Especially when there is a slope at the end of the row, there is a considerable risk of overturning a narrow gauge vehicle while turning it. 
     One way to resist the tip-over risk is to provide a wider wheel base (tread, gauge), but the narrow width of the path between adjacent rows precludes this if the driver is to remain seated at a lower elevation. It is, of course, possible to raise the operator above the rows and have the tractor straddle the row. However the apparatus then becomes even more top-heavy, and raises the operator above the trellises where his ability to observe and respond to trellis conditions is compromised. 
     One can reasonably believe that a doubling of the number of working tools would provide some balance—a tool on each side of the tractor instead of only one on one side. The problem then becomes one of balance and control over two heavy tools and arms mounted to a tractor with a narrow wheel base. These are very considerable problems, and have been considered to be so serious that development of multiple row processing has essentially stopped. 
     For these and for reasons further to be discussed, apparatus to process two rows simultaneously has not been suitably developed despite its potential advantages. The advantages of having a tool operator process two rows simultaneously rather than one are not fully appreciated. Among the advantages is that only one pass is required for processing two rows instead of processing only one for each of the two rows. The simplistic notion is that production should double, because the operator does two identical things at once instead of only one. Surprisingly, the advantage is closer to three to one. The additional improvement in efficiency is related to human factors, as well as to mechanical ones, and is sufficient to encourage the investment in costlier machinery to process two rows at the same time. 
     While the time to travel the length of a row is the same when two rows are treated instead of one, there is only one turnaround for every two rows. While the time saving is less than half, it is still significant. 
     Then there are human factors. Suppose that two single row machines are operating in a vineyard. One breaks down. What does the other operator do? He turns off his own machine, stops, and goes over to help his friend get the other machine started again. Two machines are down, not just one. 
     Or at coffee break. A man alone in a vineyard will stop for a brief time for coffee when he has no one to talk with. If there are two men, they visit. Time is lost. There are other factors, but these illustrate the advantages of expanding the capacity of a given machine while reducing the number of workers in the vineyard. 
     It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus simultaneously to process both sides of two adjacent trellised rows, utilizing a tractor whose operator sits on a tractor chassis, at a conventional height between the rows. The steerable front part of the chassis has a width no larger than the row spacing. The rear end of the tractor has a rear wheel base width (gauge) that is much wider than the path between the rows. In fact, the rear wheels run on the opposite sides of the adjacent rows. Such structure does not impede the operator&#39;s view and enables the use of the tractor&#39;s conventional power and drive control systems to be used. 
     All of the advantages of the conventional tractor remain available in a structure less likely to tip over, and which can process multiple rows at the same time. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Apparatus simultaneously to process a plurality of trellised crop rows according to this invention includes a tractor chassis that includes a power source such an internal combustion engine, a power take-off, a pair of steerable front wheels with a first lateral gauge, means to mount a driver, controls for the power source, and steering controls for the steerable wheels. The tractor has a width and the gauge of said front wheels is small enough to move along a central path between a pair of adjacent rows to be processed. These rows bound the central path on each side. 
     A bridge is mounted to the rear of the chassis. It extends laterally from and above the chassis. Two struts depend from the bridge. Each strut mounts a rear wheel. The rear wheels are laterally spaced by a larger, second gauge. This second gauge is sufficiently wider than said first gauge so that said rear wheels can move in parallel adjacent paths on the opposite side of the rows which are adjacent to said central path. 
     A drive train interconnects the power take-off to the rear wheels. The two front and two rear wheels support the tractor. The front wheels steer it and support the front end of the tractor. The rear wheels complete the support of the apparatus and drive the apparatus. 
     According to a preferred but optional feature of the invention, the bridge includes means to adjust the second gauge, that is, the spacing between the rear wheels. This enables the apparatus to be utilized for processing rows of different spacings. 
     According to yet another preferred but optional feature of the invention, working tools such as pruners are mounted to the bridge by manipulators which can control the position of the working tools relative to the chassis and its drives, all under control of the driver. 
     The above and other features of this invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a tractor equipped with this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the tractor of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a rear view of said tractor; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a trellis construction; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a pruner tool useful with this invention taken at line  5 — 5  in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing a part of the invention, with the tool separated but ready for attachment; and 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view, partly in exploded form, further showing parts of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 2,  3  and  4  illustrate the scheme of a trellised vineyard  20 . FIGS. 2 and 3 show four parallel adjacent rows  21 ,  22 ,  23 , and  24  of trellised vines. These rows are spaced apart by some selected width  26 . Respective paths  27 ,  28 , and  29  extend between adjacent rows. 
     The apparatus of this invention is intended to pass along three of these paths while processing two rows adjacent to the apparatus. For example, the chassis of the apparatus may move along path  28  while processing rows  22  and  23 . Its steering wheels, to be described later, will roll along central path  28 , and its rear wheels will roll along adjacent paths  27  and  29 . 
     The apparatus will be built so that its structure will not harm the rows. One or both sides of a row can be processed in a single pass. Alternatively, only one row can be processed at a time. In the event that only one row at a time will be processed, the unused tool for the other side will be disabled, often raised above the top of the row not being processed, or by removing one of the tools. 
     FIG. 4 schematically shows the environment in which the apparatus functions. A series of posts  35  is set upright in the ground. The posts are spaced apart by any suitable distance. Trellis wires  36 ,  37 ,  38 ,  39  are stretched between the posts. The wires are attached to the posts by any suitable fastener. One suitable fastener is a tang (not shown) integral with the post, and bent over the wire to hold it in place. The wires are spaced one above the other at any suitable spacing. About 12 inches vertical spacing is customary, but is arbitrary. 
     Vines  45  are planted beneath the wires, between the posts. As they grow, branches  46  and shoots  47  are formed. The shoots are selected and trained to the trellis. Each season the vine produces a substantial number of shoots, only a few of which will be needed and retained. The others must be pruned (cut-off) and discarded. It has been found to be a substantial economy each year to prune away growth above a given height before making the final selections and arrangements. Machinery of the type illustrated herein readily accomplishes this objective. 
     Shoots above some selected level, such as above wire  38  can be pruned away by this apparatus. This presents a substantial saving of labor. This invention provides means to attack both sides of each of two adjacent rows to remove excess growth. Other uses for apparatus of this type are crop-pickers, where instead of a cutting tool, a tool to pick a suitable crop such as grapes or tomatoes can be used. 
     As best shown in FIG. 1, apparatus  50  has a chassis  55 . This chassis may be, and preferably will be, a major part of a conventional tractor. This usefulness of a standard tractor is one of the advantages of this invention. 
     The chassis includes a seat  56  for the driver and a conventional steering wheel  57 . Steering wheel  57  sets the direction of two front steerable wheels  58 ,  59 . These are steered, but are not necessarily powered. A power source (not shown) such as the conventional internal combustion engine provided with the tractor powers the apparatus under control of the driver. 
     A power take-off  65 , schematically shown in FIG. 7, is driven by the engine. It utilizes the conventional engine controls and gear shifts to turn a rear axle for the ultimate purpose of moving the apparatus through a drive train yet to be described. The chassis has a lateral width D (FIG.  3 ), which is smaller than the spacing between the crops. The front wheels have a lateral spacing or first gauge E, which is no wider than the width of the path along which they roll. 
     A bridge  70  (see FIGS. 2,  3  and  7 ) is supported from the chassis by posts  71 ,  72 . The posts are rigidly mounted to the chassis. The bridge is supported at a height sufficient to clear the tops of the rows that are adjacent to the chassis and overhang them. Struts  73 ,  74  depend from the bridge. Rear wheels  75 ,  76  are journaled by bearings to the lower ends of these struts. These wheels may be provided with brakes as appropriate. 
     A drive train extends from the power take-off  65  to each of the rear wheels. They are identical for each. The drive train is directly connected to the rear axle of the chassis so the same controls are used as would have been used for the rear wheels were they conventionally mounted. It will now be seen that the vehicle itself is supported on four wheels. The front set of wheels supports the front of the chassis, while the two rear wheels support the rear end. The rear wheels drive the apparatus. Importantly, both front wheels will roll along a central path, while the rear wheels run along different, adjacent paths, one on each side. The reader will notice the wide-gauge footprint of the rear wheels, which provides a very stable structure compared to a four wheel set in a single central path. 
     The drive train includes (for each side) an inboard chain drive  90  directly coupled by a sprocket (not shown) on the rear shaft at the lower end of posts  71 ,  72 , and an outboard chain drive  91  coupled to a sprocket on a drive shaft (not shown) that drives the respective rear wheel. 
     Lateral connections between the inboard and outboard chain drives comprise horizontal splined shafts  92 ,  93  geared respectively to two upper chain drive sprockets (not shown). It will be noted that the outboard drives can slide laterally along the splined shafts. This splined arrangement enables the wheel gauge between the rear wheels to be adjusted when the width of the bridge is to be changed. The splined shafts act as power transfer shafts between the inboard and outboard chain drives, and are in effect idler shafts. 
     Bridge  70 ,  70   a  and a parallel tube  70   b  are attached to posts  71  and  72 . Posts  71  and  72  are rigidly attached to the chassis. The central part of bridge  70  acts as a spacer between the posts. It, and a parallel companion tube the bridge and chassis thereby form a strong framework that resists forward and reverse tilting of the struts. The rear wheel gauge may be manually adjusted, and locked in position by any desired means. However, it may be preferred to provide a piston/cylinder assembly  99  between each post and strut to power the lateral movement of the strut. This is shown in exploded form for only one side. The other side is similarly equipped. 
     Tubes  70   a  and  70   b  are telescopic between the posts and struts. They thereby permit lateral movement of the struts, while resisting rotation of the struts. 
     Here it should be noted that the chain drive system is a very effective means to transfer power from the rear axle to the rear wheels. Rotary shafts with miter gears and the like could instead be used. 
     Thus, to this point there has been described a four-wheeled vehicle adapted to roll along three parallel and adjacent paths with a central chassis between them at a lower elevation, a bridge above the chassis which passes above the adjacent rows, and drive wheels below the bridge in the outer paths. 
     The purpose of the chassis and wheel support is to provide a maneuverable base for a pair of working tools  100 ,  101 , one at each side of the chassis. Of course, if desired, only one tool need be used at any time if only one row is to be processed. It is an advantage of this invention that there can be either one in use, or two tool sets in simultaneous use, and that their two weights (whether both or only one is in use) will improve the stability of the apparatus because of their balance. 
     In the illustrations two working tools  100 ,  101 , are shown. In this case they are pruners. Only one will be described in detail. The tools are usually identical, although they may be different if preferred. Tool  100  (FIG. 5) includes two driven shafts  105 ,  106 , journaled to respective pivot arms  107 ,  108 . 
     Pivot arms  107  and  108  are hinged at  109 ,  110  to a tilt yoke  115 . Hydraulic motors  116 ,  117  carried by the pivot arms drive the respective tool shafts. Pivot arm motors  118 ,  119  are hinged to the tilt yoke and to the pivot arms to rotate the pivot arms so as to move the tools closer to, or farther away from one another. This will accommodate for various thicknesses of individual rows, and enable the tools to spread apart so as to clear an obstruction such as a post. 
     The tools themselves have suitable patterns of cutting teeth or picking fingers, suitable to the plants to be processed. The details of these tools are of no importance to this invention. 
     The term “motor” will frequently be used herein to define a piston-cylinder assembly in which movement of a piston rod mounted to one structure will move a cylinder mounted to the other structure so as to change the spacing between the ends of the motor. This change in length is used to rotate one element relative to another by reacting with an arm. 
     Crane arms  120 ,  121  are mounted to the bridge for vertical angular movement around horizontal journals  122 ,  123 . Respective crane arm motors  124 ,  125  are hingedly mounted to the bridge and to the respective crane arm. These move the arms up and down. It will be observed that the spacing apart of the crane arms is adjustable only along with the struts and rear wheels. Journals  122  and  123  will usually overlay the rows. 
     Yoke necks  125  and  126  on the tilt yokes are journaled to the crane arms, spaced from the bridge, at pads  134  and  135 . Yoke tilt motors  130 ,  131  include rods  132 ,  133 , arranged in a parallelogram pattern with the crane arm. Changing the length of motors  130 ,  131  will tilt the tilt yoke relative to the respective crane arm. It will be observed that the yoke necks are at the pads respective of the parallelograms, and will tilt with them. 
     Yoke neck bearings  136 ,  137  are included in the yoke necks so the yokes can be rotated. Respective yoke motors  140 ,  141  between the lower portion of the yokes and the crane arm rotate the tilt frame. 
     It will now be seen that the working tools and the yoke necks are manipulable. The crane arms remain in their respective planes, but can travel up and down. The lateral spacing apart of the two yoke frames is adjustable only by adjusting the gauge of the rear wheels. 
     Bumpers  150 ,  151  extend beyond the outer periphery of the working elements of the tools, so as to encounter a post and deflect the tool before the tool elements strike the post. 
     Manipulable controls for the various piston/cylinder assemblies (frequently referred to him as “motors”) are conventional and need not be shown in detail. A hydraulic pump supplies driving fluid under pressure to a selected side of the pistons, while the other side is vented in order to activate the motors. Classical protection devices such as pressure relief valves are included in the control system. These are known to persons skilled with hydraulic controls and require no description here. 
     This invention thereby discloses agricultural apparatus adapted to processing multiple crop rows at the two opposite side of each row, adjustable to various gauge widths, which is more stable and versatile than known apparatus of this general class. 
     The operation of this apparatus should be evident from the forgoing description. The gauge of the rear wheels is adjusted by moving the struts toward and away from one another. If desired, screws can be provided between the bridge and the struts. With the rear end jacked up, they can move the struts forward and away from the post. The splined shaft will enable this movement. Alternatively, a motor or other extension means may be interposed between the bridge and the struts for the same purpose, and to the same effect. 
     If desired, and depending on the actual dimensions, the rear wheels can be made to approach one another closely enough that the entire tractor can travel between two adjacent rows. 
     In operation, both crane arms can be operated with the same or different alignment so both tools can work on respective rows. Alternatively one can remain in operation, and the other lifted above the rows by its crane arm so it is out of the way. 
     While running along the rows, the tool will periodically encounter a post. For many tools this is not a problem. When it is, bumpers may strike the post and deflect the tools. Alternatively, the tool portions can be moved apart by their arms apart. 
     The tools must remain in some predetermined alignment relative to the vertical while working. This alignment occurs automatically when the crane arms are moved up and down because of the parallelogram arraignment of their mounts. Should a change in the angle be needed, then the yokes can be tilted. 
     This invention is not to be limited by the embodiment shown in the drawings and described in the description, which is given by way of example and not of limitation, but only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.