Patent ID: 7721814

Claim:
A sod harvester adapted for travel along a path of travel and comprising: a) a sod cutting knife for cutting pieces of sod from the ground, each piece having a leading edge and a trailing edge, said pieces of sod comprising a first sod piece and a second sod piece, said second sod piece following said first sod piece, b) a conveyor mechanism for carrying sod away from said cutting knife to a first location, c) a sod pick-up mechanism for picking up sod from said first location and for moving such sod to a second location and for then returning to said first location to again pick up sod at said first location, d) said conveyor mechanism including a plurality of conveyors in sequence including a first conveyor for receiving said first sod piece from said cutting knife and a second conveyor for receiving said first sod piece from said first conveyor and accelerating said first sod piece toward said first location to create a time period between the passage of the trailing edge of said first sod piece into said first location and the arrival of the leading edge of the second sod piece at said first location, e) said conveyor mechanism further including a mechanism for supporting said first sod piece in a stopped condition at said first location, while said second sod piece is moving towards said first location, f) said time period being sufficient for a said first sod piece to assume said stopped condition at said first location and for said sod pick-up mechanism to pick up and remove the stopped first sod piece from said first location before the second sod piece arrives at said first location.