Patent ID: 8919089

Claim:
An apparatus for harvesting agricultural row crops having stalks, comprising: an inclined arm comprising a first section having first and second ends, said first section including: a stalk inlet arranged to receive stalks of row crops; and a cutter arranged to cut stalks received by said stalk inlet; said inclined arm further comprising: a biasing guide assembly disposed along said inclined arm, said biasing guide assembly comprising a plurality of individual sprung biasing members; and a single conveyor chain arranged to engage each received stalk and move each engaged stalk along said biasing guide assembly; said single conveyor chain and said biasing guide assembly mutually arranged such that said biasing guide assembly is operative to apply an accommodating clamping force upon each engaged stalk sufficient to keep each engaged stalk substantially upright as it is conveyed along at least a portion of said arm; said accommodating clamping force accommodating possible differences in stalk diameters from one stalk to another, said plurality of individual biasing members arranged to maintain a substantially constant compressive force on each engaged stalk.