Appartus for looping tobacco leaves in series interconnected hands and mounting the sme on tobacco sticks and method of using the same

Claim 1

IN AN APPARATUS OF THE TYPE DESCRIBED, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A VEHICLE FRAME INCLUDING A PAIR OF VERTICALLY EXTENDING SIDE FRAMES, TRACTION WHEEL MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE REAR END OF ONE OF SAID SIDE FRAMES TO RIDE IN A FURROW ADJACENT ONE SIDE OF A ROW OF TOBACCO PLANTS, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID ONE SIDE FRAME FOR DRIVING SAID TRACTION WHEEL MEANS, STEERABLE WHEEL MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE FORWARD END OF SAID ONE SIDE FRAME IN GENERAL LONGITUDINAL ALGNMENT WITH SAID TRACTION WHEEL MEANS TO RIDE IN THE SAME FURROW, FOOT PEDAL ACTUACTED STEERING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID ONE SIDE FRAME FOR STEERING SAID STEERABLE WHEEL MEANS, MEANS ON SAID ONE SIDE FRAME FOR ACCOMMODATING A FIRST OPERATOR DISPOSED FORWARDLY OF SAID TRACTION WHEEL MEANS IN A POSITION TO PERMIT THE FIRST OPERATOR TO ACTUATE SAID FOOT PEDAL STEERING MEANS, IDLER WHEEL MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE REAR END OF THE OTHER SIDE FRAME IN A POSITION GENERALLY OPPOSITE SAID TRACTION WHEEL MEANS TO RIDE IN A FURROW ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF A ROW OF TOBACCO PLANTS, MEANS ON SAID OTHER SIDE FRAME DISPOSED FORWARDLY OF SAID IDLER WHEEL MEANS FOR ACCOMMODATING A SECOND OPERATOR, SAID VEHICLE FRAME ALSO INCLUDING A TOP FRAME EXTENDING BETWEEN THE UPPER END PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE FRAMES AND RIGIDLY SECURING THE SAME TOGETHER IN HORIZONTALLY SPACED RELATION, SAID TOP FRAME BEING DISPOSED ABOVE THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID WHEEL MEANS A VERTICAL DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT PASSAGE OF MATURE TOBACCO PLANTS THEREUNDER, SAID VEHICLE FRAME BEING FREE OF RIGID STRUCTURE EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SIDE FRAMES BELOW SAID TOP FRAME, SAID FIRST AND SECOND OPERATOR ACCOMMODATING MEANS BEING DISPOSED BELOW SAID TOP FRAME SO THAT OPERATORS THEREON WILL BE POSITIONED ALONGSIDE THE TOBACCO PLANTS PASSING UNDER SAID TOP FRAME, AND MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID VEHICLE FRAME ADJACENT EACH OPERATOR ACCOMMODATING MEANS FOR TYING TOBACCO LEAVES IN HANDS TO BE MOUNTED ON TOBACCO STICKS, EACH OF SAID LAST-MENTIONED MEANS COMPRISING MEANS FOR RESTRAINING LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF A LENGTH OF STRING AND PERMITTING MOVEMENT OF THE STRING THEREFROM UNDER TENSION, A LOOPING ARM MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO MANUAL LOOPING OF THE STRING FROM SAID RESTRAINING MEANS ABOUT SUCCESSIVE TOBACCO HANDS TO INTERCONNECT THE SAME IN SERIES, CONVEYOR MEANS FOR RECEIVING THE SERIES INTERCONNECTED HANDS FROM SAID ARM AND MOVING THE SAME INTO A STICK RECEIVING POSITION, MEANS INDEPENDENTLY OPERATIVELY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID TRACTION WHEEL DRIVING MEANS AND SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID LOOPING ARM FOR ADVANCING SAID CONVEYOR MEANS A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE, AND MEANS FOR VARYING THE PREDETERMINED DISTANCE OF ADVANCE OF SAID CONVEYOR MEANS BY SAID ADVANCING MEANS.