Beet harvester

Claim 1

THE SELF-PROPELLED SUGAR BEET HARVESTER WHICH COMPRISES: A FRAME HAVING AT LEAST TWO SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL DECKS SUPERIMPOSED ON ABOVE THE OTHER, THE LOWER OF SAID DECKS HAVING AN OPEN AREA THEREIN, UPRIGHTS INTERCONNECTING THE UPPER AND LOWER DECKS AT THE REAR CORNERS THEREOF SO AS TO LEAVE A RELATIVELY UNOBSTRUCTED PASSAGE EXTENDING READWDLY OFF THE LOWER DECK; A PAIR OF STEERABLE WHEELS MOUNTED ON THE FRONT OF THE FRAME; A PRIME MOVER CARRIED ON THE FRAME IN POSITION TO LEAVE THE SPACE BETWEEN THE DECKS UNOBSTRUCTED; A PAIR OF DRIVE WHEELS JOURNALLED FOR ROTATION ON THE REAR OUTBOARD EXTREMITIES OF THE LOWER DECK; A DRIVE TRAIN OPERATIVELY INTERCONNECTING THE DRIVE WHEELS AND PRIME MOVER SO AS TO LEAVE THE SPACE BETWEEN THE DECKS RELATIVELY UNOBSTRUCTED, SAID TRAIN INCLUDING A TRANSMISSION SUSPENDED FROM THE UNDERSIDE OF THE UPPER DECK IN UPWARDLY OFFSET RELATION TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION FOR THE DRIVE WHEELS AND OFFSET MEANS FORMING A DRIVING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID TRANSMISSION AND EACH DRIVE WHEELS, SAID OFFSET MEANS CONNECTING INTO THE DRIVE WHEELS AT POINTS SPACED ABOVE THE AXIS OF ROTATION THEREOF SO AS TO LEAVE THE SPACED BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER DECKS RELATIVELY UNOBSTRUCTED; BEET TOPPING MEANS CARRIED BY THE FRAME BETWEEN THE STEERABLE WHEELS ADAPTED TO SEVER THE FOLIAGE THEREFROM UPON MOVEMENT INTO CONTACT THERWITH; A HINGED FRAME MOUNTED WITHIN THE OPEN AREA OF THE LOWER DECK FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A TRANSVERSE AXIS LOCATED AT THE REAR EXTREMITY THEREOF; BEET DIGGING MEANS CARRIED IN THE FORWARD END OF THE HINGED FRAME DIRECTLY BEHIND THE BEET-TOPPING MEANS, SAID DIGGING MEANS INCLUDING ELEMENTS DEFINING A WEDGE-SHAPED OPENING THEREBETWEEN ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY GRASP A BEET UPON FORWARD MOVEMENT INTO ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH, AND SAID WEDGE-FORMING ELEMENTS BEING OPERATIVE TO ENTER THE GROUND AND RAISE A BEET TO THE SURFACE THAT ENTERS THE WEDGE-SHAPED OPENING WHEN THE HINGED FRAME IS LOWERED; BEET-RELEASING MEANS MOUNTED BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER DECKS IN OPERATIVE RELATION TO THE BEET-DIGGING MENAS, SAID RELEASING MEANS INCLUDING EJECTOR ELEMENTS POSITIONED TO ENGAGE A BEET WEDGED BETWEEN THE DIGGER ELEMENTS AFTER THE LATTER HAVE FREED THE BEET FROM THE SOIL, AND SAID EJECTOR ELEMENTS BEING OPERATIVE UPON ACTUATION TO REMOVE THE BEET FROM THE WEDGE-SHAPED OPENING IN THE DIGGER ELEMENTS ALLOWING SAID BEET TO DROP FREE ONTO THE HINGED FRAME; BEET CLEANSING AND CONVEYING MEANS MOUNTED ON THE HINGED FRAME BEHIND THE BEET-DIGGING MEANS AND IN POSITION TO RECEIVED BEETS EJECTED THEREFROM BY THE BEET-RELASING MEANS, SAID CLEANING AND CONVEYING MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY-EXTENDING ELEMENST ROTATABLE IN THE SAME DIRECTION ABOUT LONGITUDINALLY-SPACED PARALLEL AXIS, SAID TRANSVERSE ELEMENTS BEING ADAPTED TO TUMBLE THE BEET FALLING THEREON WHILE CARRYING SAME TO THE REAR OF THE HINGED FRAME; AN OPEN-TOPPED HOPPER MOUNTED ON THE UPPER DECK DIRECTLY OVER THE HINGED FRAME; ELEVATOR MEANS LOCATED AT THE REAR OF THE LOWER DECK IN POSITION TO RECEIVE BEETS ISSUING FROM THE CLEANING AND CONVEYING MEANS, SAID ELEVATOR MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO CARRY THE BEETS UPWARDLY BEHIND THE HOPPER TO A HEIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY ON A LEVEL WITH THE OPEN TOP THEREOF; AND, CONVEYOR MEANS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE BEETS FROM THE CONVEYOR MEANS AND DELIVER SAME FORWARDLY INTO THE HOPPER.