Method and apparatus for harvesting tobacco

Claim 2

Apparatus for harvesting tobacco leaves, including: a. a vehicle adapted to pass along a row of tobacco plants; b. a pair of defoliators mounted on said vehicle; wherein the improvement comprises: c. a front and rear defoliator guide wheels in each defoliator, spaced along the vehicle and rotatable about approximately vertical axes; d. a pair of opposed endless bands, one running over the guide wheels of each defoliator and adapted to move rearwardly relative to the vehicle along a defoliating reach adjacent the area between the opposed endless bands defining a stalk passageway and forwardly along a return reach spaced horizontally from said passageway; e. a plurality of fingers connected to each endless band and projecting toward the stalks from said defoliating reach; f. means driving said endless bands at a speed coordinated with the forward speed of the vehicle so that the defoliating reaches move backwardly with respect to the vehicle at substantially the same speed that the vehicle moves forwardly with respect to the ground and the fingers along the defoliating reaches do not move horizontally substantially with respect to the tobacco plants; and g. means on the vehicle supporting the front guide wheels at an elevation higher than the rear guide wheels, so that the fingers move downwardly of the tobacco stalks, stripping therefrom leaves between the elevations of the front and rear guide wheels.

Claim 3

Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said band is a chain, and means supporting each finger on a link of the chain.

Claim 4

a horizontally extending beam means connecting and supported by said vertically extending upright means adjacent the tops thereof, so that the vehicle may straddle a row of tobacco plants; b. a pair of defoliators, one mounted on each of said vertically extending upright means, said defoliators being horizontally opposite; wherein the improvement comprises: C. front and rear defoliator guide wheels in each defoliator, spaced along the vehicle and rotatable about approximately vertical axes; d. a pair of opposed endless bands, one running over the guide wheels of each defoliator and adapted to move rearwardly relative to the vehicle along a defoliating each adjacent the area between the opposed endless bands defining a stalk passageway and forwardly along a return reach spaced horizontally from said passageway; e. a plurality of fingers connected to each endless band and projecting toward the stalks from said defoliating reach; f. means driving said endless bands at a speed coordinated with the forward speed of the vehicle so that the defoliating reaches move backwardly with respect to the vehicle at substantially the same speed that the vehicle moves forwardly with respect to the ground and the fingers along the defoliating reaches do not move horizontally substantially with respect to the tobacco plants; and g. means on the vehicle supporting the front guide wheels at an elevation higher than the rear guide wheels, so that the fingers move downwardly of the tobacco stalks, stripping therefrom leaves between the elevations of the front and rear guide wheels.

Claim 5

a horizontally extending beam means connecting and supported by said vertically extending upright means adjacent the tops thereof, so that the vehicle may straddle a row of tobacco plants; b. a pair of defoliators, one mounted on each of said vertically extending upright means, said defoliators being horizontally opposite; wherein the improvement comprises: C. front and rear defoliator guide wheels in each defoliator, spaced along the vehicle and rotatable about approximately vertical axes; d. a pair of opposed endless bands, one running over the guide wheels of each defoliator and adapted to move rearwardly relative to the vehicle along a defoliating each adjacent the area between the opposed endless bands defining a stalk passageway and forwardly along a return reach spaced horizontally from said passageway; e. a plurality of fingers connected to each endless band and projecting toward the stalks from said defoliating reach; f. means driving said endless bands at a speed coordinated with the forward speed of the vehicle so that the defoliating reaches move backwardly with respect to the vehicle at substantially the same speed that the vehicle moves forwardly with respect to the ground and the fingers along the defoliating reaches do not move horizontally substantially with respect to the tobacco plants; and g. means on the vehicle supporting the front guide wheels at an elevation higher than the rear guide wheels, so that the fingers move downwardly of the tobacco stalks, stripping therefrom leaves between the elevations of the front and rear guide wheels.

Claim 6

abridging member extending between the projections; and

Claim 7

abridging member extending between the projections; and

Claim 8

a finger on said bridging member extending towarD the tobacco plants; and

Claim 9

a finger on said bridging member extending towarD the tobacco plants; and

Claim 10

Apparatus as defined in claim 2, including resilient means biasing each finger to a normal position with respect to its supporting link and permitting movement of the fingers away from the normal position to accommodate the engagement of the finger with a tobacco stalk.

Claim 11

said bridging member extending longitudinally along the chain from the pair of plates to which it is attached and having an end portion freely slidable between the plates of the next lug-carrying link.

Claim 12

said bridging member extending longitudinally along the chain from the pair of plates to which it is attached and having an end portion freely slidable between the plates of the next lug-carrying link.

Claim 13

Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein: a. the chain comprises alternate inner and outer links, each inner link comprising a pair of end plates connected at their ends by a pair of sleeves, and each outer link comprising a pair of end plates connected at their ends by pivot pins extending through the sleeves of the adjacent inner links; b. certain of the outer links are finger carrying links, and each said finger-carrying link comprises:

Claim 14

Apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which each finger is offset substantially from the center of its supporting link so as to provide substantial mechanical advantage for a tobacco stalk engaging the lug and tending to tilt the link about its pivot pins.

Claim 15

Apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which: a. said chain comprises alternate inner and outer links; b. said guide wheels are sprocket wheels having teeth cooperating with said links; and including: c. means to allow radial inward movement of the finger-carrying links with respect to the sprocket wheels to relieve the stress on a tobacco stalk engaged by a finger.

Claim 16

Apparatus as defined in claim 4, in which each pair of plates of a finger-supporting link is provided with longitudinal projections on the sprocket side of the chain, extending beyond the next rearwardly adjacent outer link of the chain, said projections being engaged by said rearwardly adjacent link as it passes around the rear guide wheel, so that the finger is withdrawn quickly from the row of tobacco stalks.

Claim 17

Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said fingers are of yieldable material.

Claim 18

Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including gradual entrance and exit guide means for the defoliating reach of the endless band, so that the fingers are moved slowly into and away from their stalk-engaging positions.

Claim 19

Apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which said means to allow radial inward movement comprises deep recesses between certain teeth on the sprocket wheels.

Claim 20

Apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which said means to allow radial inward movement comprises: a. at least one pair of opposed transverse slots on each finger-supporting link; and b. pivot pin in each said pair of slots and connecting said link to the next adjacent link.

Claim 21

Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which: a. said endless band is a chain, including a cover therefor, and each finger is supported by a link on the chain; b. spring means biasing each finger-carrying link toward a finger projecting position; c. a projecting cam-following pin on each finger-carrying link; and d. cam track means, fixed on said chain cover, along the path of movement of the chain on its defoliating reach to guide the cam-following pins to control the movement of the fingers in and out of their stalk-engaging positions.

Claim 22

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which: a. said chain comprises links connected by pivot pins; and b. star wheels pivoted on certain of said pivot pins, each said star wheel having a plurality of projecting teeth serving as stalk-engaging fingers; and c. spring means acting on each star wheel to bias it into any of a plurality of stalk-engaging positions.

Claim 23

Apparatus as defined in claim 13, in which the teeth on the star wheel have rounded tips.

Claim 24

Apparatus as defined in claim 13 in which: a. said spring means comprises a plurality of springs, each stretched in tension between a finger on one star wheel and a finger on the next adjacent star wheel; and b. all said star wheels on each chain are connected by said springs.

Claim 25

Apparatus for harvesting tobacco leaves, including: a. a vehicle having a chasses comprising:

Claim 26

Apparatus for harvesting tobacco leaves, including: a. a vehicle having a chasses comprising:

Claim 27

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, in which the fingers on the two endless bands are located opposite each other, so that the fingers on the two bands cooperate to form a series of frames, one of which surrounds each tobacco stalk.

Claim 28

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, in which each finger on one band is located substantially midway between two fingers on the opposite band, each finger comprising a tooth of a star wheel having a plurality of teeth, and spring detent means to bias each star wheel yieldably into one of a plurality of positions, in each of which the teeth on the star wheels on one band cooperate with the teeth on the star wheels on the other band and with the intervening parts of the bands to form a series of frames, one which surrounds each tobacco stalk.

Claim 29

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, in which said driving means includes: a. an engine; b. transmission means including a differential gear connecting the engine to drive wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle; and c. means connecting said endless bands to said transmission means on the same side of said differential gear, so that the position of one band with respect to the other is not changed by operation of said differential gear.

Claim 30

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, in which: a. one of the endless bands carries fingers whose tips trail behind the points of connection of the fingers to that band; and b. the other of the endless bands carries fingers whose tips lead the points of connection of the fingers to that band.

Claim 31

Apparatus as defined in claim 20, in which: a. all the fingers on said one band trail; and b. all the fingers on the other side lead.

Claim 32

Apparatus as defined in claim 20, in which each band carries leading and lagging fingers.

Claim 33

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including: a. tobacco leaf removal means, comprising means defining a pair of leaf-receiving baskets located below the pair of defoliators, said baskets defining between them a central gap; b. a plurality of parallel rollers at the bottom of each basket and adapted to receive a leaf falling thereon and drive it toward the side of the basket; c. means to drive all the parallel rollers in one of the baskets in one direction; d. means to drive all the parallel rollers in the other basket, except the roller nearest the central gap, in the opposite direction; e. means to drive said roller nearest the central gap in said one direction, so that a leaf falling across the gap engages two rollers, both rotating in the same direction, and cooperating to move it in that direction.

Claim 34

Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which: a. each finger has an articulated connection with the band to permit deflection of the finger upoN engagement with a tobacco stalk; and b. each fingertip is offset lengthwise of the band from its articulated connection, to provide substantial mechanical advantage for a tobacco stalk acting on the fingertip and tending to deflect the finger.

Claim 35

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including an intermediate guide wheel for one of said endless bands, said intermediate guide wheel cooperating with the front guide wheel for its associated band to define an entrance section of the defoliating reach of the band, and cooperating with the rear guide wheel to define a section of the defoliating reach parallel to the centerline of the vehicle.

Claim 36

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including an auxiliary guide wheel cooperating with the rear guide wheel of its associated endless band to define an exit section of the defoliating reach, and cooperating with the front guide wheel of its associated band to define a section of the defoliating reach parallel to the centerline of the vehicle.

Claim 37

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including front and rear intermediate guide wheels for each of said endless bands, said front and rear intermediate guide wheels cooperating to define opposed parallel sections of said bands; each said front intermediate guide wheel cooperating with the first-mentioned front guide wheel to define an entrance section of its associated band; each said rear guide wheel cooperating with the rear intermediate guide wheel of its associated band to define an exit section of said defoliating reach.

Claim 38

Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including: a. a front intermediate guide wheel for one only of said bands, said front intermediate guide wheel cooperating with the first-mentioned front guide wheel of said one band to define an entrance section of the defoliating reach, said front intermediate guide wheel cooperating with the rear guide wheel for said one band to define a section of said defoliating reach parallel to the centerline of the vehicle; b. a rear intermediate guide wheel for the other band only, said rear intermediate guide wheel cooperating with the first-mentioned rear guide wheel to define an exit section of said defoliating reach, and cooperating with the first-mentioned front guide wheel to define a section of said defoliating reach parallel to the centerline of the vehicle.