Grape harvester

Claim 1

A harvester comprising an inverted, substantially U-shaped framework carried by a pair of wheels mounted on respective axles disposed at the opposite terminal sides of said framework; a pair of opposing upstanding guide walls mounted on the forwardmost terminal ends of said framework with respect to a direction of travel of said framework, said guide walls issuing inwardly at an angle and being operable to form a substantially V-shaped passageway; a pair of opposing, rectilinearly extending flexible collector floor portions being coextensive in length with said framework, said floor portions being mounted on the framework adjacent the ground, each of said floor portions issuing upwardly at an angle from the respective opposite terminal sides of said framework toward the centermost portion thereof and being engageable with vines planted in rows; a multiplicity of vine engaging shaker panel assemblies disposed vertically with respect to the ground, one upper panel assembly being carried on said framework vertically above a next preceeding lower panel assembly, said one shaker panel assembly moving one portion of a vine being harvested in one direction horizontally transverse to said direction of travel while the next preceeding vertically disposed shaker panel assembly moves a portion of said vine in a direction opposite to said one direction, each of said shaker panel assemblies including a multiplicity of transversely horizontally opposing pairs of shaker rod assemblies being disposed tangentially at an angle to form a substantially Vshaped passageway, each of said shaker rod assemblies comprising a substantially L-shaped arm having one of the terminal ends of said arm being pivotally mounted to a respective reciprocatingly driven upstanding shaft; each of said arms being reciprocatingly driven forwardly and rearwardly at an angle with respect to the direction of travel of said framework by its respective shaft on said respective upper and lower pairs of opposingly driven panel assemblies; means reciprocatingly drivIng said shaft; said shaker rod assemblies being journaled for rotation and pivotally carried on an upstanding fixed shaft suitably fastened at its respective terminal opposite ends to said framework aft of said guide walls; said arms being mounted on said fixed shaft by a bracket intermediate the opposite terminal ends of said arms; said shaker panel assemblies uniformly increasing pressure upon a vine in a zone of greater compression as a vine is moved through said substantially V-shaped passageway to dislodge fruit closer to the center of said vine as the harvester slidably moves along rows of vines.