Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
213%~09
1509.102 CIP
TITLE
BLUEBERRY HARVESTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF HARVESTING
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This is a continuation-in-part of my previous
applications, Serial No. 888,481, filed May 27, 1992,
and its continuation Serial No. 08/159,330, filed
November 30, 1993.
The low-bush, wild blueberry is widely harvested
in the United States. These plants, found in various
locations in the United States, particularly Maine,
grow in rocky, hilly terrain, which makes mechanization
of their harvesting extremely difficult. This
difficulty is compounded because these wild berries
grow close to the ground in untilled and untillable
fields, bearing their fruit about 3 to 12 inches above
ground level, and when laden with berries or beaten
down by rain, some of the plants may lie on the ground.
The deliciousness of the wild blueberry, however,
has led to its being harvested and sold extensively in
spite of these difficulties. Prior art methods for
harvesting low-bush wild blueberries primarily include
the use of hand rakes. These hand rakes typically have
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a short handle and a receptacle behind fine, flexible
tines. The rakes are approximately 12 to 20 inches
wide, with the tines spaced across the width. Each
tine is solid, about 1/8 inch in diameter and about 10
inches long, with about 3/16 inch between each pair of
adjacent tines. A worker, stooping over the bushes,
runs the rake through each bush area 2 or 3 times,
combing the bushes and stripping off the berries. When
the rake receptacle is full, the worker dumps its
contents into a pail or box.
The use of these hand rakes has many drawbacks.
Not only is the labor backbreaking and time-consuming,
but it is wasteful. The need for more than one pass
knocks some berries to the ground and they are lost,
plus many blueberries are left behind on the bush.
Consequently, 20~ or more of each harvest is lost.
Moreover, a very high percentage of debris, such as
stems and other plant parts, is harvested along with
the blueberry crop. This necessitates extensive
winnowing steps later to prepare a product suitable for
sale to consumers.
Attempts have been made to mechanize the
harvesting of wild blueberries, but these have
primarily involved the arrangement and movement of
hand-type rakes in ferris wheel fashion to imitate the
action of hand rakes. Such arrangements do not reduce
many of the drawbacks mentioned with respect to hand
rake harvesting, and some problems, such as damage to
plants, are increased. Also, these prior art machines
are particularly damaging to young plants that spread
and grow in areas recently treated with herbicides.
Also, these machines are unable to adjust to the hilly
terrain in which the wild blueberry grows, and their
complicated, moving parts are subject to damage in the
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obstacle-filled, stony fields in which they must
operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention quickly and efficiently harvests
wild blueberries from their low-growing bushes with
minimum damage to the harvested blueberries and to the
blueberry plants themselves. The invention also
minimizes the amount of debris collected along with the
blueberry crop.
The apparatus of this invention requires only a
moderate level of skill to operate, can be adapted to
several means of locomotion and widths as required by
each grower's field conditions, and can be used on
uneven ground, particularly in an embodiment with no
rotating harvesting parts, without excessive damage to
the machine, the berries or the crop plants.
While this machine has been developed to solve
problems of harvesting wild blueberries, it may be
adaptable to harvesting other berries and other fruit
and vegetable crops, including for example
blackberries, gooseberries, huckleberries and the like.
The harvesting machine of the present invention
includes a mobile frame which supports a plurality of
inclined channels. The channels form a picking head or
picking unit for continuous horizontal movement through
a field to be harvested. The channels are generally U-
shaped in cross-section for receiving blueberries or
other crop. The forward, lower ends or tips of the
channels are held on or near ground level for
continuous horizontal movement along the ground. The
channels are arranged parallel and adjacent to each
other, side-by-side in a row, forming a stripping gap
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between each pair of adjacent channels. Each picking
head or unit extends across or perpendicular to the
direction of movement of the machine through the crop.
The gaps strip berries from plants and also allow
passage of the machine over the plants without causing
undue damage. The channels are shaped to catch the
crop as it is stripped from the plants. A source of
forced air directed into the channels near ground level
may be used to move the stripped crop up the channels
away from the ground. Alternatively, after a period of
horizontal continuous movement along the ground, one
group of channels may be raised up quickly while
another group is put in their place. The raised-up
group of channels may be designed to hold the berries
that have fallen into the channels and transfer them to
a receptacle such as a conveyor belt or basket.
The channels of this invention preferably have a
bottom, two sides, which preferably slant inwards
toward the bottom of the channel when viewed in cross-
section, and a point at the lower end formed by an
extension of the bottom surface. The sides are high
enough to contain individual berries or other units of
the crop. The height of the sides may be at least
about 2 to 5 times the diameter of a unit of the crop
or they may increase in height away from the point in
order to hold more berries. The channel sides are
about at least 1/2" to 1 1/2" high in the case of
blueberries. The sides are far enough apart to permit
individual berries to move along the channels without
binding or clogging, about 3 to 10 times the width of
each crop unit near the bottom of the channel, which
means the channel is about 1 to 2 inches wide in the
case of blueberries. The gap between adjacent channels
is preferably about the width of a small unit of the
crop, about 3/16" to 1/4" for blueberries.
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The channels are strong and rigid, which makes
them capable of penetrating through tangled masses of
twigs, stems, runners and branches, and traveling
beneath the crop. The channels may slide on or near
the ground. The channels may be rigidly mounted, or
they may be yieldingly or resiliently, mounted. The
channels can resist, without substantial damage or
substantial deflection, blows and wear they receive
when driven against stones or other obstacles during
use. The rigid, broad channels of this invention are
able to penetrate varied densities of plants on hostile
terrain while receiving only minimal damage, unlike the
results suffered by the very narrow, flexible tines of
the prior art blueberry hand rakes and their mechanized
equivalents.
When the sides of the channels preferably slope
slightly inwards towards the lower surface of the
channel when viewed in cross-section, this taper
reduces binding of plants between adjacent channels and
provides more efficient stripping between adjacent
channels.
The channels preferably vary in width somewhat
along their length. They are narrow at their lower
ends to ease entry of plants between them. They may be
wider at the height where the fruit is drawn through
the stripping gaps than they are above that point.
This embodiment makes each gap narrower at this
stripping height than it is above that height, and
increases the stripping effect at the stripping height
but reduces damage to plants and jamming of the
machinery as the plants pass through the wider portions
of the gap.
The channels at their forward ends may taper to
point, and there may be an internal rim to reduce the
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tendency of crop units to roll forward and out of the
channel.
Forced air may be used to move the stripped crop
and any debris along the channels. If used, the forced
air also tends to raise plants that may lie on the
ground upward and into the gaps between adjacent
channels. Forced air or other fluid may be delivered
to the lower ends of the channels by means of flexible
hoses, tubing, or other suitable air conveyance means.
Each hose may terminate in an air nozzle whose outlet
may be pointed at the bottom of each picking head. In
one embodiment, there is one flexible hose and one air
nozzle for each picking head.
The channels, which may be about 15 inches long,
may be straight along the top and bottom, or they may
curve slightly upward to increase stiffness and to
provide for complete stripping to the top of the bushes
in a shorter distance. The top and bottom may also
diverge in rearward direction to increase the capacity
of the channel to carry crop, particularly if combined
with a holding area adjacent the rearward ends of the
channels. The angle of the top edge, that comprises
the stripping gap, to the ground is preferably about
15 and perhaps less, at least toward the forward end
of the channels. If the channels curve upwardly from
the ground and forced air is used, the curvature
improves the scrubbing action of the air at the bottom
of channels and promotes the efficient movement of
berries and debris along the channels.
The channels are preferably attached to the
harvester at their rearward ends. Berries may
accumulate there for ease of transfer to a receptacle.
In an alternate embodiment, the channels are attached
to the harvester at their rearward facing or underneath
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surfaces, which provides an uninterrupted stripping gap
from one end of the gap to the other. These
attachments may then be connected to a bracket remote
from the stripping gap, preferably at a distance and
location such that the bracket does not interfere with
the stripping action in the gap. An advantage of this
arrangement is its avoidance of any three-sided
blockage area at the rear of the gap where plants would
have a tendency to jam. These attachments may be rigid
or flexible and resilient. If flexible, resilient
mountings are used, they may be made of flat, springy
plates, one for each channel. Such attachments provide
rigidity to each channel in the direction of motion of
the channel through the field, but they permit side-to-
side movement of channels relative to each otherwithout interference with the passage of plants through
the gaps, and these attachments permit the stripping
gaps to enlarge to allow large objects to pass through
the stripping gaps.
The harvesting machine may include a structure
such as a shoe, a bar or a roller, which serves as a
plant stabilizer. This plant stabilizer, located
behind and beneath the channels, contacts or is near
the ground and may support a portion of the weight of
the channels. The stabilizers may be separate units,
one for each channel, or they may extend parallel to
and behind the picking head across the paths of one or
more stripping gaps, located at a distance from the
stripping gaps comparable to the height of the crop on
the plants. A plant stabilizer thus bears on the base
of plants while crop is being stripped from a plant and
resists the stripping forces on the plant. This helps
hold the plant in the ground during harvesting and
reduces plant damage.
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If flexible mountings are attached to the rearward
surface of the channels, they may be attached to this
plant stabilizer. In this case, the distance from the
plant stabilizer bar to the flexible channel tip
enables the forward tip portion of each channel to be
more resilient. This resiliency permits the channels
to move laterally with respect to each other in
response to uneven terrain, varying plant density,
rocks, etc.
The weight of a picking head may be partially
supported by one or more of (a) the plant stabilizer,
as already mentioned; (b) an adjustable support, such
as an air or hydraulic piston; and (c) arm linkages
which may be pivotably connected to a frame supported
on wheels. Picking heads are preferably supported for
easy movement upward and backward in response to
obstructions such as rocks in the field.
Each picking head may be relatively narrow, about
12 inches wide, and several may be mounted side-by-side
to make an efficient width machine. Approximately 5 to
10 channels may be used for each picking head, with
seven channels being most preferred, and from 1 to
approximately 10 picking heads per harvester. The
width of the harvesting machine is preferably from
about one to ten feet, depending on the number of
picking units selected. Because the picking heads can
be constructed separately, the harvesting machine can
be built in a modular fashion and delivered to a grower
in any width desired.
Whether using a single head or a plurality of
picking heads mounted on one harvester, each head may
be separately suspended from a frame. Thus, each
picking head may be kept as light as possible and it
may be readily movable independently of the frame, any
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motive force such as a tractor, or any other heads.
The picking head may be supported to move
independently, not only upwards and rearwardly, but
also one side of each head may tilt up or down in
response to obstructions, bumps or hillside terrain.
The head, being individually suspended from the frame,
articulates as it moves along while harvesting and hugs
the ground.
An important aspect of this invention is therefore
the ability of the harvesting machine to operate over
irregular terrain without decreasing the yield of
berries collected or causing unnecessary damage to the
plants. To achieve those ends, the channels and
picking heads may be resi]iently attached to the rigid
frame, as referred to above. Adjustable air pistons or
similar devices may be used to counter-balance gravity
and other forces, thus permitting the channels to float
or contact the ground only lightly; i.e. the channels
can move vertically in response to uneven terrain. The
air pistons are adjustable to permit variations in the
degree of springiness required in response to the
terrain.
The present invention can, for example, be either
pulled or pushed by a tractor or an all-terrain vehicle
or may be self-propelled. As the harvesting machine
travels forward, blueberry plants, which are about 3-12
inches high, pass through the stripping gaps. The
forward motion of the machine, the constriction of the
plants within the stripping gaps, and, if used, the
force of air supplied by the blowers causes the fruit
as well as some stems, leaves, twigs and other debris
to be removed from the plants. This forced stream of
air supplied by the air blower may be aimed up the
channels to force the berries and other debris to ride
up the length of curved, inclined channels on an air
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cushion and ultimately away from the harvester or into
receptacles located directly behind the channels.
This invention reduces damage to the berries or
other crop. As soon as the berries are freed from the
plant they drop in to the channels. If forced air is
used, they are immediately carried away and are not
bruised by other berries, leaves or stems but are
transported on an air cushion from the time they leave
the plant until deposited in their receptacle. In such
an embodiment, because of the lighter density of the
debris, however, most of it is carried further than the
berries and may be carried away from the harvester or
directed into a separate receptacle for debris. The
present invention may thus result in the collection of
blueberries which are substantially free of debris in
one step. While all the debris may not be removed in
this way, the large volume of debris removed results in
substantial savings in time and expense and may reduce
or avoid later processing steps.
As will be apparent, the harvesting apparatus of
this invention includes few or no rotary or
reciprocating harvesting parts and no movement of any
comb or rake intermittently in a circular, ferris wheel
fashion, vertically while harvesting or repeatedly
through the plants. The machine makes a single,
generally continuous and horizontal pass through each
portion of the field, on or at a relatively constant
distance from ground level. While in some embodiments
this continuous horizontal harvesting may be
interspersed between quick removals by raising up of a
group of channels for transfer of accumulated crop, the
bottoms of channels remain generally continuously below
the crop, and the crop falls into the channels. This
simplicity has four basic advantages. The bushes are
abused less, the machinery is tougher, the machinery is
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simple and hence less subject to damage, and a larger
proportion of the crop is harvested.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a blueberry
harvesting machine embodying the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a front view of the blueberry
harvesting machine of embodiment of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a detailed view of the Figure 1
picking heads and air delivery system.
Figure 4 is a detailed, rear view of the Figure 1
picking heads.
Figure 5 is a detailed view, partly in section,
showing the Figure 1 blueberry harvester in operation.
Figures 6 and 7 are detailed views (Figure 7 being
taken from the section line 7-7 in Figure 6) of the
channels and stripping gaps formed by the channels in
the embodiment of Figure 1.
Figure 8 shows in perspective a partial front view
of a second blueberry harvesting machine of the present
invention.
Figure 9 shows a rear view of the Figure 8
harvester.
Figure 10 shows frame and related portions of the
Figure 8 harveste_.
Figure 11 is a side view of the Figure 8
harvester.
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Figure 12 is also a side view of the Figure 8
harvester, but it is in partial section.
Figures 13, 14 and 15 show details of the Figure 8
picking bucket assemblies.
Figure 16 shows the bucket indexing mechanism of
the Figure 8 harvester.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 a tractor
pushes harvesting apparatus through a field of wild,
low-bush blueberries 1 forward in the direction of the
large arrow. The harvester includes a frame 10, which
supports at the front a forced air assembly 20,
followed by blueberry stripping assembly 30. The
stripping assembly leads to collection areas for the
berries and debris, which for clarity are omitted from
Figure 1 but are shown at 4 and 6 in Figure 5.
As shown in Figure 1 the frame 10 comprises two U-
shaped components, one 11 in a horizontal plane and the
other 12, mounted on top the first in a vertical plane.
The horizontal portion of the frame has two downward-
extending legs 13 which each support a wheel 14, on
which the harvester is moved along the ground.
At the front of the harvester a forced air
assembly 20 includes air hoses 21, arranged in
parallel, which serve as conduits for forced air. Each
conduit terminates in a respective nozzle 22, not
visible in Figure 1, but which can be seen in Figures 2
and 3. As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment the
three air conduits 21 branch off from a single forced-
air manifold 23, supported on vertical U-frame 12.
Forced air is supplied from a forced-air source (not
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shown), which in this embodiment provides a pressure
differential of six inches of water, through manifold
23 and conduits 21 to nozzles 22.
As seen best in Figure 3, each nozzle 22 is
supported in part by two arms 24, one end of each of
which is attached to one side of its nozzle assembly
and the other end of which is attached to a respective
short flange on the underside of the horizontal U-frame
11. The connections at each end of each arm 24 are
each pivotable at pivots 28, as shown in Figure 5.
Each nozzle is also supported in part by a narrow skid
26, which helps the nozzle ride over obstructions, and
by limit chains or cables 25 attached to arm 33, which
tend to limit the downward travel of the nozzles.
Following the nozzles is a series of picking heads
or stripping assemblies 30, each of which includes
several upwardly inclined channels 31. The channels 31
are parallel and adjacent to each other, forming gaps
52 for stripping berries between adjacent channels.
The channels are mounted for continuous movement on or
slightly above the ground, and they curve upwardly from
their ground level tips.
In this embodiment the mounting includes generally
horizontal bars or arms 33 to connect each picking head
pivotably to a respective nozzle assembly (see Figure
3). The limit chains or cables 25 attached to arms 33
limit the downward travel of the picking heads, and
their respective nozzles, to an approximately uniform
level. Each head is also attached pivotably at pivots
32 to supporting arms 35 of a respective supporting, U-
shaped bracket 36. The middle portion of the cross-
piece of each bracket 36 is connected to one end of arespective air piston 37 whose other end is pivotably
attached at pivot 32A to the cross-beam portion 15 of
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the upper U-frame 12, which is part of the rigid frame
of the harvester. Air piston 37 can be used to lighten
or adjust the force of the picking heads 30 on the
ground.
Attached to the bottom, rearward surface of each
channel 31 is a resilient flat spring plate 38. The
lower end of the flat plate 38 attaches to a plant
stabilizer 39, which may be a bar, a roller or the
like. The stabilizer 39 extends laterally behind each
picking head to form a unit which serves to hold the
bases of the berry bushes and prevent or reduce
uprooting.
The alignment of the plate 38 with the direction
of movement of the channels through the field provides
for rigidity and strength in the direction of motion,
but the flexibility of the plate from side-to-side
permits each channel to move from side-to-side,
20 enlarging the gaps 52 as may be needed to permit
passage of large stems or bundles. As shown best in
Figure 5, plate 38 is attached to a middle portion of
channel 31 and is located underneath channel 31.
The plant stabilizer 39 is also underneath and
below channel 31. Stabilizer 39 is extended in the
direction of movement of the harvester and also
upwardly from the ground in a direction generally
parallel to the section of channel 31 to which plate 38
30 is attached. The connection of stabilizer 39 to plate
38 is also extended in that direction.
The extended connections of plate 38 to both plant
stabilizer 39 and to channel 31 in the direction of
35 motion of the harvester provide several advantages.
These connections increase the strength and rigidity of
channel 31 as it moves through the field. This
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arrangement also supports channels 31 without blocking
or interrupting any portion of stripping gaps 52 and
permits the gaps to be enlarged or narrowed along their
entire lengths more easily than would be possible if
5 adjacent channels were attached directly anywhere
across the gap 52 at some point along or at the end of
the channels. The placement of the connection between
adjacent channels at a location remote from and to rear
of the stripping gaps results in this connection
avoiding interference with the stripping action, and
the location is such that the stabilizer 39 holds the
plants during stripping. As will be apparent, however,
benefits of such mounting of the channels and rearward
plates 32 underneath channels 31 can be achieved
without mounting them on plant stabilizer 39. That is,
in this embodiment plant stabilizer 39 serves two
functions, (i) stabilization of plants while being
stripped and (ii) provision of a mounting for the
channels remote from gaps 52, but these two functions
20 need not be combined in a single piece.
A rigid bar or cam 41, rigidly suspended from
frame 11, limits the rearward movement of the of the
picking heads 30 and prevents them from being dislodged
25 from their positions in the event a substantial
obstacle is encountered during harvesting, or if the
harvester is operated at excessive speed. When heads
30 are pushed rearward into contact with cam 41, heads
30 may ride up cam 41 out of the way of the obstacle
30 that forced them into contact with cam 41.
Pairs of closely spaced pairs of rear bars 42 are
also provided, one pair centrally located behind each
picking head 30. A bar 43 connected to the stabilizers
3 5 39 of each unit runs up through the gap between the
pair of bars 42 and prevents excessive side-to-side
movement of its respective picking head, while rearward
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movement and slight lifting of one side or the other is
possible.
Figure 3 is a detailed side view of the picking
5 heads and the lower portion of the air delivery system.
This also shows cleaning bar assembly 60, which
includes a rotatable axle 61 and pins 62 which may
extend into gaps 52 between channels 31. When required
because of jams of twigs or other debris, the operator
turns the axle 61 using a handle (not shown) to force
the pins into gaps 52 and remove the debris.
Figure 4 is a rear view of the channel
arrangements, and shows the cam 41 which serves as a
15 stop to limit the backward movement of the channels 31
while in operation, as well as the pair of closely
spaced rear bars 42 provided for each picking head. It
also shows plant stabilizers 39 as they each extend
across, behind and underneath channels 31 of the
20 respective picking heads 30, and it shows the resilient
flat plates 38 extending between plant stabilizer 39
and a section of each channel 31 removed from the lower
end of channel 31.
Figure 5 is a detailed view, partly in cross-
section, showing a preferred embodiment of the present
invention in operation. Blueberry bushes 1, consisting
of stems 2 and berries 3, pass under forced-air
assemblies 20, which are partly supported by skids 26.
30 The bushes, which may be blown rearward and upward by
forced air 27, pass between channels 31, which move
continuously along the ground, rising and falling to
accommodate obstacles such as rock 7. The rising and
falling is permitted by the linking arms 24, 33 and 35,
35 and the weight of the picking head's nozzle is
partially supported by adjustable air piston 37. The
bushes 1 then pass into the stripping gaps between the
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channels. The berries 3 are stripped from bushes 1 and
fall into channels 31. The plant stabilizer 39,
attached to flat resilient plates 38, holds down berry
plants 1 as they pass through the stripping gap between
channels 31. The stripped berries 3 are transported up
inclined channels 31, on a cushion of air supplied by
air nozzles 22, to the upper end of channels 31 and,
being denser than the debris, fall into a receptacle or
bin 4. Lighter debris 5, such as twigs, stems and
leaves, is carried further upwards on the air cushion
falling away from and to the sides of the harvester,
while heavier pieces of debris fall onto mesh screen 6.
Figure 6, a detailed frontal view of four
channels, shows crop plant 1 in stripping gap 52
between the adjacent, parallel channels 31 and berries
3 falling into the channels 31, and the generally
parallel sidewalls, which in cross-section slope
inwardly at the bottom to reduce construction except on
the upper stripping edges of adjacent channels.
Figure 7 shows the U-shaped cross-section of
channels 31 and the sidewalls, which in cross-section
slope inwardly at the bottom to reduce constriction
between channels. The channels terminate at ground
level in replaceable, wear-resistant, flexible channel
tips 51. The tips are preferably cylindrical, about
1/2 inches in diameter and about three inches long, and
made of polyurethane or other resilient material. Such
a replaceable tip absorbs shock and reduces wear. Upon
hitting a hard object, such as rock 7, the picking head
moves upwards and backwards to clear that object, then
swings back down to its former position.
The channels extend approximately 15 inches
vertically above the ground and about 18 inches
horizontally. They are curved about an approximate
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radius of 20 inches and are approximately 30 inches in
length. Made of steel, they have a wall thickness of
1/8 inch, are about 1 1/4 inch wide at the bottom of
the cross-section and taper outwardly to about 1 1/2
inch wide. They may be about 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches deep.
The width of the channels, and consequently the
width of the stripping gaps, vary along their lengths.
Starting at the bottom end of the channel, after the
very narrow flexible tip portion, the channel widens to
approximately 1~ inches across at the lowest stripping
level. At this point its stripping gap is about as
wide as the smallest blueberry, about 3/16 inch. The
channels remain at this width up to the top of the
stripping height. The stripping height or stripping
~zone begins at approximately 1 inch off the ground and
extends to about 12 inches above ground level.
Thereafter, the width of the channels decreases to a
width less than that in the stripping zone, and the gap
widens. In this embodiment the stripping gap is
narrowed to approximately 3/16 to 1/4 inches at the
stripping zone, and the gap widens at heights above the
stripping zone to approximately 3/4 to 1 inch to
facilitate passage of the plants, tall weeds or
saplings without clogging the stripping gaps and
without ripping the plants out of the ground. Since
the channels are continuously under the berry plant
during harvesting, berries that fall are likely to be
gathered and not lost.
The receptacle 4 used to capture and temporarily
store the harvested fruit may be any receptacle
recognized in the art, including buckets, baskets,
boxes or conveyer means.
Thus, it can be seen that the individual channels
31 and the picking heads 30 are resiliently mounted on
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the frame in a way that permits the individual channels
and picking heads to respond to terrain conditions,
such as rock 7, and varying crop densities. Each
picking unit can articulate and rotate some distance
upward on its left or right edge in response to the
terrain. The air piston 37 eases upward and downward
movement of the picking units and the rear stabilizer
cam 41 limits excessive backward movement and, in
cooperation with the curved back surfaces of the
channels 31, permits the head to ride upwards above
obstacles. The channels are also capable of vertical
and horizontal movement with respect to each other, but
always at about the same uniform distance continuously
on or slightly above ground level.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 8 a motorized
vehicle 100 supports and propels an outer harvesting
frame 110. Outer harvesting frame 110 in turn supports
a picking head 130, which includes cam track frame 132
and four picking buckets or groups 133 of a plurality
of chutes or channels 131. The motorized vehicle 100
rides on three tires 109, one ahead and two behind
(only one is shown in Figure 8). The forward tire
pivots and is steerable by steering wheel 119.
Referring to Figures 8, 9 and 10, the outer
harvesting frame 110 is supported by an air piston 137,
by thin, large diameter wheels 114 and by arm 116,
which is connected to vehicle frame 106 at universal
joint 115. In this design the wheels 114 slant inwards
under the picking head at about 15 to the vertical.
In this way, they do not greatly disturb adjacent,
unharvested berries. Air piston 137, which acts as an
air spring and for reduction of weight of unit 110 on
wheels 114, is pivotally connected at its upper end to
an arm 117, which is fixed to vehicle main frame 106,
and its lower end is connected to a forward part of arm
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.
116, which is connected to a U-shaped, horizontal frame
piece 111.
This arrangement permits the weight on the wheels
5 114 to be lightened by increasing the upward force of
piston 137. It also permits the outer harvester frame
110 to tilt from side to side, as shown by the arrow on
the right side of Figure 9, in response to uneven
terrain. Also, as shown by the arrow in Figure 10, the
outer frame 110 can pivot up and down about the
universal joint 115. The alignment of the outer frame
110 with the vehicle 100 is controlled by stabilizer
arm 118, which is connected at one end to the outer
frame 110 and at the other and to the vehicle 100.-
The picking head 130 is movably supported andconnected within outer frame 110 by adjustment arm 146,
air piston 157 and pivot 148 (see Figure 11). Pin 147,
shown in Figure 11, which may be inserted into one of
20 several adjustment holes 149, provides an adjustable
resting point for arm 146, which is attached to frame
132 of picking head 130. Air piston 157, which acts as
a weight balance to reduce pressure of the head 130 on
the ground, is connected at its lower end to a bracket
25 158 on outer harvester frame component 111. At its
upper end piston 157 is connected to arm 159 which is
linked to slide 164. Slide 164 iS attached to the cam
track frame 132. Slide 164 moves up and down within
vertical guide 161, which is fixed to the U-shaped
30 component 111 of picking head 130. Bar 160 is held by
arms 162, which are fixed to vertical guide 161. Thus,
a downward force by piston 157 on arm 159 tends to
rotate bar 160 about pivot 163 and tends to support or
raise picking head 130. The whole of the picking head
35 130 rotates about pivot 148, its rearward attachment
between cam track frame 132 and outer frame 110.
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The height of the forward end of the picking head
may be raised by obstacle sensing fingers or bars 165.
When these strike an obstacle such as a rock, they
rotate about pivot 166, pushing arm 167 against wheel
5 168, which is mounted on arm 169. Because arm 169 is
fixed to a portion of picking head 130, this tends to
raise the picking head above the rock. By proper
choice of the length of the bars 165 and the arm 167,
one can raise the picking head 130 an amount equal to
the amount the bar 165 rises, or one can raise the
picking head a greater amount in a ratio of 1 to 2, for
example.
As shown in Figure 11, the picking head 130
15 includes an outer cam surface 171 and an inner cam
track 172. A continuous chain 173, driven by sprockets
174 and carried by idler sprockets 175, rides on the
surface 171.
Four picking bucket assemblies or groups 133 of
channels 131 are carried by the chain 173 and the inner
cam track 172. As shown in Figure 13, each picking
bucket assembly 133 is made up of a plurality of U-
shaped channels 131 affixed at the rear to a backing
plate 134. A preferred embodiment of channel 131,
shown in Figures 13 to 15, has a flat base and planar
sides of uniform thickness, the sides sloping outwards
as they rise from the base to form a stripping gap 152
that is narrowest at the upper edge of the channel.
Each channel 131 in this embodiment includes a shoe 139
which serves as a plant stabilizer, bearing against the
base and roots of plants and reducing damage to plants
as they are stripped of fruit in stripping gaps 152.
In this embodiment, the shoe is welded near the front
35 tip of the channel 131 and extends to the rear of
channel 131. The lower, front tips of each channel may
have an interior rim 135 which tends to hold berries in
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the channel. Each group of channels 133 has two side
plates 136. The narrow end of the plates 136 is
attached to chain 173 and a roller 138, which bears on
the lower cam surface 149 (see Figure 11). The wide
end of each plate 136 is attached to roller 141, which
rides inside inner cam track 172.
In operation, as shown in Figure 12, there are
four groups 133 of channels 131 in each picking head
130. These four ride in the positions shown in Figure
12 for a period of time, and then they are rapidly
indexed so that each group 133 replaces the one ahead
of it. That is, the group at position (A) moves to
position (B), (B) to (C), and so on. While a group of
channels 133 is at position (A), it is carried
horizontally along the ground by the movement of the
vehicle 100 through a field of berries 101. As shown
in Figures 12, 14 and 15, in this position (A), berries
103 are stripped from stems 102 in stripping gaps 152,
formed by the convergence of the sides of adjacent
channels 131. This convergence, which is caused by the
outward slanting of the channel sides from channel
bottom to channel top, reduces jamming in the stripping
gaps 152 between adjacent channels. The berries fall
into the channels 131 because they are riding close to
the ground. The angle ~ between the stripping gap and
the ground in side view is preferably only about 15 or
less.
After a period of running horizontally, a
substantial number of berries collect in the channels
131. The group of channels 133 is then rapidly indexed
from position (A) to position (B), in a manner which
will be described below. Because of the different
paths of the chain 173 on the outer cam surface 171 and
the inner cam track 172, in position (B) the picking
~132909
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bucket or group 133 tilts and the berries gather
against the backing plate 134.
Also at each indexing, the group 133 at (B) moves
to location (C), where the berries fall into a cross-
wise hydraulic powered conveyor 106, which carries them
to conveyor 142. From there they are carried rearward
by hydraulically driven conveyor 142 to a receptacle or
box 104. While on the conveyor 142, a forced air
assembly 120 blows stems and other debris off the
conveyor.
At each indexing, the group 133 of channels at (C)
moves to position (D). In this location, cleaning
knives 143, activated by piston 144 and rotating about
pivot 145, move downward into stripping gaps 152 and
remove stems and other debris that may be lodged there.
The group 133 at (D) is then ready to move into the
harvesting position (A) at the next indexing.
The indexing is accomplished, as shown best in
Figure 16, by a piston 180 which moves rapidly upwards
in response to activation by cam 181 and control valves
182. Upon activation, piston 180 moves its arm rapidly
upward and pawl 183 catches one of the lugs 184, which
are spaced at intervals around chain 185. This turns
driver sprocket 186, which is on the same axle as
sprockets 174. This moves each group 133 of channels
from one position to the next in a single rapid
movement. The piston 180, under control of valves 182,
then returns its pawl 183 to the initial lower
position. Because the pawl 183 is built to pass over
lugs when the pawl travels downward, the indexing
mechanism is then ready for the next indexing. The
frequency of indexing may be adjusted depending on the
amount of fruit to be harvested and is determined by
the rotating speed of cam 181, which in turn is
21~2909
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controlled by pulley stack 187, driven by a constant
speed source, in this case a power take-off (not shown)
from the motor of vehicle 100. The speed of the cam is
varied by placing the pulley belt 188 on different
diameter pulleys.
The indexing is coordinated such that most of the
harvesting is done while a group of channels is in
position (A), moving parallel to the ground.
Air tank 189, at 60 psi, supplies air to air
spring weight reduction piston 137. Air tank 190, also
at 60 psi, supplies air to weight reduction air
cylinder 157.
While the present invention has been described
with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, many
modifications and variations thereof will now be
apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the
scope of the invention is to not be limited by the
details illustratively described herein, but is to be
defined by the appended claims.
