Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
~0~524
This invention rela-tes to harvesting apparatus which is
usuable to d:islodge fruit berries and like produce by shaking
and vibrating the produce bearing plants or bushes.
In our New Zealand Patent Specification 179552 there is
disclosed a straddle ~ype harvester which has a pair of
vibrating shaker head assemblies located on preferably both
siaes of the harvester frame. The output of each head
assembly is coupled to a vertically disposed shaft on which
are located a number of sets of radially spaced tines or
fingers. Each pair of head assemblies are mounted on a
frame which is movable transverse of the frame and can pivot
about a substantially vertical axis. In this way the tined
shafts can move into or away from the produce bearing plants
or bushes to follow the contours thereof.
It has now been found that whilst the arrangement has
worked successfully full penetration of the bushes or plants
has not always occurred. Thls has resulted in part from one
tined shaft of the pair having influence on the other shaft
of the pair because of the common mounting frame of the pair
2 n of head assemblies. In addition it has been found that the
transverse movement of the mounting frame has not been as
free moving as required and this has further lead to the
tines or fingers not fully penetrating the plant or bush.
The shaker head assemblies each have an input and
output with the output being mounted for rotary movement
~.
-- 2
. ~
~ '
z~
relative to the frame of the harvester. The outputs of
each head assembly are coupled together so as to have
the same rotary motion. A prime mover supplies rotational
motion to the inputs of the head assemblies and each head
assembly has means which converts the rotary motion to a
torsional vibration in the output. The inputs of the or
each pair of head assemblies are coupled such that the
vibrational movement of one head assembly is maintained
constant relative to the other head assembly.
One object of the invention is thus to provide
a mounting and drive arrangement for the shaker head
assemblies of a harvesting apparatus whereby the head
assemblies of the or each pair of head assemblies have
the same rotary motion and the vibrational movement of
15 one head assembly is held constant with respect to that
of the other head assembly but the movement of head as-
semblies relative to the harvester frame are independent
of one another.
Broadly in one apsect of the invention there is
20 provided a mounting and drive arrangement for the shaker
head assemblies of a harvesting apparatus co~prising at
least one pair of vibratiny shaker head assemblies, each
of the assemblies having an input and an output, a prime
mover, means for converting rotary motion applied to each
25 input into a torsional vibration superimposed on the asso-
ciated output member, the output members being mounted so
S~
as to enable a rotary motion to be superimposed thereon,
coupling means which couple the output members together
so that they have the same rotary
:i ~3
- ~ ~
:: ' ~ ',' ; ,,,
~99~24
motion, an intermedia-te shaft coupled to said prime mover,
means whlch transfer rotary motion applied -to said intermediate
shaft to each of said input members such that the vibrational
movement of one head assembly is maintained constant relative
to the other head assembly, each shaker head assembly of the
or each pair of head assemblies being supported by mounting
means, said mounting means being mounted for pivotal movement
independent of the other about an axis which is substantially
coaxial with the intermediate shaft.
Broadly in a second aspect there is provided a harvesting
apparatus having a main frame movable relative to the ground,
a prime mover mounted thereon to provide power for relative
movement be-tween the frame and ground, at least one vibrating
shaker head assembly mounted on each side of a longit:udinal
horizontal axis of the frame, mounting means for each shaker
head assembly which is pivotally coupled to said frame, said
mounting means being movabl.e lndependent of one another,
each vibrating shaker head assembly having an input and
output and means which convert rotational motion supplied to
the input into torsional vibration on the output, means for
supplyin~ rotational motion to said input such that the
vibrational movement of one head assembly i.s maintained
constant relative to the other head assembly, the outpu-ts of
the head assemblies being mounted so as to enable rotary
motion to be superimposed thereon, coupling means which
-- 5
~L~935Z4
couple said outputs so that the~ have the same rotational
movement and at least one set of radially disposed tines or
fingers carried by an output member coupled to each said
head assembly output the shaker head assemblies of the or
each pair being positioned in a staggered reIationship to
each side of a longitudinal horizontal axis of said harvester
frame.
To more fully describe the invention reference will be
made to the accompanying drawing in which:-
¦ 1 Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of the invention,
¦ Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the form of the
invention illustrated in Figure 1,
' Figure 3 is a front elevation of the form of the invention
¦ illustrated in Figures 1 and 2,
l~ Figure 4 is a perspective view of a straddle frame
harvester according to the invention,
j Figure 5 is a detail plan view of the shaker head mountiny
arrangement,
. Figure 6 is a plan view of a second form of the inven-tion,
and
Figure 7 is an exploded view of a type of shaker head
l assembly shown in Figure 5 of New Zealand Patent 165873 of
Nove~ber 19, 1975 which is particularl~ suited for use wiLh
. the invention.
In describing the pre-ferred forms of the invention
reference will be made to a harvesting apparatus which has a
pair of shaker head asse~blies mounted one on each side o-f a
. - 6 - .
1~B9~S;~4
horizontal longitudinal axis -through the harvester frame.
Such a harvester is illustrated in Figure 4 and comprises a
top frame 10 supported on legs 11 the lower ends of which
are provided with land wheels 12. The harvester frame is
thus of a straddle type and the top frame mounts a driving
position 13~ The leading end of the frame is provided with
deflector plates 14 which provide an opening through which
the produce bearing plants or bushes may readily pass. At
the rear of the frame there are provided conveyors 15 which
10 remove collected produce from collecter plates (not shown)
which run longitudinally on each side of the frame between
the front and rear legs 11. S-taddle type harvesters of this
general type are well. known to those skilled in the art and
an example is illustrated in our previously referred to New
Zealand patent specification No. 179552. ;
The top frame 10 of the harvester frame includes side
members 16 and extending transversely between the si.de r
members 16 is a mounting frame 17. In the form of the
invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 a prime mover 18 is
20 molmted centrally in f~:ame 17. V Belts 19 extend from a
pulley wheel 20 on the prime mover 1.8 to a pulley wheel 21
on intermediate shaft 22.
Pulley wheel 21 is coupled to or orrnecl integrally wi-th
pulley wheels 23 the resul-ting assembly being journalled for
rotation on shaEt 22. Shaft 22 is itsel eixedly attached
-- 7
.. . .
",. . .
5Z~
to a mounting plate 24 from which it exkends vertically
upwards. Pulley wheels 23 are of the tooth type and interenage
with too-thed belts 25. The belts 25 extend from intermediate
shaft 22 to toothed pulley wheels 26 on the input o~ the
shaker assembly 27.
A pair of toothed wheels 28 are also mounted for rotation
on intermedia~e shaft 22 and these engage with chains 29
which extend about the toothed rings 30 on the housings of
shaker assemblies 27.
Also mounted for rotational movement on in-termediate
shàfts 22 are sleeves 31 which are situated between mounting
plate 24 and the pair of toothed wheels 28. An arm 32 is
attached to each sleeve 31 and extends outwardly to a shaker
assembly mounting frame 33. Each sleeve 31 is provided with
a projection 34 which extends in a direction which is substan-
tially opposite to the arm 32. A spring 35 extends between
each projection 34 to a fixture 36 on mounting plate 24.
The shaker assembly mounting frames 33 are thus biassed to
tend toward the centre of the harvester frame. To res-trict
20 the movement of arms 32 stop means are provlded. These stop
means consist of a threaded shaft 37 located in a collar 38
wh.ich is fixed to mounting plate 24. The amount of projection
of the threaded shaft 37 from collar 38 can be adjusted with
locknuts 39 provided for this purpose so that the amount of
pivotal movement of arms 32 about the axi.s of intermediate
shaft 24 can be regulated.
'
:
~ "35~L
Referring to Figure 2 there is shown a pillar 40 which
extends downwardly from moun~ing pla-te 24 so that its central
axis is substantially coaxial with the axis of intermediate
shaft 22. Sleeves 41 are mounted for rotational movement at
the lowex end of pillar 40 and ~hese sleeves 41 are attached
to an L frame 42 which extends outwardly from sleeves 41
and then upwardly to couple with the outer end of shaker
assembly mounting Erame 33. The bottom of pillar 40 is not
located in the form illustrated but could be located in a
fixture attached to a lower side member of the harvester
frame.
Referring to ~igure 5 there is shown a mounting 43 to
which an hydraulic motor M (shown in dotted detail) can be
attached. This mounting 43 consists of a plate which is
slidably located on arms 44 which are fixed to but located
above (b~ supports not shown) the mounting plate 24. Plate
43 is provided with a threaded stud 45 which engages in an
openin~ in cross member 46. A locknu-t 47 plus bolts 48
through slots 49 into arms 44 allows for adjustable fixture
20 of the plate 43 on arms 44~ With an hydraulic motor mounted
in openin~ 50 in plate 43 a V belt can extend from the
output o the hydraulic motor to pulley wheel 21 on intermediate
sha~t 22. In such an arrangement the central prime mover 18
with V belt 19 are not required thus resulting in the central
area oE top frame 10 being kept clear.
The shaker head assemblies 27 are preEerably of the
type illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings. Each assembly
consists of a cylindrical housing 51 which carries toothed
ring 30. A sleeve 52 extends downwardly from the floor of
cylinarical housi.ng 51 and journalled for rota-tion in the
sleeve is an output shaft 53. Sleeve 52 is itself -journalled
for rotational movement when attached to mounting pla~e 24.
The upper end of shaft 53 has a crank 54 with the outer
end thereof carrying a projection 54'. This projection 54'
engages in an opening 55 in a link 560 Link 56 is journalled
for pivotal movement on a spigot 57 projecting from ~he
floor of housing 51. ~n elongate opening 58 is provided in
link 56 and the eccentric 59 o input shaft 60 locates
within this opening 58.
A cover 61 is applied to the upper end of housing 51
and journalled for rotation within cover 61 is a sleeve 62
which has an eccentric bore 63. ~nput shaf-t 60 locates
within sleeve 62 and is keyed to disc 64 which has a series
of apertures 65 located on a circle concentric with the
opening therein. Disc 64 is attached to the pulley wheel 26
which is keyed to sleeve 62 and this is effected by a holt
66 engaging through an aperture 6S into a threaded opening
67 in toothed pulley 260
Referring to Figure 3 of the drawings shafts 68 are
shown an~ these are each attached to an output 53 of a
-- 10 --
~ '
~39~3S2~
shaker head assembly 27. Each shaft 68 carries a set of
tines or fingers which are generally indicated at 69. It
will be apprecia~ed that in Figure 3 the L frame 42 has been
omitted for the interests of clarity. The lower ends of
shaft 69 are journalled in suitable fixtures 70 which extend
from the lower side member of the harvester frame. -`
In operation high speed rotational mo-tion is applied to
intermediate shaft 22 and -this is transmitted through toothed
belt 25 to the inpu-t shaft 60 of the shaker head assembly
27. Rotation of eccentric 59 in link 56 causes crank 54 to
oscillate back and forth which sets up a vibrational moveme~t
in the output shaft 53. This vibrational movement is trans-
ferred to shaft 68 which causes the tines or fingers thereon
to also vibrate. As sleeve 52 is mounted for rotational
then passage of the tines or fingers through the produce
bearing plants or bushes superimposes a rotary motion on
output shaft 53. The rotary motion on the output shafts 53
of each pair of shaker head assemblies 27 is the same due to
the coupling of the housings 51 by chalns 29 extending
20 around ~oothed rings 30.
To ensure that undesirable vibration is not set up in
the harvester frame the shaker head assemblies o-f each pair
are so coupled by the toothed belts 25 that the vibrational
movement of one assembly can be maintained constant relative
to the other assembly. llhis is preferably acheived by
S~
setting up one head assembly so that its amplitude of vibration
is equal and opposlte to that of the other head assembly.
Such timing of the head assemblies is acheived by positioning
the cranks 54 at opposite ends of their throw and then
pass:inc3 bolt 66 through the aperture 65 in disc 64 which is
in a alignment with threaded opening 67. The operation and
construc-tion of the shaker head assembly is further described
in New ~ealand Patent Spec.ification 165873.
Each shaker assemb~y mounting frame 33 is :Eree to move
1 n about the axis of intermediate shaft 22 and can do so indepen-
dent o any other shaker assembly mounting frame 33, Accord-
ingly, the tined shafts 68 can follow the contours of the
produce bearing plants or bushes without the movement of one
shaFt 68 being irlfluenced by the movement of the other sha-ct
68 of the pair. The aforemen-tioned timincJ of -the shaker
assembly head 2'7 of the pair is not sic3nificantly altered by
pivotal movement about intermediate shaft 23 though it will
be appreciated that the angular positions of the toothed
timing and driviny belts 25 about pulley wheels 21 does
20 alter slightly in response to the pivotal movement of the
mounting frames 33 about the axis of intermecliate shaft 22.
If the threaded shafts 37 on the inboard side of mo~mting
arms 32 were adjusted such that at their closest approach
the tines or fingers 67 of shafts 68 on opposite sides of
the harvester frame can ove:rlap a situation arises whereby
- 12 -
: ,
.
sz~
damage can occur -to the produce bearing plants or bushes. A
close approach o E the opposing tines or fingers is, however,
desirable to ensure that there is good penetration o E the
plants or bushes.
To acheive this required amount of penetration the
shaker head assemblies on each side of the frame can be
staggered in the manner shown in Figure 6. In this drawing
circles 71 indicate the peripheral boundaries of the tines
or ingers associated with each oE shafts 68. It will be-
seen that whilst the circles overlap the central longitudinalhorizontal axis of the harvester frame the tines or fingers
themselves do not overlap. This means that damage does not
occur to the produce bearing plants or bushes due to the
overlap of tines or fingers but at the same time extremely
good penetration of the plants or bushes is acheived. In
additic)l~ the time during which the plants or bushes are
bein~ shaken by the harvester during its passage thereover
is considerably more than with the arrangement shown for
example shown in Figure 1. This overlapping o-E the circles
20 oE action o~ the tines or Eingers can be applied to any
s-tradd:le type harvester where there is a-t least one set o E
tines or fingers at either side of a horizontal longitudinal
axis through the harvester frame.
With the mounting and driving arrangement shown in
Figure 1, however, -the arrangement o:E Figure 6 can be readily
- 13 -
~, , .
" ~' ' ':
~3995Z~L ~
acheived by employing a cranked mounting frame 17. As shown
in Figure 6 the cranked frame has a middle portion 72 which
is inclined to the outer portions 73 (which attach to side
members 16) ~ith the result that the mounting plates 24 are
not transversely aligned. It will be appreciated that
Figure 6 is diagramatic and the mounting plates 24 are shown
without the arms 22 mounting frames 33 and the associated
belts 25 and chains 29.
The pai.rs of shaker head assemblies 27 can be mounted
in the manner described in this specification or could for
example be moun~ed in the manner disclosed in our earlier
New Zealand Patent Specification No. 179552. ~lternatively,
pairs of shaker head assemblies on either side of the longi-
tudinal horizontal axis are not required as a single shaker
head assembly on either side can be employed with the assem-
blies not being transversely aligned.
The present invention thus provides a mounting and
drive arxangement for the shaker head assemblies of the
harvesting apparatus where each of the shaker head assemblies
20 can move independently of one another bu-t pairs of assemblies
are coupled together so that the rotary motion of the outputs
are the same and the vibrational output o:E one asser~ly is
maintained in a constant relationship with the vibrat.i.onal
movement of the output of the other assembly. The invention
.
~ ~9 ~35 Z4
also provides a mounting and driving arrangement for the
shaker head assemblies of a harvesting apparatus wherein
good penetration of the produce bearing plants or bushes by
the tines or fingers is acheived.
~ 15 --
.
'' : '
