Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
~3~
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for transferring
bulk foliage from one container to another and, more particularly, for trans-
ferring mechanically harvested green tobacco leaves from a collection trailer,
which is carried on the mechanical harvester, into a bulk curing container that
can be inserted into a curing barn.
The continuing emphasis of mechanical harvesting of the tobacco leaf
which began in ~he 1960's with the first commercially successful mechanical
tobacco harvester has produced the need to devise other green leaf handling
concepts. Initially, tobacco was harvested by hand and each leaf was retained
in proper alignment from the harvesting operation into the curing barn. This
was done to insure that the leaf would cure yroperly.
~ lthough the mechanical harvester has improved the priming of the
tobacco plants and reduced the labor requircd in the t`ield, a bottleneck occurs
around the curing barn because the transfer of the leaves into the curing racks
is generally still clone by hand, thereby, limiting the advantages of using the
mechanical harvester.
In order to take full advantage of the mechanical harvester, attempts
have been made to eliminate the manual transfer of leaves from the collection
trailer to the curing rack. The basic approach to this problem has been to
utili~e the collection container as the curing container. United States Patent
Nos. 3,834,137 and 3,9~8,553 illustrate this concept. It has been found that
two problems are produced by utilizing the collection container as the curing
container. The first problem is simply weight. The capacity of the tobacco
harvester is now between ~,000 and 8,000 pounds per hour and a single trailer
load of tobacco is about 3,000 pounds. If the collection container is used as
the curing container, it must be sturdily constructed because of the increased
handling. Therefore, an additional amount of weight is added to the tobacco
~3~
harvester in the field because of -the sturdy trailer construction. It can
easily be seen that, by adcling the weight of an attendant to the weight of the
tobacco leaves and the trailer, the field load on the rear of the mechanical
harvester can easily be between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds. Such a large weight
makes it difficult to harvest the fields when they are wet. Thus, any reduc-
tion in the weight of the harvester is important.
The second problem, which is probably the most significant~ is the
density of ~he leaves in the collection trailer. In many instances, tobacco
fields are located from one half to several miles from the curing barn area
and the routes which the trailer must travel are invariably rough. The har-
vested leaves are constantly being bounced up and down, producing a packing
effect so that the density of the bottom leaves is much greater than the top
leaves. If a collection trailer is used as the curing container and this un-
even density situation is allowed to persist, there wiLl be an uneven curing
of the leaves during the curing process because the hot air streams will se~k
the path of least resistance and will pass through the less dense leaves.
Even with the attendant on the harvester, this problem cannot be
overcome because the problem is not produced until the collection trailer is
pulled between the r~ield and the curing area. To overcome this problem the
leaves are removed manually from the trailer and either the rack system il}us-
trated in United States Patent No. 3,110,326 or a large bulk curing containing
which is known in the art is used.
The applicant's Canadian Patent Application 331,861, filed July 16,
1979 discloses a method and an apparatus for transferring a pile of uncured
tobacco from a collecting container into a curing container for insertion into
a curing barn.
According to the method disclosed in that application, the tobacco
~3~
leaves are removed from a collecting container and deposited onto a conveyor.
The leaves are then distributed by the conveyor into a curing container, with
the leaves oriented generally in a horizontal plane. The leaves are spiked
in the curing container to retain them in the horizontal position and the cur-
ing container is rotated 90 so that the tobacco leaves are generally oriented
in a vertical direction. The curing container is then inserted into the curing
barn.
The apparatus disclosed in application 331,861 includes an unloading
means which will contain and suspend a pile of tobacco in a collecting trailer
to permit removal of the collecting trailer, and a conveyor system positioned
adjacent the unloading means for receiving the tobacco and uniformly dispensing
the tobacco leaves into the curing container.
The ~mloading means is in the form of a support frame which carl be
positioned adjacent the pile of foliage. The support frame carries at least
one rack having a plurality of vertically-spaced tracks. A piercing assembly
is movably mounted in each of the tracks and manipulating means are provided
for inserting the piercing assemblies into the pile of foliage and extracting
the piercing assemblies therefrom.
The conveyor system includes a support frame for mounting the system.
A distributing conveyor is positioned within the frame and has a reciprocating
reach above the curing container which reciprocates across the container open-
ing to dispense the foliage uniformly into the container. A retractable con-
veyor is carried in said frame which will, upon extension from the frame, be
adjacent the distributing conveyor for transporting the foliage to the distri-
buting conveyor. Separate drive means are provided for the distributing con-
veyor and the retractable conveyor.
The present invention relates to an alternative form of apparatus for
~3~ 3~
transferring the tobacco leaves from a field trailer to a curing container.
According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus
for transferring a pile of harvested uncured tobacco leaves from a field trail-
er into a curing container comprising:
(a) a frame having a passageway therethrough in which a field tra~
er can be drawn;
~ b) unloading means carried on said frame and positioned between a
working position which blocks said passageway and a retracted position clear
of said passageway, said unloading means engaging and suspending the uncured
tobacco leaves on said trailer to permit the removal of said trailer from be-
neath the tobacco leaves; and
~ c) conveyor means carried on said frame and moveable between a
working position and retracted position, said conveying means extending beneath
the suspended tobacco leaves when it is in its working position to permit the
unloading means to deposi~ the leaves thereon for transporting to the curing
container,
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodi-
ment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a bulk foliage handling
system with a trailer about to be unloaded;
Figure 2 is a view like Figure 1 l~ith the trailer unloaded and the
leaves being conveyed to a curing container;
Figure 3 is a perspective of one embodiment of the piercing assembly;
Figure 4 is a perspective of the piercing assembly of Figure 3 il-
lustrating its associated cam track and manipulating mechanism;
Figure 5 is a cross section of the piercing section of Figures 3 and
4 showing one piercing assembly in the extended position and the remaining
. .
~31~.3~
assemblies in a retracted position;
Referring to the drawings, most particularly to Figures 1 and 21
there is illustrated a bulk foliage handling system. A mobile frame 370 has
shiftable wheels 372 on its rear legs and several wheels 373 on its forward
end with a towing mechanism 371 for attachment to a vehicle. The frame 370
carries an unloading mechanism 374 and a conveyor system 376. The wheels 372
are generally shiftable so that the frame can be pulled in a direction coin-
ciding with its narrow dimension for road travel and in another direction,
generally perpendicular to the road movement direction for movement of short
distances, for example, between adjacent curing barns. The frame has a pas-
sageway 378, as can be seen in Figure 1, which will permit a fielcl trailer 375
carrying a pile of ~mcured tobacco leaves 377 to be drawn therethrough by a
towing vehicle 379 to a trailer unloading position.
The unloading mechanism is a piercing rack 62 moveable between a
retracted position, as seen in }7igure 1, and a working position, as seen in
Figure 2. Parallel rails 381 and 383 are secured to the frame 370 below the
upper frame members and contact wheels 385 attached to each corner of the
piercing rack.
The conveyor system 376 has three reaches; namely, a lower horizontal
reach 384 (see Figure 2), an upwardly extending inclined diagonal reach 386
and a horizontal upper reach 388. The upper reach can be a shiftable conveyor
section as is known in the art. The conveyor system is attached to a rectan-
gular rigid frame 390 which, in turn, is pivotedly attached to an upper diago-
nal cross member 392 of frame 370. This attachment permits the conveyor to
be shifted or pivoted between its retracted position as in Figure 1 and its
working position as in Figure 2
When the passageway 378 is clear, the unloading mechanism 374 is
shifted to the retracted position and the conveyor 376 is pivoted to its re-
tracted position. As can be easily understood, the system does not require
that the unloading mechanism be shifted to provide a patllway for the ~railer
since the trailer 380 can be backed into position; however, it is preferable
to pull the trailer through the frame because it is much easier to position
the trailer properly. Once the trailer is in its proper position as in ~igure
1, and its rear upright bulkhead (not shown) is removed, the piercing rack 62
is shifted into the passageway while the conveyor is maintained in its retract-
ed position. Piercing assemblies of rack 62 are then inserted into the pile of
foliage 377 in such a manner as to suspend the pile of foliage above the trail-
er surface. The illustrated embodiment has a lifting mechanism 394 which will
lift ~lle trailer so that, as the pi0rcing assemblies are inserted in the foliage
one at a time in a top-to-bottom manner, the trailer may be loweredJ thus lift-
ing the foliage. It has also been found that the piercing assemblies can be
inserted simultaneously and the trailer lowered, thus, suspending the foliage
from the trailer surface. The piercing assemblies can be inserted by a motor
driven crank mechanism 396 as would be known in the art or by a manual crank
as will be described in the following.
When the foliage is impaled on the piercing assemblies and the trail-
er is removed, the conveyor system 374 rotates into its working position with
the lower horizontal reach 384 extending under the suspended foliage. As the
piercing assemblies are withdrawn in a bottom-to-top sequence, the foliage falls
into the lower reach and is transported upwardly by inclined reach 386 to the
upper reach 388 which will distribute the foliage evenly in a curing container.
The container is then rotated 90 and placed in a curing barn, as described in
aforementioned application 331,861.
Referring to Figures 3, 4 and 5, there is illustrated a piercing rack
-- 6 --
.
62 that may be employed in the described oliage handling system. The rack 62
is generally in the form of a parallelopiped having a plurality of vertically
spaced or tiered piercing or impaling assemblies 68 movably mounted in cam
tracks. Each piercing assembly 68 has two parallel side members 70 and 72
(see Figure 4) secured together at their ends by end pieces 74 and 76. The
end pieces have a pair of axial or shafts 75 and 77 (see Figure 5) which carry
cam wheels 78 and 80 that are suitably journaled thereon. The cam wheels are
inserted in a cam track 82 which in this preferrred embodiment is formed by a
pair of spaced structural angles or a channel 84. The angles 84 are secured
transversely between corner upright members 86 and 88. Tlle horizontal sides
90 and 92 of the angles have their inside end bent upwardly to form a slight
incline near the inside corner post 88.
The parallel side members 70 and 72 of the piercing assembly carry
a plurality of spaced parallel piercing members 94 (see Pigure ~) which are
secured perpendicular to the side members. The number of piercing members is
a matter of design, but in this embodiment, ten piercing members are used.
The piercing members 94 can be made from a suitable tubular member having one
end flattened and formed into a generally diamond-shaped edge 96.
As can be seen in Figure 5, five tiers of piercing assemblies 68 are
included in each rack with the tiers being une~ually spaced vertically with
the spacing being increased between the upper tiers. The purpose of this un-
equal spacing will be explained hereinafter.
Each piercing assembly is provided with a cranking mechanism that
will now be described. Bearings 130 are attached to each upright 86 at an un-
e~ual vertical level slightly below each corresponding tiered cam track 84
~see Figure 5). A shaft 132 extends longitudinally between each set of bear-
ings and sprockets 134 are carried on each end of the shafts 132 adjacent the
,
~3~
end pieces 7~ and 76 of the piercing assemblies. Other sprockets 136 are suit-
ably secured in bearings that are attached to the uprights 88. A chain 138
circumscribes sprockets 134 and 136.
Each piercing assembly 68 is attached to its respective chain 138 by
a lug 140 to the outer side member 70 so that the assemblies move with the
chain 138. Each shaft 132 has an end fitting that permits a crank 142 to be
attached thereto. As can be seen in Figure 5, depending upon the direction
the crank 142 is turned, the chain movement will cause the piercing assemblies
68 and, thus, the piercing members 9~ to move inwardly to pierce ~he foliage
or outwardly to be extracted therefrom. While in the piercing rack of Figures
1 and 2 the tracks for the piercing assemblies are straight and a trailer lift-
ing mechanism is provided, in this embodiment of piercing rack, the ends of
the cam tracks 8~ are inclined upwardly whereby the free ends of the piercing
members 9~ ~see Figure 5) are raised as they are inserted into the foliage,
thus, lifting the impaled portion of the load.
As previously mentioned, the tiers are unequally spaced with the low-
er tiers being closer together than the upper tiers. Since the tobacco becomes
packed down as it is transported from the field, the load will be denser at
the bottom of the pile and in order to equalize the load on the various tiers,
the unequal spacing is required with the tiers being closer near the bottom.
The sequence of manipulating the piercing assemblies is from top to
bottom when inserting the piercing members into the load and from bottom to
top when withdrawing or retracting from the load. During piercing of the load,
the upper piercing assembly is inserted into the upper portion of the load and,
upon being tilted upwardly by the inclined track, will lift the foliage above
it, thus, taking some of the weight off the load so that the remaining tiers
can lift the portion above them more easily.
- 8 -
~3~
~ hen all of the piercing members have been inserted to contain the
pile of tobacco and the load lifted from the trailer 375, the trailer is re-
moved rom beneath the load, suspending the foliage on the piercing assemblies.
To unload the foliage, the lower hori~ontal reach 384 of the conveyor system
376 is extended beneath the load and the foliage :is deposited on the lower
reach 384 and transported to the diagonal reach 386 and the upper reach 388.
The piercing assemblies are removed slowly from the bottom to the
top so that the foliage will be deposited on the lower reach 384 at a general-
ly uniform rate.
The upper hori~ontal reach 388 of the conveyor system 376 recipro-
cates to allow the foliage to be distributed within a curing container (no~
shown).
When all of the piercing assemblies have b0en withdrawn, the rack 62
is retracted and the unloader is ready for another trailer. It is preferable,
altho~gh not illustrated in the drawings, that the apparatus have a leveling
device or jack on each leg so that the height of the piercing section can be
adjusted properly with respect to the trailer beds.
--- _ g _
