Sugarcane harvester with shiftable discharge conveyor

A sugarcane harvester for harvesting sugarcane stalks from sugarcane plants, the sugarcane harvester comprising:

• a moveable chassis having a forward end and a rearward end disposed along a longitudinal axis;
• an intake and cutting assembly mounted on the forward end of the chassis for cutting the sugarcane stalks from the sugarcane plants as the sugarcane harvester moves through the sugarcane plants;
• a chopping section mounted between the forward end and rearward end of the chassis for receiving the sugarcane stalks from the intake and cutting assembly and chopping the sugarcane stalks into billets;
• and
• a discharge assembly positioned near the rearward end of the chassis, the discharge assembly comprising:
• an elevator for receiving the billets from the chopping section and vertically lifting the billets about a vertical elevator axis that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the moveable chassis;
• a conveyor for receiving the billets lifted by the elevator, moving the billets substantially horizontally about a horizontal conveyor axis that is perpendicular to both the vertical elevator axis and the longitudinal axis of the moveable chassis, and discharging the billets to a wagon or other storage vehicle or mechanism, wherein the conveyor has opposed right and left ends;
• and
• an adjustment mechanism operable to shift the conveyor between a plurality of use positions and a transport/storage position, the adjustment mechanism comprising a height adjustment mechanism for vertically raising or lowering a height of the conveyor, wherein the height adjustment mechanism is operable to simultaneously raise or lower both the right and left ends of the conveyor or to selectively raise or lower the right and left ends independently of one another.

A sugarcane harvester for harvesting sugarcane stalks from sugarcane plants, the sugarcane harvester comprising:

• a moveable chassis having a forward end and a rearward end disposed along a longitudinal axis;
• an intake and cutting assembly mounted on the forward end of the chassis for cutting the sugarcane stalks from the sugarcane plants as the sugarcane harvester moves through the sugarcane plants;
• a chopping section mounted between the forward end and rearward end of the chassis for receiving the sugarcane stalks from the intake and cutting assembly and chopping the sugarcane stalks into billets;
• and
• a discharge assembly positioned near the rearward end of the chassis, the discharge assembly comprising:
• an elevator for receiving the billets from the chopping section and vertically lifting the billets about a vertical elevator axis that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the moveable chassis;
• a conveyor for receiving the billets lifted by the elevator, moving the billets substantially horizontally about a horizontal conveyor axis that is perpendicular to both the vertical elevator axis and the longitudinal axis of the moveable chassis, and discharging the billets to a wagon or other storage vehicle or mechanism, wherein the conveyor has opposed right and left ends;
• a height adjustment mechanism for vertically raising or lowering a height of the conveyor, wherein the height adjustment mechanism is operable to simultaneously raise or lower both the right and left ends of the conveyor or to selectively raise or lower the right and left ends independently of one another;
• and
• lateral adjustment mechanism for laterally adjusting positions of the conveyor relative to the elevator;
• wherein the height adjustment mechanism and the lateral adjustment mechanism are jointly operable to shift the conveyor between a plurality of use positions and a transport/storage position.