Guayule Harvester
AssigneeYulex Corporation
InventorsMichael R. Fraley, Trevor Kammann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A guayule harvester comprises a hydraulic-powered cutting and conveying device pulled and powered by a farm tractor. Guides lift the shrub and expose the trunk to a pair of horizontal circular saw blades at the same time that opposed pick-up belts engage the shrub branches and impel the shrub to an elevator conveyor belt. The elevator belt carries the now-severed shrub to the height of the entrance to a transport trailer, and then drops it onto an extendable lateral conveyor, which drops it into the carrier.
Claims12
A harvester of shrubs, adapted to be pulled and powered by a farm tractor, comprising:
- a trailer frame having a front end and back end, with wheels mounted near the back and a hitch mounted at the front end;
- a plurality of plant separators, having front ends and back ends, mounted forward of and below the front end of the trailer;
- at least one stem cutter positioned behind the back end of the separators;
- at least one pick-up belt assembly mounted above and behind the cutter, capable of engaging and moving a severed shrub toward the rear;
- a elevated conveyor belt positioned to the rear of and below the pick-up belt assembly, adapted to move a harvested bush to an elevated position to be deposited into a crop carrier.
A harvester of shrubs, adapted to be pulled and powered by a farm tractor, comprising:
- a trailer frame having a front end and back end, with wheels mounted near the back and a hitch mounted at the front end;
- a plurality of plant separators, having front ends and back ends, mounted forward of and below the front end of the trailer;
- at least one pair of horizontal, counter-rotating circular saw blades, each blade powered by a hydraulic motor, positioned behind the back end of the separators;
- at least one pick-up belt assembly mounted above and behind the saw blades, capable of engaging and moving a severed shrub toward the rear;
- a conveyor belt positioned to the rear of and below the pick-up belt assembly, adapted to move a harvested bush to an elevated position to be deposited into a high-walled crop carrier.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.