US 3,943,862 AGranted

Sugar cane planting apparatus

OwnerPeter Populin, Louis Populin +1inventors

InventorsPeter Populin, Louis Populin, Guiseppe Scalia

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A sugar cane planting apparatus has a conveyor which is preferably continuous and has spaced horizontal trough elements for taking up sugar cane billets from a supply bin and arranged to discharge the billets one at a time to a planting head with the billets arranged parallel to the direction of motion of the apparatus whereby the billets are planted substantially in end-to-end relation. For controlling the billet supply, the conveyor extends upwardly and is cranked so that any second billet lying on top of a billet in the trough rolls back into the bin and any upstanding billet is deflected by a fixed deflecting plate in the upper crank part. A casing guides the billets on the downward run, each billet falling from the trough (in which it is moved on the upward run) when the trough turns over the top of the conveyor, the billet falling onto the back of the preceding trough.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A sugar cane planting apparatus comprising

a. means for mounting the apparatus for movement across a field along a planting path;
b. a bin for receiving a supply of sugar cane billets;
c. a billet discharge station;
d. a conveyor having an upward run extending upwardly from a billet take-up point within the bin for delivering billets to said billet discharge station;
e. billet supply means included in the conveyor for engaging and conveying said billets and comprising billet supports dimensioned and shaped to support a single billet for delivery to said discharge point;
f. means for transmitting driving force to said billet supply means for supplying said billets sequentially and intermittently to said discharge station;
g. guide means mounted for guiding downward motion of billets from said discharge station, the guide means for delivering the billets for planting with the longitudinal direction of each billet extending substantially parallel to said planting path;
h. said upward run of the conveyor having an upper portion overhanging said bin whereby any second billet lying on top of a first billet supported on a billet support falls back into said bin;
and
i. wall means located at said upper portion of said upward run for deflecting back into said bin any billet upstanding from a billet support.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.