Cutter head for a machine for picking sprouts
OwnerAntonius Johannes Cornelus Alkemadeinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cutter head for a machine for picking sprouts, comprising a rotatably mounted disc, which is driven during operation, said disc being provided with an opening for shifting therein a stalk to be picked and with knives positioned around the opening and pivotally connected to the disc, and closing elements, which, when no stalk is present in the cutter head, close the opening for the greater part and are moved outwardly by a shifted-in stalk, by which displacement the knives positioned in front of the closing elements are swung toward the stalk, the connection between the closing elements and the knives comprising arm members and coiled tension springs adapted to actuate a chain-sprocket drive system that provides for pivotal movement of the knives.
Claims12
A cutter head for a machine for picking sprouts from a stalk comprising a base having an opening into which said stalk is intended to be inserted in a generally axially downstream direction, means for rotating said base about said axis, a plurality of cutting elements mounted on said base and spaced apart from each other around said opening, sensing means carried by and rotatable with said base located downstream from said cutting elements for sensing the presence of a stalk in the opening, said sensing means being movable in response to the presence of a stalk, and actuating means connected to said sensing means for moving said cutting elements toward said axis to cut sprouts from a stalk detected by said sensing means and for moving said knives away from said axis when said stalk is removed from said sensing means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.