Apparatus and method for conveying and/or treating crop

Apparatus for picking up and conveying crop comprising:

• a mobile frame for movement across the ground;
• a conveying rotor mounted for rotation about an axis transverse to the direction of forward movement of the apparatus and substantially parallel to the ground for picking up and conveying crop;
• a hood extending around at least part of the front half of the rotor and defining between the hood and part of the outer periphery of the rotor a crop flow passage along which crop is conveyed by the rotor;
• drive means for driving the conveying rotor in rotation in a sense such that the rotor picks up crop and conveys the crop upwardly and rearwardly over the rotor, the drive means being arranged to drive the rotor in rotation at a speed such that the rotor accelerates the crop during movement of the crop through the restriction defined between the hood and the periphery of the rotor;
• such that, at least during acceleration, the periphery of the rotor moves faster than the crop;
• and such that, after the conveying, the crop is released from the rotor at least predominantly by centrifugal effect;
• and
• mounting means for mounting said hood on said frame so as to be moveable relative to the frame during operation of the apparatus, the hood being moveable in response to, and by the effect of, the crop to effect automatic adjustment of the clearance at the entrance to the crop flow passage, said mounting means constraining said hood to move along a substantially predetermined path, said hood being mounted in such a manner that an increase in crop load produces circumferential movement of the hood in the direction of crop flow along a curved path spaced from and lying around the outer periphery of the rotor, and increases both the vertical clearance between the front of the hood and the ground and the horizontal clearance between the front of the hood and the rotor at the entrance to the crop flow passage.