Agricultural harvester

An agricultural harvester having a support frame with attached wheels, and having means to allow for movement of said harvester along a ground surface, and further having means to harvest bulbs while moving along the ground,

• said means to harvest bulbs while moving along the ground including foliage lifting means affixed to said harvester toward a front end of said harvester with said foliage lifting means providing means for lifting foliage attached to bulbs within the ground so as to position the foliage generally vertically oriented above the bulbs and ground for presentation to
• an elongated rotatable first belt and an elongated rotatable second belt of an upper set of rotatably supported belts affixed to said harvester in juxtaposed relationship to one another so as to define a first receiving crack between said belts, said first receiving crack positioned to receive vertically oriented foliage from said foliage lifting means, said upper set of rotatably supported belts extending from adjacent said foliage lifting means toward a rear end of said harvester, said upper set of rotatably supported belts further being positioned at a divergent angle relative to the ground surface so as to position a rear end of said upper set of rotatably supported belts elevated relative to a front end of said upper set of rotatably supported belts positioned adjacent said foliage lifting means,
• said first receiving crack being a narrow crack so as to provide means for tightly gripping foliage attached to a bulb which has been received from said foliage lifting means, whereby with rotation of said upper set of rotatably supported belts, gripped foliage with an attached bulb is transported toward said rear end of said harvester with the transporting causing upward drawing of the bulb out of the ground due to said divergent angle of said upper set of rotatably supported belts to the ground,
• an elongated rotatable first belt and an elongated rotatable second belt of a lower set of rotatably supported belts affixed to said harvester in juxtaposed relationship to one another so as to define a second receiving crack positioned to receive vertically oriented foliage from said foliage lifting means, said lower set of rotatably supported belts extending from adjacent said foliage lifting means toward said rear end of said harvester,
• said lower set of rotatably supported belts positioned below said upper set of rotatably supported belts with said first and second receiving cracks positioned generally one above the other so as to allow said first and second receiving cracks to simultaneously possess the foliage of a bulb with the bulb positioned below a bottom plane of said lower set of rotatably supported belts,
• said upper set of rotatably supported belts further being placed at a divergent angle relative to said lower set of rotatably supported belts so as to place said upper set of rotatably supported belts closer to said lower set of rotatably supported belts near said foliage lifting means and further apart from said lower set of rotatably supported belts toward said rear end of said harvester,
• said bottom plane of said lower set of rotatably supported belts providing an abutment surface for a bulb to abut against when drawn upward from the ground by said divergent angle of said upper set of rotatably supported belts so as to position the bulb prior to the bulb with attached foliage being presented to
• a cutting means affixed to said harvester for cutting foliage from a bulb, said cutting means affixed toward said rear end of said harvester and positioned in close proximity to said lower set of rotatably supported belts, said cutting means further positioned to span across said second receiving crack so as to be able to cut the foliage from a bulb when the foliage is gripped in said first receiving crack and the bulb is abutted against said bottom plane of said lower set of rotatably supported belts.

An agricultural harvester having a support frame with attached wheels, and having means to allow for movement of said harvester along a ground surface, and further having means to harvest bulbs while moving along the ground,

• said means to harvest bulbs while moving along the ground including foliage lifting means affixed to said harvester toward a front end of said harvester, said foliage lifting means including two elongated rotatable loop members affixed in juxtaposed relationship to one another and positioned at a divergent angle relative to the ground wherein a front end of said two elongated rotatable loop members is positioned closer to the ground than a rear end of said two elongated rotatable loop members, said two elongated rotatable loop members of said foliage lifting means further including extending rubbery members, said foliage lifting means providing means for lifting foliage attached to bulbs within the ground so as to position the foliage generally vertically oriented above the bulbs and ground for presentation to
• an elongated rotatable first belt and an elongated rotatable second belt of an upper set of rotatably supported belts affixed to said harvester in juxtaposed relationship to one another so as to define a first receiving crack between said belts, said first receiving crack positioned to receive vertically oriented foliage from said foliage lifting means, said upper set of rotatably supported belts extending from adjacent said foliage lifting means toward a rear end of said harvester, said upper set of rotatably supported belts further being positioned at a divergent angle relative to the ground surface so as to position a rear end of said upper set of rotatably supported belts elevated relative to a front end of said upper set of rotatably supported belts positioned adjacent said foliage lifting means,
• said first receiving crack being a narrow crack so as to provide means for tightly gripping foliage attached to a bulb which has been received from said foliage lifting means, whereby with rotation of said upper set of rotatably supported belts, gripped foliage with an attached bulb is transported toward said rear end of said harvester with the transporting causing upward drawing of the bulb out of the ground due to said divergent angle of said upper set of rotatably supported belts to the ground,
• an elongated rotatable first belt and an elongated rotatable second belt of a lower set of rotatably supported belts affixed to said harvester in juxtaposed relationship to one another so as to define a second receiving crack positioned to receive vertically oriented foliage from said foliage lifting means, said lower set of rotatably supported belts extending from adjacent said foliage lifting means toward said rear end of said harvester,
• said lower set of rotatably supported belts positioned below said upper set of rotatably supported belts with said first and second receiving cracks positioned generally one above the other so as to allow said first and second receiving cracks to simultaneously possess the foliage of a bulb with the bulb positioned below a bottom plane of said lower set of rotatably supported belts,
• said upper set of rotatably supported belts further being placed at a divergent angle relative to said lower set of rotatably supported belts so as to place said upper set of rotatably supported belts closer to said lower set of rotatably supported belts near said foliage lifting means and further apart from said lower set of rotatably supported belts toward said rear end of said harvester,
• said bottom plane of said lower set of rotatably supported belts providing an abutment surface for a bulb to abut against when drawn upward from the ground by said divergent angle of said upper set of rotatably supported belts so as to position the bulb prior to the bulb with attached foliage being presented to
• a cutting means affixed to said harvester for cutting foliage from a bulb, said cutting means affixed toward said rear end of said harvester and positioned in close proximity to said lower set of rotatably supported belts, said cutting means comprising at least a first rotatable cutting wheel, a second rotatable cutting wheel, and a third rotatable cutting wheel, said first and second cutting wheels stacked one above the other on a first support shaft and positioned in spaced apart relationship to one another on said first support shaft, said third cutting wheel supported by a second support shaft, said first and said second support shafts positioned in spaced apart relationship to one another, said third cutting wheel positioned in-part extending into a narrow space between said first and second cutting wheels, said first, second and third cutting wheels further positioned to span at least in-part across said second receiving crack so as to be able to cut the foliage from a bulb when the foliage is gripped in said first receiving crack and the bulb is abutted against said bottom plane of said lower set of rotatably supported belts.