US 5,400,577 AGranted

Tobacco harvester

AssigneeGeorge A. Duncan

InventorsGeorge A. Duncan, Billy L. Tapp

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Abstract

A tobacco harvester includes a plurality of linearly spaced tobacco plant engaging flights attached to an endless chain at equal linear distances with the sensing of a tobacco plant at a first position resulting in a cycle of operation occurring to advance the plant from its first position to a second position just beyond the front end of a spear. The plant is centered by an upper driven belt and a lower non-driven belt between which the plant is advanced by one of the flights. A paddle wheel is rotated 180.degree. during each advancement of a tobacco plant from its first position to its second position and aids in advancing the plant between the two centering belts. When another plant is sensed at the first position, the first tobacco plant is advanced from its second position to a third position on a stick at the rear of the spear. As the plant is advanced along the spear, each of at least three pairs of pivotally mounted support arms is moved out of the way of the plant through another of the tobacco plant engaging flights acting on a separate switch for each pair. Each tobacco plant is advanced a selected distance along the stick during each cycle of operation until a selected number of the plants is on the stick. The stick with the plants is removed from its tobacco plant receiving position at the end of the stick when another stick is positioned for loading, either manually or automatically.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An apparatus for loading a plurality of tobacco plants on a stick including:

first advancing means for advancing each tobacco plant from a first position to a second position during a first cycle of operation and from its second position to a third position during a second cycle of operation;
activating means for activating said first advancing means each time that a tobacco plant is at its first position to start a cycle of operation;
spear means for spearing a stalk of each tobacco plant during advancement of each tobacco plant from its first position to its second position by said first advancing means;
centering means for centering the stalk of each tobacco plant prior to advancement of each tobacco plant onto said spear means;
holding means for holding a stick with its axis in the same vertical plane as the longitudinal axis of said spear means and the stick having one of its ends adjacent one end of said spear means so that the stick can receive each tobacco plant from said spear means during advancement of each tobacco plant from its second position on said spear means to its third position on the stick, said holding means preventing movement of the stick relative to said spear means;
a plurality of longitudinally spaced releasably locking means for being releasably locked to said spear means to support said spear means as each tobacco plant is advanced by said first advancing means along said spear means from its second position on said spear means to its third position on the stick;
and selectively moving means for selectively moving each of said releasably locking means away from supporting said spear means and returning each of said releasably locking means to support said spear means during advancement of each tobacco plant by said first advancing means along said spear means from its second position to its third position on the stick.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.