Pick-up for harvesting a lying crop

A pick-up for harvesting a crop lying on the ground comprising:

• a straight cut header having a header frame, mounting means for mounting the header frame for movement across the ground to be harvested with a width of the header frame transverse to the direction of movement, a sickle knife across a front edge of the header frame for cutting a standing crop, a header table for receiving the cut crop and a transport member for moving the crop in a direction across the header frame;
• a pick-up frame mounted on a front of the header frame wherein the pick-up frame includes a receptacle therein receiving the sickle knife and a plurality of support arms extending under the header table and a collection surface extending across the width of the pick-up frame;
• at least two pick-up elements mounted on the frame in side by side arrangement with each of the pick-up elements extending across only a part of the width of the frame;
• each pick-up element having a front edge for engaging and lifting the lying crop onto the element and a rear edge for depositing the crop onto the collection surface on the pick-up frame for collection of the crop such that each pick-up element deposits the crop onto the collection surface of the pick-up frame and the collection surface is arranged such that the crop moves from the collection surface onto the header table and to the transport member;
• and means mounting each of the pick-up elements on the pick-up frame for individual pivotal movement about an axis across the width of the frame such that a height of each pick-up element from the ground can be varied relative to the header frame.

A pick-up for harvesting a crop lying on the ground comprising:

• a pick-up frame;
• mounting means for mounting the frame for movement across the ground to be harvested with a width of the frame transverse to the direction of movement;
• at least one pick-up element mounted on the frame;
• said at least one pick-up element having a front edge for engaging and lifting the lying crop onto the element and a rear edge for depositing the crop onto a collection surface on the frame for collection of the crop;
• said at least one pick-up element including two end frames, a front roller and a rear roller parallel to the front roller and generally at right angles to the end frames;
• each roller having bearing supports at opposed ends thereof for mounting the roller on the end frames for rotation about a longitudinal axis thereof;
• a plurality of endless belts wrapped around the rollers and arranged in side to side relationship along the length of the rollers including end belts and at least one intermediate belt;
• and spring biasing means mounted between the rollers in a plane joining the axes of the rollers and arranged to apply a spring force in a direction at right angles to the axes of the rollers so as to provide outward pressure on the rollers at an intermediate position thereon between the ends to tend to increase a distance between the rollers at the intermediate position so as to maintain the rollers parallel to reduce slipping of said at least one intermediate belt.