Method and two head apparatus for harvesting tobacco
AssigneeTaylor Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorGeorge Ronald Taylor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an improved tobacco harvester adaptable to various harvesting conditions without the necessity to manually remove and/or install defoliating blades or harvesting heads. The present invention has two harvesting heads including a stationary lower harvesting head with a pair of defoliating paddles to harvest the sand lugs. The second harvesting head is a “tipping head” with rotating steel blades or “cutter bars” which is selectively lowered into position over the defoliator to harvest the leaves from the middle and upper portion of the tobacco stalk. The elevation of the tipping head may be adjusted from the operator station while the harvester is in service.
Claims17
An apparatus to remove tobacco leaves from a tobacco stalk comprising
- a frame having an operator station and being adapted to be moved in rolling contact with the ground along a row of tobacco stalks;
- a first stationary defoliator supported by said frame to harvest the lower tobacco leaves;
- a first remotely adjustable tipping head supported by said frame above said first stationary defoliator;
- first means for selectively positioning said first tipping head to selectively harvest tobacco leaves at elevations above said first stationary defoliator.
In a tobacco harvester having an operator station, a collection container, at least two harvesting heads and means for conveying harvested leaves from the heads to the container, the improvement wherein one of said heads is fixed in elevation and the other of said heads is selectively adjustable in elevation above said first head while the tobacco harvester is in motion harvesting tobacco.
A method of harvesting leaves from a row of tobacco stalks comprising the steps of
- a) passing a tobacco harvester having at least one vertically adjustable tipping head through the row of tobacco stalks;
- and
- b) adjusting the elevation of the tipping head without stopping the movement of said harvester through the tobacco stalks.
A method of removing the leaves from a tobacco stalk comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a tobacco harvester having a stationary head and at least one vertically adjustable tipping head;
- (b) selecting either the stationary head or the tipping head as a function of the desired elevation from which to remove tobacco leaves the tobacco stalk;
- (c) passing the tobacco harvester along a row of tobacco stalks while operating the selected head to thereby remove leaves from the stalk at the desired elevation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.