Defective sod rejector and deflector
Assignee1045929 Ontario Limited
InventorsGerardus J. Brouwer, Robert Milwain
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sod harvester having a conveyor assembly to receive sod from a cutting head, a roll-up mechanism to form rolls from the cut sod, and a storage conveyor to receive a set of formed sod rolls, with a clamp to clamp the set of sod rolls and transfer it to a pallet. A diverter between the conveyor assembly and the storage conveyor normally allows sod rolls to travel to the storage conveyor but can be moved to create a gap through which defective sod rolls fall and are thereby rejected. A deflector located below the gap deflects scrap sod and defective sod rolls onto the cut portion of the sod field, rater than onto the uncut portion, so that the scrap sod deflected onto the field will not interfere with the next pass of the cutting head.
Claims10
A sod harvester adapted for travel along a path of travel in a sod field, said harvester having:
- (a) a cutting head for producing cut sod from said field and thereby producing a cut area in said field, and for leaving in said field an uncut area from which sod has not yet been cut;
- (b) a conveyor assembly behind said cutting head for conveying cut sod from said cutting head;
- (c) a roll-up mechanism associated with said conveyor assembly for forming said cut sod into a plurality of sod rolls;
- (d) a sod roll storage receiver adjacent said conveyor assembly for receiving a plurality of said sod rolls;
- (e) a diverter mechanism between said conveyor assembly and said storage receiver and moveable between a first position in which said diverter mechanism allows sod to travel from said conveyor assembly to said storage receiver, and a second position in which said diverter diverts sod to be rejected away from said storage receiver;
- and
- (f) a deflector for deflecting said sod to be rejected away from said uncut area and onto said cut area in a position such that sod which has been rejected will not interfere with the next pass of said harvester.
A method of harvesting sod in a sod field with a harvester having a cutting head and wheels, said method comprising:
- (a) cutting a strip of said sod and forming said strip into a roll, leaving a cut portion in said field;
- (b) conveying said roll onto a storage receiver;
- (c) causing a defective piece of sod to fall through a gap before it reaches said storage receiver;
- and
- (d) deflecting said defective piece of sod onto the cut portion of said field in a position in which said defective piece of sod will not interfere with said cutting head or wheels on the next pass of said harvester.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.