Apparatus for and method of harvesting cotton

A method of harvesting cotton including:

• gathering an upper portion of one or more cotton plants into cotton harvesting apparatus;
• cutting the upper portion or portions from the cotton plant or plants from the remainder of the cotton plant or plants to provide cut cotton plant material;
• substantially removing cotton fibre from the cut cotton plant material to provide cotton plant discard;
• discharging the cotton fibre from the cotton harvesting apparatus;
• discharging the cotton plant discard from the cotton harvesting apparatus;
• wherein the cotton harvesting apparatus includes:
• a mounting assembly having a plurality of mounting locations arranged in spaced relationship to one another;
• one or more gathering rollers mounted to said mounting assembly for rotation about a guide roll axis or axes at one or more of said mounting locations, for gathering one or more of the cotton plants into a processing disposition between said gathering roller mounting locations;
• a cutter assembly mounted to and extending laterally between respective ones of said mounting locations for cutting stems from the one or more cotton plants to produce cut cotton plant material, the relative disposition of said cutter assembly being behind said gathering roller or rollers at a spacing selected to permit cut cotton plant material gathered into the processing disposition to be cut from the remainder of the cotton plants;
• a pair of toothed rollers mounted to and extending between respective ones of said mounting locations, each said toothed roller being disposed in spaced parallel relationship to the other for contra rotation about substantially parallel toothed roller axes to provide a pinch therebetween, the spacing between the toothed rollers being selectable to permit passage of the cut cotton plant material through said pinch, said toothed rollers having a plurality of barbs arranged for removing at least some of the cotton fibre from the cotton boIls of the cut cotton plant material;
• one or more beater rollers mounted to and extending between respective ones of said mounting locations for co-rotation with, and in operative disposition with respect to, each toothed roller, the relative locations of the beater roller or rollers being selectable to permit further passage of the cut cotton plant material through said pinch between said toothed rollers;
• one or more cotton fibre removal rollers mounted to and extending between respective ones of said mounting locations and operatively associated with said toothed rollers for removing the cotton fibre from the toothed rollers;
• a drive transmission operatively interconnecting the rotatable and/or moving parts for rotation or movement in their respective relative directions;
• and
• a drive operatively associated with the drive transmission for driving the drive transmission and thereby the rotatable Parts about their respective axes or for moving the moveable parts.