A self-propelled cotton air harvester comprising:
- a header assembly attached to a front lifting mechanism of the harvester for movement through a field of cotton plants in equally spaced rows, the header assembly consisting of:
- a) a main metal framework;
- b) an air plenum transfer chamber having a top, sides, ends, and bottom, the air plenum transfer chamber is mounted on top of the main metal framework of the header assembly making up the upper section of the header assembly;
- c) a plurality of row units each comprising left and right side panels, wherein front edges of the left and right side panels of the row units slope backward at a 45 degree angle, the row units are attached to the bottom of the main metal framework of the header assembly making up the lower section of the header assembly, the row units are spaced approximately 9 inches apart with the left and right side panels of neighboring row units facing each other thereby creating a streamlined tunnel to allow for the least resistance as the cotton plants move through the tunnels of neighboring row units;
- d) a plurality of self-cleaning extractor units attached in a 45 degree angle along the front edges of the left and right side panels of each of the row units for fully harvesting the entire cotton plant, the self-cleaning extractor units are spaced approximately 5 inches apart with the self-cleaning extractor units of neighboring row units facing each other, wherein lower, forwardmost self-cleaning extractor units are the first to contact the cotton plants at the base of the cotton plants, openings of the self-cleaning extractor units angle inward and forward at 45 degrees into the side panels which helps restrict the plants from becoming snared when moving past the openings;
- e) blower fans which force air from inside the air plenum transfer chamber out through ductwork to a harvester basket thereby creating a vacuum inside the air plenum transfer chamber which causes the outside atmospheric pressure to force outside air in through the openings of the self-cleaning extractor units to replace the air that has been removed from the air plenum transfer chamber by the blower fans creating a continuous air flow that harvests seed cotton from the cotton plants;
- wherein the cotton plants are compressed together to approximately 9 inches as they enter the row unit tunnels and are further compressed together to approximately 5 inches by the self-cleaning extractor units whereby limbs of the cotton plants are folded together to bring the seed cotton into close contact with the openings of the self-cleaning extractor units, as air flow moves through the cotton plants, seed cotton is dislodged from the plant and is sucked into the openings of the self-cleaning extractor units, the large amount of seed cotton moving through the self-cleaning extractor units creates a self-cleaning environment using the cotton plants to push and clean unwanted plant material through the row units.