Harvesting apparatus for leafy vegetables
AssigneeFresh Choice Produce, Inc.
InventorsRich Fischer, Michael T. Jones
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mobile harvester of leafy produce has two harvesting sections with a cutter located forwardly for severing the produce from the ground. A continuous belt having a large number of openings moves in a closed path presenting an upwardly facing surface. A low pressure plenum underneath the belt provides a vacuum attraction to the belt upwardly facing for picking up severed produce. An enclosure ove the belt protects against wind removal of produce leaves from the belt. The two harvesting sections are individually adjustable for proper height above the ground.
Claims16
Apparatus for harvesting leafy produce, comprising:
- a [wheeled] frame for ground based movement having a front end, a rear end and sides, said frame carrying [first and second harvesting sections, each section including] at least one harvesting section that includes ,
- cutter means [mounted on] located adjacent the front end of the frame for severing produce from the ground;
- a belt arranged in a closed loop and presenting an upwardly directed surface extending from a point just rearward of the cutter means to a point farthest to the rear, said belt on reaching the point farthest to the rear reverses its direction on the loop presenting its outer surface downwardly from the point farthest to the rear until the point just rearward of the cutter means, said belt having a large number of openings uniformly distributed over the belt surface;
- side walls located adjacent the belt loop forming a plenum with the belt upwardly directed surface;
- fan means mounted under the belt upwardly directed surface for removing air from the plenum and forming a vacuum region adjacent the belt upwardly directed surface;
- and
- drive means interconnected to the fan means and belt.
An apparatus for harvesting leafy produce, comprising:
- a frame for ground base movement;
- cutter means mounted on the frame for severing leafy produce growing out of the ground;
- a perforated endless transport member carried on the frame and presenting an outwardly directly surface that extends from a point closely adjacent said cutter means, said outwardly directed surface extending upwardly away from the cutter means to a rearwardmost point relative to said cutter means and extending downwardly toward said cutter means subsequent to reaching said rearwardmost point, said perforated endless transport member enclosing an interior space;
- means for defining in conjunction with said perforated endless transport member an enclosure within said interior space;
- vacuum producing means positioned within the interior space for producing a vacuum within the enclosure adjacent the perforated endless transport member;
- and
- means for operating said vacuum producing means and for driving said perforated endless transport member so that produce severed by the cutter means is drawn towards and held against the outer surface of the perforated endless transport member by the vacuum produced by the vacuum producing means and is transported upwardly away from the cutter means toward the rearwardmost point as a result of the driving movement of the
- perforated endless transport member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.