AU767785B2 - Fruit conveying in grape harvesters - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to fruit harvesters for use on plants arranged in a line or row formation and has particular application to the harvesting of grapes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of devices used to pick fruit from plants such as grapes. Although the following description will use grapes as an example, it is to be understood that the invention may equally well be used to pick other fruits such as olives and other fruits that are arranged in rows.

Grape vines are arranged in a plurality of rows with the harvester then proceeding along the length of each row removing the grapes therefrom, generally by vibrating or slapping (beating) the plants whereupon the fruit, either in bunches or separate berries, falls on to a catchment system from which is it conveyed to a bin or the like.

Accordingly the design of grape harvesters is such that they generally straddle a row of grape vines with the harvester having a pair of spaced apart beaters or arms elevated above the ground and driven in a generally back and forth horizontal movement to vibrate and strike the grape vines, causing the fruit to fall onto the catchment system at the bottom of the harvester. The catchment or collector system is designed to feed the fruit to a transport system that generally includes conveyor belt some of which have buckets that then transport the collected fruit by elevating it so as to feed into bins either associated with the harvester or provided by a separate vehicle.

20 The difficulty with existing harvesters is that they need to accommodate rows of vines that may have a wide spacing, especially ones that were planted a number of years ago prior to the advent of mechanical harvesters before it was understood how important it is to have vines in accurate alignment. Thus, to be able to harvest rows of vines that may not be wellaligned the harvesters are more than four to four and a half meters in width. Not only does the size by its very nature lead to a more expensive machine to build and to operate, various S. road or traffic regulations define the maximum width of a vehicle using public roads to be no S more than three and a half metres. The effect of this is that a number of existing designs of harvesters are effectively banned from using public roads.

However, not only is the alignment of the vines a factor in the harvester width, another factor :30 is that the conveyor belts having buckets that transport the collected fruit so as to elevate it to a sufficient height for the fruit to be fed into bins are angled at a maximum of degrees. A greater angle and the fruit may fall out.

Thus, general configuration of the conveyor belts is a plurality of belts with those that elevate, the first having buckets or other containers that collect and transport the fruit.

A first belt usually runs parallel to the longitudinal direction and adjacent the catchment area that includes a number of winged plates and where the fruit moves from the plates onto the belt. The first belt carries the fruit to a drop zone where a second belt collects the fruit and transports it in a direction generally away from or perpendicular to the first belt to a third belt. The third belt runs not only parallel to the harvester but also is generally located on the outer side of the harvester and which carries the fruit upwards and elevates to a desired height by the use of buckets. A fourth belt then generally extends along the top of the harvester and transports the grapes from the third belt to a collection point. Whilst the first, second and fourth belts generally run horizontally (parallel to the ground) it is the third conveyor belt that provides the elevation of the fruit. Because the belt cannot run at an angle more than degrees, or the fruit would fall out, the third belt needs be of a sufficient length to elevate the fruit to a useful height.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the abovementioned problems or to provide the public with a useful alternative.

20 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention though this need not be the only or indeed the S. broadest form there is proposed a fruit harvester for harvesting fruit where the fruit plant is trained over horizontal supports and supported by trellis posts said harvester having a longitudinal frame configured to straddle said fruit plant and horizontal supports and including a pair of wheels located at either side of said frame for supporting said harvester for movement in the longitudinal direction, said harvester S further including: **means for picking fruit and means for catching said picked fruit; a first pair of conveyer belts extending generally parallel to the longitudinal frame on 30 either side of said fruit catching means adapted to receive said caught fruit said pair of first conveyer belts adapted to transport said fruit onto a corresponding pair of second conveyer belts that extend outwardly and upwardly with respect to said first second conveyer belts that extend outwardly and upwardly with respect to said first 3 pair of conveyer belts to a pre-determined height to pass said fruit onto at least one further corresponding pair of third conveyer belts, said second pair of conveyer belts configured such that their spaced apart distance at the top of the harvester is greater than their spaced apart distance at the bottom of the harvester; and a plurality of spaced apart blades defining separate compartments of each belt of the second pair of conveyer belts, said each belt of the second pair of conveyor belts passing through at least one enclosed shaft wherein each said blade engages an inside surface of said shaft to thereby define a closed compartment and wherein said arrangement allows the fruit to be held within the compartments so as to be elevated independent of the angle of the upward direction of said second pair of conveyor belts.

The use of secondary belts conveying fruit away from the belt enables the passage width of the harvester to be greater than hitherto known and also enables the harvester to pick fruit lower to the ground.

Preferably, at least a section of said second pair of conveyer belts extending outwardly extends substantially horizontally and perpendicular to the first pair of conveyer belts.

S Preferably at least a section of said second pair of conveyer belts extending upwardly extends substantially vertically and perpendicular to the first pair of conveyer belts.

Preferably said second pair of belts are located at the rear of said harvester.

Preferably the means for picking said fruit includes a plurality of vibrating arms adapted to shake the fruit plant to thereby collect the shaken fruit.

Preferably said harvester includes means for connecting to a power driven vehicle to Sthereby provide hydraulic and electrical power to said harvester.

Preferably said harvester further includes self-means for providing hydraulic and electrical power to said harvester said frame further including a separate set of wheels 25 spatially apart from said first set to thereby independently support said harvester.

Preferably there are pairs of first, second and third conveyor belts, each of said pair located on opposite sides of said harvester to thereby collect and convey fruit from either sides of the fruit plant.

Preferably said pair of second conveyer belts located on opposite sides of said harvester define a cavity through which said fruit plant is straddled said cavity being of a shape to accommodate fruit plants of large width.

In preference said first pair of conveyor belts drop fruit onto the corresponding second pair of conveyor belts. Preferably said third pair of conveyor belts feed the fruit to a fourth conveyor belt. Preferably said conveyor belts are made from a flexible resilient material. Preferably said blades are angled towards the direction of motion of the belt when conveying fruit. Preferably said blades are fixed to the belt by slidable engagement.

Advantageously said harvester further include airflow fans located above the areas where the first pair of conveyer belts feed fruit to the corresponding second pair of conveyer belts. Preferably the fruit is grapes and the plant is a grape vine.

It is to be understood that the fruit harvester will in general be a grape harvester harvesting grapes from vines planted in a linear trellis arrangement. Advantageously the harvester is of the type pulled by a tractor and being supplied by hydraulic and electrical power. Advantageously the harvester may be self-propelling and would •20 therefore include an additional forward set of wheels spatially apart from said first set to thereby independently support said harvester.

00 Thus the configuration of the second pair of conveyor belts allows the fruit to be moved away from the centre of the harvester and then elevated in a vertical direction.

This configuration allows the harvester to have a larger than hitherto known passage width thereby accommodating plants and vines that may not be in a linear arrangement or where the plant matter is unduly wide. This means that the conveyor belts are not limited to a maximum angle of some 45 degrees enabling them to be *configured to reduce the overall width of the harvesters.

*lo 4a Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in view of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a grape harvester according to the present invention; Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 is a detailed view of a second belt used in the harvester; is a partial cross-section of the second belt when used to elevate harvested fruit; is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the second belt pathway according to a first embodiment.

is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional configuration of the second belt pathway according to a second embodiment; is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the pathway of the second belt according to a third embodiment;

C

o oo oo ooo oo Figure 7 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a harvester when used to harvest fruit form plants or trees with extended height; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the second belt of the harvester in Figure 7; Figure 9 is a perspective view of a harvester enabling access to the second belt; Figure 10 is a partial perspective view of the second belt further including reinforcing bars; and Figure 11 is a partial perspective view of supporting bars used to minimise friction between the second belt and its housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings.

Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.

Turning to Figure 1 there is shown a harvester 10 that in use is connected to a conventional tractor, said connection not shown, the tractor pivotally connecting to the harvester and providing hydraulic and electrical power to the harvester components for harvesting grapes during both daylight and at night.

ee It is however to be understood that the harvester according to the present invention may very well be a self-propelling harvester by the suitable addition of motive power and separate driving controls. It is not intended to limit the present invention to a harvester that is pulled by a separate vehicle.

The harvester includes a main frame 12 that is supported by a pair of wheels 14 journaled on the harvester's main frame 12, while the front of the harvester is supported by the tractor (not :.25 shown).

The grapes or fruit to be picked are shaken by beaters (not shown) onto a collection system or catchment system (not shown) that includes a plurality of inclined plates located on either side of the harvester that straddle the vines to be harvested and that collect the grapes. The plates are inclined and due to the inclination of the plates the grapes fall into a pair of first conveyor belts 15 that run in the longitudinal direction of the harvester on each side of the vines being harvested. The first conveyor belts are usually driven by a hydraulic motor (not shown). Each of the first conveyor belts then transports the collected grapes and feeds or drops them onto a second conveyor belt 16 that includes a plurality of upright blades 18 separating the belts into individual compartments 20. Obviously there are at least two secondary conveyor belts, one for each of the first conveyor belts.

The second conveyor belts are supported by a frame 21 and form a closed loop. The second belts are trained around rotatable supports, generally wheels 22, 24,26, 28 and 30, at least some of the wheels adapted to drive the belts. The wheels themselves may be driven through a pulley system. As one can see in Figures 2 and 3, the configuration of the pathway of the second belts move the grapes not only in a direction perpendicular to or away from the first conveyor belts (or sideways to the harvester that is away from the centre) but also elevates them to a pre-determined height where the grapes 42 are then fed on to a third conveyor belt 32 that then transports the grapes to yet a fourth conveyor belt 34 and onto collection bins (not shown).

As illustrated in Figure 1, during any relative upward motion the secondary belts pass through enclosed shafts or passageways 36 that are so dimensioned that the blades 18 extend generally the width and depth of the shaft to thereby define a relatively closed compartment 20. Consequently even when the secondary belt is moving vertically as illustrated in Figure 3, the grapes are contained within the compartments 20 preventing them from falling out as it is being transported upwards.

The belt may typically be manufactured of a stretchable rubber or other suitable material S whilst the blades are made from a flexible and resilient material which has the property that it enables the blades to scrape on the inside surface 38 of the shaft to thereby define the closed compartments 20. This ensures that minimal fruit is caught between the tip of the blades and the inside of the shaft to thereby squash and damage the fruit.

V. The blades may be attached to the rubber conveyor belt by suitable means such as riveting, using a suitable bolt and thread arrangement or by using a strong adhesive (not shown).

e* :30 A pair of first fans 40 is provided above the drop zone 46 where the first conveyor belts pass o the grapes to the second conveyor belts. The fans assist in removing any unwanted debris by providing a strong air flow over the harvested grapes 42 that are now located within the conveyors. A further pair of fans may be provided in association with the third conveyor belts to remove any further unwanted debris (not shown).

Illustrated in Figures 1-4 is a first embodiment of the overall cross-sectional shape of the secondary belts 16 which have the wheel 30 so positioned to result in the section 44 of the secondary belts directed at an angle towards the drop zone 46. This pathway of the belt allows the physical space around which the belt moves to accommodate the fans However, in some instance it may not be necessary or appropriate to include the fans on the second conveyor belt.

In these circumstances it may equally well be appropriate for the overall pathway of the secondary belts to be as illustrated in Figure 5. This embodiment may be appropriate in the case of vines that have a significant amount of width across a trellis and where the shape of the belt pathway accommodates that width. Of course in both embodiments, the shaft is also chosen of the appropriate geometry to accommodate the size and shape of the belt. The use of flexible but resilient blades enables the shaft to be non-linear and to be made to any reasonable pathway requirement.

In yet a further embodiment the shape of the secondary belt may be that illustrated in Figure 6 wherein the belt is moved through section 50 where it moves at an angle greater than degrees, that is, travelling towards the centre of the harvester as the belt moves higher. Even under these circumstances the enclosure of the secondary belt within the shaft or passageway together with the blades effectively scraping against the inside of the shaft as the belt moves therethrough ensures that the grapes can be transported without falling out or being substantially damaged. The belt than passes downwardly at similar angle through sections 52.

Se e A further advantage of the present invention is that it allows for the collection system to be lower than previously available, for the total height that the grapes are elevated through no longer depends on the width of the harvester. With the secondary belt being able to transport grapes even vertically upwards the absolute height is independent of the width of the harvester. This is clearly achieved by enclosing the secondary belt in a shaft whereby the S blades of the belt engage the internal surface of the shaft to provide a closed compartment.

30 Typically the shaft is manufactured from mild steel enabling for the easy manufacture thereof. Further, the wheels may be adjustable to provide tensioning means for the belt. As mentioned above, only one or several of the belt wheels need to provide for rotatable motion.

To assist in running the belt, the belt may include grooves or perforations on its outer 8 surface, that is, the surface opposite the blades which assist in engaging said power wheels with the belt.

Since the secondary belt can move the fruit essentially vertically, harvesters of greater vertical extent may be used. Such harvesters may be useful in situations where the fruit to be harvested is from tall plants, such as olive trees and the like. This embodiment is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 where the height of the harvester and thus the shaft 36 is substantially taller than that shown in Figure 1 and can be used to harvest fruit from trees 51. All the other components remain essentially unchanged. However, if significantly taller, it may be necessary to provide additional power to move the secondary belts, as it will carry a greater weight of fruit upwards. This may be achieved by powering more of the wheels.

To provide access to the secondary belt within the shaft, the shaft may include hinged outer covering plates 54 and 56 that are pivotable with respect to the rest of the shaft by the use of hinges 58 and 60 respectively. When in the closed position the plates are locked so by an appropriate locking means (not shown). This access to the inside of the shaft allows for maintenance and access in the case where unwanted debris is found in the shaft or the belt is damaged. It is to be understood that the covering plates may be attached to the shaft by other means.

Since the belts are generally made from a fairly flexible material it may be necessary to provide stiff supporting bars on the underside of the belt so as to prevent them from curling at the sides. As illustrated in Figure 10, such bars 62 may extend across generally the width of the underside of the belt and are fixed in location by the use of appropriate nuts and bolts 64 and 66 respectively. Each bar may be associated with a separate cavity A further preferred feature includes installing supporting members 68 located to support the e S second belts in the feed area before the belts move upwardly. This is illustrated in Figure 11 where one can see the members 68 extend in the longitudinal direction of the belt movement. One may also note that the shaft not only extends vertically but a portion of it may extend horizontally. The reason for the members 68 is that they provide less frictional resistance as the belt is moving across them than the inside surface of the shafts. This is especially important as in that location the belt is laden with picked fruit.

:30 From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present grape harvester is adapted to harvest grapes supported on vines that elevates the harvested grapes to a height where they can be transported into collection bins whilst overcoming existing problems such as the width of the harvester or the height or plants that may be harvested. This is achieved by 9 passing the belt having blades through a passageway that is so dimensioned that the walls of the shaft of the passageway together with the blades of the belt define essentially enclosed volumes. As the belt moves though the passageway, even if it is generally vertical, the fruit is kept from falling out and therefore the belt can travel upwards at much steeper angels. The use of a soft blade ensures that the fruit is not substantially damaged. To achieve this, one can either make the whole blade from a softer material or alternatively the blade may include a tip that is made from a softer material so as to minimise damage to the fruit.

One of the advantages of this arrangement is therefore not only in enabling the grape harvester to be drivable over public road, but also enable the harvesting of veins where the trellis are closer together and where the vines themselves may not always be perfectly aligned in rows.

Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

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Claims (15)

1. A fruit harvester for harvesting fruit where the fruit plant is trained over horizontal supports and supported by trellis posts said harvester having a longitudinal frame configured to straddle said fruit plant and horizontal supports and including a pair of wheels located at either side of said frame for supporting said harvester for movement in the longitudinal direction, said harvester further including: means for picking fruit and means for catching said picked fruit; a first pair of conveyer belts extending generally parallel to the longitudinal frame on either side of said fruit catching means adapted to receive said caught fruit said pair of first conveyer belts adapted to transport said fruit onto a corresponding pair of second conveyer belts that extend outwardly and upwardly with respect to said first pair of conveyer belts to a pre-determined height to pass said fruit onto at least one further corresponding pair of third conveyer belts, said second pair of conveyer belts configured such that their spaced apart distance at the top of the harvester is greater than their spaced apart distance at the bottom of the harvester; and a plurality of spaced apart blades defining separate compartments of each belt of the second pair of conveyer belts, said each belt of the second pair of conveyor belts passing through at least one enclosed shaft wherein each said blade 20 engages an inside surface of said shaft to thereby define a closed compartment and wherein said arrangement allows the fruit to be held within the compartments :so as to be elevated independent of the angle of the upward direction of said second pair of conveyor belts.

2. A fruit harvester as in claim 1 wherein at least a section of said second pair of conveyer belts extending outwardly extends substantially horizontally and perpendicular to the corresponding first pair of conveyer belts.

3. A fruit harvester as in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least a section of said second pair of conveyer belts extending upwardly extends substantially vertically and perpendicular to the corresponding first pair of conveyer belts.

4. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein said second pair of conveyer belts are located at the rear of said harvester. 11 A fruit harvester as in claim 1 wherein means for picking said fruit includes a plurality of vibrating arms adapted to shake the fruit plant to thereby collect the shaken fruit.

6. A fruit harvester as in claim 1 wherein said harvester includes means for connecting to a power driven vehicle to thereby provide hydraulic and electrical power to said harvester.

7. A fruit harvester as in claim 1 wherein said harvester further includes self-means for providing hydraulic and electrical power to said harvester said frame further including a separate set of wheels spatially apart from said first set to thereby independently support said harvester.

8. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein there are pairs of first, second and third conveyor belts, each of said pair located on opposite sides of said harvester to thereby collect and convey fruit from either sides of the fruit plant.

9. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein said pair of second conveyer belts located on opposite sides of said harvester define a cavity through which said fruit plant is straddled said cavity being of a shape to accommodate fruit plants of large width.

10. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein said first pair of 20 conveyor belts drop fruit onto the corresponding second pair of conveyer belts.

11. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein said third pair of conveyer belts feeds the fruit to a fourth conveyor belt. 25

12. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein said conveyor belts are made from a flexible resilient material.

13. A fruit harvester as in any one of claims 2 to 12 wherein said blades are angled towards the direction of motion of the belt when conveying fruit. 12

14. A fruit harvester as in any one of claims 2 to 12 wherein said blades are fixed to the belt by slidable engagement. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein said harvester further includes airflow fans located above the areas where the first pair of conveyer belts feed fruit to the corresponding second pair of conveyer belts.

16. A fruit harvester as in any one of the above claims wherein the fruit is grapes and the plant is a grape vine.

17. A fruit harvester preferably for harvesting grapes from vines planted in a linear trellis arrangement being of the type pulled by a tractor and being supplied by hydraulic and electric power and configured to straddle said vines said harvester including: a first pair of conveyor belts extending parallel to the longitudinal frame of the fruit harvester on either side of the vines and in a position to receive said caught grapes and further adapted to transport said grapes onto corresponding second conveyor belts said second conveyor belts extending horizontally at right angles outwards from the centre of the harvester and then at right angles upwards to S transport said grapes onto corresponding third longitudinally aligned and elevated conveyor belts adapted to feed the grapes to a single fourth conveyer belt extending at right angles to the third pair of belts adapted to feed the grapes to a 20 collection bin said second conveyer belts configured such that their spaced apart distance at the top of the harvester is greater than their spaced apart distance at the bottom of the harvester thereby accommodating various widths of vines that are straddled there through and further each second conveyor belt including a plurality of spaced apart blades defining separate compartments and passing 25 through an enclosed shaft wherein each said blade engages the inside surface of .said shaft to thereby define a closed compartment and wherein said arrangement S" allows the fruit to be held within the compartments when being elevated.