GB1563155A - Method of and machine for harvesting - Google Patents

Description

(54) METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR HARVESTING (71) We BAYERISCHE PFLUG FABRIK GMBH a German Company of D-8910 Landsberg/Lech, Germany do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to harvesting and collecting beet tops and beet.

A method of harvesting and collecting beet tops and beet is known from West German patent specification 2 153 555 in which the beet tops are separated from the beet in a plurality of rows, the topped beet is lifted in a plurality of rows, the beet tops and the lifted beet are collected in a hopper, the separation.

of the beet tops and the lifting of the beet being effected by means of specific devices for these tasks fitted to two tractors moving on separate tracks.

It is also known from West German published specification 1 053 228 for beet to be harvested using an alternating method in which the same machine is employed first to top the beet and collect the beet tops from a plurality of rows in one container, to lift the topped beet and deposit it in a longitudinal swathe, and then to collect the deposited beet in the previously emptied container.

Both of these methods have the disadvantage that either two tractors have to be used, each with its own attachments, or one has to wait for the collected beet tops to Ibe emptied from the hopper before the topped and deposited beet can be collected in the emptied container.

Devices known and used in the alternating method are so designed that the beet harvester is disposed on the back of the tractor, making it very difficult to drive exactly along the rows of beet. Thus it is necessary to fit a control arrangement operated by an additional operator to control the harvester. Versions are also known which effect this control by sensing using hydraulic means.

An improvement was made to this known method in West German published specification 2 323 221, in that the beet tops are separated from the beet in one direction of travel and the topped beet is lifted in the opposite direction of travel of a self-propelled device, the operator being able to drive facing forward in either direction of travel. The beet tops and beet are temporarily stored in a hopper on the chassis of the self-propelled device between the lifting arrangement and the topping arrangement. The beet tops are collected in this hopper when moving in one direction and discharged at the end of the field, whik the beet is collected in the hopper while moving in the other direction and are discharged at the other end of the field.

This arrangement admittedly has the advantage that only one operator is required for field work. However, there are considerable disadvantages. Additional pressure is exerted on the ground by the hopper and its load, particularly when collecting the beet, as a result of which the tails of beet still in the ground break. Also, the size of the hopper cannot be matched to every size of field; if too small, it can become filled in the middle of a row, causing a time-consuming journey to the end of the field and back. Further, the driver's view is obstructed by the hopper, operation on slopes can be difficult with bunkering on the device, and the unloading at the ends of the field still occupies a considerable time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of harvesting beet tops and beet, and to provide a harvester for this purpose.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a method of harvesting beet tops and beet in a plurality of rows, in which a vehicle which can be driven in a forward direction relative to the operator in either direction of travel is driven in one direction along the rows to separate the beet tops and is driven in the opposite direction along the same track to lift the topped beet, and in which the separated beet tops are temporarily stored in a container moving alongside or behind the vehicle on the lifted side of the field and the lifted beet is carried in a container moving alongside or behind the vehicle also on the lifted side of the beet.

Because the beet tops an beet, after being picked up from the field, are temporarily stored in containers moving alongside or behind the vehicle and not on the working device itself, the weight and thus the ground pressure remain unchanged and small enough to do no harm to the crop.

Preferably, the beet crops are loaded in one container which is deposited at one end of the field, and the beet is loaded in another container which is deposited at the other end of the field.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a harvester comprising a framework, lifting blades disposed in a straight line on the framework adjacent one and thereof to be, in use, across the direction of travel of the harvester, means on the framework at the opposite end thereof from the lifting blades for attachment to a hydraulic threepoint linkage of a vehicle, and at least one ground wheel depending from the framework in front in use of the lifting blades.

Preferably, the means for attachment to the three-point linkage comprises an attachment block, the ground wheel being mounted opposite the attachment block pivotally and off the longitudinal centre line of the harvester.

Preferably, also the ground wheel is vertically adjustable and may be locked in upper and lower positions from the driver's seat.

The ground wheel may be raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic cylinder which also serves to guide a supporting fork, the hydraulic line being positioned in the middle of the harvester framework between two riddling wheels for connection to a hydraulic socket on a tractor or the like by means of a quick-release coupling.

The ground wheel can also be adjusted mechanically instead of being raised by hydraulic means. A cable wound onto a cable drum by means of lever and ratchet and guided over pulleys serves for mechanical adjustment. This arrangement is equipped with a brake for lowering.

In the travelling position the beet harvester can be pulled or pushed by the tractor since the ground wheel offers such an option for travelling.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a combination machine consisting of beet topping unit and beet harvester, the beet topping unit being pivoted on one end of a universal tractor that can be driven and operated in two opposite directions and shown in use, and the beet harvester pivoted on the opposite end of the tractor being drawn along behind supported on its own following wheels; Figure 2 is a side view of the same machine with the beet topping unit raised and the beet topping unit raised and the beet harvestor in use and being pushed; Figure 3 is a side view of the beet harvester attached in the towed position with the follow ing wheel positioned hydraulically; Figure 4 is a side view of a beet harvester similar to that of Figure 3 with the following wheel positioned mechanically; Figure 5 shows a top view of the beet harvester.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the combina tion machine consisting of beet topping unit 2 and beet harvester 3 is attached to the front and rear respectively of a universal tractor 1 which can be driven and operated in the two opposite directions 10, 11 being provided with a so-called reversing device and with two steering wheels that can be operated from a swivelling tractor seat.

Both axles of the tractor 1 are fitted with narrow crop-cutting tyres so that the beet is not run over and the earth around the beet is not excessively compressed on the first run across the field, i.e. during the beet topping.

At its front end the beet topping unit 2 is pivoted so that it can be raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic three-point linkage 4, whereas at the opposite end of the tractor, where the uactor operator has a clear view over the field, the beet harvester 3, which is supportable on the ground on its own following wheel 5, is attached by means of a hydraulic three-point linkage 8 provided at the rear of the tractor. As Figure 5 shows, the following wheel 5 is mounted pivotally and off-centre on the chassis 6 of the beet harvester 3 and is vertically adjustable in relation to the chassis 6 by means of a hydraulic cylinder 7.

The shift in the centre of gravity of the beet harvester when this is fitted, as is usual, with an elevator 9 that can be swung out and in at the side is countered through location of the following wheel 5 off centre. When the beet harvester is working, the working depth of the lifting blades 12 can be fixed by the position of the following wheel 5 which is vertically adjustable relative to the chassis 6, but on the other hand if the hydraulic linkage 8 is raised at the same time, the beet harvester can be lifted out of the ground in its entirety in a position in which it is then towed either during the beet topping or during transporta ticin from the field to the yard or vice versa.

As Figure 5 shows, the lifting blades 12 of the beet harvester 3 are disposed in a straight line across the path of travel and are pivotally mounted or are suspended with freedom to float a limited amount in a vertical plane parallel with this path. Riddling wheels 13, rotatable about roughly vertical axles in the usual way, and an adjoining vibrating grid are disposed behind the lifting blades 12 in the working direction, the grid 14 discharging the cleaned beet to the laterally adjoining elevator 9.

As shown in Figure 4, the vertical adjustment of the following wheel 5 can also be obtained mechanically. A cable 15 which can be operated from the driver's seat serves for this purpose.

The method of operation of the beet harvester when working the ground and when being transported is as follows: When working the ground, the chassis 6 of the beet havester is connected to the top link of the hydraulic three-point lifting mounting 8 and the following wheel 5 is raised hydraulically or mechanically relative to the tractor 1 until the lifting blades 12 have penetrated into the ground. While working the ground, the following wheel 5, when locked, serves solely to set the working depth of the lifting blades.

The beet harvester, when lowered in the ground in the working position, is pushed forward by the tractor 1.

The tractor then pushes the machine over the field along the path being worked in the direction marked 11 in Figure 2, the lifted beet being transported in a container moving alongside or behind on the lifted side of the field.

At the end of the field, the tractor operator lifts the beet harvester with its lifting blades out of the ground, lowers the following wheel to support the free end on the ground, manoeuvres tractor and beet harvester by lateral movement into the neighbouring rows of beet not as yet lifted, switches over the reversing device such that he can drive and steer in the opposite direction and, if necessary, releases the lock on the following wheel so that this now supports the beet harvester on the ground as a genuine following wheel at the rear of the harvester.

In the direction of travel indicated by 10 in Figure 1 he now pulls the beet harvester while he cuts the beet tops with the beet topping unit disposed on the front until he has again moved along the path being worked to the end of the field where he switches over the reversing device, lowers the beet harvester to work the ground and again harvests the topped beet in the same track as before for the beet topping, here in the reverse order. The beet tops are discharged into a container moving alongside or behind the machine on the lifted side of the field.

The topping unit 2 may be of any suitable known kind.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A method of harvesting beet tops and beet in a plurality of rows, in which a vehicle which can be driven in a forward direction relative to the operator in either direction of travels driven in one direction along the rows to separate the beet tops and is driven in the opposite direction along the same track to lift the topped beet, and in which the separated beet tops are temporarily stored in a container moving alongside or behind the vehicle on the lifted side of the field and the lifted beet is carried in a container moving alongside or behind the vehicle also on the lifted side of the field.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the beet tops are loaded in one container which is deposited at one end of the field and the beet is loaded in another container which is deposited at the opposite end of the field.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the topped beet is lifted by a harvester mounted on a hydraulic three-point linkage on the vehicle, the harvester having at least one ground wheel, and in which during movement in said one direction, in which beet is lifted, the harvester is pushed raised on the three-point linkage and during movement in said other direction, in which beet is topped, the harvester is pulled supported on the ground by said wheel.

4. A method of harvesting beet tops and beet as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

5. A harvester for use in the method of claim 3, comprising a framework, lifting blades disposed in a straight line on the framework adjacent one end thereof to be, in use, across the direction of travel of the harvester, means on the framework at the opposite end thereof from the lifting blades for attachment to a hydraulic three-point linkage on a vehicle, and at least one ground wheel depending from the framework in front in use of the lifting blades.

6. A harvester according to claim 5, in which said means comprises an attachment block.

7. A harvester according to claim 5 or claim 6, in which the ground wheel can be raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic cylinder.

8. A beet harvester as claimed in claim 5 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

9. A machine for topping and harvesting beet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. As shown in Figure 4, the vertical adjustment of the following wheel 5 can also be obtained mechanically. A cable 15 which can be operated from the driver's seat serves for this purpose. The method of operation of the beet harvester when working the ground and when being transported is as follows: When working the ground, the chassis 6 of the beet havester is connected to the top link of the hydraulic three-point lifting mounting 8 and the following wheel 5 is raised hydraulically or mechanically relative to the tractor 1 until the lifting blades 12 have penetrated into the ground. While working the ground, the following wheel 5, when locked, serves solely to set the working depth of the lifting blades. The beet harvester, when lowered in the ground in the working position, is pushed forward by the tractor 1. The tractor then pushes the machine over the field along the path being worked in the direction marked 11 in Figure 2, the lifted beet being transported in a container moving alongside or behind on the lifted side of the field. At the end of the field, the tractor operator lifts the beet harvester with its lifting blades out of the ground, lowers the following wheel to support the free end on the ground, manoeuvres tractor and beet harvester by lateral movement into the neighbouring rows of beet not as yet lifted, switches over the reversing device such that he can drive and steer in the opposite direction and, if necessary, releases the lock on the following wheel so that this now supports the beet harvester on the ground as a genuine following wheel at the rear of the harvester. In the direction of travel indicated by 10 in Figure 1 he now pulls the beet harvester while he cuts the beet tops with the beet topping unit disposed on the front until he has again moved along the path being worked to the end of the field where he switches over the reversing device, lowers the beet harvester to work the ground and again harvests the topped beet in the same track as before for the beet topping, here in the reverse order. The beet tops are discharged into a container moving alongside or behind the machine on the lifted side of the field. The topping unit 2 may be of any suitable known kind. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A method of harvesting beet tops and beet in a plurality of rows, in which a vehicle which can be driven in a forward direction relative to the operator in either direction of travels driven in one direction along the rows to separate the beet tops and is driven in the opposite direction along the same track to lift the topped beet, and in which the separated beet tops are temporarily stored in a container moving alongside or behind the vehicle on the lifted side of the field and the lifted beet is carried in a container moving alongside or behind the vehicle also on the lifted side of the field.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the beet tops are loaded in one container which is deposited at one end of the field and the beet is loaded in another container which is deposited at the opposite end of the field.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the topped beet is lifted by a harvester mounted on a hydraulic three-point linkage on the vehicle, the harvester having at least one ground wheel, and in which during movement in said one direction, in which beet is lifted, the harvester is pushed raised on the three-point linkage and during movement in said other direction, in which beet is topped, the harvester is pulled supported on the ground by said wheel.

4. A method of harvesting beet tops and beet as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

5. A harvester for use in the method of claim 3, comprising a framework, lifting blades disposed in a straight line on the framework adjacent one end thereof to be, in use, across the direction of travel of the harvester, means on the framework at the opposite end thereof from the lifting blades for attachment to a hydraulic three-point linkage on a vehicle, and at least one ground wheel depending from the framework in front in use of the lifting blades.

6. A harvester according to claim 5, in which said means comprises an attachment block.

7. A harvester according to claim 5 or claim 6, in which the ground wheel can be raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic cylinder.

8. A beet harvester as claimed in claim 5 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

9. A machine for topping and harvesting beet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.