GB585687A - Improvements in or relating to harvesters for turnips and like crops - Google Patents

Abstract

585,687. Turnip &c. harvesters. DOULL, G. May 11, 1944, No. 8988. [Class 6 (iii)] A turnip &c. harvester comprises a shawer or tops remover, a toothed ground plate which enters the ground to lift the turnips, a rotary cutter blade above and co-operating with the ground plate to sever the roots and a spade wheel to propel the turnips on to a moving grid. There may also be a pair of horns to gather into the line of the rows any turnips out of line and to lift into line any hanging down tops. The tops cutter, Fig. 1, pivoted at 3 to the frame of the harvesting machine (not shown) comprises scissor like blades 8 pivoted at 7, and co-operating with cutter blades 4, the blades 8 being oscillated by a bar 5 oscillated by the machine. The blades 8 may have no pivots 7 and so may be integral with the bar 5. The tops cutter arrangement is also attached by a slot 10 to the machine, the slot allowing lateral movement. A resilient bar 2<SP>1</SP> acts as a feeler bearing on the surface of the turnip to adjust the heignt of the cutter. Behind the cutter for the tops a pair of wheels with spring steep wire arms 14, Fig. 7, rotating in opposite directions whisk off any leaves left uncut. Alternatively, a rotary bristle brush 15, Fig. 11, may be provided for the same purpose, the frame of the brush being pivoted at 17 to the machine and lifted by the feeler arm 16 which contacts the upper surface of the turnips. The brush 1 can rise and fall through its sliding coupling 21, 22 to its drive shaft 23. The turnips are raised slightly from the ground by the dragging along of the ground plate 29, its teeth tips 30<SP>11</SP> being bent down so that the plate sinks a little into the ground until its V-notches 31 contact and raise the roots. The roots are then cut off by the rotating of the blades 33 co-operating with the serrations 31 of the notches. Instead of the blades 33 being mounted on a wheel, they may be mounted on an endless chain or belt (Fig. 5 not shown). This device is suitable where turnips are growing broadcast. The turnips having thus been topped and tailed are propelled on to a shaking grid 38 by means of the spades 421 of an inclined spade wheel 42 which is either driven from the machine or by contact of the inclined spades 42<SP>1</SP> with the ground asthe wheel is dragged along. The grid 38 is shaken from the. drive of an elevator the buckets of which may be formed of fingers 41 passing between the fingers of the grid 38. The delivery guide 40 may have like fingers.