NZ777501A

NZ777501A - A machine for the harvest of fruit with homogeneous ripening and relative method

Info

Publication number: NZ777501A
Application number: NZ777501A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Claudia Mazzucco
Original assignee: Claudia Mazzucco
Priority date: 2018-12-21
Filing date: 2019-12-23
Publication date: 2024-01-26
Also published as: WO2020129107A1; IT201800020626A1; CN113242689B; CL2021001581A1; CN113242689A

Abstract

Described is a machine (1) for the harvest of fruit, in particular for the harvest of fruit with homogeneous ripening inside rows, such as kiwi fruit, comprising a harvesting chamber (3) for the harvest of the fruit from the plants; and a collection container (5) for the storage of the harvested fruit, said collection container (5) being positioned beneath said harvesting chamber (3), said machine (1) being characterised in that said harvesting chamber (3) comprises inside it extendable arms (4), aligned along a vertical direction, comprising an upper end (42) configured for entering into contact with the fruit, and a lower end (41), comprising hydraulic or pneumatic lifting means (43), said extendable arms (4) having a first working configuration, wherein they are positioned upwards in such a way that said upper end (42) hits the base of the fruit to be harvested with predetermined intensity, and a second configuration, wherein said extendible arms (4) are partially positioned downwards, in such a way as to adopt the shape of one or more inclined surfaces. An apparatus (100) and a method for harvesting fruit are also described.

Claims

1.Claim 1: A machine (1) for harvesting fruit, in particular for harvesting fruit with homogeneous ripening inside rows, comprising a harvesting chamber (3) for harvesting fruit from the plants; and a collection container (5) for storing the harvested fruit, said collection container (5) being positioned below said harvesting chamber (3), said machine (1) being characterised in that said harvesting chamber (3) comprises inside it extendable arms (4), aligned along a vertical direction, comprising an upper end (42) configured for entering into contact with the fruit, and a lower end (41), comprising hydraulic or pneumatic lifting means (43), said extendable arms (4) having a first configuration for the detachment of fruit to be harvested and having a second configuration for conveying harvested fruit from the harvesting chamber (3) to the collection container (5), wherein: i. said extendable arms (4), when in said first configuration, are positioned upwards forming a supporting surface with a substantially flat shape, in such a way that dislodged fruit does not fall inside the harvesting chamber (3) before the passage of the extendable arms (4) from said first configuration to said second configuration and the extendable arms (4), by means of the combined action of said lifting devices (43) and said upper ends (42), are able to be repeatably raised and lowered in such a way that said upper ends (42) hit the base of the fruit to be harvested with an intensity to cause the fruit being harvested to be dislodged from the plant, and ii. said extendible arms (4), when in said second configuration, are partially positioned downwards, in such a way as to adopt the shape of one or more inclined surfaces to allow the dislodged fruit to move down the inclined surfaces so that the fruit to be able to be discharged from the harvesting chamber (3) into the collection container (5).

2.Claim 2: The machine (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said harvesting chamber (3) has a hopper-like shape, configured for channelling the fruit towards said collection container (5).

3.Claim 3: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said machine (1) is a towed or carried or self- propelled machine.

4.Claim 4: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a separation grid (6) for separating fruit from stems or leaves, said separation grid (6) being positioned at the lower base of said harvesting chamber (3), above said collection container (5).

5.Claim 5: The machine (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that said separation grid (6) comprises a plurality of elastic belts with flat bands crossing each other.

6.Claim 6: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said upper ends (42) of said extendable arms (4) comprise springs.

7.Claim 7: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises proximity sensors positioned at said upper ends (42) of said extendable arms (4) or on said harvesting chamber (3).

8.Claim 8: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the relative distance between said extendable arms (4) is adjustable.

9.Claim 9: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises, at an upper portion (51) of said collection container (5), two articulated surfaces (510', 510"), configured for passing from a substantially horizontal first position extending across the upper portion (51), when the collection container (5) is empty, to a substantially vertical second position extending downwardly from the upper portion (51) toward a lower base (50) of said collection container (5), when the collection container (5) is full of fruit.

10.Claim 10: The machine (1) according to claim 9, characterised in that said two articulated surfaces (510', 510") in said first position are inclined, with respect to each other, by an angle , equal to approximately 170 °; and/or in that said two articulated surfaces (510', 510") in said second position are parallel to each other, one facing the other.

11.Claim 11: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of the side walls of said harvesting chamber (3) comprises a plurality of aligned bumper devices (310), configured for bending back on themselves when in contact with the plants.

12.Claim 12: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a leaf removal system (33) inside said harvesting chamber (3).

13.Claim 13: The machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a compartment (11) containing said collection container (5), said collection container (5) being extractable from said compartment (11).

14.Claim 14: A harvesting apparatus (100) comprising a machine (1) for the harvest of fruit according to the preceding claim and a transfer unit (7) for transferring said collection container inside or outside said compartment (11), said transfer unit being connected to said machine (1) in such a way as to move with it in an integral fashion.

15.Clam 15: The harvesting apparatus (100) according to claim 14 characterised in that said transfer unit (7) comprises forks (71) for the movement of said collection container (5).

16.Claim 16: The harvesting apparatus (100) according to claim 14 or 15, characterised in that said machine (1) is a self-propelled machine and said transfer unit is configured for rotating said collection container (5).

17.Claim 17: A method for harvesting fruit, in particular for the integral harvest of fruit with homogeneous ripening, using a machine (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 or an apparatus (100) as claimed to any one of claims 14 - 16, characterised in that the method comprises the following steps: A. causing the extendable arms when positioned in the first configuration to stress, by means of the combined action of said lifting devices (43) and said upper ends (42), the base of the fruit to be harvested with a force from the bottom upwards so as to break the stalk away from the plant; B. letting the detached fruit fall on the surface having the substantially flat shape; C. after said step B., gradually deforming said surface moving the extendable arms are caused to move and positioned downwardly in such a way so as to adopt the shape of one or more inclined surfaces of the second configuration, to facilitate the rolling of the detached fruit downwards; and D. collecting the fruit falling downwards inside a collection container

18.Claim 18: The method according to claim 17, characterised in that said force is obtained by means of the compression and release of springs directed towards the base of said fruit.