WO2022184861A1

WO2022184861A1 - Fruit tool collector and harvester

Info

Publication number: WO2022184861A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/055469
Authority: WO
Inventors: Valerie ANDREWS; Ronald Bickerton
Original assignee: Berry Gardens Growers Limited
Priority date: 2021-03-04
Filing date: 2022-03-03
Publication date: 2022-09-09
Also published as: GB2604387A; GB202103066D0

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a tool for dislodging fruit hanging from a plant, a col-lector for collecting dislodged fruit, a harvester for harvesting fruit, and a method of harvesting fruit.

Description

FRUIT TOOL COLLECTOR AND HARVESTER Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a tool for dislodging fruit from a plant, a collector for collecting fruit dislodged from a plant, a harvester for harvesting fruit hanging from a plant and a method of harvesting fruit hanging from a plant.

Background to the Invention

Fruit harvesting is performed in a number of ways and using a variety of different implements. Today in agriculture sees a mixture of manual operations to harvest fruit combined with mechanised technologies.

A number of fruits such as apples, olives, or nuts are harvested by the application of tree/shakers which mechanically shake the plants in order to re lease the fruits. The fruits either fall onto the ground to be picked up manually or fall onto into a collection device where they can be transported efficiently away from the field. This is very much a sacrificial approach and produces unwanted quantities of unripe or damaged fruits. Unfortunately, some fruits cannot be treated in this way, either because the fruits are too delicate or there needs to be some selectivity on which fruits are harvested from each plant, rather than employing a sacrificial approach. Such fruits include soft fruits such as raspber ries, strawberries, peaches etc. Even so, there still remains some mechanised devices for harvesting soft fruits, and this is simply because of the demand for such commodities in today’s world, means that manual harvesting is not com mercially viable. The mechanised harvesting devices employed today attempt to provide an adequate balance between the quality and expense of manual har vested fruits and that of traditional mechanised harvesting methods, which meets the current customer needs.

US2019281764 describes a berry harvester where rotating and vibrating tines are used to displace the berries from the bush. However, this is still a sac rificial approach as with each pass the same amount of vibrating force is applied to the bushes, thereby damaging them unnecessarily with each pass. The har vester described is also designed for rows of fruit plants within a field outdoors, as the harvester has a structure extending over the top of the plants. It is not suitable for polytunnel operations where single row plantations are often used, and head room is at a premium.

Other devices employ air harvesting where a wind tunnel is created over the bush. Air nozzles pulsate air towards and away from the bush to cause it to shake and therefore release the fruits. These types of harvester are expensive, and are only suitable on specific row dimensions of fruits grown outdoors, due to the size of the harvesters, and tend not to be as effective as marketed.

And still some devices use manual shaking to release the fruits. These include the device shown in W02020159371. The use of manual shaking pro vides some degree of selectivity and therefore reduces bush damage, but man ual labour is costly and not as fast as mechanical shaking. Also, these types of devices again require large transport structures, which makes them unsuitable for polytunnel operations.

There has now been devised a tool for dislodging fruit hanging from a plant which overcomes and/or substantially mitigates the above referenced and/or other disadvantages associated with the prior art.

There remains the issue of then how to collect the fruits. Most fruits if they are collected into hard containers will bruise. Quality is therefore compro mised. US2019281764 uses a catching system configured to receive fruit re moved from the plants. The catching system includes resilient catch assemblies on each side of the picking tunnel, each of the catch assemblies at least partial ly overlapping adjacent catch assemblies. Each of the catch assemblies has an upper surface oriented orthogonally to horizontal and flex upon impact by falling fruit. W02020159371 describes a series of arms with bristles extending from them in order to catch the fruits, the key being to provide maximum capture ar ea of the fruits and not have areas where the fruits can fall through onto the ground. This device still suffers problems associated with fall of fruits through gaps in the bristles though, and in modern harvesting this is unacceptable. Oth er devices use soft sheets or sails onto which the fruits fall. This has the ad vantage that the sheets can be then used to channel the fruits into a container. But even with all these advances fruit bruising is common place. There has now been devised a collector for collecting fruit dislodged from a plant which over- comes and/or substantially mitigates the above referenced and/or other disad vantages associated with the prior art.

Customer needs are changing with regards to quality and this not only requires a much higher degree of ripeness and quality on the shelf, but grown from plants in a sustainable manner. The use of polytunnels now to grow fruit bearing plants is common-place, and as described above makes the conven tional devices describe unsatisfactory. There simply isn’t the space, or they can’t produce a harvested crop of sufficient quality. There needs to be way of combining mechanical harvesting techniques with sheltered propagation meth ods. There has now been devised a harvester which overcomes and/or sub stantially mitigates the above referenced and/or other disadvantages associated with the prior art.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a tool for dislodging fruit hanging from a plant, the tool comprising an arm having a proximal end con nectable to a reciprocating device and an opposite distal end comprising one or more fingers branching radially outwards from the arm, the fingers being resili ency deformable and having a higher spring constant when bent in the direction of the distal end than the spring constant when bent in the direction of the prox imal end.

The tool is advantageous primarily because the difference in spring con stant of the fingers means that the fingers are collapsible in one direction (i.e. towards the proximal end) more than in the other opposite direction (i.e. towards the distal end). This means that the arm and fingers are advanceable into the middle of a plant without damaging the plant or deflecting the plant significantly. The fingers simply deflect passed the branches. It also means that when the arm is retracted the fingers will engage with the plant and can be used to forci bly deflect the plant as required. This has the result that the fruits, when they are dislodged from the plant, fall within a specific predetermined area, towards the proximal end of the tool and downwards towards the ground. It means that the tool can be used for dislodging fruits to one side of the plant, and therefore the tool is ideally suited to a growing environment where space is limited such as a glass house or polytunnel.

Suitable fruits include but are not limited to berries, currants or nuts. The invention is particularly suited to blueberries, but it will be appreciated that it can be used with any type of fruit.

A reciprocating device is a device which moves the tool towards the fruit plant and away from the fruit plant in a direction which is coaxial with the arm. The reciprocating motion is therefore generally in the direction at right angles to the direction of row of plant. The reciprocating device is configured to move the arm backwards and forwards in a direction co axial with the main longitudinal axis of the arm.

The ratio of the spring constant when bent in the direction of the distal end to that of the spring constant when bent in the direction of the proximal end will remain relatively constant irrespective of the type of plant the tool is used on. However, the absolute values for the spring constant when bent in the direc tion of the distal end and that of the spring constant when bent in the direction of the proximal end will vary depending on the type of plant the tool is used on. In this way said absolute values are predetermined depending on the plant the tool is used on.

To achieve the feature of fingers having a higher spring constant when bent in the direction of the distal end than the spring constant when bent in the direction of the proximal end, the fingers may be bent towards the proximal end of the arm. This is further beneficial in that it allows the fingers to be inserted into the plant easier without damaging the plant.

Suitable materials for the fingers include but are not limited to steel, composite, or plastics material. The fingers may be semi tubular, tubular or sol id. The fingers may be welded to the arm, glued to the arm, bolted to the arm, screwed to the arm or otherwise attached to the arms with fixings. The fingers may be integral with the arm, with the fingers and the arms being manufactured as a single piece, for example, suitable manufacturing methods include but are not limited to moulding, or 3d printing. When there is more than one finger mounted to the arm, the fingers pref erably extend in opposite directions to each other. That way there is greater chance of the tool engaging with the plant effectively in use.

More preferably, when there are a plurality of fingers, the fingers mount ed on one side of the arm are mounted at positions which are staggered from the positions of those mounted on the opposite side of the arm. This has sur prisingly been found to increase the engagement of the fingers with branches of the plant in use. Furthermore, it means that the tension on each of the fingers is different, with some fingers engaging relatively loosely with the plant and others engaging relatively tightly. Therefore, it serves to spread the forces over and through the whole plant, rather than directing the force to a particular area. This means that less force is necessary to deflect the plant which has the effect of reducing the overall force required to dislodge and the fruits, and therefore re duces the damage to the plants.

In order to further reduce the potential for damage to the plant, preferably the fingers are covered in a cushion coating. This protects the plant from dam age during use. A further advantage of this feature is that it makes advancing of the arm and insertion of fingers into the plant easier as the fingers brush past the branches of the plant more easily and are thus more likely to bend than the plant.

The arm may be made flexible in order that it can bend around the trunk or stem of the plant. Preferably the arm is rigid, as this means that all of the re ciprocating force is dissipated axially through the arm. This makes the control of the reciprocation more accurate.

Whilst the tool may be operable manually without a reciprocating device attached, preferably a reciprocating device is attached to the proximal end of the tool. The reciprocating device works as described above.

The reciprocating motion is preferably non-sinusoidal in nature. This means that no simple harmonic motion can be set up within the plant which can amplify the reciprocating motion and can damage the plant. More preferably, the reciprocating motion is defined by a movement inwards of the plant which is slower than the movement outwards the plant. In this manner the fruits are not dislodged by the motion inwards of the tool, and are flicked in one direction which is towards the proximal end of the tool, or towards the harvester (when the tool is mounted to a harvester). The flicking action increases the range which the berries fall away from the plant. In this way there is less demand for collectors (see below) or containers below the plant, but rather the containers or collecting devices can be positioned well outside of one side of the plant. This further makes the tool ideally suited for use in closed environment growing con ditions such as polytunnels or glass houses where space is limited.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided a collector for col lecting fruit dislodged from a plant, the collector comprising a longitudinal brush, each brush comprising a first and second longitudinal brush heads having mounted thereto a row of bristles, the brush heads being mounted to one an other along their long edges or to a dividing member which joins the two brush heads along their long edges, wherein the bristles of the first and second brush heads extend outwards from one another and form the sides of a collecting channel.

The collector is advantageous primarily because the bristles provide a soft surface upon which the fruit can land after it has been dislodged. This pre vents damage to the fruit. The fact that the bristles also form a channel means that the fruits collect in the centre between the two brushes. This makes it easi er to collate the fruits for transport.

Preferably there are a plurality of brushes and the sides of the collecting channel of one brush are in contact with the sides of the collecting channel of an adjacent brush. This means that the area of ground underneath the collec tors is completely covered and there is no chance that any fruits will drop onto the floor and escape collection. It will be appreciated that whilst this can be achieved with a single brush, multiple brushes are favoured as the more brush es there are, the smaller they can be, and therefore the smaller gaps within the plant the collector can extend into.

The first and second brush heads may be integral with one another. This makes it easy to construct such a brush and makes the brush suitable for the embodiments described below where they are extendable or foldable. When not integral with one another, they may be joined by the dividing member. This spaces out the first and second brush heads, so that a larger channel is created between them.

The first brush head and the second brush head may be rotatably mounted about their longitudinal edge to one another or to the dividing member and movable between a first position in which the bristles of the first brush head are generally parallel with the bristles of the second brush head, and a second position in which the bristles of the first brush are substantially separated from the bristles of the second brush and forming the sides of the channel. This al lows the brush to adopt a narrow profile in the first position for effective insertion into a plant between the branches and when in the second position the bristles fit tightly against said branches rather than leaving gaps in front of or behind the branches that would otherwise be caused by advancing the brushes in and out.

The second position may be defined the first drive means as described below. The second position may also be defined by a second structural frame work to the brush heads which constricts the movement. Preferably the second position is defined by an abutment on the brush heads or on the dividing mem ber, which the brush heads engage with. This is the simplest way in which the second position is adopted and keeps the weight of the brush down whilst also maintain lengthwise strength.

The rotation of the brushes between the first position and the second po sition and/or vice versa may be caused by engagement of a first drive means directly or indirectly connected to the brush heads and/or the dividing member. Preferably the rotation of the brushes between the first position and the second position and/or vice versa is caused by engagement of a first drive means di rectly or indirectly connected to brush heads and/or the dividing member, the brushes adopting the first position or the second position under the effect of gravity.

The material of each collector including the brush head and/or the divid ing member may be flexible. This allows the brush to be rolled and unrolled up on itself, and therefore means it can be retracted and extended lengthwise re- spectively into and from a relatively small area, perhaps within the confines of a harvester (see below) for example. When each brush head and/or dividing member is flexible, the first and second brush heads are not rotatably mounted about their longitudinal edges, but are fixed into the shape of ‘LT or ‘V’ so as to form the channel. This has the benefit that when the brushes are extended lengthwise they can extend out straight into the bush without collapsing down to the ground. In other words, the structure of the channel supports the weight of the brushes including the fruit thereon during collection. When each brush head and/or dividing member is flexible, preferably the collector is rotatably mounted on a reel.

Alternatively, there may be a plurality of brushes and the plurality of brushes are arranged hingedly with one another, the brushes being capable of adopting a first position in which one or more of the brushes is substantially piv oted away from the longitudinal axis of its neighbour, and a second position in which one or more of the brushes are held coaxially with its neighbour. This al lows the plurality of brushes to be folded up on themselves in the first position to take up as little space as possible, and then when in the second position the brushes extend lengthwise into the plant. This therefore provides another way of advancing and retracting the brushes into and out of the plant by straighten ing out the brushes or folding them up respectively.

Preferably the longitudinal axis of the brushes is angled upwardly to wards the top of the plant in use. This means that when the fruits fall onto the brushes they then fall downwards away from the plant and could be convenient ly towards a container or conveyor.

Preferably the lower end of the brushes is in communication with a con tainer or conveyor. Thus, any fruit which falls onto the brush can be convenient ly moved away from the brush and/or collected so that the brushes don’t get full up with fruit from plant to plant.

In a third aspect of the invention there is provided a harvester for har vesting fruit hanging from a plant, the harvester comprising a framework, a sec ond drive means housed by or located on the framework configured to drive a ground contacting means of mobility, a processor for control of the harvester, and at least one tool substantially as described above extending from the framework, each tool being mounted to a reciprocator which is mounted to the framework, wherein the processor is configured to navigate the harvester through a field by activation of the second drive means to engage the at least one tool with a plant and to operate the reciprocators.

The harvester is advantageous primarily because it provides a conven ient moveable means to support, drive and move the tool through a crop. The crop may be within a field or within a sheltered propagation setting such as a polytunnel or glasshouse.

The harvester may be automated in that the processor is pre programmed to operate the harvester through a planned route within a crop. This means that the harvester can be configured as a robotic device operable autonomously. The route may be defined by the crop rows, by GPS coordinates or by some other means, such as fixed markers on the ground or elsewhere.

Preferably the tool is movably mounted to the framework and the proces sor is configured to advance and retract the tool in and out of the plant respec tively by activation of a third drive means connected directly or indirectly to the tool. This avoids the need for the harvester framework to move in an out of the plant to advance the tool in and out of the plant. It means that the harvester can travel up and down a row of plants, whilst only the tools advance in and out of the individual plants.

The harvester preferably comprises at least one collector substantially as described above. This enables the harvester to collect the dislodged fruits effec tively.

Preferably the collector is movably mounted to the framework and the processor is configured to advance and retract the collector in and out of the plant respectively by activation of a fourth drive means connected directly or in directly to the collector. In a similar way to the tool, this avoids the need for the harvester framework to move in an out of the plant to advance the collector in and out of the plant. It means that the harvester can travel up and down a row of plants, whilst only the collectors advance in and out of the individual plants. Such advancement and retraction may be by straight lateral motion, a fold ing/unfolding extension action or by a rotating action when there a multiple brushes hingedly engaged with one another to cause the unfolding and folding of the brushes respectively.

Preferably the processor is configured to operate the first drive means to cause the rotation of the brushes between the first position and the second po sition.

Preferably there are a plurality of tools mounted to the framework in a tiered arrangement on top of one another. This means that force to dislodge fruits from the plant can be applied throughout the height of the plant, perhaps to different amounts (see below).

It will be appreciated that any or all of the drive means described above, including the reciprocator may be operably connected to the processor so that the processor is configured to drive any of them independently of one another. Any or all of the drive means, including the reciprocator may also be combined into a single drive means. Thus, there could be one drive means which acts as the first drive means and/or the second drive means, and/or the third drive means, and/or the fourth drive means, and/or the reciprocator.

Preferably the harvester further comprises a system for selecting ripe fruit, the system comprising optical scanning means mounted to the framework of the harvester for detecting and measuring the colour and/or size of the fruit to be harvested in front of the harvester, data processing means linked to the opti cal scanning means and to the reciprocators driving the at least one tool, the data processing means being configured to calculate the required reciprocation force and/or duration of reciprocation of the tool dynamically in accordance with the measured colour and/or size of the fruit to dislodge the fruit, the data pro cessing means further engaging the reciprocators for the calculated duration and/or with the calculated force. This has the benefit that the plant does not ex perience any excessive force or shaking in order to dislodge the fruits. Only the force which is required to dislodge the fruits is applied. As a result, this minimis es the damage to the plant. Preferably the optical scanning means detects and measures the colour and/or size of the fruit to be harvested in front of the harvester at successive lo cations, the data processing means then operating the reciprocators of the tier of tools corresponding to each successive location at the force and/or duration calculated by the data processor using the data from the optical scanning means corresponding to each successive location. This further means that dif ferent forces can be applied to different locations throughout the plant. This fur ther reduces the potential for damage to the plant, as it is recognised that fruits at different positions within the plant may be riper to a different extent.

The ability of the optical scanning means to detect colour and/or size of the fruits means that the harvester can be used to harvest fruits where there is no change in colour with ripeness, but there is a change in size, such as goose berries, as well as fruits where there is change in colour but no significant change in size such as raspberries or blueberries or currants.

In a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of harvest ing fruit from a plant, the method comprising the steps of a) providing the harvester substantially as described above; b) navigating the harvester through a field; c) advancing the tools into plant; d) retracting to the tools until the fingers are engaged with the plant and the plant is tilted towards the harvesting device; e) operating the reciprocators to cause the plant to move backwards and forwards, away from, and towards the harvesting device respectively and f) collecting the fruit as it falls from the plant into a container or conveyor on the harvester.

The method of the invention is advantageous because in using the method, the plant is pulled slightly towards the harvester, and therefore when the fruits are dislodged, they are done so in the direction of the harvester. This means that they are dislodged over a much smaller area then just by shaking by hand backwards and forwards when in the upright position. As a result, it means that the harvester need only operate from one side of the plant, and therefore the method and the harvester are very much suited to sheltered propagation systems where space is limited, such as polytunnels and glasshouses.

The steps of d) and e) in the method above may be performed simulta neously. This combines the action of pulling the plant towards the harvester and dislodging the fruits in the direction of the harvester.

The method may further comprise the step between step b) an step c) of the method, of advancing the collectors into the plant and then retracting the collectors in the opposite direction by up to 5% of the advancement direction and then the step between step e) and f) of the method of collecting the fruit as it falls from the plant into the collectors and then allowing the fruit to be directed into the container or conveyor on the harvester. The action of retracting the col lectors slightly means that any gaps between the plant and brushes are very minimal. This completely maximises the collection area for the fruits, with very minimal ground area exposed underneath the collectors.

The method may further comprise the step between step b) and step c) of the method, of advancing the collectors into the plant and rotating the collec tors so that the brushes adopt the second position, and the step between step e) and f) of the method of collecting the fruit as it falls from the plant into the col lectors and then allowing the fruit to be directed into the container or conveyor on the harvester. The rotation has the same effect as the slight retraction de scribed above.

Preferably, within the method, the advancing of the collectors is per formed by unfolding or unwrapping the collectors from a supply. The supply may be a reel on which the collectors are wrapped. When the collectors com prise brushes which are foldable, the supply may be a collection of folded brushes, perhaps within the confines of a harvester.

The method can be performed on multiple plants therefore the method further comprises the step of retracting both the collection devices and the tools, navigating the harvester to a second position defined by a separate set of plants, and then performing the steps substantially as described above.

The invention will now be described by way of illustrated example only where like references represent like parts to the invention and in which; Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the tool,

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the collector, Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the col- lector,

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of the collector, Figure 5 shows a view of a fourth embodiment of the collector,

Figure 6 shows a front and back view of an embodiment of the harvester, Figure 7 shows some test results of the harvester shown in Figure 6, Figure 8 shows the results of typical vision analysis of a blueberry plant, and

Figure 9 shows an example of the different detachment forces required for different varieties of blueberries.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the tool general ly designated 1. The tool 1 in this example comprises a rigid steel bar 2 which has two ends, a proximal end 3 and a distal end 4.

The distal end 4 is that which is intended in use to be inserted into the plant. The proximal end 3 is that which is connectable to a reciprocator which may be mounted to a harvester (as shown in figure 6), or which is farthest away from the plant.

The proximal end 3 is connected to a reciprocator (not shown). At or to wards the distal end 4 there are mounted three fingers 5a, 5b, 5c. In the exam ple shown the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c are made from short lengths of flexible tubing which are glued to the bar 2. The fingers 5a, 5b, 5c are mounted on opposite sides of the bar 2 within a flat plane. The fingers 5a and 5b are mounted stag gered from that of finger 5c. All of the fingers 5a, 5b and 5c are curved towards the proximal end 3. Due to the curvature on the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c, the spring constant in the direction of the proximal end 3 is less than the spring constant in the direction of the distal end 4. Thus, the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c bend easily towards the bar 2 but harder away from the bar 2. The use of rubber tubing means that the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c don’t damage the plant in use. In other examples the fin- gers 5a, 5b, 5c are pieces of spring steel covered in a cushioning rubber. The fingers 5a, 5b, 5c may be straight but the difference in spring constant de scribed above is still present.

In use, the tool 1 is advanced into the plant generally horizontally with the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c extending in a horizontal plane. As the bar 2 and fingers 5a, 5b, 5c are introduced into the plant the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c bend backwards to wards the bar 2 until they are past the branches in the plant, at which point they then spring outwards to the normal undeflected position. The bar 2 is then re tracted slowly causing the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c to engage with the plant. Simulta neously the reciprocator is engaged causing the bar 2 to motion backwards and forwards in the proximal and distal directions along its longitudinal axis. This causes the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c to flex against the plant, thereby shaking the plant and causing the fruits to be dislodged. Pulling the plant in this manner makes the fruits dislodge towards the proximal end 3 of the bar 2, rather than under neath the distal end 4 or past the distal end 4. This means that collection can be effected from just one side of the plant, which means that the tool 1 can be used to dislodge fruits from just one side of the plant.

The inventors have found that different plants have different bend strengths. Therefore, whilst the rubber tubing shown is applicable for plants such as blueberry plants, gooseberries or raspberries, for use on plants carrying heavier fruit, such as apple or nut trees, the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c will need to be considerably stiffer. However, the ratio of the stiffness in the distal direction compared to the proximal direction will remain relatively constant.

Once the fruits have been dislodged the tool 1 is retracted from the bush by movement of the bar 2 in the proximal direction. This causes the fingers 5a, 5b, 5c, which are resiliently deformable to yield in the distal direction and enable them to move past the plant. It will be appreciated that the stiffness of the fin gers will be pre-determined such that the yield force is less than the stiffness of the plant. Therefore, the fingers yield before the plant is damaged or breaks.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of two identical collectors generally des ignated 10 each. Each collector 10 comprises two longitudinal brushes 11 , 12. Each brush 11 , 12 is made up of a brush head 11a, 12a, and a set of bristles 11b, 12b, which are inserted along the length of the respective head and held therein by glue or crimping of the brush head 11a, 12a. In the example shown the two brush heads 11a, 12a are integral with one another, but in other exam ples they may be separate and joined together by glue or joined by a dividing portion which extends lengthwise and joins the two brush heads 11a, 12a. The brush heads 11a, 12a are angled at approximately 45 degrees to the vertical in opposite direction to one another, so the bristles 11b, 12b form the sides of a upwardly directed channel which has sides that are approximately 90 degrees from one another. In the figure there are multiple collectors 10 shown all ar ranged generally parallel to one another so that the bristles 11b, 12b of one col lector 10 contact the bristles 11b, 12b of a neighbouring collector 10. There is therefore very minimal gap between the area above the collectors 10 and below the collectors 10 for any fruits to fall through. Each collector 10 is angled slightly upwardly. Each collector 10 is connectable to a drive means which can motion the collector 10 in or out of the plant.

In use, when a drive means is connected to the collectors 10, each brush is advanced into the plant at or near the base of the plant. The brushes 11 , 12 are dimensioned so that their length matches or is slightly greater than the width of the plant. Therefore, when fully advanced, the trunk of the plant is approxi mately midway along the brush 11 , 12. As the brushes 11 , 12 advance any branches are brushed past until the full extent of the extension is reached. The collectors 10 are then retracted slightly, by up to 5% of the extension distance. This causes the bristles 11b, 12b to engage tightly with the branches or trunk of the plant. Without the slight retraction then there would be a large gap in the bristles between the bristles and the plant slightly distal of the plant. Once in the required position the collectors 10 can collect any dislodged fruit and due to the upwards angle of each collector 10 the fruits fall towards the end of the collector 10 and into a container 30 or conveyor 29 (both shown in Figure 6). Once the fruits are collected from a specific plant the collectors 10 are retracted away from the plant by activation of the drive means again.

Figures 3A and 3B show a second embodiment of the collector 10. In this embodiment the collector 10 is as described above, but the brush heads 11a, 12a are rotatably mounted to each other. Multiple collectors 10 are shown, each one generally parallel to its neighbour as above. To achieve the hingability, the longitudinal edge of each brush head 11a, 12a comprises a mating part of a pi ano hinge. When the two hinges are placed in line with each other they mate up and when a pin is inserted through the holes in the hinge the two brushes 11 , 12 become hingedly linked to each other. The hinge is indicated 13. The lower end of the collector 10 is connected to a drive means which is able to rotate the collector 10 through 360 degrees. Thus, under gravity and when rotated suffi ciently the collectors 10 will adopt a first position in which the bristles 11b, 12b of the first and second brush heads 11a, 12a are substantially parallel with each other and pointing downwards. This is as shown in Figure 3A. In this position the user then advances the collectors 10 into the plant (as described above). Due to the relatively narrow cross section and close containment of the bristles 11b, 12b they do not contact the plant and cause no damage on advancement into the plant. Once in position the drive means is then actuated to rotate the collectors 10 through 180 degrees. At which point the first brush 11 and the second brush 11 fall apart from one another under the effect of gravity to adopt the second position which is defined by contact of an abutment on the first brush head 11a with a similar abutment on the second brush head 12a. The abutment is so designed such that the brush heads 11a, 12a extend at 45 de grees to the vertical in opposite directions as described for the embodiment in Figure 2. The second position is shown in Figure 3B. Thus, a collection channel is created and fruits can collect into the channel in the same manner as de scribed above. A benefit of the rotating motion is that no slight retraction of the brushes 11, 12 is required before collection can continue. The rotation immedi ately places the bristles 11b, 12b in tight contact with the plant without any sig nificant gaps, as they are being brought into contact the plant from the side, ra ther than in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of each brush. Once the fruits have been collected, the drive means is engaged again to rotate the collectors 10 to the first position again and the collectors 10 are retracted. The position of the brush heads in the second position may alternatively defined in this example, not by abutments, but by the drive means itself. In other words, actuation of the drive means for a predetermined length of time is sufficient to rotate the brushes from the first position to the second position. Reverse actua tion then reverts the brushes back to the first position.

Figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the collector 10. This collector 10 of this embodiment is more similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 2 than that shown in Figure 3. The collector 10 shown in Figure 4 is therefore substan tially as described with respect to Figure 2. Flowever, each brush is considera bly shorter than the brushes 11 , 12 shown in Figure 2, and there are a plurality of brushes 11 , 12 arranged end to end as shown in the figure to make up a sin gle collector 10. Whilst only one collector 10 is shown there are multiple collec tors 10 arranged generally parallel to each other in the same way as described above. No bristles are shown in this figure, for clarity purposes. Each brush 11 , 12 is arranged hingedly with one another end to end. To achieve this the first brush head 11a and the second brush head 12a each have at one end a first pin 15a and second pin 16a, respectively. The first pin 15a extends outwards sideways from the first brush head 11a and the second pin 16a extends out wards sideways in the opposite direction to the first pin 15a, from the second brush head 12a. Each brush head 11a, 12a, has at the opposite end a first cou pling 15b and a second coupling 16b, respectively. The first coupling 15b ex tends outwards lengthwise from the first brush head 11a and the second cou pling 16b extends outwards lengthwise from the second brush head 12a in the same direction as the first coupling 15b. The first coupling 15b and the second coupling 16b comprise hooks which engage over the first pin 15a and the sec ond pin 16a, respectively. In so doing consecutive brushes 11, 12 can be hingedly connected together end to end.

The pins 15a, 16a and the couplings 15b, 16b are mounted at the top of each brush head 11a, 12a, in the region where the bristles 11b, 12b engage with the brush heads 11a, 12a. Thus, the hinges are off set from the base 17 of the brush 11 , 12 where the two brush heads 11a, 12a come together. This means when the consecutive brushes 11 , 12 are connected, the rotation of one brush 11 , 12 with respect to its neighbour is only allowed in one direction. Rota tion in the opposite direction is prevented by abutment of the base of the brush heads 11a, 12a of neighbouring brushes 11 , 12. The brushes 11 , 12 are thus capable of adopting a first position in which one or more of the brushes 11 , 12 is substantially pivoted away from the longitudinal axis of its neighbour. This means that the brushes 11 , 12 can be folded up to adopt a smaller overall space. The brushes 11 , 12 are thus also capable of adopting a second position in which one or more of the brushes 11 , 12 are held coaxially with its neighbour. In other words, by unfurling or rotating the folded up brushes 11, 12 they can be made to extend outwards until the base of each brush 11 , 12 abuts its neigh bour and in that position the plurality of brushes 11 , 12 adopt a substantially straight and rigid structure. This makes it possible to extend the collector 10 into the plant simply by rotating the plurality of brushes 11 , 12. The rigid structure formed is also capable of supporting the weight of collected fruits therein the channel. Retracting the collector 10 is then a simple reverse of the rotating mo tion.

In another example of the collector 10 shown in figure 5 the collector 10 is as described with respect to figure 2, but the material of the brush heads 11a, 12a and/or any dividing member is resiliently deformable. Furthermore, the brush heads are moulded to one another at an angle to form an upwards col lecting channel when in the resting configuration (i.e. no external forces). The material of the brush heads 11a, 12a is a flexible elastomer this means that each collector 10 can be rolled upon itself. Each brush head 11a, 12a has bris tles 11b, 12b extending from it pointing upwardly similarly as described with re spect to figure 2. The proximal end of each collector is wound onto a reel 18. The reel 18 is rotationally mounted to the middle of a framework, which in this case is the framework 26 of the harvester 20 which is described in further detail below. Also mounted to the harvester is a roller bar support 19 which extends the full length of the harvester along the plant side of the harvester. The under side of the collectors 10 rest on top of the support 19 and roll over it as shown in the figure. The height of the support 19 is adjustable using adjusters 19b. The height of the support 19 controls the angle at which the collectors 10 extend away from the harvester. The support 19 therefore acts as a guide. The reel 18 is connected to a drive means (not shown). Activation of the drive means one way, or another, extends the collectors 10 towards or away from the plant as required, as indicated by the arrow. In Figure 5 the collectors 10 are each in the retracted position. That is to say the drive means has already been activated to drive the reel in a first direction so as to wind each collector 10 onto its respec tive reel 18. In this position the collectors 10 are away from the plants and this allows the harvester 20 to move around the plants unhindered. When required, in order to extend the collectors into the plant, the drive means is activated in the opposite direction, which turns the reel in the opposite direction (second di rection) which unwinds the collectors from the reel and into the plant. The natu ral channel forming structure of the brush heads 11a, 12a, means that the col lectors are able to support their own weight and extend straight out into the plant. It also means they can support the weight of fruits which drop onto them. In use fruits fall into the channel formed by the brush heads 11a, 12a, and as each collector is guided by the support 19 at an upwards angle, the fruits roll down the channel towards the harvester 20. The reel 18 is arranged below col lectors, so that the fruits are not hindered as they continue to roll downwards into the conveyor (not shown) or tray collection vessel (not shown). The benefit of this arrangement is that retraction of the collectors 10 takes up a very small amount of space within the harvester 20 where the reel 18 is mounted.

In all the other examples of the collector, the proximal end of the collector is supported between rollers. The rollers are mounted to the harvester (as de scribed below) or other device. This helps to guide the collectors in the right di rection.

An example of the harvester is shown in Figures 6A and 6B. The har vester is generally designated 20 and comprises a framework 22 having mount ed thereto four steerable and drivable wheels 24 (only two shown). In the ex ample shown the harvester 20 is a four wheel drive and steer device. On the framework 11 is a utilities mounting frame 26. The frame 26 comprises a rear portion 27 which is shown covered with a cover, and a front portion 28. Extend ing from the front portion 28 are nine of the tools 1 of the type as described above. The tools 1 are in three rows, each row having three tools 1. The rows of tools 1 are separated by a gap so that there is a lowermost row of tools 1 , a middle row of tools 1 and a top row of tools 1 . Other combinations of the ar rangements of tools 1 are also considered as required for the different fruits to be harvested. For example, there may be just four tools in a single row, or three tools one above one another in a column. Also extending from the front portion 28 and below the lowermost row of tools 1 are a plurality of collectors 10 of the type as described with respect to Figure 2, arranged in a row across the width of the harvester 20. The collectors 10 are arranged parallel to one another with bristles 11 b, 12b of adjacent collectors 10 in contact with one another. Each col lector 10 is angled upwardly slightly. The ends of the collectors 10 overlay a conveyor 29 which is a smooth flat metal screen angled slightly upwardly having one edge in contact with the end of the collectors 10, and the opposite lower edge over hanging three collection buckets 30. The conveyor screen 29 actually comprises a series of fan shaped wires. The space between adjacent wires thereby starts off small and increases as the wires fan out. The collection buck ets are positioned underneath the screen and are thereby able to collect fruits of different size ranges. Fruit size if related to ripeness so the collection buckets can be allocated to collect ripe or unripe fruits depending on their position un derneath the screen 29.

Each of the nine tools 1 extend through the front portion 28 and their proximal ends are each connected to a reciprocator (not shown) which is mounted to the framework 26. Each of the nine tools 1 can thus be inde pendently operated. The reciprocators are themselves each movably mounted to the rear portion 27 of the frame 26. To achieve this each reciprocator is mounted to a pivoted arm hingedly connected to the frame 26. Each arm is linked together by a sub assembly which is in turn connected to an electric mo tor. Actuation of the drive motor moves the bank of nine tools 1 away from or towards the front portion 28.

The ends of each of the collectors 10 is also connected to a sub assem bly which is in turn connected to an electric motor. Actuation of the motor moves the bank of collectors 10 away from or towards the front portion 28.

The sub assembly which mounts the collectors 10 is also mounted to a track which extends from the top of the harvester 20 to the bottom within the frame. This allows the collectors 10 to be moved up or down depending on the height of the lowest branch on the plant which they must engage underneath. The mounting of the collectors 10 on the track is fixable with a nut and bolt, which makes the position adjustable.

Other examples of the harvester 20 are included herein that use the col lectors 10 shown in any of Figures 3-5.

In the example of the harvester 20 where the collector 10 is as shown in Figure 3 the rotation of each of the collectors 10 is brought about by having each of the proximal ends (the ends closest to the harvester 20) having fixed thereto a cog. A circular chain then links all the cogs together. A motor is con nected to the chain, and operation of the motor causes all the collectors 10 to rotate at the same time and the same amount as required. Instead of a cog and chain arrangement, a pulley and belt system may be used.

In the example of the harvester 20 where the collector 10 is as shown in Figure 4 each collector 10 is fashioned with a set of teeth which engage a cog which is attached to a motor. Actuation of the motor causes the row of brushes 11 , 12 to move outwards away from the front portion 28 and back towards it. In moving out the collectors 10 each adopt a straight rod like appearance. When retracted the collectors 10 fold up on one other within the confines of the frame 26.

In the example of the harvester 20 where the collector 10 is as shown in Figure 5 each collector 10 is supported by a rotationally mounted reel 18. The reel is engaged with a motor. Actuation of the motor causes the reel to turn and therefore to wrap each collector around the reel or unwrap it depending on which way the motor is operated. Unwrapping extends the collector into the plant. In moving out the collectors 10 each adopt a straight rod like appearance. When retracted the collectors 10 wrap up on one other within the confines of the frame 26. The reel for each collector is mounted below each collector so that fruits which fall onto the collector roll down the collector and into the harvester without being hindered by the reel.

The frame 26 houses one or more batteries which drive all of the motors described above on the harvester 20, including motors which are present within each of the drive axles 25 on the wheels 24. The drive axles 25 are configured to not only drive each wheel 24 independently of one another but also pivot each wheel 24 independently of one another, in order to steer the harvester 20 as required. An on board processor is also housed within the frame 26 and is in electrical connection with the motors in the drive axles, and all the other motors and reciprocators. The processor controls the navigation of the harvester 20 through operation of the motors in the drive axles and operation of all the other motors and drive means and reciprocators.

In use the harvester 20 is navigated along one side of a row of plants generally parallel with the row direction. This is achieved by actuation of the mo tors within the drive axles 25 under commands from the processor. The proces sor may be linked to an on board GPS receiver and the processor is pre programmed to navigate a predetermined route using GPS coordinates. The harvester 20 may also be manually navigated using wired or remote control from a command module which in use the user operates to instruct the harvest er 20 in the direction it is to travel. The harvester 20 may also have one or more sensors to detect the presence of a track or route markers on the ground or elsewhere in order to detect its position within the field. The processor then us es this position information to inform itself of where the harvester 20 is and nav igates the harvester 20 according to a pre-programmed route or as per the track information. All operations on the harvester 20 may operate autonomously or by remote control. The harvester 20 therefore may be a robotic device.

The harvester 20 is moved using the respective drive means within the drive axles as close as possible towards the plants to be harvested so that the front portion 28 faces the plants. The collectors 10 are then advanced using the motors into the row of plants generally at right angles to the front portion 28 and/or the direction of the row. The collectors 10 are configured so that when they are in place, they are just above the base of the trunk but below the lowest branch of the plant. During the advancement of the collectors 10 the bristles de flect past the stem of each plant. When advancement has been completed each collector 10 is retracted slightly in order to take up any gaps between the bris tles and the plant stems (this is only the case where the harvester has the col- lector as described in Figure 2, 4 or 5). No slight retraction is required for the collectors as described with respect to figure 3, instead in this case the collec tors are moved from the first position to the second position by actuation of the drive motor connected to them. Each tool 1 is then advanced similarly into the plant by operation of the respective motor. Then in order to harvest the fruits on the plant, the reciprocators are operated, and the drive motor attached to the reciprocators is operated again in reverse to move each of the tools 1 slowly towards the front portion 28 (i.e. outwards of the plant). This pulls the plant to wards the harvester 20. The reciprocating motion is slow inwards of the plant and fast away from the plant. This flicks the majority of fruits towards the har vester 20. The front portion 28 of the harvester is covered in a flexible sheet. This is to protect the fruits that are flicked into the front portion from being dam aged. The bottom of the flexible sheet is engaged with the screen 29 so the fruits collected into the sheet also fall into the screen 29. The flexible sheet is made of rubber and provides a soft surface against which the fruits contact. This prevents bruising. The remaining fruits fall onto the collectors 10, where due to their inclination, they fall down the collectors 10 to the screen 29, where due to its inclination they then fall into the collector boxes 30.

Harvesting in this way means that the fruits are dislodged from the plant towards the harvester 20 and from one side of the plant only. It means that a much smaller device can be utilised to harvest fruits than those provided con ventionally and therefore makes it suitable for polytunnels or the like.

After harvesting the reciprocation action of the tools is stopped and the drive motor attached to the tools is further actuated to pull all of the tools 1 back towards the front portion 28. This pulls them all out of the plants. The drive mo tor attached to the collectors is then operated which retracts all the collectors 10. For the rotatable version of the collectors shown in figure 3, rotation of the collectors is required by reverse actuation of the respective motor before retrac tion. The harvester 20 is then navigated along the row by the actuation of the motors within the drive axles, and the whole process is started again. An example of the typical results achieved by the harvester 20 are shown in Figure 7. A test was carried out using the harvester 20 and applying recipro cating force for 30 seconds at different heights within a blueberry bush, and at different RPMs. Results showed that between 60 and 83% of berries harvested were ripe. Furthermore, it was found that approximately 2Kg of berries could be harvested in approximately 30-45 seconds using the harvester 20. 2Kg is the amount that one bush will usually produce. This is compared to manual harvest ing where it can take between 19 and 30 minutes per bush to harvest the ber ries. The inventors further surprisingly found that when the harvester was en gaged with multiple plants within a row, the harvest time per plant was reduced to 25-35 seconds. This is because of the combined effect of the shaking on neighbouring plants, within the harvester 20.

The harvester 20 has an optical scanning RGB or 3D camera facing the row and mounted to the front portion 28, or elsewhere on the harvester. The camera is linked to the processor and captures images of the plants and fruits on the plants in front of the harvester 20 prior to harvesting. The processor segments out all parts of the images collected which are not the colour and/or size of the specific fruit. For example, not blue in the case of blueberries, or not red in the case of red currants, or not the right size with respect to gooseberries (which do not change in colour measurably between ripe and unripe fruits). The processor then converts the resultant image to greyscale after which the fruits will appear white. The processor then calculates the percentage of white within each quadrant where each of the tools 1 are present. This process is shown schematically in Figure 8. Figure 8A shows a black and white schematic image of a plant. Figure 8B shows the image after removal of the plant stems, and then Figure 8C shows the image after removal of everything which is not the colour and/or size of the specific fruit. The image is converted to grey scale so the fruits appear white. The process would then use an image much like figure 8C to work out the percentage of ripe fruits (white dots) per quadrant (delimited by white lines). Thus, the processor then operates the reciprocators which cor respond to each of the quadrants for a length of time dependent on the per centage of ripe fruits calculated, with the higher the percentage of ripe fruits the longer the time the reciprocators are actuated for. An advantage of this ap proach is that the plant is not forcibly shaken in an area where it doesn’t need to be, and therefore is not damaged unnecessarily. A further advantage is that where the percentage of ripe fruits is relatively low, say around 4-5%, it is likely that no shaking to that particular quadrant will be required due to the secondary effects of shaking in other areas. For example, if the harvester 20 shakes a first zone having 25% ripe fruits, and the neighbouring zone has only 4% ripe fruits, it is likely that the shaking of the first zone, will release the berries from the neighbouring zone without any shaking required. The ability to selectively harvest particular zones from a plant moves the technology away from the sacrificial approaches adopted by conventional har vesters. Thus, the harvesting can be more accurate, timely and controlled, meaning that quality on the shelf is greatly increased, with a much higher mar gin of profit. A further example of this selectivity is in applying different forces to dif ferent varieties of fruits. For example, the harvester 20 was used to identify the forces required to harvest different varieties of blueberries, by applying varying amounts of force to the reciprocators and measuring the amount of blueberries harvested. The results, shown in Figure 9, show the differing forces required to harvest ripe and unripe varieties of blueberries. An advantage of the harvester 20 is that this data can be integrated into the processor for future harvesting events, making the harvesting process is even more selective.

Claims

1. A tool for dislodging fruit hanging from a plant, the tool comprising an arm having a proximal end connectable to a reciprocating device and an op posite distal end comprising one or more fingers branching radially outwards from the arm, the fingers being resiliently deformable and having a higher spring constant when bent in the direction of the distal end than the spring constant when bent in the direction of the proximal end.

2. A tool according to claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of fingers and the fingers mounted on one side of the arm are mounted at positions which are staggered from the positions of those mounted on the opposite side of the arm.

3. A tool according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the arm comprises further fingers branching outwards from the arm radially in at least one further direction.

4. A tool according to any preceding claim, wherein the fingers are covered in a cushion coating to protect the plant from damage during use.

5. A tool according to any preceding claim, wherein the arm is rigid.

6. A collector for collecting fruit dislodged from a plant, the collector comprising a longitudinal brush, each brush comprising a first and second longi- tudinal brush heads having mounted thereto a row of bristles, the brush heads being mounted to one another along their long edges or to a dividing member which joins the two brush heads along their long edges, wherein the bristles of the first and second brush heads extend outwards from one another and form the sides of a collecting channel.

7. A collector according to claim 6, wherein there are a plurality of brushes and the sides of the collecting channel of one brush are in contact with the sides of the collecting channel of an adjacent brush.

8. A collector according to claim 7, wherein the first and second brush heads are integral with one another.

9. A collector according to any of claims 6 to claim 8, wherein the first brush head and the second brush head are rotatably mounted about their longitudinal edge to one another or to the dividing member and movable be- tween a first position in which the bristles of the first brush head are generally parallel with the bristles of the second brush head, and a second position in which the bristles of the first brush are substantially separated from the bristles of the second brush and forming the sides of the channel.

10. A collector according to claim 9 wherein the second position is de fined by an abutment on the brush heads or on the dividing member, which the brush heads engage with.

11. A collector according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the rotation of the brushes between the first position and the second position and/or vice versa is caused by engagement of a first drive means directly or indirectly con nected to brush heads and/or the dividing member, the brushes adopting the first position or the second position under the effect of gravity.

12. A collector according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the material of each collector including the brush head and/or the dividing member is flexi ble.

13. A collector according to claim 12, wherein the collector is rotatably mounted on a reel.

14. A collector according to any of claim 6 to claim 11 , wherein there are a plurality of brushes and the plurality of brushes are arranged hingedly with one another, the brushes being capable of adopting a first position in which one or more of the brushes is substantially pivoted away from the longitudinal axis of its neighbour, and a second position in which one or more of the brushes are held coaxially with its neighbour.

15. A collector according to any of claims 6 to claim 14, wherein the longitudinal axis of the brushes is angled upwardly towards the top of the plant in use.

16. A collector according to any of claims 6 to claim 15, wherein the lower end of the brushes is in communication with a container or conveyor.

17. A harvester for harvesting fruit hanging from a plant, the harvester comprising a framework, a second drive means housed by or located on the framework configured to drive a ground contacting means of mobility, a proces sor for control of the harvester, and at least one tool as defined in any of claims 1 to 5 extending from the framework, each tool being mounted to a reciprocator which is mounted to the framework, wherein the processor is configured to nav igate the harvester through a field by activation of the second drive means to engage the at least one tool with a plant and to operate the reciprocators.

18. A harvester according to claim 17, wherein the tool is movably mounted to the framework and the processor is configured to advance and re tract the tool in and out of the plant respectively by activation of a third drive means connected directly or indirectly to the tool.

19. A harvester according to claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the har vester further comprises at least one collector as defined in any of claims 6 to 15.

20. A harvester according to claim 19, wherein the collector is mova bly mounted to the framework and the processor is configured to advance and retract the collector in and out of the plant respectively by activation of a fourth drive means connected directly or indirectly to the collector.

21. A harvester according to any of claim 17 to claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to operate the first drive means to cause the rotation of the brushes between the first position and the second position.

22. A harvester according to any of claims 17 to 21 , wherein there are a plurality of tools mounted to the framework in a tiered arrangement on top of one another.

23. A harvester according to any of claims 17 to 22, wherein any of the first drive means, second drive means, third drive means, fourth drive means, and reciprocator are combined as a single drive means.

24. A harvester according to any of claims 17 to 23, further comprising a system for selecting ripe fruit, the system comprising optical scanning means mounted to the framework of the harvester for detecting and measuring the col our and/or size of the fruit to be harvested in front of the harvester, data pro cessing means linked to the optical scanning means and to the reciprocators driving the at least one tool, the data processing means being configured to cal culate the required reciprocation force and/or duration of reciprocation of the tool dynamically in accordance with the measured colour and/or size of the fruit to dislodge the fruit, the data processing means further engaging the reciproca- tors for the calculated duration and/or with the calculated force.

25. A harvester according to claim 24, wherein the optical scanning means detects and measures the colour and/or size of the fruit to be harvested in front of the harvester at successive locations, the data processing means then operating the reciprocators of the tier of tools corresponding to each suc cessive location at the force and/or duration calculated by the data processor using the data from the optical scanning means corresponding to each succes sive location.

26. A method of harvesting fruit from a plant, the method comprising the steps of a) providing the harvester according any of claims 16-25; b) navigating the harvester through a field; c) advancing the tools into plant; d) retracting to the tools until the fingers are engaged with the plant and the plant is tilted towards the harvesting device; e) operating the reciprocators to cause the plant to move backwards and forwards, away from, and towards the harvesting device respectively and f) collecting the fruit as it falls from the plant into a container or conveyor on the harvester.

27. A method according to claim 26 wherein the steps of d) and e) are performed simultaneously.

28. A method according to claim 26 or claim 27, further comprising the step between step b) and step c) of claim 26, of advancing the collectors into the plant and then retracting the collectors in the opposite direction by up to 5% of the advancement direction and the step between step e) and f) of claim 25 of collecting the fruit as it falls from the plant into the collectors and then allowing the fruit to be directed into the container or conveyor on the harvester.

29. A method according to claim 26 or claim 27, further comprising the step between step b) an step c) of claim 26, of advancing the collectors into the plant and rotating the collectors so that the brushes adopt the second position, and the step between step e) and f) of claim 26 of collecting the fruit as it falls from the plant into the collectors and then allowing the fruit to be directed into the container or conveyor on the harvester.

30. A method according to claim 28, wherein the advancing of the col lectors is performed by unfolding or unwrapping the collectors from a supply.

31. A method of harvesting according to any of claims 26 to claim 30, further comprising the step of retracting both the collection devices and the tools, navigating the harvester to a second position defined by a separate set of plants, and then performing the steps as defined in any of claims 26 to 30.