WO2023233298A1

WO2023233298A1 - Root crop harvester

Info

Publication number: WO2023233298A1
Application number: PCT/IB2023/055542
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francois TURNER
Original assignee: Turnerland Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-30
Filing date: 2023-05-30
Publication date: 2023-12-07

Abstract

A root crop is harvested on two conveyors (30, 32) with front ends that extend side-by- side behind a share (24) and the two conveyors (30, 32) extend rearwards at different inclines. Harvested root crop from the first conveyor (32) is discharged onto a third conveyor (34) and harvested root crop from the second conveyor (32) is discharged onto a cross conveyor (36), that deposits it onto the third conveyor (34). Root crop streams from both the first and second conveyors (30, 32) are consolidated onto the third conveyor (32) and are processed together.

Description

ROOT CROP HARVESTER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to harvesters for root crops and while the invention can be applied to other crops too, it is particularly suitable for potatoes. For brevity, the invention is described herein with reference to potatoes, as an example of a crop.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Potatoes farmed on commercial scale are usually planted in rows that are spaced apart by standardised distances, which allows agricultural vehicles and implements to travel with their wheels or tracks between rows and thereby avoid damaging the crops. The set spacing also allows agricultural implements to be optimised for working on a predetermined number of rows - such as harvesters for harvesting a single row, a double row, or more.

A typical mechanical potato harvester uses a digging element or share, to cut into the soil and lift the potatoes along with the adjacent soil. As the harvester moves forward, the potatoes and soil move over the share and onto a moving screen conveyor belt, also known as a digging belt which typically comprises multiple spaced apart rods that are agitated to shake the potatoes as they are conveyed on the conveyor belt. The agitation loosens soil from the potatoes and allows the soil to fall between the rods of the conveyor belt and onto the field below. From the screen conveyor, the potatoes are typically transferred to a haulm web and/or are conveyed for further processing e.g. by secondary soil removal, manned picking, bunkering, or the like.

A harvester built to harvest potatoes from multiple rows needs to have a share that is wide enough to span across the rows being harvested and needs a screen conveyor with the same width as the share. Similarly, the entire harvester is scaled up by ratios equivalent to the number of rows sought to be harvested. So, for example, a harvester for two rows will have a share and screen conveyor with double the width of a harvester for a single row and all equipment for further processing is similarly doubled in capacity. These increases in the capacity of harvesters increase their manufacturing cost and their weight - which increases the demands on vehicles propelling them (e.g. by requiring more powerful tractors and/or more fuel).

The present invention seeks to optimise the size and cost of root crop harvesters, to provide harvesters capable of harvesting root crops from multiple rows, while minimising the increases in size and weight of the harvesters. The invention further seeks to provide cost-effective manufacturing of harvesters for single and/or multiple row harvesting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a harvester for root crops cultivated in soil, said harvester having a front and a rear, referring to the intended direction of travel for the harvester, said harvester comprising: a share with a width that extends transversely to the direction of travel; a first screen conveyor with a front end in close proximity to the share and extending rearwards at a first incline from its front end to a rear end of the first screen conveyor that is at a higher elevation than the front end, said first screen conveyor having a width that is less than the width of the share; a second screen conveyor with a front end in close proximity to the share and extending rearwards at a second incline from its front end to a rear end of the second screen conveyor that is at a higher elevation than the front end, said second screen conveyor having a width that is less than the width of the share and said front end of the second screen conveyor being aligned side-by-side with the front end of the first screen conveyor; a third screen conveyor with a front end below the first screen conveyor so that the rear end of the first screen conveyor is above the third screen conveyor, said third screen conveyor extending rearwards from its front end to a rear end of the third screen conveyor; a cross conveyor that extends transversely relative to the first, second and third screen conveyors, from a distal end to a proximal end of the cross conveyor, the proximal end of the cross conveyor being above the third screen conveyor and a lateral edge of the cross conveyor being below the rear end of the second screen conveyor.

The term "share", used herein in the singular, refers also to a share comprising multiple share elements, arranged side-by-side in close proximity, to operate together.

The term "extending", when used herein in relation to a conveyor, refers to the direction in which the conveyor is configured to move its load.

The rear end of the second screen conveyor may be at a higher elevation than the rear end of the first screen conveyor. Instead, or in addition, the second screen conveyor may be longer than the first screen conveyor and/or the second incline may be steeper than the first incline.

The second screen conveyor and cross conveyor may be removable from the harvester.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of harvesting root crops cultivated in soil with a harvester traveling in a travel direction, said method comprising: lifting the root crop along with some of the soil with a share with a width that extends transversely to the direction of travel; lifting a first stream of the root crop that has been lifted by a first part of the width of the share by conveying said first stream of the root crop on a first screen conveyor extending rearwards at a first incline to a rear end of the first screen conveyor; lifting a second stream of the root crop that has been lifted by a second part of the width of the share by conveying said second stream of the root crop on a second screen conveyor extending rearwards at a second incline to a rear end of the second screen conveyor; discharging the first stream of the root crop from the first screen conveyor onto a third screen conveyor; discharging the second stream of the root crop from the second screen conveyor onto a cross conveyor; transferring the second stream of the root crop from the second screen conveyor in a transverse direction to a proximal end of the cross conveyor; discharging the second stream of the root crop from the cross conveyor onto the third screen conveyor; and conveying the first and second stream of the root crop on the third screen conveyor rearwards on the harvester.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be carried effect, the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a two row potato harvester in a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a detail isometric view of a front part of the potato harvester of Figure 1 , without its bunker; and

Figure 3 shows a detail isometric view of a single row potato harvester in a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to Figure 1 , a first embodiment of a mechanical harvester for root crops according to the present invention is generally identified by reference number 10 and in this illustrated embodiment of the invention, the harvester is a potato harvester. The harvester 10 has a front 12 and a rear 14 and is intended to harvest potatoes from a field when traveling in a travel direction 16.

The harvester 10 is supported by two ground wheels 18 and is configured to be drawn by a vehicle such as a tractor, by a hitch extension 20 and to receive auxiliary power from the tractor by connecting a drive shaft to a power take-off of the tractor, to drive various moving parts of the harvester. In other embodiments of the invention, the harvester may be self-propelled. At the front 12 of the harvester 10, a share 24 is provided and extends horizontally, transversely to the travel direction 16 and is arranged so that it can be lowered into the soil to cut into the soil and lift the potatoes along with the adjacent soil as the harvester moves forward - accompanied by lateral cutting discs 26 and rollers 28 as is known in the art. The share 24 has a width that is enough to span across two rows of potato plants in a field and the harvester 10 is intended to harvest potatoes from two such rows simultaneously, as the harvester travels along those rows in the travel direction.

The potatoes and soil lifted by the share 24 are lifted further and conveyed rearwards on the harvester 10 by four conveyors 30, 32, 34 and 36, which will be described in more detail below. From the conveyors 30-36, the potatoes are lifted by an elevator 38, are transferred by an angled conveyor 40 and conveyed forward on an inspection conveyor 42, before being deposited in a bunker 44. The handling of the potatoes after leaving the four conveyors 30, 32, 34 and 36 forms part of the state of the art and need not be described in detail herein. Also, the handling of the potatoes after leaving the four conveyors 30, 32, 34 and 36 can be varied in other embodiments of the invention, to suit operational requirements.

Referring to Figure 2, the first conveyor 30 and second conveyor 32 each have front ends 30a and 32a and their front ends are aligned and are in close proximity to the share 24, immediately above the share. The widths of the first and second conveyors 30,32 are about the same and together, they are as wide as the share 24, but in other embodiments, the widths of the first and second conveyors could vary.

Each of the first conveyor 30 and second conveyor 32 is a screen conveyor with a digging belt with multiple spaced apart rods that extend across each digging belt. The digging belts of the first and second conveyors operate according to the art and are agitated to shake the potatoes as they are conveyed on these conveyor belts, to loosen soil from the potatoes and allow the soil to fall between the rods of the digging belts and drop onto the field below. The potatoes that are lifted from one row by the share 24 are conveyed from the share by the first conveyor 30 and form a first stream of potatoes, while the potatoes that are lifted from the other row by the share are conveyed from the share by the second conveyor 32 and form a second stream of potatoes.

The first conveyor 30 is shorter than the second conveyor 32 so that a rear end 30b of the first conveyor and is a little farther forward of a rear end 32b of the second conveyor. Further, the first conveyor 30 has a first incline that is less steep than a second incline of the second conveyor, so that the rear end 30b of the first conveyor is at a slightly lower elevation than the rear end 32b of the second conveyor 32. The first and second inclines of the first and second conveyors 30,32, along with the lengths of these conveyors, are selected to ensure that the first and second streams of potatoes travel along these conveyors from their front ends 30a, 32a to their rear ends 30b, 32b with adequate progress, i.e. without unacceptable travel forwards of potatoes under gravity, and with sufficient dwell time of potatoes on the conveyors 30,32 to allow adequate soil removal.

The third conveyor 34 is aligned with the first conveyor 30 and has a front end that is below the rear end 30b of the first conveyor. (The front end of the third conveyor 34 is obscured in Figure 2 by the rear end 30b of the first conveyor 30.) The third conveyor 34 also has a width that is similar to the width of the first conveyor 30 and the first stream of potatoes conveyed upwards on the first conveyor are deposited on the third conveyor and are conveyed rearwards on the third conveyor. The third conveyor 34 is also a screen conveyor, but in the illustrated, preferred embodiment, the third conveyor is of a type known in the art as a haulm web. The third conveyor 34 extends rearwards from its front end, below the first conveyor, for a generally flat portion, up to an inflection point 46 where the haulm web of the third conveyor extends into the elevator 38, however, even though the haulm web of the third conveyor continues into the elevator, for purposes of the present description, the inflection point 46 is regarded as the rear end of the third conveyor, so that the third conveyor has no significant incline. The fourth conveyor is a cross conveyor 36 and while it is not a screen conveyor in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, it can also be a screen conveyor. The cross conveyor 36 does not extend rearwards, generally parallel with the travel direction 16, like the first, second and third conveyors, 30, 32 and 34, but instead, the cross conveyor extends transversely inwards from a distal end 36a (which is obscured by bodywork of the harvester, but its position is shown in Figure 2) to a proximal end 36b.

The cross conveyor 36 has a lateral edge that is below the rear end 32b of the second conveyor. (The lateral edge of the cross conveyor 36 is obscured in Figure 2 by the rear end 32b of the second conveyor 32.) Further, the distal end 36a of the cross conveyor 36 is generally aligned with a lateral edge of the second conveyor 32 and the cross conveyor has a length that is about the same as the width of the second conveyor, or slightly more, so that the second stream of potatoes conveyed by the second conveyor are deposited from the rear end 32b of the second conveyor, onto the cross conveyor 36.

The cross conveyor 36 extends generally horizontally and is disposed higher than the third conveyor 34, with the proximal end 36b of the cross conveyor above the third conveyor or immediately adjacent to the third conveyor. The second stream of potatoes conveyed by the cross conveyor are deposited from the proximal end 36b of the cross conveyor, onto the third conveyor 34 and are conveyed rearwards by the third conveyor, along with the first stream of potatoes deposited on the third conveyor, from the first conveyor 30.

Referring to Figure 3, the harvester 100 is identical in every respect to the harvester 10 shown in figures 1 and 2, except that the harvester 100 shown in Figure 3 does not have a second conveyor 32 or cross conveyor 36 and the share 24 has a width about equal to the width of the first and third conveyors 30,34 and the harvester only has a single roller 28. The harvester 100 is configured for harvesting potatoes from a single row of potato plants in a field. The single row harvester 100 shown in Figure 3 is a variation of a single row harvester, generally according to the state of the art, except that the state of the art would not have required the flat portion of the third conveyor 34 and would have fed potatoes directly from the first conveyor 30 to the elevator 38. However, when harvesters are built according to the state of the art to harvest potatoes from two rows, then, in addition to doubling capacity of the share 24 and rollers 28, the first conveyor 30 and elevator 38 are duplicated - with associated material and manufacturing costs and a much larger, heavier harvester that required more powerful propulsion and additional fuel.

By virtue of the present invention, the single row harvester 100 shown in Figure 3 can be built with minimal additional cost compared to the state of the art, resulting from the addition of the flat third conveyor 34 and if desired, the single row harvester 100 can be built as (or converted to) the two row harvester 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2, by only doubling the capacity of the share 24 and rollers 28 and adding the additional second conveyor 32 and cross conveyor 36. The second conveyor 32 and cross conveyor 36 are much smaller and lighter than doubling the elevator 38 and accordingly, the double row harvester 10 shown in Figures 1 and 10 is lighter and less costly to manufacture and operate, than double row harvesters according to the state of the art.

Claims

1 . A harvester for root crops cultivated in soil, said harvester having a front and a rear, referring to the intended direction of travel for the harvester, said harvester comprising: a share with a width that extends transversely to the direction of travel; a first screen conveyor with a front end in close proximity to the share and extending rearwards at a first incline from its front end to a rear end of the first screen conveyor that is at a higher elevation than the front end, said first screen conveyor having a width that is less than the width of the share; a second screen conveyor with a front end in close proximity to the share and extending rearwards at a second incline from its front end to a rear end of the second screen conveyor that is at a higher elevation than the front end, said second screen conveyor having a width that is less than the width of the share and said front end of the second screen conveyor being aligned side-by-side with the front end of the first screen conveyor; a third screen conveyor with a front end below the first screen conveyor so that the rear end of the first screen conveyor is above the third screen conveyor, said third screen conveyor extending rearwards from its front end to a rear end of the third screen conveyor; a cross conveyor that extends transversely relative to the first, second and third screen conveyors, from a distal end to a proximal end of the cross conveyor, the proximal end of the cross conveyor being above the third screen conveyor and a lateral edge of the cross conveyor being below the rear end of the second screen conveyor.

2. The harvester of claim 1 , wherein the rear end of the second screen conveyor is at a higher elevation than the rear end of the first screen conveyor.

3. The harvester of claim 1 , wherein the second screen conveyor is longer than the first screen conveyor. The harvester of claim 1 , wherein the second incline is steeper than the first incline. The harvester of claim 1 , wherein the second screen conveyor and cross conveyor are removable from the harvester. A method of harvesting root crops cultivated in soil with a harvester traveling in a travel direction, said method comprising: lifting the root crop along with some of the soil with a share with a width that extends transversely to the direction of travel; lifting a first stream of the root crop that has been lifted by a first part of the width of the share, by conveying said first stream of the root crop on a first screen conveyor extending rearwards at a first incline to a rear end of the first screen conveyor; lifting a second stream of the root crop that has been lifted by a second part of the width of the share, by conveying said second stream of the root crop on a second screen conveyor extending rearwards at a second incline to a rear end of the second screen conveyor; discharging the first stream of the root crop from the first screen conveyor onto a third screen conveyor; discharging the second stream of the root crop from the second screen conveyor onto a cross conveyor; transferring the second stream of the root crop from the second screen conveyor in a transverse direction to a proximal end of the cross conveyor; discharging the second stream of the root crop from the cross conveyor onto the third screen conveyor; and conveying the first and second stream of the root crop on the third screen conveyor rearwards on the harvester.