BEET HARVESTING MACHINE

• US 3,792,733 A
• Filed: 02/15/1973
• Issued: 02/19/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olon F. Crandall, Ralph Thompson
• Original Assignee: Olon F. Crandall, Ralph Thompson
• Inventors: Crandall, Olon F., Thompson, Ralph
• Primary Examiner(s): Guida, Antonio F.
• Application Number:
  US05/332,768
• Time in Patent Office: 369 Days
• Field of Search: 171/58,128,25,92,97 56/105,106 130/3R,3H
• US Class Current: 171/58
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 17/06 with rollers or disc screens
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 25/00 Lifters for beet or like crops

Abstract

A harvester for root crops having a series of spaced apart pairs of digging wheels of known construction operable to lift the roots from several rows of growing crops and metal lifters to move the roots rearwardly from the wheels, has a plurality of transverse supporting rollers receiving the roots and provided with spiral ribs extending from the sides of the machine toward the center to concentrate the roots midway between the sides of the machine. A lower chain type conveyor receives the concentrated flow of roots. A flail over the rollers urges the roots on to the chain type conveyor. A large cylindrical elevator-sorter cage surrounds the rear portion of the conveyor. It sorts the flow of roots and soil, retaining the larger roots therein and dropping them on to an upper chain conveyor that extends forwardly above the lower conveyor from the rear wall of the cage out of the cage. An elevating and loading conveyor beneath the front end of the upper conveyor and in front of the cage, moves the roots laterally and upwardly. The machine has a tongue at the front end adjustably supporting the front end thereof on a tractor for movement up and down and laterally with respect to the tractor. Rear wheels support the cage and are movable laterally with respect to the machine for lateral alignment of the rear end of the machine.

Claims

1. In a harvester of roots crops such as beets having means to uproot and bring together the crop from several rows into a moving stream;

an openwork cage in the stream path, rotatable on generally horizontal axis and open at only one end to receive the crop;

means in said cage operable by rotation thereof to elevate the crop while discarding smaller roots and soil through the cage wall;

a lower chain conveyor urging the crop into the cage through said open end; and

an upper conveyor in the cage operable to receive the elevated retained roots;

said upper conveyor extending the length of the cage.

2. The harvester defined in claim 1 in which transverse gathering rollers arranged transversely in front of the open end of said cage converge the crop in front of said lower conveyor.

3. The harvester defined in claim 1 wherein said cage comprises:

a plurality of circular rings that are spaced apart equal distances from the adjacent rings;

equally spaced vanes within the rings holding said in their spaced relation; and

an end closure carrying said vanes.

4. The harvester defined in claim 3 wherein the upper conveyor has a depending baffle cooperating with said vanes to hold the retained roots on the vanes until they are above the level of the conveyor.

5. The harvester defined in claim 1 wherein said lower conveyor has fingers operable to loosen and separate soil from the crop.

6. In a harvester of beets and like root crops wherein diggers are arranged to lift the roots in a plurality of parallel rows out of the ground as the harvester moves in the direction of the rows;

a plurality of crop gathering rollers carried by said harvester behind the diggers having ribs to move the lifted roots transversely of the rows and concentrate them into a single stream;

a chain type lower conveyor carried by the harvester and extending behind the rollers in position to receive the roots therefrom;

an open ended annular cage surrounding the discharge end of said conveyor and receiving the roots therefrom;

said cage having vanes therein operable to elevate the roots therein above the conveyor;

means to rotate said cage;

said cage having apertures therein for passing small roots, soil and trash outward through it; and

means in the cage above the conveyor to remove the elevated roots therefrom.

7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein the annular cage comprises a plurality of equally spaced rings secured to said vanes and a rear wall to which said vanes are secured.

8. The invention defined in claim 6 together with flails over the rollers;

and means to rotate the flails in a direction to move the roots on to the conveyor.

9. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein said last named means comprises an upper conveyor in the upper half portion of the cage moving endwise thereof;

and a barrier within the cage secured to the upper conveyor for holding the roots on the vanes until they are elevated above the upper conveyor.

10. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein the rollers include two rear short rollers terminating at the sides of said lower conveyor.