Tomato plant harvesting apparatus

• US 3,968,842 A
• Filed: 04/07/1975
• Issued: 07/13/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Erwin F. Puch Jr, Erwin F. Puch Sr
• Original Assignee: Erwin F. Puch Jr, Erwin F. Puch Sr
• Inventors: Puch, Erwin F. Sr., Puch, Erwin F. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eskovitz, J.N.
• Application Number:
  US05/566,028
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 171/61, 171/11, 171/14, 171/20, 171/25, 171/27, 171/28, 171/116, 171/141, 53/391, 214/518, 214/6 H, 214/82
• US Class Current: 171/11
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 45/006 of tomatoes

Abstract

A plant picking and boxing apparatus is mounted on a wheeled frame and includes an engine for driving the wheeled frame by a hydraulic system. Parallel mounted endless belts are supported on the frame and grip tomato plants, or the like planted in rows, and transport the plants into a loading mechanism. The plant roots are cleaned by rotatable, flexible flaps hitting the roots of the plants being transported between the parallel belts. The loading box has microswitch to determine when it is filled and ready for shifting to a second box, and to allow the plants to be pushed from the loading box into a packaging container where they can be placed on a conveyor and be conveyed to a closing platform on the wheeled frame.

Claims

1. A plant pulling and packing machine comprising in combination:

a. a wheeled frame;

b. a power source operatively connected to at least one wheel and attached to said frame for driving said wheeled frame when actuated;

c. at least one pair of parallel mounted endless belt means supported by said frame for gripping and transporting plants between parallel belts of said means;

d. loading box means for receiving plants being fed thereto by said parallel belts of said belt means, said loading box means for receiving plants having a fluid driven movable bottom shifting in response to plants being fed thereinto; and

e. means for cleaning roots of said plants being fed thereby by said endless belts.

2. The machine in accordance with claim 1 in which said loading box means'"'"' movable bottom includes a microswitch juxtaposed against said bottom for moving said bottom when said microswitch is actuated by pressure on the bottom of said loading box means.

3. The machine in accordance with claim 2 in which each loading box means includes a pair of loading boxes attached together and movable together to move the opening of one loading box out of the front of the end of said endless belt means while moving the second of said loading boxes into position for receiving plants from said end of said endless belt means.

4. The machine in accordance with claim 3 in which each said loading box of said loading box means includes a microswitch mounted to be actuated when said bottom of said box reaches a predetermined point for shifting said loading boxes to bring the other of said pair of loading boxes into position for receiving plants.

5. The machine in accordance with claim 4 in which said loading box has means for actuating said fluid driven bottom to push said bottom for removing said plants and said loading box into a separate loading container.

6. The machine in accordance with claim 5 having a conveyor mounted thereon for directing boxes filled from said box means to a frame mounted platform on said wheeled frame.

7. The machine in accordance with claim 6 in which said wheeled frame has platforms for operating personnel to stand upon.

8. The machine in accordance with claim 7 in which said parallel mounted endless belt means is rotatably attached to said wheeled frame at one end and is attached through linkage to a hydraulic cylinder at the other end for raising and lowering said other end for adjustment to rows of plants being picked.

9. The machine in accordance with claim 7 in which said pair of parallel mounted endless belt means are angled upwardly from said lower plant picking end.

10. The machine in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said pair of parallel mounted endless belt means includes a pair of endless conveyor belts each having idlers alternately mounted relatively to the idlers of the other endless conveyor belt for maintaining said belts in predetermined position.

11. The machine in accordance with claim 10 in which there are two pairs of parallel mounted endless belt means and two pair of loading means for receiving plants operating side by side.

12. The machine in accordance with claim 7 in which said power source is operatively connected to hydraulic pumps generating hydraulic pressure for driving said wheeled frame and for operatively driving said parallel mounted endless belt means and said loading box means responsive to controls from a central control box.

13. In a plant pulling and packing machine having a wheeled frame and a plant pulling and conveying means attached to said wheeled frame for picking plants from the earth and transporting the plants for packaging, wherein the improvement comprises in combination therewith:

a plant packing magazine located adjacent one end of said plant conveying means for receiving plants being picked and conveyed, said packing magazine having a receiving container and a backing plate located therein whereby received plants in said magazine are compressed against said backing plate;

backing plate actuating means attached to said backing plate for shifting said backing plate in said magazine responsive to predetermined pressure thereagainst by plants being received therein; and

means for removing said plants from said magazine into packaging containers.

14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 13 in which said backing plate is attached to a hydraulic cylinder rod and is shifted by actuation of said hydraulic cylinder.

15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 14 in which said backing plate is movably attached to said hydraulic cylinder rod and has a microswitch mounted thereon in spaced relationship to the backing plate for actuating said hydraulic cylinder when said backing plate is pushed thereagainst responsive to pressure from plants being received in said magazine.

16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 15 in which said backing plate has a movable portion movably attached to a fixed portion fixedly attached to said hydraulic cylinder rod and said microswitch is attached to said fixed portion of said backing plate for actuation by said movable portion.

17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 13 in which a pair of plant packing magazines are attached adjacent each other to a magazine frame, said frame being movable to shift one magazine from the one end of said conveying means and simultaneously locating the second magazine adjacent the one end of said plant conveying means.

18. The apparatus in accordance with claim 17 in which a microswitch is located to indicate when the backing plate has reached its end of travel position and the a fluid driven is connected to shift said frame holding said pair of magazines from a first position to a second position upon said microswitch being actuated by one magazine backing plate actuating said microswitch at its end of travel position.

19. The apparatus in accordance with claim 18 in which two pair of magazines are mounted to a self-propelled wheeled frame.

20. The apparatus in accordance with claim 13 in which said means to remove plants from a magazine includes said plant packing magazine being shaped to have a packaging container fit thereover and has means for actuating a fluid cylinder to drive said backing plate to push a loaded magazine back into its starting position thereby pushing plants from said magazine into said packaging container.

21. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 in which said fixed backing plate is shorter than said movable backing plate thereby preventing the entrapment of objects therebetween.