Abstract: A system for removing plant stalks from a field and shredding the plant stalks. The plant stalks are cut and passed through feed rollers which directly feed the plant stalk to a shredder. Compression of the plant stalks by the feed rollers increases as the plant stalks slide between the feed rollers in a variable nip formed by the feed rollers.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is disclosed for threshing seed crop, such as wheat, barley, rice, corn, beans and many others, by moving the seed crop circumferentially through a trough-shaped screen with openings through which the kernels can pass. A rotatable hub and a multiplicity of tines which project generally radially therefrom are coaxially rotatable relative to the screen. The hub and the tines are rotated so that the free tine ends, which are spaced from the screen, move past the screen at a speed approximately equal to the speed of the apparatus through the seed crop field. The hub and tines are vibrated to superimpose on their rotational movement a multiplicity of cyclical accelerations and decelerations as the seed crop moves from one side of the screen to the other to thereby separate the kernels from the plant growth.

Abstract: A fresh market tomato harvester comprises a leading knife for severing tomato plants, an inclined ascending conveyor for transporting the cut plants upwardly onto the harvester, a shaker bed for removing the tomatoes from the vines, transverse cross conveyors for receiving the tomatoes after they have been shaken from the vines and for transporting them laterally outward, longitudinally extending side sorting belts for receiving the tomatoes and transporting them rearwardly past workers who remove stems and other foreign matter as well as overripe fruit, sizing conveyors for automatically classifying the tomatoes by size and rejecting undersized tomatoes, and, optionally, a washing station for removing gummy matter and dust. The elevator carries arcuate tines, each of which is covered with surgical tubing which extends beyond the end of the metal tine to provide a resilient yielding structure.

Abstract: A vine crop, e.g. tomato harvester is disclosed which has a crop processing mechanism that is movable through a field and a rearwardly and upwardly inclined elevator or header that is pivotally connected to a forward end of the processing mechanism. A leading edge of the elevator is proximate the ground and a level control wheel is vertically movably connected to the header and positioned forward of its leading edge. The wheel is defined by a multiplicity of tines, the free ends of which engage the ground so that the wheel rolls over the ground as the harvester moves through the field. The tines have a longitudinally convex configuration facing in the direction of rotation of the wheel. A control mechanism is actuated by relative vertical movements of the wheel for raising and lowering the leading edge of the elevator in response to ground surface irregularities sensed by the wheel.

Abstract: A tomato sorter is described for removing culls, e.g. green tomatoes from the good, red tomatoes. An image of each tomato passing the station is formed on a light diffusing plate. Diffused light from the plate is divided into first and second light beams from which all but the red and the green light components, respectively, are removed with filters. The remaining light is sensed by separate photo-multipliers, the output of which is used to form red and green light intensity signals. When the differential between the red and green signals exceeds a predetermined value, a reject signal is generated which actuates a mechanism for removing the affected tomato from the tomato flow.