Abstract: The invention provides a harvester or other such vehicle with front wheel, and front and rear wheel steering. Steering, at various times, is only provided by the front wheels and at other times provided by the front and rear wheels. For four wheel vehicles, this is called two wheel and four wheel steering.

Abstract: A mobile plant harvester for harvesting plants having foliage or vines such as cucumbers, includes an inclined main conveyor having an upper run and an inclined gripping conveyor supported by a vertically adjustable sub-frame and having an arcuate lower and upper end portions and parallel upper and lower runs. The foliage gripping conveyor includes a plurality of foliage gripping bars which open when moving around the lower arcuate end portion to gently gather the foliage and crop and then close to grip the foliage and transport the foliage and crop upwardly for release onto the main conveyor with a minimum of crop loss. The harvester also includes means for cutting the foliage horizontally, and means for maintaining the foliage gripping conveyor and foliage cutters at the desired height when moving over rough ground are also disclosed.

Abstract: A height control system is disclosed for use on a harvester and includes at least one lightweight wheel which rides over the crop being harvested at a location forwardly of the vehicle in an undisturbed area of the crop without damaging the crop. The wheel detects upward or downward inclined portions of the ground and controls power means which raises or lowers at least one plant handling component of the harvester for maintaining the component at the desired elevation relative to the ground. The system also includes control means which sense varying ground speed and prevents undesirable jerky raising and lowering of the conveying components in response to the wheel riding over small articles such as rocks at different speeds.

Abstract: A thrashing system for a vegetable harvester including a plurality of tines on an oscillating shaker head which engage vines and shake the fruit such as cucumbers, from the vines. The fruit is collected on a cross conveyor and the vines are pulled through at least one pair of pinch rolls for discharge on the ground. A full width blower directs high pressure air across the cross conveyor to lift and spread the vines allowing disconnected fruit to fall therethrough onto the cross conveyor.

Abstract: An apparatus for field loading a plurality of containers onto a transport vehicle, comprises a platform disposed on a transport vehicle; a palletizer operably associated with the platform for progressively stacking a plurality of containers into a preselected stacked configuration from one end to the other end of the platform; and a conveyor for transporting each of the containers from the field onto the palletizer. The palletizer includes a false floor for forming thereon at least a row of the containers. The palletizer includes an elevator operably associated with the false floor for vertically transporting to the false floor each of the containers from the discharge end of the conveyor. The palletizer includes a transfer head for transferring each of the containers from the elevator to the false floor for forming at least a row of containers. The false floor is vertically and horizontally movable for positioning the false floor above at least a tier of previously stacked containers on the platform.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for lifting and stacking cartons onto a bed attached to a truck bed, especially in an agricultural field. The lifting apparatus includes two endless parallel belts to lift the cartons from the field onto a first conveyor. Variations in carton size or alignment may be accommodated by a pivoting loading frame or by lateral movement of the loader, which lateral movement is compensated for by a self-alignment mechanism. Cartons are transported to an elevator via a first and second conveyor. The elevator lifts the cartons to the level of a palletizer with a false floor wherein a reciprocating and pivoting transfer head removes the cartons from the elevator and deposits them onto the prestacking area of the palletizer false floor. Cartons may be selectively rotated into a transverse loading position by the transfer heads. Upon assembly of a first row of cartons, a tamping bar extends to position the cartons against the truck tailgate or against previously stacked cartons.

Abstract: A bale wagon has improved means for facilitating tier pattern selection and formation on a table of the wagon. A plurality of paddles are mounted on the table for sensing bale presence at any of a plurality of locations thereon and, upon sensing a bale, actuating some of a plurality of operable means associated with the table for arranging bales into a plurality of tier patterns on the table. A cam acts upon a plurality of links, being associated therewith and coupled with respective paddles, for selecting which of the paddles will actuate the operable means and in such manner thereby selects which of the tier patterns will be formed. The cam may be moved between different positions for selecting different ones of the paddles.

Abstract: A bale wagon adapted to pick up bales and form them into a composite stack and further adapted to unload individual bales from the formed stack in single bale fashion. The bale wagon basically comprises a load rack, a slightly forwardly inclined transfer table spaced forwardly of the load rack and moveable back and forth therebetween, and a vertically reciprocable receiving table interposed between the transfer table and load rack. During the loading mode of operation, the receiving table functions to transfer bales to the transfer table and after a complete tier has been formed thereon the transfer table moves rearwardly to a position adjacent the front end of the load rack where the tier is deposited. To unload, the transfer table is actuated rearwardly to the position adjacent the load rack, retrieves the end tier and moves back to its original position.