Abstract: A rotary plant cutter, in one example comprising: a base frame; a drum supported by the base frame; a first disk mounted within the drum and fixed to the drum; the first disk having surfaces defining a plurality of radial slots through the first disk; a second disk mounted within the drum adjacent to and above the first disk; the second disk configured to rotate relative to the first disk about a rotational axis; a drive unit having a housing fixed to the drum; and the drive unit having a shaft coupled to rotate the second disk relative to the first disk.

Abstract: A mobile field harvesting process for harvesting and further processing sugar-containing crops, such as sweet sorghum, includes cutting the crop, chopping the crop, and reducing the crop to the crop's separated juice and solids in the field. Separation is carried out using a chopper and a juicer. The juicer may be a screw press. The juice may be stored and fermented on the farm, followed by distillation by a mobile distillation process to separate the alcohol from the stillage.

Abstract: A motorized conveyor for moving a flow of harvest coming from a fruit harvesting machine, said conveyor comprising a plurality of rollers spaced longitudinally, said rollers being driven in rotation to move the flow of harvest on said rollers in a longitudinal direction between upstream and downstream transverse axes, each roller having a surface of revolution comprising grooves that extend transversely and continuously over its entire length, so as to enable transverse routing of said flow of harvest while it is being conveyed.

Abstract: A plant processor, having: a) a rotatable drum for receiving plant matter, the rotatable drum having a plurality of slots; b) a rotatable cutting reel positioned below the rotatable drum, the cutting reel rotatable in the opposite direction of the drum; c) a cutting knife horizontally positioned below the top of the reel; the cutting knife maintained in position by one or more magnets, the cutting knife slidable along a slot in a frame of the processor by a rod extending above the knife; and d) a motor to rotate a shaft secured to the reel, the shaft having a groove to frictionally engage a ring, the ring supporting the drum, whereby rotation of the reel rotates the drum in the opposite direction.

Abstract: Present-day harvest methods for sweet sorghum are labor intensive, and/or require that large quantities of matter be removed to a central location for processing. A field harvesting process for harvesting and further processing sweet sorghum includes cutting the crop and reducing it to its separated juice and solids in the field. The juice is stored and fermented on the farm, followed by distillation by a mobile distillation process to separate the valuable alcohol from the stillage.

Abstract: A conveying and separating device for root crop has a separating stretch with at least two rotatingly driven separating rollers, wherein the separating stretch receives a harvested material of root crop and admixed parts and wherein the at least two separating rollers transport on a topside of the separating stretch primarily the root crop while the admixed parts are removed in a screening phase through a screening gap between the at least two separating rollers. By a direct forced cleaning action, the at least two separating rollers are kept free at least of admixed parts that can adhere to the at least two separating rollers.

Abstract: Device for separating the stalks of fruit such as cherries, grouped together in clusters, from one another at their joining point, includes at least one hydraulic circuit including a tank (1) receiving the fruit to be treated; a centrifugal pump (2) connected to the tank for sucking up the liquid and the fruit therefrom; and at least one filtration device (3) receiving the liquid and the fruit discharged by the pump and capable of separating the fruit from the liquid. The tank has a base (4) which converges downwards as far as a lower outlet orifice (5) of this tank. The pump includes a housing (7) and at least one pumping wheel (9) guided in rotation relative to the housing along an at least substantially vertical axis (10) of rotation, and the pump has an axial suction inlet (11) connected below the lower outlet orifice.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for threshing legumes, comprising a frame which is movable over a ground surface, in which frame a drum which is rotatable about its at least substantially horizontally oriented axis of rotation is mounted, the drum surface of which is provided with one or more openings, wherein a main threshing element is disposed within the drum, which main threshing element is rotatable about its longitudinal axis extending at least substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum; wherein at least one auxiliary threshing element is disposed within the drum, which auxiliary threshing element is rotatable about its longitudinal axis extending at least substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum, and wherein additional conveying means are disposed within the drum for conveying the legumes to be threshed through the drum.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the processing of hop vines. An automated hop processor cuts bulk-harvested hop vines into manageable segments with a minimum of handling operations. The bulk of hop vines are off-loaded onto an infeed conveyor by positioning a transport on the infeed conveyor. After verifying proper position of the transport a fork can be inserted into the transport. The transport is moved off of the infeed conveyor and the fork removed from the bulk of hop vines. The Hop vines are then moved on the infeed conveyor to a cutter, after verifying the transport is clear of the infeed conveyor. The infeed conveyor is stopped when the hop vines are in position for cutting and the hops are cut with a cutting mechanism. The cut hop vines are then conveyed to a shredder for shredding and further processing into component hop cones and hop vine silage.

Abstract: A harvester for small fallen fruit is adapted to a conventional self propelled farm vehicle chassis moving over a row of planted shrubs with a system of long protruding rods that lifts up the leaves and branches of the fruit bearing shrubs, thus clearing the way for a pair of elongated rotating sweepers with one positioned to be running at one side of the row of shrubs and the other so positioned as to be on the opposite side of the same row of shrubs and each positioned to collect the fallen fruits from the surface of the plastic mulch and each of the elongated rotating brush directs the fruits into the mouth of its own dedicated air duct which propels the fruits into a cleaning unit that removes dirt, dust, leaves and twigs from the fruits before they fall into a collector bin.

Abstract: A harvester system for separating ripe fruit such as tomatoes from harvested plants includes first and second sorters for detecting and sorting loose fruit and accepting or rejecting the loose fruit on the basis of the detected color and a transport conveyor for recycling rejected loose fruit from the second sorter back through the first sorter.

Abstract: A tuber seed cutting apparatus includes a cutting section, a transport section, and a conveyor section. The cutting section includes a plurality of coulter blades coaxially spaced apart on a common axis. The transport section comprises a transport bed having a first side and an opposite second side and a plurality of rollers. The rollers move as a bed generally in a first direction towards the coulter blades, but rotate in a direction opposite the direction of the transport bed. The rollers comprise a plurality of first roller types and a plurality of second roller types that are placed adjacent either the first side or the second side, the second roller types being generally cylindrical and having a diagonal ridge placed on the circumference of the second roller type to direct items away from the sides and towards the center of the transport bed.

Abstract: A tomato harvester includes loading systems designed to receive cut plants and direct them into the harvester, shaker devices constituted by a number of sets of rods fitted radially on a common rotating support which are subject to the action of systems designed to make them vibrate and a feed belt designed to receive the plants from the loading systems and convey them to the shaker, following the route of the shaker rods. A number of support elements constituted by hoses or the like made of flexible material, guided by rings fitted to the ends of a set of arms integral with the conveyor belt are fitted in staggered positions in relation to the shaker rods so as to form a grid that supports the plants at a certain distance from the feed belt. Other systems for the harvester are designed to receive and discharge the plants that have been stripped of fruit.

Abstract: A row crop header for cutting row crops beneath the ground surface thereby increasing the percentage of brittle and bent over row crop harvested. The inventive device includes a pair of frames defining a slot therebetween, a hydraulic motor, a pair of corrugated belts, a pair of cutting discs overlapping one another, the cutting discs include a plurality of arcuate notches, a pair of capturing discs having a plurality of resilient tines and a pair of hubs. The arcuate notches in the cutting discs prevent debris such as rocks from becoming lodged in between the cutting discs while allowing the cutting discs to cut thick stalks of the row crop. The hubs rotate near a front portion of the respective pair of frames thereby elevating the pair of frames at the desired elevation for maintaining the desired penetration into the ground of the cutting discs.

Abstract: The invention is a harvester which is able to weigh harvested fruit. The harvester transfers the fruit from the harvester by a transfer conveyor. The weighing system is a first shoe and a second shoe supported on the end of the transfer conveyor. A load cell supports the second shoe and is used to determine the weight of the fruit in the second shoe. A linkage system is used to keep the first shoe and second shoe in desired relative positions as the transfer conveyor is moved up or down.

Abstract: There is provided an improved elevator control and slewing mechanism for a cane harvester including a bracket pivotally mounted to the harvester frame for rotation about a first vertical axis to which the elevator is mounted, a pair of slew control arms each of which includes two links which are pivotally joined to one another to form an elbow joint rotatable about a second vertical axis and means to pivotally couple one of the links of each pair to the harvester frame and the other one of each pair to the bracket and means for slewing the elevator about the first vertical axis.

Abstract: A potato harvester comprises a screening conveyor belt following a lifting device, an elevator disposed after the screening conveyor belt, a haulm separating device and a stone separating device. The elevator is formed from a double conveyor having an internally rotating bar-type conveyor belt with narrow openings and an externally rotating bar-type conveyor belt with wide openings. The two conveyor belts rotate in the same direction and are guided parallel to one another at least in the region of the conveying run of the elevator. One bar-type conveyor belt is further equipped with transversely directed entrainment webs which divide the gap between the conveying runs of the two conveyors into conveying compartments.