Boom for use in fruit picking machines, with a bar attached to its working end

Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is a boom for use in fruit picking devices, to the working end of which a bar is attached for attaching a tarpaulin.

state of the art

There are known machines for picking fruit from trees by shaking, comprising booms, to the working ends of which rods are permanently attached for attaching the tarpaulin on which the fruit is shaken.

From the Polish application of the invention No. P.424251, entitled "Device for harvesting fruit by shaking trees", there is known a device that consists of a support frame equipped with a wheel set and a drawbar adapted to be attached to a farm tractor, and a shaker is built on the frame , a shaft with a tarpaulin wound up, and next to this shaft, a belt conveyor with a blower of the purifier is mounted longitudinally, and then a grate for placing the boxes, the working units being hydraulically driven. The device comprises a tarpaulin underlay assembly consisting of a body and a tarpaulin guide, which are attached to the support frame by means of a structure. At both ends of the body there are upper and lower rollers, and in the middle part also side rollers. The axles of the rollers have a system of shifting in the transverse direction, carried out by means of bolts and nuts. In addition, on one side wall of the body there is a base with a hydraulic motor driving a toothed wheel, while the tarpaulin guiding system consists of two arched beams, made of a tubular beam with a cross-section similar to a rectangle, and a cooperating toothed bar is attached to the lower surface of the beam. with a toothed wheel. At the end of the lower part of the beams there is a hook to which a pin is attached and a tarpaulin is attached to the pin. The curved beams pass through a channel formed by bottom rollers, top rollers and side rollers. The slats can move to the extreme lower or upper position, but they must always be between the extreme rollers. Optionally, the upper ends of the beams are fastened together with a connector, which causes that both beams are rigidly connected to each other in order to obtain an even shift. Each of these beams consists of two parts: upper and lower, jointed with bolts, one of which is the axis of rotation when manually attaching the lower beam to the upper one, and the other is used to stiffen after unfolding the beams into the working position. The tarpaulin has a 2700 mm long slit, and the flaps of this slit overlap by 100 mm. At the end of the tarpaulin there is a cross-sectional strip in the form of an eye through which a pin passes. The arched beams function as extension arms, and the catches for the pins are in the form of beams.

From the Polish utility model application No. W.128114 entitled: "An aggregate with an automatically rolled-up and rolled-up screen, intended for harvesting cherries and other stone fruits", a fruit harvesting aggregate consisting of a frame made of a main supporting beam and a longitudinal beam is known auxiliary, interconnected by crossbeams. In the rear part, the frame is supported on torsion wheels with vertical extension, carried out by means of hydraulic cylinders, and in the front part, the frame is supported on a drawbar attached to a farm tractor. A longitudinal conveyor, a diagonal conveyor, a fruit cleaning fan are built on the frame, and a grate is mounted under the end part of the diagonal conveyor for placing boxes for falling cleaned fruit. In addition, a grate for empty additional boxes is built on the side of the frame. A service platform is located in the rear part of the frame. On the main longitudinal beam of the frame, two vertical columns are movable, having in their lower part transverse auxiliary beams fixed with one end to the vertical columns and the other end supported on the longitudinal auxiliary beam. Arch boom guides are attached to the top of these columns. The guides have three sets of rollers installed. Each set of rollers consists of an upper roller and two lower rollers, mounted on rolling bearings, and the bearings are mounted on pins permanently attached to the side walls of the guide. All rollers have a horizontal axis of rotation and are equipped with flanges for lateral guiding of the arched booms. Between the lower and upper rollers there are movable arched booms, driven by hydraulic motors via a drive gear and a rack attached to the arched boom. Arched booms consist of two parts: lower and upper, connected with each other by bolts, one of which is the axis of rotation. At the end of the lower part of the boom, a downward-facing bracket is attached and a crossbar is attached to this bracket, on which the end of the tarpaulin is placed. A shaft winding the tarpaulin, driven by a hydraulic motor, is built on the frame. To the rear vertical column, mounted on the main longitudinal bearing beam, an articulated and extendable arm is attached, and at the end of the arm, a swinging beam is attached, and a shaking unit is hung on this beam on elastic belts. The tarpaulin catching the shaken fruit is made of plastic, has a cut along its axis of symmetry on the side of the crossbars and is equipped with thresholds, and at the ends of these thresholds there are springs on which replaceable covers attached to the tarpaulin are placed. The aggregate is equipped with a camera used to signal the stop of the tractor and at the same time the aggregate when the tarpaulin cut is opposite the tree trunk.

From the movie Zwetschgen-Ernte bei Witzenhausen made available on Youtube on September 21, 2012, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-97AQfqKil, a device for harvesting fruit by shaking trees is known, where fruit from the tree is collected on a tarpaulin attached at one end to rods rigidly attached, at right angles, to the working ends of the arched booms. The other end of the tarpaulin is wound on the shaft.

In the hitherto known solutions of machines and aggregates for harvesting fruit from trees, during the operation of these devices, the tarpaulin mounting rods, which are extended towards the tree trunk, are often damaged. When the device operator stops the device in front of a tree from which he intends to collect fruit with the device, he very often has difficulties in determining whether the narrow space between the left and right tarpaulin mounting bars is located exactly opposite the tree trunk. Difficulties in determining the correct position of the device in relation to the tree trunk result from the considerable distance between the tarpaulin mounting rods and the tree trunk when the operator stops the unit in front of the tree and the tarpaulin is rolled up. As a consequence, there is a risk that when unrolling or rolling up the tarpaulin, one of the tarpaulin fixing rods will hit the tree trunk or catch on this trunk and be damaged. Damage to the tarpaulin rod causes the entire fruit harvesting device to malfunction. In addition, snagging or hitting a tree trunk can disrupt or destroy the bark of the tree and even the deeper tissues of the tree trunk.

Another disadvantage of the hitherto known solutions, in which rods are rigidly attached to booms (beams), especially arched booms, is the uneven load on the tarpaulin, and as a result, its uneven positioning, in the section between the end of the tarpaulin and the winding shaft, in the normal, non-collision mode with the tree trunk. operation of the machine, which in turn causes excessive sagging of the tarpaulin on the non-tensioned side, and as a result, faster wear of the tarpaulin material, as well as the risk of the hanging tarpaulin fragment catching on the ground elements (e.g. low plants) and mechanical damage to the tarpaulin.

The solution of the present invention solves the problems of:

- the risk of catching or hitting the tree trunk by the tarpaulin mounting bar when unrolling or rolling up the tarpaulin, and as a result, the risk of damaging the tarpaulin bar, which results in the failure of the entire fruit harvesting device,

- the risk of damaging the tree when unrolling or rolling up the tarpaulin,

- uneven arrangement of the tarpaulin in the section between the end of the tarpaulin and the winding shaft, which may result in damage to the tarpaulin.

The essence of the invention

The essence of the solution according to the invention is a boom for use in devices (e.g. aggregates) for picking fruit, especially for picking fruit from trees by shaking, to the working end of which a bar is attached, intended for attaching a tarpaulin. The bar is attached to the working end of the extension arm in an articulated way, preferably tilted.

Preferably, the bar is attached to the operative end of the boom via a bracket. Preferably, the bracket faces downwards.

Preferably, the bar is attached to the lower part of the bracket via a profile.

Preferably, a base is permanently attached to the lower part of the bracket, and a plate ensuring rotational movement is screwed to the base, the plate being screwed with a bolt and a nut, and a profile to which the bar is attached is attached to the plate.

The boom may be arc-shaped.

The boom may consist of more than one part.

Preferably, the set for harvesting fruit from trees, adapted to be attached to a farm tractor, with an automatically rolled up and rolled up tarpaulin and arched booms, to the end of which rods are articulated, driven by drive belts, has a frame supported in the rear part on torsion wheels and in the front part it is supported on a drawbar adapted to hitch a farm tractor. Preferably, the following are mounted on the frame: a longitudinal conveyor, a diagonal conveyor, a cleaning fan, a service platform, a grate for crates, and two arched extension arms are mounted on the frame, preferably movably mounted in guides attached to vertical columns. Further, the frame is preferably fitted with a tarpaulin winding shaft, a shaking unit and a hydraulic drive unit. The frame consists of a main longitudinal beam and a secondary longitudinal beam, connected by cross beams. Two vertical columns are movably placed on the main longitudinal beam, stabilized transversely to the longitudinal axis of the unit with cross beams fixed at one end to the vertical columns and with the other end supported movably on an auxiliary longitudinal beam. The transverse support beams keep the upright columns in an upright position while sliding over the main longitudinal beam to a different position. A winch is used to move it, attached to the catches located on the vertical column and on the longitudinal main beam. In the upper part of the vertical columns, there are arched boom guides equipped with sets of rollers guiding the curved booms. Arched booms at the working ends of their lower parts have brackets directed downwards, and rods are attached to these brackets, on which one end of the tarpaulin is attached, while the other end of the tarpaulin is attached to the winding shaft. An articulated extendable arm is attached to the vertical column with a pivoting and rotating beam attached to this arm, and the shaking unit is hung on this beam, and the rods are attached to the brackets in an articulated, preferably tilting, manner.

Preferably, the movement of the arched boom is driven by a hydraulic motor equipped with an automatic brake.

Preferably, the ends of the drive belt cooperating with the drive wheel driven by a hydraulic motor are attached to both ends of the arched boom.

Advantageously, the arched boom comprises a lower and an upper part, the lower and upper parts being articulated so that the lower part can be lifted and put on the upper part so that when the boom is not used for fruit picking with the aggregate, this boom occupied less space than in the unfolded state.

Preferably, at the end of the working end of the boom, a stop is mounted to fix the end position of the boom during operation. Preferably, electronic sensors mounted inside the boom guide are used to switch off the drive in the end positions.

Advantageously, in the solution according to the invention, a mechanism has been used to ensure the tilting movement of the rod in a plane parallel to the plane tangential to the curvature of the tarpaulin, the tangential plane being determined at the point of the extendable end of the tarpaulin.

The tarpaulin winding shaft is mounted on the frame of the unit, it is driven by a hydraulic motor, equipped with an automatically operating brake.

The fruit-capturing tarpaulin is made in the form of a net or is made of a uniform elastic material, and has a cut along its symmetry axis along the length of about half the unrolling length of this tarpaulin, ending with an elastic material. The tarpaulin is equipped with thresholds made of flexible material, stiffened with plastic or metal profiles or a combination of these two materials, and at the ends of the thresholds there are torsion springs.

Replaceable caps are placed on the protruding bayonet spring ends, while the lower parts of these caps are attached to the tarpaulin. The springs give the covers a slightly upward position, and at the beginning of the cut, the edge of the covers is reinforced with a steel cord, while the material of the entire tarpaulin is reinforced with longitudinal strips.

During the operation of the set, the booms with the tarpaulin attached to the rods are extended towards the tree from which the fruit is to be picked, unrolling the tarpaulin from the shaft. When fruits are shaken from the tree on the tarpaulin, the booms are retracted while the tarpaulin is rolled up on the shaft, and the fruits from the tarpaulin fall onto the conveyor belt for transporting fruit towards the rear of the unit, where the fruit is poured into dedicated crates . Preferably, the retraction and extension of the booms is carried out by the guides of the booms, and preferably, to both ends of each arched boom, the ends of the drive belt of a given boom cooperating with the drive wheel of a given boom, driven by a hydraulic motor, are attached.

Articulated, preferably hinged, fastening of the bar that fastens the end of the tarpaulin protects the bar against damage in case of being caught on a tree trunk when extending or retracting the tarpaulin. Articulated, preferably hinged, fixing of the bar is also important for the protection of the tree bark in the event of a collision of the tree trunk with the bar. An advantageous effect of the invention is also the even arrangement and tension of the tarpaulin in the section between the end of the tarpaulin and the winding shaft.

Explanation of the figures of the drawing

The subject of the invention in an embodiment is shown in the drawing, where:

Fig. 1 - shows, in an axonometric view, a set for harvesting fruit from trees, which includes two arched booms, to whose working ends tilting bars are attached, and a tarpaulin attached to these bars is also shown, in an unfolded position - adapted for harvesting fruit.

Fig. 2 - shows, in an axonometric view, the working end of the boom, to which the bar for attaching the tarpaulin is hingedly attached.

Fig. 3 - shows a side view of the working end of the boom, to which the bar for attaching the tarpaulin is hingedly attached.

An embodiment of the invention

In an embodiment of the invention, the aggregate A for harvesting cherries and other fruits from trees, with an automatically unfolding and rolling tarpaulin P, has two guides R for arched booms and two arched booms 8. The movement of the curved boom 8 is driven by a hydraulic motor equipped with an automatic brake.

A bracket 2 directed downwards is attached to the working end 1 of the boom 8, and a transverse bar 6 is hingedly attached to this bracket 2, on which the end of the tarpaulin P is placed.

Tilting attachment of the rod 6 to the working end 1 of the boom 8 by means of the bracket 2 is carried out in such a way that a base 3 is welded to the lower part of the bracket 2, and a plate 4 is screwed to this base 3, ensuring rotational movement, this plate is screwed is by means of a screw with a nut 7. The bracket 2 has a recess that allows the nut of the screw 7 to be operated. In addition, a profile 5 is attached to the plate 4, to which a bar 6 is attached, and one end of the tarpaulin P is attached to this bar.

During the operation of the set, the booms 8 with the tarpaulin P attached to the bars 6 move towards the tree from which the fruit is to be picked, unrolling the tarpaulin P from the shaft W. When the tarpaulin P contains fruits shaken off the tree, the booms 8 retract when the tarpaulin P is wound onto the shaft W, the fruits from the tarpaulin P fall onto the conveyor belt T for transporting the fruits towards the rear part of the unit A, where the fruits are poured into the boxes intended for this purpose.