AU6547101A

AU6547101A - Improved vine pruning machine

Info

Publication number: AU6547101A
Application number: AU65471/01A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Colin Anthony McArther; Christopher John Quinton; Darren Clyde Ross
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-08-28
Filing date: 2001-08-28
Publication date: 2002-03-07
Also published as: AUPQ968600A0

Description

52238 GEH:PFB P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicants: CHRISTOPHER JOHN QUINTON, DARREN CLYDE ROSS and COLIN ANTHONY McARTHER Name of inventors: CHRISTOPHER JOHN QUINTON and DARREN CLYDE ROSS Address for Service: COLLISON CO.,117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Invention Title: IMPROVED VINE PRUNING MACHINE Details of Associated Provisional Applications: PQ9686 Dated 28th August 2000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: This invention relates to improvements in or relating to vine pruning machines.

There have been various developments in viticulture over the past years and an important one has been the growing of vines on trellises and on wires so that the grapes can be harvested mechanically and also pruned by a vine pruning machine.

One form of pruning machine has a horizontal cutter bar having a horizontal knife reciprocating through ledger plates and fingers to cut the canes which extend upwardly from the main branches of the vine. The vine pruning machine also has a vertical cutter bar which thus cuts the laterally extending canes on one side of the vine. After cutting the canes thus fall in random fashion from the cutter bars. The pruning machine is mounted on the side of a tractor, the cutter bars preferably being driven by hydraulic motors from the hydraulic system on the tractor.

However with reference to the horizontal cutter bar, a large proportion of the canes after cutting fall into the vine itself where they can become entangled with the vine.

These have to be manually removed which results in many man hours being part of the post pruning clean-up.

Also pruning machines are known having rotary cutters or saws rotating at high speed, for example patent Nos. AU 717599, AU 200012456, PCT/FR97/00578, US 5,544,444, US 4206585 and AU 199528366. However while PCT/FR97/00578 has provision for the canes to be lifted and fed to spiked rolls which feed the canes into two concentric drums provided with cutters to eject them through a rear hatch together with crushing means to shred the canes, none of the other specifications have no means for preventing the canes falling into the vine. Patent FR 2587169 describes a machine having further cutters for the shredding of the cut canes and DE40 37 590 has rotary catching baskets.

25 It is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which will substantially overcome the above problem.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vine pruning machine which moves the cut canes away from the vine area.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an attachment to the cutter bar of a vine pruning machine which moves the canes laterally after being cut.

Thus there is provided according to the invention an attachment to a cutter bar of a vine pruning machine, the attachment moving the cut canes away from the vine area.

Also there is provided a vine pruning machine having a generally horizontal cutter bar, and conveyor means to move the cut canes to the side of the vine.

Preferably the conveyor is a chain conveyor with slats or the like to move the canes to the side of the vine.

In another form the conveyor can be a V-belt with upstanding pegs or the like to engage and move the canes, the axis of the pulleys being generally vertical or inclined backwardly of the cutter bar so that the retumrn of the belt is lower than the forward motion of the belt.

Preferably also there may be provided a shield or cover to prevent the canes from being engaged by the return motion of the V-belt.

In another form of the invention the conveyor may be a V-belt running on pulleys whose axes are generally horizontal, pegs or the like extending from the rear surface of the belt so that on the forward motion the pegs extend upwardly and on the retumrn motion the pegs extend downwardly.

In order to more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- ••ooo Figure 1 is a rear view of a machine according to one embodiment, and Figure 2 is a view of a second form of the invertion.

.;°*.Referring to Figure 1 which shows vertical cutter bar 1 and horizontal cutter bar 2 of a grape pruning machine mounted on a tractor, the remainder of the machine and tractor on which it is mounted being omitted for the sake of clarity. As shown the grape pruning machine passes over the row of vines 3, the vertical cutter bar 1 and the horizontal cutter 2 passing along the side and top of the vine to cut the canes extending from the side and from the top of the vine.

A conveyor belt 5 passing over rollers (not shown) mounted in a frame 6 which is attached to the rear of the horizontal cuter bar. The belt can be driven by a motor 7 which can be either electric or hydraulic, or by any other drive, such as from the power-take-off of the tractor.

Figure 1 shows a rear view of the conveyor the belt 5 having cleats or slats 8 attached to the belt to move the cut canes sideways. In this view the return run of the belt is shown with the belt moving in the direction shown.

In an alternate form of the invention, the conveyor may be a V-belt 9 passing over pulleys 10, the V-belt having upstanding pegs 11 or paddles to engage and move the canes. To prevent the pegs or paddles on the return of the belt engaging the canes a shield 12 is provided to deflect the cut canes away form the return run of the belt.

In a further embodiment the V-belt may be mounted on pulleys having horizontal axles, the belt thus having an upper run and a lower run. Pegs or the like extend from the belt, the pegs on the upper run extending upwardly and on the lower run extending downwardly.

While the above describes the use of a belt, or V belt, the invention preferably includes the use of a chain passing over sprockets, the pegs, paddles or the like being attached to the chain. Preferably the sprockets run on generally horizontal axles so that on the return run of the chain the pegs, paddles or the like extend downwardly and are thus not in contact with any canes.

0 Thus it can be seen that by provision of a conveyor on the rear of the horizontal cutter bar, the canes can be moved sideways away from the row of vines and are •thus prevented from falling into the vines themselves, thus facilitating easier post pruning clean-up.

25 While in the specification and claims the invention has been described with reference to a vine pruning machine having a cutter bar having a reciprocating knife and ledger plates it is to be realized the invention is not to be limited to a limited thereto for the conveyor can be fitted to pruning machines having rotary cutters and the term cutter bar is extended to include rotary cutters mounted on a bar or framework.

Although various forms of the invention have been described, the invention is not to be limited thereto, but can include variations and modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An attachment to bar or frame of a vine pruning machine having cutting means mounted on a prime mover such as a tractor, the attachment including means for mounting the attachment to the bar or frame, and the attachment including means for moving the cut canes away from the vine area and deposit the canes to the side of the vine.

2. An attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the machine has a cutter bar with a reciprocating knife and ledger plates and wherein the means for moving the cut canes comprises a conveyer rearwardly of the cutter bar to deposit the canes to the side of the vine, and means for driving the conveyor.

3. An attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein conveyor is a chain running over sprockets, spaced upstanding pegs or the like being attached to the chain to move the canes away from the vine

4. An attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein the conveyor is a belt conveyor 15 with upstanding slats, pegs or the like to move the canes to the side of the vine. :i

5. An attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein the belt runs on pulleys having generally vertical axles, the run of the belt closest the cutter bar moving the canes to the side of the vine.

6. An attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein pulleys supporting the belt are on rearwardly inclined axles so that the forward run of the belt moving the canes is at a higher level than the retum run of the belt.

7. An attachment as defined in any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein a shield is provided between the forward and return runs of the belt to prevent cut canes from reaching the retumrn run of the belt.

8. An attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein the belt runs on pulleys whose axles are generally horizontal, pegs or the like extending from the belt so that on the forward run of the belt the pegs extend upwardly and on the return run the pegs extend downwardly.

9. An attachment as defined in any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein the conveyor is driven by an electric motor.

An attachment as defined in any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein the conveyor is driven by a hydraulic motor.

11. An attachment as defined in any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein the conveyor is driven mechanically from a power takeoff of the tractor.

12. A vine pruning machine having a generally horizontal cutter bar, a conveyor mounted on the cutter bar rearwardly of the cutter on the cutter bar, said conveyor being a chain having upstanding pegs or the like to engage the cut canes and move the canes away from the vine to deposit the canes at the side of the vine.

13. An attachment or fitting to a vine pruning cutter bar substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A vine pruning machine having a generally horizontal cutter bar, and a .conveyer means mounted on the rear of the cutter bar substantially as 15 hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 28th day of August 2001 CHRISTOPHER JOHN QUINTON; DARREN CLYDE ROSS S* and COLIN ANTHONY McARTHER By their Patent Attorneys, 20 COLLISON CO.