GB848938A - Improvements in or relating to an implement for harvesting beets or the like root vegetables - Google Patents

Abstract

848,938. Root crop harvesters. VAN DER LELY N. V., C. Nov. 6, 1956 [Nov. 7, 1955], No. 33868/56. Class 6(3). An implement for harvesting beets and other root crops comprises members for engaging the roots and rotating them about their longitudinal axes while they are still in the ground, for the purpose of loosening them and removing excess soil therefrom. As illustrated in Fig. 1, one of the crop-engaging members comprises an endless belt 26, driven via the transmission shaft 32 from the power take-off of the the traction vehicle, and supported by a beam 21A rigidly fixed to the frame 7 of the implement. The second member comprises a bar 38 pivotally mounted on a beam 37, which is in turn pivotally mounted on the frame 7, the two members being urged together by draw springs 40. That run of the belt 26 which is adjacent the bar 38 moves in the direction opposite the direction of advancement of the harvester, and its speed relative to that of the harvester is so adjusted that the roots engaged between the members 26 and 38 are rotated about their longitudinal axes without being moved in a direction transverse to those axes. The members 26 and 38 are inclined to the horizontal, thereby exerting a lifting force on the roots and removing them from the soil. The roots are dropped on to the ground when they reach the rear ends of the members 26 and 38 and are then picked up and deposited behind the harvester by the conveyer 45. The arrangement may be modified by providing a second endless belt in place of the bar 38 and arranging for the run adjacent the belt 26 to move rearwardly at a speed which is different from that of the belt 26. The harvester may alternatively be modified by substituting two powerdriven wheels 96 for the members 26 and 38, and by providing wheels 111 for the purpose of lifting the roots on to a conveyer 115, the wheels 111 being inclined to the vertical, and either being freely rotatable so as to be rotated by their contact with the ground as the harvester advances, or being driven. This latter modification forms the subject of Specification 848,939.