Patent Application
20220104428
The present invention is in the field of agricultural equipment, and more particularly, a single piece of equipment that both defoliates sugar beets and saves the sugar beet tops.
The present invention offers four distinct but related advantages over current technology for defoliating and top saving sugar beets. First, the present invention is able to both defoliate sugar beets (leaving the defoliated vegetation between the rows for decomposition and green manure) and save the sugar beet tops in a windrow to the side of the beet roots to be harvested and later used for livestock feed. Until the present invention, there was no single machine that could accomplish both of these tasks. As a result, capital acquisition and maintenance costs are decreased, as are labor costs associated with running the equipment.
Second, the present invention creates a higher quality livestock feed that is free of excessive dirt in the topped windrow to be later utilized by livestock. Third, the present invention is designed to save the beet tops without excessive root yield loss due to the dislodging of harvestable beet roots or excessive crowning. Fourth, the present invention leaves the beet root ready to be harvested with one operator, one pass, and only one machine. Although there have been innovations in both beet defoliators and top savers, there is nothing in the prior art that combines both of these functions in the same piece of equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,258,456 (Pulver et al., 1918) is one of the first examples of prior art in this area. This patent covers a beet topping machine with two ground wheels, two trailer wheels, fenders or gathering members, a vertical cutting disc, and a plurality of horizontally disposed cutting members. Each fender has a forward end with a bent portion that forms a substantially horizontal flange. The leafy tops that have been severed from the beet roots are thrown to the side. The topper frame swings laterally by means of foot levers controlled by the operator. The machine is operated by draught animals or by mechanical power such as a tractor.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,314,681 (Beatty, 1942) describes a beet topper and digger comprised of a pair of vertically adjustable, spaced-apart, foliage-lifting members, a link member hinged to each foliage-lifting member and extending rearwardly therefrom, and a beet-engaging runner hinged to the rear extremity of each link member. The runners are configured to rise and fall in accordance with the height of the beets in the ground. Co-acting topping knives are carried by the runners and positioned to top the beets passing between them.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,358,400 (Kiest, 1942) is another example of a beet topper and digger. This invention comprises an upwardly inclined conveyor and vertically adjustable digging elements, each of which is comprised of a cylindrical shank with terminal shoes. The beet topping mechanism is comprised of a belt-shaped member with a beet-topping knife. A substantially V-shaped pressure shoe depends from the frame in front of the bell-shaped member and comprises pivotally connected plates with springs between them. The beet tops are thrown laterally in windrows by the revolving bell-shaped member.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,478,877 (Smith, 1949) provides a beet harvester with lifting plows that dig up topped beets and deposit them onto an elevating conveyor belt, which carries them to a receiving hopper. The receiving hopper dumps the topped beets at desired intervals into a receiving truck. The topping mechanism comprises an inverted, U-shaped floating frame and a curved topping knife extending across the bottom of the floating frame. Feeler frames are hingedly attached to the front of each side of the floating frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,505,089 (Bailey et al., 1950) discloses a beet topper with two pairs of discs, a plurality of spaced supporting rods, and a plurality of topping or stripping bars spaced apart from one another by spacing blocks. In order to remove the topped foliage, a separate blower must be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,587,258 (Wilkinson, 1952) shows a beet cleaning apparatus comprised of a wheeled supporting frame, a horizontal elongated rotatable beater unit mounted on the frame, and bracket means rotatably supporting the beater unit. The beater unit includes a multiplicity of axially spaced flexible flail elements extending radially from the axis of the beater unit. The beater unit and bracket means are movable up and down about a pivot means. A locator shoe connected to the bracket means extends ahead of and adjacent to the lower edge of the beater unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,759,318 (Oppel, 1956), titled “Beater Type Topping Machine,” describes a machine that can be used to remove the tops of sugar beets, potatoes, and the like. The machines comprises a multiplicity of beater elements or flails mounted on a shaft. The machine comprises a tongue for connection to a towing vehicle and a hood that is pivotally connected to the tongue. The hood may be raised and lowered to adjust it to the proper height for operation of the beater.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,833 (Nelson, 1962) covers a beat topping machine that functions as a top saver but not a defoliator. This machine is comprised of a cutting mechanism with a rectangularly shaped reinforcing frame and an elongate shaft. A plurality of cutting elements are arranged along the entire length of the sleeve positioned around the shaft. The cutting elements are formed of rigid metallic material. Each cutting element has one end that is acutely bent into a U-shaped configuration and another end that is provided with a replaceable cutting tip. The invention further comprises an auger conveyor situated within a frame. A trimming mechanism is positioned rearwardly of the cutting mechanism and the conveyor mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,017 (Wells, 1067) provides an apparatus for topping sugar beets and saving the severed tops. The invention comprises a mobile frame, a cutter disc positioned on the frame for topping beets, a cutter drive means, and a stationary deflector means extending across the upper surface of the cutter disc and positioned to guide the tops rearwardly over and from the upper surface of the cutter disc. The invention further comprises a top pickup means that is rotatably carried by the frame rearwardly of the cutter disc and configured to lift and transfer the tops from the cutter disc rearwardly in a continuous flow above the ground surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,900 (Weichel, 1969) illustrates a self-loading wagon for harvesting sugar beets. The invention is a self-loading truck with a loading chamber, means for severing the head portions of sugar beets, a first conveyor means for transporting the beet tops to the first compartment, a plurality of means for uprooting the root portions, and a second conveyor means for transporting the root portions to the second compartment. Secondary conveyors transport the material to the rear of each compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,136 (Eisenhardt, 1971) discloses a foliage-removing machine with power-driven rotors and power-driven crop-scalping units with cutting discs. Rigid flails mounted on the forward rotor and flexible flails mounted on the rear rotos are separated with a transverse wall carrying a downwardly directed flexible shield. Vertically adjustable connectors mount the scalping units and ground-supporting wheels at the rear of the machine. The cutting discs are driven by the ground wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,795 (Rabb et al., 1973) provides a beet topping and windrowing apparatus with a reduced turning radius that is achieved through the use of a plurality of follower wheels. The apparatus includes a pickup means having a plurality of rows of fingers, each finger being generally L-shaped in configuration, and a stripper means disposed vertically above and rearwardly of the pickup means for transferring items picked up by the pickup means to a conveyor. The stripper means has a rotatably mounted member with a plurality of longitudinally extending flaps disposed about the periphery. With this invention, the severed beet tops are laid flat on the ground and then picked back up by the fingers. This results in a lot of dirt in the windrow.
U.S. Pat. No. RE27695 (Barnes, 1973) discloses a beet topping assembly comprised of a series of beet topper units, each of which has a finder wheel and a topping knife. The invention further comprises a plurality of pivotal support members, the finder wheels and topping knives being suspended from the pivotal support members at equally spaced transverse intervals, and an overhead spring control mechanism mounted on a tractor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,681 (Glifberg, 1977) shows a machine for the removal of foliage from root crops, including sugar beets. The machine includes a frame with a shaft that carries a stripping wheel. The stripping wheel is rotatably mounted in a forwardly open casing and has wings of propeller blade-like pitch for removing the foliage and carrying it away by means of an air stream generated by the wings. A vertically adjustable knife is attached to the machine frame behind the casing and severs the crowns of the sugar beets. The invention further comprises a cleaning and conveying wheel that is configured to clean the knife and carry away any plant residues that might otherwise obstruct the function of the knife.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,201 (Christensen, 1979) provides an apparatus for removing the tops of plants, such as onions, prior to their harvesting. The invention includes a floating frame secured to a fixed frame, the floating frame having rotating fingers for lifting the top and a rotating cutter blade for cutting the tops. The invention further comprises cleaning means for cleaning the rotating positioning fingers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,034 (Gates et al., 1997) discloses a foldable root crop defoliator comprised of a central frame with lateral wings that are pivotally attached to the central frame. Plant top cutting and shredding devices are mounted to the wing frames and driven by a power train connected to the towing vehicle. The two lateral wings are independently adjustable relative to the ground. Each lateral wing may be rotated upward to a vertical position for transport or storage.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 20180317382 (Richer et al) describes a beet head rimming apparatus for a beet-harvesting machine. The invention comprises a frame, two flail hubs rotatable about an axis, flails that are designed to remove leaves from beets remaining in the ground, and a drive configured to drive the flail hubs in relation to the frame. The flails are preferably blunt and have no cut edge. The beet head trimming apparatus is preferably a module that can be coupled to or decoupled from the beet-harvesting machine.
The present invention is a sugar beet defoliator and top saver comprising: a frame; a removable cover situated on top of the frame; a conveyor extending laterally from a first side of the frame to a second side of the frame; a plurality of steel flails disposed about a first rotating shaft, the first shaft being situated within the frame between a front end of the frame and the conveyor; a plurality of rubber flails disposed about a second rotating shaft, the second rotating shaft being situated within the frame rearward of the conveyor; two pairs of ground wheels situated outside of and rearward of the frame; a plurality of scalper blades arranged transversely relative to the frame and situated rearwardly of the two pairs of ground wheels; an interior shroud that is situated inside of the frame between the steel flails and a front end of the frame; and a crank arm that is configured to move a deflector plate from a first position to a second position; wherein the interior shroud is curved in shape and creates a space between an interior surface of the interior shroud and the plurality of steel flails, and wherein the space between the interior surface of the interior shroud and the plurality of steel flails increases from a bottom of the interior shroud to a top of the interior shroud; and wherein the deflector plate has a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the deflector plate is hingedly attached to the frame, wherein when the deflector plate is in the first position, it extends horizontally parallel with a top end of the interior shroud, and when the deflector plate is in the second position, it is situated between the plurality of steel flails and the conveyor.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention further comprises a first mud flap situated between the conveyor and the plurality of rubber flails. In another preferred embodiment, the present invention further comprises a second mud flap extending downwardly from a top part of the frame between the plurality of rubber flails and the two pairs of ground wheels.
In a preferred embodiment, the first rotating shaft is configured to be driven by a power takeoff situated on a rear end of a tractor, and the invention further comprises a draw bar situated at a front end of the frame and configured for attachment to the rear end of the tractor. Preferably, the present invention further comprises a turnbuckle that is configured to adjust a height of the frame relative to a ground.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention further comprises a first hydraulic motor that is configured to adjust a height of the plurality of scalper blades, a second hydraulic motor that is configured to operate a steering system that is mechanically coupled to the two pairs of ground wheels, a third hydraulic motor that is configured to drive the second rotating shaft, and a fourth hydraulic motor that is configured to operate the conveyor.
In a preferred embodiment, the frame comprises two opposing side walls, the frame has a width that is defined by the distance between the two opposing side walls, the conveyor has a width that is defined by the length of the conveyor, and the width of the conveyor is greater than the width of the frame so that the conveyor extends beyond the side walls of the frame on either side of the frame.
The third attachment point between the invention and the tractor is at the hydraulic hose connection box 22. As shown in this figure, the invention comprises four sets (or stacks) of hydraulic hoses. Each stack is operated via a separate control in the cab of the tractor. The upper-most pair (first stack) of hydraulic hoses 22a control the hydraulic cylinder 23 that raises and lowers the scalper blades 9. The second stack of hydraulic hoses 22b controls the hydraulic cylinder 39 that operates the steering system (see
Now that the structure of the invention has been described in detail, we will turn to the operation of the machine. As the tractor moves forward, with all hydraulic motors activated and the deflector plate in an up position, the steel flails 5 remove the tops from the sugar beets, throwing them onto the conveyor 3, which deposits the beet tops to the right or left of the machine. The steel flails 5 remove approximately ninety percent (90%) of the beet tops, and the rubber flails 58 remove the remaining ten percent (10%). It is a significant advantage of the present invention that the beet tops are not removed, dropped onto the ground, and then picked up again (as with a conventional top saver machine). Instead, the beet tops are removed and deposited on either side of the machine without ever touching the ground in between (i.e., they are cut and deposited—not cut, deposited, picked up again, and deposited again). This results in less dirt and debris being included with the beet tops, which are typically used as livestock feed.
With the deflector in a lowered position, the beet tops are cut by the steel flails and deposited into rows corresponding to the gaps between the groups of steel flails. Note that the conveyor would be turned off if the deflector plate is down. The scalper blades remove the crowns of the beets. Thus, the present invention performs three functions—the removal of beet tops by the steel flails, defoliation by the rubber flails, and de-crowning of the beets by the scalper blades. No other machine in existence today performs all three of these functions at the same time. Furthermore, the present invention allows the operator to deposit the beet tops in windrows to either side of the machine or to leave them on the ground underneath the machine, where they are pulverized further by the rubber flails.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
