Drawn cotton picker

Abstract

One or two conventional picking units are mounted on a two-wheel, high clearance running gear or frame. A two-point hitch is coupled to the draft links of a tractor or an equal-angle hitch is coupled to the tractor drawbar. Hitch and tongue interface on the harvester facilitates sharp turn angles between the implement and the tractor through use of a pivoting member containing the driveline powering the units from the tractor. A center pivot tongue allows offset for appropriate row alignment and provides improved maneuverability and implement steering on headlands and turn rows. A hydraulic cylinder connected to the tongue or a crossed four-bar linkage structure controls tongue angle. A basket is supported at the rear of the frame and the row units are located forwardly of the frame to provide counterbalancing forces about the wheel axis.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to cotton harvesters and, more specifically, to a tractor-drawn cotton pickerBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Much of the world cotton crop is harvested by hand, and cotton growers in many of the hand harvest regions are experiencing scarcity of laborers and rising labor costs. Often the cotton harvesting operations include a mix of hand labor and basic mechanization. Most cotton growers in the hand harvest regions cannot justify the capital required for self-propelled machines, and available small to medium sized tractors have insufficient capacity for a tractor-mounted harvester. Therefore, an efficient, low-cost cotton harvester powered by a small row-crop tractor is desirable to alleviate the burden of hand labor and shortage of labor in the many harvest regions.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION[0003]In an embodiment of the invention, one or two conventional picking units are mounted on a special two-wheel, high clearanc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0003]In an embodiment of the invention, one or two conventional picking units are mounted on a special two-wheel, high clearance running gear. Tread spacing is adjustable for different row spacing. A two-point hitch is coupled to the draft links of a tractor or an equal-angle hitch is coupled to the tractor drawbar. Hitch and tongue interface on the harvester facilitates sharp turn angles between the implement and the tractor through use of a pivoting member containing the driveline powering the units from the tractor. An engine can be mounted on the implement to avoid the driveline.

[0004]A center pivot tongue allows offset for appropriate row alignment and provides improved maneuverability and implement steering on headlands and turn rows. A hydraulic cylinder connected to the tongue controls tongue angle, either automatically or manually. Alternatively, a crossed four-bar linkage structure can provide automatic steering that eliminates the need for an operator to manually steer the implement on the headlands or on the row.

[0006]An air system conveys cotton from the picking units to a basket mounted behind the two running gear wheels. The contents of the basket can be conveniently unloaded into a trailer, accumulator or other cotton receiver for bagging or further processing. The basket is cantilevered rearwardly from the frame, and the forwardly mounted row units and tongue offset the weight of a full basket to provide a balanced full-basket condition.

Problems solved by technology

Much of the world cotton crop is harvested by hand, and cotton growers in many of the hand harvest regions are experiencing scarcity of laborers and rising labor costs.

Most cotton growers in the hand harvest regions cannot justify the capital required for self-propelled machines, and available small to medium sized tractors have insufficient capacity for a tractor-mounted harvester.

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