Leaf vegetable harvester and harvesting method

Abstract

The invention relates to a leaf vegetable harvester and a method, belongs to the technical field of agricultural machinery, and particularly relates to a leaf vegetable harvester which comprises a crawler chassis and a harvesting mechanism, and a support is arranged on the crawler chassis; the harvesting mechanism comprises a hydraulic cylinder installed on the support and a digging shovel installed at the front end of the support, and a piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder is connected with the digging shovel and used for driving the digging shovel to do linear reciprocating motion. By controlling the digging shovel to perform reciprocating digging operation on leafy vegetables, the leafy vegetables can be more efficiently dug out, root systems of the leafy vegetables are more thoroughly dug, and interference of residual root systems on follow-up planting operation is reduced; meanwhile, the workload caused by manual supplementary harvesting due to non-uniform harvesting or omission can be reduced, and the labor cost is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a leafy vegetable harvester and a harvesting method, belonging to the technical field of agricultural machinery. Background Art

[0002] Leafy vegetables are vegetables whose main edible part is the leaves, such as celery. Currently, leafy vegetables are harvested mainly by hand, with some harvested mechanically. During leafy vegetable harvesting, if the cutter continues to use a straight-line hard-pushing method when digging into the soil to dig the roots, a series of problems may arise: During the harvesting process, some leafy vegetables may be missed, especially when the land is uneven or the leafy vegetables are unevenly distributed. In addition, if the land is uneven, the cutter will dig too much, which will lead to over-harvesting of the leafy vegetables and even digging up the surrounding soil, which is not conducive to the transportation of the leafy vegetables. The cutter has been using a straight line hard push harvesting method to harvest the leafy vegetables, which will also cause the roots of the leafy vegetables to be unable to be completely dug out. The remaining roots will affect subsequent planting operations and will also be detrimental to the preservation of the leafy vegetables, making them prone to rot and deterioration. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: to provide a leafy vegetable harvester and method, which can reduce the workload caused by manual re-harvesting due to uneven harvesting or omissions, saving labor costs; can reduce the interference of residual roots on subsequent planting operations, thereby improving land utilization and creating more favorable conditions for subsequent planting.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention proposes a leafy vegetable harvester, comprising a crawler chassis, a harvesting mechanism and a bundling mechanism, wherein a bracket is provided on the crawler chassis; The harvesting mechanism includes a hydraulic cylinder mounted on the bracket and a digging shovel mounted on the front end of the bracket, wherein the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder is connected to the digging shovel for driving the digging shovel to reciprocate linearly; A leafy vegetable temporary storage area is provided in the middle of the bracket, and a clamping conveyor belt is provided between the digging shovel and the leafy vegetable temporary storage area. The clamping conveyor belt is obliquely installed on the bracket and gradually rises from the digging shovel toward the leafy vegetable temporary storage area. The bundling mechanism is arranged at the rear end of the bracket, and an operating space for personnel is provided between the leafy vegetable temporary storage area and the bundling mechanism.

[0005] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a leafy vegetable harvesting method using the leafy vegetable harvester, comprising the following steps: Align the digging shovel of the leafy vegetable harvester with the row of leafy vegetables, so that the leafy vegetable harvester moves in the direction of the furrow; After the digging shovel is inserted into the soil, it is driven by the hydraulic cylinder to reciprocate and extend to cut off the roots of the leafy vegetables; The leafy vegetables dug out by the digging shovel are transported backward to the leafy vegetable temporary storage area through the clamping conveyor belt; The personnel in the operation area transport the leafy vegetables from the leafy vegetable temporary storage area to the bundling mechanism and bundle the leafy vegetables.

[0006] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the operating method of the present application can reduce the workload caused by manual re-harvesting due to uneven harvesting or omissions, thereby saving labor costs. Because the root system of the leafy vegetables is more thoroughly excavated, the residual roots and soil adhesion are reduced, which makes the leafy vegetables less likely to rot and deteriorate during storage and transportation, thereby reducing losses, extending the shelf life, and increasing the market value of the leafy vegetables. The reciprocating operation of the excavating shovel can more efficiently excavate the leafy vegetable roots, reduce the interference of the residual roots on subsequent planting operations, thereby improving land utilization and creating more favorable conditions for subsequent planting. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of a leafy vegetable harvester according to the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the harvesting mechanism of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the support structure of the present invention.

[0009] In the figure: 1. Crawler chassis; 2. Harvesting mechanism; 21. Bracket; 22. Arrangement table; 23. Temporary storage area for leafy vegetables; 24. Clamping conveyor belt; 25. Strap support; 26. Digging shovel; 27. Hydraulic cylinder; 3. Bundling mechanism; 4. Collection basket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example 1:

[0010] This embodiment provides a leafy vegetable harvester, such as Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the crawler chassis 1 includes a harvesting mechanism 2 and a bundling mechanism 3. The crawler chassis 1 is provided with a bracket 21. The entire machine is a crawler self-propelled machine. When operating in farmland, crawler agricultural machinery can reduce soil compaction, protect soil structure, and improve land utilization. In the present invention, the crawler chassis 1 is defined as the forward direction and the backward direction as the rearward direction.

[0011] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the digging shovel 26 on the bracket 21 is used to dig and harvest leafy vegetables. A hydraulic cylinder 27 is also installed on the bracket 21. The piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 27 is connected to the digging shovel 26. The piston rod and the digging shovel 26 can be fixedly connected or connected as shown in the figure. Figure 3As shown, the piston rod is fixedly or hingedly connected to the mounting rod of the digging shovel 26, and the bracket is provided with a sleeve for the mounting rod of the digging shovel 26 to pass through. In this embodiment, the digging shovel 26 is driven by a hydraulic cylinder 27 to perform linear reciprocating motion during the leafy vegetable harvesting process, thereby excavating the root system of the leafy vegetables. Compared with the linear hard-pushing harvesting method, the reciprocating motion of the digging shovel 26 can more efficiently excavate the leafy vegetable roots, reduce the interference of residual roots on subsequent planting operations, thereby improving land utilization and creating more favorable conditions for subsequent planting.

[0012] The leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 is arranged in the middle of the bracket 21, and a clamping conveyor belt 24 is provided between the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 and the digging shovel 26. Figure 2 As shown, the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 and the clamping conveyor belt 24 are installed obliquely on the bracket 21. The harvested leafy vegetables are transported by the clamping conveyor belt 24, and the clamping conveyor belt 24 gradually rises from the digging shovel 26 toward the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23. The leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 is used to temporarily store the leafy vegetables coming down from the clamping conveyor belt 24. Guardrails (or baffles) are provided on both sides of the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23, and the middle is hollowed out to accommodate the leafy vegetables transported by the clamping conveyor belt 24. The guardrails on both sides can prevent the leafy vegetables from falling from the bracket, thereby realizing the transportation of the leafy vegetables.

[0013] This embodiment uses a digging shovel operation method. Compared with the existing knife harvesting method, it can also reduce the workload caused by manual re-harvesting due to uneven harvesting or omissions, saving labor costs. At the same time, because the root system of the leafy vegetables is more thoroughly excavated, the root residue and soil adhesion are reduced. This makes the leafy vegetables less likely to rot and deteriorate during storage and transportation, thereby reducing losses, extending the shelf life, and increasing the market value of the leafy vegetables.

[0014] like Figure 1 As shown, the bundling mechanism 3 is arranged at the rear end of the bracket 21, and an operating space for personnel is provided between the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 and the bundling mechanism 3. The bundling mechanism 3 belongs to the prior art, and reference may be made to the utility model patent document with application number 201620729334.7, which has basically the same working principle. The area between the bundling mechanism 3 and the harvesting mechanism 2 is used for the operator to stand. The operator places the leafy vegetables on the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 into the bundling mechanism 3 for packing and bundling to complete the harvest. The bundled leafy vegetables can be placed in the collection baskets 4 on both sides of the bundling mechanism 3 to facilitate the subsequent transportation of the entire basket of leafy vegetables.

[0015] This embodiment can also be improved as follows: 1) If Figure 1As shown in the figure, a straw supporter 25 is provided in front of the digging shovel 26, and the straw supporter 25 is fixed on the bracket 21. The harvesting mechanism 2 harvests the leafy vegetables in the harvesting area, and the stems of the leafy vegetables are supported by the guidance of the straw supporter 25 to keep the stems in a vertical state, so that the digging shovel 26 can enter the soil to dig the leafy vegetables. When the leafy vegetables reach the clamping conveyor belt 24 from the digging shovel 26, problems such as machine jamming caused by the leafy vegetables can be prevented.

[0016] 2) If Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a sorting table 22 is installed on the bracket 21, and the sorting table 22 is close to the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23. When the leafy vegetables are concentrated on the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23, the leafy vegetables on the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 are manually taken to the sorting table 22 and sorted for subsequent bundling operations. Example 2:

[0017] This embodiment also provides a method for harvesting leafy vegetables, using the leafy vegetable harvester in the above embodiment 1, such as Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the following steps are included: When the leafy vegetable harvester reaches the leafy vegetable harvesting area, the digging shovel 26 of the leafy vegetable harvester is aligned with the leafy vegetables so that the leafy vegetable harvester moves in the direction of the ridge; the leafy vegetable harvester accurately enters the soil along the growth direction of the root system, and cooperates with the hydraulic cylinder to reciprocate and extend to dig out the roots, which can reduce physical damage to the leafy vegetables.

[0018] After the digging shovel 26 is inserted into the soil, it is reciprocated and extended under the drive of the hydraulic cylinder to dig out the roots of the leafy vegetables; since the roots of the leafy vegetables are dug more thoroughly, the root residue and soil adhesion are reduced, which makes the leafy vegetables less likely to rot and deteriorate during storage and transportation, thereby reducing losses, extending the shelf life, and improving the market value of the leafy vegetables.

[0019] The leafy vegetables excavated by the digging shovel 26 are transported back to the temporary storage area 23 via the clamping conveyor belt 24. This method (typically flexible clamping or low-pressure conveying) prevents damage to the leaves caused by collisions and squeezing during transport, and is superior to the potential damage caused by throwing and stacking during manual handling. The temporary storage area provides temporary storage for the leafy vegetables, preventing them from being piled directly on the ground and causing crushing. The subsequent bundling mechanism regulates the bundling force (if mechanically used), reducing the risk of excessive force or looseness during manual bundling, thereby reducing the damage to the leaves caused by pulling during the bundling process.

[0020] The personnel in the operation area transport the leafy vegetables on the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 to the bundling mechanism and bundle the leafy vegetables.

[0021] Compared to traditional manual harvesting, which requires manually digging out the roots, sorting the leaves, and then transporting them to a centralized location for bundling, the process is fragmented and time-consuming. Some existing mechanical harvesters may only complete the harvest, while subsequent transportation and temporary storage still rely on manual labor. This embodiment uses a digging shovel that reciprocates through a hydraulic cylinder to automatically dig out the roots, and then clamps the conveyor belt to directly transport the leafy vegetables to the temporary storage area. This achieves an integrated mechanized "digging-transporting-temporary storage" operation, reducing the repetitive labor of bending over to dig and carry, and significantly improving the efficiency of each link.

[0022] Compared with relying entirely on machinery (which may lead to irregular bundling due to differences in leafy vegetable shapes) or entirely on manual labor (low efficiency), in this embodiment, machinery is responsible for the highly repetitive and labor-intensive digging and transportation, while manual labor is responsible for taking vegetables from the temporary storage area and bundling them (the bundling method can be flexibly adjusted according to the size and appearance of the leafy vegetables). This not only takes advantage of mechanical efficiency, but also retains manual control over quality, adapting to the harvesting requirement of leafy vegetables that "need to maintain quality."

[0023] This embodiment can also be improved as follows: 1) There is a straw supporter 25 in front of the digging shovel 26. The straw supporter 25 is fixed on the bracket 21, and the outlet of the straw supporter 25 is close to the entrance of the clamping conveyor belt 24. When the leafy vegetable harvester operates in the direction of the ridge, the straw supporter guides the leafy vegetables into the harvesting area of ​​the digging shovel 26.

[0024] 2) A sorting table 22 is installed on the bracket 21, and the sorting table 22 is close to the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23; personnel in the operation area sort the leafy vegetables in the leafy vegetable temporary storage area 23 on the sorting table first, and then transport them to the bundling mechanism.

[0025] 3) Collection baskets 4 are placed on both sides of the bundling mechanism 3. After the bundling mechanism bundles the leafy vegetables, they are placed in the collection baskets, and the entire basket is subsequently transported.

[0026] The present invention is not limited to the specific technical solutions described in the above embodiments. In addition to the above embodiments, the present invention may also have other implementation methods. For those skilled in the art, any technical solutions formed by modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A leafy vegetable harvester, characterized in that: It comprises a crawler chassis (1), a harvesting mechanism (2) and a bundling mechanism (3), wherein a bracket (21) is provided on the crawler chassis (1); The harvesting mechanism (2) comprises a hydraulic cylinder (27) mounted on the bracket (21) and a digging shovel (26) mounted at the front end of the bracket (21); a piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder (27) is connected to the digging shovel (26) for driving the digging shovel (26) to perform linear reciprocating motion; A leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23) is provided in the middle of the support (21), and a clamping conveyor belt (24) is provided between the digging shovel (26) and the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23). The clamping conveyor belt (24) is obliquely installed on the support (21) and gradually rises from the digging shovel (26) toward the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23); The bundling mechanism (3) is arranged at the rear end of the bracket (21), and an operating space for personnel is provided between the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23) and the bundling mechanism (3).

2. The leafy vegetable harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that: A crop supporter (25) is provided in front of the digging shovel (26), and the crop supporter (25) is fixed on the bracket (21). The outlet of the crop supporter (25) is close to the inlet of the clamping conveyor belt (24).

3. The leafy vegetable harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that: A sorting table (22) is also mounted on the support (21). The sorting table (22) is located near the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23) and is used to sort the harvested leafy vegetables.

4. The leafy vegetable harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that: Collection baskets (4) are placed on both sides of the bundling mechanism (3).

5. A method for harvesting leafy vegetables using the leafy vegetable harvester according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: The digging shovel (26) of the leafy vegetable harvester is placed opposite to the row of leafy vegetables so that the leafy vegetable harvester moves in the direction of the furrow; After the digging shovel (26) is inserted into the soil, it is reciprocated and extended under the drive of the hydraulic cylinder to dig out the root system of the leafy vegetables; The leafy vegetables excavated by the excavating shovel (26) are transported backward to the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23) via the clamping conveyor belt (24); Personnel in the operation area transport the leafy vegetables on the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23) to the bundling mechanism and bundle the leafy vegetables.

6. The leafy vegetable harvesting method according to claim 5, characterized in that: A crop supporter (25) is provided in front of the digging shovel (26), the crop supporter (25) being fixed on the bracket (21), and the outlet of the crop supporter (25) being close to the inlet of the clamping conveyor belt (24); During the operation of the leafy vegetable harvester in the direction of the ridge, the leafy vegetables are fed into the harvesting area of ​​the digging shovel (26) by the guidance of the straw supporter.

7. The leafy vegetable harvesting method according to claim 5, wherein: The support (21) is provided with an arranging table (22), and the arranging table (22) is close to the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23); The personnel in the operation area first sort the leafy vegetables in the leafy vegetable temporary storage area (23) on the sorting table and then transport them to the bundling mechanism.

8. The leafy vegetable harvesting method according to claim 5, characterized in that: Collection baskets (4) are placed on both sides of the bundling mechanism (3). After the bundling mechanism bundles the leafy vegetables, the vegetables are placed in the collection baskets, and the entire basket is subsequently transported.

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