Tea picking machine

Abstract

To provide an energy-saving type tea leaf plucker that physically transfers picked tea leaves to storage means so as to solve conventional problems.SOLUTION: First means of a tea leaf plucker of the present invention comprises: a portal frame straddling a tea ridge; traveling means that are provided for the right and left portal frames of the tea ridge; tea leaf plucking means; storage means for the plucked tea leaves; and transfer means for transferring the tea leaves to the storage means from the plucking means. The transfer means physically transfers the tea leaves by operating a surface of contact with the tea leaves.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tea leaf plucking machine for harvesting tea leaves. [Background technology]

[0002] In most tea fields today, multiple rows are planted in parallel at intervals of 1800 mm, with a fan-shaped cross section of R3000. In current tea leaf harvesting operations, the new shoots of tea branches and leaves to be harvested, which have grown to about 5-20 cm, are cut with plucking tools that are long enough to cover the width of the top surface of the tea plant, and then the leaves are transported to storage means such as designated storage bags or containers using the air force generated by a blower fan (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Using airflow to transport tea leaves to storage means has the advantage of being simple in structure and allowing for greater freedom in placement, and has therefore long been used in tea leaf harvesting operations.

[0004] However, there were several problems, as listed below. The operation of the blower fan generated a loud noise, so loud that it was impossible to have a conversation during harvesting. This caused inconvenience to neighbors during harvesting, and led to noise problems. Next, the amount of power required to generate the blower was large, and a continuous, stable power source was required, so the only option was to use an internal combustion engine as the power source.

[0005] Furthermore, even within the same tea plantation, there are variations in the growth of tea leaves, and even if the same harvesting work is done, there are large variations in the amount of tea leaves transported, so in order to avoid poor transport, it was necessary to constantly supply a certain amount of airflow. This means that when the amount of transport is small, excess power is consumed and wasted, which is extremely wasteful and goes against the needs for low carbon and energy conservation, which have been seen as an issue in recent years. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-335735 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In particular, the power required for blowing air is large, and the only easy solution is to use an internal combustion engine, which hinders the efforts to save energy, be environmentally friendly, and reduce noise through electrification.The purpose of this invention is to solve the problems of the past by providing an energy-saving tea leaf picking machine that physically transfers picked tea leaves to a storage means. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The first means of the tea leaf plucking machine of the present invention is The system is comprised of a gate-shaped frame that straddles the tea ridges, running means provided on the gate-shaped frames on the left and right sides of the tea ridges, tea leaf picking means, means for storing the picked tea leaves, and a transporting means for transporting the tea leaves from the picking means to the storing means. The transporting means physically transports the tea leaves by operating the surface that comes into contact with the tea leaves. The tea picking machine has a transfer means A that sweeps the tea leaves picked by the picking means backward and transfers them backward, a transfer means B that is provided on both sides in the width direction and transfers the tea leaves transferred from the transfer means A toward the center in the width direction, and a transfer means C that transfers the tea leaves transferred from the transfer means B backward. . The second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect of the present invention, The transport means is driven by an electric motor. The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect of the present invention, The transport means does not use air blowing. The fourth aspect of the present invention is the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, The transfer means transfers the picked tea leaves toward the storage means at the rear. 。

[0009] The present invention 5 The means are the first, second, and third Or 4 moves In the paragraph, The traveling means , electric It is driven by an electric motor. The present invention 6 The means are the first, second, third, and fourth or 5 moves In the paragraph, A plurality of the plucking means are provided in the left and right directions, and harvesting work is carried out simultaneously on a plurality of rows in the left and right directions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] This invention makes it possible to transport harvested tea leaves without using air blowing. Not using air blowing eliminates the noise generated by fans and reduces the burden on operators, and also prevents noise pollution for surrounding residents and reduces the generation of dust, thereby improving various types of pollution and the working environment.

[0011] Furthermore, by stopping the air blowing, the required power is reduced, making it possible to achieve energy savings and low carbon emissions, and it is possible to realize a multi-row harvesting machine, which was previously not possible due to the required power. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire tea leaf plucking machine (Example 1). [Figure 2] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of Fig. 1 excluding the gate-shaped frame and the traveling means. (Embodiment 1) [Figure 3] 3 is a side view of FIG. 2 (Example 1). [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the picking means and the transport means (Example 1). [Figure 5] 5 is a top view of FIG. 4 (Example 1). [Figure 6] 6 is a front view of FIG. 4 (Example 1). [Figure 7] 7 is a side view of FIG. 4 (Example 1). [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another example of the plucking means (Example 2). [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a perspective view of an embodiment in which three ridges are simultaneously picked. (Embodiment 3) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention will be described using examples. Figures 1 to 7 show Example 1, in which weeds are picked using clipper blades, Figure 8 shows Example 2, in which weeds are picked using rotary blades, and Figure 9 shows Example 3, in which weeds are picked on multiple ridges (specifically, three ridges) at the same time. [Example]

[0014] The tea leaf picking machine 1 travels through the tea field using a portal frame 2 that straddles the tea ridges T and a travel means 3 attached to the bottom of the portal frame 2. The travel means 3 drives an endless belt 11 by an electric motor 12. Wheels may be used instead of the endless belt 11, or guide rails may be provided so that the machine travels along the guide rails. A hydraulic or internal combustion engine may also be used instead of the electric motor 12. The portal frame 2 is equipped with tea leaf picking means 4, tea leaf storage means 5, and tea leaf transport means 6. The tea leaf picking means 4 in this embodiment 1 employs reciprocating sliding clipper blades 15, which are driven by a hydraulic motor 16. The tea leaf storage means 5 in this embodiment 1 is a container that can store a large amount of tea leaves, but the same applies to storage means in bags rather than containers.

[0015] The tea leaf transfer means 6 of this Example 1 is a combination of transfer means A, transfer means B, transfer means C, and transfer means D. Transfer means A is made up of a rotor 21 and an electric motor 22 that rotates this rotor 21, and this transfer means A (rotor 21) is provided almost directly above the clipper blades 15, and sweeps the picked tea leaves backward and transfers them backward.

[0016] The transfer means B has multiple blades 31 attached to a chain conveyor 32, which is rotated horizontally by an electric motor 33. The blades 31 are attached so that the picked tea leaves can be moved left and right. In this embodiment, two chain conveyors 32 are provided, one on the left and one on the right, and the left and right tea leaves are transferred to the center in the width direction.

[0017] Transfer means C is a belt conveyor 41 driven by an electric motor 42, with crosspieces 43 on its surface, which transfers the tea leaves backward. Transfer means D is a belt conveyor 51 driven by an electric motor 52, with crosspieces 53 on its surface, which transfers the tea leaves backward. Both belt conveyors 41, 51 are inclined so that their ends are higher than their starting ends, and the end of belt conveyor 51 of transfer means D faces the receiving opening of storage means 5.

[0018] The operation of the tea leaf picker 1 of this embodiment 1 will be described. The travel means 3 is driven to move the tea leaf picker 1 toward the tea ridge T. When the tea leaf picker 1 approaches the tea ridge T, the picking means 4 and transporting means 5 are driven to begin plucking the tea leaves. The tea leaves picked by the clipper blades 15 are transported rearward by the rotor 21 of the transporting means A directly above. The tea leaves transported to the rear of the rotor 21 are attracted by the blades 31 of the transporting means B and transported to the center. At this time, tea leaves picked in the center of the clipper blades 15 do not need to be transported by the transporting means B. The tea leaves near the center are transported rearward and upward by the belt conveyor 42 of the transporting means C. At this time, the tea leaves can be transported rearward and upward by the crosspiece 43 without slipping. The tea leaves are then transported further upward by the belt conveyor 51 of the transporting means D, and are placed into the storage means 5 from the end of the belt conveyor 51. This process is continued until the tea ridges T are completed or the storage means 5 is full, and the tea leaves are picked. These operations can be performed from a driver's seat (not shown) installed in the tea leaf picking machine 1, but can also be performed remotely.

[0019] Since the tea ridges T have a R3000 fan-shaped cross section, in this Example 1, the transfer means B was used to transfer the tea leaves at both ends of the tea ridges T backward, but if the tea ridges T are not R3000 fan-shaped in cross section but are horizontal, or if the width of the belt conveyors 41, 51 of the transfer means C, D is the same as the width of the plucking means 4, the transfer means B is not necessary. Also, although the tea leaves at both ends of the tea ridges are transferred to the center in the width direction by the transfer means B, this is not necessarily the case depending on the combination with the transfer means C, D. It is also possible to transfer the tea leaves to either the left or right side using a single chain conveyor 32.

[0020] In this Example 1, for convenience, the transfer means C and the transfer means D are separate transfer means, but they can also be combined into one transfer means. The transfer means only needs to be able to physically transfer the tea leaves backward, and further, to eliminate the height difference and ultimately transfer the tea leaves to the storage means 5. [Example]

[0021] The tea leaf plucking means 4 of the second embodiment employs a cylindrical rotary blade 18, which is driven by an electric motor 19. By replacing the clipper blade 15 of the first embodiment with the rotary blade 18 of the second embodiment, the hydraulic motor can be eliminated. The transfer means 6 of the second embodiment combines the transfer means B, C, and D used in the first embodiment to transfer the tea leaves to the storage means 5. Because the rotary blade 18 has the function of the transfer means A used in the first embodiment, the tea leaves can be transferred backward when they are picked by the rotary blade 18. [Example]

[0022] This third embodiment is an example in which three ridges are simultaneously picked. The central picking means 4, transporting means 5, and storage means 6 are provided with a portal frame 2 and a traveling means 3, and the left and right picking means 4A, 4B, and transporting means 5 are transported together. The left and right picking means 4A, 4B, and transporting means 5 may also be provided with a simpler portal frame 2 and traveling means 3 than the center. It is recommended to provide a transporting means E for transporting the tea leaves picked by the left and right picking means 4A, 4B to the storage means 5. While this third embodiment employs simultaneous picking of three ridges, the same applies to two or four or more ridges. The picking means 4 may be either clipper blades 15 or rotary blades 18. In the case of clipper blades 15, a transporting means A is provided, while in the case of rotary blades 18, the transporting means A is not required.

[0023] In Examples 1, 2, and 3, transfer means such as transfer means A, B, C, D, and E were used, but other general transfer means that can physically transfer material other than by air blowing, such as a net conveyor or a bucket-type conveyor, can also be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1 Tea leaf plucking machine 2 Gate-type frame 3. Means of transportation 4 Plucking means 4A Plucking means 4B Plucking means 5. Containment means 6 Means of transport 11 Endless belt 12 Electric motor 13 frames 14 frames 15 Clipper blades 16 Hydraulic motor 18 Rotary Blade 19 Electric Motor A Transport means 21 Rotating body 22 Electric motor B Transport means 31 Feather 32 Electric motor 33 Chain conveyor C Transport means 41 Belt conveyor 42 Electric Motor 43 crossing D Transport means 51 Belt conveyor 52 Electric Motor 53 crossing E Means of transport T Tea ridge

Claims

1. A tea leaf picking machine is characterized by comprising a gate-shaped frame that straddles the tea ridges, traveling means provided on the gate-shaped frames on the left and right sides of the tea ridges, tea leaf picking means, means for storing picked tea leaves, and transporting means for transporting the tea leaves from the picking means to the storage means, wherein the transporting means physically transports the tea leaves by operating the contact surface with the tea leaves, and has transporting means A that sweeps the tea leaves picked by the picking means backward and transports them backward, transporting means B that is provided on both sides in the width direction and transports the tea leaves transported from transporting means A towards the center in the width direction, and transporting means C that transports the tea leaves transported from transporting means B backward.

2. 2. The tea leaf plucking machine according to claim 1, wherein said transport means is driven by an electric motor.

3. 3. The tea leaf picking machine according to claim 1, wherein the transporting means does not use air blowing.

4. 4. A tea leaf picking machine according to claim 1, wherein said transporting means transports the picked tea leaves towards a receiving means at the rear.

5. A tea leaf picking machine as described in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the driving means is driven by an electric motor.

6. A tea leaf picking machine as described in claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the picking means are multiple in the left and right directions, and harvesting work is performed on multiple rows in the left and right directions simultaneously.

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