Harvester for the impact-stripping of seed from a standing crop

Abstract

A harvester strips seeds from a standing crop while essentially leaving the stems of the crop attached to the soil. The harvester comprises a mobile main frame and a vertically adjustable harvesting header carried thereby. A first axially transverse rotor is mounted on the header with its axis generally below the level of substantially all the seeds on the standing crop. The first rotor includes a hub and outwardly projecting stripper elements. The stripper elements define longitudinally spaced openings on the rotor periphery of a width greater than upper seed-bearing heads of the crop, permitting the introduction of the seed-bearing heads into the rotor interior as the machine advances so that the seeds are impacted by sides of the stripper elements interiorly of the outer end thereof. A second axially transverse rotor is disposed parallel to, above and forwardly of the first rotor and has a generally cylindrical outer periphery adjacent the periphery of the first rotor. The axis of the second rotor is generally above the level of substantially all the seeds on the standing crop. A motor drives the rotors in opposite directions with the front side of the first rotor moving upwardly and the front side of the second rotor moving downwardly. The first rotor is driven so that the sides of the stripper elements impact the seeds disposed within the openings in the rotor in a generally stemwise direction to knock the seeds from the stems and propel them tangentially from the rotor. A crop collector is mounted on the header behind the rotors to receive the seeds propelled rearwardly from the rotors.