CA1157668A - Picking implement - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An implement to be used by a fruit picker person to gently deposit the fruits in a box, directly from climbed positions near the box, irrespective of the level of fruits in the box, with easy and readily removal from along the fruits when the box has been filled, and with readily disconnectable components for convenient assembly and dessassembly in the orchard. This fruit picking implement comprises a support fitting onto a conventional orchard box, a frame removably mountable on the support, a hanger bracket removably connecting to the frame, fruit braking shelves pivotally attached to the hanger bracket, and a flexible tube having one end hooking to the belt of one fruit picker person and having another end entering into a whirling eductor overlying the uppermost shelf to gently drop fruits successively onto that uppermost shelf and dropping of the fruits serially through the vertically spaced apart shelves.

Description

lJ.S76~
FIELD OF TB INVENTION
mis invention rolates to a d uice or iDplo ent to h~lp the picking of fruit~

DESCRIP'rION OE' THE PRIOR ART
Tho fNits aro currontly pic~ed by hand fro~ the trees and this, even in the large orchards Ihe frults are then placed in gen-rally standard boxes rlght in tho orchard befor-boing taken away Such procedure is very tedious and labor inten~iv- In Canadian Pat-nt No ~32,733 issuod January 27, lo 1979, lt ha~ been propofl-d a fruit picker device that is used in assoclation with such standard orchard boxes and that allows to pick the fruits without having to cli~b to reach then me patented devico includes a flexible tube to channel the fruits into a box and a r-ceiver o~ber to whirl the frul~s and gently drop the- onto a chute suspended in the box.
, SUMMARY OF THIS INV1~tlllOU
It is a general ob~ect of the present invent~on to pro- ;
vide a fruit picking iDplo ent that retains the very desirable hand picking operation and that save~ ti~e and efforts by allowing the fruit pickor person to put the fruits directly in a box fro~ cliobed positlons near the box.
It is another general ob~ect of the present invention bo provide a frult picklng iople~ent that allows to gently doposit the frults in a box irrespective of the level of frults in the box at any partlcular instant.
It is another ob~eot of the present invention to provide a fruit picking i ple ent that extends downward substantially to the bottoo of the box and that ls easily and readily reoo-vable fro~ a~ong the fruits when the box has been filled It i8 a further ob~ect of the present invention to provide a fruit picking iople~ent that is ~ade into co~Qonents readily disconnectable one fro~ another for convenient asse~bly and dissasse~bly in the orchard , ~.

~ i76~8 ~RIEF DESCRIPTION OF ?HE DRAWINGS
The above and other ob~ects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood with referenco to tho following detailed de~cription of a proferred o bod~ ent thereof which is illustratod, by way of exa ple, in tho aoco~panying drawings~
in wh$ch Pigure l is an elovation view in cro~s ~oction of a ~ruit picking irple- nt according to the prosent invontion;
Figuro 2 is an olovation viow of a portion of tho fruit picking,ioplo ont of Figuro 17 Figure 3 i8 a side elovation of tho fruit picXing l ple-~ent ~ore cowplet-ly shown operatively aountod on an orchard box;
Figur 4 is a sido olevation view of a hangor brackot and sholves ass~ bly foruing a detachabl- part of the fruit plcking iople ent and shown in position of withdrawal fror a fillod orchard box;
Pigur- S is an elevation vi~ of the saoe fruit picking i~plo-~nt in operativ-ly hook d po~ition to the belt of a fruit pick~r person~ ~, Pigure 6 i8 a detail-d viow o~ the tubular in et portion that hooks to the bolt of one fruit pickor porson;
Flgur- 7 18 a p-rqp ctlvo of a fraJo support, and hang r bracket for~ing part of tho fruit pioking i plouont oro coa-plotoly shown in Figur-~ l, 2, and 57 Figure 8 i8 a top view of th- asso~bly of Pigur- 7 to illustrate a olaeping asseobly to r-~ovably suspend th~ hang r brackot to the fraao;
Figuro 9 18 a porspective vi-w to illustrat a portion of o a support and how lt ad~ustably fits on an orchard box; and Figure lO is a top view of a whirling eductor and the - associated fra~e and support to hold it in place over an orchard box.

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~1~76~8 DESCRIPTION OF T}E PR}SFI~ D EMBODIMI~iT
The illustrated fruit pick$ng ioplement co~prises a support 10 adapted to rest onto an orchard box 11 of convontional cons-truction, a frane 12 re~ovably ~ecured to tho support 10, a hanger bracket 13 removably suspendablo to the fra o 12, fr~it braking shelves 14 pivotally connect-d to tho hangor bracket 13, a whirling eductor 15 rotatably ~ounted on the fra~o 12, and a fruit channel d-vico 16 connected to the ~hirling oductor The support 10 includes a pair of laterally spac-d apart blado asse~blie~ each ~ade of a ~ain blade e~ber 17 and an auxiliary reinforcin~ blade me~ber 18 Tho blade eobors 17 includ- an olovatad portion having th corre~ponding blado ~e~ber secured ovor it and oppos$te ends pro~ecting over opposite sides of tho orchard box 11 A transverse bar 19 extends transver~ely bot~een each pair of ad~acont end~ of the blad-s 17 and are renovably connoceed thereto at its oppo~ito ends by ~ing nuts 20 An arr 21 iY also connected at each ond of each transvorso bar 19 and $s pivotally adjustable by the corrosponding ~$ng nut 20 Each ar- 21 i~ provided ~ith an invortod U shape bracket 22 arrangod to grip onto the dgo of the orchard box 11 and hold the support 10 $n operat$v posltion The p$votable ad~ustabl- anas 21 allo~ to f$t tho ~upport 10 on boxes of dlffor-nt 8$ZoB.
~he fra o 12 lnclud-s a pair o~ clo~od loop ~o bors 23,24 secured i _ediatoly in~ard of tho afore~ontionod blad- ass-ablio~
A cros~bar 25 interconnects th clo~-d loop e~bor~ 23, 24, in fixed latorally spaced apart relationship A pair of brac~et 26 ;~
is fixedly ~ecurod to ach clo~od loop ~o~ber 23, 24 A pin 27 i~ ~ounted on each blad~ ber 18 and p$votally onq~gs~ lnto th corro~ponding braokot 26 to pivotally suqp~nd the fra e 12 onto the support 10 A gas bubblo le~ol 28 is nounted on tho closed loop o-ber 24 A vert$cally olottod e~ber 29 is fixad to one of tho closed :.

~:~L576~8 loop member 23 or 24 to angularly move with it relati~e to the support 10 and around the pins 27. A slotted block 30 i9 socured to the main blade me~ber 17 ad~acent the slotted ~e~ber 29 and a tightening handle 31 is provided to ad~ustably fix tho slotted block against the slotted me~ber and thus ad~ustably set the frane 12 angularly relative to the support 10. This allo~s to level the flat upper portion oi the closed loop menbers 23, 24 and thus correct for any non-level positioning of the orchard box 11.
The hanger braoket 13 is of fork shape including a pair of downward pro~ections 32 and a central upward projection 33.
The latter is prov~ded with a central aperture to be pivotally suspended by a pin 34. The latter pro~ects endwise from one side of a clampinq ember 35, supportingly extends throuqh the crossbar 25, and through the projection 33 and another clamping me~ber 36. me clamping menbers 35, 36 are hinged at one end against the opposite sides of the crossbar 2S, at 37, 38 to clampingly close against the crossbar and clamp the hanger bracket 13 against the crossbar and suspendingly on the pin 34.
A first latch member 39 is pivoted to the closed loop member 24 to releasably hold the latch member 35 in operative position.
A second latch member 40 in the form of a rotating device is arranged to selectively engage the clamping member 36 in clamped position as shown in Figure 8.
A number of shelves 14 are pivotall~ attached to the hanger bracket 13 one below another and alternatively one side and the other side of it, as shown. The fruit braking shelves 14 angularly droop toward the hanger bracket 13. A lowermost shelf 14' i5 pivotally attached to the lower end of hanger bracket 13 and is spring loaded to normally take a position perpendicular to bracket 13 and directed away from the adjacent shelf 14.
Shelves 14 and 14' are each lined with a cushioning pad 41 to 76~8 avoid damaging the fruits that drop and roll down on those shelves, a~ will be better explained later. A cushioning pad 41 is also provided on the lower portion of the closed loop frame me~bers 23, 24. A tie in the for~ of a chain 42 inter-connects the pivotable ~helve~ 14 such that upon release of the tie in chain, the shelves 14 will be allowed to pivot downward relatlve to the hanger brackot 13 when the latter is upwardly pulled, as shown in Pigure 4, to withdraw the assenbly fro~ a filled box. During this move~ent shelf 14' pivots downwardly under the weight of the fruits and against the action of the spring.
The whirling eductor 15 is rotatably ~Dunted on the closed loop e~b-rs 23, 24 by ~eans of an annular ball bearing 43. The botto~ of the whirling eductor 15 is provided with an outlet aperture ~verlying the pad 41 carried by the closed loop fra~e e~bers 23, 24. Th whirling eductor is provided with a tubular inlot 44 that outwardly enlarges upwardly. The whirling eductor is interiorly for~ed with a partition 45 appro-priately curved to define a whirling pasoage for the fruits ehat even~ually guid~s tho fruit toward dropping down through the -~
outlet aperture in the botto~ of tho eductor.
A flexible and ext~ndible tube 46 has a lower end engagod in the tubular inlet 44 and limited to a gradual upward ourvature by the upward curvature of the outwardly widening inlet. The upper inlet end of the tube 46 is provided with a hook 47 arranged to hook onto the belt of a frui~ picker person, shown in dotted lines in Figure 5.
As can be readily under~tood, the fruits are dropped into the upper inlot end of the tube 46 in which they fall rela-tively gently. The fruits tangentially enter in the whirling eductor 15 to slow down in the latter by whirling before dropping through the outlet in the bottom of the eductor. The fruits are braked by dropping cascadingly as shown by the arrows in Figure ~1~76~8 3 until they fall onto the low~r~ost shelf 14'. When the box is e~pty, shelf 14', which i8 initially horizontal, pivots downwardly under the weight of the fruit until it abuts the botto~ of tha box and tho fruit gently rolls into the box.
When the box is full, the chain 42 is roleased and the hanger bracket 13 i~ detached fro~ tho frame 12. The hanger bracket 13 is then pulled in tho direction of the arrow~ in Figure 4.
The shelves 14 then being freed fro~ the chain 42, they are allowed to pivot downward relative to the rising hanger bracket 13. Also, shelf 14' pivots downwardly against the bias of its spring, This ~ini~izos disturbance of the fruits and bruising of the latter by the rising shelves.
It uust be noted that the illu~trated fruit picking i~ple~ent can be corpletely taken apart and readily as~e bled in the orchard. For instance, the tube can be fully retracted in the tubular inlet 44 with the hook 4~ held in a bracket 18, as shown in Figure 2. Tho fra~e 12 can be disconnected fro the support 10 and tho hanger bracket 13 fro~ the fra~e.

Claims (10)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED, ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A fruit-picking implement comprising a support frame adapted to be mounted across the open top of a fruit-collecting container, a hanger bracket suspended from said support frame to extend within said container, a plurality of rigid fruit-braking shelves carried by said hanger bracket spacedly along the same and adapted to be covered by fruits in said container, at least some of said shelves being pivotally connected to said hanger bracket for upward pivotal movement from a collapsed position alongside said hanger bracket, said shelves being arranged in vertic-ally spaced and alternate side tiers on opposite sides of said hanger bracket, tie means detachably maintaining said pivoted shelves in an operative position drooping angularly towards the next lower shelf of an opposite tier, said pivoted shelves taking said collapsed position when detached from said tie means to allow upward removal of said hanger bracket and shelves from within said container, even when full of fruits, and a fruit channel means mounted on said support frame over said hanger bracket and constructed to channel a fruit onto the topmost shelf of said shelves.

2. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 1, wherein all of the shelves are pivoted to said hanger bracket, except the topmost shelf of each tier.

3. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 2, wherein said support frame includes a first section adapted to rest directly on top of said container, and a second section removably and pivot-ally mounted on said first section over the open top of said collecting container, said hanger bracket pivotally connected at its top end to said second section, the latter carrying said fruit channel means and forming a topmost fruit-braking shelf, and means to adjust the vertical angular pivoted position of said second section with respect to said first section to adjust the inclination of said topmost fruit-braking shelf.

4. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 3, further including means to suspend and lock said hanger bracket to said second section, including a first clamping member hinged to said second section and carrying a suspension pin from which said hanger bracket is to be suspended, a first latch member connected to said frame member and releasably holding said first clamping member in operative position with the pin suspendingly engaging the hanger bracket, a second clamping member hinged to said second section and clampingly pivotable relative to the hanger bracket cooperatively with the first clamping member and a second latch member connected to said second section and releasably holding the second clamping member in operative position clampingly holding the hanger bracket onto said pin .

5. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein each shelf is provided with a fruit-cushioning pad.

6. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 3, wherein said channel means has an outlet located above and in register with said topmost fruit-braking shelf.

7. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 3, wherein said first section comprises a pair of laterally spaced-apart blade assemblies, each made of a main blade member and an auxiliary reinforcing blade member; said main blade members having opposite ends projecting over opposite sides of said fruit-collecting container; a transverse bar extending transversely between each pair of adjacent ends of said blade members and removably connected thereto at its opposite ends; an arm pivotally adjustably connected at each end of each said transverse bar; each said arm being provided with an inverted U-shape bracket arranged to grip the top edge of said fruit-collecting container.

8. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 7, wherein the second section includes a pair of closed loop members secured immediately inwardly of said blade assemblies; a pair of brackets fixedly secured to each said closed loop member;
a pivot pin mounted on each said auxiliary blade member, being adapted to pivotally engage the corresponding said bracket, thereby pivotally suspending said second section to said first section.

9. A fruit-picking implement as defined in claim 8, wherein levelling means for said second section are provided.

10. A fruit-pocking implement as defined in claim 3 or 9, wherein said means to adjust the angular pivoted position of said second section include a vertically-slotted member fixed to one of said closed loop members, thereby moving angularly with the latter relative to said first section, a slotted block secured adjacent said slotted member to one of said main blade members; a tightening handle engaging the slots of said slotted member and of said slotted block and adapted to adjustably fix said slotted block against said slotted member.