Sugar Crop Harvester with Cutting Apparatus

Abstract

The disclosed invention relates to the harvesting of sugar-bearing ground crops such as sweet sorghum, in cold regions. The sugar crop harvester with various adaptations described is comprised of operational components, or features, that minimize the damage done to the crop during harvesting, particularly those things that result in deterioration of sugars prior to processing. The harvester includes several operational components that are well suited for processing sweet sorghum, particularly the dividers, base cutters, feed conveyor, de-trashing roll, brush rolls, hurler drums, de-bridging thrash roller, air blast, toppers and bin. Other components of the harvester are designed for easy maintenance. The operational components can be used with either a whole-stalk style harvester, or a chopper-style harvester.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sugar crop harvester with a cutting apparatus adaptation comprising:
 a hydraulic drive, wherein the drive comprises two driving sprockets mounted directly to an motor output shaft, the cutting apparatus further comprising cutting discs and a right angle gear box suspended in a frame, wherein the gear box pivots around an axis of its horizontal shaft.   
     
     
         2 . The sugar crop harvester and cutting apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the right angle gearbox is mounted to allow a vertical shaft thereof to incline to each other over a range of angles. 
     
     
         3 . The sugar crop harvester and cutting apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the vertical shafts move apart when an uncuttable obstruction is encountered. 
     
     
         4 . The sugar crop harvester and cutting apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cutting discs comprise a blade with scimitar shaped notched cutting teeth. 
     
     
         5 . The sugar crop harvester and cutting apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises an arrangement of vehicle tires to improve the rearward thrust on the stalks of the crop after cutting. 
     
     
         6 . The sugar crop harvester and cutting apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cutting discs are carried by a rotating plate, and wherein the rotating plate is attached to a mounting structure by a resilient member, and wherein the resilient member pushes the crop rearwards after cutting and shields the housing of the vertical shafts of the gearboxes.