TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present invention relates to a crop harvester. Particularly, the present
invention relates to a tractor mounted multi-crop harvester. More particularly, the
invention relates to a simple and cost-effective tractor mounted multi-crop
harvester that operates through tractor’s power take off.
BACKGROUND
[002] A harvester is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a varietyof
grain crops. A harvester is particularly a machine that may be attached to a tractor
or vehicle for reaping, threshing, and winnowing. However, such harvester may
cost up to ₹ 11, 75,000.00 to ₹ 12, 50,000.00.
[003] In India, the majority of land area has been covered by the villages where the
majority of the people are farmers. As per the data the average income of a farmer
is estimated at ₹. 77,976 per year, according to the Dalwai committee report. Many
of the farmers usually rent a tractor for farming and use a tractor mounted offset
type harvester as the combined harvester is very costly.
[004] Based on the current state of the art, the tractor-mounted offset type
harvester has many problems such as the operators and labourers are struggling
with the machine, as it needs to be lifted during operation and the collecting reel
needs to be dismantled every time while transporting by a tractor.
3
[005] Therefore, there exist a need of a harvester that is completely mounted on
the tractor. More particularly, a harvester that can be operated through tractor’s
power take-off, cost-effective which is within the reach of a common farmer,
5 easily operable, and provides ease to dismantle the harvester from the tractor.
SUMMARY
[006] The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted harvester. The vehicle
preferably but not limited to a vehicle which runs over a farming grounds. The
10 vehicle-mounted harvester comprises a harvester mounted over the rear side of the
vehicle and operated through a hydraulic system of the tractor, preferably the
harvester is operated in a reverse direction. The harvester is configured to attach
with the collecting reel, cut the crops through a cutter bar and guide the crop to a
compartment configured to store the crops.
15
[007] More particularly, present invention relates to a tractor mounted multi crop
harvester that is designed mainly for low heighted crops. The tractor mounted
multi crop harvester is used to cut and collect the standing crops from field, where
standing crops refer to crops of all heights, but also refer to crops that have grown
20 beyond a predefined height. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester cuts the
crops in continuous action while travelling at low height. The tractor mounted
multi crop harvester has a wooden flanged reel covered by rubber plate, which is
not only to guide standing crop towards the cutter bar but also to convey harvested
4
crop to a collecting chamber. The rubber covers are positioned on the flange to
protect the crop from damages and losses. There are different number of flanges
that are attached, for example, up to 8 numbers as per the requirement of the crop.
This implementation of the multi crop harvester is completely mounted at a rear
5 side of tractor, which gives the benefit to operate in any pattern.
[008] The multi crop harvester is a tractor power-take-off (PTO) operated
reverse run machine, which is fully mounted by a three point linkage of the
tractor. The multi crop harvester mainly consists of a cutter bar, a collecting reel,
10 a collecting chamber, a power transmission unit, a three point hitch and a set of
wheels. An input power supply is taken by the tractor PTO which enables to
operate cutter bar and collecting reel. Belt pulley and shaft is used to transmit
tractor power to the multi crop harvester. The multi crop harvester has a gear box
for speed reduction and also has crank mechanism to change the rotary motion to
15 oscillatory motion. The cutting height of the cutter bar to cut the crops is adjusted
by the hydraulic lower link of the tractor. The speed of cutting and collection
depends on the operating speed of the tractor. There is a detachable safety rod, for
laborers to provide safety and support during operation.
20 [009] The tractor mounted multi crop harvester comprises a collecting chamber,
a collecting reel, a cutter bar, and a set of wheels. The collecting reel is rotatably
hinged to opposing inner sides of the collecting chamber, wherein the collecting
reel is configured to rotate and guide standing crop towards a cutter bar for
5
harvest and convey the harvested crops to the collecting chamber. The cutter bar
is attached at a bottom section of the collecting chamber, wherein the cutter bar is
configured to cut and harvest the crops. The set of wheels positioned are below
the collecting chamber, wherein the wheels are configured to be driven in a
5 reverse direction to the direction of movement of the tractor.
[010] In an embodiment, the collecting reel comprises: a reel support rod, a
flange support plate that is disposed at opposing ends of the reel support rod, and
a wooden flange that is radially positioned with respect to the reel support rod via
10 flange supports that extend from the reel support rod. In an embodiment, the
collecting reel further comprises a flange rubber cover that covers the wooden
flange and a cover support plate that is positioned on the wooden flange to support
the flange rubber cover. In an embodiment, the flange support plate includes
multiple holes that are used to attach or detach wooden flanges as per the
15 requirement for the crop. In an embodiment, the collecting reel continuously
rotates at a constant speed during the harvesting operation to guide the standing
crops that are above a predefined height to the cutter bar.
[011] In an embodiment, tractor mounted multi crop harvester further comprises
20 a set of fingers that are disposed along the length of the cutter bar, wherein the
cutter bar includes a series of triangular serrated blades that oscillate in sidewise
direction during the harvesting operation. In an embodiment, during the
harvesting operation the cutter bar is configured to oscillate in the sidewise
6
direction that enables the cutter blades to move in between two adjacent set of the
fingers. In an embodiment, a cutting height of the cutter bar to cut the crops is
adjusted by a hydraulic lower link of the tractor, wherein speed of cutting and
collection of the crop depends on operating speed of the tractor.
5
[012] In an embodiment, the tractor mounted multi crop harvester further
comprises a detachable safety rod that is positioned over the collecting chamber to
provide safety and support for labourers during the harvesting operation. In an
embodiment, tractor mounted multi crop harvester further comprises a hitch
10 connector assembly that is configured to connect to a three point linkage system
of tractor, wherein the hitch connector assembly comprises an upper hitch
support, an upper hitch point that extends from the upper hitch support, a lower
hitch point that extends from the upper hitch support, and a lower hitch support
that is connected to the lower hitch point.
15
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The foregoing and further objects, features, and advantages of the present
subject matter will become apparent from the following description of exemplary
embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like
20 numerals are used to represent like elements.
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only
typical embodiments of the present subject matter, and are, therefore, not to be
7
considered for limiting of its scope, for the subject matter may admit to other
equally effective embodiments.
Figure 1 illustrates a tractor mounted multi-crop harvester in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention.
5 Figure 2 illustrates is a perspective view of the collecting reel of the tractor
mounted multi-crop harvester mounted with the vehicle in the embodiment of the
present invention.
Figure 3 illustrates is a perspective view of the cutting bar of the tractor
mounted multi-crop harvester of the present invention.
10 Figure 4 illustrates is a schematic view showing the working of the tractor
mounted multi-crop harvester of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[013] The following presents a detailed description of various embodiments of
15 the present subject matter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[014] The embodiments of the present subject matter are described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present subject matter is
not limited to these embodiments which are only provided to explain more clearly
20 the present subject matter to a person skilled in the art of the present disclosure. In
the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to indicate like
components.
8
[015] The specification may refer to “an”, “one”, “different” or “some”
embodiment(s) in several locations. This does not necessarily imply that each
such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a
single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be
5 combined to provide other embodiments.
[016] As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to
include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be
further understood that the terms “includes”, “comprises”, “including” and/or
10 “comprising” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated
features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not
preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,
operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood
that when an element is referred to as being “attached” or “connected” or
15 “coupled” or “mounted” to another element, it can be directly attached or
connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present.
As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations and
arrangements of one or more of the associated listed items.
20 [017] The figures depict a simplified structure only showing some elements and
functional entities, all being logical units whose implementation may differ from
what is shown.
9
[018] In a general overview, the tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100 is
operated on the crops like Green gram, Isabgol, Cumin, Soyabean, Black gram,
Chickpea, etc. The tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100 is completely
mounted at a rear side of a tractor for easy control and adjustments, by the
5 hydraulic system of the tractor. The tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100 is
operated in reverse direction, as this has the benefit of harvesting crops in any
pattern.
[019] As shown in Figure 1, the tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100 uses
10 PTO power to drive cutter bar 103 and collecting reel 102 with the help of belt
pulley, shaft, cranks, and gearbox. The crankshaft operates the cutter bar 103
assembly by changing the rotary motion into an oscillatory motion. The gearbox
reduces the speed of the collecting reel 102 from drive shaft at a ratio of 25:1. The
crops get guided by the collecting reel 102 towards cutter bar 103 and after cutting
15 by the cutter bar 103, the crops are pushed towards the flat platform of the
collecting chamber 39.
[020] As per the height of crop, wooden flanges 104 of the collecting reel 102
are added or removed, for example, eight flanges are used in the case of crop
20 height of 35cm like Isabgol and Cumin, and in another case, four flanges 104 are
used in the case for crop height of 40-100 cm like green gram, Soyabean, Black
gram, and Chickpea. The harvested crops are collected on a tray, and has to be
removed manually.. The machine or the tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100
10
requires tractor of size 25 hp and above. A detachable safety rod 45 is positioned
over the collecting chamber 39 to provide safety and support for labourers during
the harvesting operation and also two rigid rollers provide stability to the tractormounted multi-crop harvester 100.
5
[021] Figure 1 illustrates a tractor mounted multi-crop harvester 100 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The tractor mounted
multi-crop harvester 100 comprises a collecting chamber 39, a collecting reel 102,
a cutter bar 103, and a set of wheels 53. The collecting reel 102 is rotatably hinged
10 to opposing inner sides of the collecting chamber 39, where the collecting reel 102
is configured to rotate and guide standing crop towards a cutter bar 103 for
harvest and convey the harvested crops to the collecting chamber 39. The cutter
bar 103 is attached at a bottom section of the collecting chamber 39, where the
cutter bar 103 is configured to cut and harvest the crops. The supporting wheels
15 53 are positioned at the bottom of the tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100
with a 100cm distance between each other to give stability while operating in the
field, and are configured to be driven in a reverse direction to the direction of
movement of the tractor.
20 [022] The mainframe is a rigid structured that holds all the parts or components
of the tractor mounted multi-crop harvester 100. A hitch pyramid or a hitch
connector assembly 30 comprises a combination of upper hitch support 8, upper
hitch point 11 that extends from the upper hitch support 8, a lower hitch point 17
11
that extends from the upper hitch support 8, and a lower hitch support 28 that is
connected to the lower hitch point 17, and the hitch connector assembly 30 is
designed for mounting on the tractor by using three point linkage system of
tractor. The whole mainframe is actuated from up and down position by lower
5 hydraulic links. The tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100 is mounted on the
rear of the tractor, where it is easily adjusted by a hydraulic system, and also
driven in a reverse direction for better guiding and cutting action on the crops.
The tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester 100 travels at low height to cut the
crops at a less height. In other words, the tractor-mounted multi-crop harvester
10 100 is fully mounted on tractor and operate in reverse direction to get more
stability and constant cutting height.
[023] All the components are attached wither by nut and bolts or pivot shaft. The
collecting chamber 39 is a rectangular shaped portion or space in which harvested
15 crops are collected or stored. The collecting chamber 39 includes three
perpendicular walls and one slanted wall to allow ease of material removal. The
detachable safety rod 45 is positioned on the collecting chamber 39 to provide
safety and support for labourers during working. The tractor-mounted multi-crop
harvester 100 includes the collecting reel 102, which is used to cut the crops with
20 minimum damage or losses due to flanges 104 (or wooden flanges 104) that are
covered by the rubber material (or the flange rubber cover 101). A crop restrainer
96 is positioned within the collecting chamber 39 to prevent entry of excess crops
beyond a level in the collecting chamber 39. The cutting height of the cutter bar
12
103 is adjusted by the hydraulic lower link of the tractor and the speed of cutting
and collection depends on the operating speed of the tractor.
[024] Figure 2 illustrates is a perspective view of the collecting reel 102 of the
5 tractor mounted multi-crop harvester 100 mounted with the vehicle, for example,
a tractor, in the embodiment of the present invention. The collecting reel 102
includes a reel support rod 115, flange support plate 109 that is disposed at
opposing ends of the reel support rod 115, a wooden flange 104 that is radially
positioned with respect to the reel support rod 115 via flange supports 112 that
10 extend from the reel support rod 115. The collecting reel 102 also comprises
flange rubber cover 101 that covers the wooden flange 104, and cover support
plate 106 which is positioned on the wooden flange 104 to support the flange
rubber cover 101. The collecting reel 102 is mainly used to guide standing crop
towards cutter bar 103 as well as performs as a conveyor for harvested crops. The
15 collecting reel 102 conveys harvested crop to the collecting chamber 39. The
flange rubber cover 101 minimizes the damages or losses as compared to the
operation using other available reels. The flange support plate 109 has multiple
holes 109a that are used to attach or detach the wooden flange 104 as per the
requirement of the crop harvesting. The collecting reel 102 continuously rotates at
20 a constant speed during operation to guide the standing crops, for example, crops
that are above a predefined height are lowered for ease of harvesting.
13
[025] Figure 3 illustrates is a perspective view of the cutting bar 103 of the
multi-crop harvester 100 of the present invention. The cutting unit includes cutter
bar 103 and fingers 71 that are disposed along the length of the cutter bar 103
along a finger support plate 75. The cutter bar 103 includes a series of triangular
5 serrated blades 83 that oscillate in sidewise direction during the harvesting
operation and the series of triangular serrated blades 83 are mounted on a blade
support plate 81.The series of pointed shaped fingers 71 have a small gap in its
structure in which cutter bar 103 oscillates. During operation, the cutter bar 103
oscillates in sidewise direction which enables the cutter blades 83 to move in
10 between two adjacent fingers 71.
[026] The power transmission unit 61 consists of, for example, drive shaft, belt
pulleys, worm and pinion gear and crank mechanism. Initially the PTO power
transfer is provided to power the shaft by belt and pulley. Then the shaft power is
15 transferred to power a worm-pinion gear and four bar mechanism. The wormpinion gear provides motion to the collecting reel 102 with speed reduction. A
crank mechanism is used to change rotary motion to oscillatory motion for the
cutter bar 103.
20 [027] Figure 4 illustrates is a schematic view showing the working of the multicrop harvester 100 of the present invention. The PTO power 402 from the tractor
PTO 401 is used to drive the cutter bar 103 and the collecting reel 102 with the
help of, for example, a belt pulley, a shaft, cranks and a gear box. The crank shaft
14
operates the cutter bar 103 assembly by changing the rotary motion into
oscillatory motion. The crops are guided by the collecting reel 102 towards cutter
bar 103 and after cutting using the cutter bar 103, the crops are pushed towards
the flat platform of the collecting chamber 39. As per the height of crop, wooden
5 flanges 104 of the collecting reel 102 are added or removed. The harvested crops
are collected on a tray, and are removed manually. The depth of cutting is
adjusted by the hydraulic lower link as the multi-crop harvester 100 is fully
mounted at the three point linkage system of the tractor.
10 [028] During operation, the collecting reel 102 guides standing crops towards
cutter bar 103 and then pushes towards the harvested crops towards the collecting
chamber 39. The cutter bar 103 continuously oscillates to enable crops to be
trapped in between cutter blades 83 and fingers 71 that cut the crop in single
stroke. After each stroke, the trapped crops are cut and conveyed in to the
15 collecting chamber 39. All the collected crop is remove manually in continuous or
in batch as per the requirement. A slanted wall of collecting chamber 39 helps in
removal of harvested crops with minimum losses.
[029] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific
20 embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense.
Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate
embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art
upon reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated
15
that such modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of
the present invention as defined.

WE CLAIM:

1. A tractor mounted multi crop harvester, comprising:
a collecting chamber;
5 a collecting reel rotatably hinged to opposing inner sides of the collecting
chamber, wherein the collecting reel is configured to rotate and guide standing
crop towards a cutter bar for harvest and convey the harvested crops to the
collecting chamber;
the cutter bar attached at a bottom section of the collecting chamber,
10 wherein the cutter bar is configured to cut and harvest the crops; and
a set of wheels positioned below the collecting chamber, wherein the wheels
are configured to be driven in a reverse direction to the direction of movement of
the tractor.
15 2. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
collecting reel comprises:
a reel support rod;
a flange support plate that is disposed at opposing ends of the reel support
rod; and
20 a wooden flange that is radially positioned with respect to the reel support
rod via flange supports that extend from the reel support rod.
17
3. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
collecting reel further comprises:
a flange rubber cover that covers the wooden flange; and
a cover support plate that is positioned on the wooden flange to support the
5 flange rubber cover.
4. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
flange support plate includes multiple holes that are used to attach or detach
wooden flanges as per the requirement for the crop.
10
5. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 1, wherein
collecting reel continuously rotates at a constant speed during the harvesting
operation to guide the standing crops that are above a predefined height to the
cutter bar.
15
6. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 1, further
comprises a set of fingers that are disposed along the length of the cutter bar,
wherein the cutter bar includes a series of triangular serrated blades that oscillate
in sidewise direction during the harvesting operation.
20
7. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 6, wherein during
the harvesting operation the cutter bar is configured to oscillate in the sidewise
18
direction that enables the cutter blades to move in between two adjacent set of the
fingers.
8. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
5 cutting height of the cutter bar to cut the crops is adjusted by a hydraulic lower
link of the tractor, wherein speed of cutting and collection of the crop depends on
operating speed of the tractor.
9. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 1, further
10 comprises a detachable safety rod that is positioned over the collecting chamber to
provide safety and support for labourers during the harvesting operation.
10. The tractor mounted multi crop harvester as claimed in claim 1, further
comprises a hitch connector assembly that is configured to connect to a three
15 point linkage system of tractor, wherein the hitch connector assembly comprises:
an upper hitch support;
an upper hitch point that extends from the upper hitch support;
a lower hitch point that extends from the upper hitch support; and
a lower hitch support that is connected to the lower hitch point.