The invention concerns a harvesting unit including two shaker devices, and two collecting mats disposed under respectively one shaker device, each being formed by a longitudinal alignment of collecting modules that longitudinally overlap on one another, and transversely overlapping on one another at their inward edges to form therebetween a path for the passage of the trunks of the plants, each collecting module comprising a collecting member that presents an upper wall forming a part of the corresponding mat and is arranged to move away from the path upon bearing contact with a trunk, each collecting module further comprising a reinforcing member of the upper wall against deformations thereof along a direction normal to the upper wall, the reinforcing member being arranged to move away from the path upon bearing contact with a trunk.

A system for eliminating residue from a flow of harvest containing fruit, includes a motorized conveyor for feeding the flow of harvest towards an inclined surface that is arranged to allow the flow of harvest to travel over it, the surface including air passages. The system further has a blower for blowing air through the passages in order to eject residue from the flow of harvest as it is routed over the surface.

A harvesting unit including a chassis intended to be moved along rows of plants to be harvested, and a shaker system including a shaker device including: a drum operable to detach a crop from the plants, the drum including a drum shaft mounted for rotation on the chassis about a vertical axis and shaker organs mounted to the drum shaft; a rotational driving mechanism for the drum including a driven body and a first driving device engaged with the driven body to steer its rotation about the vertical axis; an oscillatory driving mechanism for the drum about the vertical axis including comprising an eccentric module and a second driving device engaged with the eccentric module to steer its rotation, the eccentric module being connected to the drum shaft by a mechanical member arranged to transform the eccentric rotation of the eccentric module into an oscillation of the drum shaft.

A method is provided for converting a bow rod harvester into a trunk shaker harvester. In the bow rod harvester, a plurality of bow rods are attached to an oscillating member that is configured to reciprocate about a first vertical axis of a first vertical shaft of the bow rod harvester. In the conversion, the plurality of bow rods are removed from the oscillating member and a shaker rail is coupled to the oscillating member.

A method is provided for converting a bow rod harvester into a trunk shaker harvester. In the bow rod harvester, a plurality of bow rods are attached to an oscillating member that is configured to reciprocate about a first vertical axis of a first vertical shaft of the bow rod harvester. In the conversion, the plurality of bow rods are removed from the oscillating member and a shaker rail is coupled to the oscillating member.

A separator for separating harvested fruit from other plant matter. The separator can be fitted to, positioned above, or integrated with, a collection bin and as such allows for material harvested by an automatic fruit harvester to be processed prior to deposition of the fruit in the collection bin.

A separator for separating harvested fruit from other plant matter. The separator can be fitted to, positioned above, or integrated with, a collection bin and as such allows for material harvested by an automatic fruit harvester to be processed prior to deposition of the fruit in the collection bin.

A sorter or sorter assembly for application to a rear-conveyor fruit harvester, being one that has a primary conveyor with a downstream, rear end located towards the rear of the rear-conveyor fruit harvester, the primary conveyor configured, in use, for collecting harvested material and conveying the harvested material downstream. The sorter can improve the ability of a rear-conveyor fruit harvester to separate waste from fruit, such as berries or nuts. The sorter or sorter assembly reduces the likelihood of fruit being damaged or destroyed by the rear-conveyor fruit harvester, may reduce the amount of energy the rear-conveyor fruit harvester must expend moving waste, and may reduce the likelihood of waste clogging downstream parts of the rear-conveyor fruit harvester. Therefore, the sorter or sorter assembly may increase the fruit-to-waste ratio of harvested material, increase harvester throughput, and/or increase the value of a fruit harvest.

The shaker assembly comprises a support provided with at least one cavity and at least one shaker rod configured to be clamped into said cavity. The cavity comprises an entry portion and a clamping portion, oriented along different angles and partly overlapping each other. The entry portion is shaped and dimensioned to enable sliding the rod into and out of said entry portion, while the clamping portion is shaped and dimensioned to clamp the rod by a radial clamping force. The cavity further comprises at least one bottleneck area that is narrower than the shaker rod, enabling to move the rod from the entry portion to the clamping portion or vice versa by tilting the rod between said different angles, thereby forcing the rod to pass through said bottleneck area or areas.

A detection device for metal stakes in a wire-trained plant-crop hedge having at least one detector configured to generate a detection signal when it passes next to a metal stake of the hedge wherein the metal stake detector has a first and a second metal detector arranged for generating respectively a first and a second measurement signal when they pass next to one of the metal stakes of the hedge. The first and second metal detectors are mechanically secured to each other in movement and arranged for being spaced vertically relative to each other. The detection device has an electronic management unit for the detection signals, configured for, upon detection of a temporal offset between the maximum variation levels of the first and second measurement signals, generating a signal indicating an inclined state of the metal stake.