Defoliating device

Abstract

A defoliating device (3) has at least two defoliating units (100, 200) which are located on the rear side of a common panel (7) of the device (3), the frontside surface of which panel faces a plant to be defoliated, , The panel (7) is provided with working openings (8, 9) or cut-outs, through which the defoliating units (100, 200), which are located on the rear side, act on the plants.The defoliating device (3) can be moved past the plants in a working direction, and where in each case two defoliating units (100, 200) having different ways of operating are arranged one behind the other in the working direction such that the units act sequentially on the plant region to be defoliated.

Claims

1. A defoliating apparatus comprising: at least two defoliating units which are arranged on the rear of a common plate of the apparatus, the front surface of which faces a plant to be defoliated, wherein the plate is provided with working openings or cutouts through which the defoliating units, arranged on the rear, act on the plant, wherein the defoliating apparatus is movable in a working direction past the plant, and wherein in each case two defoliating units with different modes of action are arranged in succession in the working direction such that they act sequentially on the plant region to be defoliated.

2. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first, in the working direction, of the two defoliating units arranged in succession is in the form of a suction-air defoliator and the second, in the working direction, of the two defoliating units arranged in succession is in the form of a compressed-air defoliator.

3. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front surface of the plate is provided, in the region of the working opening for the second defoliating unit in the working direction, with a setback with respect to the front surface in the region of the working opening for the first defoliating unit in the working direction, such that the respective surface regions have an offset with respect to the plant region to be defoliated.

4. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plate is formed in one piece and the setback is in the form of a rearwardly inclined slope or curve, connecting the respective surface regions and bridging the offset, in the front surface of the plate.

5. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plate is formed in a multipart manner such that the offset between the surface regions and thus the setback is settable manually or by a motor, wherein the offset is preferably able to be covered by a flexible front surface part of the plate.

6. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front surface of the plate is inclined in the region of the setback at an angle of less than 90° to the surface normal.

7. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plate is pivotable about a vertical and/or a horizontal axis.

8. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first defoliating unit in the working direction is in the form of a roller defoliator with rollers that are drivable in opposite directions, and the second defoliating unit in the working direction is in the form of a compressed-air defoliator with rotating compressed-air jets directed at the plant regions to be defoliated, preferably with pulsed compressed-air jets, wherein the compressed-air jets, emerging from nozzles of a nozzle arrangement that is drivable in rotation, rotate on a circular path, the diameter of which corresponds substantially to the effective working height of the rollers that are drivable in opposite directions and thus to the height of the associated working opening or cutout for the roller defoliator.

9. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first defoliating unit in the working direction is in the form of a roller defoliator with rollers that are drivable in opposite directions, and the second defoliating unit in the working direction is in the form of a compressed-air defoliator with a plurality of rotating compressed-air jets directed at the plant regions to be defoliated, preferably with pulsed compressed-air jets, wherein the compressed-air jets, emerging from nozzles of at least two nozzle arrangements that are drivable in rotation, rotate on a plurality of circular paths, the diameters of which are smaller than the height of the working opening or cutout, formed in the plate, for the roller defoliator, and wherein the common effective working height of the plurality of rotating compressed-air jets corresponds to the working height of the rollers that are drivable in opposite directions and thus to the height of the associated working opening or cutout for the roller defoliator.

10. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the outlet cross section of the nozzles belonging to the nozzle arrangements that are drivable in rotation is adjustable.

11. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein guide elements for plant parts are provided on the front surface of the plate, preferably guide rails or bars extending in the working direction.

12. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suction-air defoliator arranged on the rear of the common plate is configured such that its suction airflow is settable or pivotable, preferably able to be inclined forward in relation to the working direction .

13. The defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the defoliating units arranged on the rear of a common plate are connected to the plate so as to be pivotable and/or releasable.

14. A method for operating a defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suction airflow of the suction-air defoliator is used at least partially to cool components of the compressed-air defoliator or to cool a vehicle carrying the defoliating apparatus.

15. A method for operating a defoliating apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein a central air supply is used to generate compressed air for the compressed-air defoliator and suction air for the suction-air defoliator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The invention will be explained in more detail on the basis of an exemplary embodiment. In the drawings:

[0037] FIG. 1 shows the use of the apparatus according to the invention on the boom of a tractor in the form of a basic illustration,

[0038] FIG. 2 shows the defoliating apparatus according to the invention in a view from its side facing the canopy or the surface to be defoliated,

[0039] FIG. 3 shows the defoliating apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 in an enlarged perspective view,

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a rear view of the defoliating apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 with the defoliating units arranged on the rear of the common plate,

[0041] FIG. 5 shows the defoliating units, arranged pivotably on the rear of the common plate, of the defoliating apparatus according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] FIG. 1 outlines the use of the apparatus according to the invention in the form of a basic illustration. The outline shows a tractor 1 as seen obliquely from the front and above, which carries a defoliating apparatus 3 according to the invention on a boom 2 located on its front side and moves in the direction of travel 4 in a vineyard between two rows of vines 5, 6. The direction of travel 4 of the tractor 1 is thus identical to the working direction of the defoliating apparatus 3.

[0043] FIG. 2 shows the defoliating apparatus 3 according to the invention in a more detailed illustrated in a view from its side facing the canopy or the surface to be defoliated. Specifically, FIG. 2 shows the front surface of a plate 7 of the defoliating apparatus, on the rear of which a plurality of defoliating units are arranged. The plate 7 is provided with working openings or cutouts 8, 9, through which the defoliating units arranged on the rear act on the plant, while the defoliating apparatus 3 as a whole moves in the working direction 4 past the plant, i.e. in this case past the face to be defoliated of the row of vines 6.

[0044] As is already apparent from FIG. 2 in the form of the working openings 8 and 9, but more clearly visible when viewed together with FIGS. 3 and 4, the defoliating units 100 and 200, respectively, arranged in succession act on the plant both sequentially, that is to say one after another, and in different ways for defoliation. In this regard, FIG. 3 shows the defoliating apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 in an enlarged perspective view, and FIG. 4 shows the associated detailed rear view.

[0045] The working opening 8 is in this case substantially rectangular, wherein its front edge 10 in the working direction is cut out in a zigzag shape and thus adapted approximately to a fluted roller 11. The first defoliating unit in the direction of travel or working direction 4 is in this case specifically in the form of a roll or roller defoliator 100 with two rollers 11 and 12 rotating in opposite directions, wherein a fluted roller 11 is arranged parallel to a counterpart roller 12 with a gap in between. A fan that is in the form of a radial compressor 13 and is arranged behind the rollers, see FIG. 4, draws leaves into the gap, the leaves then being plucked by the rotating rollers. As already stated at the beginning in relation to the prior art, the roller defoliator/roll defoliator 100 is known per se and therefore not described in more detail here.

[0046] The working opening or cutout 8 belonging to the roller defoliator/roll defoliator 100 corresponds to the roller height and is configured in terms of its width such that the tangent at the front surface of the plate forms for instance the tangent to the roller surfaces and thus the leaves can be drawn in at the plate surface and plucked. The plucked leaves are transported rearwardly further into and through the roller defoliator by the airflow and transported and blown out by the radial compressor 13.

[0047] In the embodiment of the defoliating apparatus according to the invention that is described here, the second defoliating unit 200 in the direction of travel or working direction 4 is in the form of a double unit and consists of two compressed-air defoliators 201, 202, arranged one above the other, with a plurality of rotating compressed-air jets directed at the plant regions to be defoliated, in this case with pulsed compressed-air jets. This becomes clear from viewing FIGS. 2 to 4 together.

[0048] The compressed-air jets in this case emerge from nozzles 14 of two nozzle arrangements 15 that are drivable in rotation (FIG. 5), and rotate on two circular paths, the diameters of which 16 are smaller than the height 17 of the working opening 8, formed in the plate, for the roller defoliator. The common effective working height 18 of the plurality of rotating compressed-air jets corresponds to the working height of the rollers that are drivable in opposite directions and thus to the height 17 of the associated working opening 8 for the roller defoliator. The working openings 9 are in this case in the form of annular opening slots, forming a part-circle, for the rotating compressed-air jets, and the diameter of the respective opening slots corresponds to the diameter 16 of the circular path on which the respectively associated outlet nozzles 14 rotate.

[0049] As likewise already stated, compressed-gas defoliators having rotating compressed-gas jets are likewise known per se, and so the two double units 201 and 202 are not described in more detail here either.

[0050] The defoliating units 100 and 200, i.e. 201 and 202, arranged in succession in the working direction and direction of travel 4 and behind the working opening 8 and the working openings 9, respectively, in the plate 7, thus act sequentially, i.e. one after another, on the plant region to be defoliated, as becomes clear when viewed together with FIG. 1. First of all, defoliation is carried out by the roller defoliator 100, and then defoliation is carried out by the two compressed-air defoliators 201 and 202. As a result, the embodiment, described here, of the defoliating apparatus according to the invention having its two defoliating units 100 and 200 with different modes of action allows exceptionally more gentle defoliation.

[0051] A particularly important expression of the embodiment, described here, of the embodiment according to the invention of the defoliation apparatus is clearly apparent both from FIG. 3 and from FIG. 2. The front surface of the plate 7, i.e. the surface thereof facing the plant, is provided, in the region of the working openings 9 for the second defoliating unit 200 in the working direction, with a setback 19 with respect to the front surface in the region of the working opening 8 for the first defoliating unit 100 in the working direction, such that the respective surface regions have an offset 20 with respect to the plant region to be defoliated.

[0052] The plate 7 is in this case formed in one piece, wherein the setback 19 is in the form of a rearwardly inclined slope, connecting the respective surface regions and bridging the offset, in the front surface of the plate.

[0053] As already illustrated comprehensively above, this offset 20 or the setback 19 in the front surface of the plate 7, in combination with the remaining features, is crucial for defoliation that is as low-stress as possible for the plant, with two defoliating units that have complementary actions. Likewise, the offset has the effect that the plant is in more or less close contact with the apparatus for a shorter time, specifically over about half the working length, and so the mechanical stress on the plant is kept low overall.

[0054] Provided on this front surface of the plate 7 are guide elements for plant parts, in the form, in this embodiment, of guide bars 21, extending in the working direction, on the upper and lower edge of the plate The guide bars are sloped in a set-back manner on the inlet side and outlet side.

[0055] FIG. 5 shows yet another advantageous design of the embodiment presented here, specifically a configuration in which the defoliating units 100 and 200, or 201 and 202, arranged on the rear of a common plate 7 are connected pivotably to the plate 7 via hinges and articulated connections, not described specifically here, such that, by folding open the unit parts or after releasing and/or swinging back the units, as shown here in FIG. 5, easy maintenance and cleaning of the defoliating units and rear access to the corresponding working openings becomes possible.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0056] TABLE-US-00001 Part of the description 1 Tractor 2 Boom 3 Defoliating apparatus 4 Direction of travel, working direction 5 Row of vines 6 Row of vines 7 Plate 8 Working opening in roller defoliator 9 Working opening in compressed-air defoliator 10 Front, toothed edge of the working opening 8 11 Fluted roller 12 Counterpart roller 13 Radial fan 14 Nozzle 15 Nozzle arrangement 16 Circular-path diameter 17 Height of working opening in roller defoliator 18 Effective working height of compressed-air defoliator 19 Setback 20 Offset 21 Guide bar 100 Defoliating unit, roller defoliator 200 Defoliating unit, compressed-air defoliator 201 Defoliating unit, double unit 1 202 Defoliating unit, double unit 2