APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TOBACCO LEAVES FROM ROWS OF TOBACCO PLANTS AND FOR HANDLING THE REMOVED LEAVES

摘要

Tobacco combine apparatus including a wheeled frame adapted to be self-propelled and steered along a row of mature tobacco plants having vertically movable leaf defoliating mechanism thereon for removing tobacco leaves from the tobacco plants in the row as the frame is moved therealong, a conveyor system for conveying the removed leaves rearwardly and upwardly to a pair of laterally spaced discharge stations and a fork lift mechanism at the rear of the vehicle frame for detachably engaging a trailer vehicle assembly adapted to carry a series of baskets or bin-like structures, the fork lift mechanism functions to move the trailer from a ground engaging position to an elevated operative position rearwardly and below the discharge stations of the conveyor system where an attendant stationed on the forward central portion of the bed of the trailer moves successive empty bins from the trailer onto a pair of spaced end stations on a laterally extending platform providing a leaf loading station laterally inwardly of each end station beneath a discharge station of the conveyor system, the platform also provides a central station for receiving successive filled bins as the attendant moves successive empty bins into each loading station and from which the attendant moves filled bins onto the trailer.