Removing sod from a stacking conveyor

摘要

Sod harvester stacking head and stacking conveyor configurations can increase the rate at which sod can be harvested. The movement of the stacking head and/or the stacking conveyor can be controlled to maximize the rate at which the stacking head can remove sod from the stacking conveyor. A stacking head can employ multiple pick up positions. A stacking conveyor may also advance sod for pick up at varying rates. A stacking head may include a pivoting connection to allow the stacking head to rotate around a pivot during a pick up operation.

主权项

1. A sod harvester comprising:
a support on which slabs of sod are stacked; a stacking conveyor positioned adjacent to the support and configured to support one or more slabs of sod prior to a stacking operation, the stacking conveyor configured to rotate in a first direction to advance the one or more slabs of sod to a pick up location; and a stacking head configured to travel between a pick up position that is above the pick up location and a plurality of stacking positions overtop the support, the plurality of stacking positions including a first stacking position and a second stacking position, a distance between the pick up position and the first stacking position being less than a distance between the pick up position and the second stacking position, the stacking head being configured to remove the one or more slabs of sod from the stacking conveyor while the stacking head is in the pick up position and to release the one or more slabs of sod onto the support while in one of the plurality of stacking positions; wherein the sod harvester is configured to cause the stacking conveyor to advance the one or more slabs of sod to the pick up location at a first rate when the stacking head will stack the one or more slabs in the first position and at a second rate when the stacking head will stack the one or more slabs in the second position, the second rate being faster than the first rate.