Leaf picking apparatus for tobacco plants

摘要

A leaf picking apparatus according to the present invention comprises a leaf picking disk of elastic material adapted to rotate in one direction. The disk has an opening in the center and a plurality of elastically deformable tongues spaced circumferentially and extending radially inward from the peripheral edge of the opening. Each tongue of the disk is fitted with a metallic plate piece for keeping the tongue curved to one side of the disk and twisted in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the disk. The plate pieces project from the distal ends of their corresponding tongues. A cylindrical leaf picking tip is fixed to the projecting end of each plate piece. The tip has an axis across the longitudinal direction of its corresponding tongue, and its leading end, as viewed in the rotating direction, is located outside its trailing end with respect to the radial direction of the disk.