摘要 |
The harvester provides a self-propelled or towed base ( 2 ) on which a telescoping tower ( 3 ) is mounted on a gimbal ( 7 ), allowing angular flexibility of the tower relative to the base. The tower resists swaying movement by the stabilizing effects of hydraulic cylinders ( 34 ) that are connected to electrically-operated hydraulic control valves, e.g. servo valves, controlled by a programmable logic controller or the like, which receives input from two inclinometers ( 5 ). An extendable multi-jointed boom ( 8 ) is mounted at or near the upper end of the tower. Mounted at the distal end of the boom is a cut fruit holding basket ( 11 ) and a funnel ( 12 ) with a chute ( 13 ), mounted to a common platform ( 4 ) that pivots to provide access to all sides of a tree. Collected fruit may be discharged periodically into a collection bin, for example when the platform is at least partially lowered to move the base and tower from location to location.
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