Design and Construction of a Pick-up Type Pulse Crop Harvester

Purpose: This aim of this study was to develop a pick-up type pulse crop harvester for harvesting cut and dried pulse crop. Methods: The pick-up type pulse crop harvester was designed and constructed. Its specifications and operating performance were investigated. Results: Compared with conventional bean harvesters, the pick-up type pulse crop harvester adopted seven rows of chains with tines to pick-up the cut and dried pulse crop on a flat or ridged field, two transverse threshing drums with steel wire teeth to reduce the threshing speed, and a tilt plate and plastic bucket elevator for conveying clean grain to reduce damage. The threshing speed and the oscillating frequency of the separating and cleaning parts according to crop type and condition could be varied easily to efficiently use engine power and to improve harvesting performance. The harvester showed forward speed ranges of 0 ~ 1.5 m/s during harvesting operation, and 0 ~ 2.5 m/s during road travelling. The pick-up width of the harvester was about 1 m. Conclusions: The pick-up type self-propelled 51.5 kW harvester was designed and constructed to harvest cut and dried pulse crop. The effective field capacity of the harvester was predicted as above 40 a/h.