Orchard Harvest Platform

Overview

An orchard harvest platform is a self-propelled machine that carries a crew of pickers slowly along a tree row at the height of the fruit, so they pick standing on a stable deck instead of climbing ladders. Ladder picking is slow, tiring, and dangerous, and it limits how high the canopy can be worked. A platform creeps along the row at the pace the crew sets, raises decks to reach the upper branches, extends side decks toward the tree, and runs a soft conveyor that carries the picked fruit gently down to a bin so the pickers never carry a bag. The same machine is used through the year for pruning, thinning, training, and netting, not just harvest.

The machine combines the Chassis and Drive that crawls it along the row, the Scissor Lift Deck that raises the decks, the Power Unit power unit, the Fruit Conveyor that moves the fruit, the Operator Controls that the crew drive from, and the Bin Handler that holds and swaps the bins.

Chassis and drive

The Chassis and Drive is built low and narrow to pass between close-planted rows. A compact Main Frame carries four Drive Wheel soft turf wheels, each turned by its own Wheel Motor for the slow steady creep the work needs. An Steering Axle driven by an Steering Cylinder pivots the wheels for tight headland turns at the end of a row, all on Ball Bearing mounts and held with a Fastener Set. The drive is hydrostatic so the operator can set a smooth, very slow speed and hold it hands-free while picking, which is the whole point: the crew pick continuously while the machine moves itself.

The scissor lift

The Scissor Lift Deck raises the crew to the fruit. Crossed Scissor Arm arms, driven by two Lift Cylinder rams, raise the Work Deck work decks straight up so pickers can reach the upper canopy. Sliding Side Deck decks, pushed by Deck Cylinder rams, extend toward the tree so the outer branches are within easy reach, and Guard Rail rails around each deck stop a picker falling. The scissor pivots run on Ball Bearing mounts. Independent deck control means tall trees and short workers are both handled by raising or lowering each deck to suit, rather than everyone reaching from one fixed height.

Power unit

The Power Unit supplies the hydraulic power for everything. A small Diesel Engine, or a battery pack on electric models, drives two Hydraulic Pump pumps fed from an Hydraulic Tank, with a Fuel Tank and an Radiator to keep the engine and oil cool, sealed by Oil Seal and O-Ring Set seals. Hydraulics run the wheel motors, the lift, the conveyor, and the bin handler from one power source, so the operator has fine control of slow speeds and lifting without a complex mechanical drive. Electric models are increasingly chosen for quiet running and zero exhaust in enclosed orchards.

The fruit conveyor

The Fruit Conveyor is what keeps the fruit unbruised. Pickers place fruit on soft cleated Conveyor Belt belts driven by Belt Motor motors and carried over foam Padded Roller rollers on Ball Bearing mounts, which lower it gently to an Fill Chute that fills the bin with the least possible drop. Bruising is the enemy of fresh fruit value, so every transfer is padded and the drop height into the bin is kept small. This lets the pickers work with both hands and never carry a heavy bag, which is faster and far easier on them than ladder-and-bag picking.

Controls

The Operator Controls let the whole crew run the machine, not just a driver. A Bare PCB controller and Microcontroller tie together an Drive Pedal that sets the creep speed, Lift Joystick levers that raise the decks, and Deck Pendant handheld controls so a picker can nudge speed and height without climbing down, all wired through Connector and Wire Bundle links. Proximity Sensor sensors warn or slow the machine near trunks, posts, and trellis wires. Shared control matters because the person who can see when to move or stop is the picker on the deck, not a driver below.

Bin handling and use

The Bin Handler keeps the work flowing. An onboard set of Bin Fork forks and an Bin Frame carrier hold a field bin directly under the conveyor, an Bin Cylinder tilts or lowers it as it fills, and Bin Roller rollers let a full bin slide off and an empty one slide on without stopping for a tractor. Orchard platforms are used through apple, pear, citrus, and stone-fruit orchards for harvest, and through the rest of the year for pruning, thinning, tree training, and putting up hail netting. They raise the amount one crew picks in a day, cut ladder injuries to nearly nothing, and let growers plant taller, denser, higher-yielding canopies that ladder picking could not reach.