Apparatus for harvesting castor beans

Claim 1

IN AN APPARATUS FOR HARVESTING CASTOR MEANS, A FRAME STRUCTURE ADAPTED FOR MOVEMENT OVER A GROUND SURFACE AND HAVING A FORWARD AND A REARWARD END, THERE BEING IN SAID FRAME STRUCTURE A PATHWAY EXTENDING FROM THE FORWARD TO THE REARWARD END OF SAID FRAME STRUCTURE AND FIXEDLY SUPPORTED IN SPACED RELATION ABOVE SAID GROUND SURFACE FOR TRAVEL THERETHROUGH OF A ROW OF UPSTANDING CASTOR BEAN STALKS HAVING BEANS THEREON TO BE HARVESTED, AN APRON ON EACH SIDE OF AND BELOW THE LEVEL OF SAID PATHWAY AND EXTENDING ALONG SAID PATHWAY AND FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO SAID PATHWAY AND FRAME STRUCTURE, SAID PATHWAY INCLUDING TWO ROWS OF RESILIENT FINGERS ARRANGED IN UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY CONVERGING RELATION AND POSITIONED SO THAT THE CONVERGING ENDS ARE MIDWAY BETWEEN AND ABOVE SAID APRONS AND INTERENGAGE EACH OTHER WITH THE FINGERS OF EACH ROW SLOPING DOWNWARDLY TOWARD THE ADJACENT APRON AND FORMING SLOPING RUNWAYS AND HAVING THE DIVERGING ENDS RECEIVED IN SAID APRONS, THE CONVERGING ENDS OF SAID FINGERS FORMING A FREELY OPENABLE AND CLOSABLE SLIT EXTENDING FROM THE FORWARD TO THE REARWARD END OF SAID FRAME STRUCTURE FOR PASSAGE OF SAID STALKS THERETHROUGH, KNOCKER MEANS DISPOSED ABOVE AND ADJACENT SAID ROWS OF FINGERS AND MOVABLE ACROSS SAID SLIT FOR IMPARTING A BEATING FORCE TO SAID STALKS AS THEY TRAVEL THROUGH SAID SLIT AND SHAKE THE CASTOR BEANS THEREFROM ON TO SAID SLOPING RUNWAYS, AND AIR CURRENT DIRECTING MEANS ADJACENT THE FORWARD ENDS OF SAID APRONS FOR DIRECTING AN AIR CURRENT BLANKET ALONG AND ABOVE AND ADJACENT EACH APRON FROM THE FORWARD TO THE REARWARD END THEREOF.