Bean picker

Claim 1

IN A RIPE BEAN HARVESTER HAVING A FRAME ADAPTED TO BE PROPELLED ALONG A ROW OF MATURE BEAN PLANTS IN THE FIELD, THE RIPE PODS OF SUCH MATURE BEAN PLANTS BEING CONDITIONED TO BURST OPEN ON ANY APPROACH TO ROUGH HANDLING, A THRESHING REEL JOURNALLED ON SAID FRAME TO ROTATE ABOUT AN AXIS ARRANGED ABOVE AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID ROW, PICKING FINGERS PROJECTING RADIALLY FROM SAID REEL TO ENGAGE AND COMB SAID BEAN PLANTS IN SAID ROW, MEANS ROTATING SAID REEL TO EFFECT UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID PICKING FINGERS THROUGH SAID PLANTS, A HORIZONTAL MOLD BOARD ARRANGED ALONGSIDE SAID ROW OF BEAN PLANTS AND AGAINST WHICH SAID PLANTS ARE BENT OVER BY SAID PICKING FINGERS, A SEMICYLINDRICAL COVER CONCENTRIC WITH AND ENCLOSING THE SIDE OF SAID REEL OPPOSITE FROM SAID MOLD BOARD, AND A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL CONVEYER ARRANGED ALONG THE SIDE OF SAID MOLD BOARD OPPOSITE FROM SAID REEL TO RECEIVE THE BEAN PODS, BEAN SEEDS, LEAVES AND STEMS REMOVED FROM SAID BEAN PLANTS BY SAID PICKING FINGERS; THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF MEANS RETARDING THE ESCAPE OF DRY BEAN SEEDS RELEASED FROM THE PODS BY THE BURSTING OF SAID PODS BY SAID PICKING FINGERS, COMPRISING A SERIES OF BRUSHES MOUNTED ON SAID REEL IN CIRCUMFERENTIAL ALTERNATION WITH SAID FINGERS WITH THEIR BRISTLES PROJECTING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID REEL A DISTANCE AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY EQUALY TO THE LENGTH OF SAID PICKING FINGERS AND WITH THEIR ENDS IN CLOSELY SPACED RELATION TO SAID SEMICYLINDRICAL COVER AND SAID MOLD BOARD AND SAID BRUSHES EXTENDING AXIALLY ALONG SAID REEL AND BEING ARRANGED AT SPACED INTERVALS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND SAID REEL WITH THEIR BRISTLES INTERSPERSED AMONG AND IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID PICKING FINGERS, WHEREBY THE DRY BEAN SEEDS RELEASED BY SAID PICKING FINGERS IN THE REGION OF SAID MOLD BOARD ARE CONFINED TO SAID REGION BY THE MOLD BOARD AND THE BRISTLES IN ADVANCE OF AND FOLLOWING THE PICKING FINGERS RELEASING THE BEAN PODS IN SAID REGION AND ARE GUIDED BY SAID ADVANCE AND FOLLOWING BRUSHES OVER SAID MOLD BOARD ONTO SAID CONVEYER.