Machine for feeding dates to a pitting machine

Claim 1

A MACHINE ADAPTED TO ORIENT DATES AND THE LIKE, WHICH ARE HAPHAZARDLY GROUPED TOGETHER, INTO A POSITION WHERE THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER AND SIMILARLY POSITIONED WITH THEIR MAJOR AXES VERTICALLY DISPOSED AND TO FEED SAID DATES TO A PITTING DEVICE COMPRISING A HOPPER TO CONTAIN HAPHAZARDLY GROUPED TOGETHER DATES, A CONTINUOUS PATH CONVEYOR HAVING A REACH UPWARDLY INCLINED IN THE DIRECTION OF CONVEYOR TRAVEL EXTENDING THROUGH SAID HOPPER ALONG THE BOTTOM THEREOF, SAID CONVEYOR BEING FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTED MEMBERS HAVING FLARED MOUTH POCKETS ADAPTED TO ADMIT A DATE LENGTHWISE AND SUPPORT IT IN THAT POSITION, RIGID SUPPORT MEANS FOR SAID REACH OF SAID CONVEYOR, VIBRATION INDUCING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR IMPARTING TO SIAD CONVEYOR REACH TO AND FRO AND UP AND DOWN VIBRATORY MOVEMENT, AND MOUNTING MEANS FOR SAID SUPPORT MEANS INCLUDING UPPER MOUNTING MEANS ENGAGING SAID SUPPORT MEANS ADJACENT TO THE UPPER END OF SAID CONVEYOR REACH FOR PERMITTING PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS ABOUT A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS ADJACENT TO SAID UPPER MOUNTING MEANS, AND LOWER MOUNTING MEANS ENGAGING SAID SUPPORT MEANS ADJACENT TO A PORTION OF SAID CONVEYOR REACH BELOW THE UPPER END THEREOF FOR PERMITTING SWING ING MOVEMENT OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS ABOUT SAID GENERALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS, WHEREBY SAID MOUNTING MEANS AND SAID VIBRATION INDUCING MEANS PROVIDE VIBRATORY MOVEMENT OF SAID CONVEYOR REACH WHICH DECREASES IN AMPLITUDE PROGRESSIVELY FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID REACH TO THE TOP OF SAID REACH.