Collecting conveyor for tomato harvester and the like

Claim 1

IN A TOMATO HARVESTER, THE COMBINATION OF: A COLLECTING CONVEYOR UPON WHICH TOMATOES FALL ALONG WITH DIRT AND TRASH, SAID CONVEYOR HAVING A MAIN FRAME AND AN ENDLESS BELT COMPRISING A SERIES OF PARALLEL SPACED-APART LATERAL BARS, SAID BELT HAVING AN INCLINED UPPER FLIGHT AND A SLACK LOWER FLIGHT, SAID BELT AND ITS BARS HAVING INNER AND OUTER SURFACES, SAID CONVEYOR HAVING ONE SAID BAR OMITTED AND A FLEXIBLE, READILY YIELDING RESILIENT FLAP SECURED TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE BAR ON THE FORWARD SIDE OF THE RESULTANT SPACE AND BRIDGING IT AND RESTING LOOSELY ON TOP OF THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE SUCCEEDING BAR ON ITS PASSAGE ALONG SAID UPPER FLIGHT, SAID FLAP FALLING DOWN LOOSELY DURING SAID LOWER FLIGHT TO OPEN SAID SPAE SO THAT ACCUMULATED TRASH CAN FALL OUT THERETHROUGH, A SCRAPER BLADE THAT IS V-SHAPED AS SEEN IN PLAN, EXTENDING ACROSS SAID BELT WITH THE V- ALONG THE BELT CENTER AND BENEATH IT ON SAID LOWER FLIGHT, THE SPACE BOUNDED BY THE V AND THE SPACE OUTSIDE THEV BEIN OPEN, MEANS SECURED TO SAID FRAME FOR HOLDING SAID SCRAPER BLADE YIELDINGLY AGAINST SAID BELT WITH THE VERTEX FORWARD AND SIDE PORTIONS EXTENDING REARWARDLY AWAY THEREFROM, SAID SCRAPER SCRAPING OFF A LAYER OF COLLECTED DIRT FROM SAID BELT, SAID FLAP YIELDING UPWARDLY WHEN ENGAGED BY SAID SCRAPER, AND A CLEANING DRUM ASSEMBLY SUPPORTED ROTATABLY WITH RESPECT TO SID FRAME IN BETWEEN SAID FLIGHTS AND FORWARD OF SAID BLADE FOR LATER ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOWER FLIGHT OF SAID BELT, SAID DRUM HAVING A PLURALITY OF RADIALLY EXTENDING FLAT LATERAL BARS AND GRAVITY ACTUATED MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID LATERAL BARS TO ENTER DOWN INTO THE SPACES BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SAID CONVEYOR BARS AND FORCE OUT DIRT FROM BETWEEN THEM, WHEREBY LOOSE TRASH TRAPPED BETWEEN FLIGHTS IS EJECTED BY GRAVITY WHEN SAID FLAP OPENS, THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE LOWER FLIGHT OF THE BELT IS SCRAPED OFF, THE RESILIENCY OF THE FLAP AND ITS PROTECTED SECUREMENT TO ITS BAR PREVENTING DAMAGE THERETO WHEN IT IS SCRAPED, AND THEN THE DIRT AND MUD STUCK BETWEEN CONVEYOR BARS AND REMAINING AFTER SCRAPING IS EJECTED DOWNWARDLY BY SAID DRUM.