Screen cleaning apparatus

Claim 1

IN AN AGRICULTURAL HARVESTING MACHINE FOR FRANGIBLE PRODUCE, SUCH AS LENTILS OR THE LIKE, INCLUDING A DRUM MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND INCLUDING A PERIPHERAL SCREEN PROVIDING OPENINGS FOR PASSING THE SHELLED LENTILS OR THE LIKE, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRUM IN A PREDETERMINED ANGULAR DIRECTION ABOUT SAID AXIS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING; A ROTOR MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING ALONGSIDE THE OUTSIDE OF SAID SCREEN AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE DRUM AXIS, THE AXIS OF SAID ROTOR BEING NORMALLY SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE FROM SAID SCREEN, MEANS MOUNTING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED ROWS OF RELATIVELY STIFF, RADIALLY EXTENDING, BRISTLE-LIKE ELEMENTS ON SAID ROTOR, SAID ROWS OF ELEMENTS EXTENDING GENERALLY LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID ROTOR, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID ROTOR IN A DIRECTION COUNTER TO SAID PREDETERMINED ANGULAR DIRECTION SO THAT THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID BRISTLE-LIKE ELEMENTS ARE MOVED IN A CIRCULAR PATH AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE PERIPHERAL SPEED OF SAID SCREEN, THE THICKNESS OF THE BRISTLE-LIKE ELEMENTS IN EACH ROW, WHEN MEASURED AT THE MOUNTING OF THE ELEMENTS, BEING LESS THAN THE CORRESPONDING DIMENSION OF THE INDIVIDUAL SCREEN OPENINGS, SAID BRISTLE-LIKE ELEMENTS BEING MANY TIMES LONGER THAN THEIR THICKNESS IN A ROW, THE CIRCULAR PATH OF THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID BRISTLE-LIKE ELEMENTS INTERSECTING A PORTION OF THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID SCREEN SO THAT SAID OUTER PORTIONS OF SAID ELEMENTS ARE BROUGHT INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SCREEN DURING ROTATION.