Machine for cleaning and calibrating vegetables, more particularly asparagus

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION IN A MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND CALIBRATING ASPARAGUS; (1) A FIRST VERTICAL SUPPORT; (2) A SECOND VERTICAL SUPPORT; (3) A FIRST FRAME HAVING AN OUTPUT END HIGHER THAN ITS INPUT END AND RESTING ON SAID SUPPORTS, SAID FRAME HAVING A DOUBLE CONVEYOR COMPRISING AN UPPER AND A LOWER RUN TRAVELLING ON A DRIVEN DRUM; SAID CONVEYOR COMPRISING AT LEAST TWO BANDS SEPARATED BY AN INTERMEDIATE CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE BAND HAVING A HEIGHT GREATER THAN SAID FIRST TWO BANDS; (4) A PAIR OF CUTTING BLADES MOUNTED ON SAID FIRST FRAME FOR CUTTING ASPARAGUS TO A DESIRED LENGTH: (5) A PAIR OF WASHING RAMPS FOR SPRAYING WASH LIQUIDS IN AND UNDER SAID UPPER RUN OF SAID DOUBLE CONVEYOR; (6) DRYING MEANS POSITIONED ABOVE SAID DOUBLE CONVEYOR BETWEEN SAID OUTPUT END AND SAID WASHING MEANS; (7) A SECOND HORIZONTAL FRAME POSITIONED BELOW SAID HIGHER END OF SAID FIRST FRAME RESTING ON SAID SECOND SUPPORT AND CARRYING A PAIR OF DRIVEN ENDLESS SORTING CONVEYORS; (8) A SELECTING ELEMENT CONSTITUTED BY A FREELY ROTATABLE TRIANGULAR PRISM-SHAPED MEMBER ABOVE SAID SORTING CONVEYORS AND BELOW SAID DOUBLE CONVEYOR FOR RECEIVING CUT ASPARAGUS THEREFROM; (9) A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY SLOPING SURFACES DISPOSED ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID SELECTING ELEMENT ABOVE SAID SORTING CONVEYORS FOR ALTERNATELY RECEIVING ASPARAGUS THROWN BY SAID SELECTING ELEMENT AND THEREBY FEEDING SAID ASPARAGUS TO ONE OR THE OTHER OF SAID SORTING CONVEYORS.