Patent US3591948A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3591948A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Harvester for nuts and the like
Assignee: Thomson Machinery Co Inc
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Filing: 1968-07-10
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Granted: 1971-07-13
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Expires: 1988-07-10
Abstract
Abstract A harvester is disclosed that sweeps nuts and the like from the ground along with other debris, such as leaves and sticks, and separates the nuts from most of such debris before conveying the nuts to storage. The nuts, along with the debris picked up with them, are transferred into a cylinder having perforated sidewalls that is mounted for rotation around its longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axis of the cylinder is horizontal so that the nuts and debris are carried upwardly along an arcuate path by the upwardly moving sidewall of the cylinder. The inner surface of the cylinder has pockets in which the nuts collect. A stream of air is directed through the perforated sidewall of the cylinder to blow the debris upwardly away from the nuts into another airstream that carries the debris out of the cylinder. The nuts continue upwardly with the sidewall until they are blown away from the sidewall into a hopper positioned inside the cylinder. From the hopper, the nuts are transferred to a storage bin by a belt conveyor and a pivotally mounted chute having a perforated bottom. The chute is arranged so that transverse flights on the belt, which move the nuts with the belt, cause the chute to oscillate and bounce the nuts as they pass through the chute. This further cleans the nuts prior to their reaching the storage bin.
Inventors
- 👤 Berstrand L Brumbaugh
- 👤 Eugene P Brumbaugh
- 👤 Claude A Riche
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 11:54
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01D; A01D51/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
157 words
A harvester for nuts and the like, mounted on transport means for moving said harvester over the ground, comprising: a gathering section carried adjacent the ground and adapted for sweeping nuts and debris, such as leaves and twigs, from the ground; a separating section adjacent said gathering section, to which said nuts and debris may be carried by conveyor means mounted in said gathering section, said separating section comprising an open-ended cylinder with a perforated sidewall mounted for substantially horizontal rotation about its longitudinal axis; blower means mounted on said harvester for directing a first stream of air into one end of said cylinder and out the other substantially parallel to its longitudinal axis and for directing a second stream of air through a portion of said perforated sidewall to blow at least a portion of said debris away from said sidewall into said first airstream for lateral movement by said first airstream out of said cylinder.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
157 words
A harvester for nuts and the like, mounted on transport means for moving said harvester over the ground, comprising: a gathering section carried adjacent the ground and adapted for sweeping nuts and debris, such as leaves and twigs, from the ground; a separating section adjacent said gathering section, to which said nuts and debris may be carried by conveyor means mounted in said gathering section, said separating section comprising an open-ended cylinder with a perforated sidewall mounted for substantially horizontal rotation about its longitudinal axis; blower means mounted on said harvester for directing a first stream of air into one end of said cylinder and out the other substantially parallel to its longitudinal axis and for directing a second stream of air through a portion of said perforated sidewall to blow at least a portion of said debris away from said sidewall into said first airstream for lateral movement by said first airstream out of said cylinder.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
72 words
The harvester of claim 1 in which the perforations of said sidewall are small enough to prevent said nuts from falling therethrough and in which the inside surface of said sidewall is provided with a plurality of pockets formed by partitions that extend from the inside surface toward the center of said cylinder to carry said nuts and debris past said second airstream where said debris is blown away from said nuts.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The harvester of claim 2 further provided with a hopper located inside said cylinder to receive said nuts from said pockets after said nuts have passed said second airstream.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
48 words
The harvester of claim 3 further provided with a conveyor section, one end of which is connected to said separating section, said conveyor section being provided with means for conveying said nuts from said hopper to a storage bin mounted at the opposite end of said conveyor section.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
149 words
The harvester of claim 4 in which said conveyor section includes a belt conveyor having spaced transverse flights for moving said nuts from said hopper to said storage bin and a chute with a perforated bottom surface for transferring said nuts from the belt conveyor to said storage bin, means pivotally mounting said chute for pivotal movement around a horizontal axis intermediate the ends of the chute with said axis located for the end of the chute away from said conveyor belt to tend to pivot downwardly, said chute being located so each flight on said conveyor belt will engage the end of said chute adjacent thereto and pivot the outer end upwardly to bounce said nuts thereon and to shake loose debris that may be clinging to said nuts so said debris can fall through said perforated bottom of said chute before said nuts enter said storage bin.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
174 words
A nut harvester comprising: a gathering section mounted adjacent the grOund on a vehicle for moving over the ground to pickup nuts laying on the ground along with a certain amount of leaves, sticks and other debris, said gathering section comprising first blower means for directing a first airstream through said gathering section transverse to the direction of vehicle movement to separate a substantial portion of said debris from said nuts; and a separating section, comprising a separator device and second blower means, adjacent said gathering section and in the path of said first airstream, said gathering section having conveyor means by which said nuts and remaining debris are deposited on a perforated surface of said separator device, said separator device being movably mounted in said separator section so that said perforated surface moves perpendicular to said first airstream and by a second airstream from said second blower means so that a substantial portion of said remaining debris is blown from said nuts into said first airstream for lateral movement away from said harvester.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
174 words
A nut harvester comprising: a gathering section mounted adjacent the grOund on a vehicle for moving over the ground to pickup nuts laying on the ground along with a certain amount of leaves, sticks and other debris, said gathering section comprising first blower means for directing a first airstream through said gathering section transverse to the direction of vehicle movement to separate a substantial portion of said debris from said nuts; and a separating section, comprising a separator device and second blower means, adjacent said gathering section and in the path of said first airstream, said gathering section having conveyor means by which said nuts and remaining debris are deposited on a perforated surface of said separator device, said separator device being movably mounted in said separator section so that said perforated surface moves perpendicular to said first airstream and by a second airstream from said second blower means so that a substantial portion of said remaining debris is blown from said nuts into said first airstream for lateral movement away from said harvester.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
80 words
The harvester of claim 6 in which said separating device comprises an open-ended cylinder, the inside surface of which comprises said perforated surface, with its longitudinal axis horizontal and adapted for rotation around said axis, power means connected to said cylinder for rotating it around said axis, and means on the inside surface of said cylinder for carrying the nuts deposited thereon upwardly along an arcuate path until they fall therefrom by gravity into a hopper mounted inside said cylinder.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The harvester of claim 7 in which said inside surface of the cylinder is provided with a plurality of pockets into which said nuts are deposited and carried upwardly until they fall from said pockets into said hopper.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
50 words
The harvester of claim 8 further provided with a deflector for engaging debris above said pockets to urge said debris out of one end of said cylinder, said deflector being attached to a nonmovable portion of said harvester and mounted at an angle relative to the axis of said cylinder.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
52 words
The harvester of claim 7, characterized in that said cylinder is rotatably supported by a plurality of rollers which engage the periphery of said cylinder to leave the interior of said cylinder free of any obstructions, at least one of said rollers being connected to said power means to rotate said cylinder
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-07-12 | 1975-01-11 | 1975-07-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-07-12 | 1979-01-11 | 1979-07-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-07-12 | 1983-01-11 | 1983-07-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |