Importance

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Abstract

A system for threshing podded produce such as peas and beans, which may be harvested with their vine attached. A horizontal, cylindrical, rotating screen encloses a main beater having numerous paddles of height about one-twelfth the beater diameter. Paddles are pitched at an angle of about 25 degrees to a plane including the axis of the main beater and are also raked backwards by about 15 degrees from radial. A counter-rotating first satellite beater disposed above the main beater collects produce which has been macerated between the main beater and the screen and cooperates with the main beater, the linear tip speeds of the paddles and blades of both beaters being identical, to discharge a radially narrow, high-speed stream of macerated material across the interior of the cylindrical screen against a first sieving region of the screen above a second satellite beater. The second satellite beater cooperates with a counter-rotating third satellite beater, the linear tip speeds of the blades of both beaters being similar, to discharge a radially narrow, high-speed stream of macerated material to strike against the main beater, from which the material is thrown by the main beater against the screen at a second sieving region of the rotating screen near the lowest point thereof. Macerated produce is carried upwards again by the screen into the nip between the main beater and screen, beginning another macerating and sieving cycle. A threshing system in accordance with the invention may subject produce to 10-15 such sieving cycles and therefore has a very high percentage yield of seeds.

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First Claim