Green bean feeding and orientating device

Claim 1

IN A SLITTING MACHINE FOR GREEN BEANS, BEAN FEEDING MEANS, BEAN SLITTING MEANS SPACED FROM SAID FEEDING MEANS AND ADAPTED TO ENDWISE SLIT BEANS FED ENDWISE THERETO INTO SEPARATE ELONGATED STRIPS, BEAN CONVEYOR MEANS COMPRISING A BEAN SUPPORTING AND TRANSFER SURFACE MOVABLE LENGTHWISE OF A MEDIAN LINE FROM THE FEEDING MEANS TO THE SLITTING MEANS, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID SURFACE, LATERALLY-SPACED CONVEYOR TROUGH WALLS EXTENDING PARALLEL WITH THE MEDIAN LINE AND PROJECTING UPWARD FROM CONTIGUITY WITH SAID SURFACE TO COOPERATE THEREWITH IN FORMING A BEAN CONVEYOR TROUGH EXTENDING FROM THE FEEDING MEANS TOWARD THE SLITTING MEANS, MEANS MOUNTING THE TROUGH WALLS INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CONVEYOR SURFACE TO ADAPT MOVEMENT THEREOF RELATIVELY TO SUCH WALLS, THE LATERAL SPACING OF SAID WALLS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF THE BEANS WHEREFORE IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE BEANS BE ARRANGED AT LESS THAN 90 DEGREES TRANSVERSELY OF THE TROUGH WALLS TO ENTER SUCH TROUGH, THE FEEDING MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO FEED BEANS INTO SAID TROUGH, AND MEANS DISPOSED IN SUPERPOSED PROXIMITY WITH THE TROUGH FOR ARRANGING THE BEANS TO EXTEND AT LEAST PARTIALLY LENGTHWISE THEREOF TO FACILITATE THEIR ENTERING BETWEEN THE TROUGH WALLS, SAID BEAN FEEDING MEANS COMPRISING A BEAN-FEEDING CYLINDER ABOVE THE CONVEYOR MEANS BEAN SUPPORTING AND TRANSFER SURFACE AND ROTATABLE ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF SUCH SURFACE, THE CYLINDER HAVING A SIDE WALL OF CIRCUMFERENTIAL RIBS SPACED APART AXIALLY OF SUCH CYLINDER TO FORM BEAN DISCHARGE SPACES THEREBETWEEN INTO WHICH BEANS TUMBLED WITHIN THE ROTATING CYLINDER ARE RECEIVED WHEN ORIENTATED INTO PLANES SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE CYLINDER AXIS AND THROUGH WHICH THE ORIENTATED BEANS ARE DISCHARGEABLE DOWNWARDLY FROM THE CYLINDER TOWARD THE BEAN SUPPORTING AND TRANSFER SURFACE.