Abstract: A nut cracking machine including a pair of spaced apart cracking plates having confronting cracking faces provided with cracking means thereon, the cracking faces and cracking means thereof being disposed to distribute cracking forces substantially tangentially along the periphery of the shell of a nut received therebetween, for rolling and cracking engagement of a nut, rather than crushing of the same; one of the cracking plates comprising a stationary base plate and the other comprising a rotatable holding plate that is moveable toward and away from the base plate; limit means for initial positioning of the cracking face of the holding plate apart from the cracking face of the base plate according to the proximate diameter of the nut to be cracked, for insertion of a nut therebetween, and thrust means operative on rotation of the holding plate for movement of the holding plate toward the base plate in juxtaposed relation for rolling and cracking engagement of the shell of a nut received therebetween and, on

Abstract: An apparatus for collecting objects from a surface by grasping the objects between a plurality of discs having resiliently deformable segments. Rotation of the discs with the objects therebetween transports the objects from the surface to a separate portion of the device where they are extracted by arcuate members between the discs and collected.

Abstract: An apparatus for collecting objects from a surface by grasping the objects between a plurality of discs having resiliently deformable segments. Rotation of the discs with the objects therebetween transports the objects from the surface to a separate portion of the device where they are extracted by arcuate members beween the discs and collected. In another form, a plurality of axially spaced wheels each including a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced elongated elastically deformable members having diametrically enlarged balls at their tips rotates along the surface. Objects are received between the balls and retained by the members at locations radially inwardly of the balls. Extractors projecting between the wheels remove the objects and guide them to a collection container.