Abstract: A variable speed feed roll drive mechanism as provided for a forage harvester, the mechanism including a reversible hydrostatic transmission having its input shaft coupled with the chopper input shaft, the output of the transmission being coupled with the feed rolls. The hydrostatic transmission, having an infinitely variable range of output speeds provides the capability to infinitely vary the length of cut of crops passing through the chopper.

Abstract: A pizza apparatus transfer plate having metering openings is selectively coupled to a pressurized meat source to form and apply meat patties. An air passageway is coupled to the meter openings and selectively wipe the meat from the plate. An air chamber is mounted on top of the meat chamber and connected by air tubes to bottom opening in the meat chamber. Alternatively, the metering plate openings is aligned with a metering piston having a concentric air passageway which is appropriately opened to wipe the meat from the plate. The metering plate is thus coupled to a meat source to fill the openings and then coupled to the air passageway to positively force the patties onto the bases. Individual patty forming and applying units are preferably provided and mounted in a pattern to directly correspond to the meat pattern on the completed pizza.

Abstract: A tomato harvester with improved maneuverability and versatility. An improved spinner gives better action in wet soil. The driver obtains improved visibility from an improved canopy structure and is given controls that are easier to identify. An improved collecting conveyor affords balance between the two sides. The conveyor system is improved, in many ways, with better transmission between the conveyors and better access to cleaning. An improved output conveyor and drop loader are also provided.

Abstract: An integrated facility for breaking dressed animal carcassas includes a continuous flow of the carcasses and their subdivisions through a series of processing areas where the carcasses are broken into primal cuts, the primal cuts are further divided, boned and trimmed along processing lines designated for particular primal cuts, the secondary cuts thus produced are then trimmed and boned as necessary, packaged and sorted according to their weight. Groups of the secondary cuts are placed in boxes which carry machine-readable markings which indicate the box contents. The filled receptacles are carried by a common conveyor to an area where they are sorted into groups according to the machine-readable markings, palletized by groups and placed on unidirectional refrigerated storage conveyors. Orders for products are filled by discharging the pallets from their respective storage conveyors, depalletizing the goods and routing the boxes to designated transport vehicles.

Abstract: The apparatus for cleaning tuberous plants of this invention comprises a frame, a plurality of digging wheels fastened on the lowermost side of a suitable horizontal framing member at the forwardmost terminal end of the frame, a disk-renk, a belt-renk subassembly, and a discharging subassembly. The disk-renk may include a multiplicity of pentagonally shaped plates fastened on a suitable shaft. The belt-renk subassembly may include a elevating conveyer operable to elevate and to move rearwardly tubers discharged from the disk-renk and a belt-renk disposed parallel to, and substantially beneath, the elevating conveyer, and a upwardly inclined chain conveyer-like belt inclined from its forwardmost terminal end to its rearwardmost terminal end. The chain conveyer-like belt is driven in an upwardly inclined, rearward direction.

Abstract: An apparatus for shaping successive molded articles from moldable material such as flat food patties from ground beef, ground fish and other moldable food materials. The apparatus has a mold opening in a movable mold for receiving a pressurized charge of the moldable material, an entrance to the mold, a vent from the mold opening spaced from the mold entrance for venting air displaced by the pressurized charge entering the mold opening, and a rigid valve between the mold entrance and vent movable into engagement with a valve seat before the pressurized charge reaches the vent to close the vent when the valve member is displaced by the advancing pressurized charge. The result is that the air and any other gases present are expelled from the mold opening automatically by the pressure of the entering charge and the vent is then automatically closed to prevent any substantial loss of the material through the vent. Then the moving of the mold as to an ejecting position automatically reopens the valve.

Abstract: Apparatus for molding articles such as patties from plastic food material that tends to shrink during processing cooking and the like, for example ground beef, in which the material is forced under pressure in a stream from a supply into a mold cavity through a passage having opposite side walls at a specific relationship to the stream and to each other and a specific width at the cavity so as to cause mixing, tumbling and kneading of the material in its flow through the passage with the result that the shaped portion when cooked or similarly processed essentially maintains its shape. Thus, if the shaped portion is, for example, a circular patty such as a hamburger patty it substantially maintains its circular shape throughout the processing.

Abstract: Inflation gas pressure interior of a flexible tubing, such as a food casing, advancing continuously through multiple processing zones, is controlled variably from zone to zone by coacting metering rolls and gas pumping nip rolls arranged on the tubing travel locus.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment there is provided combine tooth having a tooth shaft and at the base of the shaft having a unitary continuous flange extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, with a distal portion of the shaft extending substantially angularly laterally from an intermediate bend point, and there is additionally provided for combination with the tooth a combine belt-mountable base strip for mounting on top of the combine belt fixedly, the base strip having at each of opposite ends thereof a through aperture, one aperture at each of opposite ends, the holes each of hole diameter receivable of the tooth shaft and the structure of the base strip defining continuous with each hole a narrowed slot extending rearwardly having a slot width slightly less than the diameter of the tooth shaft through which slot the tooth shaft is pressable into the hole continuous therewith, and the underface of the base strip including spaced-apart ridges, there being a separate set of the spaced-apart rid

Abstract: A device for picking up debris from lawns and like grounds, and comprised of a rolling drum motivated and controlled through a handle, and having retractile spikes for collectively piercing leaves and small bits of paper and like refuse, said spikes being yieldingly depressible to ground obstructions, such as protrusions, and retractile by control means to discharge the collection thereby of said debris. The depressibly retractile spikes are arranged in gangs guided radially by the cooperative drum structure, and the control means is uneffected by rotation of the drum or by said yielding depressibility of the gangs of spikes and is manually operable to retract the same as circumstances require.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a condyle hinge breaker for shrimp which have been positioned upon a support at its terminus with the condyle hinge between the fifth and sixth shell segments of the shrimp positioned immediately above the terminus of the support and a position holding means has rendered the shrimp static relative to the support with only its sixth shell segment and telson extending there beyond. At this point pressure means is applied from the dorsal toward ventral side of the shrimp causing the sixth shell segment and telson to be wrapped about and beneath the terminus breaking the condyle hinge between the fifth and sixth shell segment.

Abstract: A machine designed to remove skin from the backs of poultry automatically and mechanically by conveying the back carcass members sequentially through a machine having processing stations operable in sequence to sever the kidney retaining membranes and remove the kidneys by vacuum; position the tail for mechanical maceration and removal by a set of coarse intermeshing rotating helical gear members; and, macerate and remove the skin from the back carcass member by a second set of intermeshing rotating helical gears of finer pitch than the first set, followed by the back carcass members, free of skin, are discharged to a collection receptacle.