Improvements in Raisin Seeders.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 15th June, 1897-Accepted; 24th July, 1
-1897
Improvements in Raisin Seeders.
1, FRANK HOWARD CHASE, Machinist of 1514 West Monroe Street, in the City
of Chicago, in the County of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
In the accompanying drawings
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side elevation and a plan view of a raisin
seeder, embodying the invention, some of the parts being broken away.
Figure 3 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section of some of the
parts on a larger scale.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of some of the parts on the line 4-4 Figure 3
looking in the direction of the arrow.
Figure 5 is a view showing some of the parts in vertical longitudinal section and
others in side elevation.
Figure 6 is a detail view showing the dogging mechanism..
Figure 7 is a view showing partly in section and partly in elevation a portion
of one of the pulp receivers, a portion of the intermittently movable part by which
it is carried, a portion of the pulp ejector, and the cam for controlling the position
of the seed scraper.
Figure 8 is an elevation of the feeder, viewed in the direction of the arrow 8
Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a section of a portion thereof on the line 9-9 of Figure 8.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the cups or buckets of the feeder.
In the machine shown in the drawing there is a reciprocating plunger 1, carrying
one of the seeding devices, and a part 2 carrying the co-operating seeding device
or a plurality of them, a cradle 3, by which the fruit is supported between the
seeding devices in position to be acted upon by them, a feeder by which the fruit
is fed to the cradle, a seed scraper 4 by which the seeds are removed, and a pulp
ejector 5 by which the pulp is ejected. The seeding device which is carried by
the plunger consists of an elastic pad 6 and the seeding device which is carried by
the part 2 consists of a pulp receiver 7. This part 2 preferably consists of a
cylinder mounted to rotate about its axis, and means hereafter described are
provided for rotating it intermittently, so that first one and then another of the
pulp receivers will be brought to a position opposite the plunger, so that when
the plunger is advanced, by means hereinafter fully described, the fruit that is in the
cradle, will be pressed against the pulp receiver with sufficient force to cause the
pulp to enter the interstices of the pulp receiver, while the seeds will remain on
the outer surface thereof, the elasticity of the pad 6 heing such as will produce
these results. The several parts are so constructed and arranged with relation to
each other and their movements are so timed that they will operate as follows:
An instant after the plunger, in making its backward stroke, withdraws the
impaling device 6 from contact with the pulp receiver, the part 2 carrying the
pulp receiver will be set in motion in the direction of the arrow placed upon it in

page_text: Figures 1, 4 and 5. As the pulp receiver passes the seed-scraper 4 the seeds will
be removed. As the plunger is about to complete its backward stroke the feeder
will drop into the cradle another charge of fruit to be seeded. The plunger then
commences its forward stroke and when it has made say, about one-quarter of it
another one of the pulp receivers will have reached a position opposite it and the
movement of the part will be arrested. The second charge of fruit will then be
impaled, after which the plunger will again be withdrawn and the part 2 again set
in motion. As it proceeds the seeds of the second charge are scraped off in the
manner already described, and the pulp receiver which received the pulp of the
first charge reaches and passes the pulp ejector 5 by which the pulp is discharged.
Stated thus, in general terms the operation of the machine which forms the subject
of the present invention is similar to the operation of the machine which is shown
and described in Letters Patent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland No. 9126, dated April 30 1896 and issued to me and Thomas R. Dougherty.
The object of the present invention is to provide a machine of the same general
type as the one shown and described in said application, but which is better
adapted for seeding raisins in large quantities. To this end I have so constructed
the co-operative seeding devices that they may be made of any desired capacity. I
have changed the character of the movable part by which the pulp receivers are
carried, in order to better adapt it for sustaining the increased pressure that will
be put upon it as an incident of the increased capacity of the machine; I have
changed the character of the feeder, in order to adapt it to feed a number of
raisins to the cradle at each operation and at the same time avoid as far as
possible having the raisins fall one behind another; and I have changed the
character of the pulp ejector.
The elastic impaling device 6 consists of a block of rubber having its back
recessed, in order to receive the head of the plunger 1, and provide flanges 8, that
fit against the sides of the head of the plunger and are secured thereto by screws 9
strips 10 of metal being interposed between the heads of the screws and the
flanges S in order to more securely hold the latter in place. The plunger itself
consists of a heavy plate which extends from side to side of the machine and near
its end passes through horizontal slots, 99 with which the frame is provided, said
slots resulting in upper and lower guides 100 which confine the plunger to a
strictly horizontal movement. At its extremities it is provided with wrist pins 11
to which are pivotally connected the rear ends of pitmen 12 the forward ends of
which carry straps 13 that embrace eccentrics 14 fixed to a shaft 15. This shaft
is provided at its ends with gear wheels 16 meshing with pinions 17 carried by the
main shaft 18 of the machine, the latter being provided at one end with a
pulley 19 for receiving a driving belt and at the other end with a fly wheel 20. In
order to enable the proper adjustment of the plunger with relation to the other
parts of the machine, each of the pitmen is formed in two parts united by a
turn-buckle 21 by turning which the length of the pitmen may be adjusted at
will. The cradle 3 consists of a number of pins all of which are secured at one
end to a plate 22 which in turn is secured to a part 23 of the frame. These pins
pass through perforations formed through the head of the plunger and through
the pad, 6 in the manner and for the purpose described in my patent aforesaid.
In fact, the cradle shown in the present application does not differ from the one
shown in my former patent, excepting in that it is made of greater width in order
to receive side by side a number of raisins, instead of being made of approximately
U-shape in order to receive only a single raisin.
all
Each of the pulp receivers is made up of a number of pins set over an area at
least as great as the area of the fruit to be seeded, and with intervening spaces
that are insufficient to admit the seeds. These pins are set in a backing 24 of
babbit metal or any other suitable material, in the manner described in my patent
aforesaid, and this backing in turn, fits in an undercut groove or recess formed in
the part 2. Preferably all of the pins of which the pulp receiver is made up
terminate in the same plane, and are so related to the part 2 that the extremities

page_text: of the top and bottom pins of 'the receiver are flush with the outer surface of said
part, as shown more clearly in Figure 5. Preferably also, these pins taper toward
their outer extremities, as shown more clearly in Figure 7. The advantage in
using a pin of small diameter is that it will perforate the fruit more easily than a
pin of larger diameter will, and the advantage in using a pin of-large-diameter is
that it will more successfully withstand the pressure that is put upon it, and by
making the pin of graduated diameter I am enabled to secure the advantages of
pins of both of these classes.
The part 2 preferably takes the form of a cylinder. That is to say, between the
pulp receivers it is of cylindrical shape. Its periphery is provided with a number
of circumferential grooves 25, resulting in circumferential ribs, 26, and the pins of
the pulp receivers are so disposed that they will lie in the planes of these ribs, as
shown more clearly, in Figure 7. This construction enables me to use a pulp
ejector consisting of a number of tapering blades of sheet metal which occupy the
grooves of the cylinder, as shown more clearly in Figures 5 and 7. On its inner
face 27 each of these blades is constructed upon a curve of the same radius as is the
bottom of the groove in which it fits, and upon its outer surface 28 it is constructed
upon a curve which results in a gradual taper. The shank of each of the blades
is provided with two perforations through which pass rods 29 and the spaces
between these shanks are filled with babbit metal, as shown more clearly in
Figure 7, whereby the blades are permanently held in proper positions with
relation to each other. I am aware that it has been proposed to construct a pulp
receiver of a cylinder having pins set over its entire surface, said pins being
radial with respect to the cylinder and disposed in circumferential rows, but I am
not aware that it has ever been proposed to construct a pulp receiver of a number
of parallel pins and to so arrange these pins upon a part movable about an axis
that they will occupy positions that are transverse to said axis. In the machine
shown and described in my patent aforesaid, the pulp receiver is made up of a
number of parallel pins and is carried by a part movable about an axis, but the
pins are so disposed that they occupy positions parallel with said axis. The
construction shown in my patent aforesaid may be successfully used but it is not
preferred, especially where the pun receiver is of considerable length. The
construction shown in the present application has many advantages over it, among
which may be mentioned the compactness and its more equal and uniform dis-
tribution of the strains. Referring to Figure 5 it will be seen that the strains are
directly against the axis of the movable part, and this part being sustained by
suitable journal boxes at both ends, it follows that the pulp receiver may be made
of any desired length.
Where the pulp is impaled on a pulp receiver in the manner described, the
seeding of the fruit involves three separate and distinct operations and these
operations must be carried on in succession. That is to say, the pulp must first be
impaled upon the pulp receiver, the seeds must then be dislodged from the surface
of the pulp receiver, and the pulp must then be ejected from the pulp receiver.
The performing of each of these three operations requires a certain length of time,
and if the parts of the machine by which any two of them are performed remain
at rest while the third is being performed, much time will be lost. It is in order
to save this time that I use a plurality of pulp receivers so arranged with relation
to the other parts that the operation of impaling the raisins goes on without any
interruption save the interruption which is incident to the bringing of the pulp
receivers successively into operative position and the reciprocation of the plunger.
In the drawing, I have shown two pulp receivers, but I desire to have it understood
that a greater or less number may be used. If only a single pulp receiver is used,
only some of the advantages of my invention will be attained; but if more than
tw he used, none of the advantages will be lost. In the operation of the machine,
it is necessary that the pulp receivers should have an interval of rest in order to
allow time for the pulp to be impaled. It is for this reason that the part 2, by
which the pulp receivers are carried, is given an intermittent movement, the extent

page_text: of which will depend upon the number of pulp receivers used. Where two are used,
located at equal distances apart, it is necessary to move the part 2 through one-half
of a complete revolution at each operation. In order to do this its journal is
provided with a pinion 31, meshing with the pinion 32 which is mounted to turn
upon a sleeve 33 that is immovably fixed to a part 34 of the frame. The pinion
32 carries two tappets 35, 36 whose working faces are exactly 180 degrees apart
and are adapted to be engaged by a single tappet 37 carried by one of the
eccentrics 14. As before stated the eccentric 14 is secured to the shaft 15 and
this shaft passes through the sleeve 33 but not concentrically. It is eccentric with
relation to the sleeve and consequently is eccentric with relation to the pinion 32.
As a result of this arrangement the working faces of the tappets 35 36
will move in circles that are eccentric with relation to the axis about which
the tappet 37 moves, the parts being so proportioned and arranged that
during each revolution of the shaft 15, the tappet 37 will engage one
or the
other of the tappets 35 36 and remain in engagement therewith during one-half of
said revolution. For example, referring to Figure 4, the tappet 37 has just moved
out of engagement with the tappet 35. There is therefore no connection between
the shaft 15 and the pinion 32, and consequently the pinion will remain at rest
until the shaft 15 moves through one-half of a complete revolution, whereupon
it will come in contact with the working face of the tappet 36. During the next
half revolution the tappets 35 and 36 will remain in engagement and the pinion 32
will partake of the movement of the shaft 15, the disengagement of the tappets 36
and 37 taking place when the tappet 36 reaches the position which the tappet 35
is shown as occupying. I have shown this mechanism for transmitting motion
intermittently as embodied in a fruit seeder, but I desire to have it understood
that I reserve the right to embody this feature of my invention in any machine
for any purpose in which it may be found useful.
When the part 2 is set in motion in order to change the positions of the pulp
receivers, it acquires considerable momentum and in order that it may be arrested
when the pulp receiver reaches the proper position, I provided a dogging mechanism
which is shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6. This dogging mechanism consists of a
circular disc 38 having in its periphery notches 39 corresponding in number with
the number of pulp receivers, adapted to receive a bolt, 40 which is given a normal
tendency to engage the notches by means of a coiled spring 41. The bolt is
mounted to slide in a socket formed in a casting 42, and is held in place therein
by plates 43, the spring 41, being contained in the socket and arranged to bear in
one direction against the casting and in the other direction against the end of the
bolt. To the casting a lever 44 is pivotted at 45 and from the bolt projects a
pin, 46 which occupies a slot 47 in the lever so that when the lever is moved about
its fulcrum the bolt will be moved endwise. The free end of the lever projects into
the path of a pin 48 which is carried by one of the eccentrics 14 the position of
the pin and the normal position of the lever being such that the pin will engage
the lever and move it far enough to withdraw the bolt an instant before the
tappet 37 engages the tappet 35 or 36, as the case may be. An instant after this
engagement takes place, allowing sufficient time to move the part 2 far enough to
carry the notch out of the path of the bolt, the pin 48 disengages the lever 44 and
the spring 41 forces the bolt into engagement with the periphery of the disc 38 in
readiness to enter the next notch 39.
The seed scraper, 4 in order to be effective must follow the working surfaces of
the part 2 and of the pulp receivers. In order to accomplish this, the scraper is
secured to a support 49 which has rocking bearing upon the shaft 15 and is
provided with adjustable rollers 50 through the medium of which it bears upon
cams 51 that are secured to the shaft of the part 2, said cams being provided with
flat surfaces so disposed that they permit the seed scraper to move toward and
from the axis of the part 2 while the pulp receivers are passing it. The part 49
is in its nature a shoot, over which the seeds pass and from which they fall into a
second shoot, 149 from which they are discharged at the side of the machine.

page_text: Rising from the frame are two standards 5 which support a tank 53 containing
water. The bottom of this tank is closed by means which will permit the water
to be discharged drop by drop on to the part 2. For permitting this slow discharge
of the water I may use a strip or strips of felt, or any other porous material, which
is clamped between the contracted sides of the tank and thereby held in place.
This tank is of the same length as the pulp receivers and its object is to keep the
machine lubricated.
In order to properly seed raisins, it is necessary to avoid as far as possible
having the raisins fall one behind another. I have therefore provided a feeder of
such construction that each time the plunger is withdrawn it will drop into the
cradle a number of raisins which, as nearly as possible, will be disposed side-by-
side, in a single row. This feeder consists of a hopper, 55, in which the raisins to
be seeded are placed, an endless apron 56 having buckets 57 sprocket wheels 58 59
over which the apron travels, a shoot 60, into which the raisins that are carried
up by the buckets are discharged, and a valve 61 located at the bottom of the
shoot, and only a short distance above the cradle, by which the raisins are-arrested
and held until the proper time for discharging them into the cradle. The apron
is made up of a number of slats 62, preferably of wood, to the ends of which are
secured over-lapping plates 63 which are pivotally connected to each other by
pins 64 that project across the planes of the sprocket wheels 58 59. The
buckets 57 are arranged in a number of equi-distant series or rows.
All the
buckets of each series or row are secured to a bar 65, which in turn, is secured to
the apron so as to be capable of endwise reciprocation. At its ends the bar projects
beyond the apron and carries anti-friction rollers 66 which engage cams 67 that are
secured to the sides of the hopper, so that as the apron moves in the direction of
the arrow the rollers 66 will follow the surfaces of the cam 67 and the bar 66 will
be given an endwise jigging movement. The object of this is to dislodge from
each of the buckets all but one raisin. The raisins thus carried up are discharged
into the shoot, 60 and in order to prevent their falling together the interior of the
shoot is divided by partitions 68 into as many compartments as there are buckets
in each series. The parts are so timed that at the instant the buckets discharge
into the shoot the lower end of the hopper is closed by the valve 61 so that when
the raisins reach this point they are arrested. They are here held within a very
short distance of the cradle until the plunger in making its backward stroke
withdraws the valve to the position shown in Fig. 5. This it does through the
medium of studs or pins 69 that are carried by the plunger and engage a cross-
bar 70 by which the valve 61 is carried. This cross bar fits in a slot 71 in the
frame by which it is guided and confined to a strictly retilinear movement. The
movement of the valve 61 to closed position is produced by springs 72 which are
interposed between the bar 70 and bracket arms 73 carried by the frame.
The bottom 74 of the hopper slopes towards the apron and is provided with
openings 75 for the passage of the buckets 57 each of these openings being
norinally closed by a valve 76 under the influence of a spring 77. The valves 76
are so disposed that when the buckets come in contact with them they will yield
and permit the buckets to pass after which the springs restore the valves to closed
positions their movement in this direction being limited by stops 78. It is the
practice to wet the raisins before they are seeded and in order to permit the surplus.
water to drain off the bottom of the hopper is made of perforated sheet metal or of
wire gauze.
As the fruit is discharged by the ejector 5. it falls on to a shoot 79 which is
made of wire gauze and is pivotted at its upper end to the frame as shown at 80 its
lower end being pivotted to the lower end of a pitman 81 whose upper end fits on
a wrist pin 82 carried by the fly wheel 20. The object in making the shoot of
wire gauze is to permit water dropping from the seeding devices to fall into a
pan 83 and the object in shaking the shoot 79 is to feed the seeded raisins into a
receptacle 84.

page_text: In order to more permanently unite the pins of which the pulp receiver is made
and the backing in which they are set the pins are plated with tin or some other
suitable metal before they are inserted in the molten metal of which the backing
is made, this backing being preferably made of type metal.
I have described the part which carries the single tappet 37 as being the driving
part and the part which carries the two tappets 35, 36 as being the driven part but
it is manifest that the same results would follow a reversal of these conditions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a fruit seeder the combination of a pulp receiver having interstices in-
sufficient to admit the seeds, a revoluble part by which it is carried an elastic
impaling device, a plunger by which it is carried means for reciprocating the
plunger means for confining the plunger to movement in a direction that is trans-
verse to the axis of the revoluble part aforesaid and means for removing the seeds
from the outer surface of the pulp receiver substantially as set forth.
2. In a fruit secder the combination of a pulp receiver having interstices in-
sufficient to admit the seeds a revoluble part by which it is carried means for inter-
mittently revolving said part an elastic impaling device a plunger by which it is
carried means for reciprocating the plunger, means for confining the plunger to
movement in a direction that is transverse to the axis of the revoluble parts afore-
said and means for removing the seeds from the outer surface of the receiver sub-
stantially as set forth.
3. In a fruit seeder the combination of a plunger means for reciprocating it an
elastic impaling device carried by the plunger a plurality of pulp receivers having
interstices. insufficient to admit the seeds a revoluble part by which they are
carried means for intermittently revolving said part so as to bring first one and
then another of the pulp receivers to operative position with relation to the plunger
means for confining the plunger to movement in a direction that is transverse to
the axis of the revoluble part aforesaid and means for removing the seeds from the
outer surfaces of the pulp receivers substantially as set forth.
4. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a pulp receiver carried
thereby and consisting of a number of parallel pins disposed transversely to the
axis of said parts means for impaling the pulp upon the pins of the pulp receiver
and means for ejecting the pulp substantially as set forth.
5. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a pulp receiver carried
thereby and consisting of a number of parallel pins disposed transversely to the
axis of said part an impaling device a plunger by which it is carried means for
reciprocating the plunger and means for confining the plunger to movement in a
direction that is transverse to the axis of the revoluble part aforesaid substantially
as set forth.
6. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a plurality of pulp
receivers carried thereby each of said pulp receivers consisting of a number of
parallel pins disposed transversely to the axis of said part means for impaling the
pulp upon the pulp receivers and means for revolving the part by which the pulp
receivers are carried substantially as set forth.
'
7. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a plurality of pulp
receivers carried thereby each of said pulp receivers consisting of a number of
parallel pins disposed transversely to the axis of said part an impaling device and
means for intermittently revolving said part so as to bring first one and then
another of the pulp receivers to position for co-operating with said impaling device
substantially as set forth.
8. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a pulp receiver carried
thereby and consisting of a number of parallel pins disposed transversely to the

page_text: axis of said part and terminating at their outer ends in the same means for
impaling the pulp upon the pins of the pulp receiver and means for revolving the
part by which the pulp receiver is carried substantially as set forth.
9. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a plurality of pulp
receivers carried thereby each of said pulp receivers consisting of a number of
parallel pins disposed transversely to the axis of said part and terminating at
their outer ends in the same plane means for impaling the pulp upon the pins of
the pulp receivers and means for intermittently revolving the part by which the
pulp receivers are carried substantially as set forth.
10. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a plurality of pulp
receivers carried thereby each of said pulp receivers consisting of a number of
parallel pins disposed transversely to the axis of said part and terminating at their
outer ends in the same plane an elastic impaling device a plunger by which it is
carried means for reciprocating the plunger means for intermittently revolving
the part by which the pulp receivers are carried so as to bring first one and then
another of them to operative position with relation to the plunger and means.for
confining the plunger to movement in a direction that is parallel with the pins of
the pulp receiver which is for the time being in operative position with relation
thereto substantially as set forth.
11. In a fruit seeder a drum or shaft as 2 bearing in or upon its surface one or
more pulp receivers so arranged that the pins 7 of which the receivers are composed
are a parellel to each other and the plane of each row lying across the axis of the
shaft in combination with an impaling device reciprocating in a path perpen-
dicular to the axis of the shaft.
12. In a fruit seeder the combination of a revoluble part a pulp receiver carried
thereby and consisting of a number of parallel pins disposed transversely to the
axis of said part and terminating at their outer ends in the same plane means. for
impaling the pulp upon the pins of the pump receivers a seed scraper and means
for causing the seed-scraper to follow the surface of the pulp receiver substantially
as set forth.
13. In a fruit seeder the combination of a cylinder a pulp receiver consisting of
a number of parallel pins disposed transversely to the axis of the cylinder said
cylinder having a recess in which the pulp receiver is arranged so that the sur-
faces of the pulp receiver and cylinder are flush means for revolving the cylinder
and means for impaling the pulp upon the pins of a pulp receiver substantially
as set forth.
14. In a fruit seeder the combination of a cylinder a plurality of pulp receivers
carried thereby consisting of a number of parallel pins disposed transversely to the
axis of said cylinder the cylinder having recesses in which the pulp receivers fit
so that the surfaces of the cylinder and pulp receivers are flush means for impaling
the pulp upon the pins of the pulp receivers and means for revolving the cylinder
substantially as set forth.
15. In a fruit seeder the combination of a cylinder a pulp receiver carried there-
by consisting of a number of parallel pins said cylinder having a recess in which
the pulp receiver is arranged so that the surfaces of the cylinder and pulp receiver
are flush the pins of the pulp receiver being set in circumferential rows and the
cylinder being provided with circumferential grooves registering with the spaces
between the rows of the pins means for impaling the pulps upon the pins of the
pulp receiver means for revolving the cylinder and a pulp ejector consisting of a
number of blades occupying the grooves of the cylinder substantially as set forth.
16. In a fruit seeder the combination of a cylinder a plurality of pulp receivers
carried thereby each consisting of a number of parallel pius disposed transversely
to the axis of said cylinder the cylinder being provided with recesses in which the
pulp receivers are arranged so that the surfaces of the cylinder and pulp receiver
are flush the pins of the pulp receivers being disposed in circumferential rows and
the cylinder being provided with circumferential grooves registering with the

page_text: space between the rows of pins an impaling device a plunger by which it is
carried means for reciprocating the plunger means for intermittently revolving
the cylinder so as to bring first one and then another of the pulp receivers in posi-
tion to co-operate with the impaling device and a pulp ejector consisting of a num-
ber of blades occupying the grooves of the cylinder substantially as set forth.
17. A pulp receiver for fruit seeders made up of a number of pins set in a back-
ing of metal while the latter is in a molten state the imbedded portions of the pins
being plated before setting them substantially as set forth.
18. In a power transmitting device the combination of a shaft having a tappet
a fixed sleeve through which the shaft passes eccentrically said sleeve being cylin-
drical on its exterior a wheel journalled upon the cylindrical exterior of the sleeve
and a plurality of tappets carried by the wheel and disposed in the path of the
tappet carried by the shaft so that first one and then another of the tappets carried
by the wheel will be engaged by the tappet carried by the shaft substantially as
set forth.
19. In a fruit seeder the combination of an elastic pad a plunger by which it is
carried a shaft parallel with the working face of the pad means moved by the
shaft for reciprocating the plunger in a direction transverse to the shaft a part
revoluble about an axis parallel with the shaft means for intermittently transmit-
ting movement from the shaft to the revoluble part and a pulp receiver carried by
the revoluble part and adapted to co-operate with the elastic pad carried by the
plunger substantially as set forth.
20. In a fruit seeder the combination with the co-operating seeding devices of
a shoot for conveying thereto the fruit to be seeded a valve located immediately
above and within a short distance of the seeding devices for arresting the fruit and
means for operating the valve substantially as set forth.
21. In a fruit seeder the combination with the co-operating seeding devices of a
shoot for conveying thereto the fruit to be seeded said shoot being divided into a
number of compartments extending to the bottom thereof, a valve common to all
of said compartments located at the bottom of the shoot and adapted to close it,
and means for operating valve the valve being located immediately above and
within a short distance of the seeding devices substantially as set forth.
22. In a fruit seeder the combination with the co-operating seeding devices and
a plunger by which one of them is carried of a shoot for conveying to them the
fruit to be seeded a valve located immediately above the seeding devices for arrest-
ing the fruit and means carried by the plunger for withdrawing the valve at the
desired instant substantially as set forth.
23. In a fruit seeder the combination with the co-operating seeding devices
and a plunger by which one of them is carried of a shoot for conveying to them
the fruit to be seeded a valve located immediately above the seeding devices for
arresting the fruit a spring for holding the valve normally closed and means
carried by the plunger for opening the valve substantially as set forth.
24. In a fruit seeder the combination with the co-operating seeding devices
of a hopper for containing fruit to be seeded a number of cups or buckets arranged
side by side in a row or series means for moving the cups or buckets upward
through the body of the fruit in the hopper means for shaking the cups or buckets
and means for causing them to discharge substantially as set forth.
25. In a feeder the combination of a hopper an endless belt or apron a number
of cups or buckets arranged there on side by side in a row or series means for
moving the apron so as to cause the cups or buckets to move upward through the
body of fruit in the hopper and means for shaking the cups or buckets substan-
tially as set forth.
26. In a feeder the combination of a hopper an endless belt or apron means for
moving it a slat or bar disposed transversely with relation to the apron means
for securing the slat or bar to the apron so that it is capable of endwise recipro-
cation a number of cups or buckets carried by the slat or bar and means for
reciprocating the slat or bar endwise substantially as set forth.

page_text: 27. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete fruit
seeder substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
1
100-
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.