Patent ID: 7437791

Claim:
An apparatus for removing insects from small produce where the insects physically cling to the produce, the apparatus comprising: a frame having a first end and a second end; a longitudinally extending conveyer supported by the frame for carrying the produce deposited thereupon from the first frame end to the second frame end, the conveyer includes a first roller, a second roller, a plurality of conveyer bands trained about the first and second rollers and spaced transversely across the width of the first and second rollers so as to form a horizontal top conveyer run between the first and second rollers, and drive means for propelling the conveyer bands about the first and second rollers; means mounted to the frame between the first and second rollers for rotating the produce atop the conveyer so that the insects clinging to the produce will be positioned to cling from the underside of the produce between adjacent conveyer bonds; and a plurality of fingers mounted to the frame beneath the conveyer between the first and second rollers, each of the plurality of fingers extending upward between adjacent conveyer bands for knocking insects from the produce as the produce are transported on the conveyer over the plurality of fingers when the insect is clinging to the underside of the produce.