Patent ID: 8267256

Claim:
A system for separating berries from a harvested stream of fruit in bunches, said system being intended to be mounted in a harvesting machine, said system comprising a means for conveying the stream in a longitudinal direction, said conveying means including at least one sorting device ( 1 ), wherein the sorting device includes at least two transverse sorter bars ( 3 ) driven with a cyclic relative movement, said sorter bars and said movement being adapted to enable longitudinal displacement of the stream over said bars and to continuously increase and decrease passages ( 4 ) between them, allowing movement of detached berries through said passages to drop under said sorting device when said passages are increased, and precluding movement of the detached berries through said passages when said passages are decreased and, downstream of said sorting device, at least one destemming device ( 1 ), said destemming device including at least one screen ( 5 ) the apertures ( 6 ) whereof are adapted to allow the berries to pass through, said screen being surmounted by a motorised rotary member ( 7 ) including paddles ( 8 ) which are adapted, when they rotate, to interact with the stream coming from the sorting device ( 1 ) to cause the separation of berries attached to the bunches.