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AssigneeLee Shuknecht & Sons, Inc.
InventorsLee N. Shuknecht, Dale J. Shuknecht
Estimating the term…
A machine for harvesting onions utilizes a blower which provides a stream of air through a duct, having an opening across which the onions pass and are topped. The blower has a bladed fan in a cylindrical housing open at both ends. The fan blades are supported by arms which, with the blades, define a support truss for each blade in the form of a triangular structure, having arms meeting at an apex connected approximately midway of the end of the cylindrical housing and a base provided by the blade to which the arms are connected. A rigid support is provided together with an enlarged and substantially unobstructed intake passageway for air along the axis of rotation of the fan which is pressurized and forced through the duct, using less horsepower and fuel than conventional fans of like size and air flow. The air flow is controllable in air pressure by a shear plate which is moveable into and out of the cylindrical housing and the air direction is adjustable by a vane provided by a sidewall of the duct adjacent to the outlet and may also be controlled in direction by vanes in a hood over the duct outlet.
Harvesting apparatus using pressurized air for crop and debris separating purposes, and which comprises a blower having a housing, a fan rotatable in said housing, a shaft defining an axis of rotation for said fan, said fan having a plurality of blades circumferentially spaced from each other around said axis and spaced radially away from said axis, a plurality of pairs of arms, each of said plurality of blades and each of said plurality of pairs of arms being respectively connected to define a truss, having said arms connected closely spaced to each other to said shaft, and said arms diverging from each other and being connected to said blades, thereby supporting said blades spaced radially from said shaft and circumferentially about said shaft and providing a substantially unobstructed passageway for air along said axis, which air is moved and pressurized as said fan rotates.
In a harvester wherein a crop is carried by a conveyor which supports the crop and having openings smaller than the crop through which air can be blown from a blower via a duct into a region through which said conveyor passes, the improvement comprising means on said harvester for supporting said blower offset from said region, said blower having a housing with a generally cylindrical side wall, said side wall having an opening to which said duct is connected, said duct having a plurality of walls, a shear plate connected to one of said plurality of walls and moveable inwards into and outwardly of said housing for controlling the pressure of the air from said blower, which flows into said duct.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.