Method and apparatus for cleaning roots, tubers, bulbs, and the like

An apparatus for cleaning articles, comprising:

• at least one pair of spaced, cylindrical, substantially horizontal chip-transport rollers;
• said rollers mounted in sufficiently close proximity to prevent at least a majority of the articles from falling therebetween;
• said chip-transport rollers having their axes positioned substantially on a plane that is inclined to horizontal;
• helices mounted on the cylindrical surface of at least one of said chip-transport rollers for moving chips and small stones laterally to at least one side of said at least one chip-transport roller;
• at least one chip collector mounted in close proximity to the end of said at least one roller for collecting the chips and stones when present, and for rejecting articles as they are moved to the sides of said at least one pair of chip-transport rollers;
• and
• at least one drive system for rotating said at least one pair of chip-transport rollers.

An apparatus for cleaning articles, comprising:

• a plurality of spaced cylindrical rollers;
• said rollers spaced sufficiently close to prevent at least a majority of the articles to be cleaned from falling therebetween and spaced sufficiently far apart to allow foreign materials including weeds, rock, soil and mud to pass downwardly;
• said roller axes mounted substantially in a plane inclined at an acute angle to horizontal;
• helices mounted on the cylindrical surface of the rollers of at least one adjacent pair of said rollers for agitating the articles and for moving at least some of the articles laterally;
• at least one article collector mounted outside at least one end of at least said one adjacent pair of rollers for collecting the articles;
• and
• at least two drive systems for rotating at least one pair of said rollers in which a first drive system rotates one roller in said pair at a first speed, and in which a second drive system rotates the second roller in said pair at a second speed.

An apparatus for cleaning articles, comprising:

• a plurality of spaced cylindrical rollers mounted on substantially horizontal axes;
• said rollers spaced in sufficient proximity to prevent the articles being cleaned from falling therebetween;
• said roller axes mounted to lie on a plane that is inclined to horizontal;
• helices on the surface of at least one said roller wound in a direction to scroll the articles being cleaned to at least one end of said at least one roller, and
• at least one mud scraper adjacent to the helices of said at least one roller;
• said mud scraper having at least one blade for removing mud from said at least one roller.

An apparatus for cleaning articles, comprising:

• a plurality of spaced, cylindrical, substantially horizontal rollers;
• said rollers spaced sufficiently close to prevent at least a majority of the articles to be cleaned from falling therebetween;
• and
• said plurality of rollers having axes lying substantially on a plane inclined at an a cute angle to horizontal;
• at least one pair of adjacent rollers in said plurality of rollers;
• helices on the cylindrical sur faces of both rollers in said at least one pair of rollers for agitating the articles and for moving at least some of the articles laterally;
• at least one article collector located adjacent to said at least one end of the ends of said at least one pair of rollers for collecting articles;
• and
• at least one drive system for rotating said rollers.

The method for cleaning articles, using an apparatus including at least one pair of spaced article-transport cylindrical rollers, said cylindrical rollers spaced apart sufficiently to allow at least some debris to fall therebetween and sufficiently close to prevent the articles to be cleaned from falling therebetween, helices on the cylindrical surfaces of said article-transport rollers for scrolling at least some of the articles to be cleaned toward at least one end of said at least one pair of article-transport rollers, comprising the steps of:

• feeding articles to be cleaned in a direction substantially perpendicular to said at least one pair of article-transport rollers;
• laterally moving at least a majority of the articles by said at least one pair of article-transport rollers toward at least one end of said at least one pair of said article-transport rollers;
• and
• removing the articles from at least one end of said at least one pair of article-transport rollers.