Sorrel harvesting machine with spaced apart rotating return and cutting drums moving in opposite directions at a throat therebetween

A sorrel harvesting machine for removing the calyces from the seed of a sorrel bud, said machine comprising:

• a frame;
• a return drum having a central return drum axle rotatably mounted to said frame, said return drum having a substantially smooth surface about a periphery of said return drum;
• a cutting drum having a central cutting drum axle rotatably mounted to said frame in a spaced tandem relationship with said central return drum axle, said cutting drum having a plurality of circumferential blades about a periphery of said cutting drum being oriented perpendicular to said central cutting drum axle and substantially equally spaced one from another, said cutting drum and said return drum being disposed in a spaced tandem relationship with one another so as to define an opening of a throat therebetween for receiving sorrel buds;
• an arcuately configured blade tray affixed to said frame and disposed below said opening of said throat and said cutting drum for receiving sorrel buds exiting said throat, said blade tray comprising a plurality of spaced apart blades extending across said frame;
• a catchment tray affixed to said frame and positioned below said opening of said throat and angled to direct calyces and seeds from said throat to exit from said machine;
• and
• a drive mechanism supported by said frame adjacent to and outwardly spaced from one side of said return drum and said cutting drum and being rotatably drivingly interengaged with said return drum axle of said return drum and said cutting drum axle of said cutting drum so as to simultaneously rotate said return drum and said cutting drum in the same angular direction causing portions of said peripheries of said return drum and said cutting drum located at said opening of said throat to move in opposite directions relative to one another at said throat.

A method for removing the calyces from the seed of a sorrel bud, said method comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a sorrel harvesting machine having a frame, a return drum with a central return drum axle rotatably mounted to the frame and a substantially smooth surface at a periphery of the return drum, a cutting drum with a central cutting drum axle rotatably mounted to the frame in a spaced tandem relationship with the central return drum axle such that the return and cutting drums are disposed in a spaced tandem relationship with one another so as to define an opening of a throat therebetween for receiving sorrel buds wherein the cutting drum includes a plurality of circumferential blades about a periphery of the cutting drum being oriented perpendicular to the central cutting drum axle and substantially equally spaced one from another, wherein the sorrel harvesting machine has an arcuately configured blade tray affixed to said frame and disposed below said opening of said throat and said cutting drum for receiving sorrel buds exiting said opening of said throat, said blade tray comprising a plurality of spaced apart blades extending across said frame, and further wherein the sorrel harvesting machine has a drive mechanism supported adjacent to and outwardly spaced from one side of the return and cutting drums and being rotatably drivingly interengaged with the return drum axle of the return drum and the cutting drum axle of the cutting drum so as to simultaneously rotate the return drum and cutting drum in the same angular direction causing portions of the peripheries of the return drum and the cutting drum located at the opening of the throat to move in opposite directions relative to one another at the throat;
• engaging the drive mechanism to simultaneously rotate the return drum and the cutting drum in the same angular direction causing the portions of the peripheries of the return drum and the cutting drum located at the opening of the throat to move in opposite directions relative to one another at the throat;
• introducing a plurality of sorrel buds to the opening of the throat of the harvesting machine;
• allowing the return drum to rotate the plurality of sorrel buds against the rotating blades of the cutting drum;
• and
• causing the cutting drum blades to cut the calyces from the sorrel bud seed and to exit the throat.