GB516822A - An improved method for picking and collecting hops - Google Patents

Abstract

516,822. Picking hops. McCONNEL HINDS, Ltd., HINDS, G. A., and McCONNEL, F. W. July 8, 1938, No. 20314. [Class 6 (iii)] In the picking of hops, a mixture of leaves, hop flower petals and seeds, with or without hop flowers, is carried over a sieve that will pass the seeds and petals only, and these seeds and petals are then mixed with the hop flowers which have been separated from the leaves and branches by other steps in the process. The bine is fed into a hop-picking machine by means of which the hop flowers and leaves are detached. Short branches which are torn off are passed through a machine whereby they are gripped by means of two sets of endless cords. The hops and leaves are loaded on to a conveyer 11, Fig. 1, and are fed to an open wire mesh belt 9. The belt allows petals and seeds to fall. with the help of an air current through a conduit 42, on to a transverse conveyer 35 which delivers to a bin 36. The leaves and flowers pass below the lower stretch of a similar conveyer 8 which forms the bottom wall of a vacuum chest 7. The leaves are held up by suction against the conveyer 8 while the flowers pass on the conveyer 9 to further conveyer 28. The leaves eventually fall on to an incline 24 and pass to a conveyer 25. If any petals or seeds remain they fall through the conveyer on to a transverse conveyer 35. In a modification shown in Fig. 3 hops and leaves are delivered to an inclined sieve 39 through which petals and seeds fall. The sieve is vibrated by means of a cam. The flowers and leaves pass below part of a rotary sieve disc 33 which closes the mouth of a vacuum chest 7. The leaves are drawn up by the suction and owing to the rotation of the disc are deposited on to conveyer 34 which is impervious. to air.