A system for eliminating residue from a flow of harvest containing fruit, includes a motorized conveyor for feeding the flow of harvest towards an inclined surface that is arranged to allow the flow of harvest to travel over it, the surface including air passages. The system further has a blower for blowing air through the passages in order to eject residue from the flow of harvest as it is routed over the surface.

A separation apparatus for separating fruit from other plant matter from harvested plant material, the apparatus comprising a conveyor system that defines a first separation system, a second separation system located at least partially above the first separation system comprising an array of rotatable rollers to convey harvested plant material in an upstream to downstream direction, the rollers spaced apart to provide a plurality of openings permitting the transit of separated fruit therethrough while preventing the transit of other plant matter, a third separation system in the form of a de-stemming unit downstream of the second separation system, a plant matter distribution system, for distributing plant matter away from the collection apparatus, wherein fruit pass through any one or more of the first, second and third separation systems for collection in the collection unit.

A separator for separating harvested fruit from other plant matter. The separator can be fitted to, positioned above, or integrated with, a collection bin and as such allows for material harvested by an automatic fruit harvester to be processed prior to deposition of the fruit in the collection bin.

A sorter or sorter assembly for application to a rear-conveyor fruit harvester, being one that has a primary conveyor with a downstream, rear end located towards the rear of the rear-conveyor fruit harvester, the primary conveyor configured, in use, for collecting harvested material and conveying the harvested material downstream. The sorter can improve the ability of a rear-conveyor fruit harvester to separate waste from fruit, such as berries or nuts. The sorter or sorter assembly reduces the likelihood of fruit being damaged or destroyed by the rear-conveyor fruit harvester, may reduce the amount of energy the rear-conveyor fruit harvester must expend moving waste, and may reduce the likelihood of waste clogging downstream parts of the rear-conveyor fruit harvester. Therefore, the sorter or sorter assembly may increase the fruit-to-waste ratio of harvested material, increase harvester throughput, and/or increase the value of a fruit harvest.

A destemmer for use in a fruit harvester includes a frame, a box carried by the frame, and an eccentric drive connected with the box. The box includes an inlet for receiving berries clusters. At least one top link interconnects the box and the frame. The top link include a first end pivotally connected to the frame, and a second end pivotally connected to the box. At least one bottom link interconnects the box and the frame. The bottom link include a first end pivotally connected to the frame, and a second end pivotally connected to the box. The longitudinal axis of each of the top link and the bottom link intersects at a virtual pivot axis, when viewed from a side of the box, which is located upstream from the inlet to the box, relative to a travel direction of the berries and MOG through the box.

A destemmer rotor includes a cylindrical shaft and a plurality of destemmer fingers. At least one finger is releasably attached to the shaft by an attachment mechanism. The base of the finger is configured to be inserted manually in a radial direction in a cavity provided in the shaft. The finger is locked in the inserted position via a locking pin. The locking pin is inserted radially in a through-opening provided through the base of the finger and is configured to exert a clamping force on two or more clamping legs of said base of the finger. An end portion of the pin extends beyond the through-opening when the pin is fully inserted, while the width of said end portion exceeds the spacing between the clamping legs, so that the end portion forces the clamping legs to become clamped in a clamping portion of the cavity.

A destemmer rotor includes a cylindrical shaft and a plurality of destemmer fingers (20) attached to the shaft, the fingers comprising a base and a portion extending outward from the base. At least one finger is configured to be inserted in a radial direction in a cavity provided in the shaft, the base of the finger comprising a pin inserted radially through the base and configured to: clamp the base into the cavity when the pin is inserted down to a first depth, the pin comprising an end portion and a mid portion, wherein the end portion is configured to force a plurality of clamping legs at the lower end of the base to be clamped in a clamping portion of the cavity when the pin is inserted down to said first depth; and remove the clamping force when the pin is inserted down to a second depth.