Classifying – separating – and assorting solids – Sorting special items – and certain methods and apparatus for... – Separating means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-12
2001-07-17
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
Sorting special items, and certain methods and apparatus for...
Separating means
C209S509000, C209S552000, C209S606000, C209S621000, C209S655000, C209S659000, C209S660000, C209S667000, C209S668000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260713
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for sorting items having various sizes. The invention particularly provides a method and apparatus for sorting produce items according to size, and the method and apparatus are particularly advantageous for sizing cherries.
DISCUSSION OF BACKGROUND
The sizes of produce items such as cherries naturally vary. In addition, the quantities of different sizes can vary depending upon a number of factors such as the site location, the horticultural practices of the grower, and the weather. For example, more larger cherries will typically be produced where the weather for the growing season has been particularly desirable as compared with a growing season having poor weather. In addition, a grower with more desirable horticultural practices, such as proper pruning and fertilizing, will generally produce larger cherries as compared with a grower that does not follow such practices.
Typically, after cherries are harvested they must be sorted into different sizes, since large cherries are much more desirable and command a greater price. In fact, the largest size cherries can command prices up to ten times that of the smallest size cherries. Accordingly, it is extremely important to effectively sort produce items such as cherries according to size. Growers with strict horticultural practices find effective sizing particularly important since a substantial investment is associated with such horticultural practices in order to produce larger cherries. If the cherries are not properly sorted so that larger cherries are sorted into a smaller size grade, this investment is lost. Of course, it is not practically possible to size/measure and sort each and every cherry due to the volume and the extremely large number of individual articles (cherries) that must be handled. Produce items such as cherries are typically sized as they feed over rotating rollers having a diverging gap spacing therebetween, so that smaller cherries are generally removed from the flow stream at smaller portions of the gap and larger cherries are generally removed from the flow stream at larger portions of the gap. This type of sizing/sorting process is an approximation, and each resulting size grouping will have a number of cherries which are larger or smaller than the nominal size range (or grade) for that grouping. However, in sorting cherries, it is important to minimize the amount of smaller cherries which might be grouped with the larger size cherries, since an excessive number of smaller cherries will lead to customer complaints and potential violations of agricultural regulations. For example, in the State of Washington, known for its cherry production, cherries sold as having a specified size must have no greater than 10% of those cherries below the specified size. Many growers/packers also have self-imposed quality standards which exceed agricultural regulations.
It is also important to minimize the number of larger cherries which are grouped with smaller cherries, since the larger cherries can be sold at a greater price. Thus, if larger cherries are sorted into a smaller size grade, a monetary loss is incurred. Accordingly, it is important to sort cherries by size so that a group of cherries of a particular size grade does not contain an excessive amount of cherries above that size or an excessive amount of cherries below that size.
One difficulty in sorting cherries by size is that the diverging roller sorting apparatus removes cherries based upon their minimum dimension. However, from an agricultural product standpoint, cherries are sized by their maximum dimension. In particular,
FIG. 1
shows a sizing card
10
which is utilized to determine the particular size of a cherry. If the maximum diameter of the cherry is larger than the diameter of the hole of the card, the cherry will not pass through the hole in the card and attains that size grade. It is of course impractical to size each cherry of a substantial volume of cherries utilizing such a hand held card. Such hand held cards are thus only suitable for a quality control check of selected to samples of cherries or to size a portion of a large volume to gain statistical information concerning that volume.
As is apparent from
FIG. 1
, certain of the apertures in the sizing card have a numerical designation, e.g., “9 row” or “10 row.” These designations originated from very early sizing designations in which cherries were packed in a box of a predetermined size. Cherries of a size in which 9 would fit in a row of the box were thus considered “9 row” cherries, while slightly smaller cherries of a size in which 10 would fit in a row of the box were “10 row” cherries. Thus, a 9 row cherry is larger than a 10 row cherry. Similarly, an 11 row cherry is smaller than a 10 row cherry. The 9 row, 10 row, etc. designations are still widely utilized today, as are intermediate sizes such as 9½ row, 10½ row, etc. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the apertures have designated sizes corresponding to the standard 8, 8½, 9, 9½, 10, 10½, 11, 11½ and 12 row sizes. As shown in the sizing card, the 8 row cherries have a maximum diameter which is at least 84/64″ (33.33 mm), the 8½ row cherries have a maximum diameter which is at least 79/64″ (31.35 mm), the 9 row cherries have a maximum diameter which is at least 75/65″ (29.76 mm), 9.5 row cherries have a maximum diameter of at least 71/64″ (28.17 mm), 10 row cherries have a maximum diameter of at least 67/64″ (26.59 mm), 10.5 row have a maximum diameter of at least 1″ (25.4 mm), 11 row have a maximum diameter of at least 61/64″ (24.20 mm), 11.5 row have a maximum diameter of at 57/64″ (22.62 mm), and 12 row have a maximum diameter of at least 54/64″ (21.43 mm). Although not designated on the sizing card of
FIG. 1
, the cherries having a maximum diameter of at least 52/64″ (20.63 mm) are 13 row cherries.
It should be noted that when cherries are sized and packed, each and every one of the possible size grades are not typically utilized. For example, if the crop is good and the amount of very large cherries is high, the largest size of the cherries packed will be 9 row or better cherries (i.e., the cherries are large enough to receive at least a 9 row grade). However, if the amount of 9 row or better cherries is small so as to not be worthwhile packing separately, the largest size cherry will be 9.5 row or better, and the 9.5 row or better product will include not only the 9.5 row cherries, but also cherries large enough to receive a 9 row grade. Thus, a “9.5 or better” product includes cherries which are 9.5 row and larger. Similarly, the second largest product grade of cherries which could be sorted from a crop could be a “10 row or better” product, or a “10.5 row or better” product. The number of size grades into which a given crop are sorted can also vary depending upon customer demand. For example, depending upon customer demand, it might only be necessary to divide cherries into three size groups. In addition, the very large sizes (8 row and 8.5 row) are typically only present in sufficient quantities to pack for certain cherry varieties such as Lapin. Thus, it is to be understood that although a large number of different size grades are known in the industry, as would be understood by those skilled in the art, the cherries of a given crop or group are typically not divided into each and every size grade.
As mentioned earlier, large quantities of cherries have typically been sorted utilizing a diverging roller arrangement as shown in FIG.
2
. With this arrangement, a pair of rotating rollers
20
,
22
are mounted so that the gap between the rollers is smaller at the upstream end as compared with the downstream end. The rollers are inclined downwardly and rotate so that the cherries are conveyed along the rollers and in the gap between the rollers. As the cherries are conveyed along the rollers, they fall through the gap between the rollers if a dimensio
Beauchaine Mark J.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Stemilt Growers, Inc.
Walsh Donald P.
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