Conveyor for the selection of fruit

Details Conveyor for the selection of fruit Conveyor for the selection of fruit

2000-06-28

2002-04-23

Bidwell, James R. (Department: 3651)

Conveyors: power-driven

Conveyor arrangement for selecting among plural sources or...

By loading or unloading section at selected one of a...

C198S370040, C198S385000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06374983

ABSTRACT:

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to an improved conveyor for selection of fruit that comprises a center conveyor chain that includes, on both sides thereof, two alignments of tiltable supports for receiving one by one pieces of fruit, such as oranges, tomatoes, pears, etc., in order to then automatically deposit them on a plurality of output conveyor belts.
Along the center conveyor chain there is a fruit loading station, a weighing station, as well as a fruit unloading station that unloads the fruit piece by piece in the corresponding output conveyors.
On the other hand, there are two side conveyor chains arranged underneath the two alignments of supports in correspondence with the front part of the center conveyor chain assembly, the loading station being located in said front part.
These side conveyor chains support a plurality of groups of rotating cylindrical elements selected from discs and rollers that are combined alternately with the tiltable supports, in such a way that in the area of combination of the discs and tiltable supports, the different pieces of fruit will rest on the rotating discs making said pieces of fruit rotate for the purpose of controlling them for alignment and optical determination of the qualities (size, color, etc.) thereof.
Along the center chain there is a fruit loading station, a weighing station, as well as a fruit unloading station that unloads the fruit piece by piece in the corresponding output conveyors.
On the other hand, there are two side conveyor chains arranged underneath the two alignments of supports in correspondence with the front part of the center conveyor chain assembly, the loading station being located in said front part.
These side chains support some groups of rotating discs or rollers that are combined alternately with the tiltable supports, in such a way that in the area of combination of the discs and tiltable supports, the different pieces of fruit will rest on the rotating discs making said pieces of fruit rotate for the purpose of controlling them for alignment and optical determination of the qualities (size, color, etc.) thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Presently, there are conveyors for the selection of fruit among which there are European patent application EP0670276, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,516.
In general, these conveyors comprise a plurality of conveyor chains provided with a plurality of unitary fruit sustaining supports, as well as a rotating cylindrical elements mechanism in order to make fruit pieces rotate so as to detect any type of imperfection thereof, in such a way that the pieces of fruit that have any undesired flaw may be removed.
These conveyors also include a fruit loading station, a weighing station, as well as an unloading station where the supports unload the fruit by means of a suitable mechanism that will act on said supports during the movement and advance of the chains without stopping them.
On the other hand, the device of the European patent application uses alternative means in order to carry out the weighing of fruit pieces, while the U.S. patent does not allow the product to drop, but rather launches it.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The improved conveyor for the selection of fruit comprises a wide center conveyor chain where two alignments of a plurality of tiltable supports are coupled on both sides thereof, with insertion of a plurality of intermediate pieces. These tiltable supports are responsible for receiving pieces of fruit, such as apples, oranges, etc., in such a way that during the conveyance of the fruit pieces resting one by one on the tiltable supports, the fruit pieces will pass through a recognition station, a weighing station and finally, an unloading station, where the tiltable supports collapse downward in order to allow the fruit pieces to drop on a plurality of conveyor belts.
In correspondence with the front part of the center conveyor chain assembly, two side conveyor chains established underneath each one of the two alignments of tiltable supports have been provided for. These side conveyor chains also have a plurality of groups of rotating cylindrical elements selected from discs and rollers, which are combined alternately with the tiltable supports in the front part of the center conveyor chain, said front part corresponding to the fruit loading area.
Hence, in this first loading area, each piece of fruit will rest on two consecutive groups of cylindrical elements selected from rollers and discs, at the same time that the corresponding tiltable support is located between them at a slightly lower level. Therefore, during the simultaneous advance of the conveyor chains, the fruit pieces rotate thus allowing to align them and/or determine their qualities optically.
After the common area of the conveyor chains, the fruit pieces continue advancing resting on the tiltable supports of the rear part of the center conveyor chain, the weighing station and the unloading station being located in the rear part of the center conveyor chain. The weighing of the pieces of fruit is done dynamically one by one.
Each one of the tiltable supports maintains its stable position during the conveyance of the fruit pieces thanks to a tiltable lever or latch retained by means of a spring, at the same time that an extension of the tiltable supports abuts against said tiltable lever associated to the respective intermediate piece. When the unloading takes place, the lever tilts by means of an electromagnet, then producing a rotation of the lever overcoming th resistance of the spring, in such a way that the extension of the respective support will cease abutting against the lever and therefore, the tiltable support will collapse downward unloading the corresponding piece of fruit.
The weighing station is located before the unloading station, in such a way that there are a plurality of elongated shoes in this area where the tiltable levers knock in order to release the support of the extensions of the tiltable supports during the weighing time. During this moment, the support assembly with the piece of fruit rests on the weighing device. After the weighing has been carried out, the tiltable lever recovers its initial position by means of the spring, whereby the extensions of the tiltable supports will once again rest on the respective tiltable levers until the unloading station is reached. In the unloading station said tiltable levers or latches will swivel by means of the electromagnets in order to cause the downward collapse of the supports and thus unloading the fruit pieces, as it has been stated above.
The center conveyor chain has great stability due to its width and also due to the guiding during its entire run on a plurality of tubular profiles supported by other profiles with similar characteristics.
After the fruit pieces have been unloaded, the tiltable supports return to their initial position to receive new pieces of fruit. For this purpose, other elongated shoes established in correspondence with the bottom branch of the center conveyor chain where the supports are located in a downward reversed position have been provided for. Hence, since the tiltable levers contact with the respective bottom shoe, the tiltable supports will recover by gravity their initial position because they are released from the tiltable lever, where the extensions of the supports knocked at the inside side thereof.
This new conveyor has a substantially more advantageous and simpler structure and function than the conveyors of the two patents mentioned in the preceding section.
It should be emphasized that the tiltable support is in turn the device or mechanism on which the weighing is carried out and also the one that tilts downward in order to unload the fruit pieces.
Some figures in which the object of the invention has been represented in an illustrative and non-restrictive manner are accompanied hereinafter in order to provide a better understanding of this specification and forming an integral part thereof.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5244100 (1993-09-01), Regier et al

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