Feeding, sorting and grading system for elongate produce

Classifying – separating – and assorting solids – Sorting special items – and certain methods and apparatus for... – Condition responsive means controls separating means

Patent

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Details

209698, 209655, 209922, 209923, 209939, 198384, B65G 1732, B07C 900, B07C 500

Patent

active

059987545

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a feeding device for a unit for sorting elongate produce, in particular vegetables such as carrots. It also relates to a sorting unit comprising such a feeding device as well as to a distribution device and to a grading device fitted to this sorting unit.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The grading operations of fruit or vegetables requires that these latter be individualized in order for them to be analyzed optically. This operation has proved to be difficult when such fruit or vegetables consist of elongate produce, such as for example carrots, owing to the fact that the feeding of the graders requires an assembly line of the produce starting from a shipment of products delivered in bulk.
Such an assembly line requires in fact the arrangement of the produce with a constant flow in parallel rows, so as to ensure a good yield by the grader,in each of which rows the items of produce are sufficiently widely spaced to allow their individual optical analysis.


OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

At present, there does not exist a feeding device enabling the grader to be fed under optimal conditions of yield and reliability and the objective of the present invention is to make good this deficiency by providing a feeding device capable of dividing a stream of elongate produce into a number of parallel rows in each of which the produce are arranged one after another.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a sorting unit for elongate produce possessing optimal rate and reliability.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For this purpose the invention relates in the first instance to a feeding device for a sorting unit for elongate produce, in particular vegetables such as carrots, suitable for arranging a shipment of such produce delivered in bulk in parallel rows in each of which the items of produce are aligned one after the other, the feeding device being characterized in that it comprises an inclined conveyor extending in an ascending slope, comprising a number of transverse rollers each freely rotatable round a transverse axis borne near its ends by two longitudinal endless chains driven synchronously and spaced so that two successive rollers define between them a receptacle for an item of produce, the conveyor comprising longitudinally starting from its low end at which produce is fed in: rollers around their axis in the same sense of rotation as the forward direction of the conveyor, rollers are free to rotate, rollers around their axis in the opposite direction to the forward direction of the conveyor.
According to this device the produce is first made to ascend the length of the lower longitudinal section as a result of the rotation of the rollers in the same direction of rotation as the forward direction of the conveyor. After an intermediate transfer zone the produce then reaches the level of the upper longitudinal section along the length of which the rotation of the rollers in the opposite direction to the forward direction of the conveyor causes firstly rejection towards the lower longitudinal section of the produce incorrectly placed between two rollers and, secondly, a separation of the produce possibly overlapping or superposed between the rollers.
In practice, such a device makes it possible to arrange the items of produce one after another between successive rollers with a high feeding rate and with 100% filling rate of the conveyor. As an example, with produce such as carrots, the rate of forward movement of a conveyor in conformity with the invention may attain approximately one m/s.
In accordance with another characteristic of the invention, the intermediate section of the conveyor includes a friction wheel aligned so as to present a tangential contact with the lower generator of the rollers, the friction wheel being made to rotate by the machinery causing the upper section of the conveyor to rotate.
The presence of this friction wheel has the advantage of stopping the rotation of the rollers conferred by the machinery causing the rotation of the lower lo

REFERENCES:
patent: 1337257 (1920-04-01), O'Quinn
patent: 3300021 (1967-01-01), Holmes
patent: 4033450 (1977-07-01), Paddock et al.
patent: 4348277 (1982-09-01), Cowlin et al.
patent: 5143226 (1992-09-01), Walton

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