Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items – By longitudinally respacing successive articles in stream
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-08
2001-05-22
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items
By longitudinally respacing successive articles in stream
C198S370030, C198S370040, C198S470100, C198S803700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234300
ABSTRACT:
Known for instance from the European patent application EP-A-0687508 is an apparatus wherein fruits are clamped between grippers, lifted by these grippers, weighed during the lifting and classified on the basis of the weighing in that the fruits are released from the grippers at predetermined locations. Such a classifying apparatus requires a large number of grippers, for instance along a length of as much as 40 metres, which makes this construction expensive.
The present invention comprises an apparatus for transporting and/or classifying objects such as fruits, comprising:
a supply conveyor for supplying the objects at a relatively small pitch;
a discharge conveyor for discharging the objects at a relatively large pitch which is in any case no smaller than the small pitch, for instance for classification purposes; and
a transferring device for transferring the objects from the first conveyor to the second conveyor, wherein the speed of forward movement of the transferring device is adapted to the speed of the discharge conveyor and wherein the transferring device comprises gripper members arranged in pairs for gripping the objects.
Using the apparatus according to the present invention the speed of the supply conveyor is utilized optimally—the fruits are supplied for instance at a speed of 8 units per second—while the discharge conveyor consists of transporting members, such as cup-like fruit receiving members, which have a larger mutual pitch, wherein damage to the fruit is prevented during the transfer between supply conveyor and discharge conveyor since it does not undergo a falling movement. In a further preferred embodiment the fruits can likewise be rotated through for instance a half-turn.
A discharge conveyor with cup-like receiving members is per se known from the European patent application EP-A-062007, wherein the fruit falls or rolls some distance downward during transfer between supply conveyor and discharge conveyor, which can result in damage to the fruit.
The gripper members preferably comprise substantially stiff arms and protective sleeves of soft material to further prevent damage to fruit.
In a further preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention at least one cross conveyor is arranged below the transferring device in order to enable separate discharge of fruit less suitable for consumption and/or double fruits prior to classification.
The apparatus is preferably provided in a further preferred embodiment with rotating means for viewing the fruits both before and after the transferring device, for instance for quality control purposes.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3330400 (1967-07-01), Alexander
patent: 3837474 (1974-09-01), Brooke
patent: 4262795 (1981-04-01), Hecker
patent: 4488637 (1984-12-01), Loeffler
patent: 0230583A2 (1987-08-01), None
patent: 0647561A1 (1995-04-01), None
patent: 0687508A1 (1995-12-01), None
De Dreef Jacob Hendrik
De Vos Marinus
Van Arkel Jan Marinus
De Greff's Wagen -, Carrosserie - en Machinebouw B.V.
Valenza Joseph E.
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