Patent ID: 7967149
Filing Date: 2011-06-28
Classification: A22C,B07C,B25J,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for grading food articles based on at least one characteristics of the food articles, wherein the grading comprises building up portions of the food articles in containers where the portions are based on at least one characteristics, comprising: determining means for determining one or more characteristic parameters indicating the characteristics of the food articles, first conveyor for conveying the food articles along a closed-loop conveying path, the conveyor comprising a number of article holders attached to the conveyor for holding the food articles during the conveying along the closed-loop conveying path, arranging means for arranging the food articles onto the article holders, the article holders being adapted to preserve the arrangement of the food articles in the article holders during the conveying, said characteristic parameters including data indicating the initial arrangement of the articles in the article holders, a processor for determining to which container a food article selected from said food articles in the article holders is to be fed based on the one or more characteristic parameters including said data indicating the initial arrangement of the articles in the article holders, and a container filling station controlling the removing of the food articles from the article holders determined by the processor to pre-fixed locations in the containers and thus control the location of the articles in the containers by using said characteristic parameters including said data indicating the initial arrangement of the articles in the article holders.