Apparatus for spray washing fruit in a brush bed

Described is an apparatus and method, particularly applicable to a brush bed conveyor system, by which objects, typically citrus fruit, are washed or sprayed. A moveable high pressure spray manifold is contained within a manifold carriage and is disposed within the conveyor chassis such that it is moved along above a brush bed by a conveyor chain. Separation bars extend from the conveyor chain to segregate the objects into queues retained within the spray pattern of the manifold. When the manifold reaches a predetermined end position, a release latch is decoupled from the separation bars to disconnect the separation bars and conveyor chain from the manifold carriage. The predetermined end position is sensed and the manifold carriage is quickly returned to its initial position by means of a selectively activated pneumatic piston assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to the field of spray washing objects on a conveyor 
system, and in particular to high-pressure spray washing of citrus fruit 
in a brush bed conveyor system. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It is well known to wash or spray objects, such as fruit or more particular 
citrus fruit, in conveyor systems from a fixed overhead spray manifold as 
the objects are being scrubbed or cleaned in a conveyor brush bed. The 
purpose for washing the citrus fruit may include, for example, not only 
removal of field dirt, contaminants and pesticides, but also, particularly 
in the case of high-pressure spraying, removal of scale insects or fungal 
microorganisms which might otherwise mar the appearance or cause later 
spoilage of the fruit. Such spray washing may occur in conjunction with 
treatment of fruit with special solutions, usually water soluble, as 
described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,990,351 (Orman, et al); 
5,007,335 (Orman, et al); and 5,148,738 (Orman, et al)--all assigned to 
Sunkist Growers, Inc. 
Typically, the fruit are loaded onto a brush bed conveyor system which 
aligns the fruit into the linear pockets between elongated cylindrical 
brush rollers, which are aligned transversely to the movement of the 
conveyor. A system of nozzles on a fixed manifold located above the brush 
bed rollers directs fluid onto the fruit passing below it. The rollers 
brush, scrub and rotate the fruit while the fruit is being simultaneously 
spray washed from above by the fixed spraying system. As described in one 
or more of the aforementioned patents, the solution may be filtered and 
recirculated for conservation and economy. 
In order to provide sufficient rotation and exposure of the fruit to the 
scrubbing and spray washing action, the number of fruit which can be 
placed on the brush bed must necessarily be limited. A certain degree of 
open space must be provided to allow the fruit to turn and to be freely 
advanced down the brush bed. 
It is inherent in the nature of the brush bed handling of the fruit that 
queuing of the fruit may exist with spaces between groups of fruit being 
urged down the brush bed. Typically, in order to maximize the 
effectiveness of the spray, the spray apparatus will have a coverage that 
completely extends over the entire washing area of the brush bed. Thus, 
water and/or solution is sprayed into areas of the brush bed which are 
empty because of the queuing of the fruit or the necessary open space 
which must be provided for proper fruit handling, with the result that the 
spray solution and, more typically, the power required to pump the 
solution can easily be wasted. 
Furthermore, the fruit is loaded onto the brush bed from a hopper in a 
random manner. Large open areas of the brush bed can occur at any time 
during the washing process, particularly at the entry portions of the bed. 
These areas receive spray even if there is no fruit being loaded onto the 
brush bed, as long as there is any fruit on the brush bed which needs to 
be washed. 
Finally, particularly in scale removal, it is desirable for a high-pressure 
(i.e., forceful, intensive) spray to cover the entire surface of each 
fruit, preferably several times. 
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus and method wherein the spray 
washing--particularly high-pressure spray washing--of fruit or other 
objects on brush beds may be more efficiently and effectively performed, 
in terms of minimizing the amount of wasted fluid and unnecessarily 
expended power used in pumping, and also in terms of improving the 
coverage of objects by the spray. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention is an apparatus for spray washing objects with a pumped 
fluid. The objects are advanced along a bed. The fruit can be segregated 
on the brush bed by means of a plurality of transversely-oriented 
separation bars extending across the brush bed and drawn longitudinally 
down the length of the brush bed by means of the conveyor chain. Such 
separation bars would serve to segregate the fruit into batches and to 
urge the fruit forward over the brush bed and from one roller brush to the 
next. 
The apparatus includes a spray manifold for delivering fluid to the objects 
on the bed. A moving mechanism moves the spray manifold while the objects 
are being advanced over the bed. Such movement of the manifold may, for 
example, be: longitudinal along with the objects as they move through the 
bed; in rotation of the spray nozzles about an axis which is transverse to 
the movement of the objects; along a track which is transverse to the 
motion of the objects; vertically in respect to the brush bed surface; or 
some combination of these and/or other forms of motion. As a result, the 
position and orientation of the spray may be controlled, and use of fluid 
and pumping energy in the spray manifold may be minimized, while improving 
the efficacy of washing of the objects. 
Thus, in one embodiment the moving mechanism reciprocally translates the 
spray manifold between an initial position and an end position along the 
direction of object movement. This longitudinal movement may be through 
the entire length of the brush bed, or through some portion thereof. In 
another embodiment the moving mechanism rotates spray nozzles within the 
spray manifold about an axis transverse to the object motion, normally in 
a reciprocating rotational motion. In still another embodiment, the moving 
mechanism reciprocates the spray manifold transversely to the object 
motion. In a further embodiment, the moving mechanism allows the spray 
manifold to be selectively raised or lowered in respect to the level of 
the brush bed. Other embodiments entail combinations of such movements 
and/or other orientations and/or type(s) of movements. 
In the principal illustrated embodiment the apparatus, in which the primary 
motion of the spray manifold is longitudinal (i.e., with the forward 
movement of the fruit through the brush bed), the apparatus further 
includes a release mechanism for releasing the spray manifold from the 
moving mechanism when the spray manifold has reached a predetermined end 
position. A return mechanism is provided for returning the spray manifold 
to an initial position. The moving mechanism is a chain conveyor and the 
release mechanism comprises a rotatable finger temporarily engaging the 
chain conveyor. The finger is rotated out of engagement with the chain 
conveyor when the spray manifold reaches the predetermined end position. 
The return mechanism is a selectively activated piston assembly. The 
piston assembly is arranged and configured to return the spray manifold to 
the initial position after the spray manifold reaches the predetermined 
end position. The piston assembly comprises a selectively activatable 
pneumatic piston. A sensor senses when the spray manifold reaches the 
predetermined end position. A controller controls activation of the 
pneumatic piston in response to sensing by the sensor. 
In that embodiment, the sensor comprises a first sensor for sensing the 
configuration of the moving mechanism to determine when the moving 
mechanism has moved the spray manifold to the predetermined end position. 
A second sensor senses the configuration of the pneumatic piston to ensure 
the pneumatic piston is appropriately configured correspond to the 
predetermined end position. A third sensor determines that the pneumatic 
piston has fully returned the spray manifold to the initial position. 
Still further, in the principal illustrated embodiment, the moving 
mechanism comprises a conveyor chassis enclosing the bed and a conveyor 
chain disposed in the conveyor chassis. The spray manifold is slideably 
coupled to the conveyor chassis so that the moving mechanism 
longitudinally reciprocates the spray manifold between the initial 
position and the predetermined end position by moving the spray manifold 
in the conveyor chassis between the positions. 
In that embodiment, the moving mechanism includes a plurality of separation 
bars coupled to the chain. The separation bars urge the objects along the 
bed, and the release mechanism comprises a rotatable finger coupled to the 
spray manifold. The rotatable finger slidingly contacts the separation 
bars to move the spray manifold between the initial position and the 
predetermined end position. The release mechanism further comprises a 
fixed release plate disposed across the conveyor chassis. The rotatable 
finger rides onto the release plate when the spray manifold reaches the 
predetermined end position. The rotatable finger is rotated by the release 
plate out of contact with the separation bars to thereby decouple the 
spray manifold from the chain. 
As previously pointed out, the apparatus may further include a mechanism 
for adjusting the vertical distance between the spray manifold and the 
brush bed surface according to the size of the objects or to provide a 
spray density to suit the particular application. 
Although it can be used for spray washing of a wide variety of objects, the 
invention can be more particularly utilized as an apparatus for high 
pressure spray washing of fruit, e.g., for scale insect removal. Here, the 
spray manifold would comprises a high pressure spray manifold with high 
pressure fluid supply means. A chain conveyor assembly provides a 
conveying force in a predetermined direction to move the fruit in the 
predetermined direction. A conveyor chassis houses the chain conveyor 
assembly. In the principal illustrated embodiment, the manifold carriage 
is moveable longitudinally within the conveyor chassis. A brush bed is 
disposed in the conveyor chassis beneath the high pressure spray manifold. 
The fruit are disposed on the brush bed. A moving mechanism is coupled to 
the spray manifold and moves the spray manifold longitudinally to extend 
access of the spray manifold to the fruit to extend the period during 
which the rotating fruit is washed as the fruit is moved along the 
conveyor chassis. As a result, fluid is intensively provided through the 
high pressure spray manifold to the fruit on the brush bed underlying the 
high pressure spray manifold as the fruit moves down the brush bed, 
without unnecessary or inefficient delivery of fluid to other portions of 
the brush bed. 
In one embodiment, the moving mechanism rotates the spray nozzles within 
the spray manifold to vary the angle of spray toward the fruit on the 
brush bed for at least part of the travel of the fruit thereon. 
Alternatively, the moving mechanism may move the spray manifold 
transversely to the direction of movement of the fruit, and may, at the 
same time, cause rotation of the spray nozzles, each in reciprocating 
fashion. This allows access to the fruit on the brush bed with a high 
pressure spray wash from still different orientations and positions while 
the fruit rotates and moves on the brush bed. 
Although mechanical control of the various movement means is described 
herein, it is to be understood that programmed control of the various 
possible motion orientations and directions--and, indeed, the speed with 
which the objects pass through the washing/spraying step--can be 
effectuated through hard-wired or programmable computer means, coupled 
with sensors to determine the position of the objects being subjected to 
the washing or spray. It is believed that such computer/sensor means would 
be within the skill of the ordinary practitioner familiar with this art 
and the teachings hereof, and that accordingly they need not be described 
further herein. 
Clearly, then, the apparatus of the invention contemplates such a variety 
of motions of the spray manifold that the practitioner, operating within 
the scope of the invention, can experiment to select the type of motion or 
combinations of motion of the spray manifold, and means to control such 
motion, which will prove most effective for the specific purpose required. 
The invention can also be characterized as a method of spray washing 
objects on a conveyor system to reduce use of fluid and pumping energy for 
spray washing while optimizing the effectiveness of the spray. The method 
comprises the steps of disposing the objects on the conveyor bed. The 
objects may be separated into a queue within a predetermined area on the 
conveyor bed. 
In one embodiment, only the queue of objects is spray washed for a 
predetermined time by moving a spray manifold longitudinally with the 
queue of objects. In this embodiment, the spray manifold is returned to an 
initial position for receiving another queue of objects on the conveyor 
bed after the spray manifold has been moved to a predetermined end 
position. In other embodiments, the spray is directed in other selected 
orientations and patterns as discussed above in respect to various 
embodiments of the apparatus of the invention. 
Thus, in one embodiment the step of spray washing by moving the spray 
manifold is performed by reciprocatingly translating the spray manifold 
longitudinally along the conveyor system with the objects. 
In another embodiment the step of spray washing by moving the spray 
manifold is performed by rotating the spray nozzles of the spray manifold 
about an axis which is transverse to the forward motion of the objects. 
The step of rotating the spray manifold is normally done in reciprocating 
fashion between an initial angular position and an end angular position. 
The invention and its various embodiments may be better visualized by now 
turning to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by 
like numerals.

The invention and its various embodiments may now be understood by turning 
to the following detailed description. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
An improvement is made to a brush bed conveyor system in which citrus fruit 
is high pressure washed. A moveable high pressure manifold is contained 
within a manifold carriage and is disposed within the conveyor chassis 
such that, in the embodiment herein described in detail, it is moved 
longitudinally above a brush bed by a conveyor chain. Separation bars 
extend from the conveyor chain to segregate the citrus fruit into queues 
retained within the spray pattern of the manifold. When the manifold 
reaches a predetermined end position, a release latch is decoupled from 
the separation bars to disconnect the separation bars and conveyor chain 
from the manifold carriage. The predetermined end position is sensed and 
the manifold carriage is quickly returned to its initial position by means 
of a selectively activated pneumatic piston assembly. 
In this manner, according to this embodiment of the invention, the high 
pressure manifold is carried along with the fruit over the brush bed to 
provide an extended time during which the fruit is washed without 
unnecessarily providing spraying fluid and the pumping energy to spray the 
fluid to other portions of the brush bed where fruit may not be present or 
subject to washing. 
FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of the moveable high pressure wash 
system of this embodiment, generally denoted by reference numeral 10 of 
the invention. System 10 is installed in a conventional brush bed conveyor 
system, generally denoted by reference numeral 12. Brush bed system 12 
comprises a plurality of cylindrical brushes 14 which are rotated by a 
chain drive through conventional means (not shown) to brush, scour and 
rotate fruit 16 which is disposed upon brushes 14 and generally aligned in 
the interstitial rows 18 between adjacent brushes 14. Any object on any 
conveyor system may be spray washed according to the invention, and the 
fluid sprayed may be any desired solution of any water-soluble 
compound(s), water with particulate suspension, water alone, some other 
suitable liquid or some combination thereof. Therefore, where reference 
herein is made to fruit or to a brush bed, it must be understood that it 
should be interpreted as including any object in place of the fruit, and 
any type of conveyor system in place of the brush bed. 
In this principally illustrated, preferred embodiment, groups of fruit 16 
are separated by a pair of separation bars 20 which extend across the 
width of brush bed 12 and are pivotally coupled at their top ends 22 to a 
conveyor chain 24. Conveyor chain 24 is an element of a conventional 
conveyor subsystem, including support rails, idler gears, drive gears, 
motors and control circuitry all well known to the art, but not shown for 
the sake of clarity. 
Disposed over brush bed 12 in a manner as described in greater detail below 
is a movable high pressure spray manifold subsystem generally denoted by 
reference numeral 26. Spray manifold 26 is comprised of a manifold carrier 
28 in which a piping manifold 30 is disposed. In the illustrated 
embodiment, manifold carrier 28 is releasably coupled to conveyor chain 24 
by means of one of the plurality of separation bars 20 beneath it as 
described below. By virtue of this coupling, manifold carrier 28 is 
translated along the length of brush bed 12 in a direction indicated by 
arrow 32 during a first cycle of its operation. 
In this embodiment, movement of manifold carrier 28 and piping manifold 30 
are thus synchronized with the movement of fruit 16 and separation bars 20 
on brush bed 12 below it and are carried along with fruit 16 for a 
predetermined distance and time. Water or spraying fluid is thus not being 
spent on fruit which are being assembled in brush bed 12 the front of 
piping manifold 30, which fruit may not yet have achieved an ideal density 
for spray washing. 
At an end of a predetermined time or distance of travel, spray manifold 26 
is released or decoupled from its corresponding separation bar 20, again 
by means described below in greater detail, and returned to its initial 
position by an air piston assembly, only a portion of the piston rod 34 of 
which is shown in FIG. 1 and which is more fully depicted in the side 
sectional view of FIG. 2. The air piston assembly will return spray 
manifold 26 to its initial position by extending piston rod 34 in the 
direction of arrow 36. 
The illustrated embodiment shows an air piston assembly, but it is 
expressly contemplated that the air piston assembly can be replaced by a 
mechanical assembly which performs essentially the same function. For 
example, a geared transmission driven directly or indirectly by the 
conveyor system can be provided to selectively rotate a crank arm, such as 
through a Geneva movement or Pittman movement. The crank arm can be 
coupled by means of universal joints and a shaft to the manifold carriage 
to longitudinally translate the carriage in the same or a similar manner 
to that performed by the air piston assembly as described here. 
We turn now to the side elevational view of the high pressure wash system 
10 of FIG. 1 as seen through section lines 2--2 of FIG. 1 and depicted in 
FIG. 2a and b. FIGS. 2a and b clearly illustrate the cross sectional view 
of plurality of brush rollers 14 in the interstitial rows 18 in which are 
disposed plurality of fruit 16. Manifold carrier 28 is disposed on and 
rides on a rail 38 attached to the inner side wall 40 of brush bed 12. 
Piping manifold 30 is shown as projecting beneath manifold carrier 28 and 
includes a plurality of fluid distribution pipes 42 upon each of which is 
mounted a plurality of canted nozzles 44. Piping manifold 30 is better 
depicted in the top perspective view of FIG. 5. There it can be seen that 
carrier 28 provides a rigid box-like frame having a roller assembly 46 at 
each corner which engages rail 38 as better depicted and described in 
connection with the cross sectional view of FIG. 7. Nozzles 44, not 
visible in the depiction of FIG. 5, are mounted with brackets 48 on a 
pairwise basis. Brackets 48 then are coupled to pipes 42 and canted in an 
alternating series to provide an even spray coverage below carrier 28 on 
brush bed 12. The spray coverage of nozzles 44 are better depicted in the 
end elevational view of system 10 as seen through section lines 3--3 of 
FIG. 1 and depicted in FIG. 3. 
The configuration of piping manifold 30 is more clearly depicted in the top 
plan view of FIG. 4 wherein the upper elements of systems 10 have been 
removed for the purposes of clarity. As suggested hereinabove, any 
suitable spray configuration and/or orientation could be used without 
substantially affecting the invention as long as a predetermined spray 
pattern is delivered by piping manifold 30 to a desired portion of the 
queue of fruit lying beneath it. 
Pipes 42 are generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the underlying 
brush rollers 14. Therefore, nozzles 44 are seen as being generally 
directed to the interstitial rows 18 between rollers 14 in an alternating 
array between two adjacent supply pipes 42. For example, interstitial 
region 18a is served by nozzles 44(1)-(9) from supply pipe 42(odd) and 
nozzles 44(2)-(8) from supply pipe 42(even). The spray from nozzles 44 
spreads out in a fan in the lateral direction on brush bed 12 in an 
overlapping relationship to fully provide high pressure wash substantially 
at each point on the underlying brushes 14. 
In the illustrated embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, piping manifold 30 
includes eight supply pipes 42, seven of which are positioned over 
underlying brush rollers 14 between adjacent separation bars 20 and one of 
which is positioned over the lead brush roller 14 immediately in front of 
the advanced separation bar 20(a). Although in the illustrated embodiment 
advance supply pipe 42a and the rear supply pipe 42b are provided with 
nozzles 44 only on one side, which nozzles are directed toward the 
interior of piping manifold 30, in other embodiments it might be more 
desirable for advance supply pipe 42a and rear supply pipe 42b to be 
provided with nozzles on both sides, as in the case of the remaining 
supply pipes 42. Each of the remaining supply pipes 42 are provided with 
canted nozzles 44 on each side of pipe 42. 
Collection of the fluid sprayed, filtering of the collected fluid and 
recirculation of the collected, filtered fluid may be accomplished in the 
manner taught in the aforementioned U.S. Patents assigned to Sunkist 
Growers, Inc., which are each here incorporated by reference. Thus, a 
further economy can be realized by reuse of the fluid sprayed onto the 
objects. 
FIG. 5 illustrates that manifold carrier 28 is comprised of a manifold 
superstructure generally denoted by reference numeral 50 and a manifold 
carrier box generally denoted by reference numeral 52. Manifold 
superstructure 50 is comprised of a pair of side rails 54 and two diagonal 
reinforcing straps 56 which form an X reinforcing cross structure between 
side plates 54. Cross-bars across box 52 may be added for reinforcement if 
desired. A plurality of supply pipes 42 are then fastened across and 
between side rails 54 beneath diagonal reinforcing straps 56. Each of the 
supply pipes 42 is supplied through a fluid distribution manifold 58 
extending below one of the side plates 54, shown generally in FIG. 5. 
Thus, the piping manifold 30 comprises the distribution manifold 58 and 
the plurality of supply pipes 42 which are supplied with fluid through the 
distribution manifold. Fluid enters fluid distribution 58 by means of an 
inlet supply pipe 62, shown in cutaway view in FIGS. 3, 8 and 9. Inlet 
supply pipe 62 is supplied with fluid, through elbow 60, by means of a 
flexible high pressure hose 63 from a source forming part of system 10 
(not shown). Manifold superstructure 50 in turn is coupled by flanges 64 
to box 52. Box 52 is comprised of rigid side walls 66 and a rigid front 
wall 68. Wheel assemblies 46, shown in greater detail in FIG. 6, are then 
bolted to the front and rear portions of each side wall 66. Piston rod 34 
is through-bolted into the center of front bar 68. Box 52 is open on its 
trailing edge and thus provides a U-shaped frame for carrying manifold 
superstructure 50 and the manifold of piping suspended beneath it. 
Before considering the operation of the system in greater detail as a 
whole, we consider first the wheel assembly 46 as depicted in enlarged 
scale in FIG. 7. Track assembly 38 includes U-shaped rail 90 bolted to 
side wall 40 of brush bed 12. The upper and lower arms 92 of U-shaped rail 
90 are provided with a plastic self-lubricating channel 94 in which rides 
a plastic bearing-equipped, steel self-lubricating wheel 96. Wheel 96 
rotates about a bolt 98 which is fixed to side wall 66 of manifold 
carriage 30. As shown in FIG. 5, four of the wheel assemblies 46 are 
provided for manifold carriage 28 thereby securely retaining and guiding 
manifold carriage 28 along the length of track 38. 
On the front corners of manifold box 52 is provided a trigger release 
assembly, generally denoted by reference numeral 70. Turn now to FIG. 6 
wherein mechanism 70 is shown in greater detail. Assembly 70 is bolted to 
the inside surface of each front side wall 66 of manifold box 52. Release 
latch assembly 70 is comprised of a rotatable finger 72 pivoted about 
pivot point 74 and with a first arm 76 and second orthogonal arm 78. The 
end of first arm 76 is provided with a roller 80 for rolling contact 
against the upper fixture of separation bars 20 as will be described in 
greater detail in connection below with FIGS. 2a and 2b. Upper arm 78 
contacts an adjustable stop block 82 bolted to wall 66 by means of a pair 
of bolts 84 provided through elongated slots 86. Stop block 82 is adjusted 
so that the lower most position of finger 72 can be securely and precisely 
adjusted to a level indicated by line 88 to insure exactly aligned contact 
with the upper end of separation bar 20. 
The geometry of finger 72 is such that its center of gravity is to the left 
of pivot 74, as illustrated in FIG. 6, so that finger 72 in its normal 
position will rotate downwardly until arm 78 is stopped by block 82, 
leaving roller 80 at a lower most position defined by line 88. This allows 
roller 80 to meet the pivotal structure of separator bar 20 directly on 
center so that bar 20 is not rotated by the contact. 
As described below, in this embodiment of the invention, manifold carrier 
28 is carried along by conveyor chain 24 by contact of finger 72 with 
separation bars 20 which are connected to chain 24. When manifold carrier 
28 reaches the end of its predetermined run, finger 72 will be rotated 
upwardly in a clockwise direction in FIG. 6 to disengage manifold carrier 
28 from coupling with conveyor chain 24 through the described elements. 
The separate elements having been separately described, turn now to the 
side elevational views of FIGS. 2a and 2b which illustrate the operation 
of the system of this embodiment as a whole. FIG. 2a is a side elevational 
view of manifold carrier 28 in a first or initial position with piston rod 
34 completely extended from air cylinder 100. Release 70 is shown in its 
downwardly extending position with wheel 80 bearing against the center 
pivot point 102 of the rotatable fitting 104 connected to chain 24 by 
pivot 102 and connected on its opposing end to separation bars 20. As 
shown in FIG. 3, separation bars 20 will be carried by chain 24 down brush 
bed 12 just above rollers 14 in contact with fruit 16 and then on the 
return course of the chain 106, bars 20 rotate downwardly as permitted by 
pivots 102. However, clockwise rotation in the illustration of FIGS. 2a 
and 2b are prohibited by the design of fitting 104 and pivot 102 through 
conventional means. 
Thus, in the configuration of FIG. 2a, manifold carrier 28 is pulled by 
chain 24 by means of fitting 104 of separation bar 20 and latch 70 down 
track 38. Separation bar 20 also carries fruit 16 over rollers 14 with it. 
Air cylinder 100 is controlled by control circuit 108 so that it is vented 
during this phase and piston rod 34 easily slides into air cylinder 100 
without resistance. 
When manifold carrier 28 reaches a predetermined end position shown in FIG. 
2b, a pair of horizontally extending plates 110 contact finger 72 lifting 
it about its pivot 74 and ultimately rotating finger 72 so that wheel 80 
rolls off a contact with fitting 104 of separation bar 20. At this point, 
manifold carrier 28 is decoupled from conveyor chain 24. Plate 110 is 
coupled by means of spacer 112 to a U-shaped bar 114 extending across the 
width of brush bed 12. Bar 114 is bolted to the side walls 40 of brush bed 
12 by means of a welded plate 116. Bar 114 also provides a means for 
fixing end 118 of air cylinder 100. 
When system 10 has achieved the configuration of FIG. 2b, fitting 104 
downstream from the just released fixture lying under the front of 
manifold carrier 28 will have reached a sensor 120. Sensor 120 detects the 
presence of the next adjacent fitting 104 and closes or provides a first 
satisfied condition. This signals to control circuit 108 that finger 72 
has been lifted by plate 110 out of contact with separation bar fitting 
104. As a fail-safe measure, a second sensor 122 then detects through a 
magnetic pickup whether piston rod 34 is sufficiently disposed into air 
cylinder 100 to reach its fully contracted position. 
If both sensors 120 and 122 indicate an appropriate configuration of the 
system, control circuit 108 closes pressurizes air cylinder 100 by 
conventional means to quickly drive piston rod 34 to the left in FIG. 2b 
to reposition manifold carrier 28 in the start position shown in FIG. 2a. 
A third sensor 124 magnetically detects the configuration when piston 34 
has completely repositioned manifold carrier 28 in its initial position 
thereby allowing control circuit 108 to vent air cylinder 100 in 
preparation for the redisposition of piston 34 into air cylinder 100 and a 
repeat cycle of the movements shown from FIGS. 2a to 2b and back. 
The vertical height of manifold subsystem 26 and manifold carrier 28 
relative to brush bed 12 is adjusted by means of four lever actuated 
toggle pin assemblies, generally denoted by reference numeral 130, as 
depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b, but best illustrated in connection with the 
side elevational view of FIG. 8. Fluid pipe 42 is connected to manifold 
superstructure 50, and in the view of FIG. 8 in particular to vertical 
plate 55 extending upwardly from horizontal plate 54. Assembly 130 may be 
slideable on plate 55 or attached thereto by conventional means such as 
bolted bracketing. The manifold superstructure 50 is then connected 
through plate 55 to a vertical adjustment plate 154 by means of assembly 
130. 
Toggle pin assembly 130 is comprised of an edge member 132 which is 
connected to a plate 134 best depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b. A pivot 136 
extends from plate 134. A lever arm 138 is rotatably coupled to pivot 136 
which includes a hand lever portion 140 to provide mechanical advantage to 
rotate a slotted working arm 142 about pivot 136. Working arm 142 in turn 
has a longitudinal slot 144 in which a roll pin 148 is disposed. Roll pin 
148 in turn is connected to a retractable pin assembly 150. Pin assembly 
150 has a solid pin 151 which extends through side walls 66 of manifold 
superstructure 50 and through one of a plurality of adjustment holes 152 
defined in vertical adjustment plate 154, most easily visualized in FIGS. 
2a and 2b. 
Opposing working arm 142 on pivot 136 is a stop arm 156 defining a stop 
edge 158 which can be rotated against fixture 160 holding pivot pin 136 to 
plate 134. This limits the counterclockwise rotation of assembly 130 as 
seen in FIG. 8 to appropriately maintain pin assembly 150 at least 
partially engaged with plate 55. In this manner, pin 150 never becomes 
totally disconnected from plate 55 and permits easier adjustment of 
manifold superstructure 50 upwardly and downwardly to the appropriate 
adjustment hole 152 defined through plate 154. 
Plate 154 in turn is connected to roller assembly 46 as depicted in FIG. 7. 
Four such assemblies 130 are provided for coupling manifold superstructure 
50 to wheel assemblies 46. In this manner, manifold superstructure 50 may 
be raised and lowered vertically with respect to brush bed 12 by manual 
adjustment of lever assemblies 130. 
FIG. 9 illustrates in diagrammatic view the adjustment of manifold 
superstructure 50. One of the nozzles of FIG. 4, for example 44(5), is 
shown in FIG. 9 as being adjusted between an uppermost and lowermost 
position above the brush bed. A range of possible sizes of fruit 16 on 
brush bed 12 is illustrated by concentric circles beneath nozzle 44(5). 
The fruit may, for example, range from small tangerines to large 
grapefruit. Vertical adjustment may also be desired in order to vary the 
intensity of the spray against the fruit, for example to dislodge 
stubbornly adhering scale. The spray pattern of fluid ejected from nozzle 
44(5) is diagrammatically depicted by cones 162. Therefore, depending upon 
the size of fruit carried by brush bed 12 beneath nozzles 44 and/or the 
desired intensity of spray, the vertical height of all of the nozzles 44 
in superstructure 50 is adjusted by the means shown in FIG. 8 to 
selectively and efficiently concentrate spray cones 162 on fruit 16. This 
allows a desired nozzle-to-fruit distance and spray intensity virtually 
regardless of the fruit size. 
The principal illustrated embodiment has been shown in connection with a 
longitudinally reciprocating manifold superstructure 50 to provide 
efficient and increased wash access to all surfaces of fruit 16 as the 
fruit is tumbled over rotating brushes 14 beneath nozzles 44. Fruit 16 
travels down brush bed 12 by being rotated by brushes 14 when lying in the 
interstitial row space 18 between adjacent brushes 14. As fruit 16 is 
urged forwardly down brush bed 12, in part by means of separation bars 20 
and in part by the powered rotation of brush rollers 14, each item of 
fruit 16 will from time to time jump up and over the adjacent brush 14 and 
come to rest in the next or a downstream interstitial row 18. It is one of 
the objects of the invention to provide an efficient and multidirectional 
high pressure spray washing to all sides of each fruit 16 as it is carried 
down brush bed 12. The illustrated embodiment has shown a longitudinally 
reciprocating manifold superstructure which travels with the queue of 
traveling fruit 16 as it is tumbled and jumped downstream among rollers 
14. 
As illustrated in FIG. 10, the length of the piping manifold 30 may vary 
from that shown in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 2b. In this 
embodiment, the longitudinal movement of the spray manifold 26 from its 
initial position to its end position over the brush bed is shorter. Thus, 
this embodiment allowing spraying of successive arrays of fruit, each of 
which overlaps the previous array to a desired extent. 
FIG. 11 illustrates yet another embodiment, in which the spray manifold 26 
is caused to continuously reciprocate longitudinally. Here, motive power 
is provided by means of driven sprocket wheel 164 whose teeth are engaged 
with the chain link pins 25 of the conveyor chain 24. Transmission gear 
166, which is concentric with the sprocket wheel 164 and either integral 
therewith or rigidly attached thereto, is engaged with, and drives 
eccentric gear 168. Reciprocating shaft 172, attached to the eccentric 
gear 168 at one end through a universal joint 170 and connected at the 
other end to the manifold carrier 28, drives the piping manifold 30 in 
reciprocating longitudinal fashion as the chain 24 continually advances. 
However, as suggested previously herein, it is also entirely within the 
scope of the present invention that the spray manifold could be moved in 
other ways, such as being transversely reciprocated across the width of 
brush bed 12, using a modification of the mechanism shown in FIGS. 2a, 2b 
and 10 to provide the reciprocating motion, and that instead of transverse 
reciprocation of the array of nozzles 44, an oscillatory transverse motion 
of the array of nozzles 44 could also be provided, by means of a 
modification of the mechanism shown in FIG. 11. It will be appreciated 
that any such modifications would be well within the skill of an ordinary 
practitioner, upon study of the teachings herein. 
As a further example of alternative types of motion within the scope of the 
invention, FIGS. 12a and 12b illustrate an embodiment of the invention 
wherein the supply pipes are rotated about their axes in an oscillatory 
manner. This embodiment employs a driven sprocket wheel 164, a 
transmission gear 166 and a driven eccentric gear 168 all of which are 
similar in structure, positioning and function as the corresponding 
elements illustrated in FIG. 11. In the FIG. 12 embodiment, a 
reciprocating shaft 172 is coupled to the eccentric gear 168 through a 
first universal joint 170. The opposite end of the reciprocating shaft 172 
is coupled to a driven swing arm 182 through a second universal joint 171. 
That driven swing arm is coupled to a reciprocating shaft 174 through a 
first swivel joint 176. Follower swing arms are likewise coupled to the 
reciprocating shaft 174, each through its respective swivel joint. The 
opposite end of the driven swing arm 182 and each of the follower swing 
arms 178 is coupled to one of the spray pipes 42, which, in this 
embodiment, is coupled to the piping manifold 30 (or supply pipe manifold 
58) through a fluid-tight seal, through which the spray pipe may rotate. 
Thus, as the chain 24 advances, each coupled spray pipe 42 rotates in 
oscillatory fashion. 
Further alternative embodiments, well within the skill of the ordinary 
practitioner and within the scope of the present discussion are also 
possible, as suggested hereinabove. Examples might encompass rotational 
motion from a pivot point above the bed, whereby the spray traces circular 
paths in the plane of the surface of the brush bed. And additional 
embodiments, including combinations of the types of motion discussed or 
types of motion even beyond those suggested herein--perhaps with the 
type(s) of motion and/or the speed of fruit movement controlled with 
sensor-driven, hard-wired and/or programmable computer means--might be 
developed by the practitioner within the scope of the invention. 
Therefore, it must be expressly understood that not only reciprocating 
systems and oscillatory systems, but many different types of arrangements 
may be utilized according to the teachings of the present invention, 
utilizing rotating or a combination of rotating and translating manifold 
washing systems to provide a direct and continuous high pressure spray 
wash that may or may not travel with the fruit queue as the fruit queue 
travels down the brush bed. 
In general, therefore, it is to be understood that the concepts of 
"movement", "moving" and "motion" refer to movement of the spray manifold 
26 or of the piping manifold 30 or fluid distribution manifold 58 or of 
the spray pipes 42 and/or of the nozzle(s) 44 relative to the spray 
pipe(s) 42, and encompass any mode(s), direction(s) and/or orientation(s) 
of travel/movement of the manifold 26 and/or any element(s) thereof 
relative to the objects to be sprayed, as desired. 
Thus, many alterations and modifications may be made by those having 
ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of 
the invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated 
embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of example and that 
they should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the 
following claims. The following claims are, therefore, to be read to 
include not only the combinations of elements which are literally set 
forth, but all equivalent elements for performing substantially the same 
function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same 
result. The claims are thus to be understood to include what is 
specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually 
equivalent, and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of 
the invention.