APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONVEYING OF FRUITS OVER A ROLLERBED

Abstract: Device for transporting relatively vulnerable products such as fruits, comprising: a number of roller elements disposed rotatably and at a fixed position, wherein successive intermediate spaces are formed between successive roller elements (14); drive means for rotatable driving of the roller elements; and carrier means (17) for displacing a product from one intermediate space to a subsequent intermediate space, characterized in that the carrier means are movable into and out of the intermediate spaces in order to engage as fully as possible behind and beneath a fruit.

Description: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONVEYING OF FRUITS OVER A ROLLERBED Beds of rotatably driven sponge rollers for transporting and simultaneously drying fruit are supplied by applicant in current operations. The fruits are herein transported from an intermediate space between two sponge rollers to a following intermediate space, on the one hand by.the rotating movement of the sponge rollers and on the other because the fruits as it were push each other forward. However, the fruits herein make mutual contact which, particularly in the case of soft fruits such as particular types of apples, pears and the like, can cause damage and/or bruises, and therefore loss of quality. In order to avoid this it has already been proposed, in addition to the rotatable driving of the sponge roll- ers, to also displace the rollers during transport in the plane in which the rotating shafts of the sponge rollers are situated. This results however in a complicated and expensive construction, while it is difficult to make provision for wringing out of the sponge rollers. At the location where the direction of movement of the rollers reverses the fruits on the moving rollers will further undergo a falling movement, which is likewise undesirable from the point of view of the quality of the fruit. Further known from the American patent specification 2,070,043 is a device wherein carriers are each rotated separately on their own axis. The construction shown -herein is complicated, while the outer ends of the carriers describe a relatively large arc at relatively high speed, whereby the fruits can be damaged at the moment they come into contact with the carriers, while due to the large diameter of the described circle it is likewise not very well possible for the fruits to be moved forward from one intermediate space to a subsequent intermediate space. Because of the large circle the carriers either cannot move small fruit forward or they will strike against a large fruit situated in a subsequent or preceding intermediate space or push a large fruit against a preceding fruit, with the recurring problem of loss of quality. In the Japanese patent specification 58146265 fruits are transported between drivable brush rollers arranged one above another, wherein the fruits or vegetables are also scraped. The present invention provides a device for trans- porting relatively vulnerable products such as fruits, comprising: - a number of roller elements disposed rotatably and at a fixed position, wherein successive intermediate spaces are formed between successive roller elements; - drive means for rotatable driving of the roller elements; and - carrier means for displacing a product from one intermediate space to a subsequent intermediate space, characterized in that the carrier means are movable into and out of the intermediate spaces in order to engage as fully as possible behind and beneath a fruit. The present invention further provides a method for transporting relatively vulnerable products, comprising the following steps of: - placing the products onto rotatably drivable roller elements of at least partly liquid-absorbing material ; - rotatably driving the roller elements; and - moving carrier means to and out of intermediate spaces between successive roller elements. The device and method according to the present invention avoids fruits on the bed of sponge-like rollers making mutual contact, while it is possible to suffice for transport of the fruits with a construction which is not very complicated and which can also be added to existing constructions. The carrier members thus engage tangentially on the fruits in order to prevent damage. The device is preferably used with rollers which can absorb moisture, such as sponge rollers and (to a lesser degree) also brush rollers. In the preferred embodiment of sponge rollers, the device is preferably also provided with wringing members for wringing out the rotatably driven roller elements. In order to prevent damage to the fruit, the carrier means are preferably formed by one or more members of soft and/or limp material which will prevent bruises in the case of contact with the fruit. In a first embodiment the carrier members comprise brush bristles and in a second preferred embodiment a flexible plate of plastic, for instance provided with fingers on the underside thereof. In a further preferred embodiment the carrier means are formed by carrier members which are arranged on an endless conveyor, while in further preferred embodiments the carrier means are formed by carrier members which are arranged on a reciprocally movable or rotating frame part . Further advantages, features and details of the present invention will be elucidated on the basis of the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the annexed drawing, in which: fig. 1 shows a partly exploded perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a device according to the present invention; fig- 2A and fig. 2B respectively show schematic side views of a second preferred embodiment of a device according to the present invention in two respective operating positions; and fig. 3A and 3B respectively show schematic side- -views of a third preferred embodiment of a device according to the present invention. A first preferred embodiment of a device 10 (fig. 1) comprises a number of rollers 11 disposed mutually adjacently and in fixed position which are drivable for transport of fruits A in the direction of arrow B using a drive motor 12 and a chain 13. Rollers 11 are provided at least along the outer periphery with a layer of spongelike material 14, since the fruits are usually placed in wet condition onto the bed formed by rollers 11 prior to being fed to a further device for sorting to size, weight and/or quality. A rotatably mounted wringing roller 15 is arranged in each case under each roller 11 in order to wring out the covering layer 14. For displacement of fruits A from the intermediate space between the rota- tably driven rollers 11, which in themselves already provide some transporting action, a conveyor belt 16 is arranged on the top which is provided with brushes 17 with elongate bristles 18 which are slightly flexible and which are dragged over the rollers 11 into the intermedi- ate space therebetween by the conveyor 16 driven in a manner which is not shown. This transporting device 16 prevents fruits A coming into mutual contact, thereby avoiding bruises, which is particularly important in the case of soft apples, pears, peaches and the like. In the embodiment according to fig. 2A and 2B a device 20 according to the present invention is provided with sponge rollers 21 and carrier members 22 in the form of brushes such as in fig. 1 or in the form of at least slightly flexible plates or slabs of plastic for at least slightly lifting and transporting one fruit C at a time from an intermediate space between rollers 21. For this purpose the carriers 22 are arranged on a frame part 23 which via an arm 24 and via a pivot point 25 is rotated eccentrically on a shaft from motor 26 relative to the fixed frame (not further shown) . Carriers 22 are moved successively from the position indicated with broken lines in fig. 2A to the position indicated with full lines in fig. 2A, the position indicated with full lines in fig. 2B into the position indicated with broken lines "in fig. 2B, wherein the carriers 22 once again transport the fruit over a pitch distance of roller 21. As soon as -the fruits are situated on the top of the roller, further transport is effected by the driven sponge rollers 21. Because the outer ends of carriers 22 describe a relatively small circle, these carriers can easily be moved up and downward in the intermediate space between rollers 21, whereby a fruit is pushed tangentially and then as it were lifted out of the intermediate space, irrespective of the size of the fruit and without the danger of a preceding or following fruit also being contacted or the fruits being pushed against each other. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3A and 3B, wherein fruits D must be transported over sponge rollers 31, carriers 32 are arranged on a frame part 33, which frame part 33 is driven reciprocally, i.e. in the direction of the arrows E and F, via an up and downward movable arm 34 using a motor 35. From the position drawn in fig. 3A with broken lines the frame part 33 is moved downward in the direction of arrow E by the driver of motor 35 until a carrier 32 is placed behind the fruit D, whereafter this fruit is lifted slightly by the relevant carrier into the position shown in fig. 3B, whereafter further transport of this fruit takes place using the drive of sponge roller 31. From the position drawn in fig. 3B in full lines, the frame part 33 is moved upward in the direction of arrow F to above the level of the top part of the fruits D by means of moving arm 34, whereafter the carriers are moved downward once again to the position shown in fig. 3A. Since carriers 32 are slightly flexible, they could be allowed to make slight contact with fruits D in the returning position, the more so since this return movement is opposed to the direction of the drive of sponge rollers 31. The present invention is by no means limited to the above described preferred embodiments; the rights applied for, within the scope of which many modifications can be envisaged, are defined by the following claims. A non-limitatively intended modification relates for instance to the arrangement of carriers which extend -parallel to the rollers at the bottom of the intermediate space between these rollers and which are then moved successively upward and substantially also along the surface of the rollers, just as the carriers of the above stated preferred embodiment . *****

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Device for transporting relatively vulnerable products such as fruits, comprising: - a number of roller elements disposed rotatably and at a fixed position, wherein successive intermediate spaces are formed between successive roller elements; - drive means for rotatable driving of the roller elements; and - carrier means for displacing a product from one intermediate space to a subsequent intermediate space, characterized in that the carrier means are movable into and out of the intermediate spaces in order to engage as fully as possible behind and beneath a fruit. 2. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the roller elements are sponge rollers. 3. Device as claimed in claim 2, provided with wringing members for wringing out the sponge rollers. 4. Device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 , wherein the carrier means are formed by one or more members of soft and/or limp material which are movable along the upper part of the roller elements. 5. Device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the carrier members comprise brush bristles. 6. Device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the carrier members comprise a plate or slab of flexible plastic. 7. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1-6, wherein the carrier members are arranged on a rotatable frame part which is arranged for eccentric rotation -relative to a fixedly disposed frame part. 8. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1-7, wherein the carrier members are arranged on a movable frame part which is reciprocally movable in order to move the vulnerable products to and out of the intermediate space between the roller elements . 9. Method for transporting relatively vulnerable products, comprising the following steps of: - placing the products onto rotatably drivable roller elements of at least partly liquid-absorbing material ; - rotatably driving the roller elements; and - moving carrier means to and out of intermediate spaces between successive roller elements. *****

Inventors: DE GREEF DIRK JAN, VAN ARKEL JAN MARINUS, VAN DE KOP DIRK HENDRIK, DE GREEF, DIRK, JAN, VAN ARKEL, JAN, MARINUS, VAN DE KOP, DIRK, HENDRIK
Applicants: ARKEL JAN MARINUS VAN, GREEF DIRK JAN DE, GREEFS WAGEN CARROSSERIE, KOP DIRK HENDRIK VAN DE, DE GREEF, DIRK, JAN, DE GREEF'S WAGEN-, CARROSSERIE- EN MACHINEBOUW B.V., VAN ARKEL, JAN, MARINUS, VAN DE KOP, DIRK, HENDRIK
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B65G13
IPC codes: A23N12, B65G13, B65G19, B65G39