Patent GB-982422-A (GB)
Title: Improved means of discharging edible produce or other articles from containers and the conveyance thereof from the means of discharge
IPC: B65G51/01
Filed: 1962-05-10
Abstract: 982,422. Conveyers. P. A. BELCHER. Aug. 2, 1963 [May 10, 1962], No. 40281/61. Heading B8A. Edible produce or other articles are discharged from open top containers by lowering the container into a tank of liquid, propelling the thus floating articles along the surface of the liquid by jets of the liquid, and directing the articles to means which removes the articles from the tank. In Figs. 1, 2, a lift 17 comprises a roller conveyer 18 for receiving containers full of apples and is counterbalanced by weights 24, 23A. The lift is supported at the top of a tank 1 by hold and trip assemblies 20, 20A- 20C controlled by a handle 20M. The lift is guided vertically by wheels 22, 23 engaging channels 21 and may be steadied during travel by a handle 30 connected to the lift by levers 30D, 30E. Jets 5A, 5B, 5C supplied with water from a strainer compartment 3 and a pump 2 cause a flow on the surface of the water towards an inclined conveyer 7 which discharges out of the tank. Plates 6, 6A guide the apples towards the lower feed end of the conveyer 7. In use, a container full of apples is fed on to the roller conveyer 18 and secured to the lift 17. The hold and trip assemblies 20-20C are then released. As the lift lowers into the water under control of the operator's handle 30, the apples float out of the container and are directed on to the conveyer 7 whence they are discharged. In a modification, Figs. 3, 9, a supply conveyer (shown dotted R.H. Fig. 9) for the filled containers is provided with a solenoid operated stop 58. Twin roller conveyers 49, 49A co-operate with a belt conveyer 41 which is urged upwardly by springs 47, 47A against the underside of the containers and which feeds two roller conveyers 30, 30A of the lift. The lift is actuated by an hydraulic piston-cylinder hoist 27 controlled from a two-way cock 18A and a handle 23. The hold and trip means for retaining the lift in its raised position may be withdrawn manually, mechanically or electrically. To ensure that all apples are discharged from the container a time lag device is provided in circuit with a motor 18 which drives an oil pump 17. The empty container is pushed off the lift on to conveyers 60, 60A as a filled container arrives on the lift. The water level in the tank is controlled by a gate valve 65 and a ball float 66. In a further modification, Figs. 6, 10, 11, the lift which includes roller conveyers 78, 79, is supported on wheels 72-75 which engage guide channels 76, 77 secured on an inclined end wall of the tank. A counterbalance 88A is connected to the lift by a steel rope 87 which also engages a drum 88. A reversible motor 95 may assist the raising/lowering of the lift. Catches 112-115 for holding the lift are released when a container strikes levers 101, 102 and simultaneously levers 126, 127 are actuated to grip the container. A member 99 and a buffer 100 stop the lift at the bottom of its travel. A device for pushing the empty containers off the lift comprises a shoe 132 attached to the free end of a trellis-like assembly located between channel guides 133, 134. The bars of the trellis carry rollers which engage the channel guides. The device is operated by a thruster 135 which raises the lower guide 134 and pushes the trellis transversely of the lift.