Patent ID: 8245835

Claim:
A sorting apparatus for sorting products, which comprises an endless conveying element configured to convey said products in a conveying direction and that comprises a support surface configured to support the products thereon, an inlet configured to receive the products on the support surface, a number of outlets, where, in use, the products move off the conveying element in dependence on the selected outlet, which outlets are oriented at an angle relative to the conveying direction and which have an outlet width at the location of the conveying element which extends in the conveying direction, wherein the support surface makes an angle with a horizontal plane, at least at the location of the outlets, about an axis parallel to the conveying direction, and wherein the sorting apparatus further comprises locking elements arranged one behind the other, as seen in the conveying direction, which move along synchronously with the conveying element and are configured to hold the products in place on the support surface in a locked condition, which locking elements are independently unlocked to an unlocked condition by unlocking mechanisms, so that a product being held in place is unlocked from the support surface upon activation of a selected unlocking mechanism so as to have the product move downwards from the conveying element towards the outlet under the influence of the force of gravity being exerted thereon, wherein the spacing between two locking elements arranged directly behind each other is smaller than the narrowest outlet width of the outlets.