Patent ID: 7904198

Claim:
Tooling for picking up portions of foodstuff from a conveyor belt, by which in use articles can be picked up from one position and lowered into a second position, which tooling comprises: two blades each having a leading edge and trailing edge, and both being movable between a first position in which their leading edges are separated by a large gap and a second position in which the leading edges overlap, or are in contact or are separated by a smaller gap; a drive mechanism for effecting relative movement between the two blades for moving them between the first and second positions, whereby in use with the blades in the first position the tooling can be lowered so that the undersides of the two blades just make contact with a surface on which an article is resting with the two leading edges of the blades on opposite sides of the article and the article can be picked up by the blades by operating the drive mechanism so as to move the blades into their second position below the article; and a movement restraining mechanism including an article engaging arrangement, whereby the engagement between the article engaging arrangement and the article will resist lateral or rotational movement of the article relative to the article engaging arrangement as a result of the blades sliding below the article, and the article engaging arrangement is in use adapted to remain stationary while the blades move relatively thereto from their first to their second positions, wherein: the tooling is adapted to be secured to the moveable end of a computer-controlled robotic arm enabling the articles to be rotated in transit from said one position to the second position; and the movement restraining mechanism comprises at least one resiliently deformable member located above the plane containing the two blades and spaced therefrom by a distance which is less than the thickness of each article to be picked up by the tooling, so that in use as the tooling is lowered onto an article, the underside of the deformable member engages the upper surface of the article and becomes deformed in order to accommodate the thickness of the article before the blades make contact with a surface on which the article rests, the resulting downward force on the article, and frictional resistance to movement between the deformable member and the article, serving to restrain the article from moving under the influence of subsequent blade movement therebelow, either to pick up or to release the article.