Patent ID: 7607544

Claim:
Apparatus for use to check potatoes or similar items, said apparatus comprising: a feeding device for advancing the potatoes in a plurality of rows; a conveying device adapted to receive the rows of potatoes from the feeding device and advancing them while maintaining the row structure; a camera with associated image processing means for recording and evaluating each individual potato on the conveying device; and a sorting device controlled by the image processing means, said sorting device being adapted to sort the potatoes, characterized in that the conveying device comprises a plurality of substantially horizontal rollers, the axes of rotation of said rollers extending parallel to the advance direction of the potatoes, that the rollers are rotatably mounted in a support frame and connected with a first driving device for rotating the rollers, said rollers each independently being additionally displaceable in parallel forwards and backwards in a substantially straight line extending in a vertical plane, said plane comprising the axis of rotation of each roller, and inclining upwards, seen in the advance direction and that the rollers are connected with a second driving device adapted to confer a reciprocating oscillating movement to each roller along said line.