METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING FRUIT ON A CONVEYOR

[01] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.

60/978,953, filed October 10, 2007, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[02] Illustrative, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a plant product conveyor system that efficiently transports, weighs, and ejects plant products, such as fruits or vegetables, to sort the plant products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[03] Many current conveying systems that weigh objects, such as fruit and vegetables, tend to be inaccurate and do not provide repeatable measurements. Typically, these conveying systems utilize a single chain or endless loop to carry chain attachment assemblies and objects set therein. The chain attachment assemblies must be adapted to receive the objects, convey them to a destination for inspection or weighing and eject them for additional processing or packing.

[04] The single loop system is not sufficiently stable when lifting objects for weighing, which reduces the accuracy and repeatability of the weighing operation. Additionally, these systems have a high wear factor and a short lifetime before requiring replacement or repair, leading to undesirable down time. The rapid wear factor reduces the accuracy of the weighing operation and further reduces the accuracy of a synchronized ejection onto a packing apparatus, conveying apparatus or the like. [05] Accordingly, an alternative weighing system uses a dual chain design.

However, many dual chain systems, just as for single chain systems, require a transfer of the object from one type of carrier/loop to a second type of carrier/loop for weighing and ejection.

[06] A proposed arrangement that avoids the need to transfer objects from a first carrier/loop to a second carrier/loop for the weighing and ejection operations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,100 to Regier et al. The patent to Regier teaches a roller mount that is structured to hold at least two rollers and a concave saddle disposed between two adjacent rollers. The saddle has a pair of ears extending vertically downwardly from each side. Each

ear includes a protruding post that slidably engages a vertical slot in the roller mount such that, when the saddle is raised upwardly, the post slides within the slot. [07] However, such devices create drag between the post of the saddle ears and the slot of the roller mount, which tends to decrease the accuracy of the weighing operation. Furthermore, these object handling members include a large number of parts which increases manufacturing costs and maintenance costs due to an increased number of moving parts. [08] The present invention, as embodied in the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, overcomes or avoids such problems, and provides an accurate, cost effective and efficient plant product conveyor system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[09] Illustrative, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention overcome various of the foregoing and additional disadvantages and problems. In addition, the present invention is not required to overcome all these disadvantages, and an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment of the present invention may not overcome any problems, but may simply provide another way of performing a method or achieving a desired result. [10] An illustrative, non-limiting embodiment of the conveyer for transporting, weighing and ejecting objects comprises a frame and a pair of chains movably suspended from the frame along a conveying path extending horizontally in a longitudinal direction. The chains comprise a plurality of links connected to form an endless loop. A plurality of rollers are disposed along the pair of chains and a plurality of chain attachment assemblies are each disposed between adjacent rollers and each assembly includes a sled. [11] Each of the sleds has a pair of legs each having a flange protruding outwardly transversely to the longitudinal direction. A cupped member having a rim lying in a horizontal plane while being moved in the longitudinal direction, is disposed on the sled for carrying one of the objects, and a ejection finger extends downwardly from the cupped member in a vertical direction, substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the cupped member. The cupped member is rotatable relative to the sled about an axis extending longitudinally. Rotation of the ejection finger rotates the cupped member to lift and eject the object being carried by the cupped member. Each of the rollers includes a shaft rotatably supported by the chains, a pair of conical wheels disposed about the shaft and spaced from one another, and an arm member extending radially outwardly from the shaft and rotatable relative to each of the wheels. The arm member is rotatably attached to the sled of the chain

attachment assembly. An upward movement of the chain attachment assembly during a weighing operation rotates the arm member relative to the sled and the wheels to relieve the roller of a weight force of the chain attachment assembly and the object therein and to maintain attachment between the chain attachment assembly and the roller. [12] An illustrative, non-limiting embodiment of the object handling apparatus for transporting, weighing and sorting objects comprises a conveyor, including a frame disposed in a longitudinal direction and two parallel chains movably suspended from the frame along a conveying path extending in a horizontal and longitudinal direction. A motor is operatively coupled to the two parallel chains for advancing the chains of the conveyor assembly. A plurality of rollers are disposed between the pair of chains and are spaced apart from each other, each roller including a pair of wheels that are mounted on a shaft. An arm member extends radially outwardly from the shaft and a plurality of chain attachment assemblies are each disposed between adjacent rollers, wherein each chain attachment assembly includes a sled. The arm member is rotatably attached to the sled of the chain attachment assembly and is rotatable relative to each of the wheels.

[13] The frame has a pair of ramps that engage the chain attachment assembly.

The chain attachment assembly is conveyed with the movement of the pair of chains causing the assembly to move upwards. An upward movement of the chain attachment assembly during a weighing operation rotates the arm relative to the sled and relative to the wheels to relieve the roller of a weight force of the chain attachment assembly and the object therein and to maintain attachment between the chain attachment assembly and the roller. [14] An ejector mechanism for ejecting objects carried on each sled includes a cupped member, and an ejection finger rigidly attached to the cupped member and selectively movable from a rest position to an ejection position. Rotation of the ejection finger rotates the respective cupped member so as to lift and thereby eject the object carried by the respective cupped member.

[15] A weighing apparatus for measuring a weight of the objects includes a load cell disposed along the conveyor path. When the pair of ramps, each disposed longitudinally adjacent to one of the chains, engages a sled as the sleds travel longitudinally past the ramps, the sled moves upwardly upon engaging the ramps and the rollers continue along the conveyor path pulling the sleds.

[16] According to a preferred embodiment, a four point weighing system may be used, which maximizes stability of the object while on the chain attachment assembly.

Additionally, since the present invention uses two opposing chains, wear and instability in the fruit weighing components is reduced. Further, the present invention also does not require transference to another conveyer for weighing or ejecting operations yet also minimizes the number of parts to decrease manufacturing and maintenance costs. Most importantly, the present invention minimizes side forces on the chain attachment assembly and reduces drag while the chain attachment assembly is being raised which increases the accuracy of the weighing operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[17] Features and advantages of illustrative, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following description.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the aspects, advantages and principles of the embodiments. In the drawings:

[18] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an object handling apparatus;

[19] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of an embodiment of two adjacent rollers and an object handling apparatus therebetween with one pair of wheels omitted for illustrative purposes;

[20] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a conveyor and a weighing means;

[21] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a conveyor with the frame omitted for illustrative purposes illustrating the cupped member in a resting position;

[22] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a conveyor with the frame omitted for illustrative purposes illustrating the cupped member in an ejecting position; and

[23] FIG. 6 is a schematic of a conveyor moving along a conveyor path.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE, NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[24] Illustrative, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. [25] The present invention relates to a conveyor 10 and an object handling apparatus 12 for transporting plant products, such as fruit and vegetables, that allows the

objects 14 to rotate, to orient, to be lifted for weighing purposes, and to be ejected at a variety of ejection stations based upon sorting criteria such as size, color, weight, shape or defect. [26] As shown in FIG. 1, the object handling apparatus 12 comprises a conveyor 10 having a frame 16 that supports a pair of looped chains 18 that are arranged in parallel, and a motor unit 20 that is operatively coupled to the looped chains 18 on the conveyor 10 for advancing the looped chains 18 along a longitudinal path extending in a longitudinal direction P as shown in the figures. At least one, and preferably a plurality of chain attachment assemblies 22 is coupled to the pair of the looped chain 18 and is carried by the looped chains 18 as they are moved by the motor unit 20. The chain attachment assembly 22 has a sled 26 with an ejector 24 for ejecting the objects carried on a sled 26. The object handling apparatus 12 may be coupled to a weighing apparatus 28, which contains a load cell 30 or the like, for measuring a weight of an object that is carried by the sled. [27] The motor unit 20 is illustrated schematically, but typically would include an electrical motor coupled to a driving mechanism that transfers the power of the motor to the looped chains 18. In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, power for lifting and ejection is provided by the motor unit 20, which moves the chain attachment assembly 22 along the longitudinal path by advancing the chains 18 in unison. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the driving mechanism may include a shaft coupled to the motor, a drive gear coupled to the shaft and engaging a conveyor gear, e.g., through a drive belt wrapped around both the drive gear and the conveyor gear. Other alternative arrangements are equally suitable as would be known to one skilled in the art.

[28] A control unit (not shown), which includes a processor, storage, sensor inputs, operator outputs and the like, as are well known in the art, may be coupled to the one or more of the above recited components, such as the motor unit 20, weighing apparatus 28, sled 26 and ejector 24, and may further be coupled to an output unit such as a sorting module (not shown), The control unit may be operative to receive data from the load cell 30 in the weighing apparatus 28 that is used to measure weight, analyze the data, and control the ejector 24 based upon the analyzed data. In the control unit, the storage may be a hard drive or the like, and the processor may be a computer that is programmed to use a set of predetermined criteria, such as weight, and analyze the data to determine when or at which location along the longitudinal path traveled by an object handling apparatus the ejector should operate to eject a plant product into a sorting unit, having one or more chutes, bins or processing channels. The control unit is operative, in response to the input signals and the

processing to send a signal to operate the ejector at a time or location based upon the analysis performed and the predetermined criteria.

[29] The apparatus 12, as shown in Fig. 1, is arranged in a longitudinal direction P along a conveying path of the chain attachment assembly 22 as defined by the parallel chains 18 and comprises a loading end 32, a weighing apparatus 28 and a sorting end 34 having one or more ejection stations (not shown). The weighing apparatus 28 includes a load cell 30 and a pair of ramps 36, the ramps being configured to lift the sled 26 containing the object 14 to be weighed as the chain attachment assembly 22 is moved past the weighing apparatus 28. [30] The conveyor 10, which will now be described with reference to FIG. 2, includes a frame 16 that extends along the longitudinal direction P and a pair of matching looped chains 18 that are movably suspended from the frame by pulleys or the like and move along the conveying path from the loading end 32 to the sorting end 34. Each of the looped chains 18 include a plurality of links 38 connected to form an endless loop even though only a portion is shown in the figures. The frame 16 has a U-shape and the outer sides of the U form a support for the shaft and pulleys upon which ride the two opposing chains 26. [31] A plurality of rollers 40 are disposed along and between the pair of chains 26 and are spaced apart from each other. The rollers 40 are each rotatable about a roller axis transverse to the longitudinal direction. The rollers 40 include a pair of wheels 42 and an arm member 44 extending radially outwardly from the shaft. FIG. 2 illustrates a pair of adjacent rollers 40 with the wheels 42 omitted from the first roller nearest the loading end 32 for illustrative purposes.

[32] To construct the rollers 40, a shaft 41, such as a steel pin, is inserted in corresponding links 38 of the two chains 26 and passes through a hub assembly 46. As shown in FIG. 3, the hub assembly 46 consists of two hubs, i.e., a left half 46A and a right half 46B. The two half hubs can be tied together to rotate in unison, in which case the wheels 42 rotate together, or can be allowed to pivot freely and independently, in which case the wheels 42 are independently rotatable. A conical wheel 42 of a specific material is slipped over each half of the hub 46 A, 46B forming two spool halves. The spool material can be rigid or it can be soft to gently handle soft objects 14. A pivoting collar 48 is place over the center of the hub 46. The arm member 44 is molded to the collar 48 which is centered in the track and parallel to the longitudinal direction P.

[33] A plurality of chain attachment assemblies 22 are each disposed between adjacent ones of the rollers 40, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Each of the chain attachment

assemblies 22 includes a sled 26, a cupped member 50 disposed on the sled 26 for carrying one of the objects 14, and a ejection finger 52 extending downwardly from the cupped member 50 in a vertical direction, when the finger 52 is in a rest or transporting position, and substantially perpendicular to a horizontal plane of the cupped member 50. [34] The sled 26 is molded and includes a pair of legs 54 for guiding the chain attachment assembly 22 along the conveyor path. Each of the legs 54 includes a flange 56 protruding outwardly transversely to the longitudinal direction P for receiving an upward force to move the chain attachment assembly 22 upwardly for the weighing operation. However the flange 56 may be at other locations of the legs 54, such as at the top of the legs 54. The legs 54 also include a protruding edge that engages or sits on the chains 18. Preferably, this protruding edge is located at the top of the legs 54 to increase stability but may be located further down on the legs 54.

[35] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the legs 54 each include a finger cutout and the ejection finger 52 extends downwardly adjacent the finger cutout in the rest position, so as to be operable, or capable of being activated, through the leg 54 of the sled 26. [36] The sled 26 is formed in such a fashion as to form a cradle in which can rest an object to be weighed. A center cutout is formed in the center of the sled 26 and the cupped member 50 rests on this cutout, as shown in FIG. 3.

[37] The ejector 24 includes the plurality of cupped members 50, and the plurality of ejection fingers 52 each rigidly attached to one of the cupped members 50. The cupped member 50 serves to both carry the object 14, while the finger 52 is in the rest position, and to lift the object 14, while the finger 52 is in an ejection position. The ejection fingers 52 are selectively movable from the rest position to the ejection position based upon a signal from the control unit.

[38] The ejection finger 52 can be raised by activation of an electric solenoid (not shown), thus causing the arm member 44 to move, and causing the attached cupped member 50 to rotate and eject any objects resting in the sled 26. The solenoid moves a flipper 57 to interfere with the path of the finger 52. When the flipper 57 is activated by the solenoid, the tail end of the finger 52 engages an adjacent cam 59. The cam 59 creates a surface which the finger 52 follows causing the finger 52 and attached cupped member 50 to rotate. When the flipper 57 is inactive, or disengaged, the finger 52 passes the cam 59 without engaging the cam 59. The solenoid operates by receiving electric signals from the control unit.

,η.

[39] FIG. 3 best illustrates the relationship between the cupped member 50 and the ejection finger 52. The cupped member 50 is rotatable relative to the sled 26 about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction P and configure to allow the ejection finger 52 and attached cupped member 50 to rotate approximately 90 degrees perpendicular to the direction of travel. For example, the ejection finger 52 is pinned to the sled 26 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As such, rotation of the ejection finger 52 rotates the respective cupped member 50 so as to lift and thereby eject the object 14 carried by the respective cupped member 50. Because the cupped member 50 and ejection finger 52 are integrated into the sled 26, the object 14 such as fruit being carried by the cupped member 50 can be easily and gently ejected.

[40] The arm member 44 interconnects the sled 26 and the roller 40 to create a freely pivotable point. Each cupped member 50 is upwardly concave and the edges of the cupped members 50 opposing adjacent rollers 40 have a profile that is substantially similar to the profile of the adjacent rollers 40.

[41] As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the arm member 44 is rotatably attached to an underside of the sled 26 of the chain attachment assembly 22 and rotates relative to each of the wheels 42. The arm member 44 extends upstream in the track, away from the direction of travel, i.e., opposite the longitudinal direction P. The arm member 44 is attached to the sled 26 with a steel pin 45.

[42] As best shown in FIG. 6, an upward movement of the chain attachment assembly 22 during a weighing operation rotates the arm 44 relative to the sled 26 and relative to the wheels 42 to relieve the roller 40 of a weight force of the chain attachment assembly 22 and the object 14 therein and to maintain attachment between the chain attachment assembly 22 and the roller 40.

[43] The weighing apparatus 28 includes the load cell 30 disposed along the conveyor path, and the pair of ramps 36 each disposed longitudinally adjacent one of the chains 26 and engaging the sled 26 as the sled 26 travels longitudinally past the ramps 36. The sleds move upwardly upon engaging the ramps 36 and the rollers 40 continue along the conveyor path pulling the sleds 26.

[44] As shown in FIG. 6, the ramps 36 include an upwardly inclined portion 58, a flat portion 60, and a downwardly inclined portion 62. The flat portion 60 includes a break or space wherein the load cell 30 is disposed therein to fill the break. In this way, the sled 26 travels up the upwardly inclined portion 58, across part of the flat portion 60 and onto the

load cell to be weighed. Therefore, the sled 26 continues to cross to the other part of the flat portion 60 and thereafter down the downwardly inclined portion 62. [45] In operation, an object 14 is carried in the cupped member 50 on the sled 26 along the conveyor path by operation of the motor advancing the conveyor 10. The sled 26 is pulled by the attached roller 40 through the rotatable arm member 44. As the roller 40 pulls the sled 26 past the ramps 36, the sled 26 moves upwardly along the upwardly inclined ramp 58, upwardly away from the roller 40, as the arm member 44 rotates relative to the shaft of the roller. Meanwhile the roller 40 remains at the same height as it travels in the longitudinal direction P. Once the roller 40 has pulled the sled 26 onto the flat portion 60 of the ramp, the sled 26, and attached cupped member 50 and finger 52 member, and the object 14 carried therein, are all weighed by the load cell 30 connected to the ramps 36. Data from the load cell 30 is transferred to the control unit. Later, when the chain attachment assembly 22 reaches the sorting end 34 and based upon certain criteria, a signal is sent to activate the ejection finger 52 corresponding to the object to be ejected.

[46] Although the invention has been explained in relation to certain exemplary and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.