US 10,368,571 B2Granted

Machine for recognizing and orienting fruits and method

AssigneeFood Machinery Crescenzo S.R.L.

InventorsBiagio Crescenzo, Pasquale Fedele

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Abstract

A machine and method for recognizing and orienting fruits, especially peaches, for their automatic pitting, the machine has a fruit flight conveyor (1) up to a cutting station (6) in which a vertical cutting plane is provided, the fruit flights (4) being shaped with a number of recesses (7) in which fruits (P) are positioned with fruit suture plane thereof, containing a suture line (ls), being arranged vertically. A fruit recognizing station (8) is suitable to detect the position of the vertical suture plane, and to calculate an angle (α) between the suture line (ls) and the cutting line (lt), or to communicate information of non-detection. An orientation station (16) is adapted to receive information on the dihedral angle, and to control a respective gripping unit (17) to grip and rotate a fruit to a final position, or to remove from the fruit lane.

A machine for automatically pitting fruits, especially peaches, comprising:

a fruit flight conveyor (1) having a fruit multiple lane tape (2) that is constituted by mesh members (3) and fruit flights (4) and advances longitudinally in a frame (5), and
a cutting station (6) in which a vertical cutting plane orthogonal to the advancing tape (2) is provided,
the fruit flights (4) being shaped with a number of recesses (7) in which fruits (P) are positioned with fruit suture plane thereof, containing a suture line (ls), being arranged vertically,
wherein the machine further comprises:
a fruit recognizing station (8) suitable to detect the position of the vertical suture plane, to calculate an angle (α) between the suture line (ls) and a cutting line (lt) corresponding to a dihedral angle formed between the vertical suture plane and the vertical cutting plane, and to communicate either information on the calculated dihedral angle or information of non detection;
an orientation station (16), comprising a programmable logic controller (PLC), a row of gripping units (17), wherein said PLC is adapted to receive information on the dihedral angle formed between the vertical suture plane and the vertical cutting plane of the given fruit (P), and to control a respective gripping unit (17) of the row of gripping units (17), each gripping unit (17) comprising a motor (30) bearing on its shaft a gripper (31) adapted to grip and rotate the fruit (P) in a recess from an initial position, in which the vertical suture plane of the fruit (P) intersects the vertical cutting plane, to a final position in which the vertical suture plane of the fruit (P) is parallel to the vertical cutting plane, said PLC also being adapted to receive information of non detection of the dihedral angle formed between the vertical suture plane and the vertical cutting plane for the given fruit (P);
and
a removing station (18) controlled by said PLC, for removal of the fruit from the fruit lane.

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Abstract

Claims8