Apparatus and methods relating to fruit packing
AssigneeKennedy Technologies Limited
InventorsSiobahn Aimee Liza DOUGHTY, Andrei Joseph GAASTRA, Finn Marcus KENNEDY, Hamish Alexander Nigel KENNEDY, Andrew David MCINTYRE, Robert VERCOE, Shelson Philip WHITE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and system for aligning and packing rollable items such as prolate or spherical fruit; an apparatus to remove a single tray from a stack of trays and method therefor; a wrapper to wrap a tray in plastic film and method therefor; an apparatus to laterally retain a spherical or prolate fruit and method therefor; and an apparatus for aligning a fruit via series of rollers and/or suction heads and a method therefor.
Claims52
An apparatus for presenting generally spherical or prolate like items for off take, the apparatus comprising or including a conveyor, the conveyor comprising;
- a receiving zone receive said items, a downward sloped alignment zone to at least convey the items down the alignment zone towards an off take zone to allow or cause the off take of the items from the conveyor;
- wherein the items can advance under gravity in an advancement direction down the sloped alignment zone, from the receiving zone to the off take zone, whilst being supported on a rising support surface or rising support surfaces of the conveyor, that rise in direction up the sloped alignment zone, opposite to the direction of the advancement direction.
A method of guiding a spherical, prolate, ovoid or the like rollable item so that it may be fed into a plurality of elongate lanes on a declined slope, the lanes parallel each other and extending in an advancement direction, said method comprising the step of gravity advancing the item in a stream of such items against the rising movement of a surface on which the items are supported.
A method of aligning a prolate, ovoid or the like item so that it may be fed laterally of its major axis, said method comprising the step of gravity advancing the item in a stream of such items against the rising movement of a surface on which the items are supported.
A method of presenting a side of an item to a first direction by rotating the item about two axes, the method comprising the steps of
- a. rotating the item about a first axis to a first orientation, by at least two parallel rollers that support said item, the rollers rotating about roller axes parallel to the first axis,
- b. separating the item in the first orientation from the two rollers by a transfer device,
- c. rotating the item to a second orientation, by rotating the transfer device, about a second axis not parallel (preferably perpendicular) to the first axis, and
- d. re-supporting the item on the two rollers in the second orientation.
An apparatus for presenting a side of an item to a first direction, the apparatus comprising
- a. at least a pair of rollers, of which at least one is rotationally driven, having parallel rotational axes, configured to support and rotate the item about a first axis parallel with the roller rotational axes,
- b. one or more transfer devices configured to,
- i. removable couple to the item;
- ii. once coupled, separate and re-support the item from and to the rollers;
- and
- rotate about a second axis not parallel (preferably perpendicular) to the first axis, so in operation said coupled item can be rotated respectively when separated from the rollers.
An apparatus for laterally retaining generally spherical or prolate like items, the apparatus comprising
- a. a conveyor to convey items to an off take zone,
- b. a holder to receive items from or partially from the off take zone, the holder and conveyor together, or the holder alone, configured to move the item to and/or support the item at, a transfer region,
- c. at least one holder divider located at the transfer region, the holder dividers configured to retain the item laterally with respect to the elongate member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.