Apparatus for aligning and uniformly orienting fish
AssigneeNestec S.A.
InventorsGiuliano Pegoraro, Lars G. A. Wadell
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Abstract
An apparatus for aligning and uniformly orienting fish includes a shuffle feed device for aligning and discharging fish in a single line and a conveyor having a longitudinal upper run positioned for receiving and conveying aligned and discharged fish in a single line, in which fish are orientated in the longitudinal plane of the conveyor. A sensor including an upper photocell and a lower photocell is positioned at a downstream end of the conveyor such that, in operation, the sensor distinguishes between head-end-first and tail-end-first orientations of fish passing the sensor based upon the sequence of activation of the photocells. Fish passing the sensor are uniformly oriented in the same orientation by control of the sensor.
Claims6
An apparatus for aligning and uniformly orienting fish comprising:
- a shuffle feed device for aligning and discharging fish in a single line;
- a conveyor having a longitudinal upper run positioned for receiving and conveying aligned and discharged fish in a single line, in which fish are orientated in the longitudinal plane of the conveyor;
- a sensor comprising an upper photocell and a lower photocell positioned at a downstream end of the conveyor such that, in operation, the sensor distinguishes between head-end-first and tail-end-first orientations of fish passing the sensor based upon the sequence of activation of the photocells;
- and
- means controllable by the sensor for uniformly orienting fish passing the sensor in the same orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.