US 6,674,037 B2 · Apparatus and method for transporting and sorting flowers

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transporting and sorting flowers or other stem-shaped or elongate products with a conveyor provided with arm-fork units which are moved along a transport path in a substantially horizontal plane. In one form, the method includes taking over a substantially vertically hanging flower from a take-over position with a fork at the end of the arm-fork unit remote from the conveyor. The flowers are transported along the transport path, with the arm-fork unit in a transport position, to an apparatus for bunching the transported flowers with generally several bunching stations. The transporting takes place in the plane along at least one detector for detecting at least one respective flower characteristic, whereby detection signals are obtained. The detection signals are processed in a processing unit into corresponding selection signals. The arm-fork units are controlled using the selection signals for delivering the flower to a corresponding selected bunching station, whereby the arm-fork unit in the horizontal plane is brought to a delivery position by moving the arm-fork unit, during movement along the transport path, over some distance away from the conveyor out of the transport position to subsequently deliver the flower from the fork to the selected bunching station, while for assuming the delivery position, the fork is rotated relative to the transport position to a delivery position.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method for transporting and sorting flowers or other stem-shaped or elongate products along a transport path in a transport direction in a substantially horizontal plane, said method comprising:

taking over a substantially vertically hanging flower from a take-over position using a rotatable fork comprising fork pins, where, in the take-over position, the rotatable fork is positioned with the fork pins in a perpendicular position relative to the transport direction and the fork has been slid away from the conveyor to a distal position relative to the conveyor;
transporting the flowers, along the transport path while the fork is in a transport position, in which the fork has been slid toward the conveyor to a proximal position relative to the conveyor and the fork has been rotated so the fork pins are in a parallel position relative to the transport direction, to an apparatus comprising at least one bunching station, the transporting taking place in the horizontal plane by at least one detector for detecting at least one flower characteristic, whereby detection signals are obtained;
processing the detection signals into corresponding selection signals;
and
controlling the fork with the selection signals for delivering the flower to a corresponding selected bunching station, whereby the fork in the horizontal plane is brought to a delivery position by moving the fork, during movement along the transport path, to subsequently deliver the flower from the fork to the selected bunching station.

2 more elements

An apparatus for transporting and sorting flowers, said apparatus comprising:

a conveyor with arm-fork units which are movable along a transport path in a transport direction in a substantially horizontal plane;
each said arm-fork unit connected to a part of the conveyor and having an arm having a main center line extending substantially perpendicular to said part of the conveyor in a substantially horizontal plane;
each arm having a distal end which is distal from said conveyor part and a proximal end which is proximal to said conveyor part;
each arm-fork unit at the distal end having a rotation element comprising a fork having fork pins extending in a substantial horizontal fork pin plane;
said fork being rotatably connected to the arm to be movable in said horizontal fork pin plane from:
a parallel position wherein the fork pins extend parallel to said conveyor part and perpendicular to the main center line of the arm to
a perpendicular position wherein the fork pins extend perpendicular to said conveyor part and parallel to the main center line of the arm;
said arm being slidably connected to said conveyor to be movable in the direction of the main center line from a distal position located distal from said conveyor part to a proximal position located proximal to said conveyor part, with the flowers hanging substantially vertically in said forks;
detection elements for detecting at least one flower characteristic during the transport of the flowers to an apparatus comprising at least one bunching station, whereby detection signals are obtained;
a processing unit for processing the detection signals into corresponding selection signals;
and
control elements for bringing, in response to the selection signals, the arm-fork units from a transport position, in which the arm is in the proximal position and the fork is in the parallel position, into a delivery position for delivering the flower at a delivery position to a corresponding selected bunching station, where in the delivery position, the arm is in the distal position and the fork is in the perpendicular position.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for transporting and sorting flowers

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for transporting and sorting flowers

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19