Unit for sorting and packaging products capable of being hung on a hooking member (24) for the purpose of their conveyance, such as bunches of fruits, in particular table grapes or truss tomatoes, characterised in that it comprises in combination:
- a conveying line (2, 3) with an endless chain (1) moving in a substantially horizontal plane and beneath which there are distributed a plurality of coupling arms (12) articulated with respect to the said chain about a vertical axis, so as to be able to pivot between two positions, called the pulling and grasping positions, each of the said coupling arms being associated with resilient means (14) capable of urging its pivoting towards its grasping position, and having a free end equipped with a coupling member (15),
- a conveying track (17) which forms a circuit parallel to that of the conveying line (2, 3), extends in a horizontal plane situated beneath that of the said conveying line vertically in line with the coupling members (15) of the coupling arms (12) in the pulling position of the latter, and on which there are arranged a plurality of plates (16), each equipped, on the one hand, with a coupling member (19) capable of being coupled to the coupling member (15) of a coupling arm (12) for the purpose of pulling each of the said plates by one of the said coupling arms, and, on the other hand, with a hooking member (24) for hanging a product beneath the said plate,
- a plurality of work stations Cm, Dn, distributed laterally along the conveying line (2, 3) and each having:
- a track, called the relief track (29), equipped with two end sections (31, 33) for joining to the conveying track (17) and with a central section (32) extending parallel to the conveying line (2, 3), vertically in line with the coupling members (15) of the coupling arms (12) in the grasping position of the latter,
- routing means (34, 35) arranged at the junction between the access section (31) of the relief track (29) and the conveying track (17),
- uncoupling means (36) capable of releasing the coupling members (15, 19) of the coupling arms (12) and of the plates (16),
- means (40) for driving the uncoupled plates (16) capable of displacing them along the central section (32) of the relief track (29) as far as a position of readiness, called the “front of the queue” position,
- coupling means (41, 45, 46) capable of enabling, when instructed, a coupling of the plate (16) situated at the front of the queue to a coupling arm (12) of the conveying line (2, 3), in the grasping position of this arm,
- an optical and/or ponderal analysing station (10) arranged along the conveying track (17) for the purpose of providing information enabling the sorting of the products according to predetermined selection criteria,
- a detecting station (11) arranged along the conveying track (17) and adapted to detect the passage of the empty plates (16) pulled along the said conveying track by a coupling arm (12),
- the said analysing station and detecting station being arranged so as to delimit two distinct zones along the path of the conveying line (2, 3), consisting, as viewed in the direction of movement of the endless chain (1), of:
- a product-unloading zone (L3, L4, L6);
- which has, as the upstream starting limit, the analysing station (10) and along which n work stations Dn are distributed,
- and a product-loading zone (L1), which has, as the upstream starting limit, the detecting station (11) and along which m work stations Cm are distributed,
- and programmed managing means capable, in the loading zone (L1), of controlling the routing means (34, 35) of the work stations Cm so as to distribute to the said work stations the empty plates (16) detected by the detecting station (11), and, in the unloading zone (L3, L4, L6), of controlling the routing means (34, 35) of the work stations Dn so as to supply each of the said work stations with products of a given classification.