Combination air/mechanical rejection

A rejecter for a product sorting system, the rejecter comprising:

• at least two different rejection deflectors employing different deflecting mechanisms,
• wherein each of the at least two different rejection deflectors is independently actuable to deflect a falling product in flight according to the product to be sorted,
• wherein one of the at least two different rejection deflectors is a mechanical rejection deflector that applies a mechanical force to a falling product in flight to deflect and sort the product,
• wherein the mechanical rejection deflector comprises a paddle pivotally mountable to a free end of a piston rod to contact and displace the product from the sorting stream, and
• wherein the at least two different rejection deflectors are co-located to apply a combined force to a falling product in flight when actuated simultaneously.

A product sorting system comprising:

• a conveyor that conveys products to be sorted;
• and
• at least one rejecter each including at least two different rejection deflectors employing different deflecting mechanisms,
• wherein each of the at least two different rejection deflectors is configured to deflect a product falling off the conveyor in flight from its falling trajectory and is independently actuable to deflect the product falling off the conveyor in flight from its falling trajectory according to the product to be sorted, and
• wherein the at least two different rejection deflectors are co-located to apply a combined force to a falling product in flight when actuated simultaneously.

A method of rejecting a product from a product sorting stream, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a rejecter comprising:
• at least two different rejection deflectors employing different deflecting mechanisms,
• wherein each of the at least two different rejection deflectors is configured to deflect a product in flight from its falling trajectory and is independently actuable to deflect the falling product in flight from its falling trajectory according to the product to be sorted, and
• wherein the at least two different rejection deflectors are co-located to apply a combined force to a falling product in flight when actuated simultaneously;
• conveying, with a conveyor, a product to be sorted to the rejecter;
• and
• deflecting a product falling off the conveyor in flight after being conveyed by independently actuating at least one of the at least two different rejection deflectors according to the product to be sorted.

A method of rejecting a product from a product sorting stream using a rejecter that has at least two different co-located rejection deflectors that employ different deflecting mechanisms and are independently actuable to deflect a product, wherein the at least two different co-located rejection deflectors include an air rejection deflector that expels a stream of air to a product falling off the conveyor in flight to deflect and sort the product and a mechanical rejection deflector that applies a mechanical force to a product falling off the conveyor in flight to deflect and sort the product, the method comprising the steps of:

• conveying, with a conveyor, a product to be sorted;
• deflecting a product falling off the conveyor in flight after being conveyed by independently actuating one of the two different co-located rejection deflectors according to the product to be sorted;
• determining whether the size of the product to be sorted is below, at, or above a predetermined threshold;
• and
• actuating the mechanical rejection deflector to deflect and sort the product to be sorted when the determined size of the product to be sorted is above the predetermined threshold.

A method of rejecting a product from a product sorting stream using a rejecter that has at least two different co-located rejection deflectors that employ different deflecting mechanisms and are independently actuable to deflect a product, wherein the at least two different co-located rejection deflectors include an air rejection deflector that expels a stream of air to a product falling off the conveyor in flight to deflect and sort the product and a mechanical rejection deflector that applies a mechanical force to a product falling off the conveyor in flight to deflect and sort the product, the method comprising the steps of:

• conveying, with a conveyor, a product to be sorted;
• deflecting a product falling off the conveyor in flight after being conveyed by independently actuating one of the two different co-located rejection deflectors according to the product to be sorted;
• determining whether the size of the product to be sorted is above a predetermined threshold;
• and
• actuating both the air rejection deflector and the mechanical rejection deflector to deflect and sort the same product to be sorted when the determined size of the product to be sorted is above the predetermined threshold.