The present invention relates to an apparatus as described in the introductory portion of claim 1.
Such an apparatus is generally known from the art of egg sorting machines, for instance from the so-called farmpackers as manufactured since 1976 by the Dutch firm of MOBA under the name of MOPACK (www.moba.nl). More particularly, the invention concerns that part of such a machine where the eggs are transferred from the main conveyor into a packaging device, such as a packaging box or an egg tray, typically referred to as ‘dropset’.
Such an apparatus is also disclosed in EP560458. More particularly, this apparatus is included in a sorting system capable of sorting very large amounts of eggs, up to as many as 120,000 eggs an hour. The portion where the transfer from sorting conveyor to packaging device takes place comprises essentially three heights or levels and consists, in succession, of an upper system of four juxtaposed rows, a second level thereunder, with an endless horizontal buffer conveyor with eleven circulating rows, and thereunder a lower level with one row. These levels are also referred to as ‘receiverset’, ‘bufferset’, and, again, ‘dropset’.
EP1057728 shows a system comparable to the above system, with the buffer units positioned in a vertical frame instead of in a horizontal buffer conveyor.
In EP1310429, in a similar system, for instance as represented in
In such machines, with which per unit time large quantities of food products, more particularly natural products such as eggs, or also fruit, are sorted, it almost goes without saying that contamination occurs. In the case of eggs, this involves dirt on the shell, but also egg contents due to leakage upon breakage. Such fouling constitutes a source liable to transmit all kinds of germs. For that reason, in this sector, more and more attention is being given to the cleaning of these machines. The most common procedure to date is for these and other parts of the machines to be hosed down with suitable detergents, or for the above-mentioned parts of such rows to be individually disassembled and cleaned.
To improve such a laborious procedure, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that said at least one row is included in a frame and is removeable and interlockable arranged in the frame.
Such an interlockable removeability not only provides the advantage that it considerably simplifies cleaning, for instance by placing such a row in a washing machine, but also makes it possible to remedy defects rapidly. Exchange for a same, identical row then requires neither knowledge nor time and can be carried out directly by the local user himself.
In an embodiment of the invention, from a said row of conveying units the first parts are mounted on a first carrier and the second parts are mounted on a second carrier, wherein, for the purpose of making removeable said at least one row, said carriers are arranged removeable and interlockable in the frame, the carriers each being provided with an interlock at the ends thereof.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the apparatus is characterized in that such a row can be comprised:
With great advantage, in such large sorting machines, rows can be exchanged or replaced, without this requiring further disassembly of parts of the frame. It will be clear that this increases the efficiency of such machines considerably.
In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus is characterized in that the interlock consists of two fitting connection halves, of which one on the carrier and the other on the frame, and a fit retainer, more particularly, that one half is a pin arranged on the carrier, that the other half is a slot provided in the frame and fitting around the pin, and that the fit retainer is a retaining bush biased around the halves.
What is achieved with the above-mentioned features of the interlock is not only that removal, exchange or replacement can be performed quickly and effectively, but also that a very secure interlock is obtained, which during the many millions of times that a row is used, does not involve any risk of its being undesirably forced from the operative position.
Further details of the apparatus according to the present invention will be discussed with reference to a drawing, in which:
The same numerals in the two figures designate the same or similar parts or constituents.
A frame 2 as depicted forms a part of a sorting machine which is generally considered to comprise the above sorting conveyor, the packaging devices thereunder, and machine parts in-between, of which such a frame mostly forms a part.
In
It will be clear to those skilled in the art that when reference is made to an interlock, this involves at least two parts fitting each other, for instance magnetically with an N-pole and an S-pole, or electromagnetically with a positive and a negative pole, or mechanically with an insert part and a receptacle part, with one half provided on the carrier 3 and the other on the frame 2. Accordingly, when it is indicated that the interlock is situated at each end, this is understood to refer to one of the above-mentioned halves.
It will also be clear that biasing can be done from the carrier or from the frame. More particularly, the stop for a spring as mentioned above will be provided either on the carrier or on the frame. The consequence is that, accordingly, the retaining bush as mentioned above either shifts from the carrier over a part of the frame or the other way around.
Modifications obvious to those skilled in the art are understood to fall within the scope of protection of the appended claims. For instance, instead of a helical spring, a leaf spring or even an air spring can be used.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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04076928.3 | Jul 2004 | EP | regional |