Claims
- 1. An apparatus for processing of raw fruit, more particularly plums, comprising:
- a receiving tank for raw plums in bulk form having means for washing said plums, an elevator belt for lifting washed plums from the tank and providing drainage of water from said plums, a sizing device which receives raw plums from the elevator belt and feeds said plums along a path to at least two raw plum outlets on said sizing device and spaced axially along said path, a tray-carrying chain passing under each of said outlets for receiving raw plums discharged from said outlet;
- said tray-carrying chain under each outlet having means for conveying said trays on said each tray-carrying chain, one tray behind the other, so that said trays pass under said each outlet of said sizing device, said each outlet tray-carrying chain further having a means for receiving trays from said tray conveying means and conveying said received trays at a speed more rapid than said trays are conveyed on said conveying means, said tray receiving means including means for transferring said tray, one tray after another and stacking said transferred trays on a cart carried on a platform elevator.
- 2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said conveying of said trays is ensured by first and second endless chains driven by first and second drive means driven at different linear speeds by a motor.
- 3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that said motor is located downstream of said second drive means.
- 4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that said second drive means includes a pushing element for transferring said trays, one after the other, to said cart.
- 5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, characterized in that said second drive means includes a third chain having an operationally effective part moving above said second chain, said third chain being driven by a separate motor, which also drives two push-type rollers each placed at the end of an arm.
- 6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that said first and second drive means include aligned rolls and/or rollers adapted to continuously support said trays by lateral uprights of said trays.
Priority Claims (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| 86 15415 |
Nov 1986 |
FRX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of PCT application PCT/FR 87/00438, filed Nov. 5, 1987, and designating the United States, and which claims priority based upon French patent application 86 15415, filed Nov. 5, 1986.
The invention relates to the processing of raw fruit, particularly plums, which are conventionally subjected to cooking in order to transform them into prunes.
Installations known heretofore call for operators at various levels. This is the case particularly for the distribution of raw plums, after sorting and sizing, into trays which are then placed on carts for transportation to a cooking oven.
Furthermore, the fact that many operations already exist which use implements, such as trays and carts, makes it often difficult to upgrade existing installations in order to automate them without losing the benefit of previous investments.
This invention provides a solution to this problem.
For this purpose, an installation for processing raw fruit, particularly plums, is disclosed; and the apparatus comprises
With such an installation, the need for a human operator is limited to general supervision, the placing of new trays on the conveyor chains and, if necessary, the transfer of the cart from the elevator to the oven, said transfer operation being guided directly by rails.
According to one aspect of the invention, the sizing device comprises a set of movable cords placed side by side in a closed circuit, the spacing between the cords increasing along the distance traveled by the raw fruit from the entrance of this sizing device.
Advantageously, the elevator belt is provided and the action of the elevator belt lifts the fruit from the washing tank and allows water to drain away.
According to another aspect of the invention, which is particularly important, each conveyor chain comprises:
Advantageously, the trays are carried by a first and second endless roller chains, arranged respectively in the first and second drive means and driven at different linear speeds by the same motor. It is desired that this motor be located downstream of the second drive means.
Preferably, the transfer means which is part of the second drive means comprises a pushing element adapted to transfer the tray to the cart and, at the same time, to ensure proper stacking of the trays one on top of the other on the same cart.
In one embodiment of the invention, the second drive means includes a third chain, the operationally effective part of which moves up past that of the second chain, and this third chain is driven by a separate motor, which also drives two push-type rollers each placed at the end of an arm.
Furthermore, in one particular embodiment, the first and second drive means include aligned rolls and/or rollers adapted to continuously support the trays by their lateral uprights.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 1423808 |
Nov 1965 |
FRX |
| 1546534 |
Oct 1968 |
FRX |
| 2100532 |
Mar 1972 |
FRX |
| 0490508 |
Sep 1938 |
GBX |
| 0615051 |
Dec 1948 |
GBX |
| 0861738 |
Feb 1961 |
GBX |
| 2140712 |
Dec 1984 |
GBX |
Patent Grant
5059308
