AU2007100400A4 - Method and system for packing bananas - Google Patents

Description

P/00/012 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PACKING BANANAS" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:

TITLE

"METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PACKING BANANAS" FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0o This invention relates to a method of packing bananas for transportation and storage while at the same time providing the opportunity Ofor easy and effective display of the fruit.

SThe invention extends to a system comprising a packing line Oand components therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world marketplace. While bananas are principally grown in sub-tropical and tropical regions, they are provided to consumers in virtually all climates.

Transportation of bananas to market presents a more complex challenge due to their relatively short shelf life. A number of techniques have been developed by banana growers and wholesalers for delaying ripening of bananas so that they are fresh when presented to the buying public. This also maximises the period on the shelf during which the fruit remains marketable.

A further difficulty in the supply challenge arises from the fact that bananas are easily bruised which results in unsightly black patches on the skin leading to either rejection by buyers or disposal of the fruit due to quality control. The risk of bruising is increased by the need to handle bananas both at the packing stage and subsequently at the display stage.

Transfer of bananas from transport crates to display shelves and the subsequent bumping of hands of bananas against each other increases the rate of damage and spoilage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first broad aspect, the present invention resides in a method of packing bananas in a crate, the method comprising the steps of: packing bananas in a capsule; placing a crate over the capsule, side walls of the crate ~2 positioned outside and preferably adjacent side walls of the capsule; inverting the capsule, bananas and crate together; and removing the capsule.

00 The capsule is preferably formed as a box with an open top or bottom. The box is preferably a regular quadrilateral box. Other shapes may Sbe used and the box may be formed as a cylinder, a pyramid or other appropriate desired shape.

O The capsule may be formed of any material of suitable strength and hygienic properties. The capsule may be formed from cardboard.

Preferred materials are polyvinyl chloride, fibreglass or polyethylene.

The crate is preferably a transport box for the bananas.

The capsule may include one or more hand grips or other gripping structure for either manual or automatic manipulation of the capsule.

The method may further include the step of: placing a protective liner, such as a bag around the bananas, the protective liner may be placed over an internal surface of the capsule.

Alternatively, the protective liner may be placed over an internal surface of the crate prior to location over the capsule; a third option is to locate the protective liner outside the walls of the capsule prior to positioning the crate; packing the bananas into the protective liner; and covering the packed bananas with the protective liner.

The protective liner is preferably a plastic bag with a closed end, positioned in the capsule.

The method may include one or more additional steps selected from: automated positioning of the crate and capsule; automated inverting of the capsule, bananas and crate; automated removal of the capsule from the combined capsule, bananas and crate once inverted; and automated returning the capsule to a packing station.

In a further aspect, the invention may reside in a system for packing bananas, the system comprising: a capsule comprising a base and one or more side walls 0_ defining an internal space with an open top; and a crate for containing the bananas, the crate dimensioned to 0 locate over the capsule with side walls of the crate positioned outside the one or more side walls of the capsule.

OThe system preferably further includes a protective liner for covering the bananas, the protective liner preferably formed as an open 0 10 ended bag dimensioned to sit inside the capsule prior to packing of the bananas or over the capsule and/or inside the crate after packing of the bananas.

The protective liner may be of any suitable material for protecting the bananas and may be a plastic bag, a mesh bag or other suitable liner.

The capsule preferably includes a gripping point such as one or more hand grips or an arrangement for machine operation and manipulation of the capsule.

The crate may be a returnable plastic container (RPC).

The crate may also be a cardboard box. The crate may be formed of any suitable material and of any suitable shape known to a person skilled in the art.

In yet a further aspect, the invention may reside in a packing line for packing bananas, the packing line comprising: a plurality of capsules as described above; a plurality of crates as described above; preferably, protective liners such as a protective bag for the bananas; a first packing station for positioning the protective liners, in the capsules, packing the bananas and positioning of the crates over the capsules; or alternatively packing the bananas and placing the protective 4 covers over the capsule and/or inside the crate; a second station for automatic inversion of each combined capsule, liner, bananas and crate; 0 a third station for removal of the capsules; and preferably a fourth station for packing of bananas and crates for transport. Preferably the fourth station is an automatic stacking arrangement such as a palletizer.

OIn yet another aspect, the invention may reside in a capsule for use in packing bananas, the capsule comprising: a base; side walls attached to the base; an open top; and grip means formed in or on the base, the grip means adapted to facilitate gripping of the capsule for removal from a transport crate.

The base may be formed as a planar plate of any suitable material. It is preferably formed of a solid material but, alternatively, may be formed of a fine mesh.

The grip means may comprise one or more apertures for manual operation. Alternatively, the grip means may comprise one or more gripping structures facilitating automatic removal by a machine such as a lifting arm. Each gripping structure may comprise an eyelet, a ledge, a lip, a recess, an ear or similar, adapted to releasably engage a co-operating structure on the machine. In one embodiment, the gripping means may comprise a suction pad positioned on the arm and adapted to releasably engage the base in operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, preferred embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a capsule for use in the present invention; SFIG. 2 shows a protective liner placed on the capsule of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shows hands of bananas packed into the protective liner E and capsule; 00 FIG. 4 shows the protective liner folded over the packed bananas; FIG. 5 shows a crate positioned over the capsule, liner and bananas; FIG. 6 shows inversion of the capsule, liner, bananas and crate; FIG. 7 shows removal of the capsule; FIG. 8 shows the bananas covered by a protective liner in the crates and being packed for transport on a pallet; FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a packing line; and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an automatic inverter for the packing line of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to FIG. 1, there is seen a capsule 10 comprising a base 11 and side walls 12. The capsule 10 is formed as a regular quadrilateral box and may be formed from any suitable rigid material such as cardboard, plastic, metal or other rigid material. It is preferred that the capsule has a surface that is easily cleaned of organic materials and also able to be disinfected or even sterilised. The capsule has an open top. The expression "top" is used to indicate the opening is opposite the base. It may of course be viewed as the "bottom" when the capsule is inverted.

Two hand grips 13,14 are provided for use by a manual operator. It is preferred if the base 11 is a single solid sheet of material although this is not essential. The handgrips are provided as apertures through the base dimensioned to allow the fingers of an operator to be inserted for removing the capsule as discussed below. The edges of the apertures may be rounded to minimise risk of injury to an operator. While two spaced apertures are shown, it is possible to use only one central handgrip. Both arrangements fall within the scope of the term handgrips.

FIG. 2 shows positioning of a protective liner in the form of a PVC bag 15 which is an open ended bag. The bottom of the bag is located 00 adjacent the base 11 and the side walls of the bag are positioned over and adjacent the side walls 12 of the capsule 10. The protective liner may be Spositioned over the capsule and bananas. Alternatively, or additionally, the protective liner may be positioned inside the crate prior to location over the Ocapsule. In the latter examples, once the capsule is removed, the protective liner may be gathered over the bananas to protect them.

In FIG. 3, bananas 16 are packed into the capsule and lining bag. It is preferred that the hands of bananas are packed crown down. This positioning maximises the packing capacity for the space and also provides a regular arrangement of the bananas. Most commonly, the bananas will be fresh picked "green" bananas but other types may also be packed such as ripened bananas from ripening rooms.

In FIG. 4, the bag 15 is folded over the bananas to substantially cover them and provide a protective all round cover.

A transport and/or display crate 17 is positioned over the capsule liner and bananas as shown in FIG. 5. The crate is preferably a transport and display crate which may be ultimately positioned in a retail outlet with the bananas on display. Particularly suitable crates are hard plastic rigid crates which are often referred to as returnable plastic containers (RPC). However, the expression crate in this specification extends to cartons such as cardboard cartons. The crate 17 is dimensioned to fit over the capsule so that the side walls 18 of the crate fit relatively snugly over the side walls 12 of the capsule and lie adjacent thereto. Preferably the side walls of the crate are slightly higher than the side walls of the capsule so that the packed bananas when contained solely in the crate sit just below an upper edge of the crate 17.

The combined capsule, liner, bananas and crate are inverted as shown in FIG. 6 and the capsule removed using hand grips 13,14 as shown in FIG. 7.

This leaves a transport crate with a full complement of packed bananas which are covered and protected.

00 The bananas are in the preferred disposition for retail display and are packed regularly and adjacent each other.

OThe bananas are packed for transport on a pallet 19 as shown in FIG. 8. This may be accomplished using a palletizer as is known in the Oart. The crates are designed to interfit with each other in a stable manner.

The packed crates and bananas may then be transported to a holding area, a market or a retail outlet. A lid may be applied to the crates if desired.

On reaching the retail outlet, it is a simple matter to place the crate on a sales shelf and open the protective liner either by tearing or with a cutting implement. The liner may include perforated lines for easy tearing.

This exposes the packed bananas in a best marketing position and without any handling after the initial packing.

The present method minimizes the opportunities for physical damage to the fruit by handling and presents an aesthetically pleasing display of the bananas. The bananas are efficiently packed into the space provided and are covered by the protective liner throughout their journey to market.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is seen one schematic embodiment of a packing line with a first station 20 wherein an operator receives a capsule from automatic return 21. The operator takes a protective liner from liner supply 22 and positions it inside the capsule. Bananas are then taken from banana bin 23 and packed into the capsule and liner. Finally, a transport and display crate (which in this case is an RPC crate) is taken from crate stack 24 and positioned over the capsule liner and bananas. The combined components are transported along conveyor 25 to inverting station 26.

The inverted assembly passes along conveyor 27 to loading station 28. At the loading station, the capsule is removed and recycled 7 8 around automatic return 21. Removal of the capsule may be by manual means or by automatic means such as an arm engaging the capsule.

Eyelets may be provided on the capsule or other suitable arrangement well- 00 known to a person skilled in the art for automatic coupling with the capsule to facilitate its removal and conveyance to first station 20. Structures on or in Sthe base may include eyelets adapted to receive hooks on a lifting device, ledges, lips or ears for engagement by fingers on a lifting device, or a recess Osimilarly adapted. A variety of alternative ways would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. One preferred arrangement uses suction pads to remove the capsules. The packed crate, bananas and liner are passed along conveyor 29 to be loaded onto pallet 30 preferably using an automatic packing device such as a palletizer. The degree of electronic control may vary. The whole arrangement may be manually operated with crates and capsules manually propelled along the conveyors. Alternatively, there may be considerable automation in the process.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown one version of an automatic inverter 31 comprising an axle 32 and rotatable housing 33. A combination of capsule, liner, bananas and crate 34 advances along conveyor 35 into the housing 33. The housing has an internal recess which supports the bottom of the combination 34. The internal recess 40 is dimensioned to receive the capsule, bananas and crate snugly so that during inversion there is limited relative movement of the load compared to walls of the housing. The housing 33 then rotates around axle 32 and exits onto roller 36 under the action of automatic ram 37. The combination now has the capsule 38 uppermost as compared to on entry where it is lowermost. The RPC crate 39 is now lowermost and the capsule 38 has been removed.

The packing line provides an ergonomically effective process for providing packed PRC crates ready for transport to market.

The present invention has numerous advantages. Bananas may be transported from packing to display with at least one less episode of manual handling, and lead to less damage and higher end product quality.

9 SThe advantages to merchants is in return from fruit and to consumers in quality of product. This is particularly important in a short shelf life product.

Further, the regular display of quality, unmarked produce may induce higher 00oO sales. Easy display of packed bananas also leads to efficiency in handling procedures at retail outlets and provides an ergonomically effective system for shelf packers. The process of positioning an RPC on a display shelf and removing a coating of protective liner is fast, easy and provides a consistent Squality display of fruit. One other advantage is the ability to closely pack bananas in the capsule prior to deposit in the crate. This allows efficient use of the space and packing maximised weight into the crate. Close packing also reduces banana movement relative to the other bananas and decreased the change of damage in transit.

Throughout this specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims (4)

1. A method of packing bananas in a crate, the method comprising the steps of: 00 packing the bananas in a capsule; placing a crate over the capsule, side walls of the crate apositioned outside and adjacent side walls of the capsule; Sinverting the capsule, bananas and crate together; and 0 removing the capsule.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: placing a protective liner, such as a bag, over an internal surface of the capsule, over the capsule and bananas or in the crate; and covering the packed bananas with the protective liner.

3. A system for packing bananas, the system comprising: a capsule comprising a base and one or more side walls defining an internal space with an open top; and a crate for containing the bananas, the crate dimensioned to locate over the capsule with side walls of the crate positioned outside the one or more side walls of the capsule; and optionally, a protective liner for covering the bananas, the protective liner formed as an open ended bag dimensioned to sit inside the capsule prior to packing of the bananas.

4. A packing line for packing bananas, the packing line comprising: a plurality of capsules formed as a box having a base, side walls attached to the base, an open top; and grip means formed in or on the base, the grip means facilitating gripping of the box for removal from a crate; a plurality of transport and/or display crates, preferably returnable plastic crates; protective liners for covering the bananas; a first packing station for positioning of the protective liners in the capsules, in the crates or over the capsules; 11 Spacking of bananas into the protective liners and capsules; and positioning of the crates over the packed bananas, liners and capsules; 0_ a second station for inversion of each combined capsule, liner, bananas and crate, preferably automatically; a third station for removal of the capsules; and optionally, a fourth station for packing of bananas and crates for transport, preferably automatically through use of a palletizer. A capsule for use in packing bananas, the capsule comprising: a base; side walls attached to the base; an open top; and grip means formed in or on the base, the grip means adapted to facilitate gripping of the capsule for removal from a transport crate. DATED this Seventeenth day of May 2007. DE LUCA BANANA MARKETING PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY