AU749737B2

AU749737B2 - Conveying system for loading into a bin

Info

Publication number: AU749737B2
Application number: AU54545/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Mclean Thornburrow
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-08-26
Filing date: 1999-08-25
Publication date: 2002-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-25
Also published as: WO2000012415A1; AU5454599A

Description

WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140 CONVEYING SYSTEM FOR LOADING INTO A BIN BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates to an article handling system and more particularly a system including apparatus and/or a method for the handling of articles which are required to be discharged into a bin or other container.

In one particular use the system may be used for filling a bin or other container with fruit.

For ease of description the invention will be described in relation to that use but it will be appreciated that this is by way of example only.

PRIOR ART In a typical bin filler 1, such as shown in Figure 1, a bin 2 can be gradually filled with fruit 3 as the fruit are moved off rotatable disc 4 having one or more rotatable flaps 29 and driven by a motor through shaft 6. A separate rotor 7 also equipped with flaps may also be driven concentrically by a shaft such as shaft 6. The rotor 7 is driven at a speed greater than the disc 4. As the flaps of rotor 7 overtake the one or more apertures 4a of disc 4, fruit 3 on rotor flap 7 will transfer through the one or more apertures 4a of disc 4 onto the flaps 29 before transfer to the bin 2.

The fruit 3 are shown being fed to the rotor 7 by a vertical belt 28 having a width indicated by reference Finger cleats 8 control the fruit 3 as they drop vertically. The belt 28 is itself fed by a belt 9 having a width commensurate with that of belt 28.

WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140" 2 As the bin 2 fills with fruit 3 the rotor 7 and disc 4 and belt 28 will raise. It will be appreciated that because of the positioning of the vertical belt 28 off-set relative to the central axis of the rotor 4, the width of the belt 9 and belt 28 and the fact that a single stream of fruit is being supplied to the rotor 7, means that the throughput of fruit 3 is severely constricted. In particular the width W1 as a maximum can be 50% of the diameter of rotor 7 but in a typical case will be slightly less.

In that the efficiency of a packing house depends on achieving maximum throughput, such prior art machines are not satisfactory.

It is thus one object of one embodiment of the present invention to provide an article handling system which will overcome or at least obviate the aforementioned problems and/or which at least will provide the public with a useful choice.

Another object of one embodiment of the invention is to facilitate the even or biased filling of a container.

Further objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention an article handling apparatus for filling a container with articles includes; a delivery means to deliver in use the articles from a source of such articles; (ii) the delivery means including at least one downwardly depending portion, an end portion of which is adapted to deliver one or more streams of the articles onto a rotatable distribution means; (iii) the position of the end portion being substantially at or adjacent a central portion of the distribution means; S(iv) the distribution means being adapted in use to be 10 positioned in a container and on rotation being adapted to deliver the articles into the container; the relative position, in use, of the container and the distribution means being adapted to change as the container is filled; and (vi) the positioning of the end portion enabling its width to be at least greater than half the width of the distribution means.

According to a further aspect of the invention a method of S* delivering articles to fill a container includes the steps of providing: a delivery-means for providing one or more streams of articles in use from a source of articles to a rotatable distribution means; and (ii) positioning the distribution means relative to an end portion of the delivery means such that the end portion is substantially at or adjacent a central portion of the distribution means, with the width of the end portion being at least greater than half the width of the distribution smeans.

WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00 4 Preferably the apparatus and/or method as defined in the two paragraphs immediately above has a substantially central axis of the delivery means substantially commensurate with the central axis of the distribution means.

Further aspects of the invention which should be considered in all its novel aspects will become apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1: FIGURE 2: FIGURE 3: FIGURE 4: prior art apparatus (see above); very diagrammatic front elevation of an embodiment of the invention; very diagrammatic view showing use of an embodiment in a rectangular bin; very diagrammatic view of an embodiment including some detail of its input side; very diagrammatic plan view of an embodiment.

shows very diagrammatically a front elevational view of a further embodiment of the invention.

shows very diagrammatically a side view of the embodiment of Figure 6.

shows very diagrammatically a plan view of the rotor of Figure 6 with its wave action flaps.

FIGURE 5: FIGURE 6: FIGURE 7: FIGURE 8: WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140 FIGURE 9: shows a side view of part of Figure 8.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In Figure 2 an embodiment of the invention is shown very diagrammatically and referenced 10. This is shown including a gooseneck type belt 11 with vertical fingers (cleats) 5 by which the fruit are delivered at a bottom end 12 to a rotatable rotor 13 which, as it rotates, feeds the fruit into container 14. As the level of fruit rises, the rotor 13 and belt 11 and bottom end 12 raise up.

The rotor 13 may, as shown, include radial arms 19 each with an attached flap 30. The rotor 13 may preferably have three or more flaps to facilitate the distribution of the fruit in the container.

A gearbox 15, suitably a small bevel gearbox, driven through a chain 16 from a drive drum 17, may be positioned at the centre of the arms 19.

A motor (not shown) may provide a chain drive (not shown) to drive the drive drum 17.

Opposite facing flaps such as 18, which may be rigid, may control the release of the fruit 3 to opposite sides, i.e. front and back, and on both sides, of the bottom end 12, and onto flexible wave action or undulating flaps 18a. These are also oppositely facing and will feed the fruit 3, as shown by arrows X, Y to the respective flaps 30 and then directly into the container 14.

Although two streams of fruit 3 are shown being created, it is envisaged in other embodiments that one wide stream or more than two WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140 6 streams may be possible.

It will be appreciated that the wider belt 11 of the present invention facilitates the handling of one large stream as an alternative to multiple streams, if appropriate.

The wave action of the flaps 18a may be generated by the rotation of the rotor arms 19 beneath the flaps 18a. The length and positioning of the wave action flaps 18a can be adjusted to maximise the even distribution of fruit 3 for a square container or biased to better fill a rectangular container. This has not previously been possible to the applicant's knowledge.

Most importantly it will be seen that the central axis of the belt 11 extending down to its discharge portion 12 is substantially above the centre of the rotor 13 or possibly, in one size of apparatus, up to about 150 mm from it. In this way the width of the belt 11 can be increased up to approximately double the size of that of the aforementioned prior art machines and to therefore provide also approximately double the capacity of the apparatus Additionally, it has been found in experimentation that by now being able to drop substantially equal amounts of fruit simultaneously at points X and Y, as well as increasing the throughput of fruit, a substantially even spread of fruit can be achieved on the disc 13 and also a more even transfer of the fruit into the bin 14.

It is emphasised, however, that the streams of fruit could be directed to wherever is most appropriate to efficiently fill a particular container 14 and this may mean the streams are offset through 900, 1800 or any other angle(s).

WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140- 7 By way of example the filling of a rectangular bin 14' from the belt 11 is shown very diagrammatically in Figure 3. This ability of the present invention to provide a controlled flow of the fruit to both points E and F on the rotor assembly 13 front and rear and to both sides of the end of the belt 11, means that the filling of the corners by the fruit flowing as indicated by the arrows K and L can be improved, rectangular bins typically providing a particular problem to fill evenly for prior art machines.

In Figure 4 a still diagrammatic but more complete view of an embodiment 10 of the invention is shown. The goose neck belt 11 is shown extending from an inlet side 20 which features a lift and slew actuator 21,22 respectively. The fruit travels on the belt 11 to feed to flaps or chutes 18 and suitably from "wave" action flaps 18a to be distributed onto the rotor assembly 13, which again is able to rise up in the container 14.

The actuator 21 enables the apparatus 10 to lift up in a direction of arrow V as the bin 14 is filled and once filled, the actuator 22 can control the pivoting of the apparatus 10 to the next empty container 14.

Suitable limit switches or other detectors will control the movement of the apparatus 10 and ensure that an empty container is in position to receive the feed of fruit.

A level sensing flap 24 can sense the level of the fruit in the container 14 as it is filled.

A plan view of an embodiment is shown in Figure 5 in which the fruit delivery belt 11 is delivering fruit to left and right side delivery chutes, 25,26, and once again, as shown by the dotted arrows, the fruit 3 can be evenly distributed both sides of the rotor assembly 13 i.e.

WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140" 8 opposite sides and in front of and behind the discharge portion 12 onto wave action flaps 18a to feed into the container 14'. Distribution rotor arms 19 and flaps 13 are shown spaced apart to control the fruit flow.

Again it is important to note that the chutes 25,26 are substantially above the centre of the rotor 13 and the width of the belt 11 can be substantially wider because of this.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7, in a further alternative embodiment of the invention the input side, referenced generally by arrow 60, includes an articulated feed chute arrangement. The same reference numerals as used previously are retained where appropriate. The intention is to be able to receive fruit from a fixed source such as belt 50 and to transfer this fruit evenly and without damage on to a bin filler belt 11 which in this embodiment is adapted to pivot about support 70 rotating in the direction of arrow R (see Figure The articulated feed chute assembly 60 is seen to include a portion 52 immediately adjacent the delivery end of the input conveyor 50, which portion 52 being fixed to the base frame by means of the strut 51. An opposite portion 54 is secured to the moving frame part 61. Intermediate chute portion 53 is pivoted from the fixed portion 52 so as to provide an articulated connection between the portions 52 and 54. The pivoting is suitably controlled by a linkage of any suitable type, suitably in the region 55, which controls the movement of the intermediate portion 53 by any suitable means. The articulated feed chute assembly 60 enables the lateral swinging of the apparatus 10, as it sequentially feeds side by side bins, to be accommodated without disrupting the flow of fruit from the input conveyor 50. In Figure 6, the apparatus 10 is filling the left side container 14L. Once that is full, the apparatus 10 will swing sideways and commence filling box 14R.

The bin filler belt 11 can be raised and lowered, as shown by WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140 9 arrows V, in Figure 7, such as by the use of an hydraulic ram or the like 21 and moved laterally about support 70 by the actuator 22. The belt or conveyor 11 is shown provided in this embodiment with pairs of cleats 43 which are separated by a gap 56 on the centre line of the belt 11. The purpose of gap 56 is primarily to enable the fitting of a snub wheel facilitating the goose necking of the belt 11.

However, so as to facilitate the even spread of fruit on to the belt 11 and therefore an even spread of fruit into the bin 14, a central divider 42 is shown provided. This placement of the divider 42 can avoid fruit tracking on to the outside of the belt 11 as the fruit is fed from the input conveyor 50. The raised centre 68 of the input section 52 of the articulated chute assembly 60 will also contribute in that regard.

Additionally, the divider 42 has the important function of ensuring that the fruit is divided on to the flaps or plates 18 and also can prevent damage to fruit that could lodge at the intersection of the plates or flaps 18.

In Figures 6 and 7 a level sensing flap 24 is shown provided which senses the level of fruit in the container 14. This can control the raising of the apparatus 10 as the bin 14 is filled. However, as shown in outline in Figure 7, a pivoting trigger, arm or lever 58 may be fixed onto a support 59 and suspended into the bin 14. This trigger 58 will directly sense when the bin 14 is full and signal this condition thereby giving an improved accuracy of fill level. The position of the trigger 58 may be adjustable to allow for different bin-fill or bin-height requirements. An optional type of bin sensor 80 may signal when a bin 14 is in position ready to receive fruit.

Additionally in Figure 7 a motor 40 with drive shaft 41 is shown in outline indicating this as an option for providing a separation of the WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140 drive to the feed belt 11 and the rotor 13. The provision of the motor and the drive shaft 41 to drive the rotor 13 will enable the rotor 13 to continue to be rotated after the fruit feed has ceased and in that way to clear fruit from the rotor 13. Additionally, by replacing the rotor drive gearbox 15 (see Figure 6) with the motor 40 and drive shaft 41, the exit point from the belt 11 may be lowered in relation to the distribution flaps 18 and the rotor 13 by an appreciable distance, for example 80mm, with the attendant advantages in doing so.

In Figure 6, the fruit is shown leaving belt end 12 to be received by flaps 18 and fed to the front and rear of the end 12 and on either side, onto wave action flaps 18a. These flaps 18a may be flexible lengths of a material such as plastic or rubber which are acted on by the arms 19 of the rotor 13 to move the fruit 3 as indicated by arrow X. These flaps 18a will now be described in greater detail with reference to Figures 8 and 9.

Referring to Figure 8 and 9, each wave action flap 18a is shown stretched across an open framework 70 with the main flap portion 71 able to receive the fruit 3 from the flaps (see Figure The rotor arms 19 can engage beneath the flaps 18a moving the fruit 3 towards a flap tail portion 72 which allows the fruit 3 to be lowered onto the rotor flap 30 for subsequent discharge into the container 14. The flaps 18a are thus acting both as carriers of the fruit 3 and in the unloading of the fruit 3.

The substantial benefits of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in article handling equipment. Apart from an increased capacity of the equipment, it is seen that a user is able to achieve a direct and unfettered feeding of fruit or other articles simultaneously and in equal, proportions (or biased if necessary) to both sides, preferably front and back, of the distribution rotor. Following on from this, the length WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140" 11 and/or position of the distribution, suitably wave, flaps enable the control of article flow to be equalised or biased as appropriate, in the latter case typically for rectangular containers. An additional advantage is the elimination or at least substantial reduction of possible choke and shear points which can be prevalent in earlier machines.

Also the invention may be provided as a portable, wheeled freestanding unit facilitating its use wherever it is required.

Where in the foregoing description, reference has been made to specific components or integers of the invention having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Although this invention has been described by way of example and with reference to possible embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or improvements may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An article handling apparatus for filling a container with articles including: a delivery means to deliver in use the articles from a source of such articles; (ii) the delivery means including at least one downwardly 10 depending portion, an end portion.of which is adapted to deliver one or more streams of the articles onto a rotatable distribution means; (iii) the position of the end portion being substantially at or adjacent a central portion of the distribution means; (iv) the distribution means being adapted in use to be positioned in a container and on rotation being adapted to deliver the articles into the container; S* the relative position, in use, of the container and the distribution means being adapted to change as the container is filled; and (vi) the positioning of the end portion enabling its width to be at least greater than half the width of the distribution means.

2. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein respective streams of the articles are able to be fed to opposite sides of the end portion across its width. WO 00/12415 PCT/NZ99/00140- 13

3. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the delivery means enables respective streams of the articles to be delivered to front and rear of the end portion.

4. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the delivery means includes a substantially central dividing means. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the delivery means includes a belt having a plurality of spaced apart transverse projections with an intermediate gap therebetween.

6. An article handling apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the distribution means includes a rotor with at least a pair of chutes which receive and direct respective streams of the articles from said end portion.

7. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said distribution means further includes flexible flap members adapted to receive the articles and direct them towards the rotor.

8. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the flexible flaps can be acted on by said rotor as it rotates relative thereto to cause said flexible flaps to undulate to facilitate the movement of the articles from the flaps towards a required direction.

9. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said flexible flaps have a first portion to first receive the articles and a second extension portion to enable the articles to be lowered onto the rotor. 14 An article handling apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said distribution means includes a downwardly depending level sensing means adapted to sense the level of articles delivered into the container and to control the raising of the apparatus commensurate therewith.

11. An article handling apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein an input side of said delivery means is adapted to be rotated about a substantially vertical axis and an 10 articulated input assembly is connectable with said input end to i^ •accommodate its rotation.

12. An article handling apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a sensing means which is positionable in use within the container to determine the level to which the container is filled.

13. An article handling apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or any one of the preceding claims when dependent on claim 6 wherein the 20 rotor includes at least three distribution flaps adapted to distribute the articles across the area of the container.

14. A method of delivery articles to fill a container including the steps of providing: a delivery means for providing one or more streams of articles in use from a source of articles to a rotatable distribution means; and (ii) positioning the distribution means relative to an end portion of the delivery means such that the end portion is substantially at or adjacent a central portion of the distribution means, with the width of the end portion being at least greater than half the width of the distribution means. An article handling apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 2 to 5 or 6 to 9 of the accompanying 10 drawings. 0. 0%. DATED this 24th Day of September, 2001 JOHN MCLEAN THORNBURROW Attorney: STUART MSMIT Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of AMaS of BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS o