Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G17/00—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface
  • B65G17/24—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface comprising a series of rollers which are moved, e.g. over a supporting surface, by the traction element to effect conveyance of loads or load-carriers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
  • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
  • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
  • B07C5/36—Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
  • B65G47/24—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2201/00—Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
  • B65G2201/02—Articles
  • B65G2201/0202—Agricultural and processed food products
  • B65G2201/0211—Fruits and vegetables

Definitions

• the invention relates to a system for scanning a plurality of products, in particular fruit products or vegetable products.
• the invention further relates to an assembly for sorting products, in particular fruit products or vegetable products.
• the invention further relates to a method for conveying products, to a method for scanning product, and to a method for sorting products, in particular fruit products or vegetable products.
• Sorting of fruit or vegetable products often occurs by hand. This is costly and slowly. In addition, finding people wanting to do such jobs is becoming increasingly difficult to find.
• Machines exist that sort fruit or vegetables products. Said machines require a great amount of floor space, more than the floor space required for sorting by hand. In order for companies to switch from hand sorting to machine sorting buying the machine does not suffice. The necessary floor space for the machine may require buying additional floor space. This is expensive.
• Reference WO2017/144164A1 discloses a conveyor with a plurality of rotating and positioning devices on which products are conveyed.
• the rotating and positioning devices comprise a plurality of rollers which are rotated individually in order to rotate the product about a horizontal axis and a vertical axis.
• the plurality of rotating and positioning devices are constructively rather complex and are thereby prone to failure. They also require a lot of maintenance, because there are a large number of moving parts. In an environment with a lot of dirt and debris coming from the products that are transported, this may for example lead to a lot of undesired downtime.
• the invention provides a conveyor for conveying products, in particular fruit products or vegetable products, the conveyor comprising: a frame having a frame length and a frame width, a conveyor track defining a conveying direction, the conveyor track being connected to the frame, a plurality of conveying assemblies, the conveying assemblies being moveable along the conveyor track in the conveying direction, each conveying assembly comprising
• a first rotation mechanism configured to rotate the product on the product support about a first product rotation axis
• Rotating the product about both a first product rotation axis and a second product rotation axis allows the entire surface of the product to be scanned from a single view point, because the entire surface will go past the view point.
• This has the advantage that only one scanning device, e.g. a camera, can be used for scanning the product.
• the first rotation mechanism and the second rotation mechanism are configured to simultaneously rotate the products about the first product rotation axis and about the second product rotation axis.
• the first rotation mechanism is configured to exert a first tangential force on the outer surface of the product transverse to a direction to the first product rotation axis
• the second rotation mechanism is configured to exert a second tangential force on the outer surface of the product parallel to the direction of the first product rotation axis
• the rotation in particular the simultaneous rotation of the products takes place while the products are moved by the conveying assemblies in the conveying direction from a first conveying location to a second conveying location.
• each conveying assembly comprises: a first support member arranged on a first conveying axis, a second support member arranged on a second conveying axis, wherein the first conveying axis and second conveying axis are arranged at a conveying distance adjacent to each other and extend transverse to the conveying direction, wherein the first and second support member comprise a support surface for supporting the product, wherein the product support is provided by the first and second support member.
• each support member defines a first and a second contact location, and the first and second support members define four contact locations for each product.
• the first support member and/or the second support member have a varying diameter.
• the first support member and/or the second support member comprise a main body, said main body comprising a first part having a first diameter, and a second part having a second diameter, the second diameter being smaller than the outer diameter.
• the main body in top view defines an hour-glass shape.
• the second rotation mechanism is provided by at least one rotation inflicting unit provided on the main body of the first and/or second support member, the rotation inflicting unit being configured to engage an outer surface of the products for rotating the products about the second, transverse axis.
• the support members are provided at a distance from each other in the conveying direction.
• the main body of a support member acts as a first support member on a first side of its corresponding conveying axis, and as a second support member on an opposite, second side of the corresponding conveying axis.
• the conveying assemblies are connected to each other in the direction transverse to the conveying direction.
• the conveyor comprises a plurality of axles extending transverse to the conveying direction, wherein each axle is provided with a plurality of support members, wherein adjacent axles define a plurality of conveying assemblies, the axles being supported by the frame, in particular by the conveyor track, and configured to be moved in the conveying direction by the conveying drive.
• the first parts of the plurality of support members provided on the axle are connected to each other. Because the support members are connected to each other, space is efficiently used.
• the main body comprises a stepped part in the middle thereof, wherein the stepped part has a constant diameter which is smaller than the first diameter.
• a length of the main body is between 5-20 cm, in particular between 10-15 cm.
• a distance between the first conveying axis and the second conveying axis is between 5-20 cm, in particular between 10-15 cm.
• the rotating drive is configured to rotate the plurality of axles about their respective axes. This allows for a relatively simple construction, because the support members do not have to be rotated individually. A plurality of support members may be rotated together by rotating the axles.
• the conveyor track is an endless track, wherein the conveying assembly follows the endless track.
• the conveyor comprises a guiding member for guiding the products onto individual conveying assemblies.
• the guiding member comprises a comb-shaped unit extending transverse to the conveying direction, the comb-shaped unit comprising a plurality of teeth, wherein each tooth is provided between rows of respective conveying assemblies.
• the endless track comprises an upward section which extends gradually upwards towards the guiding member upstream of said guiding member.
• the conveying assembly is configured to not rotate the products downstream of the second conveying location by not rotating the support members.
• the scanning device comprises a hyperspectral camera.
• the assembly allows for a fast continuous process of sorting products.
• the assembly comprises a product feeding device located upstream of the conveyor, the product feeding device being configured to feed products to the conveyor.
• the product feeding device is located upstream of the guiding member and configured to provide the products on an upward section of the conveyor upstream of the guiding member.
• the assembly comprises a selected products conveyor located downstream of the second location for receiving the selected products and conveying the selected products away from the second location.
• the invention further relates to a method of conveying products, in particular fruit products or vegetable products, the method comprising: a. providing products on conveying assemblies of a conveyor according to the invention, b. conveying the products along the conveyor track from a first conveying location to a second conveying location and rotating the products about the first product rotation axis and the second product rotation axis which extends transverse to the first axis between the first and second conveying location.
• the products are rotated between the first conveying location and the second conveying location, and wherein the products are not rotated downstream of the second conveying location.
• the invention further relates to a method for sorting products, in particular fruit or vegetables, the method comprising: a. providing products on a conveyor, b. conveying the products along the conveyor in a conveying direction from a first conveying location to a second conveying location, wherein the products are rotated about a first product rotation axis and a second product rotation axis which extends transverse to the first product rotation axis between the first and second conveying location, c. scanning the products with a scanning device between the first conveying location and the second conveying location, d. determining if products are to be selected based on the scanned data by comparing the scanned date with predetermined data stored in a database, e. if a product is selected, moving the selected product from the conveyor to a second location with a sorting device.
• the method comprises providing an assembly according to the invention and performing the subsequent steps of the method with said assembly.
• Figure 1 B schematically shows a top view of the embodiment of figure 1 A
• Figure 1C schematically shows a top view of the embodiment of figure 1 A with a plurality of products provided on the conveyor.
• Figure 2 schematically shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a conveyor according to the invention.
• Figure 3A schematically shows a top view of an embodiment of a plurality of conveying assemblies.
• Figure 3B schematically shows in top view different embodiments of the second rotation mechanism.
• Figure 4A schematically shows a top view of a conveying assembly as shown in figure 3A.
• Figure 4B schematically shows a cross-sectional side view of a support member.
• Figures 5A and 5B schematically show an embodiment of a rotating drive.
• Figure 7 schematically shows a side view of an embodiment of methods according to the invention.
• an assembly 100 according to the invention is shown for sorting products 2, in particular fruit product or vegetable products 2.
• the assembly 100 comprises a scanning system 66 according to the invention comprising a conveyor 1 according to the invention.
• the scanning system 66 further comprises a scanning device 67 located above the conveyor 1.
• the scanning device 67 is configured to scan the plurality of products 2 conveyed by the conveyor 1 between a first conveying location 20 and a second conveying location 21 for obtaining scanned data from individual products 2.
• the scanning device 67 can be an optical device, for example an infrared camera. In a preferred embodiment the scanning device 67 comprises a hyperspectral camera 68. The scanning device may comprise a plurality of cameras. The scanning device 67 may be configured to scan an inner volume of the products, i.e. not only the outer surface of the products. Scanning at least a part of the internal volume, in particular 1-20 mm inwards from the outer surface of the products may provide information about the quality of the products on which a selection can be based.
• the conveyor 1 is further shown in figure 2, and comprises a frame 3 having a frame length 4 and a frame width 5.
• a conveyor track 6 is connected to the frame 3.
• the conveyor track 6 is mainly horizontal.
• the conveyor track 6 is an endless track 60 like a conveyor belt type.
• the conveyor track 6 may be connected to the frame 3 via a driving shaft 69.
• the driving shaft 69 can be rotated by a conveying drive 15, e.g. an electric motor 70.
• the conveyor 1 comprises a plurality of conveying assemblies 8.
• the conveying assemblies 8 are movable along the conveyor track 6, in particular along the endless track 60, by the conveying drive 15. By rotating the driving shaft the conveying assemblies 8 are moved in the conveying direction 7.
• the conveying assemblies 8 extend over a length 71 and a width 72 of the conveyor track 6, see figure 1C.
• the first and second conveying axis 25 are parallel.
• the first support member 22 and/or the second support member 24 comprise a main body 32.
• the main body 32 comprises a first part 33 having a first diameter 34, and a second part 35 having a second diameter 36.
• the second diameter 36 is smaller than the outer diameter.
• the main body 32 has a circular shape 42, or a polygonal shape, see figure 4B.
• the stepped part 56 in the middle of the main body 32 may have a constant diameter which is smaller than the first diameter 34.
• the main body 32 of a support member 22;24 acts as a first support member 22 on a first side 81 of its corresponding conveying axis 23;25, and as a second support member on an opposite, second side 82 of the corresponding conveying axis 23;25, see figure 4A.
• Each main body, or support member therefore acts as both the first and second support members.
• the main body 32 defines an hour-glass shape 41.
• the first rotation mechanism 11 and the second rotation mechanism 13 may be configured to simultaneously rotate the products 2 about the first product rotation axis 12 and about the second product rotation axis 14.
• the rotation may take place while the products 2 are moved by the conveying assemblies 8 in the conveying direction 7 from a first conveying location 20 to a second conveying location 21. This allows for a continuous process, which is faster than a stop-and- go process, i.e. batch process.
• the rotation may however also take place while the products 2 are not moved in the conveying direction 7.
• the rotation of the support member results in the exertion of a first tangential force 16 on the outer surface 17 of the product.
• the first tangential force 16 has a component which acts in a direction transverse to the first product rotation axis 12.
• the first tangential force 16 provides the rotation of the product about its first product rotation axis 12
• the rotating drive 40 is in particular configured to rotate the plurality of axles 55 about their respective axes, wherein an end 80 of the axle 55 comprises the gearwheel 78.
• the second rotation mechanism 13 is provided by at least one rotation inflicting unit 43 provided on the main body 32 of the first and/or second support member 24.
• the rotation inflicting unit 43 engages an outer surface 17 of the products 2 for rotating the products 2 about the second, transverse product rotation axis 14. As the support member rotates about its conveying axis, the rotation inflicting unit 43 inflicts a rotation on the product.
• the second rotation mechanism 13 is configured to exert a second tangential force 19 on the outer surface 17 of the product parallel to the direction of the first product rotation axis 12.
• the second tangential force 19 has a component which acts in a direction parallel to the first product rotation axis 12.
• the second tangential force 19 provides the rotation of the product about its second product rotation axis 14.
• the plurality of rotation inflicting units 43 are evenly distributed over the circumference of the main body 32.
• the first support member 22 and/or second support member 24 may comprise a first support part 52 and a second support part 53.
• the rotating drive 40 is then configured to rotate the support members of the conveying assembly 8 about their corresponding conveying axis.
• the conveyor 1 may comprise a guiding member 61 for guiding the products 2 onto individual conveying assemblies 8.
• the guiding member 61 is shown in figure 2, wherein figure 6 shows a rear view thereof.
• the guiding member 61 comprises a comb-shaped unit 62 extending transverse to the conveying direction 7.
• the comb-shaped unit 62 comprises a plurality of teeth 63. Each tooth 63 is provided between rows 64 of respective conveying assemblies 8.
• a control unit 103 (figure 7) is provided which is coupled to the scanning device 67 and the sorting device 101.
• the scanning device 67 scans the product and transmits the scanned data to the control unit 103.
• the control unit 103 is configured to select products 2 to be moved from the scanned data received from the scanning device 67.
• the control unit 103 subsequently controls the sorting device 101 for moving the selected products 2 from the corresponding conveying assembly 8 to the second location 102.
• the products 2 may for example be selected based on quality, colour, or other features.
• the assembly 100 may comprise artificial intelligence in the form of a self-learning neural network provided with the control unit. This way the selection process of the products can be improved.
• the robotic arm 104 comprises a gripping member 105 for gripping and moving the selected products 2 from the corresponding conveying assembly 8 to the second location 102.
• the assembly 100 further comprises a product feeding device 106 located upstream of the conveyor 1.
• the product feeding device 106 being configured to feed products 2 to the conveyor 1.
• the product feeding device 106 is located upstream of the guiding member 61 and configured to provide the products 2 on the upward section 65 of the conveyor 1 upstream of the guiding member 61.
• the assembly 100 comprises a remaining products conveyor 107 located downstream of the conveyor 1 for receiving remaining products 108 and conveying the remaining products 108 away from the conveyor 1. Remaining products 108 are products 2 which are not selected and moved by the sorting device 101.
• the assembly 100 may further comprise a selected products conveyor 109 (not shown) located downstream of the second location 102 for receiving the selected products 2 and conveying the selected products 2 away from the second location 102.
• a selected products conveyor 109 located downstream of the second location 102 for receiving the selected products 2 and conveying the selected products 2 away from the second location 102.
• FIG 7 a method according to the invention of conveying products 2, in particular fruit products 2 or vegetable products 2, is schematically shown.
• the method comprises: a. providing products 2 on conveying assemblies 8 of a conveyor 1 according to the invention, b. conveying the products 2 along the conveyor track 6 from a first conveying location 20 to a second conveying location 21 and rotating the products 2 about the first product rotation axis 12 and the second product rotation axis 14 which extends transverse to the first axis between the first and second conveying location 21.
• the products 2 may be rotated simultaneously about the first product rotation axis 12 and the second product rotation axis 14 between the first conveying location 20 and the second conveying location 21.
• the products 2 are rotated between the first conveying location 20 and the second conveying location 21, and wherein the products 2 are not rotated downstream of the second conveying location 21, or upstream the first location. Not rotating the products 2 is beneficial for maintaining the structural integrity of the products 2.
• Figure 7 also schematically shows a method of scanning products 2, in particular fruit products 2 or vegetable products 2.
• the method comprises: a. providing a scanning system 66 according to the invention, the scanning system 66 comprising a conveyor 1 according to the invention, b. providing products 2 on conveying assemblies 8 of the conveyor 1 , c. conveying the products 2 along the conveyor track 6 from a first conveying location 20 to a second conveying location 21 and rotating the products 2 about the first product rotation axis 12 and the second product rotation axis 14 which extends transverse to the first axis between the first and second conveying location 21. d. scanning the outer surface 17 of the products 2 with the scanning device 67 between the first conveying location 20 and the second conveying location 21.
• An advantage of the method is that a single scanning device 67, for example a camera, can be used to scan the entire outer surface 17 of the product, because the rotation about two axis allows the entire product surface to intersect the scanning beam.
• the scanning area 84 of the scanning device 67 indicates the first conveying location 20 and the second conveying location 21. Beyond the second conveying location 21 the product is not rotated.
• Figure 7 also schematically shows a method for sorting products 2, in particular fruit or vegetables, the method comprising: a. providing products 2 on a conveyor 1 , b. conveying the products 2 along the conveyor 1 in a conveying direction 7 from a first conveying location 20 to a second conveying location 21, wherein the products 2 are rotated about a first product rotation axis 12 and a second product rotation axis 14 which extends transverse to the first product rotation axis 12 between the first and second conveying location 21, c. scanning the products 2 with a scanning device 67 between the first conveying location 20 and the second conveying location 21, d. determining if products 2 are to be selected based on the scanned data by comparing the scanned date with predetermined data stored in a database, e. if a product is selected, moving the selected product from the conveyor 1 to a second location 102 with a sorting device 101 (not shown).
• the remaining products 108 move beyond the sorting device 101 and will move on a remaining product conveyor 1.
• the assembly 100 according to the invention is particularly suited to perform said method for sorting.
• the products 2 may be rotated simultaneously about the first product rotation axis 12 and the second product rotation axis 14 between the first 20 and second conveying location 21.
• the products 2 are rotated between the first conveying location 20 and the second conveying location 21, and not rotated downstream of the second conveying location 21.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
• Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=69904197

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2020
  • 2020-02-05 NL NL2024844A patent/NL2024844B1/en active
• 2021
  • 2021-02-05 EP EP21702524.6A patent/EP4100343A1/de active Pending
  • 2021-02-05 WO PCT/EP2021/052841 patent/WO2021156459A1/en unknown

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