FR2792228A1 - DEVICE FOR SORTING PRODUCTS, PARTICULARLY FOR BATCHING - Google Patents

Abstract

This device comprises a conveyor (1) for transporting products (P) in order to transport them selectively to n reception stations (2). The conveyor (1) comprises an endless belt (10) having a succession of openings (12) separated by solid areas (11) suitable for receiving products (P), and each station (2) comprises a receiving support of product (20) disposed under the transport strand (la), and a stop means (3) selectively movable above the belt (10), for selectively stopping the products (P) arriving so that they fall in the opening (12) located behind, on the support (20) at the corresponding reception station (2). Application to the packaging in batches of slices of smoked salmon.

Description

PRODUCT SORTING DEVICE,

PARTICULARLY FOR LOTS

  The present invention relates to a product sorting device in which a conveyor line routes the products one behind the other and selectively transfers them to reception points.

distributed over its length.

  It was more particularly conceived for the field of the food-processing industry, in particular for the constitution of batches of products such as slices of smoked salmon according to a technique in which several batches are being formed at the same time, the slices being selected one by one as they arrive to be sent to the batch in training where they will integrate best. The criterion for selecting the slices is generally the weight, but it can also be the shape, the color, etc., or the combination of several parameters. Sorting devices of the aforementioned type are currently widely used in this application for packaging smoked salmon in slices, which vary in terms of the means operating the transfer of the products to the different addresses from the distribution line. The most common are a diverter or pusher system which ejects the products on the side of the distribution conveyor, as well as a system with a succession of pivoting conveyor sections which interrupt the conveyor line by tilting up or down. low. This latter system and others less used are described in document WO 95/35238 in the name of the company.

Danish Scanvaegt A / S.

  A drawback common to all these existing systems is the rate limitation, to which are added for the most part a lack of reliability including an insufficiency in the control of the transfers in themselves, however essential for the formation of batches sufficiently well constructed for to be packed

with no adjustments.

  The present invention results from a search for a generally more satisfactory solution in view of this

  multiple disadvantage, although remaining simple.

  It consists of a product sorting device, comprising a conveyor line for transporting these products one behind the other in order to selectively route them into n receiving stations distributed along its length, with n 2 1, characterized in that said line conveyor is an endless belt conveyor, the belt of which has a succession of openings separated by solid areas suitable for receiving products, and in that each receiving station comprises a product receiving support disposed under the strand transport of said strip without

  end, and a selectively displaceable stop means

  above said endless strip between an active position and an erasing position, to selectively stop the arriving products so that they fall into the opening following said full area where they are worn to be received on said receiving support at corresponding reception station. When they fall, the products have therefore been stopped beforehand on the conveyor belt, so that their transfer to the receiving support can be perfectly controlled. This is the case for smoked salmon slices thanks to the fact that, being cold packaged, they have relative rigidity. On the other hand, the actuation of the stop means can be very rapid, and it is therefore not an obstacle to the

operating rate.

  Said stop means can be flaps or combs. They advantageously move in vertical translation or in pivoting around an axis

transverse.

  The strip can take the most diverse forms, provided it is sufficiently slippery for the products. It may be a continuous ribbon made of a suitable synthetic material such as polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene. It can also be a strip with trays or pallets mounted alternately with voids on chains or side belts. For products such as smoked salmon slices, the receiving supports are advantageously trays such as cardboard boards moved step by step for the production of batches of slices in tiers. Depending on the desired presentation, said plates can be oriented and moved step by step in a determined direction: parallel, perpendicular or oblique with respect to the running direction of the distribution conveyor. The receiving supports can themselves be handled by secondary conveyors, passing between the lower and upper strands of the distribution conveyor. They can then be placed automatically on said secondary conveyors, by unstacking devices mounted at the upstream end.

of these.

  The features and advantages of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will become apparent

  more clearly in the following description, and in the drawings to which it refers. In these drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view

  of an embodiment of a device according to the invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of another embodiment of the device according to the invention, in an application to the packaging of salmon slices

smoke.

  First considering Fig. 1, it represents a device according to the invention comprising a distribution conveyor 1 receiving products P one by one at its upstream end to transfer them to a plurality n of reception stations 2 distributed over its length, with the further possibility of an additional destination at the outlet of the conveyor 1, for example for products which have not been assigned to one of the reception stations 2. According to the invention, the distribution conveyor 1 is of the endless belt type, its strip 10 having in its transport width, and over its entire length, a succession of openings 12 separated from each other by solid areas 11 o are loaded with the products P. As shown, the openings 11 advantageously have a substantially rectangular shape and, as with the solid areas 11, a longitudinal dimension substantially greater than that of the products P, which are preferably loaded onto the strip 10 as close as possible to the front edge of the opening 12 located

immediately behind.

  Each receiving station 2 comprises a receiving support 20, disposed under the upper transport strand 1a of the conveyor 1, and more precisely between the upper strands 1a and lower 1b. This support 20 corresponds to a stop means 3 disposed above it and above the upper strand 1a, which has the function of selectively stopping the products P on the strip 10, so as to slide them over that here, then drop into opening 12 located behind. The stop means 3 here consists of a flap or comb with displacement in vertical translation. Alternatively, the erasing of the flap or comb can be done just as effectively by pivoting about a transverse axis, in particular in applications to products P of small thickness o the amplitude of the

  pivoting can remain very small.

  In practice, at the receiving stations 2, the supports 20 are most often provided to receive final packaging receptacles for the products P, in particular trays, or else cardboard boards for the sliced products such as smoked salmon. On the other hand, the arrangement of the products in the receptacles can be obtained by moving the receptacles step by step through the supports, in a direction which can be parallel, perpendicular or oblique with respect to the direction

conveyor transport 1.

  Fig. 2 illustrates a device according to the invention used for batching a sliced product such as smoked salmon. It includes a distribution conveyor 1 at all points identical to that of FIG. 1, and therefore designated, as well as its elements, by the same references. It is supplied with slices T originating from a means of measuring the selection criterion, to which a management unit assigns a destination address as a function of the information detected. Each receiving station 2 comprises a secondary conveyor 21 passing between the two upper strands 1a and lower 1b of the distribution conveyor 1, which is associated with a stop means 3. In the drawing, two stop means 3, in the active position , are represented by a thick line, the others being in the erase position. Each secondary conveyor 21 is equipped at its upstream end with a dispenser or unstacking device 22 which supplies it with cardboard boards C for the packaging of the batches of slices. The boards C are brought by the secondary conveyor 21 into position to receive the first section, then moved step by step for the reception of the following ones, in order to constitute a stack in tiers. When a batch is complete, the conveyor 21 advances it for transfer to a discharge conveyor 4. As do the supports 20 in the example of FIG. 1, the secondary conveyors 21 could be oriented5 obliquely to the distribution conveyor 1 rather than perpendicularly, this possibility being

  a very simple way to vary the presentations.

Claims (5)

  1) Product sorting device, comprising a conveyor line for transporting these products (P) one behind the other in order to selectively convey them in n receiving stations (2) distributed over its length, with n> 1, characterized in that said conveyor line is an endless belt conveyor (1), the belt (10) of which has a succession of openings (12) separated by solid areas (11) suitable for receiving products (P), and in that each receiving station (2) comprises a product receiving support (20) disposed under the transport strand (la) of said endless belt (10), and a stop means (3) selectively movable at the above said endless strip (10) between an active position and an erasing position, to selectively stop the products (P) arriving so that they fall into the opening (12) succeeding said full area (11) o they are worn to be received on said support   reception (20) at the corresponding reception station (2).   2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said openings (12) are rectangular cutouts formed in a continuous strip (10). 3) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the belt (10) of the conveyor (1) is of a type with trays or pallets, which trays or pallets are mounted with alternating voids constituting the openings (12) on Chains   or side straps. 4) Device according to one of claims 1 to   3, characterized in that said stop means (3) are flaps or combs with displacement in vertical translation.   ) Device according to one of claims 1 to   3, characterized in that said stop means (3) are flaps or combs with pivoting movement around a transverse axis.   6) Device according to one of claims 1 to   , characterized in that it is integrated in a batch packaging installation of a product in slices such as smoked salmon.   7) Device according to claim 6, characterized in that each receiving station 2 comprises a secondary conveyor (21) passing between the upper (la) and lower (lb) strands of the distribution conveyor (1), for handling trays ( C) receiving slices (T) according to the desired presentation of said slices (T) in batches. 8) Device according to claim 7, characterized in that said secondary conveyors (21) advance said plates (C) step by step during their loading to constitute a stack in steps of said slices (T).   9) Device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the orientation of said secondary conveyors (21) relative to said distribution conveyor (1), oblique or perpendicular, is O10 determined according to the presentation of the batches chosen on said plates (C).   ) Device according to one of claims 7 to   9, characterized in that each secondary conveyor (21) is provided at its upstream end with a device   unstacking (22) to supply it with trays (C).