GB1598224A

GB1598224A - Conveying of fruit for example tomatoes or paprikas immediately after picking in a hothouse

Info

Publication number: GB1598224A
Application number: GB13283/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: De Greefs Wagen Carrosserie en Machinebouw BV
Current assignee: De Greefs Wagen Carrosserie en Machinebouw BV
Priority date: 1977-04-18
Filing date: 1978-04-05
Publication date: 1981-09-16
Also published as: BE865905A; NL7704221A

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE CONVEYING OF FRUIT, FOR EXAMPLE, TOMATOES OR PAPRIKAS IMMEDIATELY AFTER PICKING IN A HOTHOUSE (71) We, DE GREEF'S WAGEN-, CAR- ROSSERIE- EN MACHINEBOUW B.V., of No 62, Nieuwsteeg, Tricht, The Netherlands, a private limited liability company established and existing under the Laws of The Netherlands, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The invention relates to the conveying of fruit, particularly tomatoes or paprikas immediately after picking in a hothouse. After picking tomatoes are conveyed in baskets or trays to a collecting place, for example, the entry of a grading device.This mode of conveyance includes various disadvantages.

Tomatoes piled up in a trough or a basket are likely to be bruised due to the weight of the overlying fruit, particularly in the ripe state.

Emptying of the baskets or troughs has to be performed with the required care, which, in practice, is not always the case.

The same disadvantages are involved in conveyance by means of carriages, which frequently jolt along rails. It has been suggested to use conveyor belts. The tomatoes are then separately put down on the belt so that the damage by overlying tomatoes is avoided. However, during transport, the tomatoes can roll across the belt, be thrown up by vibrations of the belt or be damaged in another way.

Tomatoes should be kept at a lowest possible temperature subsequent to gathering in order to enhance the preservability. This is a problem especially in hothouses. Hitherto it has therefore been necessary to gather the tomatoes, for example, at 4 o'clock in the morning to deliver them at the auction at 10 o'clock. A longer interval of time between gathering and sale is not possible without marked detraction from quality. It will be obvious that this is not conductive to an effective business process.

It is the aim of the invention to avoid the aforesaid disadvantages.

According to the invention there is provided a method of conveying fruit, for example, tomatoes or paprikas, wherein immediately after gathering in a hothouse and while still in the hothouse the fruit is placed into a conveyor which employs a fluid as the conveying medium.

By the term "immediately" it is meant before any treatment process, mechanical handling or storage.

With this method tomatoes placed in the conveyor are not put on a hard surface and they are not damaged. Moreover, the risk of damage at the transition from one conveying belt to another is eliminated.

The conveying fluid is preferably water at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature in the hothouse, so that the tomatoes are cooled and the preservability of the tomatoes is enhanced considerably, e.g. from a few hours to a few days.

The invention includes a hothouse for carrying out the method, provided with a channel and means for propelling a fluid in said channel for conveying fruit along the channel. The channel may be joined by an inclined scooping conveyor, which conveys the tomatoes, for example, to a grading device. At the area of the scooping conveyor usually a buffer stock will be formed. According to the present method and the device to be employed thereto this is not an objection, since as stated above the tomatoes can pile up in the fluid without any objection because they will not bear directly one on the other. In order to avoid that by such an accumulation at a buffer place the flow of the water would be impeded, the channel is preferably provided with a parallel conduit at this area. The parallel conduit can take care of the water transport.The conduit may be formed by a portion of the channel separated by a partition. The partition may be permeable to water and may be formed by grating A further advantage of the transport by means of water is that the tomatoes are already cleaned so that the processing stations such as the graders are not contaminated. A further advantage of the present invention is that the conveying system can be extended in a very simple manner, since it is sufficient to add channels. Separate drives as in the case of conveyor belts is not necessary.

The whole conveying system may be actuated by a single circulation pump.

The invention will be described more fully with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.

In the drawing Figure I is a schematic plan view of a conveyor device; and Figure 2 is a schematic side elevation of the conveyor device shown in Figure 1.

The channel 1, the return conduit 2 and the circulation pump 3 constitute a circuit.

The channel is filled with water 4, which is circulated by the pump 3 in the direction indicated by arrows. At the beginning of the channel 5 the tomatoes are put in the water immediately after being picked in the hothouse in which the conveyor channel 1 is installed. Owing to the current of the water the tomatoes move towards the receiving area 6 of a scooping conveyor 7, which is in an inclined position. The scooping conveyor 7 conveys the tomatoes to a cleaning or drying machine 8. From the cleaning or drying machine 8 the fruit is conveyed to a grading device. As an alternative a grading device may be directly joined to the scooping conveyor. At the supply area 6 for the scooping conveyor the channel 1 serves as a buffer for receiving a number of tomatoes.

Therefore, the tomatoes may pile up, otherwise without being exposed to a risk of damage. In order to prevent blocking of the water, a partition 9 in the form of a grating is disposed in the channel. The tomatoes can, therefore, accumulate only in the portion of the channel located above the grating 9, whilst the water can continue its flow through the channel portion beneath the grating 9. The water carried along by the tomatoes can be conducted back into the circulation through a hose 10. By means of the bar-shaped partition 9 it is furthermore achieved that the transport of the accumulated tomatoes readily starts again. This is further enhanced by narrowing the channel locally in its cross-section so that the flow of water is accelerated.The reduction of the cross-section may be obtained by means of upwardly extending partitions or flaps II beneath the grating, so that the cross-section of the portion intended for the flow of tomatoes is not reduced.

It should be noted that the conveying system according to the invention may also be employed for other kind of fruit, for example. paprikas.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: I. A method of conveying fruit, for example, tomatoes or paprikas, wherein immediately after gathering in a hothouse and while still in the hothouse the fruit is placed into a conveyor which employs a fluid as the conveying medium.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein said fluid is water.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature of the fluid is kept lower than the ambient temperature in the hothouse.

4. A hothouse for carrying out the method claimed in Claim I provided with a channel and means for propelling a fluid in said channel for conveying fruit along the channel.

5. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 4 wherein an inclined scooping conveyor joins said channel in parallel with a part thereof.

6. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 4 or 5, wherein the channel comprises a conduit.

7. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the parallel conduit is formed by a channel portion separated by a partition.

8. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the partition is permeable to water.

9. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 8 the partition has the form of a grating.

10. A hothouse as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 9 the cross-section of the channel is reduced at a portion thereof.

11. A hothouse as claimed in Claims 9 and 10 wherein the channel comprises upwardly extending partitions or flaps located beneath the partition and reducing the channel cross-section.

12. A method as claimed in Claim 1, and substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

13. A hothouse including a conveyor, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

be permeable to water and may be formed by grating A further advantage of the transport by means of water is that the tomatoes are already cleaned so that the processing stations such as the graders are not contaminated. A further advantage of the present invention is that the conveying system can be extended in a very simple manner, since it is sufficient to add channels. Separate drives as in the case of conveyor belts is not necessary.

The whole conveying system may be actuated by a single circulation pump.

The invention will be described more fully with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.

In the drawing Figure I is a schematic plan view of a conveyor device; and Figure 2 is a schematic side elevation of the conveyor device shown in Figure 1.

The channel 1, the return conduit 2 and the circulation pump 3 constitute a circuit.

The channel is filled with water 4, which is circulated by the pump 3 in the direction indicated by arrows. At the beginning of the channel 5 the tomatoes are put in the water immediately after being picked in the hothouse in which the conveyor channel 1 is installed. Owing to the current of the water the tomatoes move towards the receiving area 6 of a scooping conveyor 7, which is in an inclined position. The scooping conveyor 7 conveys the tomatoes to a cleaning or drying machine 8. From the cleaning or drying machine 8 the fruit is conveyed to a grading device. As an alternative a grading device may be directly joined to the scooping conveyor. At the supply area 6 for the scooping conveyor the channel 1 serves as a buffer for receiving a number of tomatoes.

Therefore, the tomatoes may pile up, otherwise without being exposed to a risk of damage. In order to prevent blocking of the water, a partition 9 in the form of a grating is disposed in the channel. The tomatoes can, therefore, accumulate only in the portion of the channel located above the grating 9, whilst the water can continue its flow through the channel portion beneath the grating 9. The water carried along by the tomatoes can be conducted back into the circulation through a hose 10. By means of the bar-shaped partition 9 it is furthermore achieved that the transport of the accumulated tomatoes readily starts again. This is further enhanced by narrowing the channel locally in its cross-section so that the flow of water is accelerated.The reduction of the cross-section may be obtained by means of upwardly extending partitions or flaps II beneath the grating, so that the cross-section of the portion intended for the flow of tomatoes is not reduced.

It should be noted that the conveying system according to the invention may also be employed for other kind of fruit, for example. paprikas.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: I. A method of conveying fruit, for example, tomatoes or paprikas, wherein immediately after gathering in a hothouse and while still in the hothouse the fruit is placed into a conveyor which employs a fluid as the conveying medium.
2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein said fluid is water.
3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature of the fluid is kept lower than the ambient temperature in the hothouse.
4. A hothouse for carrying out the method claimed in Claim I provided with a channel and means for propelling a fluid in said channel for conveying fruit along the channel.
5. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 4 wherein an inclined scooping conveyor joins said channel in parallel with a part thereof.
6. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 4 or 5, wherein the channel comprises a conduit.
7. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the parallel conduit is formed by a channel portion separated by a partition.
8. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the partition is permeable to water.
9. A hothouse as claimed in Claim 8 the partition has the form of a grating.
10. A hothouse as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 9 the cross-section of the channel is reduced at a portion thereof.
11. A hothouse as claimed in Claims 9 and 10 wherein the channel comprises upwardly extending partitions or flaps located beneath the partition and reducing the channel cross-section.
12. A method as claimed in Claim 1, and substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
13. A hothouse including a conveyor, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.