GB914949A - Improvements in fruit grading machines - Google Patents

Abstract

914,949. Screening-apparatus. MARTIN, W. T. April 25, 1961 [Jan. 30, 1960], No. 3391/60. Class 117. A tomato &c. grader includes an open mesh endless belt conveyer with means at its delivery end which intermittently penetrate the mesh apertures to clear them of any tomatoes lodged therein. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the belt may comprise spaced, transverse, hardwood spars 18 on endless longitudinally extending flexible cords 19 providing discharge apertures 20. The belt engages two sprockets 21 on a driving-shaft 22, pulleys or sprockets 24 on an idler shaft 25, and a curved guide 23, and the upper tomato carrying flight is inclined upwardly in the direction of travel. A shoot 17 receives the tomatoes which fall through the apertures. The sprockets 21 drivingly engage the ends of the belt spars 18, and are spanned by circumferentially-spaced rods 28 which, in operation, alternate with the spars and carry spaced elements such as sponge rubber balls 29 which enter the apertures 20 and eject any tomatoes jammed therein. Fig. 1 shows three such conveyers 12-14 in series, with apertures of increasing size, with intermediate ramps 32, 33, and a hopper 35 for the largest tomatoes. Frcm a hopper 9 the tomatoes are fed to a conveyer 10, comprising spaced transverse spars, allowing the smallest tomatoes to fall into a receptacle 15 ; the remainder pass via a ramp 30 to a conveyer 11 on the upper flight of which they are spaced and manually sorted, e.g. various kinds are placed towards the opposite sides of the belt. The tomatoes are then fed to the grading conveyers via a ramp 31.