NZ745121B2 - Unit for transferring horticultural products, and related method - Google Patents

Abstract

line for the treatment of horticultural products provided with at least one tank containing a fluid mass and comprising a unit for transferring the horticultural products between said at least one tank, in which the horticultural products float on said fluid mass, and at least one collection container, wherein said unit comprises a head provided with a plurality of walls normally arranged vertically, said head being movable between at least one collection position, in which said walls are interposed between respective horticultural products, which float on the fluid mass at a respective predefined section of the said tank, and at least one unloading position, in which said walls face and are proximate to the collection container, respective retractable transverse elements being associated with said walls and being movable between at least one active configuration, which can be activated upon reaching said at least one collection position, and at least one passive configuration, which can be activated upon reaching said at least one unloading position, in said active configuration said transverse elements protruding transversely from the space occupation of said walls for mechanical interference with the fall of the horticultural products as a unloading position, in said passive configuration said transverse elements being retracted toward said walls, for the free release of the horticultural products into the respective collection container.

Claims (13)

1. A line for the treatment of horticultural products provided with at least one tank containing a fluid mass and comprising a unit for transferring the horticultural products between said at least one tank,in which the 5 horticultural products float on said fluid mass, and at least one collection container, wherein said unit comprises a head provided with a plurality of walls normally arranged vertically, said head being movable between at least one collection position, in which said walls are interposed between respective horticultural products, which 10 float on the fluid mass at a respective predefined section of the said tank, and at least one unloading position, in which said walls face and are proximate to the collection container, respective retractable transverse elements being associated with said walls and being movable between at least one active configuration, which can be activated upon reaching said at least one 15 collection position, and at least one passive configuration, which can be activated upon reaching said at least one unloading position, in said active configuration said transverse elements protruding transversely from the space occupation of said walls for mechanical interference with the fall of the horticultural products as a unloading position, in said passive 20 configuration said transverse elements being retracted toward said walls, for the free release of the horticultural products into the respective collection container.

2. The line according to claim 1, characterized in that each one of said transverse elements is shaped by at least one active portion of at least one 25 membrane, which can be inflated on command for its transition from said passive configuration to said active configuration.

3. The line according to claim 2, characterized in that said head is provided, in a lower region, with a plurality of parallel laminas, which form respective said walls and have a substantially constant center distance that can be adjusted at will, each one of said membranes being coupled, in a lower region, to a corresponding said lamina and being inflatable on command, for transition from said passive configuration, in which it is substantially aligned vertically with the respective said lamina, to said active configuration, in 5 which it has an increased volume and a preferably cylindrical shape, respective mutually opposite active portions of each pair of adjacent membranes cooperating for mechanical interference with the fall of the horticultural products.

4. The line according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized 10 in that said unit comprises means for detecting a vertical coordinate assumed at each work cycle by the top of the horticultural products, released into the collection container at the respective said unloading position, for the correct assessment of the stroke to be imparted to said head in the subsequent work cycle and the progressive filling of a same collection container with 15 superimposed layers of horticultural products.

5. The line according to claim 4, characterized in that said detection means comprise at least one proximity sensor, which is anchored in a lower region to said head between respective said laminas and is directed toward said transverse elements, for the measurement of the vertical coordinate assumed 20 at each work cycle by the top of corresponding horticultural products.

6. The line according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said unit comprises an apparatus for controlling the delivered power, at least proximate to the reaching of said unloading position, for the prompt detection of any peaks of delivered power, which correspond to the 25 resistance offered by horticultural products previously incorrectly positioned in the collection container.

7. The line according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said unit comprises at least one matrix for the alignment of the horticultural products, which has a plurality of partitions which can be arranged vertically along a free surface of the fluid mass in the predefined section of said tank, each pair of said plurality of partitions defining a respective channel for one-by-one alignment for the horticultural products, appropriately pushed toward the predefined section of said tank, each one of 5 said channels being arrangeable in substantial alignment with an interspace delimited by a respective pair of said walls, when said head moves toward said collection position.

8. The line according to claim 7, characterized in that said matrix comprises a supporting platform for said partitions and has, in at least one active 10 condition, a lower density than the fluid mass, for its floating on the free surface of the fluid mass, said platform being pushed downward by said head when said head reaches said collection position, for the immersion of said partitions and the interposition of the horticultural products, previously aligned in the respective said channels, between corresponding said walls, 15 and the subsequent activation of said active configuration of the corresponding said transverse elements.

9. The line according to claim 8, characterized in that said matrix has a density that can vary on command, for its floating at a first vertical height, during the alignment of the horticultural products, and the subsequent 20 transition to a second vertical height, which is greater than the first vertical height, for its partial lifting and the settling of the horticultural products inside each one of said channels.

10. A method for transferring horticultural products between at least one tank containing a fluid mass, in which the horticultural products float on said 25 fluid mass, and at least one collection container, which consists in: a. conveying the horticultural products, which float on the fluid mass, toward a predefined section of the tank, b. moving toward the predefined section of the tank a head that has a plurality of walls that are normally arranged vertically, up to a collection position, in which the walls are interposed between respective horticultural products, c. determining the transition of respective retractable transverse elements, associated with 5 corresponding said walls, from at least one passive configuration, in which they are retracted toward the walls, to at least one active configuration, in which they protrude transversely from the space occupation of the walls, for mechanical interference with the fall of the horticultural products as a consequence of the subsequent lifting of said head (2), 10 d. transferring the head toward at least one unloading position, in which the walls face and are proximate to the collection container, e. causing the return of the transverse elements from the active configuration to the passive configuration, for the free release of the horticultural products into the respective collection container. 15

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that it provides for repeating iteratively, on subsequent operating cycles, said step a., said step b., said step c., said step d. and said step e., at subsequent steps e. the horticultural products being released into the same container, accumulating them in subsequent superimposed layers. 20

12. The line according to claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed.

13. The method according to claim 10, substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed.