Pear orienting machine

Claim 1

A PEAR ORIENTING MACHINE COMPRISING: (A) A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL ELONGATED ROLLERS SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT HORIZONTAL AXES DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE AND HORIZONTALLY SPACED APART A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE STEM END PORTIONS OF THE PEARS TO BE ORIENTED; (B) MEANS SO SUPPORTING SAID ROLLERS FOR ROTATION; (C) MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID ROLLERS FOR ROTATING THEM IN THE SAME DIRECTION SO THAT THE SURFACE ON ONE ROLLER OF SAID PAIR ADJACENT TO THE OTHER ROLLER WILL MOVE UPWARDLY AND AWAY FROM THE SURFACE ON THE OTHER ROLLER THAT IS ADJACENT THERETO WHILE SAID LATTER SURFACE WILL MOVE DOWNWARDLY, WHEREBY PEARS DEPOSITED ON SAID ROLLERS WILL AUTOMATICALLY POSITION THEMSELVES ON SAID ROLLERS WITH THEIR STEM ENDS FACING GENERALLY TOWARD ONE OR THE OTHER END OF SAID ONE ROLLER AND WILL ADVANCE ALONG SAID ROLLERS WITH THEIR STEM ENDS LEADING; (D) SAID ONE ROLLER HAVING A FRICTION OUTER SURFACE ADAPTED TO RESIST SLIPPAGE OF A PEAR SUPPORTED THEREON; (E) A PEAR TURNING DEVICE ADJACENT TO ONE OF THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID PAIR OF ROLLERS; (F) MEANS SUPPORTING SAID PEAR TURNING DEVICE SPACED ABOVE SAID ROLLERS IN A PEAR TURNING POSITION ADAPTED TO ENGAGE A PEAR ADVANCING ON SAID ROLLERS TOWARD SAID ONE OF THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID ROLLERS AND TO GUIDE THE STEM END UPWARDLY AND TO A REVERSE POSITION DIRECTED TOWARD THE OTHER OF THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID PAIR OF ROLLERS, WHEREBY ALL PEARS POSITIONED ON SAID ROLLERS WILL MOVE TO SAID OTHER OF SAID ENDS; (G) FEED MEANS AT SAID ONE OF THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID ROLLERS FOR FEEDING PEARS ONTO SAID ROLLERS IN SINGLE FILE AT SAID ONE OF SAID CORRESPONDING ENDS; (H) SAID FEED MEANS INCLUDING A CONVEYOR IN LONGITUDINAL EXTENSION OF SAID ROLLERS FOR CONDUCTING PEARS IN SINGLE FILE LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF TO SAID ONE OF THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID ROLLERS; (I) MEANS SUPPORTING SAID PEAR TURNING MEANS FOR INTERMITTENT MOVEMENT TO AND FROM SAID PEAR TURNING POSITION TO PERMIT PASSAGE OF PEARS THEREPAST FROM SAID FEED MEANS; (J) MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID PEAR TURNING DEVICE FOR SO INTERMITTENTLY MOVING IT.