Apparatus for and method of feeding apples for coring and peeling thereof

Claim 1

AN ORIENTING CONVEYOR DEVICE HAVING AN INPUT END INTO WHICH RANDOMLY ORIENTED APPLES FROM A SUPPLY SOURCE ARE LOADED AND AN OUTPUT END AT WHICH APPLES ARE DELIVERED IN A PARTICULARLY ORIENTED POSITION, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, AN ORIENTING DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE SUPPLIED WITH RANDOMLY ORIENTED APPLES INCLUDING APERTURE DEFINING MEANS WHICH DEFINE AN APERTURE OF SUCH SIZE AND SHAPE THAT AN APPLE MAY PASS BY GRAVITY DOWNWARD THERETHROUGH ONLY WHEN ORIENTED IN THE DESIRED POSITION AND ALSO INCLUDING APPLE TURNING MEANS EFFECTIVE TO ROTATE EACH APPLE INTO THE SAID DESIRED POSITION, A CONVEYING DEVICE DISPOSED BENEATH THE APERTURE FORMED BY SAID APERTURE DEFINING MEANS OF SAID ORIENTING DEVICE INCLUDING CARRIER MEANS FOR RECEIVING AND HOLDING IN PROPER POSITION ALL OF THE APPLES PASSING DOWNWARD THERETO THROUGH THE SAID APERTURE AND DRIVE MEANS COUPLED TO SAID CARRIER MEANS FOR MOVING THE LATTER TO THE OUTPUT END OF THE ORIENTING CONVEYOR DEVICE.