Apparatus and method for handling and pitting prunes

Claim 1

Apparatus adapted to pick up elongated fruit such as prunes and the like and convey them with their major axes disposed generally normal to their path of movement, said apparatus comprising a conveyor having an upwardly inclined reach forming a movable bottom wall of a fruit-supply hopper, said hopper having a pair of opposed sidewalls, a plurality of fruit-receiving pockets formed in said conveyor, each pocket being defined by a fruit-support cup forming the lower portion of said pocket, by a pair of wall members forming an intermediate portion of said pocket, and by a funnellike passageway extending through a platelike member, said passageway forming the upper portion of said pocket, first means connecting said wall members to said conveyor for movement of the same toward and away from each other, second means adjustably mounted on the sidewalls of said hopper adapted to actuate said first means and thereby selectively control the space between said wall members, whereby the endwise admission of fruit into said pockets is limited to one fruit per pocket, a pair of opposed grooves or notches formed in said platelike member at the leading and trailing sides of each pocket, and scavenger means disposed to traverse each pair of opposed grooves or notches and thereby remove from the upper portion of each pocket any fruit residing therein with its major axis disposed generally transversely of said upper portion.