Patent US3623592A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3623592A
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Fruit feed system and method
Assignee: Brex Corp
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Filing: 1968-07-18
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Granted: 1971-11-30
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Expires: 1988-07-18
Abstract
Abstract A fruit feed system comprising a bulk supply conveyor for rollable fruit articles from which fruit is fed through a discharge opening past a bridge preventing means into an inclined hopper or tray. A row of fruit is elevated from this tray and presented to a selective fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism comprising wobble plates which reject any fruit in the row presented to it which is not properly aligned with one of the passages through the wobble plate system, and admits only one fruit between each pair of wobble plates for feeding thereby on demand to the feed end of one of a plurality of single-file fruit feed mechanisms which incorporate means for feeding one fruit at a time from the discharge end thereof to a suitable processing mechanism such as a grader, a pitter or the like. Means is provided for selectively blocking any one of the single-file feed mechanisms, and when this occurs, the fruit is maintained in the row in an agitated condition, and the fruit between the wobble plates remain in place in agitated condition, ready to feed on demand. Subsequent fruit is presented repeatedly to the wobble plates for admission but no feed occurs when no fruit is in demand. The system includes means for determining the beginning of operation of the wobble plates, and optionally selecting the amount of ''''wobble'''' provided by oscillation of the wobble control means.
Inventors
- 👤 Earl R Anderson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 17:07
CPC Classifications
A; A23; A23N; A23N4/00; A23N4/02; A23N4/04; B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/02; B65G47/04; B65G47/12; B65G47/14; B65G47/1492; B65G2201/00; B65G2201/02; B65G2201/0202; B65G2201/0211
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
In a fruit feed system, means providing a supply of fruit in bulk, a single-file feed mechanism, a fruit support between said single-file feed mechanism and said bulk supply means, movable fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism disposed in cooperative relation with said fruit support, means for operating said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism, and means for presenting fruit from said supply means to said fruit support, said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism operating to admit properly centered fruit to said fruit support and having movable means to reject fruit which is not properly centered with respect to said single-file feed mechanism.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
101 words
In a fruit feed system, means providing a supply of fruit in bulk, a single-file feed mechanism, a fruit support between said single-file feed mechanism and said bulk supply means, movable fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism disposed in cooperative relation with said fruit support, means for operating said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism, and means for presenting fruit from said supply means to said fruit support, said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism operating to admit properly centered fruit to said fruit support and having movable means to reject fruit which is not properly centered with respect to said single-file feed mechanism.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
In a fruit feed system as recited in claim 1 in which the fruit support is in elevated position with respect to the discharge portion of said supply means and in which the fruit-presenting means elevates a row of fruit from the supply means and presents it to said fruit support.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
86 words
In a fruit feed system as recited in claim 1 which includes means for agitating fruit on said fruit support, and in which said agitating means and said fruit admitting and rejecting means comprises a pair of wobble plates mounted for rotation above said fruit support and spanning said fruit support for moving fruit back and forth on said support, the direction of rotation of said wobble plate means moving the bottom surface of said plates in direction to reject overfeed of fruit to said support.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
In a fruit feed mechanism as recited in claim 3 in which means is provided for controlling the amount of wobble and the degree of agitation of fruit being fed between said wobble plates.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
53 words
In a fruit feed system as recited in claim 2 in which blocking means is associated with said single-file feed mechanism to block feeding of fruit thereby, whereby fruit fed from the bulk supply backs up in said single-file feed mechanism and said agitating means and blocks further feeding from said bulk supply.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
94 words
In a fruit feed system, means providing a supply of fruit in bulk, a plurality of parallel single-file feed mechanisms each having an elevated fruit-admitting end, a common fruit support extending across the elevated fruit-admitting ends of said single-file feed mecHanisms, movable fruit admitting and rejecting mechanisms providing a plurality of feed lanes across said support and leading respectively to said feed mechanisms, means for operating said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanisms, and means for moving and presenting a row of fruit from said bulk supply means to said fruit support for feeding thereto.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
94 words
In a fruit feed system, means providing a supply of fruit in bulk, a plurality of parallel single-file feed mechanisms each having an elevated fruit-admitting end, a common fruit support extending across the elevated fruit-admitting ends of said single-file feed mecHanisms, movable fruit admitting and rejecting mechanisms providing a plurality of feed lanes across said support and leading respectively to said feed mechanisms, means for operating said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanisms, and means for moving and presenting a row of fruit from said bulk supply means to said fruit support for feeding thereto.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
In a fruit feed system as recited in claim 6 in which said fruit support is elevated with respect to the discharge portion of said supply means in which said presenting means comprises elevating means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
90 words
In a fruit feed system as recited in claim 6 in which said fruit admitting and rejecting mechanism comprises a series of wobble plates mounted in oblique relation to said shaft and for rotation above said fruit support, each opening between adjacent wobble plates being aligned with one of said single-file feed mechanisms, whereby fruit elevated and presented to said fruit support will be moved back and forth on the support and thereby agitated while on the support in the course of being fed to said single file feed mechanisms.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of feeding rollable fruit articles on demand from a bulk supply of fruit to a single file of fruit articles, which comprises providing a path leading from the bulk supply to the single file of fruit, isolating a row of fruit by lifting a row of fruit from the bulk supply and presenting it to the single-file portion of the feed path, said row being in excess of the number required for feeding, rejecting excess articles from said row while leaving a properly centered article for feeding to said single-file portion of the path.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of feeding rollable fruit articles on demand from a bulk supply of fruit to a single file of fruit articles, which comprises providing a path leading from the bulk supply to the single file of fruit, isolating a row of fruit by lifting a row of fruit from the bulk supply and presenting it to the single-file portion of the feed path, said row being in excess of the number required for feeding, rejecting excess articles from said row while leaving a properly centered article for feeding to said single-file portion of the path.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
69 words
In a method of feeding fruit articles as recited in claim 9, which includes the step of interrupting the feeding of fruit articles along said single-file portion of said path and thereby causing articles to accumulate in said single-file and at the entrance to said single-file path, and utilizing the article at the entrance portion of said single-file path to reject further feeding of articles from said isolated row.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
144 words
A method of feeding rollable fruit articles on demand from a bulk supply of fruit to a plurality of single-files of fruit articles, which comprises providing a plurality of single-file feed paths leading from the bulk supply, isolating a row of fruit from said bulk supply and presenting it as a row for feeding to the entrance portions of said single-file feed paths, rejecting excess fruit from said row, and admitting a properly centered fruit with respect to each of said single-file paths which includes interrupting the feeding of articles along one of said single-file paths, and thereby causing articles to accumulate in said single-file backwardly up to the entrance portion thereof, utilizing the endmost article at the entrance portion to block further feed of articles from said supply to said interrupted single-file path, and continuing the feed of articles to uninterrupted feed paths.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
144 words
A method of feeding rollable fruit articles on demand from a bulk supply of fruit to a plurality of single-files of fruit articles, which comprises providing a plurality of single-file feed paths leading from the bulk supply, isolating a row of fruit from said bulk supply and presenting it as a row for feeding to the entrance portions of said single-file feed paths, rejecting excess fruit from said row, and admitting a properly centered fruit with respect to each of said single-file paths which includes interrupting the feeding of articles along one of said single-file paths, and thereby causing articles to accumulate in said single-file backwardly up to the entrance portion thereof, utilizing the endmost article at the entrance portion to block further feed of articles from said supply to said interrupted single-file path, and continuing the feed of articles to uninterrupted feed paths.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-11-29 | 1975-05-31 | 1975-11-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-11-29 | 1979-05-31 | 1979-11-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-11-29 | 1983-05-31 | 1983-11-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |