Fruit orienter

Claim 3

Apparatus for orienting indented and sutured fruit comprising a frame, a horizontal path conveyor along said frame, a plurality of apertured fruit cups on said conveyor, vertical axis wheel posts for said cups,each post having an offset cam follower, a horizontal axis finder wheel on each post, a first track for oscillating said cam followers and hence said finder wheels about a vertical axis as they advance along said track, and means for rotating said oscillating finder wheels about their own axes as they pass along said first track for finding the fruit indent, means for raising said finder wheels and discontinuing their rotation while advancing said followers along a second track that oscillates the finder wheels and brings them parallel to said path for picking up the fruit indents and orienting their sutures; the improvement wherein said second track has a sinuous cam path for oscillating said vibrating followers and the finder wheels through initially large angles for picking up the fruit indents and orienting the fruit sutures as the followers move along said second track, and means for laterally vibrating said second track for assisting in said orientation, said finder wheel oscillations by the cam path being at a frequency that is substantially less than the frequency of said second track vibration.

Claim 4

Apparatus for orienting indented and sutured fruit comprising a frame, a horizontal path conveyor along said frame, a plurality of apertured fruit cups on said conveyor, vertical axis wheel posts for said cups,each post having an offset cam follower, a horizontal axis finder wheel on each post, a first track for oscillating said cam followers and hence said finder wheels about a vertical axis as they advance along said track, and means for rotating said oscillating finder wheels about their own axes as they pass along said first track for finding the fruit indent, means for raising said finder wheels and discontinuing their rotation while advancing said followers along a second track that oscillates the finder wheels and brings them parallel to said path for picking up the fruit indents and orienting their sutures; the improvement wherein said second track has a sinuous cam path for oscillating said vibrating followers and the finder wheels through initially large angles for picking up the fruit indents and orienting the fruit sutures as the followers move along said second track, and means for laterally vibrating said second track for assisting in said orientation, said finder wheel oscillations by the cam path being at a frequency that is substantially less than the frequency of said second track vibration.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the amplitude of said second track lateral vibration progressively decreases along said path.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 2, comprising a sub-frame pivotally mounted on said frame near the downstream end of said conveyor, means for supporting said cups on said sub-frame as they move along said path, and means for vertically vibrating said sub-frame about its pivotal mounting.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said conveyor comprises side chains trained over sprockets on said frame, said cups being connected across said side chains, the upper reaches of said side chains being supported on said sub-frame.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said cups are mounted in transverse rows, a cam follower on one finder wheel post in each row, cranks on the other wheel posts in each row, and links connecting the follower and cranks in each row of cups so that oscillation of one follower in each row oscillates the remaining finder wheel posts in that row.

Claim 9

Apparatus for orienting indented and sutured fruit comprising a horizontal path conveyor, a plurality of apertured fruit cups on said conveyor, vertical axis wheel posts for said cups, each post having an offset cam follower, a horizontal axis finder wheel on each post, a first track for oscillating said cam followers and hence said finder wheels about a vertical axis as they advance along said track, and means for rotating said oscillating finder wheels about their own axes as they pass along said first track for finding the fruit indents and bringing them to the bottom of the cups, means for advancing fruit orienters for said cups having offset followers along a second track that brings the orienters parallel to said path; the improvement wherein said second track has a sinuous cam path for oscillating said orienter followers and the orienters through initially large angles for again picking up the fruit indents and orienting the fruit sutures as the followers move along said second track, and means for laterally vibrating said second track for assisting in said orientation, said orienter oscillation by said cam path being at a frequency that is substantially less than the frequency of said second track vibration.

Claim 10

Apparatus for orienting indented and sutured fruit comprising a horizontal path conveyor, a plurality of apertured fruit cups on said conveyor, vertical axis wheel posts for said cups, each post having an offset cam follower, a horizontal axis finder wheel on each post, a first track for oscillating said cam followers and hence said finder wheels about a vertical axis as they advance along said track, and means for rotating said oscillating finder wheels about their own axes as they pass along said first track for finding the fruit indents and bringing them to the bottom of the cups, means for advancing fruit orienters for said cups having offset followers along a second track that brings the orienters parallel to said path; the improvement wherein said second track has a sinuous cam path for oscillating said orienter followers and the orienters through initially large angles for again picking up the fruit indents and orienting the fruit sutures as the followers move along said second track, and means for laterally vibrating said second track for assisting in said orientation, said orienter oscillation by said cam path being at a frequency that is substantially less than the frequency of said second track vibration.

Claim 11

In a method for orienting indented and sutured fruit in a cup conveyor moving along a path, wherein the indents are found and brought to the bottom of the cups by rotating finder wheels that are oscillated about vertical axes, and the sutures are oriented by again picking up the indents and oscillating them about a vertical axis at a low frequency until the sutures are oriented. The improvement comprising superimposing on said low frequency oscillation a vibratory oscillation at a substantially higher frequency and progressively reducing the amplitude of said vibratory oscillation along said path.

Claim 12

In a method for orienting indented and sutured fruit in a cup conveyor moving along a path, wherein the indents are found and brought to the bottom of the cups by rotating finder wheels that are oscillated about vertical axes, and the sutures are oriented by again picking up the indents and oscillating them about a vertical axis at a low frequency until the sutures are oriented. The improvement comprising superimposing on said low frequency oscillation a vibratory oscillation at a substantially higher frequency and progressively reducing the amplitude of said vibratory oscillation along said path.