Fruit orienting apparatus

Abstract

Abstract AN APPARATU SFOR ORIENTING OBLATE SPHEROIDALLY SHAPED FRUIT SO THAT THEY ROLL UPRIGHT ON THEIR MAJOR CIRCUMFERENCE INCLUDES PAIRS OF PARALLEL GROMMETED ROLLERS HAVING ANNULAR FRUIT CONTACTING SURFACES WHICH COOPERATE TO FORM FRUIT RETAINING POCKETS. EACH ROLLER OF A PAIR OF ROLLERS ROTATES AT A SPEED DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE OTHER ROLLER OF THE PAIR WITH THE SLOWEST ROTATING ONE OF THE TWO ROLLERS CONTACTING THE FRUIT ON TWO SPACED CIRCUMFERENTIAL BANDS AND THE FASTER MOVING ONE CONTACTING THE FRUIT ON A CIRCUMFERENTIAL BAND INTERMEDIATE THE TWO CONTACT BANDS OF THE SLOWER ROLLER. FRICTIONAL CONTACT BETWEEN THE ROLLERS AND A FRUIT RETAINED THEREBY CAUSES THE FRUIT TO SHIFT AROUND IN THE POCKET UNTIL THERE IS SUBSTANTIALLY NO RELATIVE SURFACE MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE ROLLERS AND THE FRUIT AT THE POINTS OF CONTACT. WHEN THIS STATE IS ATTAINED, THE FRUIT IS ROLLING ON ITS MAJOR CIRCUMFERENCE WITH THE MAJOR CIRCUMFERENTIAL AREA BEING IN CONTACT WITH THE FASTER MOVING ROLLER AND WITH THE SMALLER CIRCUMFERENCES OF THE FRUIT, WHICH ARE LATERALLY DISPLACED FROM THE MAJOR CIRCUMFERENCE, BEING IN CONTACT WITH THE SLOWER MOVING ROLLER. IN SUCH POSITION, THE STEM-BLOSSOM AXIS OF THE FRUIT IS SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AND PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE ROLLERS.

Inventors

• 👤 Harold J Mumma

Bibliographic Details