Background to the Invention Conveyors are often used in grading machines to transport articles through various

measurement stages and to discharge the articles to sort them dependent on the

measurements.

A common type of object that is graded and sorted by such a conveyor system is fruit. Fruit may be sorted based on criteria such as weight, shape, colour, ripeness and any other characteristic. Conveyor systems comprise devices to measure these characteristics while the fruit is being transported. For example, the characteristics can be detected and measured by visual scanning devices positioned above the conveyor. The position of each fruit and its respective characteristics can be tracked so that a discharge mechanism causes items of fruit to be unloaded from the conveyor and sent to the required destination, for example towards a chute or onto another conveyor.

Some types of sorting conveyors include an endless conveyor belt that presents a flat surface on which the articles sit as they are conveyed. The tracking of the position of each article can be very complex for this type of conveyor, since the articles can be positioned anywhere on the belt and may move around the belt during travel.

Another type of sorting conveyor has an endless conveyor chain or belt on which are mounted a plurality of article carriers or cups. The articles are each held by one of the carriers or cups meaning they are only free to take discrete positions on the conveyor and their position can be more easily tracked.

Another difficulty with the belt-type conveyor is that a significant proportion of the articles may not be visible to the detection systems able to measure characteristics of the articles because the lower side of the articles may remain facing away from the detection system (which is typically mounted above the conveyor). The carrier-type conveyor can alleviate this problem somewhat as the carriers can include rollers which rotate the articles as they are conveyed, enabling a greater proportion of the articles to be visible to the detection system. However, this type of conveyor still has limitations in terms of the proportion of articles that can be detected by the detection systems, Large sorting systems may comprise multiple carrier conveyors aligned in parallel, in which case the neighbouring conveyor and articles on the neighbouring conveyor can obscure the view of articles from detectors of a detection system. A greater spacing between conveyors helps to increase the amount of the articles that is visible to the detectors but limits the capacity of the conveyor system so may not be a practical or commercially viable way to improve visibility for the detection system.

Another problem with many article sorting conveyors is that they lack the ability to easily handle and process articles of different shapes and sizes. Carrier-type conveyors may only be able to handle articles that are able to fit into the carrier, for example.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved article conveying apparatus. Alternatively, it is an object to provide an improved article sorting system. Alternatively, it is an object to provide an improved article receiving assembly for an article conveyor.

Alternatively, it is an object of the invention to provide a system, apparatus or device that addresses at least some of the aforementioned disadvantages or needs.

Alternatively, it is an object of the invention to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an article conveying apparatus comprising one or more endless article conveyors configured to convey articles in a longitudinal direction along a plurality of adjacent conveying paths, each conveyor comprising a plurality of discrete article receiving means, wherein the discrete article receiving means along each conveying path is offset in the longitudinal direction from the discrete article receiving means of the neighbouring conveying path(s). Preferably, the article conveying apparatus comprises a plurality of rolling means configured to rotate articles when the articles are received by each of the discrete article receiving means. In preferred embodiments of the invention, each endless article conveyor comprises a plurality of rollers mounted on an endless chain, each roller able to rotate around a roller axis. More preferably, the discrete article receiving means are defined between adjacent rollers.

Preferably, the plurality of rollers are mounted to either side of the endless chain such that the rollers mounted to a first side of the endless chain are longitudinally offset from the rollers mounted to a second side of the endless chain.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the rollers are mounted to the endless chain in a plurality of offset roller pair assemblies. More preferably, each roller pair assembly comprises a mounting member mounted on the endless chain, the mounting member having a first roller mounted thereto on a first side and a second roller mounted thereto on a second side, the first and second rollers being offset in relation to the longitudinal direction.

Preferably, each roller is supported only by the respective mounting member. That is, the first and second rollers extend outwards on both sides of the mounting member in a cantilever manner.

The article conveying apparatus may comprise a plurality of ejector arms, each ejector arm being connected directly or indirectly to one of the discrete article receiving means. The ejector arms may be adapted to be selectively pivoted so as to divert the path of an article discharged from the conveying apparatus.

In some embodiments, each ejector arm is connected to one of the rollers. In a preferred embodiment, each ejector arm is pivotally mounted to the respective roller and configured to pivot around the roller axis.

In alternative embodiments, each ejector arm is connected to one of the discrete article receiving means such that the ejector arm can pivot around an axis oriented in substantially the longitudinal direction to eject an article off the conveying apparatus in a sideways direction. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an article sorting system comprising:

an article conveying apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention; and discharge means for selectively discharging articles from the article conveying apparatus to one or more discharge locations.

Preferably, the system further comprises a controller for controlling the discharge of articles from the article conveying apparatus. More preferably, the controller is operable to receive data indicative of how articles conveyed on the article conveying apparatus should be sorted and to control the discharge of the articles dependent on said data.

Preferably, the system comprises detection means for detecting one or more characteristics of articles on the article conveying apparatus. More preferably, the system comprises means for generating the data indicative of how the articles should be sorted dependent on the detected characteristics of the articles.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the detection means comprises scanning and/or reading means oriented towards one of the conveying paths (the detected conveying path) and positioned above and transversely offset from the detected conveying path.

Preferably, the article sorting system is configured to discharge any articles not discharged by the discharge means to an article receiving location. For example, the article receiving location may be at the end of one or more of the conveying paths such that articles passing off the end of each conveying path fall into the article receiving location.

In some embodiments, the discharge means comprises one or more means for moving one of the ejector arms into an article diverting orientation. More preferably, the means for moving may comprise an actuator member and an actuator member movement mechanism operable to move the actuator member into the path of the ejector arm so as to move it to the diverting orientation. The actuator member and the actuator member movement mechanism may be external to the conveying apparatus, for example mounted below it.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an article receiving assembly for an article conveyor, the article receiving assembly comprising: mounting means configured to mount the article receiving assembly to the article conveyor;

first and second discrete article receiving means connected to the mounting means such that, when receiving first and second articles respectively, the position of the first article is offset from the position of the second article in the longitudinal conveying direction of the article conveyor.

It will be understood that the article receiving assembly may be able to receive and retain articles on its own or, as in preferred embodiments of the invention, the article receiving assembly may be able to receive and retain articles in conjunction with like article receiving assemblies on the article conveyor, for example in between the article receiving assembly and an adjacent article receiving assembly.

Preferably, the first and second discrete article receiving means comprise first and second rolling means configured to rotate articles when the articles are received by each of the discrete article receiving means.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the first and second rolling means comprise first and second rollers mounted to the mounting means and able to rotate around a roller axis. It will be understood that in some embodiments the article receiving assembly is configured to receive articles between rollers on adjacent article receiving assemblies on the article conveyor.

Preferably, the first and second rollers are mounted to either side of the mounting means with the respective roller axes offset from each other.

Preferably, the first and second rollers are supported only by the mounting means. That is, the first and second rollers extend outwards on both sides of the mounting member in a cantilever manner. In one embodiment of the invention, the mounting means comprises a connection portion for mounting to an endless chain of the article conveyor.

The article receiving assembly may comprise first and second ejector arms, each ejector arm being directly or indirectly connected to one of the article receiving means. The ejector arms may be adapted to be selectively pivoted so as to divert the path of an article discharged from the article conveyor.

In some embodiments, each ejector arm is pivotally mounted to the respective roller and configured to pivot around the respective roller axis.

In alternative embodiments, each ejector arm is connected to one of the discrete article receiving means such that the ejector arm can pivot around an axis oriented in substantially the longitudinal direction to eject an article off the conveying apparatus in a sideways direction.

In some embodiments of the invention, the first and second rollers may each comprise first and second frusto-conical members wherein the ends of the frusto-conical members having smaller areas face each other. More preferably, the first and second frusto-conical members are separated by a gap. More preferable still, one of the ejector arms is mounted on the roller axis so that the ejector arm extends through the gap between the frusto-conical members.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided an article receiving assembly for an article conveyor, the article receiving assembly comprising:

mounting means configured to mount the article receiving assembly to the article conveyor;

article receiving means associated with the mounting means and configured to receive at least one article conveyed by the article conveyor; and

ejector means connected to the article receiving means and/or the mounting means and operable to discharge the article(s) received by the article receiving means.

It will be understood that, in some embodiments, the ejector means may be comprised of or form part of the article receiving means, i.e. the ejector means may at least partly receive and/or support the article being conveyed. In one embodiment, the ejector means comprises an ejector arm connected to the article receiving means. In an alternative embodiment, the ejector means comprises an ejector arm connected to the mounting means.

Preferably, the article receiving means comprises rolling means configured to rotate an article when the article is received by the article receiving means. More preferably, the article is received between the rolling means and a rolling means of an adjacent article receiving assembly mounted on the article conveyor. Alternatively, the article may be received between the rolling means and one of the ejector arms. More preferably, the rolling means comprises a roller. The roller may be mounted on a generally horizontal roller axis oriented generally perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor.

In some embodiments, the ejector arm is connected to one of the rollers. In a preferred embodiment, the ejector arm is pivotaliy mounted to the roller and configured to pivot around the roller axis.

In alternative embodiments, each ejector arm is connected to the article receiving means and/or mounting means such that the ejector arm can pivot around an axis oriented in substantially the longitudinal direction to eject an article off the conveying apparatus in a sideways direction.

The ejector arm may be adapted to be selectively pivoted by an ejector arm actuator so as to divert the path of an article discharged from the article conveyor. The article receiving assembly may comprise the ejector arm actuator or part thereof, or alternatively, the ejector arm actuator may be a mechanism separate from the article receiving assembly.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided an article conveying apparatus comprising at least one endless conveyor configured to convey articles in a longitudinal direction, the endless conveyor comprising:

a plurality of article receiving means configured to receive at least one article conveyed by the conveyor;

a plurality of article discharge means mounted on the endless conveyor such that the plurality of article discharge means are conveyed by the conveyor and operable to discharge articles from the conveyor substantially in the longitudinal direction. It will be understood that, in some embodiments, the article discharge means may be comprised of or form part of the article receiving means, i.e. the article discharge means may at least partly receive and/or support the article being conveyed.

Preferably, the article discharge means each comprise an ejector arm able to pivot around a generally horizontal pivot axis. In one embodiment the pivot axis is oriented generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. In another embodiment the pivot axis is oriented generally parallel to the longitudinal direction.

Preferably, the article receiving means each comprise rolling means configured to rotate an article when the article is received by the article receiving means. More preferably, the article is received between the rolling means and a rolling means of an adjacent article receiving means mounted on the article conveyor. Alternatively, the article may be received between the rolling means and one of the ejector arms. More preferably, the rolling means comprises at least one roller. The roller may be mounted on a generally horizontal roller axis oriented generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

In preferred embodiments, the plurality of rollers are arranged in a plurality of rows of rollers mounted co-axially. In preferred embodiments, the plurality of ejector arms are arranged in a plurality of rows of ejector arms mounted co-axially.

In one embodiment, at least one of the ejector arms and at least one of the rollers are mounted on the same axis. That is, the pivot axis and roller axis are co-axial. Preferably, the endless conveyor comprises a plurality of axles mounted on at least one endless chain such that the axles are oriented generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

In one embodiment, a plurality of rollers and a plurality of ejector arms are pivotally mounted on each of the axles such that the axles define the pivot axis and roller axis of the respective rollers / ejector arms.

Preferably, article receiving locations are defined between the rollers on adjacent axles. More preferably, the endless conveyor is sufficiently wide that multiple articles can be received along the length of each axle.

Preferably, the ejector arms are adapted to be selectively pivoted by ejector arm actuator means so as to discharge an article from the conveyor and/or to divert the path of an article discharged from the conveyor. The article conveying apparatus may comprise the ejector arm actuator means or part thereof, or alternatively, the ejector arm actuator means may be a mechanism separate from the article conveying apparatus. Preferably, the ejector arm actuator means is configured to selectively pivot any number of the plurality of ejector arms. More preferably, the number of ejector arms actuated to discharge an article from the conveyor is dependent on the size of the article.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided an article sorting system comprising an article conveying apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention.

Preferably, the system further comprises a controller for controlling the discharge of articles from the article conveying apparatus. More preferably, the controller is operable to receive data indicative of how articles conveyed on the article conveying apparatus should be sorted and to control the discharge of the articles dependent on said data.

Preferably, the system comprises detection means for detecting one or more characteristics of articles on the article conveying apparatus.

More preferably, the system comprises means for generating the data indicative of how the articles should be sorted dependent on the detected characteristics of the articles. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the detection means comprises scanning and/or reading means oriented towards one of the conveying paths (the detected conveying path) and positioned above the detected conveying path.

Preferably, the article sorting system is configured to discharge any articles not discharged by the discharge means to an article receiving location. For example, the article receiving location may be at the end of one or more of the conveying paths such that articles passing off the end of each conveying path fall into the article receiving location.

Preferably, the controller is configured to:

receive data indicative of the position and size of an article on the article conveyor; select which article discharge means of a plurality of article discharge means should be actuated in order to discharge the article from the article conveyor;

control actuation of the selected article discharge means in order to discharge the article from the article conveyor, wherein the number of selected article discharge means is dependent on the size of the article. According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method of sorting articles comprising:

receiving data indicative of the position and size of an article on an article conveyor; receiving data indicative of how the article should be sorted;

selecting which article discharge means of a plurality of article discharge means should be actuated in order to discharge the article from the article conveyor;

controlling actuation of the selected article discharge means in order to discharge the article from the article conveyor, wherein the number of selected article discharge means is dependent on the size of the article.

Preferably, the method comprises:

receiving data indicative of one or more characteristics of the article; and

generating the data indicative of how the article should be sorted dependent on the detected characteristic(s) of the article.

Further aspects of the invention, which should be considered in all its novel aspects, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading of the following description which provides at least one example of a practical application of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

One or more embodiments of the invention will be described below by way of example only, and without intending to be limiting, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustration of an article sorting system according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view illustration of part of an article sorting system according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustration of an assembly for supporting articles on a conveying apparatus of an article sorting system according to another embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a plan view illustration of part of an article sorting system according to yet another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is an end view illustration of part of an article sorting system according to still another embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a side view illustration of the part of the article sorting system shown in Figure

5. Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustration of an article sorting system 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. The basic components of sorting system 10 are an article conveying apparatus 11 , a detection system 12 and discharge means 13. In use, articles 14 are conveyed along the conveyor 11 , some property or characteristic of the articles is detected by the detection system 12 and, dependent on the detected property, the articles 14 are selectively discharged from the conveyor 11 to one or more discharge locations by discharge means 13.

The invention is not limited to sorting any particular type of article or to sorting on the basis of any particular characteristics or properties of the article. One example of an article that can be sorted by the invention is fruit, and examples of the characteristics by which the fruit can be sorted by the invention include weight, shape, colour and ripeness.

It will be appreciated that the nature of the detection system is dependent on the characteristic being detected. In the embodiment of Figure 1 , the detection system is an optical detection system comprising scanners or readers 15 positioned and oriented so they have a line-of-sight view of articles 14 moving along conveyor 11 , for example the scanners 15 may be suspended above the level of the conveyor 11. The cones 16 in Figure 1 are indicative of the region of vision of the scanners 15.

Optical scanners 15, in conjunction with one or more processors or computing equipment to which the scanners are connected (although not shown in Figure 1 ), may be operable to detect and determine the shape, colour and/or ripeness of a fruit, for example. As a result of that determination, the processor determines how the articles on the conveyor 11 should be sorted and specifically whether the articles should be discharged from the conveyor and, if there are multiple discharge locations, to which discharge location. The processor generates data indicative of that determination. A controller controls the discharge means 13 to discharge articles from the conveyor 11 accordingly. Conveyor apparatus 11 may comprise one or more individual endless conveyors 11 a, 11 b, etc. The individual endless conveyors are positioned side-by-side such that there is a plurality of adjacent conveying paths or lanes, each conveying articles in parallel in a longitudinal direction along the length of the conveyors. While no conveyor drive mechanism is shown in Figure 1 , it will be understood that each individual conveyor 1 1a, 11 b, etc may be driven by an individual conveyor drive mechanism or two or more of the individual conveyors may be driven by the same drive mechanism.

For the purposes of this description the term "conveyor" may be used to refer to either the conveying apparatus as a whole, or to one or more of the individual driven conveyors or conveying paths that comprise the conveying apparatus, depending on the context in which the term is used.

The conveying paths of each endless conveyor 1 1 a, 11 b, etc comprise a plurality of discrete article receiving means able to each receive an article to spatially separate the conveyed articles. In the embodiment of Figure 1 , the discrete locations in which articles are received by a conveyor are defined between adjacent rollers 17, although in other embodiments other types of article receiving means may be used, for example cups, trays, other receptacles, or the like.

Rollers 17 are mounted in parallel on each endless conveyor 1 a, 11 b with sufficient spacing to receive and retain the articles 14 being sorted. The rollers may be mounted to the conveyor drive mechanism in any manner, examples of which will be described below. The rollers are able to rotate on their longitudinal pivot axis, which is oriented in the conveying plane but perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of conveying, so as to cause the articles in the gaps between rollers to rotate. The rollers rotate as they pass through the detection system 12 to make a greater proportion of the article visible to the detection system 12 during the detection process, therefore increasing the quality of information captured by the detection system and reducing the chance of errors in the sorting process. The rollers may be of the bicone type known in the art. The positions of rollers 17 along the longitudinal direction of the conveying paths 11 a, 11 b are offset between adjacent conveying paths. That is, a roller on conveyor 11a is aligned between two rollers of the adjacent conveyor 11 b. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , the rollers of one conveyor are aligned with the midpoint between rollers of the adjacent conveyor, although in other embodiments other offset configurations may be used. In other embodiments that include other types of discrete article receiving means, the receiving means on one conveyor are offset in the longitudinal direction from the receiving means on an adjacent conveyor.

When a large number of articles are carried by conveyors of sorting systems, a high density of the gaps between rollers may contain an article. In this situation articles can obscure the line-of- sight view of other articles by the scanner of detection system. In particular, this can occur if the gaps between rollers on adjacent conveyors are aligned so that articles conveyed by adjacent conveyors are in alignment. In this situation an article on one conveyor can obscure the view of an article on the adjacent conveyor at the same longitudinal position on the conveyor, particularly the underside of the articles, thus reducing the proportion of the surface of the obscured article that can be detected by the detection system.

By offsetting the rollers 17 as in the embodiment of Figure 1 , the articles 14 conveyed by adjacent conveyors 1 1 a, 11 b are also offset in their positions in terms of their position along the length of the conveyor in the conveying direction. This facilitates the detection system 12 in detecting a greater proportion of the surface area of the articles 17 because no other articles are positioned immediately adjacent to impede the view of the scanners 15.

In turn, this benefit enables the conveying apparatus 11 to be designed to convey a higher rate of articles for a given area of conveyor than another conveying apparatus without the offset alignment of articles without compromising the ability of the detection system to detect certain characteristics of the articles, and hence without compromising the quality of sorting. This clearly has commercial advantages, for example increasing the rate of article sorting and/or reducing the spatial footprint of a conveying apparatus when compared to conventional article sorting systems.

Discharge means 13 is any system or mechanism able to selectively discharge articles from the conveyors 11 to one or more discharge locations in order to sort the articles according to the detected characteristics. Discharge means 13 is typically controlled by a central controller so that it operates automatically, as is known in the art. The discharging of articles from the conveyor can occur in multiple ways. It will be understood that the term "discharge" refers to the movement of articles off the conveyor to another location and is not limited to a mechanism that actively forces, propels or takes articles off the conveyor. For example, gravity may be instrumental in the discharging of articles.

In the embodiment of Figure 1 , at the end of the conveyor 11 , articles 14 fall off the rollers under the force of gravity. A paddle 18 is positioned at the end of each conveying path 11a, 11 b, etc and is able to be moved by a controller between two positions: up or down. The paddles 18 are all shown in the 'down' position in Figure 1 , where an article 14 falling off the end of a conveying path contacts the paddle and is therefore diverted to a discharge location above the paddle 18, as is the case with article 141 shown in Figure 1. In the 'up' position, paddles 18 do not divert articles 14 falling off the end of the conveyors 11 so that articles are diverted to a discharge location below the paddles 18, as is the case with article 142 as shown in Figure 1. Articles 141 and 142 are subsequently taken or diverted to different locations, which may include a receptacle, another conveyor or similar, to thus sort the articles into two groups.

In other embodiments, other discharge mechanisms may be used. Examples include: movable plates mounted at the end of the conveyors (such as described above); mechanical ejectors attached to the rollers (an example of which is described below) or another part of the article receiving means (article carriers); mechanical ejectors mounted inside or under the path of the conveyors capable of propelling articles upwards off the surface of the conveyor; air ejectors mounted between rollers capable of blowing articles upwards off the surface of the conveyor; and a mechanical or robotic grabbing mechanism able to pick articles off the conveyors. The invention is not limited to the type of discharge mechanism that is used, or to the number of discharge locations that articles are able to be discharged or diverted to.

Figure 2 is a plan view illustration of part of an article sorting system according to an embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 shows a section of the conveying apparatus 20 of the sorting system. Conveying apparatus 20 comprises four conveyors 21a-21d, each conveyor 21 comprising an endless chain 22a-22d to which is mounted rollers 23 such that, for each conveyor 21 , two conveying paths 24 are defined. For conveyor 21 a, for example, there are two rows of rollers in the longitudinal direction of travel of the conveyors (marked by arrow 25), the two rows forming conveying paths marked 24a and 24b in Figure 2. As such, the four conveyors 21 in Figure 2 form eight conveying paths along which articles may travel, the articles being retained in the gaps in between rollers 23 as explained in relation to Figure 1 , above.

The chains 22 of conveyors 21 may be individually driven by separate driving mechanisms or any number of the chains 22 may be driven by a common driving mechanism. The invention is not limited in this manner.

Figure 2 serves to illustrate the offset or mis-alignment between article receiving spaces in a conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. Three article receiving spaces are marked A, B and C in Figure 2. Spaces A and C, which are formed in conveyors separated by another conveyor, are in transverse alignment, i.e. they are in alignment across the width of the conveyor 11. Space B, which is formed in the conveyor between the conveyors forming spaces A and C, is out of alignment with spaces A and C by being offset in the longitudinal direction of motion 25 of the conveyor. The offset spaces as described are enabled by the offset configuration of the rollers 23, which define the article receiving spaces.

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustration of an assembly 30 for supporting articles on a conveying apparatus of an article sorting system according to an embodiment of the invention. The conveying apparatus 20 of Figure 2 includes multiple assemblies similar to that shown in Figure 3, each drive chain 22 having multiple assemblies mounted on the chain in a row at regular intervals.

Article supporting assembly 30 comprises a mounting means for mounting the assembly to a conveyor in the form of a clip 31. Clip 31 is configured with an attachment portion enabling it to be connected to one or more links in an endless chain conveyor, such as chains 22 in the embodiment of Figure 2. A chain receiving recess 32 on the underside of clip 31 receives the chain while arm members 33 fit over the sides of the chain. The dimensions of the clip 31 may be configured to securely friction fit the clip to the chain. In other embodiments, the clip may take other forms dependent on the nature of the conveyor to which it is mounted.

Mounted to clip 31 are rollers 34a and 34b. Rollers 34a and 34b are mounted to clip 31 in such a way that, when assembly 30 is mounted on an article conveying apparatus, the rollers are offset from each other in the longitudinal direction of the conveying apparatus. As explained in relation to Figure 2, the effect of the offset of the rollers is that the gaps between rollers, which function to receive articles on a conveying apparatus, are also offset between adjacent conveyors. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments of the invention where article receiving means other than rollers are used, the respective article receiving components are offset in their mounting to the mounting means.

Rollers 34a and 34b are mounted on axes 35, the axes being offset from each other along the length of clip 31. In the embodiment shown, the axes extend out of the sides of clip 31 at either end thereof. The axes may be integrally formed (i.e. moulded as a single component) with the body of clip 31 or may be attachable thereto. The end of the axes 35 distal from clip 31 are free and unsupported so that the rollers are mounted to clip 31 in a cantilever manner. This reduces the clutter of componentry within the conveying apparatus (as can be seen in the plan view of Figure 2) and may allow the spacing between individual conveyors to be relatively easily altered.

Rollers 34a and 34b each comprise two frusto-conical members 361 and 362 rotatably mounted via their principal axis onto the respective roller axes 35. The ends of frusto-conical members 361 and 362 having the smaller areas face each other such that the surfaces of members 361 and 362 slope inwards to form a cup within which articles can be retained.

Frusto-conical members 361 and 362 are separated by a gap 37a and 37b. The gaps 37 may assist in retaining articles between receiving assemblies 30. Furthermore, gaps 37 enable movement of ejector arms 38a and 38b that are mounted on each roller assembly. Ejector arms 38 are elongate members each pivotally mounted at a first end to the roller pivot axis 35 in between the frusto-conical members. The second end of each ejector arm 38 is free. The shape of the arm may be configured to enable the arm to divert an article ejected from the article conveyor. In the embodiment of Figure 3, ejector arms 38 comprise a generally upwards bend to divert articles upwards and a curved-down tip to avoid presenting an edge to the articles that may cause them to rupture or damage.

Ejector arms 38 are operable to selectively discharge articles from the end of a conveyor to one or more discharge locations. In use, ejector arms extend generally downwards as the assembly moves along the article conveyor so as to avoid impeding the other article receiving assemblies on the conveyor. At the end of the conveyor, each assembly 30 is carried by the drive chain downwards and backwards along a bottom conveyor path. As a result of their momentum, articles carried by the conveyor are propelled forwards off the end of the conveyor and are subjected to the force of gravity. Unimpeded, the articles will continue forwards and downwards along a parabolic path and into a first discharge location.

Some of the articles may need to be sorted to travel to a second discharge location. This can be achieved by selectively causing the ejector arms 38 to pivot upwards, as shown with the ejector arm 38a on the left hand side of Figure 3. When ejector arm is moved into such an upwards- pointing, or diverting, position, an article propelled off the front end of the conveyor will be diverted by the ejector arm 38a into a more upwards trajectory. By placing a bucket, chute or the like in the way of this upwards trajectory, articles can be discharged to a different location to non-diverted articles.

Activation of the ejector arms, i.e. moving them into an upwards or article diverting position, can be achieved in any number of ways. In one embodiment of the invention, the ejector arms 38 are freely pivotable on pivot axes 35 and the position of the ejector arm is altered by an actuation mechanism external to the conveyor. For example, if an ejector arm needs to be moved to the diverting position, an actuator member is moved into the path of the ejector arm by an actuator member movement mechanism, the actuator member being configured to move the ejector arm from the downwards position to the upwards position in order to be able to divert articles. This may be achieved using the momentum of the assembly by virtue of being driven along by the conveyor so that impact against a stationary actuator member causes the ejector arm to change positions. In other embodiments, the orientation of the ejector arm may be controlled by a motor or other actuation means acting directly on the ejector arm through the pivot axis of the assembly on which it is mounted.

The position of ejector arms is controlled by a controller dependent on the determination of the detection system of articles on the conveyor, as described above. In another embodiment, the ejector arms may be connected to another part of the article carrying assembly 30. For example, the ejector arms may be connected to the mounting means or clip. It will be appreciated that ejector arms connected to mounting clip are indirectly connected to the rollers since the rollers are themselves connected to the clip. As such, ejector arms connected to the mounting clip can travel along the conveyor with the rollers. In some embodiments, articles may be sorted based on weight. To enable the weight of articles to be measured so that they can be sorted accordingly, the roller assembly may pass over a weighbridge. The weighbridge may be configured such that, rollers 34a and 34b pass over two distinct weight (or mass) measuring devices so that the weights of articles on each roller can be determined separately. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the weight may be able to be determined through the clip 31 , which may comprise a pressure detection device to measure the weight of articles supported by the clip, or may pass over a weighbridge mechanism.

The embodiments of the invention shown in Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a conveyor in which rollers are mounted in offset pairs to each driven conveyor. An alternative embodiment is shown in Figure 4, which is a plan view illustration of part of an article sorting system 40 according to another embodiment of the invention. In Figure 4, a series of article carriers 41 each comprising a roller 42 are mounted in a single row to a conveyor chain. The system 40 comprises two rows 43, 44 of rollers 42 (and may comprise more that are not shown in Figure 4), and each roller in one row 43 is offset from the rollers in the adjacent row 44. Since the rollers are mounted on article carriers 41 , the article carriers 41 themselves are therefore offset between adjacent driven conveyors 43, 44.

Article sorting system 40 may comprise article carriers of the type described in PCT Publication No. WO 2004/067417, which is herein incorporated by reference.

The article carriers 41 may also comprise ejector means, for example in the form of an ejector arm attached to the body of the carrier or the rollers in a similar manner to the configuration shown in Figure 3.

In other embodiments of the invention, the ejector arms may be comprised of or form part of the article carriers such that the ejector arms act to receive and support the articles as they are being conveyed. The ejector arms may support articles together with the rollers, for example the articles may each be received between one of the ejector arms and one of the rollers. More generally, the article discharge means may form part of the article receiving means. That is, the discharge and receiving means may be separate components or may be embodied as a single component or assembly of components.

Figure 5 is an end view illustration of part of an article sorting system according to another embodiment of the invention. Figure 6 is a side view illustration of the part of the article sorting system shown in Figure 5. Figures 5 and 6 show an endless article conveyor 50 configured to convey articles 51 in conveying direction 52 (the upper part of conveyor 50 moves out of the page as shown in Figure 5). Articles 51 are received on the conveyor by article receiving means, which in the embodiment shown take the form of a plurality of rollers 53 mounted in a row on an axle 54. The conveyor 50 comprises a plurality of axles 54 mounted parallel to each other in a generally horizontal position and generally perpendicular to the conveying direction 52. The axles 54 are driven around the endless conveyor by a drive mechanism (not shown). The axles may be mounted between two endless chains 58, for example. The rollers 53 may be freely rotatable on the axles 54. In other embodiments, the rollers may be rotatably driven by a suitable rotating mechanism. The rotation of the rollers 53 acts to cause articles 51 to rotate. This helps a large portion of the surface of the articles to be scanned or otherwise detected by a detection means to determine characteristics of the articles, for example the colour, shape, size and/or ripeness of fruit, as discussed in the examples above.

Article receiving locations are defined in between the rows of rollers 53 such that the articles 51 sit on the conveyor in between the rows of rollers. Each article 51 may sit on or across any number of rollers 53 so that conveyor 50 advantageously allows for handling of articles of different shapes and sizes. As shown in Figure 5, a plurality of articles may be received in the gap between adjacent rows of rollers 53.

Conveyor 50 comprises a plurality of article discharge means mounted on the conveyor and driven with the conveyor such that the article discharge means travel around the conveyor in association with the article receiving means. The article discharge means are operable to discharge articles from the conveyor substantially in the conveying direction 52, which is the longitudinal direction parallel to the length of the conveyor.

In the embodiments of Figures 5 and 6, the article discharge means take the form of ejector arms 55. Ejector arms 55 are pivotally mounted to axles 54 such that the pivot axis of the ejector arms 55 and the roller axis of rollers 53 on a given axle 54 are co-axial. However in other embodiments, the ejector arms may be pivotally mounted on the conveyor in another manner, for example to a second set of axles. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 5, the rollers 53 and ejector arms 55 are alternately mounted on each axle 54. In other embodiments of the invention this arrangement may differ, for example the ejector arms may be mounted between every second roller. In Figure 5, the ejector arms 55 on one axle 55 are mounted in line with the ejector arms on an adjacent axle. In other embodiments, the ejector arms on one axle may be in offset alignment with the ejector arms on an adjacent axle. Similar arrangements of the rollers may be provided.

Ejector arms are operable to pivot between a carriage position and a discharge position. In Figures 5 and 6, ejector arm 56 is an example of an arm in the carriage position while ejector arm 57 is an example of an arm in the discharge position. In the carriage position, the ejector arm 56 allows an article to be received between adjacent rows of rollers 53. To discharge an article 51 from the conveyor 50, an appropriately positioned ejector arm moves into the discharge position by pivoting from the carriage position to the discharge position. In doing so, the ejector arm pushes or strikes the article 51 , causing it to move off the conveyor to a discharge location. Since the ejector arms 55 rotate around a horizontal axis oriented perpendicular to the direction of conveyance, this movement causes the articles to be discharged or ejected from the conveyor in substantially the same direction as the upper surface of the conveyor moves, i.e. the longitudinal direction with respect to the conveyor.

Any appropriate means for actuating the ejector arms, i.e. moving them from the carriage position to the discharge position, may be used and the invention is not limited thereby. In one embodiment an actuator external to the conveyor 50 is selectively operable to move a trigger member into the path of a selected ejector arm in order to move that ejector arm from the carriage position to the discharge position. In other embodiments of the invention, other ejector arm actuator means may be used.

The ejector arm actuator means may be able to cause individual ejector arms to be actuated, or a plurality of ejector arms to be simultaneously actuated dependent on the nature of the article to be discharged, in particular its size and how many ejector arms that article straddles. For example, in the case of the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the article on the right side of the picture straddles three ejector arms. To discharge this article from the conveyor effectively, all three ejector arms may be simultaneously actuated. While in the case of the article second from the right in Figure 5, which is positioned on top of only a single ejector arm, actuation of just that ejector arm may be needed to eject that article. A sorting system comprising conveyor 50 and a detection system able to determine the size and/or shape of articles on the conveyor 50 (such as described above) may be configured to determine which ejector arms to actuate based on the size/shape of articles determined by the detection system. For example, a processor may receive data from the detection system indicative of the position of each article and which of the ejector arms it straddles on the conveyor. Alternatively, the processor may be able to determine this information from the data provided by the detection system, i.e. the processor can select which ejector arms need to be actuated in order to discharge the article from the conveyor. If that article needs to be discharged (dependent on its characteristics by which the articles are to be sorted) the processor can control the discharge mechanism to actuate the appropriate ejector arms according to where the article is positioned. The number of ejector arms that are actuated is dependent on the size of the article, i.e. how many of the ejector arms it straddles. In a given row of ejector arms, only a select number of that row may be actuated so that there is a high level of flexibility in the sorting system. For example, in the embodiment of Figure 5, any possible combination of the articles 51 may be simultaneously discharged from the conveyor.

In other embodiments of the invention other types of article discharge means may be used. In one example, air ejectors configured to eject articles by expelling a puff of air sufficient to push an article off the conveyor may be mounted on the conveyor between article receiving means (e.g. rollers) such that the air ejectors are conveyed around the conveyor. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other discharge means may be used within the scope of the invention.

In other embodiments of the invention, the ejector arms may be comprised of or form part of the article receiving means such that the ejector arms act to receive and support the articles as they are being conveyed. That is, the ejector arms may define at least part of the article receiving locations. The ejector arms may support articles together with the rollers, for example the articles may each be received between one of the rows of ejector arms and one of the rows of rollers. More generally, the article discharge means may form part of the article receiving means. That is, the discharge and receiving means may be separate components or may be embodied as a single component or assembly of components.

In one alternative embodiment, the ejector arms are mounted to the mounting clip of the article receivers such that the ejector arms can pivot around an axis that is oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction parallel to the length of the conveyor. In such an embodiment, activation of the ejector arms causes the ejector arm to pivot around this axis and thereby pushes an article carried by the conveyor off the conveyor in a sideways direction. This enables articles conveyed by a conveying system to be discharged into sorting receptacles or discharge locations positioned alongside or adjacent a conveyor.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like, are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense, that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

The entire disclosures of all applications, patents and publications cited above and below, if any, are herein incorporated by reference.

Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour in any country in the world.

The invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of said parts, elements or features.

Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers or components having known equivalents thereof, those integers are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. It should be noted that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be included within the present invention.