SORTING LINES

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sorting device for fruit and vegetable product sorting lines.

Background Art

In the industrial sector of fruit and vegetable product storage, it is well known that one or more sorting lines are used to divide fruit and vegetable products according to different parameters, such as size, color, weight, shape or the presence of possible defects, in order to ensure a certain quality standard and/or to distribute the products in different storage areas.

The sorting of fruit and vegetable products can be done manually, e.g. by specialized operators, or automatically, e.g. by special sensors configured to detect the above parameters and, according to them, divide the fruit and vegetable products into different categories for sale.

Generally, the sorting lines of known type are provided with a transport line, such as, e.g., one or more conveyor belts, to convey fruit and vegetable products from an entry area to one or more storage areas wherein the sorted products are unloaded for packaging.

The unloading of the products may take place by using special metal pallets mounted along the transport line and moved to impact the sorted fruit and vegetable product in order to displace it towards the storage area. The pallet impacts the sorted fruit and vegetable product, e.g. by means of a rotary clicking movement, imparting an impact force such as to move the sorted product from the transport line towards the packaging area.

However, the use of a pallet for the sorting operations may have problems linked to the fact that, being made entirely of metal, following the impact, the fruit and vegetable product may be dented, lowering its quality standard. Moreover, the dented products are usually discarded, thus leading to a considerable waste of material.

Furthermore, the impact of the pallet with fruit and vegetable products having irregular shapes and conformations can move the product along random trajectories, i.e. not predefined, with consequences on the working precision of the sorting line.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to devise a sorting device for fruit and vegetable products which eliminates the possibility of denting the products during the sorting operations, thus ensuring they are protected from impact.

A further object of the present invention is to devise a sorting device allowing sorting products with greater precision.

Therefore, the present invention relates to a sorting device for fruit and vegetable product sorting lines according to claim 1 having structural and functional characteristics such as to meet the above requirements and at the same time to overcome the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the prior art. Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a sorting device for fruit and vegetable product sorting lines, illustrated by way of an indicative, yet non-limiting example, in the accompanying tables of drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the sorting device according to the present invention,

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the sorting device in Figure 1.

Embodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to such figures, reference numeral 1 globally indicates a sorting device for fruit and vegetable product sorting lines. In particular, the sorting device 1 is as sociable with a sorting line to displace the fruit and vegetable products by directing them towards, for example, one or more storage areas, a conveyor belt or other transport elements or lines. In particular, the sorting device 1 is configured to be moved away from/close to a transit area of the fruit and vegetable product, preferably by means of a rotary movement, in order to impart to the latter an impact such as to move it along a predefined trajectory, preferably away from the sorting line.

The sorting lines may comprise at least one movement surface, for example having one or more conveyor belts, and a supporting frame for supporting the sorting device 1.

The sorting lines are in themselves known to the art, which makes it unnecessary to provide a more detailed description.

As shown in Figure 1, the sorting device 1 comprises at least one fastening element 2 and at least one impact element 3 associated with the fastening element 2 and configured to impact at least one fruit and vegetable product moving along the sorting line.

The fastening element 2 is configured to be associated with the sorting line, preferably with the supporting frame.

Advantageously, the impact element 3 is made at least partly of a polymeric material adapted to cushion the impact with the fruit and vegetable product. Additionally, such polymeric material is elastically deformable.

Preferably, the impact element 3 is made at least partly of polyurethane.

In this regard, the polymeric material allows protecting the fruit and vegetable product from possible dents and/or other possible impact damage as a result of the impact with the sorting device 1.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the impact element 3 comprises at least one contact face 4 with the fruit and vegetable product.

In particular, the contact face 4 is adapted to contact at least partly the fruit and vegetable product during the movement thereof along the sorting line.

With reference to a preferred embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the contact face 4 is substantially flat.

Furthermore, as visible in Figures 1 and 2, the contact face 4 is inclined with respect to the fastening element 2. This means that the contact face is arranged neither horizontally nor vertically.

Alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out wherein the contact face 4 is arranged orthogonally to the fastening element 2. The contact face 4 has at least one portion having a conformation complementary to at least one portion of the fruit and vegetable product.

Such a conformation makes it possible to transfer to fruit and vegetable products, for example those having irregular shapes, a predefined, preferably substantially linear motion, thus increasing the working precision of the sorting device 1 and avoiding random trajectories.

Preferably, the impact element 3 has a trapezoidal prism conformation.

In particular, the impact element 3 comprises at least one connecting face 5 to the fastening element 2. Preferably, the connecting face 5 is substantially perpendicular to the contact face 4. Different configurations cannot however be ruled out wherein the connecting face 5 and the contact face 4 are inclined by a different angle depending on the trajectory to be imparted on the product and/or to the type of movement imparted on the sorting device 1.

Conveniently, after the impact element 3 and the fastening element 2 have been associated with each other, the connecting face 5 is substantially transverse to the fastening element 2.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the fastening element 2 has at least one insertion portion 6 configured to be inserted at least partly into the impact element 3 through the connecting face 5. In this way, after the impact element 3 and the fastening element 2 have been associated with each other, the latter rigidly supports the impact element 3.

Preferably, for this purpose, the fastening element 2 is made of a metal material. In detail, the fastening element 2 has at least two bracket elements 7 parallel to each other and of elongated conformation and at least one plate- shaped element 8 positioned between the bracket elements 7 and transverse thereto. In particular, the plate- shaped element 8 is at least partly inserted into the impact element 3.

Preferably, the bracket elements 7 are arranged substantially perpendicular to the connecting face 5. The length of the bracket elements 7 varies depending on the distance between the connecting point of the sorting device 1 to the sorting line and the transit area of the fruit and vegetable product. In detail, the length of the bracket elements 7 is such that, in use, the impact element 3 can reach the transit area of the fruit and vegetable product to impact it.

Preferably, the fastening element 2 and the impact element 3 are locked together with each other.

In such a version, preferably, the impact element 3 is co-molded on the fastening element 2.

As shown in Figure 2, the plate-shaped element 8 has one or more openings 9.

Preferably, the plate-shaped element 8 has a plurality of openings 9 arranged in a grid and substantially circular in shape.

At least one opening 9 is intended to be arranged internally to the impact element 3.

In this way, the material of the impact element 3, after being co-molded onto the fastening element 2, can join by passing through the opening 9 and strengthening the connection with the fastening element 2.

In one or more versions, the impact element 3 is associated in a removable manner with the fastening element 2 so that it is possible to have several impact elements 3 interchangeable with each other, each impact element 3 having a contact face 4 shaped so as to impact a certain fruit and vegetable product.

For example, in the latter case, the impact element 3 comprises a plurality of impact elements 3 alternatively associable with the fastening element 2, each impact element 3 having contact faces 4 different to each other.

Conveniently, the fastening element 2 comprises fastening means 10 configured to make a rotoidal couple with the sorting line, preferably with the supporting frame of the sorting line. In this way, the fastening element 2 and the impact element 3 can be moved in a rotational manner away from/close to the transit area of the fruit and vegetable product. In detail, the sorting device 1 is arranged so that the contact face 4 faces the transit area of the fruit and vegetable product. By moving the sorting device 1 close to the transit area during the transit of the fruit and vegetable product, the contact face 4 may impact the product to impart the predefined trajectory thereon.

For this purpose, the sorting device 1 may be connected to movement means, such as, e.g., an actuator, configured to move the sorting device 1. In one or more versions, the fastening means 10 may comprise at least one hole 11 adapted to couple via at least one pin to the sorting line so that the fastening element 2 can rotate around an axis passing through the pin.

With reference to Figure 1, each bracket element 7 may comprise a head portion 7a arranged at the opposite end with respect to the impact element 3. Each head portion 7a has an elongated shape and is arranged perpendicular to the direction of extension of the bracket element 7. Conveniently, each head portion 7a comprises a pair of holes 11 adapted to couple by means of a respective pin to the sorting line. Preferably, the holes 11 are formed at both ends of the head portion 7 a.

It has in practice been ascertained that the described invention achieves the intended objects, and in particular it is emphasized that, by means of the sorting device, it is possible to eliminate the possibility of denting fruit and vegetable products during the sorting operations.