Apparatus and method for sorting produce
US4627541A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 4, 1985 |
| Grant date | Dec 9, 1986 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 4, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB07B13/18
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A roller conveyor for automatically sorting produce or other items according to size which includes an apparatus and method for hydraulically adjusting the space between the rollers to permit optional uniformly graduated increments or fixed spacing between each pair of rollers. Each roller of the conveyor is slidably mounted at opposite ends of the roller to a frame. The ends of each roller are supported in a bearing block and each adjacent pair of rollers is interconnected at the ends of the roller by a slidable connecting rod attached between the bearing blocks of the adjacent rollers. The spacing between the rollers is hydraulically controlled by using a series of hydraulic cylinders which are operated in tandem to selectively inject hydraulic fluid into the bearing blocks so as to cause the connecting rods to slide the rollers further apart, or in the alternative to cause hydraulic fluid to be expelled from the bearing blocks and to drive the slidable connecting rods closer together so that the rollers will be spaced more closely.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.