Tomato packing machine
First Claim
1. A machine for packing items such as tomatoes or the like comprising:
- a rear portion where items to be packed are received;
a holding station;
a front portion where items to be packed are discharged including a paddle wheel, a surface underneath the paddle wheel and a machined surface extending downstream of the paddle wheel for rolling the items downwardly and into a carton, the paddle wheel rotatable about an axis above the items to be packed and perpendicular to the direction of travel of items to be packed for transporting and discharging a row of said items to be packed by sweeping the items along the surface underneath said paddle wheel and onto the inclined surface;
means for transporting items to be packed from said rear portion to said holding station;
said rear portion including lane means for organizing said items to be packed into discrete lanes;
a control device associated with said station for releasing a row of said items to be packed to said front portion; and
said front portion being configured so that said items to be packed roll into a carton positioned at said front portion.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A packing machine for tomatoes or the like has a rear portion with a low backline pressure conveyor arranged into plural lanes divided by tapered walls. The rear portion of the machine is reciprocated sideways so that bulk tomatoes entering the rear of the machine are distributed among the several lanes. Tomatoes are transported to a station where a paddle wheel with flexible arms prevents the forward progress of tomatoes until sensing apparatus determines that a plurality of lane positions are filled by tomatoes. Then a row of tomatoes are discharged through a front chute into a single layer carton. An escrow lane has entry and exit control devices which are responsive to a manually operated switch to add further tomatoes to the carton. The carton is at an incline and reciprocates back-and-forth so that tomatoes nest in a single layer, and are packed more densely thereby. The machine can pack by weight or by count.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A machine for packing items such as tomatoes or the like comprising:
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a rear portion where items to be packed are received; a holding station; a front portion where items to be packed are discharged including a paddle wheel, a surface underneath the paddle wheel and a machined surface extending downstream of the paddle wheel for rolling the items downwardly and into a carton, the paddle wheel rotatable about an axis above the items to be packed and perpendicular to the direction of travel of items to be packed for transporting and discharging a row of said items to be packed by sweeping the items along the surface underneath said paddle wheel and onto the inclined surface; means for transporting items to be packed from said rear portion to said holding station; said rear portion including lane means for organizing said items to be packed into discrete lanes; a control device associated with said station for releasing a row of said items to be packed to said front portion; and said front portion being configured so that said items to be packed roll into a carton positioned at said front portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A machine for packing items such as tomatoes or the like comprising:
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a rear portion where items to be packed are received; a holding station comprising a plurality of lanes and an escrow lane; a front portion where items to be packed are discharged; means for transporting items to be packed from said rear portion to said holding station; said rear portion including lane means for organizing said items to be packed into discrete lanes; a control device associated with said station for releasing a row of said items to be packed to said front portion; and said front portion being configured so that said items to be packed roll into a carton positioned at said front portion. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for packing items such as tomatoes or the like comprising:
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transporting said items from a receiving portion to a station; dividing said items into plural active lanes and an escrow lane as they are transported to said station; intercepting said items to be packed at said station and arranging them into a row of parallel items to be packed; discharging a row of said items to be packed from said active lanes to a front portion; at least intermittently discharging an item to be packed from said escrow lane to the front portion when said row of items is discharged from said active lanes; rolling said items to be packed after they are discharged into a carton. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A machine for packing items such as tomatoes or the like comprising:
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a rear portion where items to be packed are received; a holding station comprising a plurality of active lanes and an escrow lane, whereby the escrow lane is used to lead the tomatoes into said carton at a slower rate than with said active lanes until said predetermined weight is attained; a front portion where items to be packed are discharged; means for transporting items to be packed from said rear portion to said holding station; said rear portion including lane means for organizing said items to be packed into discrete lanes; a control device associated with said station for releasing a row of said items to be packed to said front portion; said front portion being configured so that said items to be packed roll into a carton positioned at said front portion; means for weighing the carton and the tomatoes loaded therein, said weighing means being associatively connected with said station to pack a predetermined weight of tomatoes into said carton.
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Specification