Fruit Conveyor Roller Rotation Control for Accurate Sorting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for conveying and selecting fruit and vegetable products, particularly small-sized items like cherries and tomatoes, face issues where products may incorrectly rotate or become stuck due to footstalks, leading to incorrect sorting and analysis at detection stations.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system with assemblies upstream of the selection station that control the rotation of rollers to ensure products settle correctly in their seats, using a combination of assemblies to manage clockwise and anticlockwise rotations, preventing jumping and ensuring accurate positioning before feature detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If products are conveyed on a roller conveyor belt through a selection station, then productivity is improved by automated detection and sorting, but products may incorrectly rotate or become stuck due to footstalks, leading to measurement errors and sorting errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting the presence and position of footstalks before the main detection and sorting operations. The first detection means identifies footstalk characteristics upstream, allowing the system to prepare appropriate handling actions (rotation or displacement) before the products reach the main selection station, ensuring accurate feature detection subsequent to this preliminary positioning
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary devices between the conveyor and the detection station: a first detection means that specifically detects footstalk presence, and a control system that mediates between this detection and the subsequent sorting action. This intermediary detection and control layer ensures that the main detection means can accurately measure product features without interference from footstalks
2Manufacturing precision
If products are sorted based on detected features, then sorting accuracy is improved, but products with footstalks may be incorrectly positioned in housing seats, causing them to jump seats or fail to rotate completely, leading to sorting errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by using the detection information from the first detection means (which identifies footstalk presence) to adjust the positioning and rotation actions. The control system receives feedback about footstalk characteristics and modifies the conveyor operation accordingly, ensuring that products with footstalks are properly positioned before entering housing seats, preventing jumping or incomplete rotation during sorting
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary positioning actions based on footstalk detection before the main sorting operation. By identifying products with footstalks upstream and applying specific rotation or displacement actions beforehand, the system ensures these products are correctly positioned in housing seats prior to the sorting stage, preventing positioning errors that would compromise sorting reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A conveyor line for fruit or vegetables has a plurality of rollers defining seats for the products therebetween. At a selection station, a first member detects at least one feature of the product, and at a sorting station, a second member diverts similar products toward the same destination. Upstream of the selection station, the direction of rotation of the rollers is controlled to cause each product to settle correctly in its seat or shift into an adjacent seat, so that during detection of the features of the products, the products remain properly seated.