COMPACT ORIENTING AND TRANSFERRING DEVICE FOR UNITARY ELONGATED FOOD PRODUCTS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

Abstract

Compact orienting and transferring device for unitary elongated food products (1) comprising a circular conveyor (10) surrounded by a limitative wall (11) with an extraction opening (12); an extractor device including an extraction path (31, 32, 33) defined on a first conveyor (21) and with an intake end connected to the extraction opening (12), and a circular wheel (40) including a circular groove (50) on the wheel periphery, the first conveyor (21) being a conveyor belt wider than the circular groove entrance (53), a circular portion of the first conveyor (21) being directly supported on the wheel periphery covering the circular groove entrance (53) on a portion of that wheel periphery, defining a circular portion (32) of the extraction path (31, 32, 33) within the circular groove (50).

Claims

1. Compact orienting and transferring device for unitary elongated food products comprising: an extractor device including an extraction path, defined on a first conveyor, with an intake end for receiving unitary elongated food products and an out-take end for delivering the unitary elongated food products, the extractor device further comprises a circular wheel, rotative around a horizontal axis, defining a wheel periphery and including a circular groove on the wheel periphery defined between two lateral annular walls facing each other and one bottom wall comprised between the two lateral annular walls and facing a circular groove entrance which surrounds the circular wheel; the first conveyor is a conveyor belt wider than the circular groove entrance defined between the two lateral annular walls of the circular groove, and a circular portion of the first conveyor is directly supported on the wheel periphery covering the circular groove entrance on a portion of that wheel periphery, defining a circular portion of the extraction path within the circular groove between the bottom wall of the circular groove and the portion of the first conveyor covering the circular groove; a circular conveyor, rotative in a substantially horizontal plane, defining a conveyor periphery surrounded by a limitative wall, the limitative wall including an extraction opening connected to the intake-end of the extraction path adjacent to the conveyor periphery; and the circular wheel and the circular conveyor are coordinated through a control unit to produce the rotative movement of the circular periphery of the circular wheel at a higher velocity than the rotative movement of the conveyor periphery of the circular conveyor.

2. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the circular conveyor comprises concentric inner and outer regions rotating in substantially horizontal planes tilted to each other defining a raised portion of the outer region, placed above a portion of the inner region adjacent to the raised portion and the rest of the outer region being leveled or below a portion of the inner region adjacent thereto, the outer region defining the conveyor periphery and the extraction opening being coincident with the raised portion of the outer region.

3. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the extraction path further comprises a feeding portion comprised between the extraction opening of the limitative wall and the start of the circular portion of the extraction path.

4. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 3 wherein the feeding portion is coplanar with or lower than the conveyor periphery of the circular conveyor and tangent to the wheel periphery.

5. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 3 wherein the feeding portion is overlapped with the conveyor periphery of the circular conveyor and tangent to the wheel periphery.

6. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the extraction path further includes a final portion comprised between the circular portion and the out-take end of the extraction path.

7. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the extraction path further comprises a second conveyor parallel to the first conveyor, the second conveyor being a conveyor belt equal or narrower than the bottom wall of the circular groove, a circular portion of the second conveyor being directly supported on a portion of the bottom wall facing and parallel to the portion of the first conveyor supported on the wheel periphery.

8. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the extractor device further comprises an optic detector configured to detect the number and/or longitude of the unitary elongated food products passing through the extraction path.

9. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 8 wherein the optic detector comprises a light emitter and a light receiver facing each other on opposed sides of the extraction path.

10. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 9 wherein the annular lateral walls of the circular groove are made of a material transparent or translucent and the light emitter and the light receiver are placed on opposed sides of the circular wheel.

11. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the out-take end of the extraction path includes multiple separated delivery positions and wherein the extractor device further includes a diverging device to direct each unitary elongated food product conducted through the extraction path to one of the multiple delivery position.

12. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 17 wherein the diverging device is in coordination with the optic detector to determine the delivery position of each unitary elongated food product in response to the measurements obtained by the optic detector.

13. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 11 wherein the diverging device include one or more deflecting flaps or deflecting pushers which are moveable between a rest position in which does not interfere with the extraction path and a deflecting position in which interfere at least partially with the extraction path for directing or pushing unitary elongated food products to selected delivery positions.

14. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 11 wherein the diverging device include one or more deflecting blowers which are configured to blow transversally to the extraction path for pushing unitary elongated food products to selected delivery positions.

15. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 1 wherein the circular wheel comprises two lateral discs, each including one of the lateral annular walls of the circular groove, and one central disc retained between the two lateral discs which includes the bottom wall of the circular groove on the periphery thereof.

16. Operation method of a compact orienting and transferring device for unitary elongated food products, the method comprising: feeding the unitary elongated food products to the intake end of the extraction path; transferring the unitary elongated food products from the intake end to the out-take end of the extraction path at a conveyance velocity determined by the velocity of the first conveyor and by the velocity of the circular periphery of the circular wheel on which the first conveyor is supported; characterized in that the feeding step includes pouring the unitary elongated food products in bulk on the circular conveyor, and rotating the circular conveyor urging the unitary elongated food products against the conveyor periphery in an aligned succession against the limitative wall and transferring the unitary elongated food products from the conveyor periphery to the intake-end of the extraction path through the extraction opening; and the conveyance velocity is higher than the velocity of the conveyor periphery of the circular conveyor preventing undesired accumulations and feeding the unitary elongated food products in the extraction path with a separation space in-between.

17. The compact orienting and transferring device according to claim 7 wherein the out-take end of the extraction path includes multiple separated delivery positions and the extractor device further includes a diverging device to direct each unitary elongated food product conducted through the extraction path to one of the multiple delivery positions.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0063] The foregoing and other advantages and features will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, to be taken in an illustrative and non-limitative manner, in which:

[0064] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the compact orienting and transferring device for elongated unitary food products according to a first embodiment in which the extraction path does not include a second conveyor belt;

[0065] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the compact orienting and transferring device for elongated unitary food products according to a second embodiment in which the extraction path includes a first and a second conveyors parallel to each other;

[0066] FIG. 3 shows a vertical section of the compact orienting and transferring device coincident with the horizontal axis of the circular wheel;

[0067] FIG. 4 shows a zoomed view of the transversal section of the annular groove;

[0068] FIG. 5A shows a plan view of the diverging device on a rest position according to an embodiment in which the diverging device comprises deflecting flaps;

[0069] FIG. 5b shows a plan view of the diverging device shown on FIG. 5A but in a deflecting position;

[0070] FIG. 6A shows a plan view of the diverging device on a rest position according to an embodiment in which the diverging device comprises deflecting pushers;

[0071] FIG. 6B shows a plan view of the diverging device shown on FIG. 6A but in a deflecting position.

[0072] FIG. 7 shows a vertical section of the compact orienting and transferring device coincident with the horizontal axis of the circular wheel, according to an alternative embodiment of the circular conveyor, including concentric inner and an outer regions in substantially horizontal tilted planes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

[0073] The foregoing and other advantages and features will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, to be taken in an illustrative and not limitative.

[0074] According to a first embodiment shown on the FIG. 1 the present invention comprises a circular conveyor 10, which comprises a circular horizontal rotative disc surrounded by a cylindrical limitative wall 11 which includes a extraction opening 12, and an extractor device including a circular wheel 40 surrounded by a circular groove 50 and a first conveyor 21.

[0075] According to an alternative embodiment shown on FIG. 7, the circular conveyor 10 comprises concentric inner and outer regions 10a, 10b rotating in substantially horizontal planes tilted to each other defining a raised portion of the outer region, placed above a portion of the inner region 10a adjacent of said raised portion. The rest of the outer region 10b being leveled or below a portion of the inner region 10a adjacent thereto, the outer region 10b defining the conveyor periphery and the extraction opening 12 being coincident with the raised portion of the outer region.

[0076] The circular groove 50, shown in detail on FIG. 4, includes one groove entrance 53, two lateral annular walls 51 facing each other, and a bottom wall 52 facing the groove entrance 53 and comprised between the two lateral annular walls 51.

[0077] The first conveyor 21 is a conveyor belt which includes, in the following order, a feeding portion 31, a circular portion 32 and a final portion 33 defining an extraction path, and also includes a returning portion which closes the loop. The feeding portion 31 is adjacent to the extraction opening 12 of the limitative wall 11, and is preferably horizontal and tangent to the conveyor periphery and at the same level or below the level of said conveyor periphery, and is also tangent to the wheel periphery. The circular portion 32 is downstream to the feeding portion 31 and is supported on the wheel periphery, covering the circular groove 50. The final portion 33 is downstream the circular portion 32 and is tangent to the wheel periphery.

[0078] When unitary elongated food products 1, for example sausages or frankfurts, are discharged onto the circular conveyor 10, the centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the circular conveyor 10 projects the unitary elongated food products 1 to the conveyor periphery, against the limitative wall 11.

[0079] When one of those unitary elongated food products 1 accumulated on the conveyor periphery reaches the extraction opening 12 the centrifugal force urges said unitary elongated food product 1 out of the circular conveyor 12, falling on the feeding portion 31 of the first conveyor 21, entering into the extraction path 31, 32, 33. Then the unitary elongated food product 1 is conveyed by the first conveyor 21 to the circular portion 32 of the extraction path, introducing the unitary elongated food product 1 into the circular groove 50 through a portion of the groove entrance 53 not covered by the first conveyor where the circular portion 32 of the extraction path starts. Then the unitary elongated food product 1 is transported along the circular portion 32 of the extraction path confined within the circular groove 50 by the rotational movement of the circular wheel 40 and the movement of the circular portion of the first conveyor 21 covering the groove entrance 53 of the circular groove 50.

[0080] When the unitary elongated food product 1 reaches the final portion 33 exits the circular groove 50 through a portion of the groove entrance 53 not covered by the first conveyor urged by the first conveyor. In this embodiment shown on FIG. 1 also a static platform parallel to the final portion 32 of the first conveyor 21 with one end introduced within the circular groove 50 guides the unitary elongated food product out of the circular groove 50. Optionally said static platform can be also a second conveyor parallel to the first conveyor only on the final portion 33 of the extraction path.

[0081] According to an alternative embodiment shown on FIG. 2 the extraction device further comprises a second conveyor 22 which is narrower than the circular groove 50, shown in detail on FIG. 4. Said second conveyor 22 is a conveyor belt with a portion inserted within the circular groove through an uncovered portion of the groove entrance 53 and supported on the bottom wall 52 of the circular groove 50. Said portion of the second conveyor 22 supported on the bottom wall 52 is parallel to the portion of the first conveyor 21 supported on the periphery of the circular wheel 40, defining the circular portion 32 of the extraction path between them.

[0082] According to the present embodiment, the second conveyor 22 is also parallel to the first conveyor 21 along the final portion 33 of the extraction path, conveying the unitary elongated food products 1 out of the circular groove 50.

[0083] In both embodiments, the final portion 33 of the extraction path convey the unitary elongated food products to a diverging device 60 including multiple delivery positions 63 and which can deflect or push each unitary elongated food product to one of those delivery positions 63, using for example deflecting flaps 62, shown on FIGS. 5A and 5B, or deflecting pushers 62 shown on FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, movable between a rest position in which they does not interfere with the extraction path, and a deflecting position in which interfere at least partially with the extraction path and with any unitary elongated food product 1 placed therein at that moment, forcing said unitary elongated food product 1 out of the extraction path into one selected delivery position 63.

[0084] Alternatively, the diverging device 60 can include deflecting blowers which can blow transversally to the extraction path, pushing any unitary elongated food product 1 placed on the extraction path in front of the deflecting blower out of the extraction path into one selected delivery position 63.

[0085] The extraction device can further comprise an optic detector 23 configured to detect the number and/or the longitude of the unitary elongated food products 1 passing through the extraction path.

[0086] As shown on FIG. 3, the optic detector 23 can include one light emitter 23a and one light receiver 23b facing each other on opposed sides of the extraction path. In the present embodiment they are on opposed sides of the circular wheel 40 facing the lateral annular walls 51 of the circular groove 50, which are made of a material transparent or translucent to the light emitted by the light emitter 23a. When a unitary elongated food product 1 interrupts the light beam its presence is detected.

[0087] The displacement produced by the first conveyor 21, the second conveyor 22 or the angular rotation of the circular wheel 40 during the light beam interruption time is indicative of the longitude of the unitary elongated food product 1 detected by the optic detector 23.

[0088] In the present embodiment it is proposed to include a circular wheel rotation detector to determine the rotational velocity of said circular wheel 40. Using this information, a control device can calculate the longitude and position of each single unitary elongated food product contained in the extraction path downstream the optic detector 23. Said control unit can also control the diverging device 60 to determine the delivery position 63 of each single unitary elongated food product 1.