Abstract: A method may include obtaining a laser image of a food product. The method may include obtaining an ultraviolet (UV) image of the food product. The method may include determining a decay value of the food product, based on obtaining the laser image of the product and obtaining the UV image of the food product.

Abstract: A conveyor method and apparatus for transporting and presenting plant products, such as fruit, vegetables, or similar articles, to a pick-up device on a packing machine which packs plant products in cartons by layer. The conveyor comprises a frame, a set of pulleys and belts within the frame, and a set of pre-formed, interchangeable pattern plates that are readily replaceable by alternative pattern plates. The method comprises loading the pre-formed, interchangeable pattern plates at a loading end of the conveyor and transporting them to a pick-up end of the conveyor where the articles are unloaded by a pick-up head on a packing machine.

Abstract: A food slicing apparatus includes a container, a removable top, and a slicing device that includes blades and slides relative to the top. The top defines a patterned hole which accommodates the blades as the slicing device slides from an open position in which the blades are spaced from the top, toward a closed position in which the blades are disposed through the patterned hole. A piece of food that is placed on the top below the blades and is sliced by pressing the slicing device against the food and the sliced pieces are moved into the container by further pressing on the slicing device thereby pressing the frame of the slicing device against the food. The slicing device and top are thereafter removed from the container, and a lid is placed on the container to accommodate the food after it has been sliced.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of sorting plant products based on damage to the plant products is disclosed. A beam emitter emits an illumination light toward the outer surface of a plant product. A beam detector detects substantially a single wavelength of a reflected light produced by the plant product responsive to the illumination light. A control unit determines at least one of a presence, an amount, and a severity of damage responsive to the reflected light. The control unit assigns a damage category to the plant product responsive to the determination of damage.

Abstract: The computer process controls operation of a system which sorts objects by surface characteristics. The system includes a multi-rail conveyor, an imaging unit for each rail of the conveyor and a computer including a user interface. Each imaging unit includes at least one camera, and at least one block of LEDs of multiple predetermined colors. The process initializes system hardware and software, calibrates the imaging units, sets, tests and reports various parameters for imaging, automatically or under user control, and synchronizes the operation of the imaging units with conveyor action to produce optimal imaging, as well as controlling sorting based upon imaging output.

Abstract: The various embodiments of the spool link include a body of at least one piece, a drive ring functionally engaged to the body, and a cradle. The spool link body comprises at least a pair of engaged, spaced apart, substantially vertical side walls including structure thereon for rotatably engaging the drive ring and for engaging adjacent spool link bodies.

Abstract: An automatic food product cutting apparatus is provided that employs a continuously rotating table arranged with multiple cutter cups, each cup being aligned with a plunger that rotates with the table. The plungers are driven to force fruit through the cup and to withdraw from the cup by cam following rollers that follow a generally elliptical cam track. The cam track is concentric to but does not rotate with the table. With this arrangement, a single drive motor is used to power both the rotation of the table and the plunging force to push the food product through the cutter cups, thereby achieving smooth, continuous operation.

Abstract: Application of wax to fruit in a conveyor system is controlled to optimize the protective and cosmetic effects of the wax application and to efficiently utilize the wax notwithstanding variations in size, texture, nature or number of the fruit, the type(s) of wax or the processing environment by providing an intelligent wax controller. The wax controller has a camera which detects fruit passing through a field of view defined by an optical housing in which the camera is fixed. Two-dimensional pixel maps of the fruit passing through the viewing area are assembled and an image is processed to provide distinct pixel images even when the fruit are touching. The diameter of the fruit for each of the separated images is then determined from which the total surface area of the fruit passing under the viewing area is computed.

Abstract: A drying apparatus is provided for drying objects such as citrus fruit that has been coated with an aqueous coating such as wax. The apparatus includes a housing that is divided into four distinct zones, two each above and below a conveyor for conveying fruit through the dryer. An indirect fired heater is provided, and fans that circulate drying air at high velocity in a reverse air flow pattern. The housing of the dryer is constructed in a unique shape so each successive zone is alternately converging and diverging. With this arrangement, air is balanced in the treatment zones and passes over the fruit twice, first in one direction, and then in the other, to achieve even and complete drying.

Abstract: A high speed, high volume fruit sectionizer is comprised of a pair of suction cup conveyors onto which fruit is loaded. The fruit is coupled by means of suction attachment to a first conveyor and carried to a position wherein the opposing side of the fruit is suction coupled to the second conveyor. The fruit is drawn through a halving guillotine and coring blade. The fruit halves are then positioned on scooping and sectioning assemblies. A rotating semicircular hoop blade cuts the fruit meat away from the peel while leaving the fruit meat and peel in place. The separated peel and fruit meat are moved across the scooping and sectioning assembly through a blade assembly which sections the fruit meat. The meat sectioning blade has a first portion which cuts through the peel and fruit meat to establish a first radial extent of the section cut.

Abstract: Fruit or other objects placed on the conveyor and spun by the conveyor are properly oriented on the conveyor by the method and apparatus of the invention by ejecting one or more adjacent touching objects or ejecting objects which form stacked triplets. An optical sensor determines when there is or is not a gap between objects and relates that gap detection to the position of the objects on the conveyor. Detection of a continuous signal through a controller circuit causes a downstream solenoid to be energized according to predetermined timing. The solenoid in turn, when energized, rotates a finger which is coupled to, carried with the conveyor system and situated underneath the pocket between adjacent spools. The finger rotates upwardly and ejects the objects sitting in the pocket, thereby removing the misplaced or touching objects on the conveyor belt.

Abstract: Fruit or other objects placed on the conveyor and spun by the conveyor are properly oriented on the conveyor by the method and apparatus of the invention by ejecting one or more adjacent touching objects or ejecting objects which form stacked triplets. An optical sensor determines wherein there is or is not a gap between objects and relates that gap detection to the position of the objects on the conveyor. Detection of a continuous signal through a controller circuit causes a downstream solenoid to be energized according to predetermined timing. The solenoid in turn, when energized, rotates a finger which is coupled to, carried with the conveyor system and situated underneath the pocket between adjacent spools. The finger rotates upwardly and ejects the objects sitting in the pocket, thereby removing the misplaced or touching objects on the conveyor belt.

Abstract: The topographic surface features of a translucent object, such as a citrus fruit with a peel, are scanned and evaluated to permit the classification thereof according to its surface features. In the case of citrus fruit, the coarseness or pebbliness, puff and crease, ridge and valley, cuts, punctures, scrapes and splits, clear rot or sour rot of the peel is optically identified through digital analysis of the pixel scans and sorted based upon the peel surface quality. The object is classified by separating the scanned image of the fruit from the background image and removing the background image. A statistical evaluation of the image of the object as a whole, including both hemispheres of the object, is made to determine if there is any surface feature variation which might qualify as a defect or be a suitable basis upon which a classification judgment can be made.

Abstract: A high speed, high volume fruit sectionizer is comprised of a pair of suction cup conveyors onto which fruit is loaded. The fruit is coupled by means of suction attachment to a first conveyor and carried to a position wherein the opposing side of the fruit is suction coupled to the second conveyor. The fruit is drawn through a halving guillotine and coring blade. The fruit halves are then positioned on scooping and sectioning assemblies. A rotating semicircular hoop blade cuts the fruit meat away from the peel while leaving the fruit meat and peel in place. The separated peel and fruit meat are moved across the scooping and sectioning assembly through a blade assembly which sections the fruit meat. The meat sectioning blade has a first portion which cuts through the peel and fruit meat to establish a first radial extent of the section cut.

Abstract: Fruit or other objects placed on the conveyor and spun by the conveyor are properly oriented on the conveyor by the method and apparatus of the invention by ejecting one or more adjacent touching objects or ejecting objects which form stacked triplets. An optical sensor determines when there is or is not a gap between objects and relates that gap detection to the position of the objects on the conveyor. Detection of a continuous signal through a controller circuit causes a downstream solenoid to be energized according to predetermined timing. The solenoid in turn, when energized, rotates a finger which is coupled to, carried with the conveyor system and situated underneath the pocket between adjacent spools. The finger rotates upwardly and ejects the objects sitting in the pocket, thereby removing the misplaced or touching objects on the conveyor belt.

Abstract: Application of wax to fruit, or groups of fruit in a conveyor system, can be controlled to optimize the protective and cosmetic effects of the wax application and to efficiently utilize the wax notwithstanding variations in size, texture, nature or number of the fruit, the type(s) of wax or the processing environment, by providing an intelligent wax controller. The wax controller has a camera which detects fruit passing through a field of view defined by an optical housing in which the camera is fixed. Particularly if the camera is a line-scan camera, two-dimensional pixel maps of the fruit passing through the viewing area are assembled and image processed to provide distinct pixel images even when the fruit are touching. The entire width of the conveyor belt is detected furing each detection time. The diameter of the fruit for each of the separated images is then determined, from which the total surface area of the fruit passing under the viewing area is computed.

Abstract: A monorail conveyor system is provided with a plurality of spool links which are rotatably interconnected with each other and are comprised of integrally molded plastic pieces. The spool links slide along a single rail which defines the conveyor track. One spool link rotatably engages the adjacent spool link to comprise a bearing connection between them. The bearing is an extended surface which is engaged by a driving wheel, such as a sprocket wheel, so that the plurality of spool links are directly engaged and driven along the single rail of the conveyor track without the use of any additional drive chain. Between each adjacent pair of spools is a cradle for carrying a citrus fruit or other object in the nest defined between the spools. The cradle is activatable in two modes, either as an object ejector or as an object lifter.

Abstract: Fruit or other objects placed on the conveyor and spun by the conveyor are properly oriented on the conveyor by the method and apparatus of the invention by ejecting one or more adjacent touching objects or ejecting objects which form stacked triplets. An optical sensor determines when there is or is not a gap between objects and relates that gap detection to the position of the objects on the conveyor. Detection of a continuous signal through a controller circuit causes a downstream solenoid to be energized according to predetermined timing. The solenoid in turn, when energized, rotates a finger which is coupled to, carried with the conveyor system and situated underneath the pocket between adjacent spools. The finger rotates upwardly and ejects the objects sitting in the pocket, thereby removing the misplaced or touching objects on the conveyor belt.

Abstract: The conveyor system is made of a plurality of spools connected by chains at each end of the spool. The space between an adjacent pair of spools defines a pocket. An ejector is carried by the chain within each pocket to eject fruit from the pocket. The ejectors are selectively activated by solenoids lying underneath the chain and mounted on a conveyor channel across which the chain and spools are pulled. An over-the-end detector detects whether fruit passes over the end of the detector and has not been otherwise ejected from the conveyor system. Depending upon the periodicity and the timing in which fruit passes over the end of the conveyor, it can be determined whether one or more ejectors are damaged, or whether ejectors or solenoids are inoperable, and in each case which one.