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: 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: An improved actuating system for a plurality of tucker plates used to compress and tuck arrays of fruit placed by an automated fruit handler into shipping cartons is described. The timing and motive force used for operation of the tucker plate is derived from motion of the fruit handler. Contact of the fruit and the fruit handler with an inclined tucker plate on each of four side is sufficient to cause tucker plates to rotate about a hinge assembly which couples the tucker plate to the packer table through which the fruit handler disposes the layers of fruit into the shipping cartons positioned on a conveyor underneath the packer table. Each tucker plate is provided with an upper finger which contacts the fruit handler as the fruit handler move upwardly thereby causing a torque to be applied to the tucker plate to reorient the tucker plate from the vertical packing position to an open tilted receiving position.

Abstract: A conveyor discharge apparatus, and a related method of operation, that can lift and thereby eject any article carried by a conveyor of the apparatus through substantially relying on the motor that advances the conveyor of the apparatus. The apparatus includes an ejection mechanism having a plurality of ejection fingers that are each associated with a separate one of the pockets of the conveyor and are selectively movable between rest and ejection positions so as to lift and eject articles carried by the pocket in which the particular finger is located. The ejection mechanism is further configured such that the power required to lift and eject any article from the pockets is provided substantially by the motor that advances the conveyor. In operation, the conveyor is advanced via the motor and the fingers are selectively moved substantially via the power of the motor from their respective rest positions to their respective ejection positions.