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EP-4739088-A1 - BERRY HARVESTER FILLING SYSTEM

EP4739088A1EP 4739088 A1EP4739088 A1EP 4739088A1EP-4739088-A1

Abstract

A fruit harvester includes a chassis, a fruit removal system, a fruit delivery system, and a container delivery system for automatically delivering individual containers. A container filling station receives fruit from the fruit delivery system and fills individual containers. The container delivery system automatically separates a bottommost container from a stack of the containers. The container delivery system includes a support framework defining a vertical open shaft configured for supporting a stack of containers. An elevator carriage moves vertically below the stack of containers. Retractable clamps engage edges of the containers in an extended position.

Inventors

  • KOK, Thomas Simon
  • ROBERTS, Kevin Michael

Assignees

  • Ploeger Oxbo Holding B.V.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240705

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A fruit harvester, comprising: a chassis; a fruit removal system; a fruit delivery system; a container delivery system for automatically separating an individual container from a stack of containers; a container fdling station receiving fruit from the fruit delivery system and individual separated containers from the container delivery system and filling the containers with a predetermined amount of fruit.
  2. 2. The harvester according to claim 1, the container delivery system comprising: a support framework defining a vertical open shaft configured for supporting a stack of containers; an elevator with support brackets extending below the stack of containers; retractable tabs configured for engaging the containers when in an extended position; and an actuator for extending and retracting the tabs.
  3. 3. The harvester according to claim 2, wherein the actuator comprises spring loaded tab and complementary engagement surfaces on the tabs and container.
  4. 4. The harvester according to claim 2, wherein the actuator comprises a linkage.
  5. 5. The harvester according to claim 4, wherein the linkage comprises a cam assembly.
  6. 6. The harvester according to claim 2, wherein the support brackets extend in a first direction and the retractable tabs extend in a second direction transverse to the first direction.
  7. 7. The harvester according to claim 1, wherein the container filling station comprises: a fruit delivery apparatus; a container support; a container weighing system generating a weighing signal; a processor in communication with the weighing system, the processor cancelling vibrations from the weighing signal.
  8. 8. The harvester according to claim 1, comprising a control system automatically controlling and coordinating the container delivery system and the container filling station.
  9. 9. The harvester according to claim 1, further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is in communication with a position indicator, the processor being configured to map yields.
  10. 10. A fruit harvester comprising: a destacking assembly for removing a container from a stack of containers; a filling station for filling a removed container with a predetermined amount of fruit; a weighing assembly for sensing when the predetermined amount of fruit has been reached for each container; a container transport assembly for delivering an empty container into a filling station, and automatically moving a filled container out of the filling station when the weighing assembly senses that the predetermined amount of fruit has been reached.
  11. 11. The harvester according to claim 10, comprising a control system automatically controlling and coordinating the container destacking assembly, the container transport assembly, and the filling station.
  12. 12. The harvester according to claim 11, wherein the control system comprises a processor, wherein the processor is in communication with a position indicator, the processor being configured to map yields.
  13. 13. The harvester according to claim 11, wherein the control system comprises a processor, the processor cancelling vibrations from the weighing signal.
  14. 14. The harvester according to claim 10, wherein the destacking assembly is configured to remove a container from a bottom of the stack of containers.
  15. 15. The harvester according to claim 10, wherein the container transport assembly is configured to move a next container to the filling station.
  16. 16. The harvester according to claim 10, wherein the container transport assembly comprises a belt with spaced apart flights.
  17. 17. The harvester according to claim 10, wherein the container transport assembly comprises a chain pulling spaced apart paddles, each paddle being configured and spaced apart to engage one container.
  18. 18. A fruit container delivery system comprising: a support framework defining a vertical open shaft configured for supporting a stack of containers; an elevator with support brackets extending below the stack of containers; retractable tabs configured for engaging edges of the containers in an extended position, and an actuator for extending and retracting the tabs.
  19. 19. The container delivery system according to claim 18, wherein the actuator comprises a linkage.
  20. 20. The container delivery system according to claim 19, wherein the linkage comprises a cam assembly.

Description

BERRY HARVESTER FILLING SYSTEM Cross-Reference to Related Applications This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/512,220, filed July 6, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background of the Invention Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a berry harvester and filling system for automatically managing containers and consistently filling the containers with fruit. Description of the Prior Art The present invention relates to a berry harvester and container filling system that connects to a fruit conveying system and weighs containers to ensure consistent filling levels. Berry harvesters are used to mechanically harvest fruit from plants. Such harvesters typically include beaters or other elements that dislodge the fruit from the plants and a conveyor system to deliver the fruit. The harvester may also include fans or other devices to aid in discharging undesirable materials such as leaves, sticks and other debris from the fruit. Berry harvesters typically deliver the fruit to a filling station, and sometime an inspection station, on a conveyor that delivers the berries to containers, widely referred to as lugs or flats, depending on the configuration of the containers. The flats hold approximately 3-15 pounds while lugs have a capacity of about 15-25 pounds. Conventional harvesters deliver the fruit, while workers known as operators, sorters or stackers manually place and handle the flats or lugs for filling. The stackers remove the flats or lugs when they estimate that a predetermined amount of fruit has been delivered to the container. In addition, typically a second container is placed below the first container so that fruit may be recovered while the upper containers are being switched. Although such a system provides for recovering the harvested berries, the reliance on a worker to judge when a desired amount of fruit has been delivered has drawbacks. Such a system requires a paid employee to spend considerable time watching berries fall into lugs. People willing to perform this job are becoming more difficult to find and more expensive to employ. Moreover, the amount of berries in a "full" lug can vary greatly. It has been found that the variability depends upon the experience and skill of the workers and that changing of tasks during a shift on the harvester may increase or decrease in the perceived amount of fruit being collected in each container. Moreover, as workers tire during a long shift, variability may increase or decrease. Such workers also need to manage the containers and any problems may affect the filling process. The variance in the weight of the fruit collected in each container has consequences at the processing plants where the fruit is often delivered from flats automatically to be cleaned, and/or in some cases, frozen or pureed. Efficiency at such plants is tied to the volume of fruit being processed and the selected operating level should be sufficient to cover the upper limit of fruit delivered. If the volume of fruit varies from container to container, the processing plant must be operated slowly enough to accommodate the highest volume of fruit. However, if there is less variability, the plant may be able to operate at a higher level without exceeding its capacity limit. Throughput is increased and higher efficiencies are achieved. To address these issues, a weighing system has been developed to fill the containers more accurately and consistently with a predetermined amount of fruit. Such a weighing system is disclosed in U.S. Patent 10,834,873 to Korthuis, entitled BERRY HARVESTER WEIGHING SYSTEM. This system utilizes a weighing system that also cancels out vibrations for greater accuracy to achieve containers filled with a consistent amount of fruit. Although the system of the Korthuis ‘873 patent improved the consistency of filled containers, issues may still arise due to the manual management of the containers. Workers are required to move a supply of empty containers and manually provide an empty container to the filling station. While the stackers are alerted when the container is filled to the desired amount of fruit, the stacker may be delayed in reacting and may not always switch the container out when alerted by the alarm. Moreover, the manual handling of containers requires additional labor and space on the deck of the harvester. It can therefore be seen that an automatic container handling system for a fruit harvester is needed. Such a container handling system should provide for automatically removing a container from a stack of containers, delivering the container to a filling station, conveying fruit into the container until filled with a desired amount of fruit, and moving the filled container out of the filling station. Such a system should provide for decreasing the labor needed and cost of operating a harvester. The present invention addresses thes