METHOD AND APPARATUS TO SORT FRUITS Russian patent published in 1995 - IPC

FIELD: agriculture. SUBSTANCE: apparatus to sort fruits has mechanism to load fruits and hydraulic tank, made as bath, to be loaded with fruits. Bath is filled with working medium, density of which is less than 1. To transport fruits bath has hydraulic spraying device. Bath is divided by two compartments along direction of fruits movement in it. One of compartments is filled with working liquid medium and another one is filled with emulsion medium with density, that decreases along path of fruits transportation. Compartment with emulsion medium has at least one longitudinally placed section. Change of emulsion medium density is exercised by gas passing through emulsion plates 10, located on bottom of each section of emulsion compartment. To emulsify liquid medium soluble in it nontoxic gasses are used. Emulsion plates are connected with pneumatic system through valves. Each section has inclined net-shaped protrusion to roll settling on bath bottom fruits down. Upper part of each section has fixed shutter, that separates fruits from compartment with working fluid medium. To drive fruits from compartment with working fluid medium apparatus has submerged scraping conveyers. Stability of gas and hydraulic emulsion is kept by addition in it of eatable binding stuff. EFFECT: method and apparatus are used in agriculture to sort fruits. 10 cl, 3 dwg