| (19) |
 |
|
(11) |
EP 1 134 040 A3 |
| (12) |
EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
| (88) |
Date of publication A3: |
|
16.07.2003 Bulletin 2003/29 |
| (43) |
Date of publication A2: |
|
19.09.2001 Bulletin 2001/38 |
| (22) |
Date of filing: 16.03.2001 |
|
|
| (84) |
Designated Contracting States: |
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AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE TR |
|
Designated Extension States: |
|
AL LT LV MK RO SI |
| (30) |
Priority: |
16.03.2000 EP 00200932
|
| (71) |
Applicant: FPS Food Processing Systems B.V. |
|
2631 RE Nootdorp (NL) |
|
| (72) |
Inventors: |
|
- Ruigrok, Albertus Johannes
2641 DP Pijnacker (NL)
- Tas, Johannes Cornelis Joseph
2631 GS Nootdorp (NL)
|
| (74) |
Representative: Prins, Adrianus Willem et al |
|
Vereenigde, Nieuwe Parklaan 97
2587 BN Den Haag
2587 BN Den Haag (NL) |
|
| |
|
| (54) |
Sorting and packaging products |
(57) The invention relates to a method for packaging products, such as vegetables and
fruits, utilizing a sorting machine, comprising the steps of determining per product
the characteristics of the respective products, such as, for instance, determining
their weight and/or their shape; comparing the characteristics with predetermined
packaging requirements; on the basis of this comparison, selecting products that do
not need to be packaged; supplying the other, non-selected products to a packaging
unit, which packaging unit is energized only when there is a substantially uninterrupted
in-feed of the products into the packaging unit.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method.