PRINCIPLES AND MECHANISMS FOR ORIENTING APPLE FRUITS Thesis for the Degree of M. S. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ROBERT FREDERICK MROZEK 1969 -. 3.0.6-9 .— ”'q'.“ l 71 IIIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIII/II/IIIIIIIII/IIIIII/III $3312?” 3 1293 10459 9166 . University ABSTRACT PRINCIPLES AND MECHANISMS FOR ORIENTING APPLE FRUITS By Robert Frederick Mrozek Orientation of apple fruit is a necessary pre- requisite to accurate grading and certain processing operations such as calyx or core removal or peeling. Four different methods of orientation were studied: orienta- tion in solutions of various specific gravities, orientation in a rotating tube, orientation on an inclined belt and orientation on a belt with a compound angle. The inclined belt method was incorporated into a complete orienting and handling mechanism. Fruit orientation was studied in solutions having specific gravities ranging from 0.80 to 1.15. It was determined that there is an optimum specific gravity for orientation of each variety. Approximately 90 per cent of the fruit were oriented. Out of 1A samples, 9 were above 90 per cent, A were from 80-90 per cent, and one sample was less than 80 per cent. Three methods of mechanical orientation were studied, the first being by means of a rotating 4-inch diameter glass tube. The tube was 4 feet long, was rotated 60 and 100 rpm and was inclined at an angle of 10 degrees from Robert Frederick Mrozek horizontal. Feed rates of 40 to 220 inches per minute were used. The result was that oblate apples like McIntosh would position readily with over 90 per cent orientation, and angular ones like Delicious were 50 to 70 per cent oriented. The second method of mechanical orientation employed the principle of stability of the fruit on an inclined surface. A conveyor was inclined at a 5 degree angle from horizontal in the direction of belt travel, and operated at 200 to 500 inches per minute. Out of 32 samples, 7 had an orientation of 90 per cent or better, ll had an orientation of 80-90 per cent, and 14 had an orientation of less than 80 per cent. A third method, an inclined belt with a compound angle, was tried. This used the same principle as the inclined belt for orientation, and included a separation of non-oriented apples. This was accomplished by tipping the belt on an angle of 2, A and 6 degrees, perpendicular to the direction of travel. The same 5 degree angle was maintained in the direction of travel as for the previous experiment. The results were: 95 per cent or more of the Rome and McIntosh apples were oriented at a rate of 100 apples per minute. Golden Delicious apples were only 60 per cent oriented at a rate of 21 apples per minute. In conjunction with the inclined belt orienter, a study was made of mechanisms for the transfer of oriented Robert Frederick Mrozek fruit to a cup-chain conveyor. The apples were oriented on the inclined belt orienter, then conveyed down a vibrating ramp to a designated position. From this loca- tion the apples were picked up by a mechanical device and placed into a cup—chain conveyor, while maintaining orientation. This mechanism oriented up to 12 apples per minute and placed them in cups on a conveyor. Approved or Professor Approved flwfl M Department Chairman PRINCIPLES AND MECHANISMS FOR ORIENTING APPLE FRUITS By Robert Frederick Mrozek A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Agricultural Engineering 1969 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincere thanks to Dr. B. A. Stout, Major Professor, for guidance and encouragement during the research program and writing of this thesis. I appreciate the financial assistance of the ARS, USDA, which made part of the research possible. The research on the rotating tube and the fluid orientation was conducted under USDA Contract No. l2-lA-lOO-8902(Sl). My thanks to the Gerber Products Company of Fremont, Michigan for providing financial assistance through a cooperative research agreement with Michigan State Univer- sity. The research on the inclined belt and the mechanical transfer device was conducted under this agreement. My appreciation for the assistance and suggestions from Dr. D. H. Dewey, Professor of Horticulture, during this project. I extend my thanks to Dr. G. H. Martin of Mechanical Engineering, for serving as my minor professor. My thanks to Dr. C. W. Hall for making the arrange— ments for my assistantship, and to all those in the Agricultural Engineering Department who so willingly gave assistance and advice during this project. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . . . . II. III. IV. 1.1 Objectives . . . REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . 2.1 Basic Laws of Stability 2.2 Physical PrOperties of Apples Relating to Orientation . . . . . 2.3 Existing Orienting Machinery . . FLUID ORIENTATION . . . 3.1 Apparatus and Procedure 3.2 Results . . . . . 3.3 Wax Model Study . . . 3.“ Conclusions . . . . ROTATING TUBE STUDY A.l Apparatus and Procedure A.2 Results . . . . . A.3 Conclusions . . . . INCLINED BELT ORIENTATION . 5.1 Apparatus and Procedure 5.2 Results and Discussion 5.3 Conclusions . . . . iii Page . ii vi Chapter Page VI. APPLE ORIENTATION ON BELT WITH COMPOUND ANGLE . . . . . . . . . . 56 6.1 Apparatus and Procedure . . . . . . 56 6.2 Results and Conclusion . . . . . . 61 VII. COMPLETE MECHANISM FOR ORIENTING APPLES . . 62 7.1 Description of Machine . . . . . . 62 7.2 Operation of Machine . . . . . . . 66 7.3 Results. . . . . . . . . . . . 66 7.4 Discussion and Conclusions . . . . . 67 VIII. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 iv Table LIST OF TABLES Page Sample size and L/D ratio of apples used in fluid orientation study, December, 1967 . . . 12 Varieties and locations grown of apples used in fluid orientation study, March, 1968 . . . 13 Maximum observed orientation in solutions of various specific gravities . . . . . . 25 Per cent apple orientation in a rotating tube with various tube and belt speeds . . . . . 34 Mean L/D of apples orienting and not orienting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Maximum per cent of apples oriented in rotating tube . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Variety and location grown, of apples used in inclined belt experiment . . . . . . . . 39 Figure 10. ll. l2. 13. LIST OF FIGURES Body resting on three or more points . . Body resting on curved surface . . . . Submerged bodies . . . . . . . . . Floating bodies . . . . . . . . . . Orientation of Rome apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . . . . . Orientation of McIntosh apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . . . Orientation of Delicious apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . . . . Orientation of Jonathan apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . . . . Orientation of Delicious apples in solutions of various specific gravities. No fruits were observed in stem down position . . Orientation of Michigan grown apples in solutions of various specific gravities. With Delicious variety no fruits were observed in the stem down position . . . Orientation of McIntosh apples from New York in solutions of various specific gravities Orientation of Michigan grown apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . McIntosh apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . . . . . . . Delicious apples in solutions of various Specific gravities . . . . . . . . vi Page O\O\U"I 1A 15 16 17 19 2O 21 22 23 2A Figure Page 1A. Orientation of wax models of apples in solutions of various specific gravities . . 27 15. Rotating tube device for orientation of apples 0 I O I O O O C O O 0 O o 31 16. Comparison of maximum percentage of orienta- tion, and L/D ratio for the rotating tube . . 37 17. Angled belt device for orientation of apples . A0 18. Orientation of Cortland apples on inclined belt 0 C O O C O C O C C C 0 O O “3 19. Orientation of Delicious apples on inclined belt 0 O 0 O O O O 0 O O O O O 0 “LI 20. Orientation of Delicious, and Golden Delicious apples on inclined belt . . . . . . . . A5 21. Orientation of Golden Delicious apples on inclined belt . . . . . . . . . . . A6 22. Orientation of Grimes Golden, Gravenstein, and Jonathan apples on inclined belt . . . A7 23. Orientation of McIntosh apples on inclined belt 0 O O O O O . O O O 0 O O O 0 “8 2A. Orientation of Rome Beauty and Rhode Island Greening apples on inclined belt . . . . . A9 25. Orientation of Northern Spy and Stayman apples on inclined belt . . . . . . . . 5O 26. Orientation of Twenty Ounce Pippen, and Winesap apples on inclined belt . . . . . 51 27. Orientation of Winter Banana, Winter White Pearmain, and York Imperial apples on inclined belt . . . . . . . . . . . 52 28. Orientation of York Imperial and Newtown Pippen apples on inclined belt. . . . . . 53 29. Comparison of maximum per cent orientation and L/D ratio on inclined belt . . . . . 5A vii Figure Page 30. Belt with compound angle . . . . . . . 57 31. Rate of apple orientation on belt with compound angle 0 o '0 o o o o c a o o I o o 59 32. Apples not oriented on belt with compound angle 0 o o o o c o o a o o o o o 59 33. Orientation of apples on belt with compound angle 0 O O O O O O O O O O O 0 60 3A. Complete mechanism for orienting and transfer- ring apples . . . . . . . . . . . 63 35. Vibrating inclined ramp for conveying apples from belt to transfer device . . . . . . 63 36. Device for transferring apples from vibrating ramp to cup chain conveyor . . . . . . 6A viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In the United States in 1967, over 5.A billion pounds of apples, worth 306 million dollars were produced. Of these apples, about A0 per cent (by weight) were processed. There is a need in the apple industry for more efficient handling of the fresh fruit. With increased consumer demand for processed food, efficient handling becomes an increas- ingly significant economic problem. Many of the handling operations are being automated. The movement, grading, sizing, dumping, sorting, coring and peeling of apples can be done efficiently by machines. To have an efficient opera— tion for processing apples, a method of mechanical orienta- tion is required. Some methods of mechanical orientation are now in existence (Section 2.3) but an inexpensive and accurate method has not yet been deveIOped. The physical properties of pome* fruit related to orientation have been under investigation at Michigan State University since July, 1966 under USDA Contract No. l2-1A- lOO-8902(51). The Departments of Horticulture and Agri- cultural Engineering worked on this problem jointly. During *Specifically apples and pears. this time a variety of physical properties of pome fruit have been studied, these were: 1. Determination of air space distribution within an apple, Megilley, et_al. (1968). The effect of fruit shape on the orientation of apples in water, ibid. Density distribution within an apple, $219! The static equilibrium of apples positioned on flattened surface areas of the fruit, Stout, 513;, (1968). A mathematical model of the apple fruit, Moustafa (1967). Coefficient of friction and location of center of gravity of pome fruit, Wolf (1967). Size, shape and surface roughness of apple fruit, V15 (1967). 1.1 Objectives The objective of this study was to utilize previously gained knowledge, along with information gained during this study to develop a practical means of orienting and trans- ferring apples to a standard processing conveyor. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Basic Laws of Stability Orientation* of apples on a surface or in a fluid depends on the stability of the apple in its oriented position. If the apple is stable when oriented it will remain in this position. If it is not stable it will rotate to a stable position which is not necessarily oriented. Halliday and Resnick (1965) discuss the two cases of a body on a plane surface. The first case deals with a body resting on three or more points of support, X, Y and Z (Figure l-a). The second case considers a body resting on some curved surface (Figure 1-b). The body will be stable in the first case if the vertical projection of the center of gravity (G) on the plane of support is con- tained within the polygon XYZ. In the second case the body will be stable if the center of gravity is directly above the point of support (8) and the distance SC is less than the radius of curvature (r) at the point of support. For *Orientation is defined for this study as being in a position of the stem-calyx axis within 15 degrees of vertical. S5 greater than r the body will be unstable, and if SC equals r the body will be in neutral equilibrium. Streeter (1966) describes the static equilibrium of a body immersed in fluid. When a body is submerged and in equilibrium (Figure 2-a) it will be in a position of B directly above G, where B is the center of buoyancy and G is the center of gravity. If it is disturbed from this position (Figure 2-b) a righting moment will be created. For floating bodies (Figure 3) the center of buoyancy is at the centroid of the displaced volume. Shown in Figure 3-a, is the cross section of a body with all other parallel cross sections identical. When the body is tipped, as in Figure 3-b, the center of buoyancy is at the centroid B' of the trapazoid ABCD. The buoyant force acts upward through B' and weight (W) acts downward through G. When the vertical through B' intersects the original center line above G as at M, a restoring couple is produced, and the body is in stable equilibrium. The intersection of the buoyant force and the center line is called the metacenter (M). When M is above G the body is stable; when below G it is unstable and when at G it is in neutral equilibrium. The distance M5 is called the metacentric height and is a direct measure of the stability of the body. The restoring couple is W MG sin e, where 6 is the angular displacement of the body from its equilibrium position. z. X'/ Y: / n e \z o x : XIv" I «'z I\‘ Fig. la.-—Body resting on three or more points. 62.... UNSTAB E Fig. 1b.--Body resting on curved surface. G)+ a b Fig. 2.--Submerged bodies. (a) . (b) Fig. 3.--Floating bodies. 2.2 Physical Properties of Apples Relatinggto Orientation The shape, location of center of gravity, density distribution, and surface irregularities affect the orientation of apples. Measurements of these character- istics of apples have been made. The location of center of gravity in pome fruit by Wolf (1967) indicated that the center of gravity is located on the stem—calyx axis, and is nearer the stem end. An apple oriented with the stem-calyx axis horizontal and supported at a point midway between the stem and calyx would fall toward the stem end when released. Vis (1968) conducted a study on the depth and size of stem cavity and calyx cavity. He found that the stem cavity was significantly deeper than the calyx cavity. This indicates that orientation techniques-using this physical property are feasible. He also conducted a study on the roughness and surface irregularities of apples. The number of roughness irregularities did not vary in a predictable manner with respect to location on the fruit surface. Surface roughness, therefore, appears to be an inadequate parameter for orientation. Megilley (1968) studied the air space distribution within an apple. Of the three varieties studied, McIntosh, Delicious and Jonathan, the air space distribution was 10—11 per cent in the calyx end, 16-17 per cent in the middle and approximately 20 per cent in the stem end. This is in accordance with the density distribution within an apple. The flesh of the apple is most dense in the calyx end, less dense in the middle and the least dense in the stem end. One might conclude that this air space and density distribution would have a large effect on the orientation of apples in water. Megilley concluded, however, that the shape of the apple was dominant in determining the orienta— tion in water. The stability of apples on an inclined surface, Stout, et_al, (1968), was studied by D. H. Dewey. The results indicated that apples were more stable on an inclined surface when resting on the stem or calyx cavity than any other position. This suggests that a mechanism could be constructed to orient apples using this parameter. 2.3 Existing Orienting Machinery A machine for orienting, coring, and peeling apples was observed in operation at Michigan Fruit Canners Corporation in South Haven, Michigan. This machine was developed by the Atlas Pacific Corporation. The orienta- tion was accomplished by placing the apple in a cup. The cup had a hole in the bottom, through which a knurled off- center wheel protruded. The wheel rotated the apple in the cup. When the apple came to a position of stem up or stem down, the stem or calyx indentation caused the wheel to not engage the apple. The apple would stop in this position and be oriented either stem up or stem down. Gardiner (196A) invented a machine for orienting pears. The machine operated by shuffling the pears along an incline. As the pears moved they oriented in a position with their large ends toward the top of the incline. Lorenzen and Lamouria (1963) developed a machine that used a water stream from below in orienting apricots. The water stream generated drag forces on the apricots that oriented it in a position where the suture plane is hori- zontal. An alternative method used four jets of water that rotated the fruit and created a couple that oriented the fruit in a stable position, again with suture plane hori- zontal. Hait and Kellogg (1960) invented a machine for orienta- tion of fruit with a suture and one indentation. This was designed for peaches and apricots. A cup-like mechanism rotated the fruit to align the suture. A small wheel located the indentation at the same time. FMC (1967) deve10ped a machine for orienting, sorting and packing eggs. This machine used a vacuum pickup and used the shape of the egg for orientation. A machine was patented by Keesling (1965) which depended on the stem and calyx indentation for orientation. The machine rotated the apple in a cup until the indenta- tions were held by sensors. The result was that the apple would be oriented stem up or stem down. CHAPTER III FLUID ORIENTATION From previous studies, Megilley gt_al. (1968), it is known that a large percentage of apples orient either stem up or stem down in water. An experiment was designed to determine if the spebific gravity of the fluid in which the fruit were immersed had any effect on their orientation. 3.1 Apparatus and Procedure Apples were immersed in a 6 x 9 x 15 inch pan with a solution depth of four inches. The fruit were placed in the solution five or six at a time. The fruit were hand placed in the solution with precautions being taken so as to not orient the fruit while picking them up. To eliminate some of the effect of chance orientation (a fruit assuming a position because of its initial position of immersion) the trials were conducted three times with each sample in each specific gravity solution. There was little difference in results between trials. The temperature of the fruit and liquid was kept within ten degrees of room temperature (68°F). The experiment was conducted in solutions of specific gravity from 0.80, ethanol and water, to 1.15, saturated lO ll NaCl and water solution at room temperature. A pilot study indicated a change in orientation of apples throughout this range. Increments of 0.05 specific gravity were used because of convenience. The pilot study indicated that this was a small enough increment to give a reliable curve. The specific gravity of the solution was within 0.01 at all times. All apples with their stem-calyx axis within 15 degrees from vertical were considered oriented. The goal was to get as many fruit as possible with their axes parallel in a stem up or down position. The apples were measured for length and diameter with a set of calipers made for this purpose. The length, largest diameter, and least diameter were measured. The diameters were measured in a plane perpendicular to the stem-calyx axis. The L/D was calculated by taking the sample as a group and dividing the average length by the average diameter, as shown in Table 1. There was a change in the specific gravity and possibly the gas distribution of apples that were stored. To take these into consideration two trials were con- ducted, one in December, 1967, and another in March, 1968. The December, 1967 experiment was conducted with four varieties of apples grown in various locations in the United States. The varieties, origin and L/D ratio of the fruit are listed in Table l. 12 TABLE l.—-Sample size and L/D ratio of apples used in fluid orientation study, December, 1967. Variety Location Grown Sample Size L/D Ratio Delicious Michigan 100 0.92 McIntosh Michigan 100 0.8A Jonathan Michigan 100 0.88 Delicious Washington 80 0.9A Rome Idaho 80 0.89 Home New York 80 0.86 Jonathan New York- 100 0.86 McIntosh New York 100 0.81 .For the March, 1968 experiment the procedure was the same except the apples were individually numbered and the L/D ratio of each apple was recorded. This was done to study the effect of L/D on orientation. The L/D of each sample, as shown in Table 2, is the mean L/D of the individual apples. It should be noted that this group of apples is the same as was used in the rotating tube experiment described later. The apples were studied in the various specific gravity solutions first, and immediately afterward the tube experiment was conducted. The apples were used in the specific gravity solutions first because the rotating tube experiment tended to bruise the fruit. 13 TABLE 2.—-Varieties and locations grown of apples used in fluid orientation study, March, 1968. of L/D Delicious Washington 80 0.99 0.12 Delicious New York 80 0.93 0.06 Delicious Michigan 80 0.97 0.0A McIntosh Michigan 80 0.8A 0.03 Jonathan Michigan 80 0.87 0.03 Home Michigan 80 0.83 0.03 McIntosh New York 80 0.82 0.03 The apples used in this experiment were of the varie- ties and from the locations as indicated in Table 2. All samples consisted of 80 apples, and three immersions were used. 3.2 Results The results of the December, 1967 experiment are given in Figures A, 5, 6 and 7. The Rome and McIntosh apples had a L/D ratio below 0.85. The curves shown in Figures A and 5 for these varieties are similar in shape. There is a difference in the shape of the curves for apples with a L/D ratio greater than 0.85, and those with a L/D less than 0.85. The apples with low L/D ratio tend to have their maximum orientation in the solutions of a 1A I00- 90— . ,e“'-°."‘°'--°---o-—-e I- 80- I’ new YORK g 0’ --o-- STEM up on DOWN o 70.. A -.2.- STEM UP 35 L/D- 0.86 a. 60- DEC. '67 5 L4, 1 1 1 1 1 1 A . 1 o 0.00 0.85 0.90 0.95 :00 l.05 mo us '00— IDAHO --o-- STEM up on 00w~ 90- -A-— STEM up 0 LID-0.89 80'- /’ - ~~ - ~ ~ 0 E O / 0 0 ‘ -__ m 70- L) (r 33 60- 50— I? 1,1 1 II, J l l l I —1r0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 I.00 I.05 I.I0 I.I5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. A.--Orientation of Rome apples in solutions of various specific gravities. PERCENT PERCENT 15 I00 - 0 I- _- ------ 0' 90 My,“ 0 e ’9... MICHIGAN 90 _ / --o-- STEM up on DOWN ./ -A—STEM up 7O .. L/D' 0.84 ’ 0:0. '67 60- 50 41 l I I I ~ L I J l- I ' 0.90 0.05 0.90 0.95 I.00 l.05 I.I0 us '00— ’.o—-—o--—e----0—-—o——-o——-0 ‘9’ new YORK 9°" --e-- STEM up 05: 00m -A- STEM up 00- L/0-00I -DEC.’67 70 — 60— 5° J'A. I I I II J I I I 0.90 0.95 0.90 0.95 I.00 I.O5 I.I0 l.l5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. 5.—-Orientation of McIntosh apples in solutions of various specific gravities. I00 90 80 PERCENT 70 60 I00 90 80 70 PERCENT 60 I- L, 16 WASHINGTON --o-- STEM UP on DOWN A 9.5:.— STEM UP L/D 8 0.94 - DEC. '67 l l J L 4 I I I I 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 I.00 I.05 I.I0 I.I5 L/D' 0.92 DEC. '67 I I I I I I I L 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 I.00 I.05 l.I0 l.l5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. 6.--Orientation of Delicious apples in solutions of various Specific gravities. l7 '00“— I- 06- - ‘0 90 - \ F'BO_ \\e E, , NEw YORK A ‘~ 3:3 70+ I--o-—STEM UP 09 Down 3 —A—STEM UP 90 P , L/D- 0.95 4' DEC. '97 I I I l I I l I 0.90 0.95 0.90 0.95 I00 I05 I.I0 I.I5 I00~ 90" v”0-- a \ p. 2 80A \0 h] _ ‘ \ g MICHIGAN . If 70 I' --e-- STEM UP on now -—A— STEM UP 60 L/D - 0.88 DEC. '67 I I I I I I I l US 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 .l.00 I.05 l.l0 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. 7.--Orientation of Jonathan apples in solutions of various specific gravities. 18 high specific gravity. The reverse is true for the apples that have a high L/D ratio. The results for the March, 1968 study are summarized in Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11. The curves shown here are similar to the curves obtained earlier. The effect of varying the specific gravity of the fluid on orientation of the fruit can also be seen in Figures 12 and 13. Figure 12-1 through 12-8 show McIntosh apples, low L/D ratio, in various specific gravity solu- tions. The tendency is for the apple to float higher in the dense solutions. The cause for poor orientation in low specific gravity solutions is seen in Figure 12—1 where the apple floats with a cheek up. When the specific gravity is increased, the apple is in an upright position and remains so through the 1.11 specific gravity solution. The position of a Delicious apple, high L/D ratio, in various solutions is illustrated in Figure 13—1 through 13-8. This apple was not typical in that it oriented best in a 1.00 specific gravity solution instead of 0.85. However, it does illustrate the typical orientations of the Delicious apples. In Figure 13-1 the apple is in a spe- cific gravity solution of 0.81 with its side resting on the bottom of the beaker. It then goes to a floating position side up and inproves to a point (1.00). Then as it is forced out of the liquid to a higher position it begins to become top heavy accounting for the low l9 I00N+- WASHINGTON 90 - A STEM UP F 9 0 _ LID - 0.99 2 MARCH 68 8 70 a: _. Ii‘ 60- A 50— A :fi 1 l I J l I 1 I 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 l.00 I.05 I.I0 I.I5 I00“ 90.. NEW YORK A STEM UP ... 90- was 0.92 E MARCH '69 g TOI- II.I . 0., . A 90 -. A 50 - 1P - I I I I L I I "0.90 0.95 0.90 095 L00 L05 I.I0 I.I5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. 8.--Orientation of Delicious apples in solutions of various specific gravities. No fruits were observed in stem down position. 20 'OOI' .U-—-e--9---e--0---5'-5'-" 90*- Mc INTOSH ._ 90~ 0 STEM UP 0R 00w 5 A STEM UP 0 L/D I 0.83 5 70~ MARCH '99 Q. 60- 50-— f4 1 I l J l I J I , 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 l.00 l.05 I.IO I.I5 l00- 90.. DELICIOUS A STEM UP L/D a 0.96 80— ,_ MARCH '99 2: _ a: 7C)?- a: M] “- 50- 50 r- ) 4? I I I I I I L I 4 '0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 I.00 l.05 I.IO I.I5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. 9.--Orientation of Michigan grown apples in solutions of various specific gravities. variety no With Delicious fruits were observed in the stem down position. 21 I00 - -0-9--0--°--o --0—-0--° 90.. MOINTOSH ”A" STEM UP ,_ _ "9"" STEM UP OR DOWN 2 8° L/D- 0.9.2 3 MARCH '68 a: 70 - h] D. 60 r- A 50 P- A ‘L 4 I I ' I I J I I I ‘ '090 0.95 0.90 0.95 I00 I05 I.IO I.I5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. 10.--Orientation of McIntosh apples from New York in solutions of various specific gravities. 22 I00- I 90- ._ 90 - ‘ g 5 .IoNATHAN 3:: 70s a STEM UP 0R Down In A STEM UP A “- 60- Lil) s0.99 MARCH '69 50- 1.’ 't I I_ I I I I I- I 0.90 0.95 0.90 0.95 I00 I05 I.I0 I.I5 I00- r-fl—_0__Q___e___e-—-e I 90~ I ,’ R0ME BEAUTY I. 90— I o STEM UP 0R Down “2, l’ A STEM UP g 70- L/D . 0.95 3.] MARCH '69 90— A ' l I I I J l I ‘r—l . '0.90 0.95 0.90 0.95 l.00 I.05 l.l0 I.I5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. ll.--Orientation of Michigan grown apples in solutions of various specific gravities. 23 Fig. l2.--McIntosh apples in solutions of various specific gravities. (Photo No. 68wl682~l) it... III! I III! III III! Fig. l3.--Delicious apples in solutions of various specific gravities. (Photo No. 68—1682~2) 25 orientation percentages in very high specific gravity solutions. A more typical group of Delicious apples is illustrated in Figure 13-9 through 13-12, where the same orientation action takes place with the largest percentage of apples oriented at specific gravity of 0.85. The maximum orientation for each trial is sum- marized in Table 3. TABLE 3.-—Maximum observed orientation in solutions of various specific gravities. Maximum S::3I8;C Variety Date Location ggieggfition, for Maximum Orientation Delicious Dec.'67 Washington 89 0.85 Delicious Dec.'67 Michigan 95 0.85 Jonathan Dec.'67 New York 99 0.90 Jonathan Dec.'67 Michigan 91 0.90 McIntosh Dec.'67 Michigan 92 1.15 McIntosh Dec.'67 New York 100 1.00-1.15 Rome Dec.'67 New York 86 0.95 Rome Dec.'67 Idaho 85 1.00 McIntosh Mar.'68 New York 97 1.15 McIntosh Mar.'68 Michigan 100 1.15 Delicious Mar.'68 Washington 85 0.85 Delicious Mar.'68 New York 71 0.90 Delicious Mar.'68 Michigan 92 0.85 Jonathan Mar.'68 Michigan 97 0.80 Rome Mar.'68 Michigan 100 1.15 26 3.3 Wax Model Study The large percentage of apples that oriented in the stem up position in lower specific gravity solutions, indicated that this might be caused by the differential densities and air distribution within the apples. The wax models made by Megilley (1968) were immersed in the various specific gravity solutions just as the real fruits were. The results of this experiment are given in Figure 1A. The McIntosh and Rome varieties were each represented by five wax models. The orientation of wax models in various specific gravity solutions was quite similar to the orienta- tion of the real fruit. These results were in line with the findings of Megilley in that there is not much difference in orienta- tion of the wax models and orientation of real fruit in plain water. This lack of difference of orientation between the homogeneous wax models and the real fruit seems to indicate the shape of the fruit is the dominant factor in their orientation. 3.A Conclusions An orientation of 85-100 per cent could be gained by using the optimal specific gravity solution for each variety. This method would be practical and could be used as an initial phase in orientation leaving a small quantity of apples to be oriented by hand. This process 27 ’0’ Mc INTOSH (WAX) o STEM UP 0R Down A STEM UP 90- / 80*- 70- PERCENT sot 50A- ] L I I I l I I I '0.90 0.95 0.90 0.95 I00 I05 I.I0 I.I5 I00- 9°A R0ME BEAUTY (WAX) I o STEM UP 0R 00w~ , ’ 9°” A STEM UP 3 ° 70- 605 50- 40A PERCENT 50- 20- I:_; I, I I J, J 4‘ I I 6.90 0.95 0.90 0.95 I.00 l.05 I.I0 L45 SPECIFIC GRAVITY Fig. lA.-—Orientation of wax models of apples in solutions of various specific gravities. 28 could also be the initial phase of a mechanical orienta- tion process if the non—oriented apples were removed from the line. CHAPTER IV ROTATING TUBE STUDY* Most varieties of apples have the shortest dimension along the stem-calyx axis. This physical property of apples could possibly be used for orientation. If an apple were placed on a flat surface, the stem up or stem down position would be the lowest potential energy position of the fruit. To orient apples by this method would require some agitation. The method must also be able to hold the fruit in this position while conveying it to a processing line. In the search for such a method of orientation, various procedures were tried. One method that worked quite well with positioning cherries stem up was an orbit- ing table. This method was tried with apples. The orbit- ing table agitated the apples, and they did orient and disorient. At no time were all or a significant percentage of them oriented. Another method that was tried was to roll apples down an inelined surface. This resulted in no predictable orientation of the fruit. “The assistance of Robert M. Schneider in conducting the research described in this section is gratefully acknowledged. 29 30 A third and more successful method was tried. This consisted of placing apples in a tube on an angle and rotating the tube about its axis. It was observed that the rotation of the tube gave the apples an agitation. When an apple came into an oriented position, i.e., stem- calyx axis parallel to the axis of the tube, the weight of the apples in the tube above would exert a holding force on the oriented apples. The results of a preliminary trial were encouraging enough to construct a device that would give a controlled angle, rotational speed, and flow rate through the tube. A.l Apparatus and Procedure The experimental machine was composed of two basic units illustrated in Figure 15. The first unit consisted of a 3-7/8 inch (inside diameter) glass tube, A8 inches long, mounted on four roller supports. This was powered by a small electric motor and driven through a belt and variable speed transmission system so the tube could be rotated at speeds of A0 to 100 rpm. One revolution of the tube is equal to 1.01A surface feet on the interior surface of the tube. This unit was mounted on an adjustable frame so the angle of the tube could be varied from hori- zontal to a slope of 20 degrees. The second unit of the machine consisted of a flat conveyor belt with a table 10 inches wide and A8 inches long. This was powered by an electric motor and variable 31 Fig. l5.--Rotating tube device for orientation of apples. (Photo No. 68-32) 32 Speed drive so it could be moved at a rate up to 220 inches per minute. This unit was placed at the lower end of the glass tube in order to allow the apples to move through the tube at a uniform rate. The tube was filled with apples and the motors started. As the tube rotated it caused the apples inside the tube to rotate also. AS the conveyor belt moved, it allowed the apples to advance through the tube with a spiral motion at a forward speed equal to that of the belt. Additional apples were hand fed into the upper end of the tube as others moved through. As the apples moved through the tube, they oriented themselves so their stem- calyx axis was parallel with the long axis of the tube. In the preliminary trials, tube angles of 5, 10, 15 and 20 degrees were used. An angle of 10 degrees pro— duced the most desirable results and was used throughout the final experiment. Tube rotation speeds of A0 to 100 rpm were used in the preliminary trials but a speed of A0 was too slow. Speeds of 60 and 100 rpm were used in the final experiment. These speeds are equivalent to 60 and 100 surface feet per minute, respectively. The conveyor belt speeds were A0, 100, 160 and 220 inches per minute. With the Delicious varieties the speed of 220 inches per minute was eliminated as the per cent of apples orienting was too low to be practical. 33 In the experiment, five varieties of apples from three geographical locations were used. Each lot con- sisted of 80 apples and all trials were conducted twice. The apples used in this experiment were the same as those used in the experiment discussed in Chapter III. The variety, location grown, sample size, L/D ratio, and the standard deviation of L/D are given in Table 2. One additional variety, Golden Delicious from Michigan, was used in this experiment. A sample of 80 apples was used and the L/D ratio was 0.97. The standard deviation of L/D was 0.06. A.2 Results Table A gives the percentage of apples orienting with the different tube rotation speeds and belt speeds. In general it was possible to orient 90 per cent of the McIntosh, Jonathan, and Rome apples. The Delicious varieties tended to be 75 per cent or less uniformly oriented. The faster tube rotation produced the higher per cent of uniformly oriented apples. An increased belt speed produced a lower per cent orientation The L/D information for apples orienting and not orienting under various conditions is given in Table 5. In general, the higher L/D ratio apples did not orient as well as those with lower L/D ratios. It appeared that apples with a L/D ratio of over 0.90 were difficult to 3A TABLE A.-—Per cent apple orientation in rotating tube with various tube and belt speeds. Variety and guggd Belt Speed, Inches Per Minute Location Grown RPM ’ A0 100 160 220 McIntosh 60 99 99 98 95 New York 100 99 99 98 96 McIntosh 60 99 97 9A 90 Michigan 100 99 98 99 9A Rome Beauty 60 100 98 98 9A Michigan 100 99 100 99 97 Jonathan 60 89 90 86 86 Michigan 100 9A 95 ' 91 89 Delicious 60 58 38 3A Michigan 100 56 59 A7 Delicious 60 50 Al 3A Washington 100 AA A9 37 Delicious 60 75 70 6A New York 100 77 71 69 Golden Delicious 60 A5 28 31 Michigan 100 A8 52 A9 orient. All of the Delicious varieties tested fell into this higher L/D range. The maximum percentage of apples oriented is listed in Table 6. The variety and location of origin of these apples is given in Table A. The information in Table 6 is plotted in Figure 16. This shows the trend of how the L/D affects the orientation in the rotating tube. 35 mm. mm. mm. mm. Am. mm. oosooago 5oz cmwagoaa mm. mm. Ra. mm. am. No. oooooaco maoaoflaoo coofloo mm. am. mm. mm. em. ma. concoaso 9oz cemahoaz mm. mm. mm. so. em. Am. oopoofiho naoaoflfloo OO. H OO.H OO.H OO.H OO.H OO.H UmpCmHLO poz coprHQmm3 mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. ooocoflho maofioaaoo mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. OopcoHso poz xmow 302 HO. mm. HO. HO. HO. mm. popcofiso mSOHOHHoO mm. mm. OO. om. Om. HO. mm. Hm. Oopcoflso poz cmeQOHz NO. am. NO. NO. mm. NO. mm. mm. Ompcmflso cmspmcom :O. :O. mm. mm. 0:02 am. mm. mcoz OopsoHpO poz cmeEOHz mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. Oopcofluo 080m :O. mm. om. mm. om. mm. Om. NO. Oopcofiso poz cmeEOHz mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. OopCGHLO QmOchoz :m. mm HO. NO. mm. mm. SO. SO. Oopcmfiso poz xsow 302 mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. OoucmHsO smoucHoz 2mm OOH OO OOH OO OOH Ow OOH OO Ummam onse SSOLO SOprooq SHE\SH omm OOH OOH o: Omoam pHmm Ocm zpmflmm> .wcfipcloo no: ch msHucoHLo moHaam mo O\q COUZII.m mqm<9 36 TABLE 6.-—Maximum per cent of apples oriented in rotating tube. Variety Lgizgion 88:18:2t L/D Oriented McIntosh New York 99.37 0.82 McIntosh Michigan 99.37 0.8A Rome Michigan 100.00 0.83 Jonathan Michigan 95.00 0.87 Delicious Michigan 58.00 0.97 Delicious Washington 50.00 0.99 Delicious New York 76.87 0.93 Golden Delicious Michigan 52.00 0.97 A.3 Conclusions This machine oriented 90 per cent of the McIntosh, Jonathan and Rome apples at the rate of 80 apples per minute. Fifty to seventy per cent of the Delicious apples were oriented at a rate of 16 apples per minute. The method could be used for an orientation procedure that included a separation of oriented from non-oriented fruit. MAXIMUM PERCENT ORIENTED 37 I00" 000 80*- 70%- 60— 50a— 40 .. MAXIMUM PERCENT ORIENTED vs. LID RATIO LINEAR CORRELATION COEFFICIENT 8 - 0.98 20. - IOF. I I I I I I I, I I 0 ~ 1 - 4" 0.92 0.94 0.86 0.09 0.90 092 0.94 0.96 0.99 I.00 L/D RATIO Fig. l6.--Comparison of maximum percentage of orientation, and L/D ratio for the rotating tube. CHAPTER V INCLINED BELT ORIENTATION Work done by Dewey, Stout §£_al. (1968), on stability of apples on an inclined surface indicated that apples were Significantly stable when resting on the stem or calyx cavity. A study was made on a mechanism for orienting apples, employing this principal. 5.1 Apparatus and Procedure The experiment employing the angle surface principle was conducted on seventeen varieties of apples. The variety and location grown are shown in Table 7. The mechanism used is shown in Figure 17. This mechanism con- sisted of a flat belt 18 inches wide mounted on two rollers 30 inches apart. The belt was driven by an electric motor with a variable speed transmission. The angle of inclination of the belt was variable from zero to twenty degrees from horizontal. Apples were placed on the belt at the rate judged to be the capacity of the machine for that variety. The rate at which the apples could be fed depended on size and shape of the apples, and the Speed and angle of incline of the belt. The size of the apples dictated how 38 39 TABLE 7.——Variety and location grown, of apples used in inclined belt experiment. Rate of . Maximum Apple Variety gigizion R8680 Per Cent Orientation, Oriented Apples per Minute Cortland Main 0.81 90 72 Cortland Mass. 0.78 87 86 Cortland New York 0.7A 90 105 Delicious Michigan 0.92 65 A5 Delicious New York 0.99 75 70 Delicious N. Carolina 0.99 A0 32 Delicious Virginia 0.99 A5 A5 Delicious Washington 1.0A 28 30 Golden Delicious N.Carolina 0.96 50 A0 Golden Delicious Penn. 0.95 A8 35 Golden Delicious Virginia 0.93 60 50 Golden Delicious Washington 0.98 A5 75 Grimes Golden Michigan 0.93 70 75 Gravenstein California 0.85 83 90 Jonathan Ohio 0.90 85 95 McIntosh Maine 0.79 85 95 McIntosh Mass. 0.8A 90 110 McIntosh New York 0.82* 9A 120 Rome Beauty California —--- 95 70 Rome Beauty Ohio 0.92 85 90 Rhode Island Greening New York -—-- 90 90 Spy Michigan 0.87 8A 85 Stayman N.Carolina 0.93 76 75 Stayman Virginia 0.90 8A 70 Twenty Ounce Pippin New York 0.88 75 55 Winesap Virginia 0.88 85 90 Winesap Washington 0.89 77 80 Winter Banana Michigan 0.87 8A 70 Winter White Permaine California 0.89 65 55 York Imperial Penn. 0.85 80 62 York Imperial Virginia 0.87* 88 75 Newton Pippin California —---‘ 9A 110 *Measurements were not taken on these samples. A0 Fig. l7.--Ang1ed belt device for orientation of apples. (Photo No. 68—116) A1 many could be placed on the machine at one time. The shape affected the rate of feed because the more oblate the apple, the faster it would be conveyed up the incline. The belt Speed affected the rate of feed because at Speeds higher than A00 inches per minute, the apples had a tendency to continue to roll. The angle of incline affected the rate of feed because the apples were more readily conveyed up a slight incline than they were up a steep incline. Preliminary tests were conducted to determine the range of angles of inclination and range of belt speeds that were acceptable. These tests indicated that belt speeds of 200, 300, A00 and 500 inches per minute were practical. The angle that was found to be acceptable was five degrees. These speeds and the five degree angle were used for the test. Apples were hand fed onto the machine at the bottom end. All apples placed on the belt were counted. The experiment was conducted three times for each angle and speed, each trial was two minutes long. The apples were conveyed up the incline and at the top the oriented and non-oriented apples were counted. The rate and per cent of apples oriented was calculated. The maximum percentage of orientation and number of apples oriented per minute, at this per cent, is shown in Table 7. The length, largest diameter, and least diameter was measured on five apples A2 from each sample. The L/D ratio for the sample was calcu— lated and is shown in Table 7. For one sample of each of the major varieties, all four speeds were used. The remaining samples were run at 300 and A00 inches per minute, the 200 and 500 inches per minute speeds were eliminated. The preliminary test indicated that the maximum orientation percentage was likely to be in the 300—A00 inches per minute range. 5.2 Results and Discussion The results of the experiment are shown in Figures 18 through 28. These graphs are for the five degree angle and indicated belt speeds. Table 7 Shows the maximum per cent orientation of each sample and the corresponding rate in apples per minute. Figure 29 Shows the relation between the L/D ratio, and the maximum percentage of apples oriented for each sample. The correlation coefficient is -0.83. The test was conducted to get as many fruit oriented per minute as possible with a high percentage of orientation. Some sacrifice on percentage of orientation was made in increasing the quantity of fruit oriented per minute. Some fruit was conveyed up the incline in a non—oriented position because of interference with other fruit. The experiment showed that 3/5 of the samples had a maximum orientation of 80 per cent or higher. The rate of orienta— tion for these samples was in the range of 30 to 120 apples IOO APPLES ORIENTED, PERCENT 75 5O CORTLAND 2 DEC. '68 O I I I00 75 50 I- CORTLAND MASS. 25 DEC. '68 O l I I00 45—0 75 50 CORTLAND 25 NEW YORK DEC. '68 / L I 200 300 400 500 APPLES ORIENTED, NUMBER PER MINUTE M CORTLAND MAINE DEC. '68 CORTLAND MASS. DEC. '68 CORTLAND NEW YORK DEC. '68 l I I I I 200 500 400 500 BELT SPEED, INCHES PER MINUTE inclined belt. Fig. l8.--Orientation of Cortland apples on IOO 75 5O 25 APPLES ORIENTED, PERCENT 8 o 8 g 3 8 o ‘4 (I 50 25 AA 0 O O O DELICIOUS MICHIGAN DEC. '69 l I I I DELICIOUS NEW YORK DEC. '68 DELICIOUS . NORTH CAROLINA DEC- '68 ‘—GF_.—£P' I I I J 200 500 400 500 I20 — 95 I' DELICIOUS 70" MICHIGAN 3 DEC. '68 :>I45w— Gh—-—Ch———£r———49 z . g L L I l I i m “J 0L I20 ~— m Iii :5 555" . :3 2 / ,, 70— 3 DELICIOUS F"45__ hflflfl YOW"( 5 » DEC. '69 E ‘ . o I; I I J_ S 20- 53' DELICIOUS 0. NORTH CAROLINA 4 95" DEC. '69 70 - 45 _ M l I A. . I I 200 500 400 500 BELT SPEED, INCHES PER MINUTE Fig. inclined belt. l9.--Orientation of Delicious apples on IOO- 75 50 Nufla N C) APPLES ORIENTED, PERCENT u N 5 ' 0 ca 0 I“ (I A5 DELICIOUS ‘ VIRGINIA DEC. '68 DELICIOUS . WASHINGTON DEC. '68 GOLDEN DELICIOUS NORTH. CAROLINA F DEC. '68 ‘ I'— M‘ I I I III 0 F200 500 400 500 APPLES ORIENTED, NUMBER PER MINUTE I. '20 DELICIOUS VIRGINIA 95E DEC.'69 70 -— 45" ’0), L . I I I o... '2 DELICIOUS WASHINGTON 95*- DEC.'69 70 - 45 - 4*;, I —4?"'€P' I I20 - GOLDEN DELICIOUS - NORTH CAROLINA 95" DEC. '69 10.— 45 — . T‘3-_*l~ A- J I l 4 r 200 300 400 500 BELT SPEED, INCHES PER MINUTE Fig. Delicious apples on inclined belt. 20.—-Orientation of Delicious, and Golden A6 I20+- GOLDEN DELICIOUS PENNSYLVANIA 95G DEC. '69 70 - It’ 3 45— ; Mo— :5 bvr I I I .I O: n] °' I20- 0: GOLDEN DELICIOUS In VIRGINIA g 95 - DEC. '68 3 . Z 70 - O“ III ,0/ P— 45- Z L“. . a: fig: I I I _I o 00 _ ‘3 '20 GOLDEN DELICIOUS & WASHINGTON 4 95 r DEC. '69 70 - '0—‘9" 45- ' I I I 4 "200 300 400 500 BELT SPEED, INCHES PER MINUTE IOOI- GOLDEN DELICIOUS PENNSYLVANIA 75*- DEC. '69 50.. H 25 - *- 0 T I L I I 2 us OIOO E GOLDEN DELICIOUS Q_ VIRGINIA . 75 ' DEC. '68 B M I— 50— 2 E m .. o 25 8 o 'F I I I l a’ 0. IOO- < GOLDEN DELICIOUS WASHINGTON 75- DEC. '69 50‘ M 25- I I I l I °T200 300 400 500 Fig. on inclined belt. 21.--Orientation of Golden Delicious apples IOO r 75..- 50" 25- I00” 50- 25" APPLES ORIENTED, PERCENT lOO I- 75.- 25+— + Fig. "GA—0H0 GOLDEN, GRIMES MICHIGAN DEC. '69 GRAVENSTEIN CALIFORNIA DEC. '68 JONATHAN OHIO DEC. '69 I I I I 200 300 400 500 ‘ 20 95 70 APPLES ORIENTED, NUMBER PER MINUTE A (I 20 GOLDEN CRIMES MICHIGAN 5 DEC. '68 7°I' GRAVENSTEIN .& (I I“ C) 3 .5 (I CALIFORNIA .. DEC. '68 b I I l I r _ - ‘<*—-