FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and rule 13)
1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION: CIAE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GRADER FOR
SPHERICAL COMMODITIES
2. APPLICANT (S)
(a) Name: Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering - Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR)
(b) Nationality: Indian
(c) Address: Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal 462 038
3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
COMPLETE

The following specification (particularly) describes the nature of invention and the manner in which it is to be performed: This invention relates with the development of a motorized device called CIAE Fruit and Vegetable Grader for Spherical Commodities, which may be used for separation of spherical fruits/ vegetables based on one of the principal dimensions. The device has been developed with three sorting channels for the sorted commodity. The sorting channels have been made of four endless rubber V-belts mounted on four sets of pulleys. The pulleys have been spaced in such a way that the spacing between moving belts diverges from the feed end to delivery end. The belts have been topped with a semi-circular cross section so that smaller fruits do not stay on the top of V-belt. This semi-circular top also prevents injury to the fruits from the sharp belt edge. Styrofoam lining on collection trays has also been provided to prevent damage to the fruits. Capacity of machine was found to be 1.5 t/h, without any damage visible during the operation. The equipment operates with 0.5 hp (375 W) single phase electric motor. Two labourers would be required for material handling. The equipment can be used for spherical or oval commodities like guava, tomato, onion, apple, potato, Amla, sapodilla etc.

4. DESCRIPTION
The most common causes of postharvest losses in developing countries include rough handling and inadequate cooling and temperature maintenance. The lack of sorting to eliminate defects before storage and the use of inadequate packaging materials further add to the problem. In general, minimizing rough handling, sorting to remove damaged and diseased produce and effective temperature management will help considerably toward maintaining a quality product and reducing storage losses.
India produces about 42 million tones of fruits and 80 million tones of vegetables every year. But about 20 - 30% of the total production is lost due to spoilage during various post-harvest stages, thus lowering the per capita availability by almost half of the requirement for a balanced diet. In terms of monetary value, these losses amount to as high as Rs. 50,000 to 75,000 million per year. Reducing post-harvest losses is very important; ensuring that sufficient food, both in quantity and in quality is available to every consumer. The post-harvest activities are not only aimed at reducing the losses but also to add value to the produce. Practices like washing, sorting, trimming, etc. add value desirable to the consumer. Sorting or grading separates the quality grades of commodity, based on one or more attributes. The primary attributes used for grading of a fruit or vegetable are physical properties like size, colour, visible damage, abnormalities, aroma, etc. Grading thus adds value to the produce and also helps in increasing efficiency of subsequent mechanical operations like packing, trimming, peeling etc. in the chain of post-harvest practices.
Size is the most prominent attribute for most of the commodities. A graded lot of commodity with uniform size looks attractive and fetches more cumulative price than an ungraded lot. Manual intervention for size grading is practiced since time immemorial. The practice, though reliable, requires long time and involves lot of drudgery to the labourer. Further, this practice depends mostly on the visual judgment of the labourer, hence there is some subjectivity in decision making. The process of grading requires trained grading personnel. When a commodity is handled in large quantity, the economics does not work in favour of manual grading as it requires huge number of trained personnel. Mechanical grading is therefore preferred under such situations. Mechanical grading is more effective for the commodities with shape approaching to roundness because dimensions in all directions are almost equal.
An embodiment of the invention is described hereunder with reference to and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a isometric view of a fruit/ vegetable grader according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the belt that has been employed for grading/ sorting;
FIG. 3 is a view showing the placement of styrofoam lining on the discharge chute where the sorted commodity falls.
Prior Art
Screens or sifters are the most primary machines employed to grade a produce based on its size. However, these machines are suitable for commodities like grains which are not much prone to handling damage and can thus be handled in huge quantities. Fruits and

vegetables are normally more delicate and any damage to them during the course of handling may lead to accelerated spoilage. Equipment for grading fruits and vegetables using different types of mechanisms like Oscillating table with tapered discharge opening (US patent 4216856 - 1980) have been developed some other type of graders/ sorters employ expanding gap rollers, expanding pitch screws, rotating plates with openings of different sizes on periphery etc. Some of these graders/sorters are available commercially. US patent 4892650 (1990) explains a mechanism that has Diverging belts in plurality with belts of circular cross-section made of special elastomers. However, some of these equipment are suitable only for a specific commodity or a small group of commodities. The greatest disadvantage with such machines is that they require specialised materials, machine parts of fabrication technique. Many of these machines require excessive amount of power and do not prevent any injury to the crop during handling. Further, contact of delicate fruits/ vegetables with directly rotating parts in some machines cause damage to the product being handled.
Novelty due to Invention
The CIAE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GRADER FOR SPHERICAL COMMODITIES is a power operated device that consists of five major components, namely; feeding mechanism, sorting mechanism, driving mechanism, four outlets and stand structure (FIG 1). The diverging belt mechanism which is the core device of separation of sorted commodity based on one of the principal dimensions has been mounted on pulleys on driving shaft with help of fasteners in such a way that the gap between pulleys can be changed to accommodate variety of crops. This provision of adjustment also helps in changing the gap between belts based on grade standards for a particular commodity. The device uses all the commercially available machine parts and does not require any specialised fabrication or material. The feeding mechanism has been designed suiting to Indian men and women workers. One of the major novelties is the top semi-circular rubber section adhered to the belt, that does not allow any small fruit to stay on top of the belt and also prevents any damage to fruit due to sharp edges of the commercial V-belt.
Inventive steps
The inventive steps in the development of CIAE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GRADER FOR SPHERICAL COMMODITIES mainly consists of:
I. To optimise the height and speed of fall from belts to the collecting tray textural properties of soft fruits and vegetables like guava and tomato were studied. Accordingly, a fall height of 370 mm was optimised.
II. To avoid fabrication of specialised machine parts commercially available v-belt of B-groove was selected. This provided a seamless and endless conveyor to carry the commodity being sorted.
III. To avoid the possibility of small fruits/vegetables being carried on top of the belt, a rubber belt of semi-circular cross section was pasted on top of the belt (FIG. 2). This also prevented any damage to the commodity due to sharp edges of the v-belt. -
IV. The commodity being sorted gets only a lateral movement and hence, damage due to coming in contact with rotating parts has been eliminated.
V. The feeding tray has been made long and large enough so that generally the sorted commodity is in single layer on the tray. This enables an operator to inspect the commodity and remove any already damaged/ undesirable fruit/

vegetable. Slope of the feeding tray can be adjusted so as to ensure free movement of fruits/ vegetable in the feeding tray.
VI. Due to use of minimum parts and lighter material, the overall weight of the machine has been reduced. Therefore, the machine can be carried by two labourers to the production field and the commodity can be sorted immediately after harvest. Therefore, the number of times a commodity is handled has reduced which helps in reduction of damage to the commodity.
VII. Length of the outlet chute has been designed in such a way that some of the sorted material can be held in the chute while crates of sorted product are being changed, resulting in uninterrupted/ continuous operation.
VIII. The separator between two outlet chutes and the chutes are lined with styrofoam sheets of appropriate thickness (FIG. 3) so as to avoid any damage due to fall of fruit/ vegetable.
5. CLAIMS
I/We claim the following:
(I) The CIAE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GRADER FOR SPHERICAL COMMODITIES can be used for separation of fruits on the basis of minimum of the principal dimensions of fruits of round general shape into different categories without human intervention in the decision making process and with minimal mechanical injury to the commodity being handled by the device.
(II) The device, claimed in the claim-I above, can be used for grading/ sorting of variety of fruits with general spherical shape and the grading/ sorting process not getting affected by or restricted by the size of individual fruit.
(III) The device, claimed in the claim-I above, uses specially designed endless belts in plurality mounted in such a way that the gap between individual belts increases from feeding end to delivery end enabling individual fruit to fall in a chute of appropriate size while being transported longitudinally from feeding end
(IV) The device, claimed in the claim-I above, uses specially designed endless belts which are made of half round rubber rope pasted on the outer periphery of commercially available V-belts to ensure exposure of every fruit to the gap between the diverging belts from beginning to end and not allowing any fruit to be transported in a position of rest at the top of the belt.
(V) The device, claimed in the claim-I and the special belts claimed in claim-IV above, are mounted on commercially available pulleys mounted in plurality over plurality of shafts of circular cross-section, each supported on two or more ball bearings, with an arrangement for movement of pulleys over the respective shafts for adjustment of gap between the diverging belts.
(VI) The device, claimed in the claim-I above, uses commercially available

styrofoam pads to prevent mechanical injury to the fruits because of gravitational fall.
(VII) The performance of the device, claimed in the claim-I above, is independent of number, size and cross-sectional shape of belts installed in the device and the construction material used for development of the device.
(VIII) The performance of the device, claimed in the claim-I above, does not depend on the prime mover used for movement of the endless-belts.

Complete specifications of CUE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GRADER FOR SPHERICAL COMMODITIES

Parameters Value
Model Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering
(CIAE)
Capacity 1.5 t/h
Overall dimensions (L x B x H), mm 2500 x 950 x1100 mm
Overall weight, kg 138 kg
Number of sorting channels 3
Number of grades sorted 4
Belt specifications B-section V-belt of 2896 mm peripheral length
topped with rubber belt of semi-circular cross
section having diameter of 16 mm.
Height of fruit/ vegetable fall 370 mm
Power requirement, W 375
Motor speed 1440 rpm
Pulleys on which the sorting belt 100 mm diameter cast iron pulleys 16 Nos.
moves
Thickness of Styrofoam padding 12 mm