A HIGH SPEED MASS FLOW FOOD SORTING APPARATUS FOR OPTICALLY INSPECTING AND SORTING BULK FOOD PRODUCTS

摘要

A high speed mass flow food sorting apparatus (10) and method comprises a product conveyor (12) for receiving and conveying a laterally-distributed stream of bulk food articles (14) past a product diverter (72). A camera (28) is positioned to view the stream of food articles upstream of a product diverter (72). A sorting system downstream of a camera (28) including a product diverter (72) is configured to divert undesirable product in response to optically detected undesirable characteristics pursuant to an automated control system. The automated control system connects to the optical inspection system and the sorting system and includes an operator control console. Preferably, the operator control console displays a graphical user interface (32) via a computer (27) on which the control system is implemented and includes a software application pack (30) specifically configured for processing a particular type of food article having corresponding desirable features.