AU2005203186A1

AU2005203186A1 - An Apparatus and Method for Cleaning Fruit or Vegetables, and for Cutting the Foliage Thereof

Info

Publication number: AU2005203186A1
Application number: AU2005203186A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Henricus Joannes Stevens
Original assignee: HENRICUS STEVENS
Current assignee: HENRICUS STEVENS
Priority date: 2005-07-22
Filing date: 2005-07-22
Publication date: 2007-02-08

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention Title: Applicant: An Apparatus and Method for Cleaning Fruit or Vegetables, and for Cutting the Foliage Thereof Henricus Joannes STEVENS The invention is described in the following statement.

n AN APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLEANING FRUIT OR

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o VEGETABLES, AND FOR CUTTING THE FOLIAGE THEREOF FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to cleaning fruit or vegetables and to cutting the foliage thereof More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for 1cleaning fruit or vegetables, and for cutting the foliage attached thereto to a

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Spredetermined length.

V' 10 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0 O It is a common problem that whefi fruits or vegetables are cut, picked, uprooted or otherwise harvested, the fruits or vegetables are often covered in unwanted soil or dust, and they often have an unwanted excess of leaves, twigs, stalks, roots and the like attached thereto. Also, in the case of some fruits or vegetables, the newly harvested pieces of fruit or vegetable can have an excess of unwanted outer layers or husks attached thereto.

It is often preferable for soil and dust to be removed from the pieces of fruit or vegetable, and for excess leaves, twigs, stalks, roots, unwanted outer layers and husks to be stripped away, or cut to an aesthetic appearance. One reason for this is that supermarkets, wholesalers and other traders who purchase large quantities of fruit and vegetables usually require the fruit and vegetables to be clean, and they also usually require excess foliage to be cut to a specified length. If requirements of this type are not met then the supermarket or wholesaler may be unwilling to purchase the produce, or may offer a lower price because the produce does not meet the above mentioned requirements.

It is a further problem that currently the process of removing soil and dust, and stripping or cutting the excess leaves, twigs, stalks, roots and husks to a predetermined length must generally be performed manually. This makes it a labourintensive and expensive process. Furthermore, the labour costs associated with cleaning, cutting and stripping type processes are additional to the labour costs associated with grouping the fruit or vegetables into bunches and packing the same into boxes, which is also typically performed manually.

o OBJECTIVES OF TH-E INVENTION We have now developed an apparatus and method for cleaning vegetables, and for cutting the foliage thereof to a predetermined length, which may at least partially ameliorate the above mentioned disadvantages or provide a useful or commercial choice.

00 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION o According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an qfl 10 apparatus for cleaning one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable, or for cutting foliage o attached thereto, the apparatus comprising holding means for holding the piece of fruit or vegetable by at least some of the foliage, and at least one of cleaning means for cleaning the piece of fruit or vegetable, and cutting means for cutting at least some of the foliage to a predetermined length, characterised in that the piece of fruit or vegetable is held by the holding means such that the piece of fruit or vegetable is positioned below at least some of the foliage attached to the piece of fruit or vegetable as it is cleaned or cut by the cleaning means or the cutting means respectively.

In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises the cleaning means and the culling means.

The invention may be used to clean, or cut the foliage of, any kind of fruit or vegetables having foliage attached thereto. Preferably the invention may be used to clean, and to cut the foliage of such fruits or vegetables. The invention is particularly usefuil for cleaning, and cutting the foliage of, fruits or vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, celery, tomatoes, apples, oranges, stone fruit, spring onions, shallots, onions and any other fruit or vegetables on which small amounts of leaves or stalks are often left for aesthetic purposes. The invention is also particularly useful for cleaning, and cutting the foliage of, fruit or vegetables such as spring onions, winter onions and corn for which the outer layers or husks form and grow around the vegetable in a generally upward fashion. In the case of fruit or vegetables having such upwardly growing outer layers, the unwanted outer layers or husks are I typically more easily removed by peeling or stripping such layers away in a

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o downward manner. The reason why the present invention is particularly suitable for fruits and vegetables of the kinds mentioned above will be apparent to the person skilled the art from the description of the invention contained herein.

In some embodiments of the present invention the cleaning of the fruit or N vegetables may involve the removal of unwanted dust and dirt therefrom. In other

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embodiments, the cleaning may involve the stripping or peeling away of one or more O of the unwanted outer layers or husks of the fruit or vegetable. In yet further S 10 embodiments, the cleaning may involve both the removal of dust and dirt, and the O removal of unwanted outer layers or husks from the fruit or vegetable. The cleaning means by which the cleaning may be achieved are described further below.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cutting of the foliage may involve cutting some or all of the leaves, twigs or stalks that extend substantially above the top of the fruit or vegetable when the fruit or vegetable is in the orientation described above. In other embodiments, the cutting of the foliage may involve cutting some or all of the roots, stalks, twigs or leaves that extend substantially below the bottom of the fruit or vegetable when the fruit or vegetable is in the said orientation. Preferably, the cutting may involve cutting some or all of the foliage that extends above and below the fruit or vegetable. As described further below, the cutting means may be adapted to cut the foliage to a predetermined length.

The predetermined length maybe specified in order to give the fruit or vegetable an aesthetic appearance, or to allow most effective packaging thereof into boxes, or for any other purpose. The predetermined length may be altered to enable the invention to operate on different varieties of fruits or vegetables, fruit or vegetables of varying sizes, or for any other purpose.

Thus, the cutting means may comprise leaf or stalk cutting means and root cutting means.

As described above, the apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises holding means for holding the piece of fruit or vegetable by at least some of the foliage. The holding means may be in the form of clamping In means, gripping means or any other means for retaining the fruit or vegetable by O holding some or all of the foliage that is attached to the piece of fruit or vegetable. In some preferred embodiments, the holding means may comprise one or more n mechanical clamping mechanisms whereby each mechanism causes two or more clamping members to press together with a clamping force thereby clamping at least some of the foliage attached to the fruit or vegetable between the said two or more IND clamping members. In other embodiments, the holding means may comprise a constricting loop type holding member for retaining the foliage within the constricting O loop. In yet further embodiments the holding means may involve wrapping the V) 10 foliage around the holding means in such a way that the foliage is retained by the O holding means by friction. In any event, no particular limitation is intended with regards to the kind of holding means that may be used with present invention.

Furthermore, it is envisaged that a combination or combinations of different forms of holding means may be used, either selectively, interchangeably or simultaneously.

The holding means suitably holds leaves or stalks attached to the piece of fruit or vegetable.

The holding means is arranged such that the piece of fruit or vegetable is positioned below at least some of the foliage attached to the piece of fruit or vegetable as it travels through or past the cleaning means or the cutting means. The holding means may be arranged such that the piece of fruit or vegetable is always held in this orientation. Alternatively, the piece of fruit or vegetable may be positioned on a support surface by an operator, subsequently held by the holding means and as the piece of fruit or vegetable travels towards the cleaning means or cutting means, the support surface may be lowered, angled or removed from the piece of fruit or vegetable such that the piece of fruit or vegetable is positioned below at least some of the foliage attached to the piece of fruit or vegetable.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus has a generally horizontal receiving surface for receiving and supporting the piece of fruit or vegetable. The holding means then operates to hold the piece of fruit or vegetable whilst the piece of fruit or vegetable is supported on the receiving surface. Once the piece of fruit or vegetable is being held, the receiving surface can move away from the piece of fruit or vegetable so that the piece of fruit or vegetable hangs downwardly o from the foliage that is being held by the holding means. After the holding means has been engaged, the receiving surfaces may move away by retraction, rotation or other movement so that the piece of fruit or vegetable is no longer supported entirely on the receiving surface, but rather is hanging, or at least partly hanging, by the foliage that is retained by the holding means.

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00 As explained above, the apparatus of the first aspect of the invention o may provide cleaning means for removing dust and dirt from each piece of fruit or V) 10 vegetable, and/or for removing unwanted outer layers or husks from the piece of fruit O or vegetable. The person skilled in the art will appreciate that there are a wide variety of cleaning means that may be used with the present invention, either selectively, interchangeably or simultaneously. For example, different embodiments of the present invention may employ any number or combination of liquid washers, varyingly soft and/or hard brushes, air hoses, fans, jets or blowers, wipers, sprayers, shakers, tumblers, scrapers or the like. Preferably, the apparatus will include a mechanism for passing pieces of fruit or vegetable through, past or over the cleaning means while the cleaning means is activated so that the piece of fruit or vegetable is cleaned as it passes. This mechanism may be driven by any suitable electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical or like actuating means or motor.

In preferred embodiments, the cleaning means may include one or more water jets for washing dust and dirt off the piece of fruit or vegetable. The water jets may be positioned as a plurality of inwardly facing pairs, and the inwardly facing pairs may be positioned relative to each other so as to form two inwardly facing rows of jets. Preferably, the piece of fruit or vegetable may pass between the rows of jets as it passes over, past or through the cleaning means. The pairs of water jets may be positioned above the piece of fruit or vegetable so as to project water generally downwardly upon the piece of fruit or vegetable, and various jets (or adjacent pairs of jets) may be oriented at progressively different angles so as to project water onto different parts of the piece of fruit or vegetable and at different angles. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the impinging water from the progressively angled jets may provide a progressive downward stripping effect which may be particularly useful for stripping the unwanted excess outer layers or husks Ifl from fruits or vegetables, and even more particularly for fruits or vegetables in which o the outer layers or husks grow in an upward manner.

In addition to the above-mentioned plurality of water jets positioned above the piece of fruit or vegetable, the cleaning means may also comprise further water jets positioned substantially below the piece of fruit or vegetable to wash the IND underside of the piece of fruit or vegetable and the foliage extending therefrom, 00 including roots, stalks, twigs and the like..

V) 10 Preferably, the water used by the various water jets may be continuously O recycled through the jets to prevent wastage of water. The water may be filtered or otherwise cleaned prior to being returned to the water jets. Also, the jets may comprise any arrangement of pump(s), hoses, nozzles, connectors and the like known by the person skilled in the art to be suitable for this application.

In other preferred embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning means may employ brushes. In particularly preferred embodiments, there may be a plurality of rotating cylindrical brushes, each having bristles oriented radially outwardly from an axis of rotation. The cylindrical brushes may be positioned in adjacent parallel pairs, and each pair may be positioned close together so that the bristles between the two brushes overlap slightly, or almost overlap. Each pair of brushes may rotate such that one brush in the pair rotates in the opposite direction to the other, and so that the bristles of both brushes pass downwardly between the two. In use, each piece of fruit or vegetable may pass between each of the pairs of brushes, and the downward scraping/scrubbing of the bristles on the piece of fruit or vegetable may assist with the removal of the dust and dirt, and may also assist with the downward stripping away of excess layers and husks. The person skilled in the art will appreciate that the rotating brushes may be actuated by any electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical or like actuating means or motor, and that counter rotation of the brushes may be imparted to each pair of brushes using any kind of belt, chain, gear, shaft or other mechanism.

iIn the most preferable embodiments of the first aspect of the present 0 o invention, the cleaning means will comprise both water jets and counter rotating brushes of the kinds described above.

The apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention may further include cutting means for cutting at least some of the foliage to a predetermined Ilength. As described above, in different embodiments the cutting means may include 0O means for cutting foliage that extends above or below the held piece of fruit or o vegetable, but in preferred embodiments the cutting means may provide means for V 10 cutting foliage that extends both above and below the fruit or vegetable. The cutting 0 o means may also be selectively interchangeable between cutting above and below the fruit or vegetable. In any event, the cutting of foliage above and below the piece of fruit or vegetable may be performed by the same mechanism(s), or by separate mechanisms. Preferably, the apparatus will also include a mechanism for passing the fruit or vegetable through or over the cutting means while the cutting means is activated. This may be the same mechanism as is used to pass the fruit or vegetable over the cleaning means, or it may be an extension thereof, or a separate mechanism altogether.

The person skilled in the art will appreciate that a wide variety of cutting mechanisms may be used with the present invention, either individually, selectively, interchangeably, or simultaneously. For example, different embodiments of the present invention may employ any number or combination of stationary, oscillating or spinning blades, scissors, guillotines, still or moving cutting wires, counter rotating cutting disks, cutting rollers, rollers having one or more spiral or helical cutting edges, band saws, circular saws, chainsaws or any other cutting means.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention the cutting of foliage extending below the piece of fruit or vegetable may be performed by a pair of parallel and counter rotating cutting cylinders, one of which has a worm blade wrapped in a helical fashion along its length, and the other of which has a blank but rigid cylindrical surface. The respective cylinders may rotate in opposite directions such that all portions of the worm blade that are located between the cylinders from time to time pass downwardly between the cylinders. Therefore the piece of fruit or ivegetable may pass over the counter rotating cutting cylinders, and the foliage

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O extending below the piece of fruit or vegetable may pass between the cylinders whereupon at least some of that foliage may be trapped between the worm blade of n the one cylinder and the rigid cylindrical surface of the other cylinder such that that foliage may be severed from the piece of fruit or vegetable and expressed away by the downward motion of the worm blade.

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00 In further preferred embodiments of the present invention the cutting of O the foliage extending above the piece of fruit or vegetable may be performed by a pair i 10 of counter rotating cutting disks, or alternatively by a pair of actuated scissors or O shears. In either case, the cutting members (ie the counter rotating cutting disks or the shear blades) may be positioned generally above the piece of fruit or vegetable but below the point where the foliage is retained by the holding means. Therefore the piece of fruit or vegetable may pass beneath the cutting members, and at least some of the foliage extending above the piece of fruit or vegetable may pass between the cutting members whereupon that foliage may be severed by the cutting members. In the most preferred embodiments, the foliage that passes between the cutting members may be the same foliage that is retained by the holding means such that severance of that foliage causes the piece of fruit or vegetable to be severed from the holding means. The piece of fruit or vegetable may then fall away from the holding means, or may be expressed away therefrom by any other mechanism.

In some embodiments of the present invention, further means may be provided for catching, collecting or otherwise receiving the piece of fruit or vegetable after it is severed from the holding means. Preferably, this may comprise a conveyor which receives the severed pieces of fruit or vegetable as they fall away from the holding means and conveys them away from the apparatus to be packaged into boxes.

Alternatively, a collection chute may collect the pieces of fruit or vegetables.

It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that in embodiments providing means for cutting the foliage both above and below the piece of fruit or vegetable, the cutting of the foliage below the piece of fruit or vegetable must occur while the piece of fruit or vegetable is still being held by the holding means (before the piece of fruit or vegetable is severed from the holding means).

O It will also be understood by the person skilled in the art that in preferred embodiments, the predetermined length to which the foliage above the piece of fruit or vegetable is cut is determined by the distance the cutting members are located above the piece of fruit or vegetable. This distance may be varied by altering the height of the cutting members relative to the piece of fruit or vegetable, or by altering 0the position of the piece of fruit and vegetable relative to the cutting members, or a 00 Scombination of both. Hence, any means for varying this distance is contemplated as O falling within the scope of the present invention.

0 O Furthermore, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that in preferred embodiments, the predetermined length to which the foliage below the piece of fruit or vegetable is cut is determined by the distance that the rotating cutting cylinders are located beneath the piece of fruit or vegetable. Similarly, this distance may be varied by altering the height of the piece of fruit or vegetable relative to the cutting cylinders, or by altering the position of the cutting cylinders relative to the piece of fruit, or a combination of both.

In particularly preferred embodiments, the position of one or other of the means for cutting the foliage above the piece of fruit or vegetable, or the means for cutting the foliage below the piece of fruit or vegetable, may remain generally constant. Hence, each of the above-mentioned distances may be altered by varying the position of the piece of fruit or vegetable and the other respective cutting means.

In some embodiments, the position of the piece of fruit or vegetable may be varied by altering the location at which the piece of fruit or vegetable is initially positioned on the receiving surface. This may vary the point on the foliage which is engaged by the holding means thereby altering the length of foliage between the holding means and the piece of fruit or vegetable, which in turn alters the length of foliage between the piece of fruit or vegetable and the respective cutting means.

Finally, various embodiments of the present invention may comprise a removable and emptyable receptacle for receiving the cut foliage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a

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O method for cleaning one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable or for cutting foliage attached thereto, the method comprising holding the piece of fruit or vegetable by at least some of the foliage, orienting the piece of fruit or vegetable such that the piece of fruit or vegetable is located substantially below at least some of the foliage when held, O ~and cleaning the piece of fruit or vegetable, or 00 cutting at least some of the foliage to a predetermined length.

O In one embodiment, the method includes both cleaning the fruit or Vn 10 vegetable and cutting the foliage.

O Embodiments of the second aspect of the present invention may incorporate features described with respect to the first aspect of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which: Figure 1 is a partial plan view of an apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention wherein some features and details have been omitted for clarity; Figure 2 is a partial side view of an apparatus according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 wherein some features and details have again been omitted for clarity; Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the plurality of water jets and the counter rotating cylindrical brushes used in the cleaning means of some embodiments of the present invention; Figure 4 depicts the progressively varying angle of impingement of water from the plurality of water jets used in the cleaning means of some embodiments of the present invention; Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the counter rotating cutting cylinders used in the cutting means of some embodiments of the present invention for cutting the foliage extending substantially below the piece of fruit or vegetable, wherein some features and details omitted for clarity, Figure 6 is an end view of the counter rotating cutting cylinders of

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o Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of the actuated shears used in the cutting means of some embodiments of the present invention for cutting the foliage extending substantially above the piece of fruit or vegetable, wherein some features and details omitted for clarity.

00 DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT o As explained above, the present invention may be used to clean, and cut V) 10 the foliage of, any kind of fruit or vegetables having foliage attached thereto. For 0 o convenience, the preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to spring onions. However, this is not intended to limit the scope of fruits or vegetables to which the invention may be applied, and the invention is not limited to the embodiment described.

In Figures 1 and 2, there is shown an apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention having a lower frame 12 and an upper frame 14, the upper frame 14 being adapted to rotate with respect to the lower frame 12. Both lower frame 12 and upper frame 14 have generally circular configurations when viewed from above as in Figure 1, and both share a common circular centre 13.

As shown in Figure 2, lower frame 12 comprises a plurality of substantially straight leg members 16, a plurality of substantially straight cradle members 18, and a circular support 20. The legs 16 are arranged in a generally circular configuration about centre 13 and are spaced at generally even intervals around the circle. Each leg member 16 is positioned such that the upper end thereof tilts inwardly towards centre 13 with respect to the lower end thereof, and the lower end thereof is supported on the ground. Each cradle member 18 is fixedly connected to the internal side of a respective leg member 16, midway up the height of the leg 16, such that each cradle member 18 extends from the respective leg member 16 with an inwardly tilting orientation. The degree of tilt of the cradle members 18 towards centre 13 is substantially less steep than the degree of tilt of legs 16. Thus, an angle 22 is defined between the leg member 16 and the cradle member 18 at each of the locations where cradle members 18 connect to legs 16. Circular support 20 is seated o substantially within angle 22 such that it shares a common centre 13 with lower frame 12 and upper frame 14, and it is fixedly connected to either legs 16, or cradle members 18, or both.

Referring to Figure 1, it can be seen that upper frame 14 comprises a 1-10 circular outer ring 32 which is fixedly connected to, and supported by, a plurality of 00 straight radial spoke members 34. All of the spokes 34 meet and are fixedly O connected to each other at the common centre 13. Upper frame 14 also comprises a in 10 plurality of transverse members 36 which are fixedly connected between respective O pairs of spokes 34 so as to span the angle between each respective pair of spokes midway a long the length thereof. Spokes 34, transverse members 36 and outer ring 32, which together form of upper frame 14, all lie in a common plane that is substantially parallel to the ground, as shown in Figure 2.

Supported on the upper ends of the cradle members 18 is ring shaped rotator 24 which shares common centre 13 and which comprises a stationery lower portion 26 and a rotating upper portion 28. To avoid confusion it will be clearly understood that upper portion 28 of rotator 24 is adapted to rotate with respect to lower portion 26. Lower portion 26 is fixedly connected to the upper ends of the cradle members 18, whilst the upper portion 28 is fixedly connected to upper frame 14 by a plurality of rotating drive members 30. Hence, rotation of the upper portion 28 with respect to the lower portion 26 causes rotation of upper frame 14 with respect to lower frame 12, about centre 13. The upper ends of the drive members 30 are tilted outwardly with respect to the lower ends thereof, and the upper ends connect to the spokes 34 at or close to the locations where the spokes 34 connect with transverse members 36.

Referring now to rotator 24, the rotating upper portion 28 thereof is mounted on the stationery lower portion 26 by way of a bearing arrangement (not shown) which thereby allows the upper portion 28 to rotate freely with respect to lower portion 26. Any bearing arrangement known to be suitable to a person of skill in the art may be used. Furthermore, rotation of upper portion 28 is driven by a motorised gear and chain arrangement 38.

o As shown in Figure 1, motorised gear and chain arrangement 38 comprises motor 40, drive shaft 41 of motor 40, first sprocket 42, drive chain 44, a n second sprocket (not shown), drive gear 46 and fixed inner chain 48. Motor 40 is oriented such that rotating drive shaft 41 extends therefrom in a vertically downward direction, and the end of drive shaft 41 affixes to first sprocket 42 at the centre of first INO sprocket 42. Hence, in operation, motor 40 imparts rotation to drive shaft 41 which in 0 Fixed inner chain 48 is fixedly mounted to the internal surface of upper O portion 28, and it traces the entire internal circumference thereof. Drive gear 46 is mounted to lower frame 12 in such a way that it meshes with fixed inner chain 48.

Hence, upper portion 28, fixed inner chain 48 and drive gear 46 function in a similar way to the common arrangement of a ring gear having a fixedly positioned but rotatably driven intermeshing planet gear. Specifically, the secure mounting of fixed inner chain 48 to the internal surface of upper portion 28 causes those two combined components to function together as a ring gear, and drive gear 46, which meshes with fixed inner chain 48, functions as the driven planet gear.

Drive gear 46 is fixedly mounted on the upper end of a vertically oriented rotating axle 50. The lower end of axle 50 is fixedly connected to the second sprocket (not shown) such that all three components rotate together. Hence, drive gear 46, second sprocket (not shown) and axle 50 are all fixedly connected together and are mounted to lower frame 12 in such a way that their position remains fixed but they are able to rotate together about the vertical axis of axle As shown in Figure 1, first sprocket 42 and second sprocket (not shown) are operatively connected by drive chain 44 and rotation can therefore be imparted to upper frame 14 by operation of motorised gear and chain arrangement 38 as follows.

Motor 40 imparts rotation to first sprocket 42 as described above; this rotation is then transferred to the second sprocket via drive chain 44; the rotation of the second sprocket is then transmitted to drive gear 46 via axle 50; drive gear 46 then meshes with fixed inner chain 48 on upper portion 28 thereby imparting rotation to upper portion 28; and finally rotation of upper portion 28 causes rotation to be imparted to Iupper frame 14 by way of drive members 30, as described above. It will be

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O understood that the rotation of circular upper frame 14 causes apparatus 10 to operate in cyclic and periodically repeating fashion. The cyclic nature of the operation of apparatus 10 will be described in greater detail below.

N From Figures 1 and 2, it can be seen that apparatus 10 also comprises a I plurality of holding means in the form of a plurality of clamping mechanisms 52 for

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Sclamping the spring onions 53 in position by the leaves. Each clamping mechanism O 52 comprises a substantially L-shaped clamping arm 54, an arcuate clamp member 56, i 10 a clamp roller 58, a clamp pivot 60, and a pair of stiffener members 66. Each O clamping mechanism 52 also comprises a raising track 62 and a clamping track 64, both of which are fixedly mounted to lower frame 12 as illustrated on the left-hand side of Figure 2. The L-shaped clamping armnn 54 of each clamping mechanism 52 has a long portion 55 and a short portion 57, and clamp members 56 are fixedly connected on the free ends of respective long portions 55 as shown in Figure 1.

The left-hand side of Figure 2 shows one of the clamping mechanisms 52 in both the raised configuration (hatched lines) and the clamped configuration (solid lines). It can therefore be seen that in the clamped configuration, clamping arm 54 is lowered so as to bring clamping member 56 into contact with outer ring 32 thereby clamping the leaves of spring onions 53 therebetween. Conversely, in the raised configuration clamping arm 54 is raised so as to allow spring onions 53 to be positioned on orienting mechanism 68 in a manner described in greater detail below.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each clamping arm 54 is pivotally mounted to a respective transverse member 36 of the upper frame 14 by way of clamp pivot Furthermore, it can be seen from Figure 2 that each clamp pivot 60 attaches to clamping arm 54 on short portion 55, but close to the point where long portion 55 and short portion 57 meet. It will be understood that because the clamping arm 54 of each clamping mechanism 52 is pivotally mounted to upper frame 14, therefore each of the clamping mechanisms 52 moves with the rotation of upper frame 14. However, it will also be understood that each clamping arm 54 is able to pivot independently about the axis of clamp pivot 60 as shown in Figure 2.

In Clamp roller 58 is mounted to the free end of short portion 57 using a O bearing or journal type arrangement such that clamp roller 58 is able to rotate about the longitudinal axis of short portion 57. It is the interaction of clamp roller 58 with raising track 62 and clamping track 64 which causes clamping arm 54 to move between the clamped configuration and the raised configuration respectively, at different stages throughout the cyclic operation of apparatus

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00 Referring to raising track 62 as shown in Figure 1, it can be seen that O raising track 62 has an engaging end 80 and a releasing end 82. Tracing the path of In 10 raising track 62 from engaging end 80 towards releasing end 82 shows that the radial O distance between raising track 62 and centre 13 initially increases as the track moves away from the engaging end 80. The radial distance between raising track 62 and centre 13 then remains generally constant until raising track 62 approaches releasing end 82 whereupon the distance again decreases. Referring now to clamping track 64, it can be seen that clamping track 64 also has an engaging end 84 and a releasing end 86. Tracing the path of clamping track 64 in a similar manner, the radial distance between clamping track 64 and centre 13 initially decreases as the track moves away from the engaging end 84, the distance then remains constant before increasing again as clamping track 64 approaches releasing end 86. However, the difference between the minimum and maximum radial displacement of clamping track 64 is much smaller than the difference between the minimum and maximum radial displacement of raising track 62. The reason for this is explained in greater detail below.

Referring again to raising track 62 as shown in Figure 1, it will be understood that as upper frame 14 rotates, the clamp roller 58 of each clamping mechanism 52 will periodically become engaged with the outer surface of raising track 62, at engaging end 80. Upon initial engagement of clamp roller 58 with raising track 62, clamping arm 54 will be in the clamped configuration explained above and shown in solid lines on the left-hand side of Figure 2. Continuing rotation of upper frame 14 will then cause clamp roller 58 to roll along the outer surface of raising track 62. Because the radial distance between raising track 62 and centre 13 increases as the track moves away from engaging end 80, therefore as clamp roller 58 rolls along raising track 62 clamp roller 58 and short portion 57 will be pushed outwardly by the increasing radial displacement of the track. This will in turn cause clamping arm 54 to pivot in a clockwise manner about clamp pivot 60 as shown in Figure 2, causing the o clamping arm 54 to adopt the raised configuration shown in hatched lines in Figure 2.

As clamp roller 58 continues to roll along raising track 62, clamping arm 54 will be maintained in the raised configuration by the constant radial displacement of raising track 62 with respect to centre 13. However, as raising track 62 approaches releasing end 82 the radial displacement of the track decreases thereby allowing clamping arm IND 54 to pivot back in a clockwise direction towards the clamping configuration.

00 Mn o Referring now to clamping track 64 also shown in Figure 1, it can be V) 10 seen that the engaging end 84 of clamping track 64 overlaps with the releasing end 82 O of raising track 62. Therefore, as clamp roller 58 rolls off the outer surface of raising track 62 it becomes engaged by, and begins to roll along, the inner surface of clamping track 64. From above it will be understood that when clamp rollers 58 and clamping arms 54 disengage with respect to raising track 62 by rolling off releasing end 82, they are again in the clamping configuration. Therefore, it will be further understood that the purpose of the clamping track 64 is not to pivot clamping arms 54 into the clamping configuration, because they are already in that configuration when clamp roller 58 engages with the inner surface of clamping track 64. Rather, the purpose of clamping track 64 is to provide the positive compressive clamping force between clamping member 56 and outer ring 32 needed to hold the leaves of spring onions 53 therebetween.

Given the relatively high stiffhiess of all of the components of apparatus (most of which are made from steel and other similar materials), and given that further anti-clockwise rotation of clamping arm 54 is resisted when clamp member 56 presses on outer ring 32, therefore only a small inward displacement of clamp roller 58 is required to impose a considerable torque on clamping arm 54 (the torque is applied in an anticlockwise direction about clamp pivot 60 when clamping arm 54 is viewed as shown on the left-hand side of Figure This is why the difference between the minimum and maximum radial displacement of clamping track 64 is much smaller than the difference between the minimum and maximum radial displacement of raising track 62 as mentioned above. The torque that is imposed upon clamping arm 54 by the inward displacement of clamp roller 58 as it rolls along clamping track 64 causes clamping member 56 to push downwardly on outer ring 32, thus causing the positive compressive clamping force required to hold spring onions o 53.

Finally, it can be seen that the engaging end 80 of raising track 62 overlaps with the releasing end 86 of clamping track 62. Therefore, as clamp roller 58 rolls off the inner surface of clamping track 64 it becomes engaged by, and begins to IND roll along, the outer surface of raising track 62, and hence the cycle is repeated.

00 Mn o Apparatus 10 Tither comprises a plurality of fruit or vegetable receiving In 10 mechanisms 68. Each receiving mechanism 68 comprises a substantially flat and O planar receiving platform 70, a substantially V-shaped orienter arm 72, an orienter pivot 74, and orienter stiffeners 78. Each orienting mechanism 68 also comprises orienting track 76 shown in Figures 1 and 2. The right-hand side of Figure 2 shows one of the orienting mechanisms 68 in both the engaged configuration (solid lines) and the disengaged configuration (hatched lines). In the engaged configuration, receiving platform 70 is raised so as to be substantially parallel to the ground thereby allowing spring onions to be placed thereon without rolling or sliding off. However, in the disengaged configuration, receiving platformn 70 is lowered so as to allow the spring onions to hang from the clamping mechanism 52 (the hanging spring onions are shown on the left-hand side of Figure 2, the spring onions having been clamped as described above prior to the lowering of receiving platform From Figure 2, it can be seen that each orienting mechanism 68 is moved between the engaged configuration (solid lines) and the disengaged configuration (hatched lines) by the interaction of orienter arm 72 with orienting track 76.

However, the operation of receiving mechanisms 68 differs from the operation of clamping mechanisms 52 in that receiving mechanisms 68 do not have rollers which roll along orienting track 76. Rather, the orienter armn 72 of each receiving mechanism 68 simply slides along orienting track 76 as upper frame 14 rotates. This is shown in Figure 2. A pad made of rigid nylon or some other wear resistant material may be placed on on enter arm 72 where it contacts wit orienting track 76 to prevent excessive wear of orienter arm 72 and orienting track 76. Also, orienting track 76 differs from raising track 62 and clamping track 64 in that orienting track 76 forms a In complete closed loop around centre 13, whereas clamping track 64 and raising track o 62 are open arcuate tracks.

Figure 1 shows that orienting track 76 has two distinct but connected portions, namely engaging portion 88 and disengaging portion 90. The radial distance between centre 13 and engaging portion 88 is greater than the radial distance between IND centre 13 and disengaging portion 90, and disengaging portion 90 is lower (ie closer 00 to the ground) than engaging portion 88. This height difference is shown in Figure 2.

o Furthermore, orienting track 76 has two smoothly curved transition portions 92 which Vn 10 connect disengaging portion 90 to engaging portion 88.

From Figures 1 and 2 it can be seen that orienter pivot 74 is located very close to clamp pivot 60. In fact, in the embodiment shown, both clamp pivot 60 and orienter pivot 74 share a common pivot axis. Hence, as upper frame 14 rotates, orienter arm 72 will initially slide up the first of the transition portions 92 and along engaging portion 88. Because engaging portion 88 has a greater radial displacement and is higher than disengaging portion 90, orienter ann 72 and receiving platform will therefore be pushed upwardly by engaging portion 88. This causes orienter arm 72 and receiving platform 70 to pivot into clockwise about orienter pivot 74 into the raised configuration in which platform 70 is essentially horizontal. Then with further rotation of the frame 14, orienter arm 72 will slide down the other of the transition portions 92 onto disengaging portion 90. Because disengaging portion 90 has a smaller radial displacement and is lower than engaging portion 88, orienter arm 72 and receiving platform 70 will therefore drop downwardly, thereby causing them to pivot clockwise about orienter pivot 74 into the lowered disengaging configuration, With continued rotation of upper frame 14 orienter arm 72 and receiving platform will then again slide up the first of the transition portions 92 and back onto engaging portion 88, and the process is then repeated.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 3, it can be seen that apparatus 10 also comprises a cleaning mechanism 100. Importantly, cleaning mechanism 100 is located generally adjacent to clamping track 64 (as opposed to raising track 62) as shown in Figure 1. Therefore, cleaning mechanism 100 is positioned so that spring onions pass through cleaning mechanism 100 while their leaves are held by the Spositive compressive clamping force which is generated as the clamping mechanism 0 o68 passes along clamping track 64.

From Figure 3 it can be seen that cleaning mechanism 100 comprises a ci 5 pair of counter rotating cylindrical brushes 102a-102b, and a series of pairs of downwardly pointing water jets 104a-104d. It is emphasised that whilst four pairs of INO water jets are shown in Figure 3, this number of jets is not the essential and different 00 numbers of jets may be used. For example, Figure 1 shows a very similar cleaning mechanism having six pairs of water jets. Furthermore, Figure 3 shows that cleaning 10 mechanism 100 also comprises a series of upwardly pointing water jets 106a-106b, 0 Obut again the number of such water jets is not essential.

The operation of cleaning mechanism 100 is relatively evident from Figure 3. As upper frame 14 rotates in the direction shown by arrow the spring onion 53 (which are hanging down by virtue of their leaves being held by being clamped between clamping member 56 and outer ring 32) passes between counter rotating brushes 102a-102b. It also passes between the rows of downward water jets 104a-104d, and above upward jets 106a-106b. Because brushes 102a-102b rotate in that directions indicated by arrows "Ba" and "Bb" in Figure 3, the downward scraping/scrubbing action performed by the bristles of brushes 102a-102b on spring onion 53 helps to remove dust and dirt therefrom, and also helps to strip away unwanted outer layers and husks of spring onion 53. The downwardly impinging water from the downward jets 104a-104d also helps with this. In fact, each respective pair of downward jets 104a, 104b, 104c and 104d is angled slightly differently so as to project water onto the onion 53 at different locations and at slightly different angles thus creating a progressively downward stripping effect. The progressive stripping process created by downward water jets 104a-104d is illustrated more clearly in Figure 4. The upwardly impinging water from upward jets 106a-106b helps clean dust and dirt out of the roots of spring onion 53 which hang downwardly therefrom.

Referring again to Figure 1, it can be seen that in the particular embodiment shown, the rotation of brushes 102a-102b is driven by the rotation of rotator 24 via a gear and belt arrangement 110. Gear and belt arrangement 110 comprises a fixed outer chain 112, outer gear 114, first drive disk 116, vertical axle In 118 fixedly connecting outer gear 114 to first drive disk 116, second drive disk 120, o drive belt 122 which operatively connects first drive disk 116 to second drive disk 120, and a brush gear and chain arrangement (not shown). The brush gear and chain arrangement operatively links second drive disk 120 to each of the brushes 102a- 102b, and is configured so as to cause the above described counter rotation of the brushes when driven by second drive disk 120.

IND

00 Therefore the operation of gear and belt arrangement 110 may be O described briefly as follows. Fixed outer chain 112 is fixedly mounted to the external in 10 surface of upper portion 28 of rotator 24 in a similar way to the way in which fixed O inner chain 48 is fixed to the inner surface thereof. Outer gear 114 then meshes with fixed outer chain 112 so that rotation of upper portion 28 causes rotation of outer gear 114. First drive disk 116 is fixedly mounted to outer gear 114 via vertical axle 118, and therefore rotation of outer gear 114 causes rotation of first drive disk 116. This rotation is then transferred to second drive disk 120 via drive belt 122. Finally, the rotation of second drive disc 120 interacts with brush gear and chain arrangement to cause the counter rotation of brushes 102a-1I02b as described above.

Referring finally to Figures 1, 5 and 6, it can be seen that apparatus comprises a root cutting mechanism 130 (Figures 5 and 6) and leaf cutting mechanism 140 (Figure Importantly, root cutting mechanism 130 and leaf cutting mechanism 140 are located generally beneath upper frame 14 and adjacent to both first transition portion 92 and the beginning of engaging portion 88 of orienting track 76. Therefore, root cutting mechanism 130 and leaf cutting mechanism 140 are positioned so receiving platform 70 and orienting arm 72 pass above them in the engaged configuration as upper frame 14 rotates.

Root cutting mechanism 130 comprises a substantially cylindrical first cutting roller 132 having a worm blade 133 wrapped helically along its length, a second cutting roller 134 having a slightly greater diameter than first cutting roller 132 and also having a substantially smooth cylindrical surface, support members 136, and downwardly oriented water jets 138a-138b. Leaf cutting mechanism 140 comprises first shear blade 142, second shear blade 143, shear pivot 144, connecting rod 146, pivot pins 147 and shear actuating cam 148.

o The operation of root culling mechanism 130 is relatively evident from Figure 5. As upper frame 14 rotates in the direction shown by arrow the spring onion 53 passes over cutting rollers 132-133 such that the roots of spring onion 53, which hang below it, pass between the cutting rollers. As spring onion 53 passes over cuffing rollers 132-133, it also passes between downwardly oriented jets 138a-138b.

INO Root culling rollers 132-133 rotate in opposite directions as indicated by arrows "ClV 00 and "C2" in Figure 5. This rotation causes worm blade 133 to past downwardly o between the culling rollers. Hence, as onion 53 passes over the culling rollers 132- Vn 10 133 the downwardly hanging roots thereof become caught between worm blade 133 O and the adjacent smooth surface of second cutting roller 134 and are thus severed from spring onion 53. Downwardly oriented water jets 138a-138b help to express the severed roots downwardly away from cuffing rollers 132-133, and they also help further ft remove excess outer layers and husks of spring onion 53, as shown in Figure 6.

Similarly, the operation of leaf culling mechanism 140 is relatively evident from Figure 7. As upper frame 14 rotates in the direction shown by arrow the spring onion 53 passes beneath sheer blades 142-143 such that the leaves of spring onion 53, by which spring onion 53 hangs, pass between the shear blades.

Shear actuating cam 148 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow in Figure 7.

Connecting rod 146 is pivotally connected on one end thereof to an eccentric location on shear actuating cam 148, and on the other end thereof to the non-bladed end of first shear blade 142. Second shear blade 143 is fixedly mounted on lower frame 12 in a position that is substantially tangential to the path which the leaves of spring onion 53 take as upper frame 14 rotates. First shear blade 142 is pivotally mounted to second shear bade 143 by shear pivot 144. Hence, as shear actuating cam 148 rotates, this motion is translated into first shear blade 142 via connecting rod 146. Consequently, first shear blade 142 is caused to pivot in an oscillating and scissor like manner about shear pivot 144 as indicated by arrow in Figure 7. This creates a scissoring effect between sheer blades 142-143 which severs the leaves of spring onion 53 as shown. It will be appreciated that other culling mechanisms may also be used in the present invention.

The rotating components of both root cutting mechanism 130 and leaf o cutting mechanism 140 are driven by a hydraulic motor (not shown) and rotation is transmitted from the motor into the components via a common arrangement of gears and chains.

Finally, the overall operation of apparatus 10 involves the interaction of IND each of the above described mechanisms. This overall operation may be described 00 briefly as follows. Spring onions 53 are initially placed on receiving platforms 70 at o or close to the location marked in Figure 1, as upper frame 14 rotates. To avoid in 10 confusion it will be clearly understood that upper frame 14 rotates with an o uninterrupted continual rotation, and therefore spring onions 53 are placed onto respective receiving platforms 70 as they pass by. The spring onions 53 are positioned on receiving platforms 70 such that the onion is oriented towards centre 13, and the leaves thereof extend radially outwards and over the edge of outer ring 32.

The receiving platform 70 may also have small movable guides (not shown) indicating precisely the position where spring onion 53 is to be placed on platform This ensures that all spring onions 53 are positioned commonly on receiving platform so as to ensure that the leaves and roots of each spring onion are cut to a common length. As upper frame 14 continues to rotate, clamping arms 54 rotate downwardly causing the leaves to be clamped between clamping members 56 and outer ring 32.

With ffirther rotation, orienting arms 72 and receiving platforms 70 rotate downwardly allowing spring onions 53 to hang from outer ring 32. The spring onions 53 then pass through cleaning mechanism 100, then over a root cutting mechanism 130 before finally passing beneath leaf cutting mechanism 140. After the leaves are severed by the leaf cutting mechanism 140, the spring onions 53 fall onto a receiving conveyor (not shown) which then conveys them away from apparatus 10 to be grouped into bundles and packaged into boxes.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, instead of having a generally circular rotating apparatus, the invention may be implemented in the form of a linear or curved apparatus such as a conveyor incorporating holding means on the conveyor. Furthermore, in other alternative examples, rather than placing the piece of fruit or vegetable on a moving mechanism which carries the piece of fruit or vegetable through, over or past the

O

o cleaning mechanism or cutting mechanism (or both), the pieces of fruit or vegetable might be placed on a stationary mechanism and the cleaning mechanism or cutting mechanism (or both) might then operate on the stationary pieces of fruit or vegetable.

The present invention provide several advantages. One advantage is that I the invention increases the speed with which it is possible to clean, and/or cut the 00 Sfoliage of, newly harvested pieces of fruit or vegetable may be cleaned. This has o economic benefits in that the labour costs involved in the cleaning and/or cutting S 10 processes are reduced. Another advantage provided by the apparatus of the present 0 O invention is that the foliage on each pieces of fruit or vegetable is cut to approximately the same length, meaning that there can be far less variation in the cut length of foliage then there might be if the cutting were to be performed manually.

This can make the cleaned and/or cut fruit or vegetables more attractive to potential purchasers.

Claims

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises the cleaning means and the cutting means.
3. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined length to which the foliage is cut may be altered.
4. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the holding means comprises one or more clamping mechanisms whereby each mechanism causes two or more clamping members to press together clamping at least some of the foliage of each piece of fruit or vegetable therebetween.
5. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus comprises one or more receiving surfaces for receiving and supporting each piece of fruit or vegetable.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the holding means operates to hold each piece of fruit or vegetable by at least some of the foliage while the piece of fruit or vegetable is supported on the receiving surface. i 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the receiving surface moves O O away from the held piece of fruit or vegetable so that the piece of fruit or vegetable hangs downwardly from the foliage that is held by the holding means.
8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus comprises a mechanism for passing each piece of fruit or vegetable through, Ipast or over the cleaning means. OO 0n O 9. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the in 10 cleaning means comprises one or more water jets. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more the water jets projects water downwardly upon the piece of fruit or vegetable.
11. An apparatus as claimed in claim on 10, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of water jets that respectively project water at progressively different angles.
12. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein at least one of the one or more water jets projects water upwardly upon the piece of fruit or vegetable.
13. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the water used by the water jets is continuously recycled through the jets.
14. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning means comprises one or more bristled brushes. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the one or more bristled brushes creates a downward scrubbing motion on each piece of fruit or vegetable.
16. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cleaning means comprises the one or more water jet claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13 and the one or more bristled brushes claimed in any one of claims 14 or o 17. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting means cuts foliage extending substantially above each held piece of fruit or vegetable, or substantially below each held piece of fruit or vegetable, or both.
18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the foliage extending IND substantially below the held piece of fruit or vegetable is cut by one or more pairs of 00 parallel cutting cylinders, one cylinder of each pair having a worm blade wrapped O helically along the length of its outer surface, and the other cylinder of each pair i 10 having a blank but rigid cylindrical surface, and wherein the respective cylinders in 0 O each pair rotate in opposite directions such that each of the worm blades passes downwardly between the cylinders.
19. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 17 or 18, wherein the foliage extending substantially above the held piece of fruit or vegetable is cut by one or more pairs of counter rotating cutting disks. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 17 or 18, wherein the foliage extending substantially above the held piece of fruit or vegetable is cut by one or more pairs of actuated scissors or shears.
21. A method for cleaning one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable or for cutting foliage attached thereto, the method comprising holding the piece of fruit or vegetable by at least some of the foliage, orienting the piece of fruit or vegetable such that the piece of fruit or vegetable is located substantially below at least some of the foliage when held, and cleaning the piece of fruit or vegetable, or cutting at least some of the foliage to a predetermined length.
22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the method includes both cleaning the fruit or vegetable and cutting the foliage.
23. An apparatus for cleaning one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable, or for cutting foliage attached thereto, or both, the apparatus comprising a lower frame and I an upper frame, the upper frame being adapted to rotate with respect to the lower O o frame, the upper frame having holding means pivotally mounted thereto, the holding means being pivotally actuated by the rotation of the upper frame between a holding n configuration wherein the one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable are held by at least some of the foliage and a releasing configuration wherein the one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable are not held, the upper frame also having a receiving means Npivotally mounted thereto, the receiving means being pivotally actuated by the OO Srotation of the upper frame between an engaging configuration wherein the one or O more pieces of fruit or vegetable may be placed upon the receiving means and a disengaging configuration wherein the one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable at least 0 O partially hang by the held foliage, the apparatus further comprising cleaning means for cleaning each piece of fruit or vegetable, or cutting means for cutting the foliage attached to each piece of fruit or vegetable, or both, characterised in that the one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable are first placed on the receiving means when the receiving means is in the engaging configuration and when the holding means is in the releasing configuration, then as the upper frame rotates the holding means pivots into the holding configuration and the receiving means then pivots into the disengaging configuration, then further rotation of the upper frame causes the held one or more pieces of fruit or vegetable to travel over, past or through the cleaning means, or the cutting means, or both.
24. An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
25. The method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 22nd day of July 2005 Henricus Joannes STEVENS By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO