CA1250814A - Apparatus and method for separation of agricultural products from clods and other spurious materials - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for separation of agricultural products from clods and other spurious materialsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1250814A CA1250814A CA000447334A CA447334A CA1250814A CA 1250814 A CA1250814 A CA 1250814A CA 000447334 A CA000447334 A CA 000447334A CA 447334 A CA447334 A CA 447334A CA 1250814 A CA1250814 A CA 1250814A
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- roller
- impingement
- location area
- produce
- mixture
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- Apparatuses For Bulk Treatment Of Fruits And Vegetables And Apparatuses For Preparing Feeds (AREA)
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
Apparatus for separating agricultural produce from other materials comprising a generally cylindrical separation roller; and apparatus for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the generally cylindrical separation roller at an impingement location area in a direction which is not normal to the tangent to the roller surface at the impingement location area. Also, apparatus for separating agricultural produce from other materials comprising a generally cylindrical separation roller;
and apparatus for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other material to impinge upon the generally cylindrical separation roller at an impingement location area at a generally uniform velocity.
Apparatus for separating agricultural produce from other materials comprising a generally cylindrical separation roller; and apparatus for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the generally cylindrical separation roller at an impingement location area in a direction which is not normal to the tangent to the roller surface at the impingement location area. Also, apparatus for separating agricultural produce from other materials comprising a generally cylindrical separation roller;
and apparatus for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other material to impinge upon the generally cylindrical separation roller at an impingement location area at a generally uniform velocity.
Description
51~
STATE OF ISRAEL - MINISTRY 0~ AGRICULTURE
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SEPARATION OF AGRICULTURAL PROCUCTS
FROM CLODS AND OTHER SPURIOUS MATE~IAL~.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present lnventlon relates to agrlcultural machinery generally and more particularly to apparatus for separatlng agr1cultura1 products from other materlals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The separation of agrlcultural products such as potatoes from clods and stones has long been recogni~ed as a practical goal of designers of agr;cultural mach1nery. For example, in Agricultural Engine~ring Recor~l, W~rlt~ 1947-8 p~blish~d by the National Institute of Agricultural h~gineer~ng, Silsoe, Bedfordshi:re, U.K. at pp. 35-43 there appear~;
a discusslon of efforts, albelt unsuccessful, to des1gn separation of this type. In thls artlcle, lt ls mentloned that differences ln speciflc grav1ty and d1fferences 1n reslllence are consldered to be sultable bases for dlfferentlat1ng between the agrlcultural products and other materlals. At pages 37 and 38 of the artlcle there appears a descrlptlon of experlments carrled out using a p1ywood roller onto whlch were dropped, after s1idlng on a chute, a m~xture of potatoes and stones while the roller rotated slowly. Some separatlon occurred but only w1th regularly shaped potatoes and stones, whlch does not occur ln nature.
Addlt10nat experlments were carrled out using a delivery chute along whlch the stones and potatoes s11d lnto engagement with the roller at a locatlon about one o'clock on a roller rotatlng counterclockwise for separatlon onto opposlte sides of the roller. ~oth plywood and steel sheathed rollers were employed. Unacceptable results were obta;ned. A two stage double roller separator was also constructed and tested on thls basls. Acceptable sortlng was not ach~e~ed and experlments uslng rollers were abandoned.
B ~
It is noted that in all of the roller experiments, the material to be sorted lmplnged on the roller ~n a direction generally normal to the tangent o~ the roller at the lmplngement locat;on.
It ~s also noted that the slld~ng feedlng of the unsorted mlxture did not provlde unlform veloc1ty of the stones and potatoes, slnce some tend to ro11 and others tend to sl~de.
Br;-t~sh Patent 4684 of 1909 descr~bes a system for sorting materials ~n which the mater~als to be separated are caused to be dr1ven vertlcally downward lnto engagement w~th a rotating roller.
In U.S. Patent 1,692,343, mater~als to be separated are thrown aga;nst a stretched res~lient fabrlc. U.S. Pa~ent 1,641,492 teaches the use of a res~llent conveyor from whlch potatoes bounce off for separat~on thereof. U.S. Patent 2,666,524 employs a reslllent ramp for separation.
French Patents 95,161 and 1,513,792 descrlbe potato s~rting apparatus wh~ch does not employ a rotating roller.
Separat~on of agricultural produce from spurlous mater1als by non-mechanical methods is also known, as exemplifled by U.S. Patent 3,675,769 which describes electronic sorting and separating apparatus.
According to the present invention there i~ provided apparatus for separating agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materials such as clods and stones, the apparatus comprising:
a ~enerally cylindrical separation roller having a steel surface; and mean~ for caus~ng an un~orted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the roller at an ~mpingement location area at a generally uniform velocity and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at the impingemænt location area, the impingement location area being sit~ated to one side of the top of the roller surface, whereby substantially all the feed material is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the produce and the other materials being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound differences from the roller. Such apparatus is highly efficient and simple to construct and overcomes the deficiencies of prior art separation apparatus.
B
~f7S~
Preferably ~he apparatus is provided with me~ns for producing rotation of the separation roller, most preferably in such a direction that the impingement location area has a downward component of motion.
Preferably when using the apparatus of the inventioll, a single layer of unsorted mixture is supplied along a conveyor belt into engagement with the separation roller at a velocity which minimi~es interference between impinging and ~ouncing materials~ The conveyor is prefera~ly operative to feed ~he unsorted mixture at a horizontal speed between 0.2 and OOS meters/sec~
Further in accordance with the present invention there is provided multiple stage apparatus for separating agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materials such as clods and stonesr the apparatus comprising:
a first generally cylindrical separation roller having a steel surface;
first apparatus for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the first roller at an impingement location area at a generally uniform velocity and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the rollsr surface at the impingement location area so as to separats ~ome of the agricultural produce from th~ unsorted mixture;
the implngement location area being s~tuated to one side of the top of the surface of the first roller, whereby substantially all the partly separated mix ure is discharged to the same side of the first roller as the imprin~ement location area, the separated agricultural produce and the remainer of the unsorted mixture being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound differences from the roller;
first produce collecting means for collecting separated agricultural produce located at a first location relative to the first roller;
remainder conveying means for receiving the remainder of the unsorted mlxture of agricultural produce and other materials, which remainder conveying means is located at a s~cond location relative to the first roller;
a second generally cylindrical separation roller having a steel surface;
the remainder conveying means being operative to cause the remainder ~o impinge upon ~he second roller at an impingement location area;
second produce collecting means for collecting separated a~ricul~ural produce located at a firs~ location relative to the second roller; and refuse collecting means for collecting refuse separated from the agricultural produce and located at a second location relative to the second roller for disposal.
Additionally or alternatively the multiple stage separation apparatus may provide uniform feeding velocity, single layer feed and oppositely directed horizontal components of velocity of impingement and impingement location area.
The present inv ntion also provides a method of separa~in~ agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materlals such as clods and stones, including th~
step of causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and oth~r mater~al3 to impinge at a generally uniform velocity upon a generally cylindrical separation roller hav~ng a steel ~urface, at an implnyement location area in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at ~he impinge~ent location area;
the impingement location area being situated to cne side of the top of he roller surface, whereby substantially all of the at least partly separated mixture is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the separated agricultural produce and the remainder of the mixture being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound differences from ~he roller.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~INGS
The present invention wlll be more fully understood and appreclated from the followlng detalled descrlptlon taken in conjunctlon wlth the draw1ngs ln wh~ch:
.
~19. 1 is a schematlc lllustration oF separation apparatus constructed and operatlve In accordance wlth a preferred embodln1ent of the invent~on;
Figs. 2A and 2B are respectlve top view and side view illustrations of separation apparatus constructed and operat;ve in accordance wlth an embodiment of the present inventlon; and Fig. 3 is a detailed side vlew illustration indicating a roller cleaning knlfe assembly.
-5a-~51~
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF tHE INVENTION
Reference ls now made to ~lg. 1 which illustrates ln schematic, diagr~mmatic form~ separation apparatus constructed and operative in accordance w~th an embod;ment of the present invention. Th2 separat;on apparatus comprises a feed;ng conveyor 10 which is provided with an eccentrlc roller 12 or other sultable means for providlng vlbratlon of the conveyor surface to provlde a slngle layer of an unsorted mlxture of agricultural produce, such as potatoes, and other undes~red mater;als, such as stones and clods. The vlbratlon of the surface of feeding conveyor 10 is also operatlve to slFt out loose soll and clods through the conveyor surface ltself. For this purpose the conveyor surface may be formed in such a way as to deflne interstlces thereln for passage therethrough of such loose soll and clods whlch then fa11 onto a chute 14 and are dlrected away from the agrlcultural produce for removal.
The carrying surface 16 of conveyor 10 moves generally in a direction indlcated by an arrow 18 and applies a driving force to the objects carrled thereon having a component in the direction indicated by arrow 18. Thls drlvlng force causes the unsorted mixture to leave th2 forward end 20 of the conveyor in a predetermined trajectory and to lmpinge withln a generally predetermined range of dlrect~ons on the surface of a generally cyllndrical separatlon roller 22. Roller 22 ls typically formed of 6mm thick steel and is drlven ln rotation ln a counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow 24.
~ ~he unsorted materlal tends to lmplnge on roller 22 within a predetermined g~neral ar2a, hereinafter termed the impingement locatlon area. It ls a particular feature of the present -inventlon that the direc'ion of impingement af the unsorted material is not normal to the tangent to the sur~ace oF roller 22 at the implngement location area. The additional vector component oF force thus provided has been found to slgnlflcantly enhance separation efficlency Preferably, the materlal implnges on roller 22 at an ang1e of betwe~n 30 - 45 from the horlzontal.
. _ It is a further partlcular feature of the present -invention that ln contrast to the sllding chutes employed in the prior art, the feeding conveyor lO supplies the unsorted mixture for imp;ngement onto the separation roller 22 at a generally uniform velocity. An addit;onal feature, already noted, is that a single layer of unsorted mixture is supplied by the feeding conveyor lO. A further feature, which will be mentioned further hereinafter, ls that the feeding speed is withln a range which has been found empirically -in apparatus having the above mentioned features, to prevent interference between -implnging materials and materials wh1ch have already bounced off of the separàt-ion roller 22. these features taken indiv-idually and 1n comblnat10n enable a high quality of separation to be provided.
It ls add-itionally noted that in the illustrated embodiment, the feeding conveyor lO imparts a hor-izontal veloclty to the unso~ted mixture, ln clear contrast to certain pr-ior art teachings, such as the aforesa-id Brltish Patent 4684 of l909. In accordance with a preferred embod-iment of the present lnvention, as lllustrated, the horlzontal component of the lmpinging velocity of the unsorted mixture -is oppositely d-irected to the hor~zontal component of the velocity of the -impingement locatlon area of the separation roller 22.
Alternatively, the horizontal components may be in the same directlon.
~ Y ~'~
The agricultural produce, such as potatoes, rebounds farther from the roller and ls collected on a conveyo~ belt 30, while the remainder of the unsorted mlxture falls onto a conveyor belt 32. S;nce the ;nitlal separat;on stage may not succeed ;n removin!~ all of the agricultural produce from the unsorted mixture, conveyor belt 32 ls d;rected to a second separation roller 34, whose operatlon is similar in all respects to the operation of roller 22, including pre-ferably; the specification of the relationship of the ;ncident dlrection of the mixture as being not normal to the tangent to the roller ;mpingement location area. The agricultural produce ;s collected on a conveyor belt 36, while the refuse is collected on a conveyor belt 38.
Reference is now made to Figs. 2A and 2B which together illustrate separation machlnery constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
For ease of understanding, elements which are shown in F;g. 1 will be ;dentif;ed by the same reference numerals as appear in F;g. 1.
The apparatus of Figs. 2A and 2B comprises a base 9 onto which is mounted feeding conveyor 10 and eccentric roller 12. The separation roller 22 is bearlng mounted onto chassis 9. An electric motor 11 is coupled by means of d drlve belt 13 to feeding conveyor 10 and rolier 12 for driv;ng thereof ~n coord1nated motion as well as drlving of a side elevator 15~ whose funct;on will be described - -hereinafter. According to a preferred embod;ment o~ the ;nvention, the pos;t;on of the forward end 20 of the Feed;ng conveyor 10 relative to the roller is such that the ;mpingement location area will be 30-45 from the horizontal on the roller.
Conveyor belt 30 is driven by an ~lectr;c motor 31.
Above belt 30 there extends chute 14 for small diameter refust d;sposal.
Conveyor belt 30 dlscharges in a produce storage locat;on (not shown).
It is noted that feedlng conveyor 10 is preferably a bar-type conveyor which def;nes interst;ces as described hereinabove in connection with Fig. 1.
`\
ConYeyor belt 32 may be any suitable type of,conveyor belt and ls driven by an electric motor 33 via a drive belt 35.
Second separation roller 34 is'also dri~en'by motor 33 via belt 35. Conveyor belt 36 whlch receives the'agr;cultural produce from second roller 34 is driven by an electrlc motor 37 and discharges onto s;de elevator lS, mentioned above. Side eleva-tor l~, in turn discharges onto belt 30. Refuse conveyor belt 38 is driven by an electr;c motor 39 and transports the refuse to a removal location (not shown).
A typical surfa,ce speed for rotat;on of rollers 22 and 24 ;s about 0.6 m1sec. while the'typical feeding speeds of conveyors lO and'32 are between 0.2 and 0.5 meters/sec.
Reference is now made to F;g. 3 which ;llustrates a roller clean;ng knife,40 which engages rollers 22 and 34 for cleaning thereof. It is noted that the knife 40 ;s an elongate sheet of a suitable metal which is spring biased agalnst the roller surface and ;n a direction facing the direction of rotation of the roller surfa,ce, whlch dlrectlon is indicated by arrow 24. Knife 40 ;s supported on a support bracket 42 which in turn is pivotably mounted onto a shaft 44 wh;ch is fixed onto the base 9. A sprlng 46 pro~ides desired spring biasing of the knife against the roller.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present ;nvention ;s no-t lim;ted by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is li~ited only'by the claims which follow:
_g_
STATE OF ISRAEL - MINISTRY 0~ AGRICULTURE
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SEPARATION OF AGRICULTURAL PROCUCTS
FROM CLODS AND OTHER SPURIOUS MATE~IAL~.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present lnventlon relates to agrlcultural machinery generally and more particularly to apparatus for separatlng agr1cultura1 products from other materlals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The separation of agrlcultural products such as potatoes from clods and stones has long been recogni~ed as a practical goal of designers of agr;cultural mach1nery. For example, in Agricultural Engine~ring Recor~l, W~rlt~ 1947-8 p~blish~d by the National Institute of Agricultural h~gineer~ng, Silsoe, Bedfordshi:re, U.K. at pp. 35-43 there appear~;
a discusslon of efforts, albelt unsuccessful, to des1gn separation of this type. In thls artlcle, lt ls mentloned that differences ln speciflc grav1ty and d1fferences 1n reslllence are consldered to be sultable bases for dlfferentlat1ng between the agrlcultural products and other materlals. At pages 37 and 38 of the artlcle there appears a descrlptlon of experlments carrled out using a p1ywood roller onto whlch were dropped, after s1idlng on a chute, a m~xture of potatoes and stones while the roller rotated slowly. Some separatlon occurred but only w1th regularly shaped potatoes and stones, whlch does not occur ln nature.
Addlt10nat experlments were carrled out using a delivery chute along whlch the stones and potatoes s11d lnto engagement with the roller at a locatlon about one o'clock on a roller rotatlng counterclockwise for separatlon onto opposlte sides of the roller. ~oth plywood and steel sheathed rollers were employed. Unacceptable results were obta;ned. A two stage double roller separator was also constructed and tested on thls basls. Acceptable sortlng was not ach~e~ed and experlments uslng rollers were abandoned.
B ~
It is noted that in all of the roller experiments, the material to be sorted lmplnged on the roller ~n a direction generally normal to the tangent o~ the roller at the lmplngement locat;on.
It ~s also noted that the slld~ng feedlng of the unsorted mlxture did not provlde unlform veloc1ty of the stones and potatoes, slnce some tend to ro11 and others tend to sl~de.
Br;-t~sh Patent 4684 of 1909 descr~bes a system for sorting materials ~n which the mater~als to be separated are caused to be dr1ven vertlcally downward lnto engagement w~th a rotating roller.
In U.S. Patent 1,692,343, mater~als to be separated are thrown aga;nst a stretched res~lient fabrlc. U.S. Pa~ent 1,641,492 teaches the use of a res~llent conveyor from whlch potatoes bounce off for separat~on thereof. U.S. Patent 2,666,524 employs a reslllent ramp for separation.
French Patents 95,161 and 1,513,792 descrlbe potato s~rting apparatus wh~ch does not employ a rotating roller.
Separat~on of agricultural produce from spurlous mater1als by non-mechanical methods is also known, as exemplifled by U.S. Patent 3,675,769 which describes electronic sorting and separating apparatus.
According to the present invention there i~ provided apparatus for separating agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materials such as clods and stones, the apparatus comprising:
a ~enerally cylindrical separation roller having a steel surface; and mean~ for caus~ng an un~orted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the roller at an ~mpingement location area at a generally uniform velocity and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at the impingemænt location area, the impingement location area being sit~ated to one side of the top of the roller surface, whereby substantially all the feed material is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the produce and the other materials being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound differences from the roller. Such apparatus is highly efficient and simple to construct and overcomes the deficiencies of prior art separation apparatus.
B
~f7S~
Preferably ~he apparatus is provided with me~ns for producing rotation of the separation roller, most preferably in such a direction that the impingement location area has a downward component of motion.
Preferably when using the apparatus of the inventioll, a single layer of unsorted mixture is supplied along a conveyor belt into engagement with the separation roller at a velocity which minimi~es interference between impinging and ~ouncing materials~ The conveyor is prefera~ly operative to feed ~he unsorted mixture at a horizontal speed between 0.2 and OOS meters/sec~
Further in accordance with the present invention there is provided multiple stage apparatus for separating agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materials such as clods and stonesr the apparatus comprising:
a first generally cylindrical separation roller having a steel surface;
first apparatus for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the first roller at an impingement location area at a generally uniform velocity and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the rollsr surface at the impingement location area so as to separats ~ome of the agricultural produce from th~ unsorted mixture;
the implngement location area being s~tuated to one side of the top of the surface of the first roller, whereby substantially all the partly separated mix ure is discharged to the same side of the first roller as the imprin~ement location area, the separated agricultural produce and the remainer of the unsorted mixture being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound differences from the roller;
first produce collecting means for collecting separated agricultural produce located at a first location relative to the first roller;
remainder conveying means for receiving the remainder of the unsorted mlxture of agricultural produce and other materials, which remainder conveying means is located at a s~cond location relative to the first roller;
a second generally cylindrical separation roller having a steel surface;
the remainder conveying means being operative to cause the remainder ~o impinge upon ~he second roller at an impingement location area;
second produce collecting means for collecting separated a~ricul~ural produce located at a firs~ location relative to the second roller; and refuse collecting means for collecting refuse separated from the agricultural produce and located at a second location relative to the second roller for disposal.
Additionally or alternatively the multiple stage separation apparatus may provide uniform feeding velocity, single layer feed and oppositely directed horizontal components of velocity of impingement and impingement location area.
The present inv ntion also provides a method of separa~in~ agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materlals such as clods and stones, including th~
step of causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and oth~r mater~al3 to impinge at a generally uniform velocity upon a generally cylindrical separation roller hav~ng a steel ~urface, at an implnyement location area in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at ~he impinge~ent location area;
the impingement location area being situated to cne side of the top of he roller surface, whereby substantially all of the at least partly separated mixture is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the separated agricultural produce and the remainder of the mixture being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound differences from ~he roller.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~INGS
The present invention wlll be more fully understood and appreclated from the followlng detalled descrlptlon taken in conjunctlon wlth the draw1ngs ln wh~ch:
.
~19. 1 is a schematlc lllustration oF separation apparatus constructed and operatlve In accordance wlth a preferred embodln1ent of the invent~on;
Figs. 2A and 2B are respectlve top view and side view illustrations of separation apparatus constructed and operat;ve in accordance wlth an embodiment of the present inventlon; and Fig. 3 is a detailed side vlew illustration indicating a roller cleaning knlfe assembly.
-5a-~51~
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF tHE INVENTION
Reference ls now made to ~lg. 1 which illustrates ln schematic, diagr~mmatic form~ separation apparatus constructed and operative in accordance w~th an embod;ment of the present invention. Th2 separat;on apparatus comprises a feed;ng conveyor 10 which is provided with an eccentrlc roller 12 or other sultable means for providlng vlbratlon of the conveyor surface to provlde a slngle layer of an unsorted mlxture of agricultural produce, such as potatoes, and other undes~red mater;als, such as stones and clods. The vlbratlon of the surface of feeding conveyor 10 is also operatlve to slFt out loose soll and clods through the conveyor surface ltself. For this purpose the conveyor surface may be formed in such a way as to deflne interstlces thereln for passage therethrough of such loose soll and clods whlch then fa11 onto a chute 14 and are dlrected away from the agrlcultural produce for removal.
The carrying surface 16 of conveyor 10 moves generally in a direction indlcated by an arrow 18 and applies a driving force to the objects carrled thereon having a component in the direction indicated by arrow 18. Thls drlvlng force causes the unsorted mixture to leave th2 forward end 20 of the conveyor in a predetermined trajectory and to lmpinge withln a generally predetermined range of dlrect~ons on the surface of a generally cyllndrical separatlon roller 22. Roller 22 ls typically formed of 6mm thick steel and is drlven ln rotation ln a counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow 24.
~ ~he unsorted materlal tends to lmplnge on roller 22 within a predetermined g~neral ar2a, hereinafter termed the impingement locatlon area. It ls a particular feature of the present -inventlon that the direc'ion of impingement af the unsorted material is not normal to the tangent to the sur~ace oF roller 22 at the implngement location area. The additional vector component oF force thus provided has been found to slgnlflcantly enhance separation efficlency Preferably, the materlal implnges on roller 22 at an ang1e of betwe~n 30 - 45 from the horlzontal.
. _ It is a further partlcular feature of the present -invention that ln contrast to the sllding chutes employed in the prior art, the feeding conveyor lO supplies the unsorted mixture for imp;ngement onto the separation roller 22 at a generally uniform velocity. An addit;onal feature, already noted, is that a single layer of unsorted mixture is supplied by the feeding conveyor lO. A further feature, which will be mentioned further hereinafter, ls that the feeding speed is withln a range which has been found empirically -in apparatus having the above mentioned features, to prevent interference between -implnging materials and materials wh1ch have already bounced off of the separàt-ion roller 22. these features taken indiv-idually and 1n comblnat10n enable a high quality of separation to be provided.
It ls add-itionally noted that in the illustrated embodiment, the feeding conveyor lO imparts a hor-izontal veloclty to the unso~ted mixture, ln clear contrast to certain pr-ior art teachings, such as the aforesa-id Brltish Patent 4684 of l909. In accordance with a preferred embod-iment of the present lnvention, as lllustrated, the horlzontal component of the lmpinging velocity of the unsorted mixture -is oppositely d-irected to the hor~zontal component of the velocity of the -impingement locatlon area of the separation roller 22.
Alternatively, the horizontal components may be in the same directlon.
~ Y ~'~
The agricultural produce, such as potatoes, rebounds farther from the roller and ls collected on a conveyo~ belt 30, while the remainder of the unsorted mlxture falls onto a conveyor belt 32. S;nce the ;nitlal separat;on stage may not succeed ;n removin!~ all of the agricultural produce from the unsorted mixture, conveyor belt 32 ls d;rected to a second separation roller 34, whose operatlon is similar in all respects to the operation of roller 22, including pre-ferably; the specification of the relationship of the ;ncident dlrection of the mixture as being not normal to the tangent to the roller ;mpingement location area. The agricultural produce ;s collected on a conveyor belt 36, while the refuse is collected on a conveyor belt 38.
Reference is now made to Figs. 2A and 2B which together illustrate separation machlnery constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
For ease of understanding, elements which are shown in F;g. 1 will be ;dentif;ed by the same reference numerals as appear in F;g. 1.
The apparatus of Figs. 2A and 2B comprises a base 9 onto which is mounted feeding conveyor 10 and eccentric roller 12. The separation roller 22 is bearlng mounted onto chassis 9. An electric motor 11 is coupled by means of d drlve belt 13 to feeding conveyor 10 and rolier 12 for driv;ng thereof ~n coord1nated motion as well as drlving of a side elevator 15~ whose funct;on will be described - -hereinafter. According to a preferred embod;ment o~ the ;nvention, the pos;t;on of the forward end 20 of the Feed;ng conveyor 10 relative to the roller is such that the ;mpingement location area will be 30-45 from the horizontal on the roller.
Conveyor belt 30 is driven by an ~lectr;c motor 31.
Above belt 30 there extends chute 14 for small diameter refust d;sposal.
Conveyor belt 30 dlscharges in a produce storage locat;on (not shown).
It is noted that feedlng conveyor 10 is preferably a bar-type conveyor which def;nes interst;ces as described hereinabove in connection with Fig. 1.
`\
ConYeyor belt 32 may be any suitable type of,conveyor belt and ls driven by an electric motor 33 via a drive belt 35.
Second separation roller 34 is'also dri~en'by motor 33 via belt 35. Conveyor belt 36 whlch receives the'agr;cultural produce from second roller 34 is driven by an electrlc motor 37 and discharges onto s;de elevator lS, mentioned above. Side eleva-tor l~, in turn discharges onto belt 30. Refuse conveyor belt 38 is driven by an electr;c motor 39 and transports the refuse to a removal location (not shown).
A typical surfa,ce speed for rotat;on of rollers 22 and 24 ;s about 0.6 m1sec. while the'typical feeding speeds of conveyors lO and'32 are between 0.2 and 0.5 meters/sec.
Reference is now made to F;g. 3 which ;llustrates a roller clean;ng knife,40 which engages rollers 22 and 34 for cleaning thereof. It is noted that the knife 40 ;s an elongate sheet of a suitable metal which is spring biased agalnst the roller surface and ;n a direction facing the direction of rotation of the roller surfa,ce, whlch dlrectlon is indicated by arrow 24. Knife 40 ;s supported on a support bracket 42 which in turn is pivotably mounted onto a shaft 44 wh;ch is fixed onto the base 9. A sprlng 46 pro~ides desired spring biasing of the knife against the roller.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present ;nvention ;s no-t lim;ted by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is li~ited only'by the claims which follow:
_g_
Claims (15)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Apparatus for separating agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materials such as clods and stones, the apparatus comprising:
a generally cylindrical separation roller having a resilient surface; and feed means for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the roller at an impingement angle inclined from the horizontal, in the range 30 to 45 degrees and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at the impingement location area;
the impingement location area being situated to one side of the top of the roller surface, whereby substantially all the feed material is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the produce and the other materials being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound distances from the roller.
a generally cylindrical separation roller having a resilient surface; and feed means for causing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge upon the roller at an impingement angle inclined from the horizontal, in the range 30 to 45 degrees and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at the impingement location area;
the impingement location area being situated to one side of the top of the roller surface, whereby substantially all the feed material is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the produce and the other materials being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound distances from the roller.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 and also comprising drive means for causing rotation of the roller.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rotation of the roller is in a direction such that the impingement location area has a downward component of motion.
4. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said drive means drives said roller with a surface speed of about 0.6 meters per second.
5. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 4, including vibration means for vibrating the unsorted mixture to produce a single layer thereof for impingement on the roller.
6. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 4, wherein said feed means imparts a horizontal feed component of velocity between 0.2 and 0.5 meters per second to said produce, clods and stones.
7. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 4 wherein said feed means comprises an inclined conveyor.
8. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 4 wherein said feed means has a perforate surface for sifting out particulate matter, and vibrating means to vibrate the unsorted mixture.
9. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said separation roller has a steel surface of predetermined thickness.
10. A method of separating agricultural produce such as potatoes from other materials such as clods and stones, including the step of displacing an unsorted mixture of agricultural produce and other materials to impinge at a generally uniform velocity upon a generally cylindrical separation roller having a resilient surface, at an impingement angle in the range 30° to 45° from the horizontal and in a direction which is not normal to a tangent to the roller surface at the impingement location area;
the location of the area of impingement being situated to one side of the top of the roller surface, whereby substantially all of the at least partly separated mixture is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the separated agricultural produce and the remainder of the mixture being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound distances from the roller.
the location of the area of impingement being situated to one side of the top of the roller surface, whereby substantially all of the at least partly separated mixture is discharged to the same side of the roller as the impingement location area, the separated agricultural produce and the remainder of the mixture being separated from each other by the difference in their respective rebound distances from the roller.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said roller is caused to rotate.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said roller is caused to rotate in a direction such that the impingement location area has a downward component of motion.
13. A method according to claim 10 and also comprising the step of vibrating the unsorted mixture to produce a single layer thereof for impingement on the roller.
14. A method according to any one of claim 10, claim 11, or claim 13 wherein said step of displacing said mixture imparts a horizontal feed component of between 0.2 and 0.5 meters per second thereto.
15. A method according to claim 11, wherein said roller is caused to rotate at a surface speed of about 0.6 meters per second.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000447334A CA1250814A (en) | 1984-02-14 | 1984-02-14 | Apparatus and method for separation of agricultural products from clods and other spurious materials |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000447334A CA1250814A (en) | 1984-02-14 | 1984-02-14 | Apparatus and method for separation of agricultural products from clods and other spurious materials |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1250814A true CA1250814A (en) | 1989-03-07 |
Family
ID=4127176
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000447334A Expired CA1250814A (en) | 1984-02-14 | 1984-02-14 | Apparatus and method for separation of agricultural products from clods and other spurious materials |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1250814A (en) |
-
1984
- 1984-02-14 CA CA000447334A patent/CA1250814A/en not_active Expired
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