FR3111088A1 - Mobile device for selective sorting of agricultural products - Google Patents

Abstract

Mobile device for selective sorting of agricultural products comprising a trailer with damped axles, surmounted by a selective sorting station which is supplied with agricultural products to be processed by a conveying means, said selective sorting station comprising, at the output of said means of routing, successively: - A mechanical separation means, and - A densimetric separation column, characterized in that said selective sorting station further comprises an optical sorter cooperating with at least one of the outlets of said density separation. Figure for abstract: Fig.1

Description

Mobile sorting device for agricultural products

The present invention falls within the field of agricultural devices. It relates more particularly to a mobile device for the selective sorting of agricultural products, in particular granular products, as well as the implementation of a process for the selective sorting of said agricultural products.

Such a device will find a particular application for the selective sorting of harvested products from mixed crops or from organic plantations free of fertilizers and pesticides.

Whether for mixed crops, associating several plant species on the same plot, such as for example the association of cereals, of the wheat type, with leguminous plants, of the protein type; Or ; whether for an organic plantation, combining the organic products of interest with the natural flora, the refined separation and selective sorting of agricultural products, harvested on the same plot, is a recurring question for farmers.

Indeed, the practice of sustainable agriculture, combining different plant species on the same plot, which is respectful of the environment, requires optimum agronomic management. In this context, making the most of these harvested products is essential. The valuation of harvest products is only possible by separating the raw agricultural products that will be sold from the others. The latter will, for example, be recoverable as a source of energy, or reusable in another agricultural field or in another sector. This is why the recovery of harvested products requires segregation between raw agricultural products, recoverable agricultural products and non-recoverable waste.

In a known manner, document FR 2 643 835 discloses a non-mobile granular product separator cleaner. Said cleaner comprises a cylindrical sieve provided with a sieved product evacuation circuit which crosses the lower part of a densimetric column. Said densimetric column is provided, at its lower end, with a device for blowing an air flow, and at its other end, with a decompression chamber allowing the pulsed air to escape. Said cleaner has several recovery tanks. It contains a recovery tank 22 for small impurities, positioned at the bottom of the densimetric column 16. Said cleaner also contains a recovery tank 20 for the dust which rises under the effect of the blower turbine 14, positioned at the top of said column. densimetric 16. Said cleaner also contains a recovery tank 21 for the good heavy grain, positioned at the bottom of another densimetric column 17, and a recovery tank 19 for the medium impurities, which rise under the effect of the blower turbine 13 , positioned at the top of said column 17. The blower turbine 14 and the blower turbine 16 are positioned at the midpoint of the descending grain path, so that the air flow strikes the falling grain flow perpendicularly. The cleaner also includes a collection tank 6 at the end of the cylinder for large impurities. This cleaner has several disadvantages.

First of all, the blower turbines are positioned halfway between two recovery tanks. Consequently, the air flow can follow an upward or downward path within the separation ducts. In this configuration, the downward flow of grains is struck perpendicularly by an air flow which will follow either an upward path or a downward path. Indeed, part of the air flow, emanating from the turbines, leaves the duct following a downward direction, parallel to the direction of the flow of grains which falls. In other words, part of the air flow emanating from the turbines is lost in the form of the downward flow, the latter not allowing the sorting of the grains which descend through the duct. Disadvantageously, in document FR 2 643 835, the entire flow of air leaving the turbines is not an upward flow. In its fall, the grain flow, depending on its position in the duct, encounters:
- either an air flow perpendicular to the direction of its fall which allows densimetric sorting,
- either an ascending air flow parallel to the direction of its fall which allows the densimetric sorting,
- or either a descending air flow parallel to the direction of its fall, which makes it possible to accelerate its rate of fall but without carrying out the densimetric separation operation. Consequently, the bursting of the flow of grains, according to the density of the grains which compose it, is not optimum in the document FR 2 643 835 because the loss of a part of the flow of air in the form of flow descending does not contribute to the density sorting process.

It should also be noted that the means used by the separator cleaner disclosed in document FR 2 643 835 are effective for sorting and selecting a sample of granular products of the order of a gram, or even a kilogram. In other words, the configuration of the separator cleaner does not have the capacity to sort and select a sample of the order of a ton or ten tons in a single pass, without upgrading the means by cleaning or a setting. Thus, for large plots of fields, the processing of the samples with the separator cleaner of FR 2 643 835 is long and tedious, the processing speed remains to be improved. The quantity of agricultural products processed per hour is not optimum for a sample of the order of a ton.

In addition, a mechanical separation by sieves is a very coarse separation. Sieving presents the risk that part of the harvest products of interest, for example that attached to stones, will not be recovered during sieving and will end up in the coarse waste recovery bin.

In addition, a separation by densimetric column is done according to the density of the harvested products. However, an agricultural product of no interest can have substantially the same density as an agricultural product of interest. For example, in the case of an organic wheat crop, part of the wheat grains may be contaminated with a fungus of the Claviceps purpurea genus, commonly called ergot, which gives the wheat grain a black color. However, a wheat grain contaminated with ergot can have a density substantially identical to that of a healthy wheat grain. In this case, with the cleaner proposed by FR 2 643 835, discrimination between a grain of contaminated wheat and a grain of healthy wheat, of similar density, is impossible within the densimetric column. However, for animal consumption, the ergot content must not exceed 0.5 g/kg in raw cereals. Thus, with the cleaner of FR 2 643 835, the separation and the sorting is not sufficiently selective to dissociate a healthy grain from a contaminated grain. Consequently, it is not possible to know the content of contaminated product compared to the healthy product.

In addition, as the cleaner of FR 2 643 835 is fixed, it is necessary to transport the harvest products to be sorted from the field to the geographical area where said cleaner is located. However, the movement, transport and return transport of harvested products are a waste of time for farmers. These actions are expensive. They require farmers to set up restrictive logistics for transporting harvested products before and after sorting. In addition, during the return journey, the majority of farmers use, for lack of means, the same transport utility as for the outward journey. However, this has the consequence of increasing the risk of contamination of the harvest products sorted and cleaned by the cleaner of FR 2 643 835. Indeed, within the return transport utility, the sorted and cleaned products are subjected to contaminants, such as fungi, that are present in the utility from the outward journey transportation.

To partially eliminate the problems of contamination during transport, and to lighten the logistics put in place by farmers to sort and clean their harvest products, document AU 2019200321 proposes a mobile seed cleaning device. This apparatus is fixable on a wheeled chassis which is towed by a vehicle.

Thus, the mobile seed cleaning device of document AU 2019200321 can be moved from one farm to another. This results in seed cleaning directly on the farm and near the crop field, which limits the risk of contamination.

More specifically, document AU 2019200321 describes a mobile seed cleaning device provided with a sorting chamber, equipped with a fan generating an upward air flow. Said sorting chamber comprises at least two means for collecting the cleaned seeds according to their densities. Within the mobile device, the seeds to be sorted fall by gravity into the sorting chamber, along a trajectory that intersects with the rising air flow. In other words, the densest seeds will continue their trajectory by gravity without being impacted by the ascending air flow, until they land within the first collection means. On the contrary, the less dense seeds will see their descent trajectory by gravity deviated by the ascending air flow, until they land within the second collection means.

In the same way as previously, the mobile seed cleaning device does not make it possible to dissociate two different products having substantially the same density, such as for example a grain of wheat contaminated with a grain of healthy wheat.

Thus, in the prior art, the selection and sorting of agricultural harvest products are limited to dimensional, weight, size and density characteristics. However, for example, in the case of an associated crop of faba beans and wheat, threshing with a combine harvester during field harvesting can generate broken faba beans with roughly the same density as wheat grains. For this example, the dimensional characteristics are insufficient to separate one plant species from the other, i.e. a grain of wheat from a broken bean seed.

It is therefore necessary to find an alternative solution, to the solutions proposed in the interior art, to clean, finely sort and select agricultural products from a harvest of any kind, including a mixed crop or a plot biological, while distinguishing healthy products from contaminated products, or recoverable products from waste, for a sample of industrial quantities up to tens of tons.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art, by proposing a mobile device for the selective sorting of agricultural products.

• Un moyen de séparation mécanique, et
• Une colonne de séparation densimétrique. Selon une caractéristique spécifique du dispositif de l’invention, ladite station de tri sélectif comporte, en outre, un trieur optique coopérant avec au moins l’une des sorties de ladite colonne de séparation densimétrique. En conséquence, la sélection et le tri avec le dispositif de l’invention a l’avantage d’être double c’est-à-dire à la fois selon la dimension et la densité du produits agricoles mais également selon un visuel, ainsi le triage automatisé est spécifique est affiné.

Said mobile device for selective sorting of agricultural products comprises a trailer with damped axles, surmounted by a selective sorting station which is supplied with agricultural products to be processed by a conveying means, said selective sorting station comprising, at the output of said means route, successively:

• A means of mechanical separation, and
• A densimetric separation column. According to a specific characteristic of the device of the invention, said selective sorting station further comprises an optical sorter cooperating with at least one of the outlets of said densimetric separation column. Consequently, the selection and sorting with the device of the invention has the advantage of being double, that is to say both according to the size and the density of the agricultural products but also according to a visual, thus the automated sorting is specific is refined.

According to a particular embodiment of the device of the invention, said means for conveying agricultural products consists of a bucket elevator cooperating, through a feed screw, with a feed hopper, the whole allowing the delivery of agricultural products to the selective sorting station

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said mechanical separation means comprises at least one crumbling means and at least one suction cleaning means. Said clod-breaking means making it possible to eliminate the clods of earth by separating them mechanically from the agricultural product. Said means of cleaning by suction also making it possible to eliminate the elements of no interest, associated with agricultural products, under the effect of a flow of air.

Advantageously, said mechanical separation means further comprises trimming means so as to eliminate any beard which may be present on the agricultural product.

According to a preferred embodiment, said at least one crumbling means consists of the combination of a rotary crumbler followed by a rotary sorting sizer allowing mechanical separation according to the size and dimensions of the agricultural products, for disintegrate it.

According to a feature of the device of the invention, said densimetric separation column is a densimetric separation column with three fractions, provided with three outlets, so as to make it possible to recover three fractions of different density.

Advantageously, at least one of said outlets is provided with a housing with a counterweight tilting opening.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said densimetric separation column has, with respect to the plane defined by said damped axle trailer, a vertical conduit followed by an expansion compartment.

Said expansion compartment comprises a horizontal duct extended by a vertical element, said horizontal duct being connected to the vertical duct, by a bent part at an angle of between 85 and 95°C, preferably an angle of 90°C.

Preferably, for the device of the invention, the height of said densimetric column is less than 3.20 meters.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description which will follow of the non-limiting embodiments of the invention, with reference to the appended figures, in which:

there schematically represents a side view of a mobile device for selective sorting of agricultural products according to a preferred embodiment,

there schematically represents a view of the other profile of the mobile device for the selective sorting of agricultural products of the ,

there schematically represents a side view of a densimetric separation column according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

With reference to these drawings, the present invention relates to a mobile device 1 for selective sorting of agricultural products.

“Agricultural products” means all products resulting from an agricultural crop, in particular granular products, such as grains and seeds. The agricultural products within the meaning of the invention include in particular cereals such as wheat, corn, barley or oats, but also oilseeds such as rapeseed or sunflower, or protein crops such as fava beans or varieties of peas.

According to the invention, the selective sorting device 1 is mobile. It is therefore possible to move, from farm to farm, the selective sorting device 1, in order to sort and select, directly at the harvest outlet, the agricultural products. This limits sorting and selection costs for farmers. The latter no longer need to provide transport logistics for their harvests to the selective sorting device 1 and limit the risk of contamination of the sorted and selected agricultural products during transport.

For its mobility, the mobile selective sorting device 1 comprises a damped axle trailer 2, with at least four rolling means 3, of the wheel type as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

On said damped axle trailer 2 rests a selective sorting station for agricultural products which is supplied with agricultural products to be processed, that is to say to be sorted and selected, by a conveying means 4.

According to a preferred embodiment, said conveying means 4 consists of a bucket elevator 41 cooperating, through a feed screw 43, with a feed hopper 42 into which the harvested agricultural products to be processed are inserted. . Said transport means 4, in particular the bucket elevator 41, is intended to transport the agricultural products to be processed, which are outside the mobile selective sorting device 1, to the selective sorting station.

The damped axle trailer 2 makes it possible to reduce the vibrations during the movement of the mobile selective sorting device 1. Consequently, the damping, during movement of the mobile device 1, makes it possible to avoid disruption of the means that said station comprises. selective sorting of agricultural products, in particular the optical sorter 6.

More specifically, at the output of said conveying means 4, said selective sorting station successively comprises a mechanical separation means, followed by a densimetric separation column 5 cooperating, through at least one of its outputs, with an optical sorter 6.

According to the invention, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, said mechanical separation means comprises at least one crumbling means 7 allowing in particular the coarse removal of clods of earth attached to agricultural products.

According to the invention, said conveying means 4 takes the agricultural products to be treated to the entrance of the crumbling means 7 so as to eliminate, by separation according to size, the clods of earth attached to the agricultural products to be sorted. and select, but also so as to further fractionate and grade said agricultural product.

According to a ^1st particular embodiment, said crumbling means 7 consists of a rotary crumbler 71.

Preferably, said rotary lump breaker 71 extends over approximately 2 meters in length, and has at least two adjacent grids allowing mechanical separation. Each grid measures approximately 1 meter wide and is provided with several orifices with a diameter of between 800 and 900 millimeters, preferably 805 millimeters, allowing mechanical separation. In other words, said grids of the rotary lump breaker 71 make it possible to split the agricultural products which pass through them according to size/dimension.

According to a second embodiment, said crumbling means 7 consists of a rotary sorting sizer 72.

Preferably, said rotary sorting sizer 72 extends over approximately 4 m in length and comprises at least 4 grids approximately 1 meter wide, each provided with orifices with a diameter of between 800 and 900 millimeters, preferably 805 millimeters . The passage of the agricultural product through the grids allows its fractionation through separation according to the size and dimensions of the elements that compose it. Depending on the size of the grids, said rotary sorting sizer 72 makes it possible to recover at least two fractions of agricultural products of different size and dimension.

Advantageously, in the invention, a rotary sorting sizer 72 is used making it possible to recover at least 3 fractions of different sizes, preferably 4 fractions. Each of these fractions having its own outlet 721 at the level of said rotary sorting sizer 72. Each of the fractions of agricultural products of different sizes, leaving the rotary sorting sizer 72, can undergo an additional subsequent treatment which varies according to the size of the products. .

According to a third preferred embodiment, visible in Figures 1 and 2, said crumbling means 7 consists of the association, in this order, of a rotary crumbler 71 followed by a rotary sorting sizer 72 as mentioned above. .

Preferably, for this 3rd embodiment, the diameter of the orifices of the grids of the rotary lump breaker 71 is greater than the diameter of the orifices of the grids of the rotary sorting sizer 72.

The association of the rotary lump breaker 71, followed by the rotary sorting sizer 72, advantageously makes it possible to separate the agricultural products in a fine manner, in particular by decompacting them, by eliminating the clods of earth, by splitting them and disaggregating them. The passage of the agricultural product in the rotary lump breaker 71 then in the rotary sorting sizer 72 makes it possible to obtain an aggregate of rough-hewn agricultural products in the form of fine particles which are easier to sort.

According to this 3rd preferred embodiment, the agricultural product leaving the rotary lump breaker 71 is moved towards the rotary sorting sizer 72 using a means of transport 73.

Preferably, as seen on the , said transport means 73 consists of the association of a bucket elevator 731 followed by a conveyor belt 732 which leads to the entrance of the sorting sizer 72.

Advantageously, said conveyor belt 732 is a weighing belt, so as to be able to know the mass of the agricultural product to be sorted and selected before its introduction into said rotary sorting sizer 72.

The agricultural products arriving at the level of the rotary lump breaker 71 and/or the sorting sizer 72 will gradually undergo screening, depending on their size, during the passage through each of the grids, this screening participates in the action of sorting and selecting.

According to the invention, said mechanical separation means also comprises at least one air suction cleaning means 8. Said air suction cleaning means 8 makes it possible to remove more and more finely the excess soil and of dust stuck on agricultural products.

Said means of cleaning by air suction 8 reinforces the screening action of the agricultural product carried out by the grids. This suction cleaning means 8 sucks in the air. Under the effect of air suction, some of the light impurities, mixed with the agricultural product, are carried away and disintegrate from the agricultural product of interest. Thus, this air suction has the advantage of more finely separating the light impurities from the large impurities present in the sample of agricultural products passing through the crumbling means 7.

According to a preferred embodiment, said suction cleaning means 8 consists of an air suction cleaning system with a medium-heavy rotary lock cyclone as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

In the configuration of the ^1st embodiment, where the crumbling means 7 consists only of a rotary crumbler 71, said suction cleaning means 8 is positioned at the outlet of the said rotary crumbler 71.

In the configuration of 2^n/aembodiment, where the crumbling means 7 consists solely of a rotary sorting sizer 72, said suction cleaning means 8 is positioned upstream of the inlet of said sizer 72. Thus, in the 2^n/a embodiment, the agricultural products, which arrive within the rotary sorting sizer 72, have previously undergone treatment by air suction which has eliminated the majority of the light impurities of the leaf and grass type.

In the preferred configuration, where the crumbler means 7 consists of the combination of a rotary crumbler 71 followed by a rotary sorting sizer 72, said suction cleaning means 8 is positioned between the outlet of the said rotary crumbler 71 and the entrance of said sorting sizer 72. Thus, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, the agricultural product enters the rotary lump breaker 71 and passes through its grids, then it undergoes pre-cleaning by suction of air , before entering the rotary sorting sizer 72 to pass through its gates. Thus, the agricultural product passes through the grids of the rotary sorting sizer 72 stripped of the majority of its light impurities removed by suction.

According to the invention, in a configuration in the presence of a rotary sorting sizer 72, all the agricultural products necessarily undergo, before their introduction into said rotary sorting sizer 72, a pre-cleaning by suction of air at the using said suction cleaning means 8.

Pre-cleaning by air suction has the advantage of allowing the grading of agricultural products within the sorting sizer 72 partially devoid of light impurities. Pre-cleaning also makes it possible to avoid clogging of the grids of said sorting sizer 72 with light but bulky elements, in particular of the type leaves, grass, etc.

According to the invention, said crumbling means 7 cooperates with said suction cleaning means 8 using at least one transport means 9 of the agricultural product known to those skilled in the art. This means of transport 9 of the agricultural product makes it possible to transport the agricultural product between said crumbling means 7 to direct it towards the entrance of the suction cleaning means 8.

According to the invention, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, said means for mechanical separation of agricultural products further comprises at least one deburring means 10 allowing the removal by friction of the edges or beards of the grains or seeds. present in the case of grass-type agricultural products.

According to a preferred embodiment, said deburring means 10 consists of a deburring machine.

Advantageously as visible on the , said deburring machine is positioned at the output of the rotary lump breaker 71, so that the agricultural products are deburred before they enter said suction cleaning means 8, so that the deburring takes place before the entry of the agricultural products into said rotary sorting sizer 72.

According to another feature of the invention, said selective sorting station also comprises a densimetric separation column 5 visible on the . Said densimetric separation column 5 comprises ventilation means 51 delivering air into a vertical duct 52 extended by an expansion compartment 53. The agricultural product enters said densimetric separation column 5 through inlet 521 located at the level of the vertical pipe 52.

Said densimetric separation column 5 is present at the outlet of said mechanical separation means, that is to say at least at the outlet of the crumbling means 7.

In other words, said densimetric separation column 5 can recover fractions of agricultural products leaving the rotary sorting calibrator 72, or even leaving the suction cleaning means 8. .

According to the 3rd preferred embodiment visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, but also for the aforementioned ^2nd embodiment, said densimetric separation column 5 recovers, for treatment, at least one of the fractions which comes out directly from the calibrator of rotary sorting 72 by one of the outlets 721. Depending on the type of culture to be sorted and selected, it will be decided to treat in the densimetric separation column 5 all or only part of the fractions leaving the rotary sorting calibrator 72. For example, the fractions leaving the rotary sorting calibrator 72, not treated in the densimetric separation column 5, can constitute waste or agricultural product that can be sorted directly by the optical sorter 6.

The principle of said densimetric separation column 5 consists in separating the agricultural products under the effect of an air flow. According to the invention, within said densimetric separation column 5, an upward flow of air hits the agricultural products head-on, which fall by gravity, so as to separate them from each other. Following the encounter with the ascending air flow, the heavy agricultural products fall downwards from the densimetric separation column 5, while the lighter ones, by entrainment with the air flow, escape towards the bottom. up to move towards the exit of the column.

As seen on the , the emission of the upward flow of air, hitting the fall trajectory of the agricultural products, can be done by any means known to those skilled in the art, such as a ventilation means 51, in particular of the fan type.

Advantageously, the electrical power of said ventilation means 51 is adjusted so as to send air into the densimetric separation column 5 at a speed of at least 20 meters/second with a pressure of at least 100 millimeters of column d water (mmCE) corresponding approximately to 0.009 806 38 Bar. It should be noted that 10 meters (m) of Water Column corresponds to a pressure of 1 Bar (10 mCE = 1 bar). A meter of water column is a manometric height which corresponds to the height of the water column necessary to create an identical pressure.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said ventilation means 51 requires an electrical power of between 3 and 6 kW, preferably 5.5 kW or even 4 kW.

According to a feature of the invention, said ventilation means 51 is positioned opposite the inlet 521 of the agricultural products, in the lower part of the densimetric separation column 5 as visible on the .

This configuration allows the air flow to strike head-on the agricultural products falling by gravity within the densimetric separation column 5. Thus, the entire air flow, generated by the ventilation means 51, has a trajectory upward and parallel to the downward trajectory of the flow of agricultural products which fall by gravity within said densimetric separation column 5. Consequently, the entire flow of air emanating from the ventilation means 51 consists of an air flow ascending which acts to separate according to the density, the entire descending flow of agricultural products that it strikes in the vertical conduit 52 of said column 5.

The specific configuration of the densimetric separation column 5 avoids leakage of the ascending air flow in the form of an air flow taking a downward direction which would have no action on the densimetric separation of the agricultural product.

According to the invention, within the densimetric separation column 5, the collision, between the entire ascending air flow and all the descending agricultural products, allows sorting according to the density of the product which is effective, at the image of "cracking" known in the petrochemical field.

According to an embodiment visible on the , said densimetric separation column has a vertical pipe 52 leading to an expansion compartment 53.

Advantageously, said vertical duct 52 has a ^first portion of small section. This ^1st portion extends over 2/3 of the total height of the vertical conduit 52, starting from its lower part which is closest to the ventilation means 51. Said ^1st portion of small section of the vertical conduit 52 is surmounted by a ^{2nd portion} of widened section. This 2 ^nd portion of widened section extends over the last third of the total height ^of the vertical pipe 51 near the expansion compartment 53.

Within the 1 ^st portion of small section, the speed of the air flow emanating from the ventilation means 51 is higher than the speed of the air flow within the ^{2 nd} portion of widened section. Thus, the difference in section of the two portions constituting the vertical duct 52 allows a variation in the speed of the ascending air flow encountering the agricultural product, so that the fractions of agricultural products qualified as heavy cannot reach the ^{2nd e} portion, unlike fractions of agricultural products qualified as “medium heavy” or “light”.

As seen on the , said densimetric separation column 5 also has an inlet 521, approximately in the middle of the vertical pipe 52. This inlet 521 makes it possible to introduce agricultural products into said densimetric separation column 5, so that they fall by gravity within the vertical pipe 52.

Preferably, considering that the vertical pipe 52 is divided vertically into 3 zones of equivalent height, said inlet 521 of agricultural products is located in the central zone representing a height of at most 1/3 of the total height as visible on there .

According to a particular embodiment, to supply the densimetric separation column 5 with agricultural products, at the level of the inlet 521, a vibration supply means is used, for example of the vibration inlet box type. Said vibration feed means allows the introduction of agricultural products in a fluid manner, at a substantially constant rate, by distributing it homogeneously over the entire surface of the inlet 521 of said densimetric column 5. Consequently, it avoids the risk of clogging of the entry 521 of said column 5 by a surplus of agricultural products. Thus, the operation of cracking the fall of agricultural products during the collision with the ascending air flow is improved. Indeed, the sample of agricultural products, during its fall in the densimetric column 5, will not be compact, but dispersed, disaggregated, which favors its collision with the air flow and the process of separation according to the density. Thanks to the vibration feed means, the agricultural products will have a size and dimensions adapted and adjusted to pass the entrance 521. This adjustment will allow the fall of the agricultural products within the vertical conduit 52 while minimizing the leakage of rising air.

According to the invention, said densimetric separation column has a vertical conduit 52 leading to an expansion compartment 53.

Said relaxation compartment 53 has a horizontal duct 530, which extends horizontally, with respect to the plane defined by said damped axle trailer 2. Said horizontal duct 530 cooperates with a vertical element 531 which is parallel to the vertical duct 52. Said element vertical 531 leads to a means of reception 532, of the light fraction, at the outlet of the densimetric separation column 5.

The content of the horizontal duct 530, that is to say the light fraction, opens into the vertical element 531 which consists of flexible air filtration means 5310. These flexible means 5310 allow filtration of the light particles transported by the airflow. The light particles which pass through said flexible filtration means 5310 and which are transported by the air flow end up in said reception means 532.

According to a particular embodiment visible on the , said flexible filtration means 530 consist of a plurality of flexible fabric tubes, of the filter sleeve type, with mesh diameters of between 60 and 150 μm. Thus, the air is able to evacuate through the mesh while dust with a diameter greater than 150 µm will find itself trapped in said filter sleeve to finish its course, driven by the air flow and gravity, within of said receiving means 532.

According to a particular embodiment, said receiving means 532 has a funnel shape so that the light fractions, of the dust type, as well as the light fractions arriving at the level of the funnel will be confronted with the wall then slide by the bottom under the effect of gravity. The light fractions will thus be able to be recovered and evacuated at the bottom of the funnel via an outlet 5320.

According to the invention, said vertical duct 52 of densimetric separation column 5 is connected to said ventilation means 51, so that the emission air flow, generated by said ventilation means 51, rises inside the vertical pipe 52 to go towards the relaxation compartment 53.

Thus, the upward flow of air, emitted by said ventilation means 51, moves in the vertical duct 52, then in the expansion compartment 53 by crossing the flexible filtration means 5310.

According to a preferred embodiment, said densimetric separation column 5 is a so-called “three-fraction” column. In other words, said densimetric separation column 5 makes it possible, under the effect of the emission of an ascending air flow, to separate the agricultural products into three fractions: a “heavy fraction”, a “mid fraction” -heavy” and a “light fraction”.

To do this, said densimetric separation column 5 has two outlets 522 and 523, respectively located in the zones at the lower 1/3 and upper 1/3 of the vertical pipe 52. Said densimetric separation column 5 also has another outlet 5320, as mentioned above, connected to the flexible air filtration means 5310.

The heavy fraction can be recovered via outlet 522, the medium-heavy fraction can be recovered via outlet 523 while the light fraction can be recovered via outlet 5320 at the outlet of filtration means 5310.

The "heavy fraction" represents the agricultural products having a mass and a density too great to reach the exit 523 under the effect of the emission of the ascending air flow. The "heavy fraction" cannot reach the upper 1/3 of the vertical pipe 52, so it cannot exit through outlet 523. The "heavy fraction" can be recovered at outlet 522.

Advantageously, the outlet 522 constitutes the end of an inclined perforated wall 5220, in particular of the perforated grid type. Said perforated inclined wall 5220 is permeable to the upward flow of air, generated by said ventilation means 51, but impermeable to agricultural products falling by gravity.

Thus, the presence of said perforated inclined wall 5220 prevents the agricultural product from reaching the proximity of the ventilation means 51 to block its operation.

The “medium-heavy fraction” represents the part of the agricultural products capable of ascending in height 2/3 of the vertical duct 52 of column 5 to reach the outlet 523, under the effect of the ascending air flow.

The "light fraction" represents the part of the agricultural products capable, under the effect of the ascending air flow, of ascending the entirety of the vertical duct 52 and of continuing its journey within the expansion compartment 53. The light fraction is entrained with the flow of air within the expansion compartment 53 to condense within the filtration means 5310, then settle within the receiving means 532 and finish its course by gravity at the level of the outlet 5320.

The advantage of having a densimetric separation column 5 called 3 fractions is to allow a refined discrimination of the constituent elements of the agricultural product to be sorted, this compared to a classic densimetric column with 2 fractions.

For example, in the case of an agricultural product resulting from a culture of lentils associated with oats, the so-called 3-fraction densimetric separation column 5 will make it possible to obtain a “heavy fraction” corresponding mainly to pebbles, a “medium-heavy fraction” corresponding to lentils and a “light fraction” corresponding to small oats.

Furthermore, according to the invention, the vertical duct 52 and the horizontal duct 530 are interconnected by a bent part having an angle of between 85 and 95°C, preferably 90°C. In other words, a substantially right angle connects the horizontal duct 530 to the vertical duct 52, so that said densimetric separation column 5 partly forms an inverted L.

The substantially right angle represents an obstacle to the passage of the ascending air flow carrying with it the light and semi-heavy fractions. Thus, by the presence of this right angle, only the light fractions are able to reach the exit 5320.

According to another specificity of the invention, the total height of the vertical conduit 52 of said densimetric separation column 5 is less than 3.20 meters, so that the mobile selective sorting device 1 can easily move on a road or motorway having a height of less than 4.2 meters in total. This height of 4.2 meters is generally the height limit for passing under a bridge or barrier. Thus the densimetric separation column 5 of the invention of less than 3.20 meters for the mobile selective sorting device 1 makes it possible to meet the size and weight constraints of a mobile agricultural vehicle imposed by the road.

In addition, a total height of the densimetric separation column 5 which is less than 3.20 meters makes it possible to stabilize the selective sorting station 1 resting on the damped axle trailer 2 as much as possible, without skimping on its capacity for sorting the fractions .

The quality of sorting and the efficiency of separation into 3 fractions that said densimetric separation column 5 has is partly due to its dimensions in addition to its shape.

In other words, both the dimensions, the shape, and the presence of three outlets 522, 523 and 5320 allows the densimetric separation column 5 to selectively sort by their weight, size and density the elements constituting the product agricultural.

According to another specificity of the invention, at least one of the outputs 522,523 5320 of agricultural products that said densimetric separation column 5 comprises is provided with a housing with a tilting counterweight opening, for example of the counterweight door type or equivalent. This housing with tilting opening with counterweight makes it possible to recover the fractions of agricultural products from said densimetric column 5 during operation, while minimizing air leaks. Thus, the entire flow of air circulating within said column 5 retains its direction of movement going from the ventilation means 51 to the outlet 5320. Thanks to the tilting opening with counterweight of the outlets, the flow of ascending air circulating in the vertical duct 52, which is necessary for the densimetric separation, will remain an ascending flow and will not be deflected by air leaks when an outlet is opened in order to recover a fraction.

According to a particular embodiment, the output 522 of the heavy fraction and/or the output 523 of the semi-heavy fraction and/or the output of the light fraction 5320 is/are provided with a housing with a tilting opening at counterweight.

. According to a particular embodiment visible on the , the semi-heavy fraction is recovered at the outlet 522 in the form of a housing with tilting counterweight opening, located at the level of the 2nd portion with widened section of the vertical conduit 52.

However, as mentioned above, in the context of mixed cultivation, sorting according to the density parameter or solely by weight constitutes a selection which may be insufficient, in particular in the event of contamination of the agricultural product, such as grain.

This is why, in addition to said densimetric separation column 5 of the invention, said selective sorting station further comprises an optical sorter 6.

Said optical sorter 6 makes it possible to select the agricultural products as a function of color at the outlet of the densimetric separation column 5. Thus, the mobile selective sorting device 1, in particular the selective sorting station with its optical sorter 6 makes it possible to distinguish by example contaminated grain from non-contaminated grain.

According to the invention, said optical sorter 6 is supplied with one or other of the fractions coming from the output of the rotary sorting calibrator 72 or from the output of the densimetric separation column 5.

Preferably, the optical sorter 6 is supplied with at least one of the fractions of agricultural products at the outlet of said densimetric separation column 5.

According to the invention, said optical sorter 6 is supplied with agricultural products by a feed hopper cooperating directly with one of the outputs of the rotary sorting sizer 72 or with one of the outputs of the densimetric separation column 5.

According to a preferred embodiment visible in Figures 1 and 2, the optical sorter 6 is equipped with an agricultural product supply hopper cooperating with one or the other of the outputs 522, 523 of said densimetric separation column 5.

Advantageously, said optical sorter 6 comprises several sorting channels, as visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, and can comprise up to 5 sorting channels.

According to this particular embodiment, said optical sorter 6 comprises an analysis tunnel for agricultural products. Specifically, the optical sorter 6 can also be equipped with a means for adjusting the flow of agricultural products that fall into the analysis tunnel, such as for example a variable speed vibrator, so as to control the flow of feeding the analysis tunnel and avoiding its congestion, while physically separating and as much as possible the different elements that the agricultural product comprises coming from the densimetric separation column 5.

Said analysis tunnel is equipped with several cameras, coupled to a lighting system. These cameras make it possible to detect a modification or variation in color, i.e. to detect grain defects. Then, at the end of the analysis tunnel, the sending of pressurized air allows the evacuation of the defective grains in a dedicated conduit, while the compliant grains are kept in another conduit to be recovered.

According to a particular embodiment, the sending of air under pressure at the end of the analysis tunnel is carried out by means of sending air under pressure such as for example a pneumatic ejector powered by a compressor.

Preferably, in order to avoid congestion of the damped axle trailer 2, said pressurized air sending means consists of a pneumatic ejector powered by a screw compressor which does not exceed 30 to 40 kW. Beyond this power, the weight and size of the generating set become problematic in the context of a mobile device 1.

In addition, according to the invention, and in order to avoid disruption of the measurement parameters of the optical sorter 6 of the selective sorting station, when moving the mobile selective sorting device, a damped axle trailer 2 pneumatic is used, to minimize vibration.

In addition and for the same purpose of attenuating shocks, in order to maintain the adjustment of the optical sorter 6, the optical sorter 6 rests on a frame fitted with silent blocks that reduce the risk of vibration.

Consequently, the elimination of the possible vibrations and shocks which can reach the optical sorter 6, which rests on the axle trailer 2, makes it possible to avoid the risk of disruption of the optical sorter 6, of a computer or electronic breakdown during the moving the mobile selective sorting device 1.

The combined effect of a mechanical separation according to the calibration, then according to the density, in particular with the densimetric separation column 5, with an optical separation, using the optical sorter 6, makes it possible to obtain a selection and a sorting optimum, by minimizing the losses of agricultural products of interest in the form of waste.

In addition, it should be noted that the applicant has found that the increase in the quality of optical sorting depends on the quality of the prior mechanical separation of the agricultural product in question. Indeed, optical sorting is only possible if the agricultural product to be sorted has a maximum waste rate of less than 4%, beyond which optical sorting is not of good quality.

Thus, the association of the mechanical separation means, of the densimetric separation column 5 and of the optical sorter 6 within the selective sorting station, which comprises said mobile selective sorting device 1, allows a sorting and a fine selection of the agricultural product to be processed on each farm.

Thus, said mobile selective sorting device 1 of the invention makes it possible to treat at home in each farm, harvest products, in particular those from associated crops, or partly contaminated organic crops. This selective sorting device 1 makes it possible to sort and select with precision each element constituting a harvest product, by separating them with great efficiency so as to obtain different fractions. These fractions are recoverable or not, in the agricultural or energy sector and present, thanks to the mobile selective sorting device 1, a degree of homogeneity/purity of between 96 and 99% each.

Claims (10)

Mobile device (1) for selective sorting (1) of agricultural products comprising a trailer (2) with damped axles, surmounted by a selective sorting station which is supplied with agricultural products to be treated by a conveying means (4), said selective sorting comprising, at the output of said conveying means (4), successively:

• A means of mechanical separation, and
• A densimetric separation column (5), characterized in that said selective sorting station further comprises an optical sorter (6) cooperating with at least one of the outlets (522, 523, 5320) of said separation column density (5).

Mobile device for selective sorting (1) of agricultural products, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the said conveying means (4) of the agricultural products consists of a bucket elevator (41) cooperating, through a screw of feed (43), with a feed hopper (42). Mobile device for selective sorting (1) of agricultural products, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said mechanical separation means comprises at least one crumbling means (7) and at least one suction cleaning means (8). Mobile selective sorting device (1) for agricultural products, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said mechanical separation means further comprises trimming means (10). Mobile device (1) for the selective sorting of agricultural products, according to claim 3, characterized in that the said at least one crumbling means (7) consists of the association of a rotary crumbler (71) followed by a sizer rotary sorting (72). Mobile device (1) for the selective sorting of agricultural products, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said densimetric separation column (5) is a densimetric separation column with three fractions, provided with three outlets (522, 523, 5320). Mobile selective sorting device (1) for agricultural products, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that at least one of the outlets (522, 523, 5320) is provided with a housing with a tilting opening with counterweight. Mobile device (1) for the selective sorting of agricultural products, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said densimetric separation column (5) has, with respect to the plane defined by the said trailer (2) with damped axles, a vertical conduit (52) followed by an expansion compartment (53). Mobile selective sorting device (1) for agricultural products, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the said expansion compartment (53) comprises a horizontal conduit (530) extended by a vertical element (531), the said horizontal conduit (530) being connected to the vertical duct (52), by a bent part at an angle of between 85 and 95°C, preferably an angle of 90°C. Mobile device for selective sorting (1) of agricultural products, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the height of the said densimetric column is less than 3.20 meters.