GB1226154A - - Google Patents

Abstract

1,226,154. Tea withering. SOTIK TEA CO. Ltd. 4 Feb., 1969 [22 Feb., 1968], No. 8685/68. Heading F4G. Leaf tea withering apparatus in which a carriage 4 moves along a withering trough 1, has means for unmatting the tea and depositing same on to the trough 1. The tea is dumped into hopper 6 and is moved along to spiked conveyer 8 by a flat plastics conveyer 7 in the floor of the hopper 6. The tea is picked up by the spikes and is carried up the upwardly moving part 8a of the spiked conveyer where a roller 20, which is equipped with spikes or brushes, forms an even layer of tea, which passes over roller 10 to the downwardly moving port 8b where the roller 21, which is equipped with brushes, strips the tea from the conveyer and deposits it on the trough 1. If the stripping process starts before the carriage 4 is over the trough 1, the tea falls on to overspill table 2 where it is brushed into the trough 1 by roller 30 as the carriage 4 moves along the trough 1 on rails 3. The carriage, rollers, and conveyers are preferably driven hydraulically and a relief valve is provided to discontinue drive to the flat conveyer 7 if it feeds an excess of tea to the spiked conveyer 8 such that it becomes matted. There may be several troughs side-by-side and the carriage 4 transported from one to the next by a pallet powered from the hydraulic pump on the carriage itself.