GB2264635A

GB2264635A - Vegetable peeling machine

Info

Publication number: GB2264635A
Application number: GB9203820A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Victor Stanley Reynolds
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-02-22
Filing date: 1992-02-22
Publication date: 1993-09-08
Anticipated expiration: 2012-02-22
Also published as: GB2264635B; GB9203820D0

Abstract

A garlic peeling machine (1) comprises a chamber having an inlet for receiving unpeeled garlic cloves from a feed chute (2), an air duct (18) for directing a jet of compressed air into the chamber in such a direction as to cause the skins to be removed from garlic cloves within the chamber. An outlet door (20) is arranged to open and close so as to enable peeled garlic cloves to be discharged from the chamber, the skins being discharged through an extraction system (4). Rollers for removing cloves from the outer shells of garlic bulbs are also disclosed, Fig. 4 (not shown). <IMAGE>

Description

"Vevetable Processing" This invention relates to vegetable processing, and is more particularly concerned with garlic processing.

A garlic bulb consists of a number of cloves contained within an outer shell. In order to make use of a garlic bulb for cooking it is first necessary to break the garlic bulb, which involves breaking or crushing of the outer shell and removal of the individual cloves, and then to peel the individual cloves by removing their skins.

However, breaking of garlic bulbs and peeling of garlic cloves by hand is time consuming and labour intensive, particularly when carried out on a large scale.

The present invention seeks to provide machines and methods for carrying out the above processes in a particularly efficient manner.

According to the invention there is provided a garlic processing machine comprising a chamber having an inlet for receiving unpeeled garlic cloves, an air duct for directing a jet of compressed air into the chamber in such a direction as to cause the skins to be removed from garlic cloves within the chamber, and an outlet arranged to open and close so as to enable peeled garlic cloves to be discharged from the chamber.

In use, the garlic cloves are propelled around within the chamber by the jet of compressed air. It will however be appreciated that, because the peeled garlic cloves are heavier than their skins, the peeled garlic cloves will tend to be blown around less easily than the skins. For this reason it is particularly convenient to separate the peeled garlic cloves from their skins by allowing the skins to be blown out of the peeling chamber through the inlet, which would usually lie at the top of the chamber.

In this case, the machine may conveniently further comprise a skin extraction system including air suction means for drawing the garlic skins away from the inlet.

Preferably, there is at least one generally circular cross-section through the chamber. For example, the chamber could be cylindrical in shape.

This feature enables the jet of compressed air from the air duct to flow in a circular path around the chamber, and circular air currents have been found to be particularly effective in removing the skins from garlic cloves.

Most preferably, the chamber is approximately spherical in shape.

The machine may include garlic supply means adapted to deliver a fixed quantity of unpeeled garlic cloves to the chamber at regular intervals, and the outlet may be adapted to open and close at regular intervals so as to enable peeled garlic cloves to be discharged from the chamber at regular intervals.

The orientation of the air duct may be adjustable so as to allow a user of the machine to adjust the direction of the jet of air.

The outlet may be provided with a closure member which is movable by means of compressed air between open and closed positions According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a garlic processing machine comprising an assembly of two rollers arranged side by side, and drive means for rotatably driving the rollers at different speeds so as to cause crushing of the outer shells of garlic bulbs passed therebetween so as to remove the cloves from the outer shells.

The drive means is preferably adapted to drive the two rollers in opposite directions so that, in use, the two rollers counter-rotate.

The two rollers preferably have rubber outer surfaces.

Preferably, the drive means is adapted to drive one roller at at least twice the rotational speed of the other roller.

In order to increase the breaking efficiency of the rollers, one or both of the rollers may be provided with a pimpled or studded surface.

Conveniently, the distance between the two rollers is adjustable so as to allow the machine to be used with a range of different sizes of garlic bulbs.

The invention also provides a machine comprising a plurality of such assemblies one above the other so that garlic bulbs which are fed between the rollers of the uppermost assembly then proceed to pass between the rollers of each lower assembly in turn.

The spacing of the rollers of each assembly may decrease from the top to the bottom of the machine so as to enable the machine to break a range of different sizes of garlic bulbs without the need to adjust the spacings between individual pairs of rollers.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a garlic processing machine; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the peeling chamber of the garlic processing machine of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a further sectional view of the peeling chamber; and Figure 4 shows the two rollers of a further garlic processing machine for removing cloves from the outer shells of garlic bulbs.

The garlic processing machine 1 of Figure 1 comprises a feed chute 2, an extraction system 4, and a peeling station 6. The bottom of the feed chute 2 can be opened and closed by means of a sliding door 8 operated by an air ram (not shown).

As is best shown in Figure 2, the peeling station 6 comprises a peeling chamber 10 having an inlet 12, outlet 14, and air duct 16 connected to a compressed air supply (not shown) via tube 18. A further sliding door 20, also operated by means of an air ram (not shown), is provided at the bottom of the peeling station 6 for opening and closing the outlet 14. The air duct 16, which has an elongate opening, is supplied with air at a pressure of about 130 psi, and is arranged to direct a jet of air generally horizontally across the bottom of the peeling chamber 10. The air duct 16 may also be provided with an adjustable opening (not shown) for allowing the user to adjust the direction of the jet.

The extraction system 4 comprises an extraction chamber 22 which lies between the feed chute 2 and the peeling station 6, and along which air is drawn by means of an extraction fan (not shown).

In operation the entire garlic processing machine is controlled by a standard PLC (programmable logic control), and thus does not require a human operator. A predetermined quantity of unpeeled garlic cloves is deposited into the feed chute 2 at regular intervals by means of a standard weighing and feeding device (not shown). The sliding door 8 is then opened and the unpeeled garlic cloves drop through the extraction chamber 22 and into the peeling chamber 10 via the inlet 12. A jet of compressed air is then directed into the peeling chamber 10 through the air duct 16, and the extraction fan is switched on. The air from the air duct 16 circulates within the peeling chamber 10, thus causing the unpeeled garlic cloves to be blown around within the chamber, and then exits through the inlet 12 and passes into the extraction chamber 22.The jet of compressed air from the air duct 16 causes the skins to be removed from the cloves and, because the skins are relatively light in weight, the skins are then blown through the inlet 12 and drawn away by the extraction system 4. The peeled garlic cloves, because they are heavier, remain within the peeling chamber 10 until the compressed air supply and extraction fan are turned off and the sliding door 20 is opened, thus causing the peeled garlic cloves to drop from the peeling chamber 10 into a suitable container positioned below the opening 14. The sliding door 20 is then closed and the above cycle of operations repeated.

The peeled cloves which drop from the peeling chamber 10 are then washed in known manner.

The garlic processing machine may comprise a number of feed chutes 2 and peeling stations 6 positioned respectively above and below a single extraction chamber 22, and all operated under the control of a single PLC.

Figure 4 shows a further garlic processing machine for breaking garlic bulbs, comprising an assembly of two counter-rotating rollers 24 and 26. The rollers 24 and 26 are made of steel and covered with rubber having integral outwardly-projecting pimples 28. The rollers 24, 26, which are mounted horizontally and generally parallel to one another, are separated by a distance which is comparable to the width of a garlic bulb. In use, roller 24 is rotated at about three times the speed of roller 26 so that, when a garlic bulb is dropped between the rollers 24, 26, the garlic bulb is dragged across the pimples 28 of roller 24 by the pimples 28 of roller 26, and vice versa. This causes the outer shell of the garlic bulb to break, thus releasing the individual garlic cloves.The spacing between the two rollers 24 and 26 is adjustable and should be adjusted to be sufficiently large to ensure that the individual garlic cloves are not themselves crushed. After passing between the two rollers 24 and 26, the garlic cloves are separated from the outer shell flakes and root husks using cleaning apparatus in known manner.

Any number of such assemblies may be positioned one above the other so that garlic bulbs which are passed through the rollers of the uppermost assembly then proceed to pass through each of the lower assemblies in turn. The spacing between the two rollers of each assembly may gradually decrease from the top to the bottom of the machine so as to enable the machine to break a range of different sizes of garlic bulbs.

Although the invention has been described with reference to garlic, it will be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to a range of other plants and foods.

Claims

1. A garlic processing machine comprising a chamber having an inlet for receiving unpeeled garlic cloves an air duct for directing a jet of compressed air into the chamber in such a direction as to cause the skins to be removed from garlic cloves within the chamber, and an outlet arranged to open and close so as to enable peeled garlic cloves to be discharged from the chamber.

2. A garlic processing machine as claimed in Claim 1, which further comprises a skin extraction system including air suction means for drawing the garlic skins away from the inlet.

3 A garlic processing machine as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein there is at least one generally circular cross-section through the chamber.

4. A garlic processing machine as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the chamber is cylindrical in shape.

5. A garlic processing machine as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the chamber is approximately spherical in shape.

6. A garlic processing machine as claimed in any preceding claim, which further includes garlic supply means adapted to deliver a fixed quantity of unpeeled garlic cloves to the chamber at regular intervals. and the outlet may be adapted to open and close at regular intervals so as to enable peeled garlic cloves to be discharged from the chamber at regular intervals.

8. A garlic processing machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the orientation of the air duct is adjustable so as to allow a user of the machine to adjust the direction of the jet of air.

9. A garlic processing machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the outlet is provided with a closure member which is movable by means of compressed air between open and closed positions 10. A garlic processing machine comprising an assembly of two rollers arranged side by side, and drive means for rotatably driving the rollers at different speeds so as to cause crushing of the outer shells of garlic bulbs passed therebetween so as to remove the cloves from the outer shells.

11. A garlic processing machine as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the drive means is adapted to drive the two rollers in opposite directions so that, in use, the two rollers counter-rotate.

12. A garlic processing machine as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, wherein the two rollers have rubber outer surfaces.

13. A garlic processing machine as claimed in any of Claims 10 12, wherein the drive means is adapted to drive one roller at at least twice the rotational speed of the other roller.

14. A garlic processing machine as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 13 wherein in order to increase the breaking efficiency of the rollers, one or both of the rollers is provided with a pimpled or studded surface.

15. A garlic processing machine as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 14, wherein the distance between the two rollers is adjustable so as to allow the machine to be used with a range of different sizes of garlic bulbs.

16. A garlic machine comprising a plurality of garlic processing machines as claimed in any of claims 10 to 15, the garlic processing machines being arranged one above the other so that garlic bulbs which are fed between the rollers of the uppermost garlic processing machine then proceed to pass between the rollers of each garlic processing machine in turn.

17. A garlic machine as claimed in Claim 16, wherein the spacing of the rollers of each garlic processing machine decreases from the top to the bottom of the garlic machine so as to enable the garlic machine to break a range of different sizes of garlic bulbs without the need to adjust the spacings between individual pairs of rollers.