GB2621010A

GB2621010A - Apparatus for processing vegetables

Info

Publication number: GB2621010A
Application number: GB2307817.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Barclay Andrew; Andrew Smitheram Cory; William Stewart Kent; Terry Hollows Mitch
Original assignee: WYMA ENGINEERING NZ Ltd
Current assignee: WYMA ENGINEERING NZ Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-30
Filing date: 2023-05-25
Publication date: 2024-01-31
Also published as: GB202307817D0

Abstract

Apparatus for processing vegetables includes (a) a conveyor formed as two or more longitudinally aligned conveyor sections 12, (b) at least one sensing station 13 with a camera system 16 for photographing and identifying the position of a vegetable on the conveyor, (c) an encoder 17 associated with said at least one sensing station, for tracking a vegetable’s position on the conveyor, and (d) a servo motor 18 supporting a cutting blade 19 for rotating said cutting blade through a gap between two adjacent longitudinally aligned conveyor sections. The apparatus preferably includes at least two spaced sensing stations (13, 14, fig. 1) each associated with a respective servo motor and cutting blade. The sensing station(s) may include a laser distance sensor 15 connected to the camera system and encoder. A singulator (11, figure 1) may be provided upstream of the sensing stations. In use, vegetables are placed singly on the conveyor and moved past the sensing station. Their position is determined and tracked using the camera and encoder, and the cutting blade is operated to cut the vegetables as they reach the gap between the conveyor sections. A method of processing vegetables using the apparatus is also claimed.

Description

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING VEGETABLES

Technical Field

The present invention relates to apparatus for processing vegetables, in particular, to apparatus designed to cut vegetables. The apparatus of the present invention has been designed for topping and/or tailing of root vegetables, and will be described with special reference to that application, but it will be appreciated that the apparatus may be used for targeted cutting of any of a wide variety of different vegetables.

io Background Art

During the processing and packaging of vegetables, it often is necessary to remove specific areas of the vegetables e.g. to avoid rot, or to avoid packaging vegetables which are unnecessarily bulky because nonedible portions (e.g. carrot stem) are still attached. Typically, for vegetables such as carrots and parsnips, the stalk or stem area is cut off, and the tail of the vegetable may also be cut off. The types of machines currently being used for this purpose generally cut the vegetables at a preset distance from the top and/or tail; the positions for the cut or cuts are preset based on the average length of vegetables of that type. However, vegetables often vary substantially in length, so that cutting at preset positions can waste a good deal of edible material. Obviously, this is wasteful and also results in an increased amount of waste material to be disposed of

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides apparatus for processing vegetables which includes: * a substantially horizontal conveyor formed as two or more longitudinally aligned conveyor sections; * at least one sensing station provided with a camera system arranged in use to photograph and identify the position of a vegetable on the conveyor; * an encoder associated with said at least one sensing station, and arranged in use to track a vegetable's position on the conveyor; * a servo motor supporting a cutting blade and arranged in use to rotate said cutting blade through a gap between two adjacent longitudinally aligned conveyor sections.

Preferably, the apparatus includes at least two spaced sensing stations, each associated with a separate servo motor and cutting blade.

Preferably also, the or each sensing station is provided with a laser distance sensor connected to the camera system and to the encoder.

The present invention also relates to a method of processing vegetables using the above described apparatus.

io Brief Description of Drawings

By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of the entire apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of part of the apparatus of Figure 1 on a larger scale; and Figure 3 is a side view on an enlarged scale of a portion of Figure 2, in the direction of zo arrow B.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus 10 of the present invention includes a singulator 11 which transfers vegetables to one end of a V-shaped conveyor 12. The conveyor 12 is a multipart conveyor system with the sections longitudinally aligned to provide a conveyor system which runs the full length of the apparatus. The conveyor 12 provides an upwardly facing V-shaped surface, so that a vegetable being cut can sit in the V. The singulator 11 may be any of a number of known types of singulator. The function of the singulator is to supply to the conveyor 12 a series of individual vegetables from a heap of vegetables i.e. to ensure that the vegetables go onto the conveyor one at a time. Alternatively, the singulator can be replaced by a human operator, who simply places one vegetable at a time on the conveyor.

A first sensing station 13 is spaced a short distance from the singulator 11, and a second sensing station 14 is spaced a shod distance from the first sensing station 13, in the direction of movement A of the conveyor. As shown in Figure 2 only, each sensing station, 13, 14, is provided with a laser distance sensor 15 which is connected to a camera system 16 and also to an encoder 17. The sensor 15 senses the presence of a vegetable on the conveyor 12 passing through the sensing station, and triggers the camera system 16 to take a picture of the vegetable. The picture of the vegetable is used to identify the orientation of the vegetable, and its current position on the conveyor 12 relative to the camera frame, plus the location of the head and tail of the vegetable.

The encoder 17 is of known type and measures the rotational displacement of the shaft of the conveyor belt drive system (not visible). Since the rotational displacement of the driveshaft and the conveyor belt's displacement are directly related, the distance the vegetable moves on the conveyor for a given rotation of the shaft can be calculated, to give an accurate figure for the exact position of the vegetable relative to the length of the conveyor.

A short distance after the encoder 17 a servo motor 18 supports and controls a rotating knife blade 19. The servo motor 18 is mounted on an adjustable bracket (not shown), so that the angle of the blade 19 can be adjusted if necessary, to allow an angled cut if required.

The servo motor 18 can rotate the knife blade 19 through 3600. The knife blade 19 is supported adjacent a gap between adjacent sections of the conveyor 12 so that when the blade is rotated, the blade can cut right through a vegetable supported on the conveyor, and then reset to the default position of the blade. The servo motor 18 is activated to rotate the blade 19 when the information from the encoder indicates that the portion of the vegetable at which the cut should be made is supported across the gap between conveyor sections.

Once the vegetable has been cut the first time, the servo motor 18 can be activated a second or subsequent time to make further cuts of the same vegetable as it moves along the conveyor 12, or the vegetable can move down to the second sensing station 14 which is identical in all respects to the sensing station 13 i.e. is also equipped with a laser distance sensor/camera/encoder, and which is followed by a second servo motor supporting a rotating knife blade. Second and subsequent cuts can be carried out on the vegetable following the second sensing station 14. Even though a single cutting blade can make multiple cuts into the same vegetable, it may be advantageous to use more than one cutting blade, or cutting angle, to achieve the best cutting results at different portions of the vegetable.

It will be appreciated that more than two sensing stations can be incorporated if necessary. At each cutting position, there is a gap in the conveyor 12. At the end of the conveyor 12, the vegetable can be transferred to another conveyor for further processing, or can be collected for packaging at the end of the conveyor 12.

It will be appreciated that the above system is extremely flexible and can be used to make one, two or multiple cuts on each vegetable, using one or more sensing stations with associated cutting knives. Because of the optical identification system, the vegetable does not have to be put on the conveyor in any specified orientation, nor do vegetables have to be spaced precisely on the conveyor. The location of the cut or cuts on each vegetable is governed by the software operating the encoder and the servo motor, and can be varied simply by varying the software setting.

Typically, the speed of the conveyor 12 is in the range 1 -2 m/s.

Claims

Claims 1. Apparatus for processing vegetables which includes: * a substantially horizontal conveyor formed as two or more longitudinally aligned conveyor sections; * at least one sensing station provided with a camera system arranged in use to photograph and identify the position of a vegetable on the conveyor; * an encoder associated with said at least one sensing station, and arranged in use to track a vegetable's position on the conveyor; * a servo motor supporting a cutting blade and arranged in use to rotate said cutting blade through a gap between two adjacent longitudinally aligned conveyor sections.
2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said apparatus includes at least two spaced sensing stations each having a separate servo motor and cutting blade associated therewith.
3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the or each sensing station is provided with a laser distance sensor connected to the camera system and to the encoder.
4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a singulator located upstream of the or each sensing station in the direction of movement of the conveyor in use.
5. A method of processing vegetables which includes the following steps: * providing apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, * placing vegetables to be processed singly on the conveyor upstream of the at least one sensing station, in the direction of movement of the conveyor; * operating the conveyor to move vegetables singularly past the sensing station; * operating the camera system to photograph and identify the position of each vegetable on the conveyor; * operating the encoder to track each vegetable's position on the conveyor; * as each vegetable reaches the gap between two adjacent longitudinally aligned conveyor sections, operating the servo motor to move the cutting blade to make one or more cuts through each vegetable at a predetermined position.
6. The method as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the apparatus includes only a single sensing station, and the cutting blade makes at least two cuts through each vegetable at predetermined positions.
7. The method as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the apparatus includes at least two sensing stations, each having a separate servo motor and cutting blade associated therewith, and each cutting blade makes a single cut through each vegetable at a predetermined position.