JP2022074602A - Peeling apparatus for spherical vegetable - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a peeling apparatus for small spherical vegetables which can peel a lot of onions adequately in a short period of time and which can also be installed within a small region.SOLUTION: A peeling apparatus for spherical vegetables includes a conveyer 8 for conveying an onion A upward in a vertical direction, a turn table 51 disposed at a rear position of the conveyer 8 and configured to revolve within a horizontal plane about the center line of the turn table 51, a plurality of circular tubes 59a to 59e which are disposed along the circumferential direction of the turn table 51 and which are capable of housing the onion A, and an air nozzle 67 for spraying air into the plurality of circular tubes 59a to 59e. The turn table 51 is disposed in a horizontal state at a lower position of a top end portion 8A of the conveyer 8. The plurality of circular tubes 59a to 59e revolve with the turn table 51 so as to house the onion A descending from the top end portion 8A of the conveyer 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a device for peeling spherical vegetables such as onions.

Conventionally, Patent Document 1 discloses an onion peeling device as a spherical vegetable peeling device. This conventional device has a conveyor installed in the vertical direction in the vertical direction, a pair of rotating rollers installed behind the conveyor, and compressed air blowing means installed at the side positions of the rotating rollers. are doing. In this conventional device, the onion is conveyed from the bottom to the top by a conveyor, and the surface of the onion is scratched by the cutting blade during the transfer.

After that, the damaged onion is dropped on a pair of rotating rollers, and the onion skin is blown off from the onion body by blowing compressed air onto the onion by a compressed air blowing means while rotating the onion by the rotating roller. This results in the peeling of the onions.

Further, conventionally, Patent Document 2 discloses an onion peeling device. In this conventional peeling device, the onions are tilted at a gentle slope, and the onions are transported by a substantially laterally arranged conveyor, the onions are cut at both ends, and the surface is scratched, and then the conveyor is used. While the onions are rotated by a pair of rotating rollers installed behind the onions, the onions are peeled by blowing air onto the onions with an air blowing nozzle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-089115 Special Publication No. 61-13794

However, in the above-mentioned conventional peeling device, compressed air is only blown onto the onion while rotating the onion by a pair of rotating rollers, so that sufficient peeling is sufficient for one onion in a short time. Was difficult to do. In addition, it was difficult to peel a large amount of onions in a short time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional spherical vegetable peeling device, and can sufficiently peel a large amount of onions in a short time, and has a narrower area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a spherical vegetable peeling device that can be installed inside.

The spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention has a conveyor that transports spherical vegetables in the vertical direction from bottom to top, and is provided at a position behind the conveyor and rotates and moves in a horizontal plane about its own center line. It has a turntable, a plurality of tubular members provided along the circumferential direction of the turntable and capable of accommodating spherical vegetables, and an air blowing means for blowing air into the plurality of tubular members. The turntable is horizontally provided at a position below the top of the conveyor, and the plurality of cylindrical members rotate together with the turntable to accommodate spherical vegetables descending from the top of the conveyor. It is characterized by moving.

According to the spherical vegetable peeling device of the present invention, the epidermis is peeled off by an air flow inside the tubular member while rotating and moving a plurality of tubular members containing the spherical vegetables by a turntable. Can be peeled.

Further, according to the spherical vegetable peeling device of the present invention, since the epidermis is continuously peeled off using a turntable, the epidermis is peeled off while rotating the spherical vegetables on a pair of rotating rollers. Compared with the case of, a large amount of spherical vegetables can be peeled in a short time.

Further, according to the spherical vegetable peeling device of the present invention, the spherical vegetables are conveyed to the turntable by a conveyor installed in the vertical direction. Since the conveyor is installed in the vertical direction, it can be installed in a narrower space than when it is installed in the horizontal direction. As described above, the spherical vegetable peeling device of the present invention can be formed in a very small size. Further, since the horizontal turntable is provided behind the vertical conveyor, a space can be secured at a position below the turntable. And you can install the necessary equipment in this space. Necessary equipment includes, for example, a dust catcher for accommodating the peeled epidermis, a cleaning device for cleaning the peeled onions, and a quality for checking the quality of the peeled onions. A conveyor for checking, etc.

Further, according to the spherical vegetable peeling device of the present invention, the spherical vegetables are lowered from the top end portion of the conveyor toward the turntable, so that the falling speed of the spherical vegetables is effectively utilized to make the spherical vegetables from the conveyor to the turntable. Vegetables can be transferred stably.

In another aspect of the invention for peeling spherical vegetables according to the present invention, cutting blades for cutting the ends of spherical vegetables are provided on both sides of the conveyor. The cutting blade is a rotating disk cutter, a non-rotating knife-shaped cutter, or the like. According to this configuration, both ends of the spherical vegetable can be cut off in a conveyor installed in a narrow area.

In still another aspect of the invention for peeling spherical vegetables according to the present invention, a scratching blade for scratching the surface of the spherical vegetables is provided above the cutting blade. According to this configuration, the treatment for scratching the surface, which is the starting point of the peeling treatment of the epidermis of spherical vegetables performed at the turntable, can be performed on a conveyor installed in a narrow area.

Still another aspect of the present invention of the spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention has a plurality of vegetable supporting means mounted on the conveyor at intervals, and the vegetable supporting means has a pair of V-shapes. Place the spherical vegetables on the support member of. According to this aspect of the invention, spherical vegetables can be easily and stably supported.

Still another aspect of the invention of the spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention has a vegetable guide member provided at intervals with respect to the top end portion of the conveyor, and the vegetable guide member is the conveyor. It has a curved shape corresponding to the curved shape of the apex portion. According to this aspect of the invention, the spherical vegetables on the conveyor can be reasonably sent to the tubular member on the turntable.

Yet another aspect of the spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention has a vegetable guiding covering member provided between the top end portion of the conveyor and the vegetable taking-in position for the tubular member. According to this aspect of the invention, the spherical vegetables on the conveyor can be reasonably sent to the tubular member on the turntable.

In still another aspect of the spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention, the air blowing means is sent out from an air nozzle provided for each side wall of the plurality of tubular members and an air source. It has an air distributor that distributes and supplies air to the plurality of air nozzles that rotate and move together with the plurality of tubular members. According to the aspect of the present invention, since the air can be reasonably supplied to the rotating air nozzle, the display stripping process using the turntable can be realized without difficulty.

According to the spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, it is decided to peel off the epidermis by an air flow inside the tubular member while rotating and moving a plurality of tubular members containing the spherical vegetables by a turntable. Therefore, it is possible to perform beautiful peeling.

Further, according to the spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 1 of the present application, the epidermis is continuously peeled off using a turntable and a plurality of tubular members, so that the spherical vegetables are rotated on a pair of rotating rollers. However, compared to the case of stripping the epidermis, it has become possible to peel a large amount of spherical vegetables in a short time.

Further, according to the spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, the spherical vegetables are conveyed to the turntable by a conveyor installed in the vertical direction. Since the conveyor is installed in the vertical direction, it can be installed in a narrower space than when it is installed in the horizontal direction. As described above, the spherical vegetable peeling device of the present invention can be formed in a very small size. Further, by installing the conveyor in the vertical direction, a space can be secured at a position below the turntable. And this space can be used effectively.

Further, according to the spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, the spherical vegetable is lowered from the top end portion of the conveyor toward the turntable, so that the falling speed of the spherical vegetable is effectively utilized to effectively utilize the falling speed of the spherical vegetable from the conveyor to the turntable. Spherical vegetables can be stably transferred to.

It is a perspective view of one Embodiment of the spherical vegetable peeling apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the onion which is an example of a spherical vegetable. It is a perspective view which shows the main structure of one Embodiment of the device for excising and injuring both ends of a spherical vegetable. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the spherical vegetable support device. It is a front view which shows the main part of the structure of FIG. 3 enlarged. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the husk remover of a spherical vegetable which is a main structure of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the turntable which is the main structure of the structure of FIG. It is an exploded perspective view of the air distributor which is a main structure of the structure of FIG. 7. It is a plan view according to the arrow J of FIG. 7, and is the plan view in the state where the upper table which is the uppermost member is removed.

Hereinafter, the spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Further, in the drawings attached to the present specification, the components may be shown at a ratio different from the actual one in order to show the characteristic parts in an easy-to-understand manner.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a spherical vegetable peeling device according to the present invention. The spherical vegetable peeling device 1 shown here has a main purpose of peeling the onion A as a spherical vegetable. The spherical vegetable peeling device 1 has a spherical vegetable peeling / scratching device 2, a spherical vegetable peeling device 3, and a coupling device 4 installed between these devices.

The device 2 for excising and damaging both ends of the spherical vegetable excises both end portions (that is, the core portion) 7a and 7b of the onion A as the spherical vegetable in FIG. Further, the device 2 for excising and scratching both ends of the spherical vegetable scratches the surface of the onion A in FIG. 2.

The spherical vegetable skin removing device 3 has a function of peeling the epidermis from the portion of the onion A in FIG. 2 where the scratch B is attached. The coupling device 4 of FIG. 1 has a function of guiding the onion A from the both end cutting / scratching device 2 to the skin removing device 3.

(Both ends excision / damage device for spherical vegetables)
The device 2 for cutting and damaging both ends of the spherical vegetable has a belt conveyor 8 as a means for transporting the spherical vegetable, which conveys the onion A to be peeled. In FIG. 3, the front traveling body 8a and the rear traveling body 8b of the belt conveyor 8 stand in the vertical direction in an inclination angle range of, for example, 60 ° to 90 °, preferably 70 ° to 85 °. The belt conveyor 8 is hung on the drive roller 9 and the driven roller 10. The drive roller 9 is driven by an electric motor 13 as a power source in FIG. 1 via a power transmission device (not shown) and rotates about its own center line X0 in FIG. Due to this rotation, the front traveling body 8a of the belt conveyor 8 moves in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top as shown by the arrow C. At this time, the driven roller 10 is rotated around. The rear traveling body 8b of the belt conveyor 8 is located inside the apparatus main body 14 of FIG.

In FIG. 3, a plurality of spherical vegetable support devices 15 are attached to the surface of the belt conveyor 8 at appropriate intervals from each other. As shown in FIG. 4, the spherical vegetable support device 15 includes a pair of overhanging plates 16 projecting forward of the belt conveyor 8 (that is, in a direction toward the operator), and a cam plate 17 attached to the base portion of the plate 16. And a pair of support members 18 and 18 fixed to the tip portion of the overhanging plate 16. The support member 18 is formed of a V-shaped plate material. In FIG. 3, the onion A is placed on the V-shaped support member 18 by the operator's hand.

(Both ends excision unit)
In FIG. 1, both ends cutting unit 21 is provided in the middle of the moving path of the onion A by the belt conveyor 8. In FIG. 3, the both end cutting unit 21 has a left cutting unit 21a and a right cutting unit 21b with the belt conveyor 8 as a boundary. These units 21a and 21b have a symmetrical configuration, and the components are the same as each other. These excision units 21a and 21b have a first movable frame 22. The first movable frame 22 can be translated in the left-right direction along the first straight line guide 23 fixed to the apparatus main body 14. As shown in FIG. 5, a tension spring 24 is provided between the lower end portion of the first movable frame 22 and the apparatus main body 14. As a result, the left and right frames 22, 22 hit the stoppers 25, 25 and stand still in a state of being urged toward the belt conveyor 8, that is, in a direction approaching each other.

In FIG. 3, the main shaft 27 is rotatably supported by the tip end portion of the first movable frame 22 about its own central axis. A disk cutter 28 as a cutting blade is attached to the tip of the spindle 27. The disk cutter 28 is a hard and thin metal cutter. The spindle 27 is connected to the electric motor 13 of FIG. 1 via a gear train including the first gear 29a and the second gear 29b. As a result, when the electric motor 13 operates, power is transmitted to the disk cutter 28 via the gear train, and the disk cutter 28 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow D. When the onion A conveyed by the belt conveyor 8 arrives at the rotating disk cutter 28, as shown in FIG. 2, both ends (that is, the core portions) 7a and 7b of the onion A are connected to the chain lines E1 and E2 by the disk cutter 28. Is cut off.

In FIG. 3, the center of rotation of the disk cutter 28 is located in front of the center of the onion A (that is, in the direction away from the belt conveyor 8) when viewed from the direction of the arrow M. Therefore, the disk cutter 28 rotating in the direction of the arrow D is in a state of cutting while pressing the onion A from above. Therefore, the onion A does not come off from the V-shaped support member 18.

In FIG. 5, a compression spring 31 is provided at the tip of the spindle 27. The compression spring 31 urges the disk cutter 28 toward the center of the belt conveyor 8. A screw is cut at the outer end of the spindle 27, and a nut 30 is fitted to this screw. By turning the nut 30 in one direction, the disk cutter 28 can be translated in the central direction of the belt conveyor 8 with the support of the spring force of the compression spring 31. As a result, the distance between the disk cutter 28 and the onion guide member 32 belonging to the disk cutter 28 is widened. As a result, the onion cutting width W in FIG. 2 can be widened. On the other hand, by turning the nut 30 in the opposite direction, the disk cutter 28 can be translated in the direction away from the center of the belt conveyor 8 against the spring force of the compression spring 31. As a result, the distance between the disk cutter 28 and the onion guide member 32 belonging to the disk cutter 28 is narrowed. As a result, the onion cutting width W in FIG. 2 can be narrowed. As described above, the cutting width W of both end portions 7a and 7b of the onion A can be adjusted in FIG. 2 by appropriately turning the nut 30. The width of the second gear 29b is wider than the width of the first gear 29a. Therefore, even if the disk cutter 28 moves together with the spindle 27, the meshing of the gear train is maintained.

In FIG. 5, the onion guide member 32 is attached to the frame 22 below the first sleeve 30a and the second sleeve 30b. The onion guide member 32 is formed by bending an elongated plate material. The central portion of the surface of the pair of onion guide members 32 facing each other projects toward the center of the belt conveyor 8. As a result, the surfaces of the pair of onion guide members 32 facing each other have a chevron-shaped protrusion.

When the onion A conveyed by the belt conveyor 8 reaches the onion guide 32 in FIG. 5, the guide member 32 is pushed outward by the shoulder portion at the upper end of the onion A. As a result, the first movable frame 22 moves away from the belt conveyor 8. As a result, the disk cutter 28 supported by the frame 22 also moves outward according to the size of the onion. As a result, even when the size of the onion changes, the cutting width W in FIG. 2 can be made constant.

(Scratch unit)
In FIG. 1, a scratching unit 35 is provided above the both ends excision unit 21. As shown in FIG. 5, the scratching unit 35 has a left scratching unit 35a and a right scratching unit 35b with the belt conveyor 8 as a boundary. These units 35a and 35b have a symmetrical configuration, and the components are the same. These scratching units 35a and 35b have a second movable frame 36. The second movable frame 36 can be translated in the left-right direction along the second straight guide 37 fixed to the apparatus main body 14. As shown in FIG. 5, a tension spring 38 is provided between the upper end portion of the second movable frame 36 and the apparatus main body 14. As a result, the left and right second movable frames 36, 36 hit the stopper 39 and stand still in a state of being urged toward the belt conveyor 8, that is, in a direction approaching each other. A roller 42 is rotatably attached to the upper end of the second movable frame 36.

A shaft member 43 is provided at the lower part of the second movable frame 36. The shaft member 43 extends toward the front side in FIG. 5 in FIG. An arm 44 is attached to the shaft member 43. The arm 44 is attached so as to be rotatable around the shaft member 43 but not to move in the axial direction. The arm 44 is an elongated plate-shaped member as a whole, and extends in the left-right direction in FIG. The portion of the arm 44 outside the shaft member 43 extends linearly, and the portion inside the shaft member 43 curves upward in an arc shape.

A scratch blade 45 is attached to the tip of the arm 44 on the belt conveyor 8 side. A tension spring 46 is provided between the rear end of the arm 44 and the upper end of the second movable frame 36. As a result, the arm 44 is urged to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow F (that is, downward). In the natural state, the damaged blades 45, 45 of both arms 44 are in close contact with each other, and both arms 44, 44 hit a stopper (not shown) and stand still.

The onion A, which is conveyed by the belt conveyor 8 and whose both ends 7a and 7b (see FIG. 2) are cut off by the disk cutter 28, then comes into contact with the scratched blade 45 in FIG. Further, the onion A moves upward while rotating the arm 44 in the opposite direction (that is, upward) of the arrow F against the spring force of the spring 46. During this movement, the scratch blade 45 makes a scratch B shown in FIG. 2 on the upper surface of the onion A.

The upper end of the cam plate 17 of the support device 15 that supports the onion A damaged by the scratch blade 45 abuts on the rollers 42, 42, and further pushes the rollers 42, 42 laterally and moves upward. .. As a result, the entire second movable frame 36 moves along the second straight line guide 37 in a direction away from the belt conveyor 8.

By moving the movable frame 36 in the direction away from the belt conveyor 8 while scratching the surface of the onion A by the scratching blade 45 of the arm 44 in this way, the length of the curved portion of the arm 44 is set short. Even in this case, a sufficiently long scratch B (see FIG. 2) can be formed on the surface of the onion A. As a result, the spherical vegetable peeling device 1 can be formed in a small size.

(Spherical vegetable skin remover)
FIG. 6 shows a state in which the spherical vegetable peeling device 1 of FIG. 1 is viewed from the rear side. Although the left and right doors 50a and 50b are closed in FIG. 1, the illustration of these doors is omitted in FIG. The spherical vegetable skin removing device 3 is provided at a position below the top end portion 8A of the belt conveyor 8. The spherical vegetable skin removing device 3 has a turntable 51. As shown in FIG. 7, the turntable 51 has an upper table 52, a lower table 53, and a bottom plate 54.

The upper table 52, the lower table 53, and the bottom plate 54 are all formed of a circular plate material. The diameter of the lower table 53 is slightly larger than the diameter of the upper table 52. The diameter of the bottom plate 54 is substantially the same as that of the lower table 53. The upper table 52 and the lower table 53 are integrally connected by a plurality of columns 55 provided at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. The bottom plate 54 is installed with a very narrow gap with respect to the lower surface of the lower table 53. The bottom plate 54 is fixed to the device main body 14 (see FIG. 6) and is immovable in position.

Gears are cut around the lower table 53. This gear is connected to the output shaft of the electric motor 13 of FIG. 6 via a power transmission system (for example, a gear train) (not shown). When the electric motor 13 operates and its output shaft rotates, the lower table 53 and therefore the turntable 51 rotate and move around its own central axis X1 as shown by an arrow G. The bottom plate 54 does not rotate.

A plurality of (five in this embodiment) circular openings 58a to 58e are provided on the peripheral portion of the upper table 52. Circular tubes 59a to 59e as tubular members are provided corresponding to those openings. The circular tubes 59a to 59e are firmly fixed to the lower surface of the upper table 52 and the upper surface of the lower table 53 without gaps. The diameters of the openings 58a to 58e are large enough to allow the onion A to pass through. The diameters of the circular tubes 59a to 59e are large enough to accommodate the onion A.

An air distributor 60 as an air blowing means is installed in the central portion of the upper surface of the lower table 53. As shown in FIG. 8, the air distributor 60 is formed by fitting a cylindrical core member 62 into a cylindrical outer tube 61. The outer pipe 61 is fixed to the upper surface of the lower table 53. The outer pipe 61 rotates and moves around the central axis X1 integrally with the lower table 53, that is, integrally with the turntable 51 of FIG. The core member 62 is fixedly arranged in a fixed position like the bottom plate 54 in FIG. 7.

In FIG. 8, an intake joint 63 is provided at the upper end of the core member 62. In FIG. 6, air is supplied to the intake joint 63 from an air supply source (not shown), for example, an air compressor. In FIG. 8, a notch opening 64 is formed on the side surface of the core member 62. The cross-sectional shape of the notch opening 64 along the cut surface HH is V-shaped. The V-shaped angle α of this V-shape is, for example, 120 °. The length L of the notch opening 64 in the vertical direction extends from the lower end to the upper end of the core member 62 in a long region. The intake joint 63 is connected to the notch opening 64 inside the core member 62. Therefore, the air taken in by the intake joint 63 flows into the entire notch opening 64.

9 is a plan view of the turntable 51 according to the arrow J of FIG. 7, and is a plan view of the turntable 51 with the upper table 52 removed. As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of (five in this embodiment) exhaust joints 65a to 65e are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the outer pipe 61 of the air distributor 60. These exhaust joints 65a to 65e are attached to different height positions of the outer pipe 61 as shown in FIG. The exhaust joints 65a to 65e are open to the internal space of the outer pipe 61. When the outer pipe 61 rotates around the core member 62 with the core member 62 fitted inside the outer pipe 61, the internal openings of the exhaust joints 65a to 65b are the notch openings 64 of the core member 62. Air is exhausted from the exhaust opening of the exhaust joint that is positionally matched to.

In FIG. 9, one or more (two in this embodiment) exhaust ports 66 are provided in each of the exhaust joints 65a to 65e. Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 7, one or a plurality (two each in the present embodiment) of air nozzles 67 as air blowing means are provided in the vicinity of the side walls of the circular tubes 59a to 59e. .. In the present embodiment, the two air nozzles 67, 67 are provided at opposite positions at an angle of 180 °. Further, the air nozzle 67 is arranged so as to blow air from the outside to the inside in the tangential direction with respect to the respective side walls of the circular tubes 59a to 59e. The arrangement position of the two air nozzles 67 may be a position other than the angle of 180 °. Further, the air blowing direction by the air nozzle 67 is not necessarily limited to the tangential direction.

Each air nozzle 67 is connected to the exhaust port 66 of the exhaust joints 65a to 65e of the air distributor 60 via an air hose (not shown). Therefore, when air is exhausted from the exhaust port 66, the air is injected from each air nozzle 67. As shown in FIG. 7, the air injected from the air nozzle 67 is introduced into the circular tubes 59a to 59e through the elongated holes 68 provided in the lower portions of the circular tubes 59a to 59e. Since this air flow is introduced from the tangential direction of the circular tubes 59a to 59e, a violent air flow flowing in a spiral shape is formed in the circular tube. Due to this air flow, the epidermis of the onion A in the circular tube is peeled off from the scratch B in FIG.

In FIG. 9, the position indicated by the reference numeral K1 is the onion capture position. The position indicated by the reference numeral K2 is the onion extraction position. The circular tubes 59a to 59e swivel and move in the G direction according to the rotation of the lower table 53 in the G direction. During this turning movement, the bottom plate 54 exists in the bottom opening portion of the circular tubes 59a to 59e at positions other than the onion extraction position K2. The onion A moves on the bottom plate 54. A circular drop opening 69 is formed in the bottom plate 54 at the onion take-out position K2. Therefore, when the circular tubes 59a to 59e accommodating the onion A reach the onion take-out position K2, the onion A falls downward through the drop opening 69.

In FIG. 8, when the internal opening of the exhaust joints 65a to 65e rotating about the central axis X1 is positionedly aligned with the notch opening 64 of the core member 62, it is taken in from the intake joint 63 of the core member 62. The air is exhausted from the exhaust joint matching the notch opening 64 of the exhaust joints 65a to 65e. In the present embodiment, when the circular pipes 59a to 59e are in a region other than the onion taking-in position K1 and the onion taking-out position K2 in FIG. 7, exhaust is performed from the exhaust joints 65a to 65e that satisfy the conditions. Is set to. For example, air is blown from the air nozzle 67 to the inside of the corresponding one of the circular tubes 59a to 59e from the vicinity of the portion indicated by the reference numeral 58b to the vicinity of the portion indicated by the reference numeral 58d in FIG. 7.

(Coupling device)
In FIG. 1, both ends excision / damage device 2 for spherical vegetables and the skin removing device 3 for spherical vegetables are connected by a coupling device 4. In FIG. 6, the coupling device 4 has a vegetable guide member 73a, 73b on the side of the cutting / scratching device 2 at both ends, a vegetable guide plate 74 on the side of the skin removing device 3, and a covering member 75 for guiding the vegetables.

The vegetable guide members 73a and 73b are provided at predetermined intervals with respect to the top end portion 8A of the belt conveyor 8. The predetermined interval here is an interval that allows the spherical vegetable support device 15 of FIG. 3 to pass through. The overhanging plate 16 and the support member 18 of the spherical vegetable support device 15 pass between the vegetable guide members 73a and 73b. The vegetable guide members 73a and 73b have a curved shape corresponding to the curved shape of the top end portion 8A of the belt conveyor 8. The onion A is sent out through between the vegetable guide members 73a and 73b and the vegetable guide cover member 75.

The vegetable guide plate 74 is provided corresponding to the onion taking-in position K1 in the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3. The vegetable guide plate 74 is fixed to the upper end portion of the machine frame 76 of the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3, and extends to a position slightly above the upper table 52. A circular opening 77 is provided at the tip of the vegetable guide plate 74. The opening 77 has a diameter that allows the onion A to pass through. The openings 58a to 58e provided in the upper table 52 of the turntable 51 rotate and move with the rotational movement of the upper table 52. The openings 77 are arranged so as to positionally match the openings 58a to 58e that rotate and move in this way.

The vegetable guide covering member 75 is provided between the vegetable guide members 73a and 73b and the vegetable guide plate 74. The vegetable guide cover member 75 accurately guides the onions A coming out of the vegetable guide members 73a and 73b to the opening 77 of the vegetable guide plate 74.

(Operation of spherical vegetable peeling device)
In FIG. 1, an operator stands by at a position in front of a spherical vegetable peeling / scratching device 2 which is a component of the spherical vegetable peeling device 1. When the operator operates a start button (not shown), the belt conveyor 8 moves in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top as shown by the arrow C together with the spherical vegetable support device 15. The worker puts one onion A on one vegetable support device 15.

When the onion A conveyed by the support device 15 reaches the onion guide member 32 of the both end cutting unit 21 in FIG. 5, the onion guide member 32 is expanded by the onion A. As a result, the disk cutter 28 is set at a position of a predetermined cutting width W with respect to both end portions 7a and 7b as shown in FIG.

Since the disk cutter 28 is driven by the electric motor 13 of FIG. 1 and rotates, both ends 7a and 7b of the onion A are cut at the predetermined width W of FIG. In this way, both ends (that is, the core) 7a and 7b of the onion A are cut off. In FIG. 5, the onion A from which both end portions 7a and 7b have been cut is further conveyed to reach the scratch blade 45 of the scratch unit 35. The onion A moves while pushing up the arm 44 against the spring force of the spring 46, and is scratched by the scratch blade 45. As a result, scratches B are formed on the surface of the onion A as shown in FIG.

While the onion A is scratched by the scratching blade 45, the upper edge portion of the cam plate 17 of the spherical vegetable support device 15 shown in FIG. 4 laterally spreads the roller 42 of the second movable frame 36 in FIG. .. As a result, the entire second movable frame 36 is translated outward along the second straight line guide 37. By moving the second movable frame 36 in this way, even if the length of the arm 44 is shortened, a sufficiently long scratch B (see FIG. 2) can be attached to the onion A by the scratch blade 45. The fact that the arm 44 can be shortened means that the scratching unit 35 can be formed in a small size, and by extension, the spherical vegetable peeling device 1 of FIG. 1 can be formed in a small size.

The onion A damaged by the scratch blade 45 in FIG. 3 is further conveyed by the belt conveyor 8 and reaches the top end portion 8A of the belt conveyor 8. As shown in FIG. 6, the apex portion 8A is provided with vegetable guide members 73a and 73b, so that the onion A is guided by these vegetable guide members 73a and 73b toward the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3. And descend. At this time, since the accurate guide path is formed by the vegetable guide covering member 75 and the accurate position is defined by the opening 77 of the vegetable guide plate 74, the onion A is always stable and the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3 It is supplied to the onion capture position K1. Since there is an appropriate head between the top end portion 8A of the belt conveyor 8 and the onion taking-in position K1 of the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3, the onion A descends stably at an appropriate descent speed.

Since the turntable 51 of the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3 rotates about the central axis X1 in the direction indicated by the arrow G, the openings 58a to 58e and the circular tubes 59a to 59e of the upper table 52 are the vegetable guide plates one after another. It passes through the lower position of the opening 77 of the 74, that is, the onion taking-in position K1. Therefore, the onion A carried to the onion taking-in position K1 by the coupling device 4 is stored in one of the circular tubes 59a to 59e of the spherical vegetable skin removing device 3.

In FIG. 9, the onion A stored in the circular tube 59a in the onion taking-in device K1 rotates and moves according to the rotation of the turntable 51 in the G direction. When the rotating onion A reaches a predetermined position on the downstream side of the onion taking-in position K1, air is ejected from the air nozzle 67 to form a violent air vortex inside the circular tube 59a. The injection of air from the air nozzle 67 continues to a predetermined position on the upstream side of the onion extraction position K2. During this time, the epidermis of the onion A in FIG. 2 is peeled off from the scratch B in the circular tube 59a by the action of the air flow. This completes the peeling process for the onion A. After that, when the circular tube 59a reaches the onion take-out position K2, the onion A falls from the drop opening 69 provided in the bottom plate 54. In this way, the onion A as a product for which peeling has been completed is collected.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the belt conveyor 8 is provided upright in the vertical direction. Therefore, a large space is secured below the turntable 51. Therefore, necessary equipment can be installed in this space as needed. For example, a dust catcher for accommodating the peeled epidermis, a cleaning device for cleaning the peeled onions, a quality check conveyor for checking the quality of the peeled onions, etc. It can be installed in this space. If there is no such space, a dedicated conveyor for carrying out the onions as a product discharged from the turntable 51 to the outside is required, but in the peeling device of the present embodiment, such a dedicated conveyor is required. No conveyor required.

(Other embodiments)
Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and can be variously modified within the scope of the invention described in the claims.
For example, spherical vegetables are not limited to onions. Further, the specific structure of the spherical vegetable peeling device, that is, the specific structure of the double-ended excision / scratching device ball 2, the skin removing device 3, and the coupling device 4, is limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. It is not a product, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the invention specified in the claims.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the both ends cutting unit 21 and the scratching unit 35 are installed in the middle of the carrying path of the spherical vegetables by the belt conveyor 8 as the spherical vegetable transporting means, but the both ends cutting unit 21 is installed on the belt conveyor 8. A structure in which the scratching unit 35 is not installed is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the disk cutter 28 is used as the cutting blade, but the cutting blade may be a linear cutter that does not rotate, that is, a knife-shaped cutter.

1: Spherical vegetable peeling device, 2: Spherical vegetable peeling / scratching device, 3: Spherical vegetable peeling device, 4: Connecting device, 7a, 7b: Both ends, 8: Belt conveyor (Spherical vegetable transporting means) ), 8a: Front traveling body, 8b: Rear traveling body, 8A: Top end of belt conveyor, 9: Drive roller, 10: Driven roller, 13: Electric motor (power source), 14: Device body, 15: Spherical Vegetable support device, 16: Overhang plate, 17: Cam plate, 18: Support member (V-shaped), 21: Both ends excision unit, 21a: Left excision unit, 21b: Right excision unit, 22: First movable frame, 23: 1st straight guide, 24: tension spring, 25: stopper, 27: spindle, 28: disk cutter (cutting blade), 29a: 1st gear, 29b: 2nd gear, 30: nut, 31: compression spring, 32: Onion guide member, 35: Scratch unit, 35a: Left scratch unit, 35b: Right scratch unit, 36: Second movable frame, 37: Second straight guide, 38: Tension spring, 39: Stopper, 42: Roller, 43: Shaft member, 44: Arm, 45: Scratched blade, 46: Tension spring, 50a, 50b: Door, 51: Turntable, 52: Upper table, 53: Lower table, 54: Bottom plate, 55: Support, 58a ~ 58e: Opening, 59a to 59e: Circular pipe, 60: Air distributor, 61: Outer pipe, 62: Core member, 63: Intake joint, 64: Notch opening, 65a to 65e: Exhaust joint, 66: Exhaust Mouth, 67: Air nozzle, 68: Long hole, 69: Drop opening, 73a, 73b: Vegetable guide member, 74: Vegetable guide plate, 75: Vegetable guide cover member, 76: Machine frame, 77: Opening, A : Vegetable, B: Scratch, K1: Vegetable take-in position, K2: Vegetable take-out position, L: Opening length, W: Onion cut width, α: V angle, X0: Center line, X1: Center axis

Claims (7)

A conveyor that transports spherical vegetables from bottom to top in the vertical direction,
A turntable that is installed at the rear position of the conveyor and that rotates and moves in a horizontal plane around its own center line.
A plurality of tubular members provided along the circumferential direction of the turntable and capable of accommodating spherical vegetables, and
It has an air blowing means for blowing air into the inside of the plurality of tubular members.
The turntable is provided horizontally at a position below the top end of the conveyor.
A spherical vegetable peeling device, wherein the plurality of tubular members rotate and move together with the turntable so as to accommodate spherical vegetables descending from the top end portion of the conveyor. The spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, wherein cutting blades for cutting the ends of the spherical vegetables are provided on both sides of the conveyor. The spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the scratching blades for scratching the surface of the spherical vegetable are provided on both sides of the conveyor. A claim comprising a plurality of vegetable supporting means mounted on the conveyor at intervals from each other, wherein the vegetable supporting means places spherical vegetables on a pair of V-shaped support members. The spherical vegetable peeling device according to any one of 1 to 3. The claim is characterized in that it has a vegetable guide member provided at intervals with respect to the top end portion of the conveyor, and the vegetable guide member has a curved shape corresponding to the curved shape of the top end portion of the conveyor. Item 4. The spherical vegetable peeling device according to Item 4. The spherical vegetable peeling device according to claim 5, further comprising a vegetable guiding covering member provided between the top end portion of the conveyor and the vegetable taking-in position for the tubular member. The air blowing means is
An air nozzle provided for each side wall of the plurality of tubular members, and
An air distributor that distributes and supplies the air sent out from the air source to the plurality of air nozzles that rotate and move together with the plurality of tubular members.
The spherical vegetable peeling device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the device is characterized by having.

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