JPH11196834A - Automatically removing apparatus for seed of fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus capable of automatically, continuously and surely removing the seeds of fruits. SOLUTION: This apparatus comprises: receiving bases 2 allowed to dispose fruits in the longitudinal direction; a driving mechanism 3 for moving the receiving bases 2; a vertically movable seed-picking device which, when falling, functioning to longitudinally cut into the fruits on the receiving bases 2 immobile temporarily and then to bore longitudinally cores of the fruits so as to remove seeds within and near the cores; a control section for controlling e.g. start-up and stop of the driving mechanism 3 and an elevating motion of the seed-picking device; a cutter adapted to longitudinally cut into the fruits by liftably moving together with the seed-picking device capable of rotating while vertically moving; a side-surface holding device for supporting side surfaces of each fruit; a pushing device for extruding the cores outwardly after the cores are bored; and a fruit-dropping device for dropping the bored fruits.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic fruit seed removing apparatus for automatically removing seeds of fruits, for example, citrus fruits such as lemon and other kinds of fruits.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when manufacturing processed foods in which lemon is sliced and put in honey to float, or when producing jam or marmalade from fruits, without removing the seeds of the fruits. If the fruit is sliced and placed raw in honey or boiled, the seeds will oxidize and darken, making the whole processed food unsightly. Removing dark seeds from processed foods requires a lot of effort and time, and it is difficult to completely remove them. For this reason, seeds have been removed in advance before putting fresh fruits into honey or boiling them. The conventional seed removal method was as follows.

(1) The lemon is washed. (2) The sharpened upper end of the washed lemon is cut out and flattened, and the lower end is cut out and the flattened portion is removed. (3) The characters printed on the skin of the lemon are scraped off. (4) Slice the fruit into two. (5) The sliced fruits are separately squeezed to collect the juice. (6) Use a spoon to scrape seeds from the fruit after collecting the juice. (7) The steps (1) to (6) are repeated.

[0004]

Since the above methods are all manual operations, there are the following problems. (1) It is troublesome, the number that can be processed by one person is limited, and the work efficiency is very poor. (2) The work efficiency differs depending on whether the worker is a skilled worker or an unskilled worker, and the removal accuracy varies. (3) The operator sometimes overlooks the seed at the back of the flesh, and it is difficult to completely remove the seed. (4) Since the seeds removed during the work scatter around,
The workplace is easy to get dirty and it is difficult to clean it later.

[0005]

Prior to the development of the present invention, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies on the distribution of seeds in citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges. The part is concentrated near the core,
The remaining few seeds are scattered in the pulp, and the seeds in the pulp can be easily confirmed by cutting the lemon and spreading it from the epidermis to the pulp. Was found to be removable. The present invention has been developed based on this finding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to automatically and continuously cut out the core of a fruit so that seeds can be easily and efficiently removed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for automatically removing seeds of fruits, which can solve the problem of removal by work.

The first automatic seed removing apparatus for fruit according to the present invention has a receiving tray capable of placing fruits in a vertical direction, a driving mechanism for moving the receiving tray, a vertically movable mechanism, and a temporary stop when descending. Bite into the fruit on the cradle inside,
It is provided with a core removing tool for vertically cutting out the core of the fruit and removing seeds in and around the core, and a control unit for controlling start / stop of a driving mechanism, elevating operation of the core removing tool, and the like. .

A second automatic seed removing apparatus for fruit according to the present invention has a receiving tray capable of placing fruits in a vertical direction, a driving mechanism for moving the receiving tray, a vertically movable mechanism, and a temporary stop when descending. Bite into the fruit on the cradle inside,
A core removal tool that vertically cuts out the core of the fruit and removes seeds in and around the core, a control unit that controls the start / stop of the drive mechanism, the elevating operation of the core removal tool, and a core removal tool And a cutter that moves up and down to make cuts in the fruit in the vertical direction.

A third automatic seed removing apparatus for fruits according to the present invention is the automatic seed removing apparatus as described above, wherein the coring tool rotates simultaneously with elevating and lowering.

[0010] In a fourth automatic seed removing apparatus for fruits according to the present invention, the automatic seed removing apparatus further includes a side holder for holding a side surface of the fruit.

[0011] The fifth automatic seed removing apparatus for fruit according to the present invention is characterized in that, after the above-mentioned automatic seed removing apparatus, the core of the fruit is further pulled out by a core removing tool, and the core is extruded from the core removing tool to the outside. It is provided with an ejector for discharging.

A sixth automatic seed removing apparatus for fruits according to the present invention is provided with the automatic seed removing apparatus further including a fruit dropper for dropping the cored fruit from a receiving table.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic fruit seed removing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is an example in which the fruit 1 is a lemon. This automatic seed removing device includes a receiving table 2 on which fruits 1 can be placed vertically, a driving mechanism 3 for moving the receiving table 2, a centering tool 5 that can move up and down and rotates simultaneously with elevating and lowering. A control unit for controlling the start / stop of the drive mechanism 3, the elevating operation of the coring tool 5, a cutter 7 for moving up and down together with the coring tool 5 to make a cut in the fruit 1 in the vertical direction, and a side surface of the fruit. A side holding tool 8 for holding, a pushing tool 9 for discharging the fruit core 4 extracted by the coring tool 5 to the outside from the coring tool 5, and a fruit 1 after coring on the receiving stand 2 are received. A fruit dropping tool 10 for dropping from the table 2 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the receiving table 2 is a rubber ring-shaped pedestal mounted on the upper surface of a rectangular substrate 20 and mounted in a through hole 21 (FIG. 3B) of the substrate 20. 22 and
It consists of an upper seat 23 fixed on it. Upper seat 23
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there is provided a ring portion 25 formed by cutting one place in the circumferential direction to form an escape groove 24, and a cylindrical fitting portion 26 protruding below the inside thereof. Part 25
As shown in FIG. 3 (b), a receiving surface 27 which is inclined downward toward the inside is formed on the inner side of the inner surface, a horizontal lower step surface 28 is formed below the receiving surface 27, and a fitting portion 26 is formed below the lower surface. Is protruding. Then, the ring part 25 is placed on the pedestal 22, and the fitting part 26 is inserted from the inner hole 29 of the pedestal 22 into the through hole 21 of the substrate 20, and the lower part of the fitting part 26 is projected from below the through hole 21. is there. Fig. 3
When the lower part 30 of the fruit (lemon) 1 is fitted as in (b), the lower part 30 is inserted from the through hole 31 of the upper seat 23 into the fitting part 2.
6 and the outer peripheral surface of the lemon 1 is connected to the upper peripheral edge 33 of the receiving surface 27 and the inner peripheral edge 34 of the lower step surface 28.
The upper and lower portions are in contact with each other and are stably supported.

The substrate 20 to which the receiving table 2 is attached is rotated endlessly by the driving mechanism 3. The drive mechanism 3 includes an endless chain 40 (FIGS. 1 and 4), a motor for driving the chain 40 to rotate, a reduction gear, and the like. 41 (FIG. 4), and
Is rotated via a motor, reduction gear, etc.
It rotates with 0.

As shown in FIG. 1, a position sensor 102 is provided on the side of the drive mechanism 3 so that the core 4 of one fruit 1 (lemon) is completely pulled out. Is transported, and when the next receiving table 2 arrives below the coring tool 5, the driving mechanism 3 automatically stops temporarily.

Above the cradle 2, the side surface of the fruit 1 (lemon) placed vertically as shown in FIG. 4 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (f), there is provided a side holding tool 8 which is sandwiched and held from both sides. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the side holder 8 is provided with two support arms 50, which are provided diagonally downward from the upper side toward the receiving table 2 and face in parallel with each other.
Supporter 5 for pinching fruits, which is vertically attached to the lower end of 0
1 and an interval control unit 52 provided between the upper ends of the two support arms 50 to narrow or widen the interval between the two support arms 50.
Together with the frame 53. The interval control unit 5
2, an air cylinder 54 is used to allow the support arm 50 to open and close left and right from the open state shown in FIG. 6A to the states shown in FIGS. 6B to 6F. It is. FIG. 6 (b)-
When closed as shown in (e), the two supports 51 contact the side surface of the lemon 1 so that the lemon 1 can be pinched.

A coring tool 5 is arranged above the pedestal 2. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6 to 9, the centering tool 5 has a blade 61 formed on the lower peripheral edge of a cylindrical centering substrate 60, and a circular gear 62 on the outer periphery of the centering substrate 60. Is fixed, and the upper part of the base material 60 penetrates the upper and lower mounting boards 63 and 64 and is rotatably mounted on the mounting boards 63 and 64. The mounting boards 63 and 64 are block-shaped movable bodies 6.
5 attached. The movable body 65 fixes a cylinder case 66 of an air cylinder for driving up and down to a vertical frame 67, and attaches a vertical plate-shaped elevating body 69 to a rod 68 of the air cylinder. When the rod 68 is returned and contracted, the elevating body 69 descends along the vertical frame 67, and as the elevating body 69 moves up and down, the movable body 65 attached thereto moves up and down, Further, the mounting boards 63, 6
4 also moves up and down, so that the coring tool 5 moves up and down.
A rotary drive air cylinder 70 is mounted on the movable body 65 in a horizontal direction, and a rack gear 72 is mounted on the tip of a rod 71 of the air cylinder 70, and the rack gear 72 meshes with the circular gear 62.
When the rod 71 protrudes and the rack gear 72 moves forward, the circular gear 62 rotates clockwise (forward rotation), and accordingly, the base material 60 rotates forward, and the blade 61 of the coring tool 5 also rotates forward. When the rack gear 72 is retracted by the return of the rack gear 72, the circular gear 62 rotates counterclockwise (reverse rotation).
1 also rotates in the reverse direction. In addition, the forward rotation of the coring tool 5 is performed when the coring tool 5 descends, and the reverse rotation is performed when the coring tool 5 rises. The control is performed by a program of a control unit (not shown). It is done based on.

A cutter 7 is arranged at the end of the cylindrical core substrate 60 of the core tool 5 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 to 9. This cutter 7 is for dropping together with the core removing tool 5 when the core removing tool 5 descends to remove the core 4 of the fruit 1 (lemon), and makes a cut in the lemon 1 in the vertical direction. The cutter 7 is attached to the elevating body 69 by a connecting tool 73, and is attached diagonally downward toward the coring tool 5 side. At the same time as the bite is pulled out and the core 4 is pulled out, it is lowered simultaneously and bites down from the upper side of the outside of the lemon 1 so that a cut can be made from the skin of the lemon 1 to the pulp. When the cutter 7 descends to the height of the pedestal 2 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 when cutting the lemon 1 while descending, the cutter 7 passes through the escape groove 24 provided in the pedestal 2 and The blade 80 does not hit the pedestal 2 so that the blade 80 is not damaged. When the core 4 of the lemon 1 is removed by the core removing tool 5 and the cutter 7 makes a cut near the bottom of the lemon 1, the elevating body 69 returns upward, and the movable body 65 also returns upward along with it. The tool 5 and the cutter 7 also return upward. The operation of the cutter 7 is also controlled based on a program of the control unit.

As shown in FIGS. 6 (d) and 9, an extruding tool 9 is incorporated inside the cylindrical core-forming substrate 60 of the coring tool 5. The extruding tool 9 is for extruding the core 4 extracted by the coring tool 5 from the coring tool 5 and discharging the same to the outside. In the extruding tool 9, a round bar is vertically arranged inside the coring substrate 60, and is driven by an extruding air cylinder 74 provided above the coring substrate 60 so that the inside of the coring substrate 60 is moved. It can be moved up and down. Extruder 9
The core 4 extruded from the coring tool 5 and discharged to the outside
When the fruit 1 is a lemon, it has a round rod shape with a diameter of about 2 cm, and is collected in a collecting container through the core collecting shooter 90 shown in FIGS.

In addition, a fruit dropping tool 10 is provided above the tip-side turning portion of the drive mechanism 3 which rotates endlessly. The fruit dropping tool 10 is for dropping the fruit 1 (lemon) from which the core 4 has been removed from the cradle 2. The fruit dropping tool 10 is formed by bending a thin plate or wire into an arc shape, both ends of which are fixed to the frame 75 of the drive mechanism 3, and the bent portion 100 projects above the pedestal 2, and the centering on the pedestal 2 is performed. When the later lemon 1 is conveyed by the drive mechanism 3, the lemon 1 strikes the curved portion 100 and falls from the receiving table 2. The cored lemon 1 that has fallen falls onto the fruit recovery shooter 101 of FIGS. 1 and 2,
It is configured to be collected in a collection container through the shooter 101.

The components of the automatic fruit seed removing apparatus of the present invention can be made of any material. However, in order to prevent the fruits from rusting due to acid or moisture, they should be made of stainless steel which does not easily rust. Is preferred. Various operations in the present invention, such as starting / stopping of the drive mechanism 3 and elevating operation of the coring tool 5, are controlled based on a program input to the control unit.

[0023]

Example of Use To remove lemon seeds using the automatic fruit seed removing apparatus of the present invention, for example, the following is performed. (1) A wick collection container is installed below the wick collection shooter 90 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a fruit collection container is installed below the fruit shooter 101. (2) The lemon 1 is washed, the upper and lower tips are cut off, and the characters printed on the side surfaces are cut off. (3) Operating the start switch 103 in FIG.
Causes the cradle 2 to rotate. When each of the receiving tables 2 has been conveyed below the coring tool 5, it temporarily stops. (4) The lemon 1 is placed on each of the cradles 2 that have been temporarily stopped and set. (5) When the cradle 2 on which the lemon 1 is set is temporarily stopped under the coring tool 5, the two support arms 50 of the side holder 8 automatically move inward during that time, and both sides of the lemon 1 are moved. Sandwich the surface from the outside. (6) When the lemon 1 is pinched by the side holder 8, the coring tool 5 automatically descends while rotating, bites into the center of the lemon 1 from above, and penetrates the bottom of the lemon 1 while rotating. And pull out the lemon core 4 vertically.
At this time, the extruding tool 9 in the cylindrical core removing tool 5 descends, and the extracted core 4 is discharged to the outside of the core removing tool 5,
It passes through the wick collection shooter 90 and is collected in a wick collection container installed thereunder. (7) Core removal tool 5 descends while rotating, and lemon core 4
When the is cut out vertically, the cutter 7 descends at the same time as the coring tool 5 to make a cut in the lengthwise direction from the skin of the lemon 1 to the pulp. (8) When the above-described coring and cutting are completed, the coring tool 5 rises while rotating in the reverse direction to the time of descending, and comes out of the lemon 1 upward. At the same time, the cutter 7 rises and the lemon 1
Exit upward from. At this time, the lemon 1 with the core 4 removed
Is held by the side holding tool 8, so that the centering tool 5
And even if the cutter 7 goes up, it goes up with them,
It does not fall from the cradle 2. (9) When the coring tool 5 and the cutter 7 come off from the lemon 1, the two support arms 50 of the side holding tool 8 open outward, and the holding of the lemon 1 is released. (10) Next, when the receiving table 2 is conveyed by the driving mechanism 3 and the next receiving table 2 arrives under the coring tool 5, the driving mechanism 3 automatically temporarily stops. During the stop, the above (4) to (9)
Is repeated, and the lemon core 4 on the cradle 2 is pulled out. Thereafter, the cradle 2 is automatically and intermittently repeatedly conveyed, temporarily stopped and the core removal operation is repeated, and the lemon cores 4 on the cradle 2 which are conveyed later are sequentially removed, A cut is made in the lemon 1 in the vertical direction. (11) Cradle 2 conveyed by drive mechanism 3 after core removal
The upper lemon 1 is conveyed without falling from the cradle 2 as it is, and falls from the cradle 2 by hitting the fruit dropping tool 10 protruding from the side above the cradle 2, and FIGS. 1 and 2 Is collected in a fruit collection container below the shooter 101. (12) Lemon after core removal collected in fruit collection container 1
And the core 4 collected in the core collection container is transported to the next step. This transport may be performed manually, or may be automatically performed by a transport conveyor or the like.

[0024]

According to the first automatic seed removing apparatus for fruits of the present invention, the fruits are automatically conveyed to the bottom of the pedestal simply by placing the fruits on the pedestal vertically, and the core of the fruits is removed. Is cut out in a round bar shape, and almost all fruit seeds inside and around the core can be removed.

In the second automatic seed removing apparatus for fruits of the present invention, a cut can be made in the fruit in the vertical direction by a cutter at the time of core removal, so that in addition to the effects of the first automatic seed removing apparatus, By opening the pulp from the cut, the seeds in the pulp can be reliably removed.

In the third automatic seed removing apparatus for fruit according to the present invention, since the coring tool rotates simultaneously with the vertical movement,
In addition to the effect of the second automatic seed removing device, the seeds can be removed by smoothly removing the core of the fruit, and no excessive force is applied to the fruit, so that the fruit is not damaged and loses its shape. Hateful.

The fourth automatic seed removing apparatus for fruits of the present invention is provided with the side holding tool for holding the side surface of the fruit. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the first to third automatic seed removing apparatuses, the core is removed. The extractor can be securely inserted into the core where the seeds are concentrated, and the seeds can be removed.

Since the fifth automatic seed removing device for fruits of the present invention is provided with an extruding tool, in addition to the effects of the first to fourth automatic seed removing devices described above, the fifth automatic seed removing device can be inserted into the coring tool. It is easy to remove the core of the fruit from the corer.

Since the sixth automatic seed removing device for fruits of the present invention is provided with a fruit dropper, in addition to the effects of the first to fifth automatic seed removing devices, it is also possible to receive the fruit after core removal. The tray can be securely drained and the receiving tray emptied, which is convenient for sending the fruit to the next processing step.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of a fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of an embodiment of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a plan view showing an example of a cradle of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention. (B) is an AA sectional arrow view of (a).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an operation state of a cradle of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a side holder of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

6 (a) to 6 (f) are front views showing operating states of a cutter and a side holder of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are explanatory views showing the lifting / lowering operation of a core removing tool of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

8 (a) to 8 (d) are side views showing an operating state of a cutter of the fruit seed removing device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an operation state of the pusher of the seed removing device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fruit 2 Cradle 3 Drive mechanism 4 Fruit core 5 Core removal tool 7 Cutter 8 Side holder 9 Pushing tool 10 Fruit dropping tool

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Hisayoshi Iwasa 1082-51, Takadacho, Midori-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba (72) Inventor ▲ Hiro ▼ 520-3, Takadacho, Midori-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba

Claims (6)

[Claims] A cradle (2) on which fruits (1) can be placed vertically and a drive mechanism (3) for moving the cradle (2).
And the cradle that can be moved up and down and is suspended at the time of descent (2)
A cutting tool (5) that cuts vertically into the fruit (1) placed on the base, cuts out the core (4) of the fruit vertically, and removes seeds in and around the core (4); An automatic fruit seed removing device comprising a control unit for controlling the start / stop of the mechanism (3), the elevating operation of the coring tool (5), and the like. 2. A cradle (2) on which fruits (1) can be placed vertically and a drive mechanism (3) for moving the cradle (2).
And the cradle that can be moved up and down and is suspended at the time of descent (2)
A cutting tool (5) that cuts vertically into the fruit (1) placed on the base, cuts out the core (4) of the fruit vertically, and removes seeds in and around the core (4); A control unit for controlling the start / stop of the mechanism (3), the elevating operation of the coring tool (5), and a cutter for moving up and down together with the coring tool (5) to cut the fruit (1) vertically. 7) An automatic fruit seed removing device comprising: 3. The apparatus for automatically removing seeds of fruits according to claim 1, wherein the core removing tool (5) rotates simultaneously with elevating and lowering. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a side holder for holding a side surface of the fruit.
A device for automatically removing seeds of a fruit according to any one of the above. 5. An extruder (9) for extracting a fruit core (4) from a corer (5) and then discharging the core (4) from the corer (5) to the outside after the core (4) is extracted by the corer (5). The apparatus for automatically removing seeds of a fruit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 6. A fruit drop according to claim 1, further comprising a fruit dropping tool (10) for dropping the cored fruit (1) from the cradle (2). Automatic seed removal device.