WO2004030475A2 - Appareil d'effeuillage de legumes et procede associe - Google Patents

Appareil d'effeuillage de legumes et procede associe Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2004030475A2
WO2004030475A2 PCT/GB2003/004300 GB0304300W WO2004030475A2 WO 2004030475 A2 WO2004030475 A2 WO 2004030475A2 GB 0304300 W GB0304300 W GB 0304300W WO 2004030475 A2 WO2004030475 A2 WO 2004030475A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
vegetables
station
sprouts
butts
leafing
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2003/004300
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2004030475A3 (fr
Inventor
Christopher Stephen Keenan
Graham Davenport
John Charles HOLLINGWORTH
Original Assignee
R & K Drysdale Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by R & K Drysdale Limited filed Critical R & K Drysdale Limited
Priority to AU2003269235A priority Critical patent/AU2003269235A1/en
Publication of WO2004030475A2 publication Critical patent/WO2004030475A2/fr
Publication of WO2004030475A3 publication Critical patent/WO2004030475A3/fr

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23N—MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS
    • A23N15/00—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs
    • A23N15/003—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs for trimming cauliflowers, broccoli or cabbages
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23N—MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS
    • A23N15/00—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs
    • A23N15/04—Devices for topping fruit or vegetables

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to processing, i.e. trimming, vegetables such as sprouts, and in particular cutting off the butts and/or removing outside leaves.
  • the invention provides a method and apparatus for de-butting sprouts.
  • the invention provides a method and apparatus for removing outside leaves from a sprout. Further aspects of the invention comprise various combinations of the de-butting and/or outside leaf removal apparatus and methods.
  • apparatus for de- butting sprouts comprising means for receiving a succession of vegetables oriented such that their butts face in the same direction, conveying means for presenting said succession of vegetables to a cutting station, the cutting station comprising a rotary cutter adapted to sever the butts from the said vegetables, characterised in that the conveying means comprise a first moving belt having spaced apertures for receiving individual vegetables such that the butts thereof extend downwardly through the apertures, and a second moving belt located below the first and moving therewith, positioned to engage and support the vegetable butts so as to present them to the cutters at an adjustable pre-determined height relative thereto.
  • the invention comprises apparatus for presenting a succession of sprouts to a location at which outside leaves are to be removed; the presenting means comprising means for rotating the sprouts relative to a trimming device; the trimming device comprising at least one air knife so disposed relative to sprouts presented by the presenting means that excess outside leaves are removed; and means for conveying waste material from the location of the trimming device.
  • the invention comprises sprout trimming apparatus comprising the de-butting apparatus as aforesaid upstream of an outside leaf removal apparatus also as aforesaid.
  • the invention also comprises a method for de-butting sprouts, a method for removing outside leaves from sprouts, and a combination of both methods in a single trimming apparatus.
  • Figure 1 illustrates schematically a side elevation of a sprout processing line including a de-butting station and a de-leafing station;
  • Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the processing line of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 represents a schematic side elevation of part of a de-butting apparatus in accordance with the invention
  • Figure 4 represents a plan view of the apparatus of Figure 3;
  • Figure 5 is an enlarged view of an air knife for use in the de-leafing apparatus.
  • Figure 6 is a diagrammatic side elevation of part of the de-leafing apparatus. Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiments
  • sprouts to be trimmed are delivered to a receiving location 1 which may typically be a gentle flow box tipper adapted to hold a plurality of boxes of sprouts and to tip them gently onto a conveyor 2.
  • a receiving location 1 which may typically be a gentle flow box tipper adapted to hold a plurality of boxes of sprouts and to tip them gently onto a conveyor 2.
  • the general flow of sprouts through the processing line is indicated by the arrows 3.
  • Sprouts from the tipper are conveyed along conveyor 2 and deposited gently onto a reversible conveyor 4 which enables sprouts to be delivered to either or both of conveyors 5, 6.
  • Suitable sensors may be located where the reversible conveyor 4 interacts with conveyors 5, 6 in order to monitor the flow of sprouts through the processing line.
  • the division of the flow onto two conveyors 5, 6 is simply to enhance through-flow and is not an essential requirement of the invention. More or less than two branches may be provided as required.
  • the conveyors 5, 6 lift the sprouts to a higher elevation so that they can be delivered via chutes 7, 8 to the de-butting stations illustrated diagrammatically in Figures 3 and 4.
  • the sprouts are deposited onto conveyors 9, 10 where they are correctly oriented by human operators 24.
  • the conveyors 9, 10 consist of four parallel belts, each provided with spaced holes to receive the sprouts. Each hole is preferably tapered so as to accommodate a sprout with its butt pointing downwards, thereby providing a seat for the sprouts in the holes in the slats.
  • the sprouts enter the de-butting stations 1 1 , 12 where the butts are cut off and the waste deposited onto a transverse conveyor 27. Removal of the butt inevitably loosens some of the outer leaves around the sprout. Those which have been removed completely with the butt drop down through the slats onto the conveyor 27. However, some outer leaves will not be completely removed at the de-butting station.
  • the sprouts are therefore transported via transverse conveyors 13, 14 and an inclined conveyor 15 onto a further conveyor 16, consisting for example of guide rails, and then onto a roller table conveyor 17 where they are carried to a de-leafing station 20 for removal of the final, unwanted outer leaves.
  • Waste material from the conveyor 16 and from the de-leafing station 20 are deposited onto transverse conveyors 18, 19 respectively and removed from the processing line.
  • the de-leafing station 20 may consist of a sequence of air knives arranged to "cut" the surplus outside leaves from the sprouts. An air knife de-leafing station will be described in more detail with respect to Figures 5 and 6.
  • the clean sprouts are passed through an inspection area manned by personnel 21 before final cleansing and de-watering in stations 22, 23 provided with a drip tray 28. Any further waste that falls through the conveyor 17 in the region of the de-leafing station 20 drops onto a lower conveyor 29 which transports the waste back onto the waste removal transverse conveyor 19. Similarly, any sprouts rejected by the inspection personnel 21 may similarly be deposited onto the conveyor 29 via one or more hoppers or the like situated alongside the conveyor 17 and arranged so that the outlet is located over the conveyor 29.
  • the conveyor 9 consists of four parallel endless belts 30 that pass over a support surface of the de-butting station, each belt having a plurality of support holes 31 therethrough, spaced apart along the length thereof. The remainder of the belts may simply be free to hang below the support surface or may be held under slight tension.
  • a second endless belt 36 is mounted to run beneath (within) each of the first belts 30 at the same linear speed, with the upper section of the second belt 36 being mounted so as run at an adjustable pre-set distance below the first belt 30 so as to be able to support the sprouts by their butts and to determine their position as they are presented to the cutting discs, as hereinafter described.
  • the first belts 30 thus serve only to guide the sprouts as they approach the discs.
  • the sprouts 32 in their seated positions are carried on the belt to a roller 33 (the same as roller 25 in Figure 1) which has a flexible, hollow surface (similar to a pneumatic tyre inner tube) filled with a suitable fluid or gel, preferably glycerine. The roller thereby gently compresses the sprout within its seat without causing it any damage.
  • glycerine is that glycerine is compatible with food processing, and thus any leakage will not be harmful.
  • a rotating blade assembly 34 (the same as that indicated generally at 26 in Figure 1) having five parallel horizontally-rotating cutting discs 35 located at a fixed distance underneath the conveyor, and with the second belts 36 each passing between a pair of the rotating disc supports 37.
  • the cutting discs 35 are arranged so that " there is only a small distance between the periphery of one disc and that of the adjacent disc. The closeness of the de-butting operation relative to the sprout is therefore adjusted by changing the vertical position of the second belt 36 beneath the first belt 30.
  • the rotating blades slice the unwanted butt from the sprout as it passes between them and deposit the waste material onto the conveyor 27 for removal from the processing line.
  • the rotating disc supports 37 are all driven through suitable gearing on a common drive shaft extending transversely of the conveyor and coupled to an electric motor 38 at one end thereof. If necessary, the speed of rotation of the discs 35 can be varied according to the speed of the conveyor 9.
  • the belts 30 may contain a variety of different sized holes 31 to accommodate variations in the sizes of the sprouts. Alternatively, the holes in the belts may all have the same size. In this case the sprouts supplied to the manual operators will already have been through a size grading process (not shown).
  • each air knife consists of a body 40 of generally T-shaped cross section, the narrow section part 41 having an even narrower slit 42.
  • a source of high-pressure gas is connected to each of the knives to generate a curtain 43 of gas which is powerful enough to assist in the removal of excess outside leaves from the sprouts.
  • the slits 42 are arranged parallel to a succession of rollers 44 ( Figure 6) forming part of a means for conveying the sprouts to the air knives.
  • the conveyor 17 consists of an endless belt of spaced rollers 44, which are transported over a surface or guide rails so as to cause the rollers 44 to rotate as they pass through the de-leafing station.
  • the sprouts delivered from the conveyor 16 are carried on top of the rollers 44 and are tumbled by the rotation of the rollers 44 so as to present different surfaces to the succession of air knives.
  • the gaps between adjacent rollers 44 are sufficiently small to prevent the sprouts falling through but sufficiently large that waste material can drop through onto the conveyor 29 ( Figure 1 ) for removal.
  • the conveyor belt 17 comprising the rollers 44 is preferably driven by a sprocketed wheel (not shown) whilst the remainder of the belt passes over and around other, non-driven sprockets to ensure that the uppermost run of rollers 44 is engaged sufficiently with the upper surface or the rails so as to rotate the rollers 44.
  • the rollers are preferably grooved or ribbed to aid the "tumbling" action imparted to the sprouts.
  • the processing line described has the advantage of being comparatively compact, occupying no more than 20 metres in length and a little over 2 metres in height and a width in the region of 5 metres. It is envisaged that three operators may be located on each side of each conveyor 9, 10 at the de-butting station and perhaps two on each side of the conveyor 17 at the de-leafing station. However, any number of inspectors or manual operators may be employed as desired.
  • the overall processing line will of course be provided with the normal safeguards and control measures normally associated with production and/or processing lines, such as sensors, safety guards and the like.
  • the invention in one aspect provides a semi- automated sprout de-butting apparatus and, in another aspect, a sprout de-leafing apparatus.
  • a semi- automated sprout de-butting apparatus and, in another aspect, a sprout de-leafing apparatus.
  • the same principles, especially as regards de- butting could be employed for other vegetables or fruit.

Landscapes

  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Apparatuses For Bulk Treatment Of Fruits And Vegetables And Apparatuses For Preparing Feeds (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un appareil d'écabochage destiné à couper les pieds de légumes, tels que des pousses (32). Ledit appareil comprend des dispositifs (30) servant à recevoir une succession de légumes orientés de manière à ce que leurs pieds soient dans la même direction. Lesdits dispositifs permettent également d'acheminer la succession de légumes vers une station de coupe, cette dernière comprenant une tête de coupe (34) rotative, conçue pour séparer les pieds et les légumes. Les feuilles extérieures en excès, retirées par écabochage, sont éliminées par l'appareil (fig 6), ce dernier comprenant des dispositifs (17) servant à acheminer une succession de légumes écabochés vers une station d'effeuillage, dans laquelle un dispositif, tel que des lames d'air (40), sépare les feuilles non souhaitées de l'enveloppe extérieure des légumes, et est en association avec un dispositif (44), tel qu'un transporteur à rouleaux rotatifs, destiné à acheminer les différentes faces des légumes vers le dispositif séparant les feuilles.
PCT/GB2003/004300 2002-10-02 2003-10-02 Appareil d'effeuillage de legumes et procede associe WO2004030475A2 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2003269235A AU2003269235A1 (en) 2002-10-02 2003-10-02 Vegetable trimming apparatus and method

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0222766.8 2002-10-02
GB0222766A GB0222766D0 (en) 2002-10-02 2002-10-02 Vegetable trimming apparatus and method

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2004030475A2 true WO2004030475A2 (fr) 2004-04-15
WO2004030475A3 WO2004030475A3 (fr) 2004-08-12

Family

ID=9945113

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB2003/004300 WO2004030475A2 (fr) 2002-10-02 2003-10-02 Appareil d'effeuillage de legumes et procede associe

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU2003269235A1 (fr)
GB (1) GB0222766D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO2004030475A2 (fr)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1671553A1 (fr) 2004-12-16 2006-06-21 GEGE Machinebouw B.V. Appareil pour l'extraction de germes de végétaux
WO2011103884A1 (fr) * 2010-02-26 2011-09-01 R&K Drysdale Ltd Procédé et dispositif pour l'enlèvement de la queue de choux de bruxelles
CN103689762A (zh) * 2013-12-30 2014-04-02 贵州师范大学 转盘式刺梨去花蒂及切瓣机
CN105361215A (zh) * 2015-12-10 2016-03-02 重庆和术堂生物科技有限公司 蘑菇分离装置
CN105410962A (zh) * 2015-12-10 2016-03-23 重庆和术堂生物科技有限公司 蘑菇烘干装置
KR20190052431A (ko) * 2017-11-08 2019-05-16 방혜림 양송이버섯의 자동 절단장치
US20220355500A1 (en) * 2021-05-04 2022-11-10 Cullen Raichart Steel belted Conveyor for Trimming Dried Cannabis Flowers
NL2030959B1 (en) * 2022-02-16 2023-08-22 Sormac B V A system and a method for removing at least one part from a vegetable piece

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2315413A1 (de) * 1973-03-28 1974-10-10 Heinrich Bleinroth Vorrichtung zum beschneiden von blumenkohl
DE2609687A1 (de) * 1975-03-28 1976-10-07 Charles Christ Verfahren und einrichtung zum aufbereiten von zur herstellung von sauerkraut bestimmten kohlkoepfen
EP0352077A1 (fr) * 1988-07-19 1990-01-24 Anthony George Ellis Machine pour la séparation du trognon
DE3921910A1 (de) * 1989-07-04 1991-01-17 Hartwig Geerkens Verfahren und vorrichtung zum putzen von kohlkoepfen

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH08155889A (ja) * 1994-12-05 1996-06-18 Takahashi Seisakusho:Kk カブ等の根菜類の切断装置

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2315413A1 (de) * 1973-03-28 1974-10-10 Heinrich Bleinroth Vorrichtung zum beschneiden von blumenkohl
DE2609687A1 (de) * 1975-03-28 1976-10-07 Charles Christ Verfahren und einrichtung zum aufbereiten von zur herstellung von sauerkraut bestimmten kohlkoepfen
EP0352077A1 (fr) * 1988-07-19 1990-01-24 Anthony George Ellis Machine pour la séparation du trognon
DE3921910A1 (de) * 1989-07-04 1991-01-17 Hartwig Geerkens Verfahren und vorrichtung zum putzen von kohlkoepfen

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 1996, no. 10, 31 October 1996 (1996-10-31) & JP 8 155889 A (TAKAHASHI SEISAKUSHO:KK), 18 June 1996 (1996-06-18) *

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1671553A1 (fr) 2004-12-16 2006-06-21 GEGE Machinebouw B.V. Appareil pour l'extraction de germes de végétaux
WO2011103884A1 (fr) * 2010-02-26 2011-09-01 R&K Drysdale Ltd Procédé et dispositif pour l'enlèvement de la queue de choux de bruxelles
CN103689762A (zh) * 2013-12-30 2014-04-02 贵州师范大学 转盘式刺梨去花蒂及切瓣机
CN105361215A (zh) * 2015-12-10 2016-03-02 重庆和术堂生物科技有限公司 蘑菇分离装置
CN105410962A (zh) * 2015-12-10 2016-03-23 重庆和术堂生物科技有限公司 蘑菇烘干装置
KR20190052431A (ko) * 2017-11-08 2019-05-16 방혜림 양송이버섯의 자동 절단장치
KR102038083B1 (ko) * 2017-11-08 2019-11-26 방혜림 양송이버섯의 자동 절단장치
US20220355500A1 (en) * 2021-05-04 2022-11-10 Cullen Raichart Steel belted Conveyor for Trimming Dried Cannabis Flowers
US11618178B2 (en) * 2021-05-04 2023-04-04 Cullen Raichart Steel belted conveyor for trimming dried cannabis flowers
US20230302677A1 (en) * 2021-05-04 2023-09-28 Cullen Raichart Steel Belted Conveyor for Trimming Dried Cannabis Flowers
NL2030959B1 (en) * 2022-02-16 2023-08-22 Sormac B V A system and a method for removing at least one part from a vegetable piece
WO2023158299A1 (fr) * 2022-02-16 2023-08-24 Sormac B.V. Système et procédé pour retirer au moins une partie d'une pièce végétale

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB0222766D0 (en) 2002-11-06
WO2004030475A3 (fr) 2004-08-12
AU2003269235A1 (en) 2004-04-23

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