A tool for removing stems from oolong tea

Abstract

This invention provides a tea stem-removing device for oolong tea, relating to the field of tea processing equipment. The device has an inlet fixed at the top center and a stem outlet at the bottom, a left outlet fixed on the left, a right outlet fixed on the right, and a motor fixed at the front. Tea leaves with stems enter the upper screen through the inlet. The motor at the front operates, causing the screen to move up, down, left, and right, shaking the tea leaves and allowing the stems to enter the screen's small holes. A push-pull motor shifts the lower screen to clamp the stems. A first flipping motor flips the screen to the right, allowing the unclamped tea leaves to fall into the right outlet, and the screen returns to its original position. The first and second hydraulic cylinders move, releasing the button latch, and a square hook engages with the front extension shaft of the upper screen, lifting the upper screen and separating the stems. Simultaneously, the hydraulic cylinders move to the left, and the second flipping motor flips the upper screen to the left, allowing stemless tea leaves to enter the left outlet. The first flipping motor inverts the middle and lower screens, and the push-pull motor shifts the lower screen back to its original position. The front-mounted motor then operates, causing the tea stems to fall into the stem outlet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of tea processing equipment, specifically to a device for removing stems from oolong tea. Background Technology

[0002] my country is an ancient tea-producing country, with a history of discovering and utilizing tea trees spanning over ten thousand years. Developing the tea industry yields significant social and economic benefits, especially at this crucial time of optimizing and adjusting agricultural production structures and upgrading the mechanization and intelligentization of the tea industry. It is not only a key project for poverty alleviation and prosperity for people in mountainous, semi-mountainous, and hilly areas of my country, but also a traditional and important export product with extremely broad development prospects. Tea is classified into six major categories based on processing methods: oolong tea, green tea, black tea, white tea, dark tea, and yellow tea. Oolong tea is a unique type of tea in my country, combining the high aroma of green tea with the mellow flavor of black tea. my country's main oolong tea producing areas include four major regions: Southern Fujian, Northern Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan. The main oolong tea producing area in Southern Fujian is Anxi. Currently, the initial processed oolong tea (raw tea) contains stems; the first step in refining oolong tea is removing the stems.

[0003] This invention creatively integrates a stem-removing machine into the entire primary processing of oolong tea after the initial withering process. This removes the tea stems immediately after withering, eliminating the cost and procedures associated with subsequent refining and stem removal. It also reduces the workload and energy consumption of the shaping and drying processes after withering. Furthermore, it prevents excess moisture from the stems from flowing back into the tea leaves during the subsequent baking process, reducing baking time and the need for drying equipment. These aspects demonstrate that this product significantly reduces labor time and intensity while also substantially improving economic efficiency. This invention will bring about a major transformation in the entire oolong tea industry. By adding a stem-removing step after withering, it improves the processing technology of oolong tea, eliminating the need for refining and stem removal, and has positive implications for the development of the entire oolong tea industry, including energy saving, reduced consumption, improved quality, and increased efficiency.

[0004] The terms "removing stems" and "stemming" in Chinese patent literature refer to the finished product after the initial processing of tea leaves, which is fundamentally different from the stem removal process performed during the initial processing of tea leaves in this invention. Summary of the Invention

[0005] (a) Technical problems to be solved

[0006] This invention provides a hemispherical tea stem removal machine. To address the unnecessary work and energy efficiency issues associated with the shaping and drying of tea stems after the initial processing of oolong tea (after fixation), this invention removes stems after fixation. This ensures the quality requirements of oolong tea processing, as the purpose of fixation is to stabilize the tea's quality, and also removes tea stems from subsequent processing steps, thus improving the quality assurance of the tea. The resulting soft, easily shaped leaves also reduce the number of repeated rolling and shaping processes.

[0007] (II) Technical Solution

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an oolong tea stem-removing device, comprising a housing, an inlet fixed at the top center of the housing, a stem-discharging outlet installed at the bottom of the housing, a left outlet fixed on the left side of the housing, a right outlet fixed on the right side of the housing, a motor fixed at the front end of the housing, a first slide, a second slide, and a third slide installed at the top of the housing, a first auxiliary guide rail, a second auxiliary guide rail, and a third auxiliary guide rail installed on the inner wall of the rear end of the housing, a guide rail installed on the inner wall of the front end of the housing, a slider installed on the guide rail, the slider connected to a connecting rod, the connecting rod connected to a crank, one end of the crank connected to the front-end fixed motor, the connecting rod connected to a first tilting motor, a front bearing deflection device installed on the shaft of the first tilting motor, the front bearing deflection device fixedly connected to a support plate, the front bearing deflection device connected to an upper screen, a middle screen, and a lower screen respectively, and a rear bearing deflection device connected to the other side of the screen.

[0009] Preferably, a first hydraulic cylinder is installed below the first slide table, and a second hydraulic cylinder is installed below the third slide table. Both the first and second hydraulic cylinders are connected to square barbs below them. The square barbs correspond to the extension shaft of the upper screen.

[0010] Preferably, a second tilting motor is fixedly installed at the lower end of the hydraulic rod of the first hydraulic cylinder, and the output shaft of the second tilting motor is fixedly connected to a square barb.

[0011] Preferably, a button buckle device is fixedly installed on the upper surface of the support plate, the lower surface of the support plate is fixedly connected to the tray, and a push-pull motor and an arc slider are installed on the upper surface of the tray.

[0012] Preferably, the rear bearing deflection device is connected to the first auxiliary guide rail, the second auxiliary guide rail, and the third auxiliary guide rail on the inner wall of the rear end of the housing.

[0013] Preferably, the rear-end fixed slider of the rear bearing deflection device is connected to the first auxiliary guide rail. The first auxiliary guide rail fixed slider is connected to the second auxiliary guide rail and the third auxiliary guide rail respectively, and the first auxiliary guide rail can maintain vertical left and right sliding through the second and third auxiliary guide rails.

[0014] Preferably, the bottom of the housing is equipped with four casters, and the housing is connected in the middle with three layers of overlapping screens.

[0015] Working principle:

[0016] 1. The tea leaves with stems enter the upper screen through the top inlet. First, the front-end fixed (shaking) motor operates, driving the crank-slider mechanism to make the three-layer ball screen vibrate up, down, left, and right. This allows the stems of the withered tea leaves to be inserted into the small circular holes of the ball screen. By operating the push-pull motor, the arc-shaped slider is controlled to deflect on the curved slide rail, causing the bottom ball screen to deflect relative to the middle screen, thereby clamping the stems of the tea leaves.

[0017] 2. When the screen is near the far right, the first flipping motor operates, causing the three layers of screens to flip to the right. Tea leaves that are not caught in the stems are poured into the right discharge port, and the three layers of screens return to their original positions. Tea leaves that are not caught in the stems are sent back to the feed port to continue the stem removal process.

[0018] 3. The first and second hydraulic cylinders extend downwards, and the first hydraulic cylinder moves backwards via the first slide table, touching the button latching device. The latch is released, and the square barb of the first hydraulic cylinder is engaged with the front extension shaft of the upper screen. The second hydraulic cylinder moves to the right so that the square barb is engaged with the rear extension shaft of the upper screen. Then, the first and second hydraulic cylinders lift upwards simultaneously, causing the upper ball screen to lift upwards and peel the tea leaves off the stems, thus achieving stem-leaf separation.

[0019] 4. After the tea leaves are peeled off, the first hydraulic cylinder and the second hydraulic cylinder move the upper ball screen to the left simultaneously through the second and third slides. The second tilting motor works to make the upper ball screen tilt to the left, and the stemless tea leaves are poured into the left discharge port and sent to the next process of oolong tea primary processing. At this time, the upper ball screen remains unchanged.

[0020] 5. The first flipping motor turns the lower ball screen and the middle ball screen upside down. The push-pull motor moves the lower screen back to its original position. The front fixing motor moves the tea stems to the stem outlet, leaving no stems or leaves in the screen and preventing the screen holes from getting clogged.

[0021] 6. The first flipping motor operates to return the lower middle layer ball screen to its upward position.

[0022] 7. The second flipping motor works, causing the upper ball screen to flip upward. The first and second hydraulic cylinders extend to the right and then downward simultaneously through the second and third slides, allowing the upper ball screen to return to its original position and stack on top of the three-layer ball screen. The position is then fixed by the button latching device. The first and second hydraulic cylinders separate simultaneously and return to their initial positions.

[0023] (III) Beneficial Effects

[0024] This invention provides a device for removing stems from oolong tea, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] 1. The purpose of fixing the green in oolong tea is to fix the quality characteristics formed in the early greening process. Choosing to remove the stems after fixing can ensure that the quality of oolong tea processing is not affected by the additional stem removal process.

[0026] 2. Traditionally, the initial processing of oolong tea, including withering, rolling, shaping, and drying, involves the incorporation of stems. The stems are only removed in the final refining stage. Packaged oolong tea products typically do not include stems; they are treated as a byproduct with very low value. Removing stems after withering eliminates the increased labor and energy consumption associated with subsequent rolling, shaping, and drying processes due to stems, as well as the additional work required for stem removal in the final refining stage. Since the average stem content of raw oolong tea is around 16%, this invention significantly improves efficiency and reduces energy consumption in both initial and refining processes, making it of great significance.

[0027] 3. Anxi, a major oolong tea producing area, alone produces 60,000 tons of dried tea leaves with stems annually, with an average stem content of about 16%. This means Anxi alone produces approximately 10,000 tons of tea stems annually. If all of Anxi's 60,000 tons of tea leaves were processed using color sorters to remove stems, at the current lowest market price (1 yuan per kilogram), the labor costs for color sorting alone would be 60 million yuan. Assuming a labor cost of 10 yuan per kilogram for initial processing (rolling and shaping), the labor costs for rolling and shaping 10,000 tons of tea stems would be 100 million yuan. Based on an electricity cost of 2 yuan per kilogram for rolling, shaping, and drying, the energy consumption for 10,000 tons of tea stems would be 20 million yuan. If Anxi were to fully implement stem removal machines, it could save over 180 million yuan in social costs annually. This does not include the various losses incurred from processing 10,000 tons of tea stems, such as machinery and tea towels.

[0028] 4. The entire process of removing tea stems is mechanized, and the reserved inlet and outlet ports make it easier to achieve continuous processing of each step in the initial processing of oolong tea. It is also easier to achieve continuous, automated, and intelligent processing of the entire initial processing of oolong tea. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of an oolong tea stem-removing device proposed in this invention;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a front view of the internal structure of an oolong tea stem-removing device proposed in this invention;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a side view of the internal structure of an oolong tea stem-removing device proposed in this invention;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional structural view of the front bearing deflection device of an oolong tea stem-removing equipment proposed in this invention;

[0033] Figure 5This is a three-dimensional view of the shaking mechanism structure of an oolong tea stem-removing device proposed in this invention;

[0034] Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional view of the shaking auxiliary mechanism of an oolong tea stem-removing device proposed in this invention;

[0035] Figure 7 This is a three-dimensional view of the hydraulic mechanism structure of an oolong tea stem-removing device proposed in this invention;

[0036] Legend:

[0037] 1. Housing; 2. Inlet; 3. Left outlet; 4. Front-end fixed motor; 5. Casters; 6. Right outlet; 7. First auxiliary guide rail; 8. Guide rail; 9. Slider; 10. Square barb; 11. Connecting rod; 12. Lower screen; 13. Middle screen; 14. Upper screen; 15. Second auxiliary guide rail; 16. Crank; 17. Third auxiliary guide rail; 18. Third slide; 19. Second slide; 20. First slide; 21. First hydraulic cylinder; 22. First tilting motor; 23. Front bearing deflection device; 24. Outlet; 25. Rear bearing deflection device; 26. Second hydraulic cylinder; 27. Upper screen extension shaft; 28. Second tilting motor; 29. ​​Button latching device; 30. Support plate; 31. Push-pull motor; 32. Arc slider; 33. Support plate Detailed Implementation

[0038] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0039] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," "outer," "front," and "rear," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this invention; the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Furthermore, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly, for example, as a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; as a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; as a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; or as a connection within two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0040] Reference Figure 1-7One embodiment of the present invention provides an oolong tea stem-removing device. The device comprises a feed inlet 2 fixed at the top center of a housing 1, a stem outlet 24 installed at the bottom of the housing, a left outlet 3 fixed on the left side of the housing, a right outlet 6 fixed on the right side of the housing, a motor 4 fixed at the front end of the housing, a first slide 20, a second slide 19, and a third slide 18 installed at the top of the housing, a second auxiliary guide rail 15 and a third auxiliary guide rail 17 fixedly installed on the inner wall of the rear end of the housing, the second auxiliary guide rail 15 and the third auxiliary guide rail 17 being connected to the first auxiliary guide rail 7 via a slider, a guide rail 8 installed on the inner wall of the front of the housing, a slider 9 installed on the guide rail 8, the slider 9 being connected to a connecting rod 11, and the connecting rod 11 being connected to a crank 16. One end of the crank 16 is connected to the front fixed motor 4, the connecting rod 11 is connected to the first rotating motor 22, the first rotating motor 22 has a front bearing deflection device 23 mounted on its shaft, the front bearing deflection device 23 is fixedly connected to the support plate 30, the front bearing deflection device 23 is connected to the upper screen 14, the middle screen 13 and the lower screen 12 respectively, the other side of the screen is connected to the rear bearing deflection device 25, the first hydraulic cylinder 21 is mounted below the first slide 20, the second hydraulic cylinder 26 is mounted below the third slide 18, the second rotating motor is fixedly mounted at the lower end of the first hydraulic cylinder 21, the output shaft of the second rotating motor is fixedly connected to the square barb 10, and the second hydraulic cylinder 26 is also connected to the lower part of the square barb. The square barb 10 is connected to the upper screen extension shaft 27. A button buckle device 29 is installed below the upper screen extension shaft 27. The button buckle device 29 is fixed above the support plate 30. The support plate 30 is connected to the tray 33 below. A push-pull motor 31 and an arc slider 32 are installed above the tray 33. The rear bearing deflection device 25 is connected to three auxiliary guide rails on the inner wall of the rear end of the housing 1.

[0041] The operation of the front-end fixed motor 4, which is fixed to the frame, causes the crank 16 to rotate around the motor shaft. This causes the connecting rod 11 to drive the slider 9 to move up and down on the guide rail 8, which in turn causes the first flip motor 22 and the front bearing deflection device 23 to move in an elliptical motion. The rear bearing deflection device 25 moves up and down on the first auxiliary guide rail 7 via the slider. The first auxiliary guide rail 7 moves vertically left and right via the second auxiliary guide rail 15 and the third auxiliary guide rail 17, which are fixed to the frame. The tea leaves with stems are shaken evenly in the three-layer screen. The tea stems enter the screen holes. Under the action of the push-pull motor 31, the lower screen 12 shifts and clamps the stems. Under the action of the first flip motor 22, the three-layer screen flips to the right, pouring out the tea leaves that are not clamped. The three-layer screen returns to its upward position. The first slide 20 can move left and right along the second slide 19. The first hydraulic cylinder 21 can move back and forth on the first slide 20, achieving free movement on the entire plane. The second hydraulic cylinder 26 can move left and right on the third slide 18. When the first hydraulic cylinder 21 and the second hydraulic cylinder 23 move to the set position, the square hook 10 at the lower end of the hydraulic rod connects to the upper screen extension shaft 27. The square hook 10 touches the button of the button latch device 29, at which point the latch is released, the upper screen 14 and the middle screen 13 separate, and the first hydraulic cylinder 21 and the second hydraulic cylinder 26 start working simultaneously. The upper screen 14 is lifted, realizing the separation of stems and leaves. The first hydraulic cylinder 21 and the second hydraulic cylinder 26 move to the left simultaneously through the second slide and the third slide. Driven by the second flip motor 28, the upper screen 14 is flipped to the left, allowing the stemless tea leaves to enter the next process. After the tea leaves and stems are separated, the lower screen 12 returns to the center under the action of the push-pull motor 32. The first flip motor 22 rotates the ball screen 180°, and the front fixed motor 5 drives the screen and shakes it, causing the tea stems to fall and enter the stem outlet 24 in the middle of the lower part of the housing 1, completing all the actions.

[0042] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for removing stems from oolong tea, characterized by: The system includes a housing (1), a first hydraulic cylinder (21), a second auxiliary guide rail (15), and a third auxiliary guide rail (17). A feed inlet (2) is fixed at the center of the top of the housing (1). A discharge outlet (24) is installed at the bottom of the housing. A left discharge outlet (3) is fixed on the left side of the housing, and a right discharge outlet (6) is fixed on the right side of the housing. A motor (4) is fixed at the front end of the housing. A second slide (19) and a third slide (18) are fixedly installed on the inner wall of the top of the housing. A first slide (20) is connected below the second slide (19). The second auxiliary guide rail (15), the third auxiliary guide rail (17), and the first auxiliary guide rail (7) are connected to the inner wall of the rear end of the housing. A guide rail (8) is installed inside the front of the housing. A slider (9) is installed on the rail (8). The slider (9) is connected to the connecting rod (11). The connecting rod (11) is connected to the crank (16). One end of the crank (16) is connected to the front fixed motor (4). The connecting rod (11) is connected to the first rotating motor (22). A front bearing deflection device (23) is installed on the shaft of the first rotating motor (22). The front bearing deflection device (23) is fixed to the support plate (30). The front bearing deflection device (23) is connected to the upper screen (14), the middle screen (13), and the lower screen (12) respectively. A rear bearing deflection device (25) is connected to the other side of the upper screen (14), the middle screen (13), and the lower screen (12).

2. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom of the housing (1) is equipped with four casters (5). The housing (1) is connected in the middle by an upper screen (14), a middle screen (13) and a lower screen (12), which overlap.

3. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The third slide (18) and the second slide (19) are fixed to the rear and front parts of the inner wall of the top of the housing (1). The second slide (19) is connected to the first slide (20) below. The first slide (20) is connected to the first hydraulic cylinder (21) below. The third slide (18) is connected to the second hydraulic cylinder (26) below. The lower end of the hydraulic rod of the first hydraulic cylinder (21) is fixedly installed with the second tilting motor (28). The output shaft of the second tilting motor (28) is fixedly connected to the square barb (10). The lower end of the hydraulic rod of the second hydraulic cylinder (26) is also connected to the square barb.

4. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first hydraulic cylinder (21) can move back and forth via the first slide (20), and the first slide (20) can move left and right below the second slide (19); the second hydraulic cylinder (26) can move left and right below the third slide (18).

5. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A button buckle device (29) is fixedly installed on the upper surface of the support plate (30), and the lower surface of the support plate (30) is fixedly connected to the tray (33). A push-pull motor (31) and an arc slider (32) are installed on the upper surface of the tray (33).

6. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second auxiliary guide rail (15) and the third auxiliary guide rail (17) are fixedly installed on the inner wall of the rear end of the housing. The first auxiliary guide rail (7) fixes two second sliders to connect the second auxiliary guide rail (15) and the third auxiliary guide rail (17) to maintain verticality and slide left and right. The rear bearing deflection device (25) has a slider fixed at one end that slides up and down on the first auxiliary guide rail (7).

7. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper screen (14), middle screen (13) and lower screen (12) are connected to the front fixed motor (4) through the front bearing deflection device (23), the first flip motor (22), the slider (9), the connecting rod (11) and the crank (16), and can move up, down and left and right under the drive of the front fixed motor (4). The upper screen (14), middle screen (13) and lower screen (12) can be flipped under the drive of the first flip motor (22) through the front bearing deflection device (23) and the rear bearing deflection device (25).

8. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper screen (14) is connected to the middle screen (13) via a button buckle device (29). The upper screen (14) can be connected to the first hydraulic cylinder (21) and the second hydraulic cylinder (26) via a square barb (10). The upper screen (14) can be flipped under the drive of the second flipping motor (28).

9. The oolong tea stem-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower screen (12) can be deflected relative to the central axis of the middle screen (13) by the circular arc slider (32) under the action of the push-pull motor (31).

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