A method for removing the caps from dried chili peppers

Abstract

This invention discloses a method for removing the caps from dried chili peppers, comprising the following steps: pouring dried chili peppers into a feeding trough; feeding the dried chili peppers into a cyclone separator for impurity removal; using a vibrating cloth to evenly feed the dried chili peppers into a stem cutter to remove the stems; using a cutting and crushing machine to break the chili peppers into several segments; using a color sorter to select chili pepper segments with caps, and feeding the segments with caps into a rubbing machine via a fifth conveyor belt, where all chili pepper segments are rubbed; the chili pepper segments in the rubbing machine are crushed, while the caps are not crushed, ultimately forming a mixture of caps and crushed chili peppers, which is then separated by filtration; this design enables the removal of chili pepper caps.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of chili processing technology, specifically a method for removing the caps from dried chilies. Background Technology

[0002] Chili peppers have a pungent flavor, and their fruits can be eaten fresh or used as a seasoning. Chili peppers are widely used in various dishes and foods, not only stimulating appetite but also being beneficial to the human body due to their rich content of various vitamins. Dried chili peppers refer to chili pepper products obtained by sun-drying or baking the fruits. Dried chili peppers typically have a more intense spiciness and aroma, can be stored for a longer time, and release their aroma and spiciness better during cooking.

[0003] Dried chili peppers can be used whole or ground into powder. Powdered chili peppers release more spiciness than whole peppers. However, because chili peppers have stems and caps at the top when harvested, failing to remove these parts during chili powder production will affect the overall quality of the chili powder. Currently, most chili pepper processing methods do not remove the stems and caps when making chili powder, resulting in low-quality finished products.

[0004] A method for making chili powder is disclosed in patent publication number CN104839584A. The technical means used is to "remove the stems from chilies, select, wash, and dry them into crisp chilies, then package them in vacuum bags and seal them for storage; when using the chilies, flatten the vacuum bag and rub them to obtain chili powder." This method of making chili powder does not remove the chili caps while removing the chili stems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for removing the caps from dried chili peppers, in order to solve the following technical problems mentioned in the background art:

[0006] In existing technologies, most chili peppers are not processed by removing the stem and cap during the production of chili powder, resulting in low-quality chili powder.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0008] A method for removing the caps from dried chili peppers includes the following steps:

[0009] S1, pour the dried chili peppers into the feeding trough;

[0010] S2, the dried chili peppers in the feeding trough are sent to the cyclone separator for impurity removal via the first conveyor belt;

[0011] S3, the cleaned dried chili peppers are conveyed to the vibrating cloth feeder via the second conveyor belt; the vibrating cloth feeder evenly distributes the dried chili peppers onto the middle conveyor belt, and the middle conveyor belt feeds the dried chili peppers into the stem cutter to cut off the stems.

[0012] S4, the dried chilies with the stems removed are conveyed to the cutting and crushing machine via the third conveyor belt. The cutting and crushing machine breaks the chilies into several segments. Among the chili segments, the segments with chili caps are the processing segments. The processing segments include chili nodes and chili caps.

[0013] S5, the chili pepper segments cut into several sections are conveyed to the color sorter via the fourth conveyor belt; the color sorter selects the processed segments, and the other chili pepper segments are discharged through the outlet of the color sorter;

[0014] S6, the processing section is fed into the kneading machine via the fifth conveyor belt, and the kneading machine kneads the processing section; at this time, the processing section in the kneading machine includes the following situations:

[0015] A1, the chili pepper pieces were not crushed;

[0016] A2, the chili segments were crushed, but the chili caps were not crushed;

[0017] A3, both the chili segments and the chili caps were crushed;

[0018] Here, A2 represents the target situation; when situation A1 occurs, the kneading intensity of the kneading machine needs to be gradually increased until situation A2 occurs; when situation A3 occurs, the kneading intensity of the kneading machine needs to be gradually decreased until situation A2 occurs.

[0019] S7, filter the chili caps from the crushed mixture.

[0020] To further optimize this process, in step S1, the moisture content of the dried chili peppers is controlled to be less than 20%.

[0021] Further optimized, the cyclone separator in step S2 includes a cylinder, an air inlet, an air outlet, a feed inlet, a filter cylinder, and a debris collection box; wherein, the filter cylinder is provided with several filter holes in its circumference and is disposed inside the cylinder; the feed inlet is disposed on the cylinder and communicates with the filter cylinder; a first baffle is hinged to the opening of the feed inlet; the debris collection box is disposed at the bottom of the cylinder; the air inlet is disposed on the side wall of the cylinder and communicates with the cylinder, and the air inlet is used to tangentially introduce airflow into the cylinder; the air outlet is disposed at the top of the cylinder.

[0022] Further optimized, the shears in step S3 include a mounting frame, a rotating drum, a cutting blade, and a waste conveying device; the rotating drum is rotatably connected inside the mounting frame, and is also connected to a drive device, which drives the rotating drum to rotate; a feeding device is provided on one side of the mounting frame, and a discharging device is provided on the other side, both of which can rotate synchronously with the rotating drum; several through holes are provided on the side wall of the rotating drum; the cutting blade is fixedly installed at the bottom of the mounting frame; the waste conveying device includes an auger shaft and a trough, the trough is located at the bottom of the mounting frame, and the auger shaft is rotatably connected inside the trough.

[0023] In a further optimized manner, the color sorter in step S5 includes a machine body, a feeding system, an optical sensing system, an electronic control system, and a sorting system;

[0024] The feeding system includes a feeding zone and a vibration device; the feeding system is used to evenly convey the chili peppers into the machine body;

[0025] The optical sensing system includes a high-speed camera, a light source, and a lens; it is used to acquire images of chili pepper segments.

[0026] The electronic control system includes an image processor and a central processing unit; the electronic control system is used to sort out chili segments with chili caps.

[0027] The sorting system includes a signal receiving device and an execution unit; the sorting system is used to receive instructions from the electronic control system and remove chili segments with caps.

[0028] In a further optimized step S3, dried chilies with their stems removed using a stem cutter are transferred to a manual sorting table where chilies with unremoved stems are manually selected.

[0029] In a further optimized manner, the kneading machine in S6 includes a housing, inside which a kneading roller is installed, and at the bottom of the kneading roller is a pad; the kneading force is controlled by controlling the distance between the kneading roller and the pad.

[0030] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] This invention is equipped with a cyclone separator, which can efficiently separate impurities such as stones from dried chili peppers, thereby improving the cleanliness of the dried chili peppers.

[0032] This invention combines a vibrating cloth feeder and a stem cutter to evenly feed dried chili peppers into the stem cutter, thereby removing the stems and improving the purity of the chili peppers.

[0033] The cutting and crushing machine of this invention breaks chili pepper segments into segments of similar length, making subsequent operations more convenient and uniform.

[0034] This invention uses a color sorter to select chili segments with caps, thereby removing the caps and improving the quality of chili products.

[0035] The kneading machine of the present invention crushes the chili pepper segments while keeping the chili pepper cap intact by gradually increasing the kneading force, thereby making it easy to separate the chili pepper cap. Attached Figure Description

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cyclone separator structure of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the cyclone separator of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the vibrating fabric distributor structure of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the clipper of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the color sorter structure of the present invention.

[0042] The diagram is labeled as follows: 1-Feeding trough, 2-First conveyor belt, 3-Cyclone separator, 301-Cylinder body, 302-Feed inlet, 304-Air inlet, 305-Air outlet, 306-Debris collection box, 307-Filter cartridge, 308-First baffle, 4-Second conveyor belt, 5-Vibrating cloth distributor, 6-Intermediate conveyor belt, 7-Scissors, 701-Mounting frame, 702-Auger shaft, 703-Feed trough, 8-Manual sorting table, 9-Third conveyor belt, 10-Cutter and crusher, 11-Fourth conveyor belt, 12-Color sorter, 121-Electronic control system, 122-Light source, 123-High-speed camera, 124-Machine body, 125-Vibration device, 126-Feeding area, 127-Sorting system. Detailed Implementation

[0043] 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.

[0044] Example

[0045] A method for removing the caps from dried chili peppers includes the following steps:

[0046] S1, pour the dried chili peppers into the feeding trough 1;

[0047] Generally, dried chilies are pre-dried, but this process results in uneven moisture content. Therefore, a dryer is needed to further dry the chilies, making subsequent processing easier. In this embodiment, the feeding trough 1 is a pit, into which the dried chilies can be directly poured.

[0048] S2, the dried chili peppers in the feeding trough 1 are sent to the cyclone separator 3 for impurity removal via the first conveyor belt 2;

[0049] The first conveyor belt 2 transports the dried chilies from the pit to the cyclone separator 3. The cyclone separator 3 introduces air into its interior, causing the dried chilies to rotate. Because the density of impurities such as stones in the dried chilies is higher than that of the chilies themselves, these impurities are thrown to the outer ring as the chilies rotate. The stones and other impurities thrown to the outer ring are then filtered out by a filter plate. In addition, the cyclone separator 3 can also remove dust from the dried chilies, thereby improving their cleanliness.

[0050] S3, the dried chili peppers after impurity removal are conveyed to the vibrating cloth 5 via the second conveyor belt 4; the vibrating cloth 5 evenly distributes the dried chili peppers onto the middle conveyor belt 6, and the middle conveyor belt 6 feeds the dried chili peppers into the stem cutter 7 to cut off the stems of the chili peppers.

[0051] Since the stems of dried chilies are mainly composed of cellulose and lignin, they are harvested along with the chilies during the picking process. To improve the purity of the chilies, the stems need to be removed during subsequent processing. The vibrating cloth feeder 5 evenly guides the dried chilies into the stem cutter 7. The vibrating cloth feeder 5 prevents the chilies from piling up in the stem cutter 7. Because the side of the dried chili with the stem is heavier, the stem cutter 7 guides this side of the chilies to the same side as it rotates, thus completing the removal of the stems.

[0052] S4, the dried chilies with the stems removed are conveyed to the cutting and crushing machine 10 via the third conveyor belt 9. The cutting and crushing machine 10 cuts the chilies into several segments. Among the chili segments, the segments with chili caps are the processing segments. The processing segments include chili nodes and chili caps. This step is used to divide chilies of different lengths into chili segments of the same length range by cutting. At the same time, it also facilitates the subsequent removal of chili caps.

[0053] S5, the chili pepper segments cut into several sections are conveyed to the color sorter 12 via the fourth conveyor belt 11; the color sorter 12 selects the processed segments, and the other chili pepper segments are discharged through the outlet of the color sorter 12; because the color difference between the chili pepper cap and the chili pepper segment is large, the color sorter 12 can easily select the chili pepper segments with chili pepper caps. Normally, chili peppers are green or black (green indicates that the chili pepper is not fully ripe), and chili pepper segments with chili pepper caps can be easily selected by the color sorter 12.

[0054] S6, the processing section is fed into the kneading machine via the fifth conveyor belt, and the kneading machine kneads the processing section; at this time, the processing section in the kneading machine includes the following situations:

[0055] A1, the chili pepper pieces were not crushed;

[0056] A2, the chili segments were crushed, but the chili caps were not crushed;

[0057] A3, both the chili segments and the chili caps were crushed;

[0058] Here, A2 represents the target situation; when situation A1 occurs, the kneading intensity of the kneading machine needs to be gradually increased until situation A2 occurs; when situation A3 occurs, the kneading intensity of the kneading machine needs to be gradually decreased until situation A2 occurs.

[0059] Since the main components of chili pepper caps are lignin and cellulose, which have a certain degree of hardness and toughness, the chili pepper skins will be crushed first during the processing stage when the peppers are crushed by the crusher.

[0060] S7 filters out the chili caps from the crushed mixture, thus removing the chili caps.

[0061] This step can be done by using a filter screen or centrifugation to filter out the chili caps.

[0062] In a preferred embodiment, the moisture content of the dried chili peppers is controlled to be less than 20% in step S1. Specifically, in this embodiment, the content is controlled at 5%; when the moisture content of the chili peppers is higher than 20%, they become somewhat tough and difficult to process.

[0063] In a preferred embodiment, the cyclone separator 3 in step S2 includes a cylinder 301, an air inlet 304, an air outlet 305, a feed inlet 302, a filter cylinder 307, and a debris collection box 306. The filter cylinder 307 has a plurality of filter holes arranged circumferentially and is disposed inside the cylinder 301. The feed inlet 302 is disposed on the cylinder 301 and communicates with the filter cylinder 307. A first baffle 308 is hinged to the opening of the feed inlet 302. The debris collection box 306 is disposed at the bottom of the cylinder 301. The air inlet 304 is disposed on the side wall of the cylinder 301 and communicates with the inside of the cylinder 301, and is used to tangentially introduce airflow into the cylinder 301. The air outlet 305 is disposed at the top of the cylinder 301.

[0064] Specifically, in actual use, the first baffle 308 is opened to convey dried chili peppers into the filter cylinder 307; the first baffle 308 is closed, and the cyclone separator 3 is opened. The cyclone separator 3 draws air out of the cylinder 301 from the air outlet 305, creating a negative pressure inside the cylinder 301. Air enters from the air inlet 304. Since the air inlet 304 is set tangentially to the cylinder 301, the air entering from the air inlet 304 forms a rotating airflow inside the cylinder 301. The airflow causes the dried chili peppers and impurities to rotate inside the cylinder 301. Because the mass of stones and other impurities is greater than that of dried chili peppers, the stones and other impurities are subject to greater centrifugal force and are thrown to the outer ring. After being filtered by the filter cylinder 307, they enter the space between the filter cylinder 307 and the cylinder 301 and fall down. Subsequently, the lighter dried chili peppers move towards the air outlet 305 and enter the next device.

[0065] In a preferred embodiment, the shearing device 7 in step S3 includes a mounting frame 701, a rotating drum, a cutting blade, and a waste conveying device. The rotating drum is rotatably connected inside the mounting frame 701 and is also connected to a driving device, which drives the rotating drum to rotate. A feeding device is provided on one side of the mounting frame 701, and a discharging device is provided on the other side. Both the feeding device and the discharging device can rotate synchronously with the rotating drum. Several through holes are provided on the side wall of the rotating drum. The cutting blade is fixedly installed at the bottom of the mounting frame 701. The waste conveying device includes an auger shaft 702 and a material trough 703. The material trough 703 is installed at the bottom of the mounting frame 701, and the auger shaft 702 is rotatably connected inside the material trough 703.

[0066] The dried chilies introduced into the chili cutter 7 are located inside the rotating drum. As the drum rotates, the end of the chili with the stem is heavier, so it is thrown towards one side of the inner wall of the drum. As the drum rotates, the chili stem gradually enters the through hole on the drum and extends out of the through hole. When the chili stem passes the position of the cutting blade, it is cut off by the cutting blade. The cut chili stem falls into the feed trough 703, and then the auger shaft 702 is activated. The auger disc on the auger shaft 702 transports the chili stem to one side and discharges it.

[0067] In a preferred embodiment, the color sorter 12 in step S5 includes a body 124, a feeding system, an optical sensing system, an electronic control system 121, and a sorting system 127.

[0068] The feeding system includes a feeding zone 126 and a vibration device 125; the feeding system is used to evenly convey chili peppers into the machine body 124;

[0069] The optical sensing system includes a high-speed camera 123, a light source 122, and a lens; the optical sensing system is used to acquire images of chili pepper segments.

[0070] The electronic control system 121 includes an image processor and a central processing unit; the electronic control system 121 is used to sort out chili segments with chili caps.

[0071] The sorting system 127 includes a signal receiving device and an execution unit; the sorting system 127 is used to receive instructions from the electronic control system 121 and remove chili segments with chili caps.

[0072] Chili segments enter the working area of ​​color sorter 12 through the feeding system.

[0073] The optical sensing system performs high-speed image acquisition and analysis of chili pepper segments, detecting features such as color, shape, and size.

[0074] The electronic control system 121 receives signals from the optical sensing system and analyzes and judges them according to preset parameters. The parameters are adjusted according to the specific color of the chili pepper segments.

[0075] According to the instructions of the electronic control system 121, the sorting system 127 sorts the chili pepper segments that are determined to be processed. The sorting system 127 separates the processed segments from the flowing chili pepper segments by means of airflow, spray device or robotic arm.

[0076] After sorting, the processed chili segments and the normal chili segments are transported to different outlets for further processing.

[0077] In this embodiment, the color sorter 12 can adopt existing technology, specifically the 6SXZ-68 chili color sorter.

[0078] In a preferred embodiment, in step S3, dried chilies with their stems removed by the stem cutter 7 are transferred to the manual sorting table 8, where chilies with uncut stems are manually selected.

[0079] In a preferred embodiment, the kneading machine in S6 includes a housing, a kneading roller is disposed inside the housing, and a pad is disposed at the bottom of the kneading roller; the kneading force is controlled by controlling the distance between the kneading roller and the pad.

[0080] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "coaxial," "bottom," "one end," "top," "middle," "other end," "upper," "side," "top," "inner," "front," "center," "both ends," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They 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. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0081] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "setting," "connection," "fixing," "screw connection," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal connection of two components or the interaction between two components. Unless otherwise explicitly limited, those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0082] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method of de-heading dried chilli characterized by: The method comprises the following steps: S1, pour the dried dried chilli into the feeding groove (1); wherein the water content of the dried chilli is less than 20%; S2, send the dried chilli in the feeding groove (1) into the cyclone separator (3) through the first conveying belt (2); S3, the dried chilli after impurity removal is transmitted to the vibrating distributor (5) through the second conveying belt (4); the vibrating distributor (5) uniformly puts the dried chilli into the middle conveying belt (6), and the middle conveying belt (6) puts the dried chilli into the stem cutting device (7) to cut the stems of the chilli; S4, the dried chilli with cut stems is transmitted to the cutting crusher (10) through the third conveying belt (9), and the cutting crusher (10) cuts the chilli into several segments; among the chilli segments, the chilli segment with a chilli cap is a processing segment; the processing segment comprises a chilli node and a chilli cap; S5, the chilli segments cut into several segments are transmitted to the color sorter (12) through the fourth conveying belt (11); the color sorter (12) selects the processing segment, and other chilli segments are discharged through the outlet of the color sorter (12); S6, the processing segment is put into the rubbing machine through the fifth conveying belt, and the rubbing machine is used for rubbing the processing segment; at this time, the processing segment in the rubbing machine includes the following cases: A1, the chilli node is not rubbed into pieces; A2, the chilli node is rubbed into pieces, and the chilli cap is not rubbed into pieces; A3, the chilli node and the chilli cap are both rubbed into pieces; Wherein, A2 is the target condition; when A1 occurs, the rubbing force of the rubbing machine needs to be gradually increased until A2 occurs; when A3 occurs, the rubbing force of the rubbing machine needs to be gradually reduced until A2 occurs; S7, filter the chilli cap from the rubbing mixture.

2. A method of de-heading dried chillies as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The cyclone separator (3) in step S2 comprises a cylinder (301), an air inlet (304), an air outlet (305), a feeding port (302), a filter cylinder (307), and a debris collection box (306); wherein the filter cylinder (307) is circumferentially provided with a plurality of filter holes, and the filter cylinder (307) is arranged in the cylinder (301); the feeding port (302) is arranged on the cylinder (301) and communicates with the filter cylinder (307); a first baffle (308) is hinged at the opening of the feeding port (302); the debris collection box (306) is arranged at the bottom of the cylinder (301); the air inlet (304) is arranged on the side wall of the cylinder (301) and communicates with the inside of the cylinder (301), and the air inlet (304) is used for tangentially introducing air flow into the cylinder (301); the air outlet (305) is arranged at the top of the cylinder (301).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: The stalk cutter (7) in step S3 comprises a mounting frame (701), a rotating drum, a cutting knife and a waste conveying device; the rotating drum is rotationally connected to the inside of the mounting frame (701), and the rotating drum is further connected with a driving device for driving the rotating drum to rotate; the mounting frame (701) is provided with a feeding device on one side and an ejection device on the other side, and the feeding device and the ejection device can rotate synchronously with the rotating drum; a plurality of through holes are arranged on the side wall of the rotating drum; the cutting knife is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the mounting frame (701); the waste conveying device comprises an auger shaft (702) and a chute (703), and the chute (703) is arranged at the bottom of the mounting frame (701), and the auger shaft (702) is rotationally connected in the chute (703).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: The color sorter (12) in step S5 comprises a machine body (124), a feeding system, an optical sensing system, an electronic control system (121) and a sorting system (127); The feeding system comprises a feeding area (126) and a vibrating device (125); the feeding system is used for uniformly conveying the peppers into the machine body (124); The optical sensing system comprises a high-speed camera (123), a light source (122) and a lens; the optical sensing system is used for collecting the image of the pepper segment; The electronic control system (121) comprises an image processor and a central processing unit; the electronic control system (121) is used for sorting out the pepper segment with the pepper cap in the pepper segment; The sorting system (127) comprises a signal receiving device and an execution part; the sorting system (127) is used for receiving the instruction of the electronic control system (121) and rejecting the pepper segment with the pepper cap.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: In step S3, the dry peppers with the pepper stalks removed by the stalk cutter (7) are conveyed to the artificial sorting table (8), and the peppers without the pepper stalks removed are selected by artificial.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: The rubbing machine in S6 comprises a shell, a rubbing roller is arranged in the shell, and a pad is arranged at the bottom of the rubbing roller; the rubbing degree is controlled by controlling the distance between the rubbing roller and the pad.

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