A walnut ultrasonic shell breaking and kernel taking device

Abstract

The application relates to the walnut processing technical field and discloses a walnut ultrasonic shell breaking and kernel taking device, which comprises a rack, a walnut conveying mechanism arranged on the rack, a walnut shell breaking mechanism and a material collecting mechanism. The walnut conveying mechanism is used for driving the fallen walnuts to move and is conveyed to the walnut shell breaking mechanism. The walnut shell breaking mechanism drives the walnuts to move and extrudes the walnuts to break the shells through ultrasonic high-frequency vibration. The material collecting mechanism is used for screening and collecting the walnut kernels and the walnut shells after the shells are broken. The walnut conveying mechanism, the walnut shell breaking mechanism and the material collecting mechanism realize the processes of walnut conveying, extrusion shell breaking and recovery. The ultrasonic wave is applied to the walnut shell breaking field. The walnut shells in Yunnan are hard and have small kernel-shell gaps. The high-frequency vibration under the mechanical effect of the ultrasonic wave is suitable for the characteristics of hard and brittle material breaking, assists the walnut shell breaking, and improves the shell breaking rate and the whole kernel rate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of walnut primary processing technology, and more specifically, to a walnut ultrasonic shell-breaking and kernel-extraction device. Background Technology

[0002] Shelling and kernel extraction is the first step in the deep processing of walnuts, playing a crucial role in the smooth progress of subsequent processing stages and enhancing the economic added value of walnuts. While China has a huge walnut production, the processing rate is low, with most walnuts sold unprocessed, resulting in low economic added value. Therefore, there is a significant demand for shelling and kernel extraction of walnuts.

[0003] While there is an increasing variety of shelling and kernel-extracting equipment available, it is difficult to simultaneously address issues such as processing costs, efficiency, broken kernel rate, and finished product edibility standards. Existing shelling and kernel-extracting machines often suffer from low kernel integrity, excessive broken kernels, and poor variety adaptability. Therefore, many producing areas still rely on manual methods for shelling and kernel extraction. Although this method yields a relatively high kernel integrity rate, it is costly and inefficient, which contributes to the high price of walnut kernels sold in the market. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the technical problems existing in the prior art by providing an ultrasonic shell-breaking and kernel-extracting device for walnuts, which can improve the integrity of walnut kernels and reduce the kernel breakage rate during the shell-breaking process. The device has a simple and reliable structure.

[0005] To address the problems mentioned above, the technical solution adopted by this invention is as follows:

[0006] This invention provides a walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device, comprising a frame, a walnut conveying mechanism, a walnut shell-cracking mechanism, and a material collection mechanism disposed on the frame;

[0007] The walnut conveying mechanism is used to move the falling walnuts and transport them to the walnut shelling mechanism; the walnut shelling mechanism drives the walnuts conveyed by the walnut conveying mechanism and squeezes and cracks the walnuts through ultrasonic high-frequency vibration; the material collection mechanism is used to screen and collect the walnut kernels and walnut shells after they have been cracked.

[0008] The walnut shell-breaking mechanism includes a shell-breaking frame mounted on a machine frame, a shell-breaking pressure plate mounted on the shell-breaking frame, an upper roller assembly, a shell-breaking reduction motor, an ultrasonic component, and a lower roller assembly. At least two sets of shell-breaking pressure plates are arranged opposite each other on the shell-breaking frame, forming a shell-breaking space between adjacent pressure plates. The distance between the pressure plates gradually decreases with the direction of walnut movement. An upper roller assembly and a lower roller assembly are arranged opposite each other on both sides of the pressure plate. The upper and lower roller assemblies are respectively connected to the shell-breaking reduction motor and correspond to the positions of the shell-breaking space. Each upper and lower roller assembly includes multiple soft rollers that mimic swallowing motions, with the two sets of soft rollers in each assembly moving in opposite directions. The ultrasonic component is connected to the pressure plate and is used to drive the pressure plate to ultrasonically vibrate and squeeze the walnut.

[0009] Furthermore, the walnut conveying mechanism includes a conveying cover mounted on the frame, a drive sprocket assembly, a chain, a driven sprocket assembly, a transmission roller assembly, and a transmission reduction motor mounted inside the conveying cover; the transmission reduction motor is connected to the drive sprocket assembly, and the drive sprocket assembly and the driven sprocket assembly are arranged opposite to each other; the drive sprocket assembly and the driven sprocket assembly are connected by corresponding chains, and transmission roller assemblies are arranged sequentially between adjacent chains for conveying walnuts.

[0010] Furthermore, the transmission roller assembly includes multiple rollers arranged sequentially along the chain's direction of movement. Each set of rollers is capable of rotation, and the axis of each set of rollers is perpendicular to the chain's direction of movement.

[0011] Furthermore, an inlet block is inclinedly provided at the end of the conveying cover, and a conveying groove is provided on the inlet block, which corresponds to the surface of the transmission roller assembly.

[0012] Furthermore, the size of the two sets of soft rollers in the upper and lower roller sets gradually increases along the direction of the walnut's movement.

[0013] Furthermore, the walnut shell-cracking mechanism also includes multiple rubber timing belts, with adjacent rubber timing belts staggered and connected to corresponding soft rollers.

[0014] Furthermore, the ultrasonic component includes an ultrasonic power supply and an ultrasonic transducer connected together, the ultrasonic transducer being connected to the shell-breaking pressure plate.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0016] (1) This invention realizes the process of walnut conveying, extrusion and extrusion, and recycling through walnut conveying mechanism, walnut shell breaking mechanism and material collection mechanism, and applies ultrasonic waves to the field of walnut shell breaking. Yunnan walnuts have hard shells and small gaps between shells and kernels. The high-frequency vibration under the mechanical effect of ultrasonic waves is suitable for the characteristics of breaking hard and brittle materials, assisting in walnut shell breaking, improving the shell breaking rate and whole kernel rate. Although the amplitude of ultrasonic waves is very small, the particle acceleration caused by ultrasonic waves is very large. This method assists in crack propagation, thereby achieving the purpose of using less extrusion force to achieve better shell breaking effect. The overall structure is simple, the function is reliable and easy to implement.

[0017] (2) The present invention can greatly improve the integrity of the kernel of Yunnan walnut after shelling. That is, the walnut shelling mechanism breaks the shell by means of ultrasound. The ultrasonic vibration amplitude is only a few micrometers. While squeezing, ultrasonic vibration is applied, the walnut shell is fatigued and cracked with less damage to the kernel. The walnut shelling mechanism can also realize the transportation of walnuts. That is, silicone soft rollers are used. By setting appropriate gaps and staggering, the shelled walnuts and the broken walnuts are transported forward without damaging the unshelled walnuts and kernels.

[0018] (3) The walnut shelling mechanism of the present invention uses relatively fixed shelling plates arranged in opposite directions and the gap between adjacent shelling plates is continuously reduced to achieve ultrasonic shelling and squeezing of walnuts, thereby reducing the action of the walnut shelling mechanism and reducing the impact of ultrasonic vibration on the entire device. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the solutions in this invention, a brief introduction to the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be provided below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without any creative effort. Wherein:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the ultrasonic shell-breaking and kernel-extracting device for walnuts according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the walnut conveying mechanism in this invention.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the walnut shell-breaking mechanism in this invention.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the walnut conveying mechanism and the walnut shell-breaking mechanism in this invention.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of walnut swallowing in the walnut shell-breaking mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of ultrasonic vibration of the shell-breaking pressure plate in this invention.

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the ultrasonic component in this invention.

[0027] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 1-Walnut conveying mechanism, 2-Walnut shell-breaking mechanism, 3-Material collection mechanism, 4-Frame, 11-Drive sprocket, 12-Chain, 13-Driven sprocket, 14-Roller, 15-Drive shaft, 16-Conveyor reduction motor, 17-Conveyor cover, 18-Inlet block, 181-Conveyor trough, 21-Shell-breaking pressure plate, 22-Upper roller assembly, 23-First rubber synchronous belt, 24-Second rubber synchronous belt, 25-Shell-breaking reduction motor, 26-Ultrasonic transducer, 27-Ultrasonic power supply, 28-Shell-breaking frame, 29-Lower roller assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0028] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. For example, terms such as “length,” “width,” “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “front,” “rear,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” and “outer” indicate orientations or positions based on the orientations or positions shown in the accompanying drawings and are for ease of description only, and should not be construed as limiting the technical solution.

[0029] The terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a particular order. In the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention, when an element is referred to as "fixed to," "mounted to," "disposed of," or "connected to" another element, it may be directly or indirectly located on that other element. For example, when an element is referred to as "connected to" another element, it may be directly or indirectly connected to that other element.

[0030] Furthermore, the reference to "embodiment" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

[0031] It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0032] See Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device, including a frame 4, a walnut conveying mechanism 1, a walnut shell-cracking mechanism 2, and a material collection mechanism 3 mounted on the frame 4.

[0033] The walnut conveying mechanism 1 is used to drive the falling walnuts and transport them to the walnut shelling mechanism 2; the walnut shelling mechanism 2 drives the walnuts conveyed by the walnut conveying mechanism 1 and squeezes and cracks the walnuts through ultrasonic high-frequency vibration; the material collection mechanism 3 is used to screen and collect the walnut kernels and walnut shells after they have been cracked.

[0034] Specifically, the entire device is 1600mm long, 620mm wide, and 1080mm high. The various mechanisms (i.e., walnut conveying mechanism 1, walnut shell breaking mechanism 2, and material collection mechanism 3) are connected by an aluminum profile frame 4 to form the entire device. The overall structure is compact and the layout is reasonable.

[0035] As attached Figure 2 As shown, the walnut conveying mechanism 1 includes a conveying cover 17, a drive sprocket assembly 11, a chain 12, a driven sprocket assembly 13, a transmission roller assembly, a transmission shaft 15, and a transmission reduction motor 16 disposed within the conveying cover 17. The conveying cover 17 is disposed on the frame 4.

[0036] The transmission reduction motor 16 is connected to the drive sprocket group 11 via the transmission shaft 15. The drive sprocket group 11 and the driven sprocket group 13 are arranged opposite to each other and in parallel. Chains 12 are arranged between the drive sprocket group 11 and the driven sprocket group 13 for transmission cooperation. Transmission roller groups are arranged between adjacent chains 12 to realize the transmission of the falling walnuts.

[0037] Furthermore, the transmission roller group includes multiple rollers 14 arranged sequentially along the movement direction of the chain 12. Each group of rollers 14 can rotate on its own axis, and the axis of each group of rollers 14 is perpendicular to the movement direction of the chain 12. This makes it convenient for adjacent groups of rollers 14 to hold the walnut and drive the walnut to move in the direction of the walnut cracking mechanism 2.

[0038] Furthermore, an inlet block 18 is provided at the end of the conveyor cover 17, and a conveying groove 181 is provided on the inlet block 18. The conveying groove 181 corresponds to the surface of the transmission roller assembly, which facilitates the introduction of walnuts and drives the walnuts to move. Specifically, the inlet block 18 is inclined, that is, the angle between the conveying groove 181 and the movement direction of the chain 12 is 0°~90°, which can improve the conveying efficiency of the inlet block 18, that is, the walnuts can be easily introduced onto the surface of the transmission roller assembly.

[0039] In this embodiment, the walnut conveying mechanism 1 consists of two sets of sprockets and chains with a self-rotating roller sandwiched in between. It is powered by a transmission reduction motor 16, which drives the active sprocket group 11 to rotate at the same speed through the transmission shaft 15. This causes the chain 12 to move forward and also drives the driven sprocket group 13 to rotate. While the roller is driven by the chain 12, it also rolls due to the friction between itself and the walnut. The roller 14 of the transmission roller group drives the walnut forward and also turns the walnut so that the line connecting the ends of the walnut is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the chain 12.

[0040] As attached Figure 3 As shown, the walnut shell-breaking mechanism 2 includes a shell-breaking frame 28 ( Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the shell-breaking pressure plate 21, upper roller group 22, shell-breaking reduction motor 25, ultrasonic component, and lower roller group 29 are arranged on the shell-breaking frame 28, and the shell-breaking frame 28 is arranged on the frame 4.

[0041] At least two sets of shell-breaking pressure plates 21 are arranged opposite each other on the shell-breaking frame 28, forming a shell-breaking space between adjacent shell-breaking pressure plates 21. The spacing between adjacent shell-breaking pressure plates 21 is matched with the walnut, and the walnut falls into the shell-breaking space to be clamped. Upper roller group 22 and lower roller group 29 are arranged opposite each other on both sides of the shell-breaking pressure plate 21. The upper roller group 22 and lower roller group 29 are respectively connected to the shell-breaking reduction motor 25 and correspond to the position of the shell-breaking space, driving the walnut to move forward. The ultrasonic component is connected to the shell-breaking pressure plate 21 and drives the shell-breaking pressure plate 21 to perform ultrasonic vibration, thereby pressing and cracking the walnut.

[0042] Furthermore, the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 each include a plurality of soft rollers that mimic swallowing. The two sets of soft rollers in the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 move in opposite directions. The size of the two sets of soft rollers in the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 gradually increases along the direction of movement of the walnut, so that the gap between the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 gradually decreases along the direction of movement of the walnut.

[0043] Furthermore, the walnut shell-breaking mechanism 2 also includes multiple rubber timing belts, with adjacent rubber timing belts staggered and connected to corresponding soft rollers, facilitating the forward movement of the walnuts.

[0044] Specifically, taking the rubber timing belt connected to one side of the upper roller assembly 22 as an example, multiple first rubber timing belts 23 and second rubber timing belts 24 are staggered and partially connected along the direction of the walnut's movement. The first rubber timing belt 23 connects to soft roller b and soft roller c, and the second rubber timing belt 24 connects to soft roller c and soft roller d, and so on. Similarly, the rubber timing belts connected to one side of the lower roller assembly 29 are also staggered and partially connected, which can simulate the muscle movement during swallowing and reliably drive the walnut forward.

[0045] Furthermore, the spacing between adjacent shell-breaking plates 21 gradually decreases along the direction of walnut movement, and the spacing ranges from 34mm to 40mm, which can accommodate walnuts of different sizes, thereby improving the shell-breaking efficiency of walnuts; specifically, the spacing between adjacent shell-breaking plates 21 can be 34mm, 36mm, 38mm, or 40mm.

[0046] In this embodiment, the conveying part of the walnut conveying mechanism 2 simulates the muscle movement during swallowing. The soft rollers arranged alternately in the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 drive the walnut to move. When the walnut conveying mechanism 2 is running, the shell-breaking reduction motor 25 works, driving the rollers in the upper roller group 22 to rotate counterclockwise and the rollers in the lower roller group 29 to rotate clockwise, thereby simulating the muscle movement of swallowing and driving the walnut forward. The distance between the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 is 32mm, and the diameter of the soft rollers can gradually increase from 30mm to 32mm.

[0047] As attached Figure 6 As shown, the ultrasonic component includes a connected ultrasonic power supply 27 and an ultrasonic transducer 26. The ultrasonic transducer 26 is connected to the shell-breaking pressure plate 21. The ultrasonic transducer 26 excites the shell-breaking pressure plate 21 to vibrate at high frequency, thereby causing the symmetrically arranged shell-breaking pressure plates 21 to exert high-frequency pressure on the walnuts in the shell-breaking space to break the shells. Figure 7 As shown.

[0048] Specifically, the ultrasonic vibration frequency is about 20kHz and the amplitude is about 2~4µm, which can reliably excite the ultrasonic shell-breaking plate to vibrate at high frequency, thereby causing the symmetrically arranged shell-breaking plate to exert high-frequency pressure on the walnut, causing the walnut to crack and ensuring the reliability of the device.

[0049] The ultrasonic shell-breaking and kernel-extracting device for walnuts provided by this invention operates as follows:

[0050] As attached Figure 4As shown, the walnuts enter the walnut conveying mechanism 1 through the feeding mechanism, that is, after entering the conveying groove 181 of the guide block 18, the walnuts are conveyed and turned. During the walnut conveying process, the rollers 14 in the transmission roller group move with the active sprocket group 11, the driven sprocket group 13 and the chain 12, so that the walnuts are transported forward. At the same time, the rotation of the rollers 14 makes the tip and navel of the walnuts face the two sides of the device respectively.

[0051] After the walnuts are conveyed into the walnut cracking mechanism 2, they enter the cracking space between the two cracking pressure plates 21 and are clamped. The cracking reduction motor 25 drives the upper roller group 22 and the lower roller group 29 to move, simulating the muscle movement during swallowing. The rotation of the soft rollers applies a certain pressure to the walnuts without damaging them. Relying on the friction in this process, the walnuts continue to move forward. Since the cracking pressure plates 21, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the walnut, are connected to the ultrasonic component, the gap between the cracking pressure plates 21 gradually decreases as the walnuts move, achieving the clamping of walnuts of different sizes. In addition, the cracking pressure plates 21 are connected to the ultrasonic component, and the ultrasonic transducer 26 drives the cracking pressure plates 21 to perform ultrasonic vibration. As walnuts enter the cracking space, ultrasonic vibration squeezes and cracks the shells of walnuts of different sizes, completing the walnut cracking action.

[0052] The separated walnut shells and kernels continue to be conveyed and enter the material collection mechanism 3 to collect the partially cracked walnuts into the shell-kernel separation screening mechanism.

[0053] In this embodiment of the invention, the characteristics of high-frequency ultrasonic vibration are utilized, and the ultrasonic vibration amplitude is only a few micrometers. While squeezing the walnut, ultrasonic vibration is applied, causing the walnut shell to fatigue and crack with minimal damage to the walnut kernel. The high-frequency vibration under the mechanical effect of ultrasound is suitable for cracking hard and brittle materials, assisting in the cracking of the walnut shell. This achieves the goal of squeezing the walnut shell while minimizing damage to the walnut kernel, thereby increasing the one-time shell cracking rate of the walnut.

[0054] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments. Any changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, or simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be considered equivalent substitutions and shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device, characterized in that: Includes a frame, a walnut conveying mechanism, a walnut shelling mechanism, and a material collection mechanism mounted on the frame; The walnut conveying mechanism is used to move the falling walnuts and transport them to the walnut shelling mechanism; the walnut shelling mechanism drives the walnuts conveyed by the walnut conveying mechanism and squeezes and cracks the walnuts through ultrasonic high-frequency vibration; the material collection mechanism is used to screen and collect the walnut kernels and walnut shells after they have been cracked. The walnut shell-breaking mechanism includes a shell-breaking frame mounted on a machine frame, a shell-breaking pressure plate mounted on the shell-breaking frame, an upper roller assembly, a shell-breaking reduction motor, an ultrasonic component, and a lower roller assembly. At least two sets of shell-breaking pressure plates are arranged opposite each other on the shell-breaking frame, forming a shell-breaking space between adjacent pressure plates. The distance between the pressure plates gradually decreases with the direction of walnut movement. An upper roller assembly and a lower roller assembly are arranged opposite each other on both sides of the pressure plate. The upper and lower roller assemblies are respectively connected to the shell-breaking reduction motor and correspond to the positions of the shell-breaking space. Each upper and lower roller assembly includes multiple soft rollers that mimic swallowing motions, with the two sets of soft rollers in each assembly moving in opposite directions. The ultrasonic component is connected to the pressure plate and is used to drive the pressure plate to ultrasonically vibrate and squeeze the walnut.

2. The walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The walnut conveying mechanism includes a conveying cover mounted on the frame, a drive sprocket assembly, a chain, a driven sprocket assembly, a transmission roller assembly, and a conveying reduction motor mounted inside the conveying cover. The transmission reduction motor is connected to the drive sprocket group, and the drive sprocket group and the driven sprocket group are arranged opposite to each other; the drive sprocket group and the driven sprocket group are respectively connected by chains, and transmission roller groups are arranged sequentially between adjacent chains for conveying walnuts.

3. The walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transmission roller assembly includes multiple rollers arranged sequentially along the direction of chain movement. Each set of rollers is capable of rotation, and the axis of each set of rollers is perpendicular to the direction of chain movement.

4. The walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device according to claim 2, characterized in that: An inlet block is inclinedly provided at the end of the conveying cover, and a conveying groove is provided on the inlet block, which corresponds to the surface of the transmission roller assembly.

5. The walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the two sets of soft rollers in the upper and lower roller sets gradually increases along the direction of the walnut's movement.

6. The walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The walnut shell-cracking mechanism also includes multiple rubber timing belts, with adjacent rubber timing belts staggered and connected to corresponding soft rollers.

7. The walnut ultrasonic shell-cracking and kernel-extracting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ultrasonic component includes an ultrasonic power supply and an ultrasonic transducer connected together, and the ultrasonic transducer is connected to the shell-breaking pressure plate.

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