Self-adapting multi-specification areca fruit peduncle removing device

Abstract

This invention discloses an adaptive multi-size areca nut destemming device, comprising a hopper feeding system, a material distribution and lifting system, a fruit-hole conveyor belt positioning system, a double-headed flexible reverse rotation destemming system, a multi-track synchronous opening and closing mechanism with fruit length adaptation, and a return and collection system. Areca nuts are fed into the lifting conveyor belt via a conical guide hopper, separated individually by an outward-facing octagonal groove, and guided into the semi-elliptical fruit holes of the positioning conveyor belt by material distribution guide wheels. Upon reaching the destemming station, the two destemming heads clamp both ends of the areca nut under the action of the synchronous opening and closing mechanism and the fruit length adaptation mechanism, and separate the fruit stem by reverse rotation. Abnormal fruits are returned through a screening port and a return trough, while the destemmed pulp and fruit stem are guided and collected separately. This invention can adapt to continuous automatic destemming of areca nuts of different sizes, and has the advantages of stable material distribution, accurate positioning, high destemming efficiency, and high degree of automation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a betel nut processing device, specifically an adaptive multi-specification betel nut stem removal device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the initial processing of areca nuts typically requires the removal of the stem. Only by effectively removing the stem from the end of the fruit can subsequent processes such as washing, steaming, drying, cutting, and further processing proceed smoothly. Most current areca nut stem removal operations still rely on manual labor. Workers usually pick up the areca nuts one by one and then manually break, twist, or use simple knives to remove the stem. This method is not only labor-intensive and inefficient, but also highly dependent on the operator's skill level. When facing the demands of large-scale, continuous processing, it is difficult to meet the efficiency and stability requirements of modern production lines.

[0003] With the development of automated processing equipment, some mechanical devices for sorting, conveying, or end-processing fruits and vegetables have emerged on the market. However, most existing equipment is designed for materials with regular shapes. For materials like areca nuts, which vary greatly in size, have inconsistent shapes, and differ between the stem end and the fruit body, and whose incoming posture is chaotic, it is often difficult to achieve stable and continuous automatic stem removal. On the one hand, during the feeding process, multiple areca nuts are prone to stacking, side by side, jamming, or exhibiting abnormal postures. Without an effective single-nut separation and abnormal screening structure, subsequent positioning disorders can easily occur, thus affecting the stem removal accuracy. On the other hand, the length, diameter, and shape of areca nuts vary to some extent. If the clamping distance of the stem removal mechanism is fixed, problems such as clamping too tightly and damaging the fruit, clamping too loosely and slipping, or being incompatible with areca nuts of different sizes can easily occur, resulting in unstable stem removal effects.

[0004] Furthermore, even existing automated processing structures that can achieve conveying often only possess basic load-bearing or simple clamping functions, lacking a dedicated design for reverse rotation and stem removal tailored to the characteristics of both ends of the areca nut. In particular, there is a lack of a complete set of equipment capable of simultaneously achieving single-fruit separation, fixed-distance positioning, flexible double-end clamping, adaptive length compensation, and separate collection of the stem and pulp during continuous conveying. As a result, existing devices often suffer from low automation, limited adaptability to different sizes, incomplete stem removal, easy damage to the fruit, difficulty in timely return of abnormal materials, and poor overall processing continuity, failing to meet the actual needs of large-scale, standardized areca nut production. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides an adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device, which effectively overcomes the shortcomings of existing technologies.

[0006] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: an adaptive multi-specification areca nut destemming device, including a hopper feeding system, a material distribution and lifting system, a fruit hole crawler positioning and conveying system, a double-head flexible reverse rotation destemming system, a multi-track synchronous opening and closing and fruit length adaptive mechanism, and a return material collection system. The hopper feeding system includes a conical guide hopper and a conical guide structure disposed at the bottom of the conical guide hopper. The lower discharge end of the conical guide hopper is connected to the feed end of the material distribution and lifting system. A blockage-removing vibrator is also disposed on the conical guide hopper. The material distribution and lifting system includes an inclined lifting conveyor belt, conical guide plates on both sides of the lifting conveyor belt, and an outward octagonal groove formed on the surface of the lifting conveyor belt. The conical guide plates extend along the conveying direction of the lifting conveyor belt and cooperate with the belt surface of the lifting conveyor belt so that the outward octagonal groove limits the accommodating space of a single areca nut. A positioning abnormality screening port and a return trough communicating with the positioning abnormality screening port are provided on one side or below the lifting conveyor belt. The fruit pit track positioning and conveying system is located downstream of the discharge end of the material distribution and lifting system. It includes a positioning conveyor track and a material distribution guide wheel located at the feed end of the positioning conveyor track. The positioning conveyor track has multiple semi-elliptical fruit pits spaced apart along the conveying direction. The material distribution guide wheel is located between the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt and the positioning conveyor track to guide the areca nuts output by the lifting conveyor belt into the corresponding semi-elliptical fruit pits. The positioning conveyor track also has a positioning abnormality screening port and a return trough on one side or below. The dual-head flexible reverse rotation destemming system is set on both sides of the destemming station of the positioning conveyor belt, including two sets of destemming motors arranged opposite each other and destemming heads respectively installed on the output end of the corresponding destemming motors. The two sets of destemming heads are arranged facing each other and respectively correspond to the two ends of the areca nut. The multi-track synchronous opening and closing and fruit length adaptive mechanism includes a closing power source, an opening and closing slide, an opening and closing follower, an opening and closing slider, a fruit length adaptive slider, and a fruit length adaptive precision spring. The closing power source is driven and connected to the opening and closing slide. The opening and closing follower is slidably disposed in the opening and closing slide. The opening and closing slider is driven and connected to the opening and closing follower, so that the opening and closing slider performs synchronous opening and closing movements under the drive of the closing power source. The fruit length adaptive slider is slidably mounted on the opening and closing slider. The fruit length adaptive precision spring is disposed between the opening and closing slider and the fruit length adaptive slider. The stem removal motor and the stem removal head are mounted on the fruit length adaptive slider, so that the stem removal head can relatively extend and retract with the length of the areca nut under the action of the fruit length adaptive precision spring. The reflux collection system includes a pulp collection guide and a stem collection guide. The stem collection guide is located below the stem removal station, and the pulp collection guide is located below the discharge end of the positioning conveyor belt. Abnormal areca nuts fall into the reflux trough through the abnormal screening port and then flow back to the conical guide hopper. The pulp and stems after stem removal are collected separately by the pulp collection guide and the stem collection guide, respectively.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution, the conical guide plates are respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the lifting conveyor belt, and the two conical guide plates are arranged opposite each other above or to the side of the lifting conveyor belt. The lower edge of the conical guide plates and the belt surface of the lifting conveyor belt together form the outer octagonal groove, so that the areca nuts can only be inserted into the outer octagonal groove in a single fruit state and be conveyed along the lifting direction during the lifting process.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution, the material distribution and lifting system further includes a flexible support rod and a flexible tension spring. The flexible tension spring is disposed above or to the side of the lifting path of the lifting conveyor belt, and the flexible support rod is disposed on the side of the lifting conveyor belt to flexibly limit the areca nuts located in the outward octagonal groove. When two or more areca nuts overlap or the areca nuts are abnormally shaped and protrude outside the outward octagonal groove, the flexible tension spring will push the abnormal areca nuts away from the lifting path and cause them to fall into the return trough through the abnormal positioning screening port.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution, the material distribution and lifting system further includes a lifting conveyor belt motor and an incoming material detection photoelectric switch. The lifting conveyor belt motor is connected to the lifting conveyor belt, and the incoming material detection photoelectric switch is located near the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt or upstream of the material distribution guide wheel. It is used to detect whether there are areca nuts that have completed single-fruit separation at the output end of the lifting conveyor belt. When no material is detected, the lifting conveyor belt motor drives the lifting conveyor belt to run continuously. When material is detected, the lifting conveyor belt motor controls the lifting conveyor belt to pause or run intermittently to wait for downstream material to be received.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution, the material distribution guide wheel is located above the front end or the front side of the positioning conveyor belt. The material distribution guide wheel and the positioning conveyor belt are connected by a synchronous belt drive. The synchronous belt drive enables the material distribution guide wheel and the positioning conveyor belt to move synchronously, so that the areca nuts falling from the lifting conveyor belt first enter the receiving position of the material distribution guide wheel, and then the material distribution guide wheel guides the areca nuts into the semi-elliptical fruit cavity on the positioning conveyor belt.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution, the semi-elliptical fruit pits are arranged sequentially at fixed intervals along the conveying direction of the positioning conveyor belt, and multiple semi-elliptical fruit pits are respectively installed on the surface of the positioning conveyor belt. After the areca nuts are guided into the semi-elliptical fruit pits by the material distribution guide wheels, the semi-elliptical fruit pits limit and perform preliminary self-positioning correction on the areca nuts, so that the areca nuts are conveyed to the destemming station at a fixed distance and in a fixed posture on the positioning conveyor belt.

[0012] As a preferred technical solution, the fruit length adaptive sliders on both sides are respectively set on both sides of the positioning conveyor belt and arranged opposite to each other. The two sets of destemming motors are respectively installed on the corresponding fruit length adaptive sliders, and the two sets of destemming heads are respectively installed on the output end of the corresponding destemming motors. The relative center lines of the two sets of destemming heads pass through the two ends of the areca nut located in the semi-elliptical fruit hole, so that the two sets of destemming heads move towards each other under the action of the opening and closing sliders and contact the fruit stem end and the fruit body end of the areca nut respectively.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution, the fruit length adaptive precision spring is disposed between the opening and closing slider and the fruit length adaptive slider, so that the fruit length adaptive slider slides elastically relative to the opening and closing slider in the direction of approaching or moving away from the stem removal head; the two sets of stem removal motors rotate in opposite directions under control, driving the corresponding stem removal heads to form a relative twisting action, wherein the stem removal head located at the fruit body end drives the areca nut fruit body to rotate, and the stem removal head located at the stem end applies a reverse rotational force to the stem, thereby achieving the separation of the stem from the fruit body under the elastic pressing action of the fruit length adaptive precision spring.

[0014] As a preferred technical solution, the closing power source is a pneumatic cylinder or an electric cylinder, the opening and closing slides are arranged symmetrically in a figure-eight shape, the opening and closing follower is set in the opening and closing slide and moves with the lifting or swinging of the opening and closing slide, and multiple sets of opening and closing sliders are respectively connected to the corresponding opening and closing follower to convert the movement of the opening and closing follower into the synchronous horizontal opening and closing movement of multiple sets of opening and closing sliders, so that the opening and closing sliders open when the positioning conveyor belt feeds material and close when the twig is removed.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution, a control center is also included. The control center is electrically connected to the deblocking vibrator, the lifting conveyor motor, the incoming material detection photoelectric switch, the stem removal motor, and the closing power source. It is used to control the start and stop of the lifting conveyor belt according to the detection signal of the incoming material detection photoelectric switch, and to control the conveying rhythm of the positioning conveyor belt, the opening and closing sequence of the opening and closing slider, and the reverse rotation of the stem removal motor. At the same time, the control center works with the positioning abnormal screening port and the return trough to realize the automatic return of abnormal areca nuts, and works with the pulp collection guide and the stem collection guide to realize the diversion and collection of pulp and stem after stem removal.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The present invention provides an adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device, which, by setting a conical guide hopper, lifting conveyor belt, conical guide plate and outward octagonal groove, can gradually guide the randomly placed areca nuts to be straightened and realize single-nut separation and conveying, reducing the phenomenon of multiple nuts overlapping, material blockage and conveying disorder, thereby improving the continuity and stability of front-end feeding.

[0017] This invention, by setting up material distribution guide wheels, positioning conveyor belts, and semi-elliptical fruit pits, can further guide the separated areca nuts into the corresponding workstations and achieve fixed-distance and fixed-posture conveying, providing a stable positioning basis for subsequent destemming operations, which is conducive to improving the overall destemming accuracy and processing consistency.

[0018] This invention, by setting up two sets of destemming motors and destemming heads arranged in opposite directions, and in conjunction with fruit length adaptive sliders and fruit length adaptive precision springs, can flexibly clamp and adaptively compensate for areca nuts of different lengths and specifications. This allows the destemming heads to have better containment and stability when in contact with both ends of the areca nuts, thereby effectively improving the equipment's adaptability to areca nuts of various specifications and avoiding fruit damage or incomplete destemming caused by fixed clamping distances.

[0019] This invention, by setting up a closing power source, an opening and closing slide, an opening and closing follower, and an opening and closing slider, can realize the synchronous opening and closing action of multiple sets of destemming mechanisms, so that the equipment can coordinate between continuous feeding and destemming operations. This not only helps to improve the automation level of the whole machine, but also improves the efficiency of batch destemming.

[0020] This invention, by setting up a positioning anomaly screening port, a return trough, a pulp collection guide, and a stem collection guide, can automatically screen out and return abnormal areca nuts that occur during the feeding or positioning process. At the same time, it can separate and collect the pulp and stem after stem removal, thereby reducing the frequency of manual intervention, improving the continuous operation capability of the equipment, and facilitating subsequent processing. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the areca nut stem removal device of the present invention. Figure 1 ; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the areca nut stem removal device of the present invention. Figure 2 ; Figure 3 This is a front structural schematic diagram of the areca nut stem removal device of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the conveyor belt groove structure of the material distribution and lifting system of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the fruit cavity structure of the fruit cavity track positioning and conveying system of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the double-headed flexible reverse rotation stem removal device of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] All features disclosed in this specification, or steps in all methods or processes disclosed herein, may be combined in any way, except for mutually exclusive features and / or steps.

[0024] Any feature disclosed in this specification (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by other equivalent or similar features for a similar purpose, unless specifically stated otherwise. That is, unless specifically stated otherwise, each feature is merely one example of a series of equivalent or similar features.

[0025] The present invention provides an adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device, such as... Figures 1 to 6 As shown, the system includes a hopper feeding system, a material distribution and lifting system, a fruit-hole track positioning and conveying system, a double-headed flexible reverse rotation destemming system, a multi-track synchronous opening and closing mechanism with fruit length adaptive mechanism, and a return and collection system. The entire machine can be installed on an integrated frame, with each system arranged sequentially along the movement direction of the areca nuts 20. This allows the areca nuts 20 to complete continuous actions within the same machine, including feeding, single-nut separation, fixed-distance positioning, double-end flexible clamping and destemming, return of abnormal fruits, and separation and collection of pulp and stem.

[0026] In this embodiment, the hopper feeding system is located at the feed end of the equipment. The hopper feeding system mainly includes a conical guide hopper 1, a conical guide structure 21, and a deblocking vibrator 25. The conical guide hopper 1 adopts a conical conical structure that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, used to receive areca nuts 20 fed in batches manually or by upstream equipment. Since areca nuts 20 are prone to mutual compression, jamming, or bridging when piled up, a deblocking vibrator 25 is installed at the bottom of the conical guide hopper 1. When working, the deblocking vibrator 25 provides periodic vibration to the conical guide hopper 1, causing the areca nuts 20 piled inside the hopper to continuously loosen and sink, preventing blockage. The conical guide structure 21 is located at the bottom of the conical guide hopper 1. The conical guide structure 21 can form one or more guiding paths according to the number of downstream lifting tracks, causing the scattered areca nuts 20 to converge towards the corresponding lifting conveyor belt 22, thereby improving the accuracy of subsequent single-nut separation and feeding efficiency.

[0027] The material distribution and lifting system is located below or downstream of the hopper feeding system. It mainly includes a lifting conveyor belt 22, conical guide plates 2, an outward-octagonal groove 19, a flexible tension spring 3, a flexible support rod 14, a lifting conveyor belt motor 26, an incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4, a positioning anomaly screening port 27, and a return trough 28. The lifting conveyor belt 22 is arranged at an angle, with its lower end close to the discharge area of ​​the conical guide hopper 1 and its upper end close to the fruit-hole track positioning and conveying system. The surface of the lifting conveyor belt 22 forms multiple pitch units along the conveying direction to support the areca nuts 20. Conical guide plates 2 are installed on both sides of the lifting conveyor belt 22, extending along the conveying direction of the lifting conveyor belt 22. Their lower edges, together with the surface of the lifting conveyor belt 22, form an outward-octagonal groove 19. The structural feature of the outward-octagonal groove 19 is that its middle part is sunken and its upper opening is relatively wide. It can accommodate a single areca nut 20 for insertion, and when multiple areca nuts 20 overlap, at least one areca nut 20 will protrude outside the outward-octagonal groove 19. Because the width, depth and pitch of the outward-octagonal groove 19 are designed to only be suitable for a single areca nut 20 to fall stably and be restricted from being lifted, when two or more areca nuts 20 enter the same outward-octagonal groove 19 at the same time, the areca nuts 20 protruding on the outside will be rejected by the flexible tension spring 3 during the lifting process.

[0028] The flexible tension spring 3 is located in the middle or upper part of the lifting path, above or to the side of the outward octagonal groove 19. The flexible support rod 14 is located on the side of the lifting conveyor belt 22. The flexible support rod 14 is mainly used to flexibly limit the areca nuts 20 in the outward octagonal groove 19, so that a single areca nut 20 in a normal posture is not easy to shake or jump out during the lifting process. The flexible tension spring 3 mainly undertakes the function of screening abnormal fruits. When two or more areca nuts 20 overlap and enter the same outward octagonal groove 19, or when a certain areca nut 20 has an abnormal posture and a part is obviously protruding outside the outward octagonal groove 19, the protruding part will first contact the flexible tension spring 3. Under the action of the lifting conveyor belt 22 continuing to move upward, the abnormal areca nut 20 will be pushed away from the original conveying trajectory by the flexible tension spring 3 and fall into the return trough 28 through the positioning abnormal screening port 27. The return trough 28 is connected to the conical guide hopper 1 or its lower return area, so that the abnormal areca nuts 20 return to the front hopper area to participate in the material distribution and lifting again, thereby preventing the abnormal nuts from directly entering the subsequent positioning and destemming station.

[0029] The lifting conveyor belt 22 is driven by the lifting conveyor belt motor 26, which can be a stepper motor or a servo motor to achieve cycle-type start-stop control. The incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4 is located near the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt 22 or upstream of the distribution guide wheel 5, and is used to detect whether the output end of the lifting conveyor belt 22 has a single areca nut 20 available for downstream reception. During operation, when the incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4 detects no material, the control center 24 controls the lifting conveyor belt motor 26 to continue running, allowing the areca nuts 20 in the conical guide hopper 1 to continue being conveyed upwards; when the incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4 detects that an areca nut 20 has arrived at the lifting end, the control center 24 controls the lifting conveyor belt motor 26 to pause or run intermittently to prevent multiple areca nuts 20 from entering the downstream receiving area simultaneously. Thus, the material distribution and lifting system achieves a transition from a scattered material pile state to a cycle-type single-nut output state.

[0030] The fruit-hole conveyor system is located downstream of the discharge end of the material distribution and lifting system. It mainly includes a positioning conveyor belt 23, a material distribution guide wheel 5, semi-elliptical fruit holes 6, a synchronous belt drive 12, and a corresponding drive structure. The positioning conveyor belt 23 can be configured as one or more parallel high-strength belts, with multiple semi-elliptical fruit holes 6 installed at fixed intervals along the conveying direction on its surface. The semi-elliptical fruit holes 6 are made of plastic or other molded parts suitable for food processing environments, and their concave shape matches the contour of the areca nuts 20, enabling preliminary self-positioning correction for areca nuts 20 of different sizes and shapes. The material distribution guide wheel 5 is located above or to the front side of the positioning conveyor belt 23, between the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt 22 and the positioning conveyor belt 23. The material distribution guide wheel 5 receives areca nuts 20 output individually from the lifting conveyor belt 22 and, through its own rotation, orderly feeds the areca nuts 20 into the corresponding semi-elliptical fruit holes 6 below.

[0031] To ensure that the movement rhythm of the material distribution guide wheel 5 and the positioning conveyor belt 23 is synchronized, in this embodiment, the material distribution guide wheel 5 and the positioning conveyor belt 23 are connected by a synchronous belt drive 12, and both are driven synchronously by the same servo drive source. Thus, when a single areca nut 20 output from the lifting conveyor belt 22 falls into the receiving position of the material distribution guide wheel 5, the material distribution guide wheel 5 rotates precisely to the receiving position, and during subsequent rotation, smoothly guides the areca nut 20 into a semi-elliptical fruit cavity 6 on the positioning conveyor belt 23. Because the material distribution guide wheel 5 and the positioning conveyor belt 23 operate synchronously, the areca nut 20, after falling from the lifting end, can precisely match the rhythm of the fruit cavity, avoiding uneven loading, rolling, or misalignment of the fruit. The positioning conveyor belt 23 is also equipped with a positioning anomaly screening port 27 and a return trough 28 during the conveying process. When a certain areca nut 20 fails to accurately enter the semi-elliptical fruit cavity 6, but instead straddles the surface of the conveyor belt or has an obviously abnormal posture, the areca nut 20 will fall into the return trough 28 through the positioning anomaly screening port 27 during subsequent conveying, and then return to the conical guide hopper 1 to participate in the feeding again. After the above two-stage screening, it can be ensured that the areca nuts 20 that reach the stem removal station are basically those that have completed single fruit separation, are arranged at fixed intervals, and have relatively stable postures.

[0032] The dual-head flexible reverse rotation stem removal system is located on both sides of the stem removal station of the positioning conveyor belt 23. It mainly includes two sets of stem removal motors 9 arranged opposite each other and stem removal heads 10 installed at the output ends of the corresponding motors 9. The two sets of stem removal heads 10 are arranged facing each other, with their relative center lines passing through the two ends of the areca nuts 20 located in the semi-elliptical fruit pit 6. The surface of the stem removal heads 10 in contact with the areca nuts 20 is covered with a food-grade flexible wear-resistant material. This flexible layer provides greater friction when in contact with the fruit, while also reducing the risk of crushing the areca nut skin. Because the two sets of stem removal motors 9 rotate in opposite directions under the control of the control center 24, the two sets of stem removal heads 10, when brought together, will create a relative twisting motion at both ends of the areca nuts 20. In actual operation, one set of stem-removing heads 10 located at the fruit end forms reliable friction with the fruit surface through a flexible covering layer, thereby causing the entire areca nut 20 to rotate 2 to 5 times. The other set of stem-removing heads 10 located at the stem end rotates in the opposite direction and continuously twists and rubs the stem part in the opposite direction, thereby causing the connection between the stem and the fruit to detach under relative torsional load, thus achieving stem removal. Since the two sets of stem-removing heads 10 respectively wrap around both ends of the areca nut 20 and rely on relative rotation to complete the separation, this solution does not require complex identification of the stem orientation. As long as the two ends are effectively in contact and a relative torque is formed, the stem removal action can be completed under different orientation scenarios.

[0033] To enable the destemming system to adapt to areca nuts 20 of different lengths, the equipment is equipped with a multi-track synchronous opening and closing mechanism and a fruit length adaptive mechanism. This mechanism mainly includes a closing power source 11, an opening and closing slide 13, an opening and closing follower 18, an opening and closing slider 7, a fruit length adaptive slider 8, and a fruit length adaptive precision spring 17. The closing power source 11 can be a pneumatic or electric cylinder, and its output end is connected to the opening and closing slide 13 for driving. The opening and closing slide 13 is arranged symmetrically in a figure-eight shape, and its movement can be lifting, oscillating, or converting along a specific trajectory. The opening and closing follower 18 is slidably disposed within the opening and closing slide 13. When the closing power source 11 is activated, the opening and closing slide 13 changes position, and the opening and closing follower 18, constrained by the slide, generates a displacement in a predetermined direction. The opening and closing slider 7 is connected to the opening and closing follower 18 for transmission and, constrained by the long guide structure, is converted into a synchronous opening and closing motion in the horizontal direction. In this way, during the material positioning stage, the closing power source 11 controls the opening and closing slider 7 to open outward, reserving space for the positioning conveyor belt 23 to feed the material and for the areca nuts 20 to enter the destemming station; when the areca nuts 20 arrive at the destemming station, the closing power source 11 reverses its action, causing the opening and closing slider 7 to close inward, and simultaneously pushing the two destemming heads 10 on both sides towards the two ends of the areca nuts 20, entering the destemming operation state.

[0034] The fruit length adaptive slider 8 is slidably mounted on the opening and closing slider 7, and the fruit length adaptive precision spring 17 is disposed between the opening and closing slider 7 and the fruit length adaptive slider 8. The stem removal motor 9 and the stem removal head 10 are mounted on the fruit length adaptive slider 8. Therefore, the stem removal head 10 is not rigidly fixed relative to the opening and closing slider 7, but can elastically extend and retract in the direction of approaching or moving away from the areca nut 20 under the action of the fruit length adaptive precision spring 17. When the stem removal head 10 approaches the two ends of the areca nut 20, if the current areca nut 20 is shorter, the fruit length adaptive slider 8 will elastically retract more relative to the opening and closing slider 7, and the fruit length adaptive precision spring 17 will be compressed; if the current areca nut 20 is longer, the stem removal head 10 only needs a small amount of elastic compensation to form a clamp after contacting the two ends of the areca nut 20. Therefore, regardless of where the length of the areca nut 20 is within the suitable range, the two stem-removed ends 10 can form a stable and flexible wrapping contact with both ends of the areca nut 20 under the action of the fruit length adaptive precision spring 17, avoiding the phenomenon of excessive clamping, fruit skin damage or insufficient clamping, slippage and free rotation caused by rigid structure, thus improving the compatibility of areca nuts 20 of different specifications.

[0035] The return material collection system mainly includes a return trough 28, a pulp collection guide 15, and a stem collection guide 16. The return trough 28 is connected to the positioning abnormality screening port 27 in both the material distribution and lifting system and the fruit pit conveyor system, used to receive abnormal areca nuts 20 and guide them back to the conical guide hopper 1. The stem collection guide 16 is located below the stem removal station. When the stem separates from the fruit body under the action of the double-headed flexible reverse rotation stem removal system, it will detach from the fruit body end due to gravity and fall into the stem collection guide 16 below, and then be transported along the stem collection guide 16 to the waste area on the side of the equipment. The pulp collection guide 15 is located below the discharge end of the positioning conveyor belt 23. When the destemmed areca nuts 20 continue to be transported forward with the positioning conveyor belt 23 and detach from the belt end, they will fall into the pulp collection guide 15 and be guided to the collection device below. The pulp collection guide 15 can be configured as a funnel-shaped structure, and its outlet can be further connected to a bag-supporting mechanism for direct connection to burlap sacks, turnover boxes, or other receiving containers. This allows for automatic separation of the destemmed pulp from the separated stems, while abnormal fruit is automatically returned, reducing the burden of manual sorting.

[0036] The control center 24 is used for unified timing control of the entire machine's movements. The control center 24 can be composed of a PLC and a touch screen, and is electrically connected to the drive parts of the unblocking vibrator 25, the lifting conveyor motor 26, the incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4, the detangling motor 9, the closing power source 11, and the positioning conveyor belt 23. The control center 24 can determine whether areca nuts 20 have arrived at the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt 22 based on the detection result of the incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4, and control the start and stop of the lifting conveyor belt motor 26 accordingly. At the same time, the control center 24 also controls the intermittent or rhythmic conveying of the positioning conveyor belt 23, so that each semi-elliptical fruit pit 6 can accurately reach the stem removal station. After the areca nuts 20 reach the stem removal station, the control center 24 controls the closing power source 11 to close the opening and closing slider 7, and after the stem removal heads 10 on both sides press against the two ends of the areca nuts 20, the two sets of stem removal motors 9 are started to rotate in opposite directions to complete the stem separation. After the stem removal is completed, the control center 24 controls the stem removal motors 9 to stop and the closing power source 11 to return to its original position, so that the opening and closing slider 7 opens, and the positioning conveyor belt 23 continues to convey forward, sending the stem-removed areca nuts 20 to the pulp collection guide 15, while sending the next areca nut 20 into the stem removal station. The whole process is repeated, realizing continuous automated operation.

[0037] The operating principle of this embodiment can be summarized as follows: First, the areca nuts 20 to be processed are manually or by an upstream device fed into the conical guide hopper 1. The anti-blocking vibrator 25 vibrates continuously or intermittently to prevent blockage and guides the areca nuts 20 along the conical guide structure 21 to the lower end of the corresponding lifting conveyor belt 22. Subsequently, the lifting conveyor belt 22 is driven upward at an incline by the lifting conveyor belt motor 26. Individual areca nuts 20 are driven upward by falling into the outward octagonal groove 19. Overlapping nuts, side-by-side nuts, and nuts with abnormal postures are screened out by the flexible tension spring 3 and the flexible support rod 14, and fall into the return trough 28 through the abnormal screening port 27 to return to the front end. After the areca nuts 20 that have completed individual separation reach the upper end of the lifting conveyor belt 22, they are monitored by the incoming material detection photoelectric switch 4 and scheduled by the control center 24, and fall into the receiving position of the distribution guide wheel 5 according to the rhythm. The material distribution guide wheel 5 and the positioning conveyor belt 23 operate synchronously under the action of the synchronous belt drive 12, so that the individual areca nuts 20 are orderly guided into the corresponding semi-elliptical fruit pits 6. After that, the positioning conveyor belt 23 transports the areca nuts 20 that have been initially self-positioned to the stem removal station. If there are any abnormal areca nuts 20 that have not entered the fruit pits 6 normally, they fall into the return trough 28 through the positioning abnormality screening port 27 and return to the conical guide hopper 1.

[0038] When the semi-elliptical fruit cavity 6 containing areca nuts 20 reaches the stem removal station, the control center 24 controls the positioning conveyor belt 23 to pause, and then controls the closing power source 11 to move, driving the opening and closing slide 13 to shift. The opening and closing follower 18 moves in the opening and closing slide 13, and drives the two opening and closing sliders 7 to move inward synchronously. The fruit length adaptive slider 8 installed on the opening and closing slider 7, along with the stem removal motor 9 and stem removal head 10 on it, then approach the two ends of the areca nuts 20. When the stem removal head 10 contacts the two ends of the areca nuts 20, the fruit length adaptive precision spring 17 automatically generates elastic compensation according to the current fruit length, so that the two stem removal heads 10 can reliably fit the corresponding ends. Subsequently, the control center 24 starts the two sets of stem removal motors 9 to rotate in opposite directions, so that the two sets of stem removal heads 10 form a relative twisting action. The side wrapping the fruit body drives the areca nuts 20 to rotate as a whole, while the side wrapping the stem body performs a reverse twisting action on the stem, which can separate the stem from the fruit body in a short time. The detached stem falls into the stem collection guide 16 below, while the fruit remains in the semi-elliptical fruit cavity 6. After the stem removal process is completed, the two stem removal motors 9 stop rotating, the closing power source 11 reverses and resets, the opening and closing slider 7 opens, and the positioning conveyor belt 23 restarts. The destemmed areca nuts 20 are transported to the discharge end and fall into the pulp collection guide 15. This process is repeated, and the equipment can achieve continuous automatic stem removal of areca nuts 20 of various sizes.

[0039] In this embodiment, the number of conical guide hopper 1, lifting conveyor belt 22, positioning conveyor belt 23, and stem removal station can be expanded to single-track or multi-track configurations according to production capacity requirements. Multiple tracks can be arranged in parallel and uniformly coordinated and controlled by the same control center 24 to further improve processing efficiency. The closing power source 11 can be a cylinder, an electric cylinder, or other actuators capable of reciprocating drive; the drive units of the lifting conveyor belt motor 26 and the positioning conveyor belt 23 can be stepper motors or servo motors; the stem removal motor 9 is preferably a low-voltage, high-torque motor to balance rotational torque and safety in the food processing environment. The flexible coating layer on the surface of the stem removal head 10 can be made of food-grade soft rubber, elastic wear-resistant rubber, or other flexible materials that meet hygiene requirements, so as to reduce damage to the surface of the areca nut 20 while ensuring frictional drive capability.

[0040] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions conceived without inventive effort should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope defined in the claims.

Claims

1. An adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device, characterized in that, It includes a hopper feeding system, a material distribution and lifting system, a fruit pit track positioning and conveying system, a double-head flexible reverse rotation destemming system, a multi-track synchronous opening and closing and fruit length adaptive mechanism, and a return material collection system. The hopper feeding system includes a conical guide hopper (1) and a conical guide structure (21) set at the bottom of the conical guide hopper (1). The lower discharge end of the conical guide hopper (1) is connected to the feed end of the material distribution and lifting system. A blockage-removing vibrator (25) is also provided on the conical guide hopper (1). The material distribution and lifting system includes an inclined lifting conveyor belt (22), conical guide plates (2) on both sides of the lifting conveyor belt (22), and an octagonal groove (19) formed on the surface of the lifting conveyor belt (22). The conical guide plates (2) extend along the conveying direction of the lifting conveyor belt (22) and cooperate with the belt surface of the lifting conveyor belt (22) so that the octagonal groove (19) limits the accommodating space of a single areca nut (20). A positioning abnormality screening port (27) and a return trough (28) communicating with the positioning abnormality screening port (27) are provided on one side or below the lifting conveyor belt (22). The fruit pit track positioning and conveying system is located downstream of the discharge end of the material distribution and lifting system. It includes a positioning conveyor track (23) and a material distribution guide wheel (5) located at the feed end of the positioning conveyor track (23). The positioning conveyor track (23) is provided with a plurality of semi-elliptical fruit pits (6) at intervals along the conveying direction. The material distribution guide wheel (5) is located between the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt (22) and the positioning conveyor track (23) to guide the areca nuts (20) output by the lifting conveyor belt (22) into the corresponding semi-elliptical fruit pits (6). The positioning conveyor track (23) is also provided with a positioning abnormality screening port (27) and a return trough (28) on one side or below. The dual-head flexible reverse rotation destemming system is set on both sides of the destemming station of the positioning conveyor belt (23), including two sets of destemming motors (9) arranged opposite to each other and destemming heads (10) respectively installed at the output end of the corresponding destemming motors (9). The two sets of destemming heads (10) are arranged facing each other and respectively correspond to the two ends of the areca nut (20). The multi-track synchronous opening and closing and fruit length adaptive mechanism includes a closing power source (11), an opening and closing slide (13), an opening and closing follower (18), an opening and closing slider (7), a fruit length adaptive slider (8), and a fruit length adaptive precision spring (17). The closing power source (11) is drivenly connected to the opening and closing slide (13). The opening and closing follower (18) is slidably disposed in the opening and closing slide (13). The opening and closing slider (7) is drivenly connected to the opening and closing follower (18) so that the opening and closing slider (7) moves in... Driven by the closing power source (11), the synchronous opening and closing motion is performed. The fruit length adaptive slider (8) is slidably installed on the opening and closing slider (7). The fruit length adaptive precision spring (17) is set between the opening and closing slider (7) and the fruit length adaptive slider (8). The stem removal motor (9) and the stem removal head (10) are installed on the fruit length adaptive slider (8) so that the stem removal head (10) can relatively extend and retract with the length of the areca nut (20) under the action of the fruit length adaptive precision spring (17). The reflux collection system includes a pulp collection guide (15) and a stem collection guide (16). The stem collection guide (16) is located below the stem removal station, and the pulp collection guide (15) is located below the discharge end of the positioning conveyor belt (23). Abnormal areca nuts (20) fall into the reflux trough (28) through the abnormal screening port (27) and then flow back to the conical guide hopper (1). The pulp and stem after stem removal are collected separately by the pulp collection guide (15) and the stem collection guide (16).

2. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conical guide plates (2) are respectively set on the left and right sides of the lifting conveyor belt (22), and the two conical guide plates (2) are arranged opposite to each other above or to the side of the lifting conveyor belt (22). The lower edge of the conical guide plates (2) and the belt surface of the lifting conveyor belt (22) together form the outer octagonal groove (19), so that the areca nuts (20) can only be inserted into the outer octagonal groove (19) in a single fruit state and be conveyed along the lifting direction during the lifting process.

3. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material distribution and lifting system also includes a flexible support rod (14) and a flexible tension spring (3). The flexible tension spring (3) is located above or to the side of the lifting path of the lifting conveyor belt (22). The flexible support rod (14) is located on the side of the lifting conveyor belt (22) and is used to flexibly limit the areca nuts (20) in the outward octagonal groove (19). When two or more areca nuts (20) overlap or the areca nuts (20) are abnormally shaped and protrude outside the outward octagonal groove (19), the flexible tension spring (3) will push the abnormal areca nuts (20) away from the lifting path and make them fall into the return trough (28) through the abnormal positioning screening port (27).

4. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material distribution and lifting system also includes a lifting conveyor belt motor (26) and a material receiving photoelectric switch (4). The lifting conveyor belt motor (26) is connected to the lifting conveyor belt (22) for transmission. The material receiving photoelectric switch (4) is set near the discharge end of the lifting conveyor belt (22) or upstream of the material distribution guide wheel (5) to detect whether there are areca nuts (20) that have completed single-fruit separation at the output end of the lifting conveyor belt (22). When no material is detected, the lifting conveyor belt motor (26) drives the lifting conveyor belt (22) to run continuously. When material is detected, the lifting conveyor belt motor (26) controls the lifting conveyor belt (22) to pause or run intermittently to wait for downstream material to be received.

5. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material distribution guide wheel (5) is located above the front end or the front side of the positioning conveyor belt (23). The material distribution guide wheel (5) and the positioning conveyor belt (23) are connected by a synchronous belt drive (12). The synchronous belt drive (12) makes the material distribution guide wheel (5) and the positioning conveyor belt (23) move synchronously, so that the areca nuts (20) falling from the lifting conveyor belt (22) first enter the receiving position of the material distribution guide wheel (5), and then the material distribution guide wheel (5) guides the areca nuts (20) into the semi-elliptical fruit hole (6) on the positioning conveyor belt (23).

6. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The semi-elliptical fruit pits (6) are arranged sequentially at fixed intervals along the conveying direction of the positioning conveyor belt (23), and multiple semi-elliptical fruit pits (6) are respectively installed on the surface of the positioning conveyor belt (23). After the areca nuts (20) are guided into the semi-elliptical fruit pits (6) by the material distribution guide wheel (5), the semi-elliptical fruit pits (6) limit and perform preliminary self-positioning correction on the areca nuts (20) so that the areca nuts (20) are conveyed to the stem removal station at a fixed distance and in a fixed posture on the positioning conveyor belt (23).

7. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fruit length adaptive sliders (8) on both sides are respectively set on both sides of the positioning conveyor belt (23) and arranged opposite to each other. The two sets of destemming motors (9) are respectively installed on the corresponding fruit length adaptive sliders (8). The two sets of destemming heads (10) are respectively installed on the output end of the corresponding destemming motors (9). The relative center lines of the two sets of destemming heads (10) pass through the two ends of the areca nut (20) located in the semi-elliptical fruit hole (6), so that the two sets of destemming heads (10) move towards each other under the action of the opening and closing slider (7) and contact the fruit stem end and fruit body end of the areca nut (20) respectively.

8. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The fruit length adaptive precision spring (17) is set between the opening and closing slider (7) and the fruit length adaptive slider (8) so that the fruit length adaptive slider (8) slides elastically relative to the opening and closing slider (7) in the direction of approaching or moving away from the stem removal head (10); the two sets of stem removal motors (9) rotate in opposite directions under control, driving the corresponding stem removal heads (10) to form a relative twisting action, wherein the stem removal head (10) located at the fruit body end drives the areca nut (20) fruit body to rotate, and the stem removal head (10) located at the stem end applies a reverse rotational force to the stem, thereby realizing the separation of the stem from the fruit body under the elastic pressing action of the fruit length adaptive precision spring (17).

9. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The closing power source (11) is a cylinder or an electric cylinder. The opening and closing slide (13) is arranged symmetrically in a figure-eight shape. The opening and closing follower (18) is set in the opening and closing slide (13) and moves with the opening and closing slide (13) as it rises or swings. Multiple sets of opening and closing sliders (7) are connected to the corresponding opening and closing follower (18) respectively, so as to convert the movement of the opening and closing follower (18) into the synchronous horizontal opening and closing movement of multiple sets of opening and closing sliders (7), so that the opening and closing sliders (7) open when the positioning conveyor belt (23) feeds material and closes when the opening and closing sliders (7) are removed.

10. The adaptive multi-specification areca nut stem removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a control center (24), which is electrically connected to the blockage vibrator (25), the lifting conveyor motor (26), the incoming material detection photoelectric switch (4), the stem removal motor (9), and the closing power source (11). It is used to control the start and stop of the lifting conveyor (22) according to the detection signal of the incoming material detection photoelectric switch (4), and to control the conveying rhythm of the positioning conveyor belt (23), the opening and closing sequence of the opening and closing slider (7), and the reverse rotation action of the stem removal motor (9). At the same time, the control center (24) cooperates with the positioning abnormal screening port (27) and the return trough (28) to realize the automatic return of abnormal areca nuts (20), and cooperates with the pulp collection guide (15) and the stem collection guide (16) to realize the separation and collection of pulp and stem after stem removal.

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