A lemon instant slice processing system and a processing method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a lemon instant slice processing system and a processing method thereof. The processing system comprises a fresh fruit section, a slicing section, a sugar pickling section and a packaging section. After the fresh fruit section is cleaned by a fresh fruit cleaning machine, the lemon is sent to a needle grinding oil machine. The deflection unit in the grinding oil machine is used to deflect the lemon, so that the grinding oil uniformity is improved. The lemon that has completed the grinding oil is sent to a bubble cleaning machine for warm water cleaning, and then cooled by water at 20-25 DEG C. Subsequently, the lemon is sent to a grading machine to select the lemon that meets the requirements. The selected lemon is sent to a head and tail cutting machine to remove the head and tail, and then sent to a slicing machine for slicing. The obtained lemon slices are spread by a spreader, and the surface free lemon juice is removed. Then, the lemon slices are sent to a slice selection device to remove the unqualified lemon slices. The qualified lemon slices are sent to a vacuum sugar immersion device for negative pressure sugar pickling, and then static sugar pickling. The lemon slices and the sugar solution that have completed the static sugar pickling are separated by a sugar draining machine, and then sent to the packaging section for vacuum packaging. The application effectively improves the product qualification rate, consistency and processing efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lemon processing technology, specifically to a lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system and its processing method. Background Technology

[0002] Lemon chips are a convenient food made from fresh lemons through slicing, dehydration, or candiing. Currently, the conventional processing method for lemon chips is as follows: fresh lemons are fed into a washing machine for cleaning. After cleaning, they are graded by diameter, or after cleaning, they are sent to an oil mill where the surface oil and water enter the essential oil extraction process. The lemons are then washed again and graded by diameter. Lemons that meet the requirements are used to make lemon chips (the process of lemon morphological changes is as follows...). Figure 1 As shown in the image, small and large lemons that do not meet the requirements are used for juicing, while lemons that meet the requirements are sent for slicing. The sliced ​​lemons are then candied, and the candied lemon slices are vacuum-packed and pasteurized to obtain the finished product.

[0003] Currently, the processing system for ready-to-eat lemon chips mainly consists of independently operating, fragmented equipment, with manual handling of loading, unloading, and transfer. This leads to the following problems:

[0004] 1. High labor costs and low level of automation;

[0005] 2. Due to the presence of liquids such as water and lemon slices in each process, and the frequent movement of personnel on the production line, the cleanliness of the work area cannot be effectively guaranteed.

[0006] 3. There is a bottleneck in production capacity.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for a lemon ready-to-eat chip processing system that can effectively improve the automation level and production efficiency of lemon ready-to-eat chips. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention provides a lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system and method, which enables automated production of lemon ready-to-eat slices, effectively reduces labor costs, ensures floor hygiene, and improves product qualification rate and processing efficiency. Furthermore, by optimizing the oil mill, the uniformity of lemon oil extraction is improved, thereby avoiding product consistency issues caused by excessive punctures and severe peel damage, and increasing the yield of by-product essential oil.

[0009] Specifically, the present invention provides a lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system, comprising: fresh fruit segments, diced segments, candied segments, and packaging segments arranged along the processing technology; the fresh fruit segments comprising: a fresh fruit washing machine, a needle-punching and oil-refining machine, and a bubbling washing machine connected in sequence; the needle-punching and oil-refining machine comprising: a plurality of needle rollers, with a baffle between adjacent needle rollers, and a plurality of deflection units on the baffle, the deflection units being used to deflect the lemon;

[0010] The cutting segment includes: a grading machine, a head and tail cutting machine and a slicer connected in sequence; the bubble cleaning machine is connected to the grading machine; after the lemons are ground, they enter the grading machine for grading after passing through the bubble cleaning machine.

[0011] The sugar-soaking section includes: a paving machine, a slice selection device, a vacuum sugar-soaking device, and a sugar-draining machine connected in sequence. The slicer is connected to the paving machine. After the sliced ​​lemons are spread by the paving machine, they are conveyed to the slice selection device. The slice selection device is used to remove unqualified lemon slices and send qualified lemon slices to the vacuum sugar-soaking device. The sugar-draining machine is used to separate the sugar solution and lemon slices after sugar-soaking. The separated lemon slices are sent to the packaging section for packaging.

[0012] Furthermore, the deflection unit is a deflection roller, the roller surface of which contacts the lemon, so that the lemon in contact with the deflection roller and the lemon in contact with the thorn roller generate speed, thereby causing the head or tail of the lemon to deflect toward the thorn roller.

[0013] Furthermore, the stop member has a symmetrical first inclined surface and a second inclined surface, and a V-shaped groove for receiving lemons is formed between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface and their adjacent licker roller.

[0014] The deflection roller has a frustum structure that is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, with a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface extending from its two sides to contact the lemons on both sides.

[0015] Along the length of the stop, the rotation directions of two adjacent deflection rollers are opposite.

[0016] Furthermore, the deflection roller is connected to the deflection roller drive shaft via a worm gear, and the deflection roller drive shaft is driven by a motor.

[0017] Furthermore, the bubbling cleaning machine is equipped with a heater, which is used to heat the cleaning water inside so that the cleaning water is warm water at 35~40℃.

[0018] Furthermore, the outlet end of the slicer is connected to the paver via a fruit slice elevator. The paver is a vibrating spreader with a corrugated material plate at the bottom of its trough. The corrugated material plate is configured in a funnel shape that diffuses from the inlet end to the outlet end to disperse the lemon slices.

[0019] The corrugated plate is a perforated plate used to discharge free lemon juice that flows down the surface of the lemon slices during vibration.

[0020] Furthermore, the wafer selection device includes:

[0021] The sorting and conveying platform is located at the output end of the paver;

[0022] The sorting spider arm, located above the sorting conveyor, is used to remove substandard lemon slices.

[0023] Furthermore, the vacuum sugar impregnation equipment includes:

[0024] Vacuum pump;

[0025] A vacuum sugar-soaking pot, connected to a vacuum pump, is used for sugar-soaking lemon slices under negative pressure; a vacuum buffer tank is installed between the vacuum pump and the vacuum sugar-soaking pot to stabilize the negative pressure inside the vacuum sugar-soaking pot.

[0026] According to a second aspect, the present invention also provides a method for processing ready-to-eat lemon slices, which utilizes the aforementioned ready-to-eat lemon slice processing system and includes the following steps:

[0027] Fresh fruit pretreatment steps: Send the fresh fruit to the fresh fruit washing machine for washing. After washing, send it to the needle oiling machine. After oiling, send the lemons to the bubbling washing machine for washing with warm water at 30℃~35℃, and then cool them with water at 20℃~25℃.

[0028] Slicing steps: The lemons that have been bubbled and washed are sent to the grading machine. After selecting the lemons that meet the requirements, they are sent to the head and tail cutter to remove the heads and tails that cannot be used for slicing. Then they are sent to the slicer for slicing.

[0029] Sugaring process: The lemon slices obtained by the slicer are spread by the spreader, while the free lemon juice on the surface of the lemon slices is removed. Then they are conveyed to the slice selection equipment, which removes unqualified lemon slices. Qualified lemon slices are sent to the vacuum sugar-soaking equipment, where an equal weight of fructose syrup F60 is added for negative pressure sugaring. After the negative pressure sugaring is completed, the lemon slices are poured into the storage container to stand for sugaring.

[0030] The mixture of lemon slices and sugar syrup that have been left to stand and candied is poured into a sugar-draining machine. The separated lemon slices are then conveyed to the packaging section for vacuum packaging to obtain the finished lemon slices.

[0031] Furthermore, in the sugar-preserving step, the negative pressure sugar-preserving includes:

[0032] Low-temperature negative pressure sugar feeding stage: The temperature inside the vacuum sugar impregnation equipment is 50~55℃, and the pressure is -0.075~-0.085MPa, maintained for 15min;

[0033] Heating and atmospheric pressure sugar infiltration stage: After breaking the vacuum state in the vacuum sugar infiltration equipment, raise the temperature in the vacuum sugar infiltration equipment to 70~75℃, and keep the pressure at atmospheric pressure for 10 minutes.

[0034] Cooling and sugar setting stage: The temperature inside the vacuum sugar impregnation equipment is lowered to 25°C and the pressure is at atmospheric pressure. After reaching the set temperature, it is maintained for 5 minutes.

[0035] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0036] (1) The present invention uses an automated production line, which can effectively improve production efficiency and reduce labor costs.

[0037] (2) The oil grinder uses differential speed deflection of lemons to force the head and tail of the lemons in the V-shaped groove to deflect, which effectively solves the problem of uneven oil grinding of lemons in the V-shaped groove of the oil grinder (excessive puncture of oil cells in the middle and complete lack of puncture at both ends).

[0038] (3) By grinding the oil evenly, the extraction amount of essential oil from by-products can be effectively increased, ensuring the consistency of product appearance. At the same time, it avoids the problem of excessive grinding leading to severe damage to the peel and a high rejection rate in subsequent selection processes. It can also reduce the release of a large amount of bitter substances from damaged peels and reduce the burden on debittering and sugaring processes.

[0039] (4) The present invention adopts a vibration spreading method to spread lemon slices, which facilitates subsequent slice selection. At the same time, the micro-vibration method can effectively remove the free lemon juice attached to the surface of the lemon slices after slicing, which solves the problem of free lemon juice entering the subsequent sugaring process and diluting the concentration of fructose syrup, and ensures the deacidification and debitterness effect of the sugaring process. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the morphological changes of lemons during the processing of ready-to-eat lemon slices.

[0041] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system in Example 1;

[0042] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the needle-punching oil mill in Example 1;

[0043] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the needle-punching oil mill in Example 1;

[0044] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the needle roller section of the needle-punching oil mill in Example 1;

[0045] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the licker roller and deflection unit in Example 1;

[0046] Figure 7 This is an exploded view of the licker roller and deflection unit in Example 1;

[0047] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of two adjacent deflection units in Example 1;

[0048] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the lemon deflection action in Example 1;

[0049] Figure 10 This is a vertical sectional view of the stop component in Example 1;

[0050] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the segment structure in Example 1;

[0051] Figure 12 This is a top view of the segment in Example 1;

[0052] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of lemon slices being spread out in Example 1.

[0053] Figure label:

[0054] 1-Fresh fruit washing machine; 11-Fresh fruit elevator; 2-Needle-punching oiling machine; 21-Frame; 22-Needle roller; 23-Blocking component; 231-First inclined plane; 232-Second inclined plane; 233-First cavity; 234-Opening; 235-Second cavity; 24-Deflection unit; 241-Deflection roller; 242-Deflection roller drive shaft; 243-Worm gear; 244-Bracket; 25-Pushing assembly; 26-Spraying assembly; 27 - Collection tank; 3- Bubble washing machine; 4- Grading machine; 5- Head and tail cutter; 51- Storage hopper; 6- Slicer; 61- Fruit slice elevator; 7- Paver; 71- Tank body; 72- Corrugated material plate; 73- Vibrator; 8- Slice selection equipment; 81- Sorting conveyor; 82- Sorting spider arm; 83- Waste bin; 9- Vacuum sugar impregnation equipment; 91- Vacuum sugar impregnation pot; 92- Vacuum buffer tank; A1- Lemon; A2- Lemon slices. Detailed Implementation

[0055] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0056] Example 1

[0057] like Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides a lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system, including: fresh fruit segments, cut segments, candied segments and packaging segments arranged along the processing process. After being packaged into finished products, the lemons are sent to the warehouse for storage. The lemons flow in one direction throughout the entire processing process, reducing cross-transfer.

[0058] The fresh fruit segment includes: a fresh fruit washing machine 1, a needle-punching and oil-refining machine 2, and a bubble washing machine 3 connected in sequence. The fresh fruit washing machine 1 uses an ultrasonic cleaner; lemons A1 enter its ultrasonic cleaning tank for ultrasonic cleaning to remove impurities and pesticide residues. The fresh fruit washing machine 1 is connected to the feed inlet of the needle-punching and oil-refining machine 2 via a fresh fruit elevator 11. After cleaning, the lemons A1 are transported to the needle-punching and oil-refining machine 2 via the fresh fruit elevator 11 for needle-punching and oil refining (using a needle-punching and rolling method to break the 1-2 mm oil sacs on the surface of the lemons A1 while simultaneously spraying water; the oil-water mixture is collected for lemon A1 essential oil extraction). After oil refining, the peel-free lemons A1 are conveyed to the bubble washing machine 3 for cleaning while ozone is injected for sterilization, completing the pre-treatment of the fresh fruit.

[0059] The slicing process includes: a grading machine 4, a head and tail cutter 5, and a slicer 6 connected in sequence. The grading machine 4 is a roller grading machine 4, which uses the different gaps between the rollers to distinguish lemons A1 according to their diameter. During the roller selection process, pure water is continuously sprayed to ensure the cleanliness of the fruit. The smallest and largest fruits after roller selection (because their diameter does not meet the slicing requirements) are removed and used for juicing. Lemons A1 that meet the slicing requirements enter the storage hopper 51 at the feeding end of the head and tail cutter 5. Then, the lemons A1 are fed into the head and tail cutter 5 through the feeding component. The head and tail cutters cut off the head and tail ends of the lemons A1 that do not meet the requirements. The middle part is sent to the slicer 6 to be sliced ​​as lemon slices.

[0060] The sugar-soaking section includes: a paving machine 7, a slice selection device 8, a vacuum sugar-soaking device 9, and a sugar-draining machine connected in sequence. Sliced ​​lemon slices A2 are lifted to the paving machine 7 by a fruit slice elevator 61. The paving machine 7 spreads the lemon slices A2, simultaneously using vibration to drain the lemon juice A1 remaining on the surface of the slices A2 during slicing. The slices are then conveyed to the slice selection device 8, which removes substandard lemon slices A2. Qualified lemon slices A2 are sent to the vacuum sugar-soaking device 9, where an equal weight of fructose syrup F60 is added for a negative pressure process. During this process, the juice in the lemon slices A2 is extracted, and the syrup is simultaneously injected into the lemon slices A2 to exchange juice and sugar, achieving the purpose of removing acidity and bitterness from the lemons. After processing in the vacuum sugar-soaking device 9, the mixture of lemon slices A2 and syrup is poured into a settling tank for further exchange and soaking. The fully soaked lemon slices A2 sugar-syrup mixture is poured into the sugar-draining machine, where the sugar syrup is separated and then conveyed to the packaging section for packaging.

[0061] The packaging section includes: a stretch film vacuum packaging production line, a vibrating water filter screen, a low-temperature forced-air drying oven, and a pasteurization unit. The stretch film vacuum packaging production line vacuum packages the fully soaked lemon slices A2 into small packages. The vacuum packages are filled with soaked lemon slices A2 and some sugar solution. After the vacuum packages enter the vibrating water filter screen to remove water droplets, they enter the low-temperature forced-air drying oven for forced-air drying. They are then transported to the pasteurization unit for sterilization and disinfection, and then immediately cooled to ensure the crisp taste of lemon slices A2. Finally, they are boxed and stored.

[0062] like Figure 3-10 As shown, the needle-punching oil refining machine 2 includes: a frame 21, an oil refining assembly, a pushing assembly 25, a spraying assembly 26, and a collection tank 27. The spraying assembly 26 is located above the oil refining assembly and is used to spray water mist to carry the essential oil and lemon A1 peel debris generated during the oil refining process into the collection tank 27 at the bottom. The pushing assembly 25 adopts a chain-type pushing mechanism with a pushing speed of 3m / min. Several push plates are spaced apart on the ring chain, which pushes the lemon A1 along the conveying direction as the ring chain moves. The oil-grinding assembly includes several piercing rollers 22, which are driven by a motor and rotate at 150 rpm. The piercing rollers 22 are arranged in pairs, with the two piercing rollers in the same group rotating towards each other. A baffle 23 is set between them. The upper part of the baffle 23 is shaped like a "^", forming a first inclined surface 231 and a second inclined surface 232. The first inclined surface 231 and the second inclined surface 232 form a V-shaped groove to accommodate lemon A1 between themselves and the adjacent piercing rollers 22. After lemon A1 enters the oil-grinding area in batches, some lemon A1 remains in the V-shaped groove area. Due to the characteristics of its ellipsoidal shape, if lemon A1 remains in the V-shaped groove, its long axis direction will always be consistent with the conveying direction, causing the piercing rollers 22 to always grind the equatorial part, while the head and tail ends cannot make effective contact. This results in excessive oil grinding in the equatorial area, while the head and tail ends fail to pierce and release lemon A1 essential oil. To solve this problem, this embodiment uses a deflection unit 24 in the area where the baffle 23 is located. The lemon A1 in the V-groove area is forcibly deflected by the deflection unit 24, so that the head and tail ends can be effectively oiled.

[0063] Specifically, the deflection unit 24 is a frustum-shaped deflection roller 241, installed inside the stop member 23. The surface of the deflection roller 241 is made of food-grade silicone, extending from the first inclined surface 231 and the second inclined surface 232 on both the left and right sides. Its highest point is approximately 1 mm higher than the first and second inclined surfaces 231 and 232. The linear velocity of the deflection roller 241 is greater than the conveying speed of lemon A1, creating a speed difference between the contact side of lemon A1 with the deflection roller 241 and the contact side of lemon A1 with the spiked roller 22. It should be understood that the deflection roller 241 causes opposite deflections of lemon A1 on the first inclined surface 231 side and the second inclined surface 232 side. That is, if the deflection roller 241 deflects the head of lemon A1 towards the spiked roller 22 on the first inclined surface 231 side, then on the second inclined surface 232 side, it deflects the tail of lemon A1 towards the spiked roller 22. A schematic diagram of the deflection is shown below. Figure 9 As shown.

[0064] The deflecting roller 241 is connected to the deflecting roller drive shaft 242 via a worm gear 243. The deflecting roller drive shaft 242 is driven by a motor. The deflecting roller 241 rotates at a speed of 265 rpm, and the linear velocity of its contact part with lemon A1 is approximately 0.5 m / s. The stop member 23 is divided into two parts: an upper first cavity 233 and a lower second cavity 235. The deflecting roller 241 is located in the first cavity 233, and the deflecting roller drive shaft 242 is located in the second cavity 235. Both ends of the drive shaft 242 are mounted on the frame 21 via brackets 244. The deflecting roller drive shaft 242 is a multi-segment design, with the segments connected by couplings. The first chamber 233 and the second chamber 235 are separated, thereby reducing the entry of oil, water, and fruit peel debris into the second chamber 235. At the same time, an opening 234 is provided on the first chamber 233, allowing oil and water entering the first chamber 233 from the gap of the deflecting roller 241 to be discharged through the opening 234, avoiding the problem of oil and water accumulation. The helical lines on the worm gears of two adjacent deflecting rollers 241 are in opposite directions, thus making the rotation directions of the two adjacent deflecting rollers 241 opposite. That is, on the same side of the deflecting rollers 241, if the first deflecting roller 241 causes the head of lemon A1 to deflect towards the thorn roller 22, then the next deflecting roller 241 causes the tail of lemon A1 to deflect towards the thorn roller 22, thereby forming an alternating head-to-tail oiling pattern.

[0065] Furthermore, the area between two adjacent deflection rollers 241 is a transition zone. Since lemon A1 rotates under the action of the needle roller 22, after being deflected by force, lemon A1 will rotate again under the action of the needle roller 22 and gradually return to a stable state of rotation around its own long axis. Then it passes through the next deflection roller 241, and under the action of the next deflection roller 241, it deflects in the opposite direction, and then returns to its original state, thus forming a polishing method of deflection → gradual return → reverse deflection → gradual return. Compared with the traditional needle-punching polishing machine 2, the above polishing machine improves the uniformity of polishing on the surface of lemon A1 from 80% to over 90%, and there are no obvious "bright bands" (areas that cannot be polished).

[0066] The bubble washing machine 3 uses a bubble generator or vortex air pump to bubble water, causing the lemon A1 to rub and tumble fully in the water, thereby removing residual essential oil and some debris from the inner peel (white part) of the lemon A1. The washing tank of the bubble washing machine 3 is equipped with a heater to heat the washing water to a warm temperature of 35-40℃. Since lemon A1 essential oil is a fat-soluble substance, appropriately increasing the temperature improves its fluidity, helping it to quickly detach from the peel. The outlet of the bubble washing machine 3 is connected to a water spray system; after the warm water washing, the water is quickly cooled by water at a temperature of 25℃ or lower to prevent the fruit surface from remaining warm for an extended period.

[0067] like Figure 10-13 As shown, the paver 7 is a vibratory concrete spreader, which includes: a trough 71, a vibrator 73, and a corrugated material plate 72. The vibrator 73 provides vibration to the trough 71. The trough 71 is inclined from the inlet section to the outlet section. The corrugated material plate 72 is located at the bottom of the trough 71 and is funnel-shaped, spreading from the inlet end to the outlet end. The lemon slices A2 are dispersed through vibration and cooling plate guidance for subsequent slice selection. It should be noted that the paver 7 uses low-frequency, small-amplitude vibration, with the vibration frequency controlled at 10~15Hz and the amplitude controlled at 1~2.5mm. This low-frequency, small-amplitude vibration reduces the collision force between the lemon slices A2 and the corrugated material plate 72 during vibration, while also reducing the probability of the lemon slices A2 flipping and standing upright. Furthermore, the corrugated portion of the corrugated material plate 72 should have an arc-shaped structure, rather than a relatively sharp "^" shape, to reduce damage to the fruit pulp from sharp structures. After lemon A1 is sliced, free lemon A1 juice will remain on the surface of lemon slice A2. Therefore, the corrugated plate 72 is set as a perforated plate. On the one hand, the perforated plate + corrugated design can prevent lemon slice A2 from sticking to the plate. On the other hand, the free lemon A1 juice on the surface of lemon slice A2 can be drained by vibration, thereby preventing the free lemon A1 juice from entering the subsequent sugar soaking process. This solves the problem of free lemon A1 juice entering the subsequent sugar soaking process and diluting the concentration of fructose syrup, and ensures the deacidification and debitterness effect of the sugar soaking process.

[0068] The sorting equipment 8 includes a sorting conveyor 81 and a sorting spider arm 82. The sorting conveyor 81 is connected to the discharge end of the paver 7. The sorting spider arm 82 is mounted above the sorting conveyor 81. It identifies unqualified lemon slices A2 (black spots, initial browning slices, slices with too thin peel, and deformed slices with too thick peel) on the sorting conveyor 81 through visual recognition. The sorting spider arm 82 removes these unqualified lemon slices and places them into the adjacent waste bin 83, thereby ensuring the pass rate of lemon slices A2.

[0069] The vacuum sugar-impregnation equipment 9 includes a vacuum pump, a vacuum sugar-impregnation pot 91, and a vacuum buffer tank 92. The vacuum pump provides negative pressure to the vacuum sugar-impregnation pot 91. The vacuum buffer tank 92 is located between the vacuum pump and the vacuum sugar-impregnation pot 91 to stabilize and maintain negative pressure, preventing large pressure fluctuations during the vacuuming and pressure-maintaining stages of the negative pressure pot, and ensuring consistent deacidification and debittering. Multiple vacuum sugar-impregnation pots 91 can be set up, with multiple vacuum sugar-impregnation pots 91 connected in parallel, sharing a single vacuum pump.

[0070] Example 2

[0071] This embodiment provides a method for processing ready-to-eat lemon slices using the ready-to-eat lemon slice processing system of Embodiment 1, comprising the following steps:

[0072] Fresh fruit pretreatment steps: Send the fresh fruit to the fresh fruit washing machine 1 for washing. After washing, send it to the needle oiling machine 2. After oiling, send the lemons to the bubbling washing machine 3 for washing with warm water at 30℃~35℃, and then cool them with water at 20℃~25℃.

[0073] Slicing steps: The lemons that have been bubbled and cleaned are sent to the grading machine 4. After selecting the lemons that meet the requirements, they are sent to the head and tail cutter 5 to remove the heads and tails that cannot be used for slicing. Then they are sent to the slicer 6 for slicing.

[0074] Candied Lemon Slices: Lemon slices obtained from slicer 6 are spread by spreader 7, simultaneously removing free lemon juice from the surface of the slices. They are then conveyed to sorting equipment 8, which removes substandard slices. Qualified slices are sent to vacuum sugar-infusing equipment 9, where an equal weight of fructose syrup F60 is added for negative pressure candied lemon processing. After negative pressure candied lemon processing, the slices are poured into a storage container to remain in place for further candied lemon juice. The negative pressure candied lemon processing step includes:

[0075] Low-temperature negative pressure sugar infusion stage: The temperature inside the vacuum sugar impregnation equipment 9 is 50~55℃, and the pressure is -0.075~-0.085MPa, maintained for 15 minutes. Under negative pressure, the air in the intercellular spaces and cells of the fruit pulp is extracted, forming a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cells. Under the action of the pressure difference, the sugar solution quickly fills the intercellular spaces, avoiding the sudden contraction of the fruit pulp surface at high temperatures that would block the sugar solution channels. At the same time, the temperature is not high, so it will not cause the pectin on the fruit pulp surface to soften and gelatinize rapidly.

[0076] Heating and atmospheric pressure sugar penetration stage: After breaking the vacuum in the vacuum sugar penetration equipment, raise the temperature inside the equipment to 70-75℃ and maintain atmospheric pressure for 10 minutes. At this temperature, the permeability of the fruit pulp cell membranes is moderately increased, and the pectin is slightly softened, which can improve the sugar penetration efficiency. At the same time, the short-term high temperature can prevent the fruit pulp from overcooking.

[0077] Cooling and sugar setting stage: The temperature inside the vacuum sugar-impregnation equipment is lowered to 25°C, and the pressure is kept at atmospheric pressure. After reaching the set temperature, it is maintained for 5 minutes. As the temperature decreases, the sugar syrup inside the fruit pulp cells shrinks in volume, further drawing the sugar syrup from the intercellular spaces into the cells, thus improving the uniformity of sugar content.

[0078] By adopting the above-mentioned negative pressure sugar infiltration process with variable temperature and pressure difference, the subsequent standing sugar infiltration time of the existing negative pressure sugar infiltration process can be reduced from 15-30 days to about 10 days, which greatly improves production efficiency.

[0079] The mixture of lemon slices and sugar syrup after static sugaring is poured into a sugar-draining machine. The separated lemon slices are then conveyed to the packaging section for vacuum packaging to obtain the finished lemon slices.

[0080] The above examples illustrate the present invention only to aid in understanding it and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art can make various simple deductions, modifications, or substitutions based on the principles of this invention.

Claims

1. A lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system, characterized in that, include: The fresh fruit segment, cut segment, candied segment and packaging segment are arranged along the processing technology. The fresh fruit segment includes: a fresh fruit washing machine (1), a needle-punching oil grinding machine (2) and a bubbling washing machine (3) connected in sequence. The needle-punching oil grinding machine (2) includes: a plurality of needle rollers (22), a baffle (23) is provided between adjacent needle rollers (22), and a plurality of deflection units (24) are provided on the baffle (23). The deflection units (24) are used to deflect the lemon (A1). The cutting segment includes: a grading machine (4), a head and tail cutter (5), and a slicer (6) connected in sequence. The bubble cleaning machine (3) is connected to the grading machine (4). After the lemon (A1) is ground, it enters the grading machine (4) for grading after passing through the bubble cleaning machine (3). The sugar-soaking section includes: a paving machine (7), a slice selection device (8), a vacuum sugar-soaking device (9), and a sugar-draining machine connected in sequence. The slicer (6) is connected to the paving machine (7). After the lemon slices (A2) are spread by the paving machine (7), they are transported to the slice selection device (8). The slice selection device (8) is used to remove unqualified lemon slices (A2) and send qualified lemon slices (A2) into the vacuum sugar-soaking device (9). The sugar-draining machine is used to separate the sugar solution and lemon slices (A2) after sugar-soaking. The separated lemon slices (A2) are sent to the packaging section for packaging.

2. The lemon (A1) ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The deflection unit (24) is a deflection roller (241). The roller surface of the deflection roller (241) contacts the lemon (A1) so that a speed difference is generated between the lemon (A1) and the deflection roller (241) contact side and the lemon (A1) and the piercing roller (22) contact side, thereby causing the head or tail of the lemon (A1) to deflect toward the piercing roller (22).

3. The lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The baffle (23) has a symmetrical first inclined surface (231) and a second inclined surface (232), and the first inclined surface (231) and the second inclined surface (232) form a V-shaped groove for accommodating lemons (A1) between the first inclined surface (231) and the second inclined surface (232) and the adjacent licker roller (22); The deflection roller (241) has a frustum structure with a larger bottom and a smaller top, with a first inclined surface (231) and a second inclined surface (232) extending from its two sides to contact the lemons (A1) on both sides; Along the length of the stop (23), the rotation directions of two adjacent deflection rollers (241) are opposite.

4. The lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The deflection roller (241) is connected to the deflection roller drive shaft (242) via a worm gear (243).

5. The lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bubbling cleaning machine (3) is equipped with a heater, which is used to heat the cleaning water inside so that the cleaning water is warm water at 35~40℃.

6. The lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The outlet end of the slicer (6) is connected to the paver (7) via the fruit slice elevator (61). The paver (7) is a vibrating spreader. A corrugated material plate (72) is provided at the bottom of its trough (71). The corrugated material plate (72) is configured in a funnel shape that diffuses from the inlet end to the outlet end to disperse lemon slices (A2). The corrugated plate (72) is a perforated plate used to discharge free lemon juice flowing down the surface of the lemon slice (A2) during vibration.

7. The lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The film selection device (8) includes: The sorting conveyor (81) is located at the output end of the paver (7); A sorting spider (82) is positioned above the sorting conveyor (81) and is used to remove unqualified lemon slices (A2).

8. The lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The vacuum sugar impregnation equipment (9) includes: Vacuum pump; A vacuum sugar-soaking pot (91) is connected to a vacuum pump for negative pressure sugar-soaking of lemon slices (A2); a vacuum buffer tank (92) is provided between the vacuum pump and the vacuum sugar-soaking pot (91) to stabilize the negative pressure inside the vacuum sugar-soaking pot (91).

9. A method for processing ready-to-eat lemon slices, characterized in that, Processing lemon ready-to-eat slices using the lemon ready-to-eat slice processing system according to any one of claims 1-8 includes the following steps: Fresh fruit pretreatment steps: Send the fresh fruit to the fresh fruit washing machine for washing. After washing, send it to the needle oiling machine. After oiling, send the lemons to the bubbling washing machine for washing with warm water at 30℃~35℃, and then cool them with water at 20℃~25℃. Slicing steps: The lemons that have been bubbled and washed are sent to the grading machine. After selecting the lemons that meet the requirements, they are sent to the head and tail cutter to remove the heads and tails that cannot be used for slicing. Then they are sent to the slicer for slicing. Sugaring process: The lemon slices obtained by the slicer are spread by the spreader, while the free lemon juice on the surface of the lemon slices is removed. Then they are conveyed to the slice selection equipment, which removes unqualified lemon slices. Qualified lemon slices are sent to the vacuum sugar-soaking equipment, where an equal weight of fructose syrup F60 is added for negative pressure sugaring. After the negative pressure sugaring is completed, the lemon slices are poured into the storage container to stand for sugaring. The mixture of lemon slices and sugar syrup that have been left to stand and candied is poured into a sugar-draining machine. The separated lemon slices are then conveyed to the packaging section for vacuum packaging to obtain the finished lemon slices.

10. The method for processing ready-to-eat lemon slices as described in claim 9, characterized in that, In the sugar-preserving step, the negative pressure sugar-preserving includes: Low-temperature negative pressure sugar feeding stage: The temperature inside the vacuum sugar impregnation equipment is 50~55℃, and the pressure is -0.075~-0.085MPa, maintained for 15min; Heating and atmospheric pressure sugar infiltration stage: After breaking the vacuum state in the vacuum sugar infiltration equipment, raise the temperature in the vacuum sugar infiltration equipment to 70~75℃ and maintain it for 10 minutes; Cooling and sugar setting stage: The temperature inside the vacuum sugar impregnation equipment is lowered to 25°C and the pressure is at atmospheric pressure. After reaching the set temperature, it is maintained for 5 minutes.

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