Dehydrated vegetable peeling equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides dehydrated vegetable peeling equipment which comprises a controller, a feeding part, a processing part and a discharging part, the feeding part comprises a plurality of partition plates connected in series, and the controller is in signal connection with the feeding part, the processing part and the discharging part; the processing part comprises a mechanical arm, a water tank, a spraying mechanism and a peeling mechanism, the mechanical arm comprises a plurality of independent contact pin assemblies, and air cylinders and motors in the contact pin assemblies drive contact pins to stretch out, draw back and rotate correspondingly; the spraying mechanism is arranged above the water tank, the mechanical arm is arranged on the side edge of the water tank and at the extending position of the feeding part and is arranged to reciprocate between a spraying position and a material taking position, and the peeling mechanism is arranged at the extending position of the water tank; a scraper of the peeling mechanism is close to the vegetables with peels and is adhered to local peels of the vegetables; the discharging part comprises a discharging groove and a plurality of conveying rollers arranged in the discharging groove. On the basis of removing the skin, the fruit pulp under the skin is not damaged, the completeness of vegetables can be ensured, and the skin removing quality of the skin removing equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of vegetable processing, and in particular to a dehydrated vegetable peeling device. Background Art

[0002] Dehydrated vegetables are an existing vegetable processing method. Removing moisture from vegetables not only increases the shelf life of the vegetables, but also prevents excessive loss of nutrients. Dehydrated vegetables include carrots, tomatoes, and green peppers. Dehydrated tomatoes are generally processed in two ways: peeled and unpeeled. Unpeeled dehydrated tomatoes preserve more of the flesh because the skin can reduce the loss of flesh into a paste during processing. However, retaining the skin affects the taste and may also cause digestive burden for some consumers. Therefore, the peel is removed in some dehydrated tomato processing. How to remove the tomato peel in the automated production process has become a key point that needs to be optimized in the dehydrated tomato processing industry.

[0003] Existing patent CN103461464B proposes to use "ultrasonic cleaning and peeling with gravel friction". Because the peel and the flesh are firmly connected, using friction to peel the tomato will inevitably squeeze and wear the tomato itself. Moreover, more flesh will stick to the peel, causing flesh loss. Utility Model Content

[0004] The embodiment of the present utility model provides a dehydrated vegetable peeling device, which is aimed at non-frozen vegetables and solves the problems in the aforementioned prior art.

[0005] The utility model provides a dehydrated vegetable peeling device for removing part of the vegetable skin, comprising a controller, a feeding part, a processing part and a discharging part. The feeding part comprises a plurality of partitions connected in series, and a tomato with skin is matched between two partitions. The controller is signal-connected to the feeding part, the processing part and the discharging part.

[0006] The processing section includes: a robotic arm, a water trough, a spraying mechanism, and a peeling mechanism. The robotic arm includes multiple independent pin assemblies. The cylinder and motor in the pin assemblies respectively drive the pins to extend and rotate. The spraying mechanism is arranged above the water trough. The robotic arm is arranged on the side of the water trough and in an extension position of the feeding section, and is configured to reciprocate between a spraying position and a material taking position. The peeling mechanism is arranged in an extension position of the water trough. The material taking position is provided with a conveyor belt, which is connected to the conveyor belt of the discharge section.

[0007] The peeling mechanism includes a scraper, which is arranged close to the skinned vegetables and adhered to the local skin thereof; the discharging part includes a discharging trough and a plurality of transmission rollers arranged in the discharging trough, and the discharging trough is arranged higher than the surface of the transmission rollers.

[0008] Optionally, the robotic arms and peeling mechanisms are provided in two groups and are respectively arranged on both sides of the water tank, and the spraying mechanism sprays water to the two robotic arms respectively.

[0009] Optionally, the spray mechanism includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in parallel, each nozzle is provided with an electronic valve, and the electronic valve is electrically connected to the controller; the robotic arm also includes an ultraviolet lamp, and the ultraviolet lamp is electrically connected to the controller.

[0010] Optionally, the outer surface of the transmission roller is wrapped with a grid, and a plurality of the transmission rollers are arranged at preset intervals.

[0011] Optionally, micro protrusions are provided on the surface of the grille.

[0012] Optionally, a compressor is further included, which is connected to the hollow transmission roller, and air holes are provided between adjacent micro-protrusions, and the compressor is electrically connected to the controller.

[0013] Optionally, the controller controls the scraper in the peeling mechanism to rotate around the vegetables with skin.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the utility model are:

[0015] The present invention provides an automated vegetable skin removal device, which serves as a front-end device for a dehydrated vegetable production system and is used to peel vegetables. The device comprises a feeding section, a processing section, and a discharging section. Vegetables with skins are transported separately by serially connected partitions. When transported to the processing section, a pin on a robotic arm inserts the vegetables with skins at their roots. The robotic arm then moves from a material-collecting position to a spraying position, where a spray mechanism evenly sprays hot water for a preset time onto the surface of the vegetables with skins. This utilizes the principle of thermal expansion and contraction to separate the vegetable skin from the underlying flesh. The robotic arm then moves the processed vegetables to a peeling mechanism, where a scraper approaches the vegetable surface and heats the vegetable skin, adhering it to the scraper. The pin is then controlled to rotate, removing the vegetable skin. Finally, the peeled vegetables are delivered to the discharging section, where they are transported by a conveyor belt to other dehydration equipment.

[0016] The utility model removes the skin of vegetables one by one, ensures that the flesh under the skin is not damaged on the basis of removing the skin, and can ensure the integrity of the vegetables, optimizes the structure of the vegetable peeling equipment, and improves the peeling quality and practicality of the peeling equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic top view of a dehydrated vegetable peeling device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0018] Figure 2It shows a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional axial side structure of the transmission roller in this application.

[0019] In the picture:

[0020] 1: Feeding department;

[0021] 2: Processing unit; 21: Robotic arm; 211: Pin insertion; 22: Water tank; 23: Spraying mechanism; 24: Peeling mechanism;

[0022] 3: discharge part; 31: transmission roller; 311: micro protrusion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following will provide a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" appearing throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these specific features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0024] It should also be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "includes," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that an article or terminal device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such article or terminal device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the article or terminal device comprising the element.

[0025] Dehydrated vegetables are an existing vegetable processing method. Removing water from vegetables not only increases the shelf life of vegetables, but also does not affect the excessive loss of nutrients in the vegetables. Dehydrated vegetables include carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, etc. The production of dehydrated vegetables is generally divided into two processing processes: peeling and unpeeling. Unpeeled dehydrated vegetables can preserve more of the flesh because the skin can reduce the loss of flesh into a paste during processing. However, retaining the peel will affect the taste of the food and may also cause digestive burden for some consumers. Therefore, the peel is removed during the processing of some dehydrated vegetables. How to remove the peel of vegetables in the automated production process has become a key point that needs to be optimized in the dehydrated vegetable processing industry.

[0026] The existing patent CN103461464B proposes to use "ultrasonic cleaning and peeling with sand and gravel friction". Because the peel and the flesh are firmly connected, using friction to peel will inevitably squeeze and wear the vegetables themselves. Moreover, a lot of flesh will stick to the peel, causing flesh loss. Therefore, the utility model provides a new peeling device to remove the skin of vegetables efficiently and non-destructively.

[0027] The following will be combined with the attached Figure 1 and Figure 2 The utility model is described in detail:

[0028] A dehydrated vegetable peeling device, such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes a controller, a feeding part 1, a processing part 2 and a discharging part 3, the feeding part 1 includes a plurality of partitions connected in series, and a vegetable with skin is matched between two partitions, the controller is connected to the feeding part 1, the processing part 2 and the discharging part 3 by signal; the processing part 2 includes: a robotic arm 21, a water tank 22, a spraying mechanism 23, and a peeling mechanism 24, the robotic arm 21 includes a plurality of independent pin assemblies, and the cylinder and the motor in the pin assembly respectively drive the pins 211 to extend and rotate; the spraying mechanism 23 is arranged above the water tank 22, the robotic arm 21 is arranged on the side of the water tank 22 and in the extended position of the feeding part 1, and is arranged to reciprocate between the spraying position and the material taking position, the peeling mechanism 24 is arranged at the extended position of the water tank 22, the material taking position is provided with a conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt is docked with the conveyor belt of the discharging part 3;

[0029] The peeling mechanism 24 includes a scraper, which is arranged to be close to the skinned vegetables and adhered to their partial skin (the partial skin includes at least two-thirds of the skin); the discharging part 3 includes a discharging trough and a plurality of transmission rollers 31 arranged in the discharging trough, and the discharging trough is arranged higher than the surface of the transmission roller 31.

[0030] As described above, the automated vegetable skin removal device provided by the present invention is a front-end device for a dehydrated vegetable production system, and is used to peel vegetables whose skin can be separated from the flesh at high temperatures. For example, the skin of a tomato can be separated from the flesh after being blanched in high-temperature water. This embodiment uses tomato peeling as an example for illustration:

[0031] like Figure 1As shown, the device consists of a feeding section 1, a processing section 2, and a discharging section 3. The tomatoes with skin are transported separately by serially connected partitions. When they are transported to the processing section 2, the pin 211 on the adding robot arm 21 inserts the tomatoes with skin from the root. Then the robot arm 21 moves from the material taking position to the spraying position (i.e., the position of the water tank 22). The spraying mechanism 23 evenly sprays hot water on the surface of the tomatoes with skin for a preset time. The principle of thermal expansion and contraction is used to separate the tomato skin from the flesh under the skin. Then the robot arm 21 moves the processed tomatoes to the peeling mechanism 24. Figure 1 At the middle discharge position, the scraper in the peeling mechanism 24 approaches the surface of the tomato and heats the skin of the tomato and sticks it to the scraper. Then the pin 211 is controlled to rotate to remove the skin of the tomato. Finally, the peeled tomatoes are sent to the discharge part 3 and transported to other dehydration equipment by the conveyor belt of the discharge part 3.

[0032] The utility model removes the skin of tomatoes one by one, ensures that the flesh under the skin is not damaged while the skin is removed, and can ensure the integrity of the tomatoes, optimizes the structure of the tomato peeling equipment, and improves the peeling quality and practicability of the peeling equipment.

[0033] The needle assembly in the aforementioned robotic arm 21 locates the position of the tomato and adjusts the insertion position of the needle 211 based on the range of the tomato root. Specifically, because each tomato is transported separated by partitions, the distance between adjacent partitions is the maximum diameter of the target tomato. The camera detection assembly then uses the midpoint of this maximum diameter as the center of the circle to obtain the approximate size of the root, allowing the needle 211 to wrap around the entire root. After the skin is subsequently removed, the needle 211 rotates to remove the root portion. To achieve the purpose of removing the root, the needle 211 needs to be a hollow circular tube structure or a circular arc structure.

[0034] In addition, if Figure 1 As shown, the robotic arms 21 and peeling mechanisms 24 described in the present invention are provided with two groups, and are respectively arranged on both sides of the water tank 22, and the spraying mechanism 23 sprays water to the two robotic arms 21 respectively. In order to increase the efficiency of peeling, two groups of robotic arms 21 are set to peel independently, and the two groups of robotic arms 21 are set to enter the spraying position in an interlaced manner to heat-treat the skin of the tomatoes. The water tank 22 in this embodiment refers to the high-temperature water that is sprayed on the surface of the tomatoes; it should be noted that the high-temperature water here refers to water with a temperature range of 50-100°C. The quality of peeling and the effective peeling time are related to the water temperature. If the temperature is relatively low, a longer spraying time is required, otherwise it only takes more than ten seconds or a few seconds. The spraying water temperature can be adjusted according to the adaptability of the tomato variety in practice, and this embodiment does not impose specific restrictions on this.

[0035] In some embodiments, the spray mechanism 23 includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in parallel, each of which is provided with an electronic valve electrically connected to the controller. The robotic arm 21 also includes an ultraviolet lamp electrically connected to the controller.

[0036] In addition, the peeling process in this embodiment can be completed in the following two forms:

[0037] First, the scraper is controlled to rotate around the tomato and rotate on its own. The processed tomatoes are placed in the peeling mechanism 24. When the scraper in the mechanism is close to the tomato surface, the skin adheres to the scraper due to the high temperature. At this time, the scraper is controlled to rotate around the tomato surface and rotate on its own, so that the tomato skin is completely pulled onto the scraper, achieving the desired peeling effect.

[0038] Secondly, the scraper should be controlled to rotate without rotating on its own. The scraper should not rotate on its own but should be tightly attached to the surface of the tomato. During the rotation, the scraper can push the skin until all the skin is accumulated in front of the scraper.

[0039] In this embodiment, the nozzle uses an electronic valve to automatically control the water output volume, water output angle, water output rate and water output time, thereby improving the automation of the equipment. In addition, an ultraviolet lamp is provided on the robotic arm 21. Since some harmful bacteria may still exist on the skin of the tomatoes after being treated with high-temperature water, the ultraviolet lamp is used to irradiate the tomatoes to keep the tomato skin clean, thereby avoiding affecting the internal flesh due to the unsanitary skin during the subsequent peeling process, thereby improving the cleanliness and hygiene of the peeling equipment and ensuring food safety.

[0040] The conveyor belt in the aforementioned discharge part 3 can be made of a chain woven from steel wires so that the moisture in the tomatoes can be drained out; a discharge trough is provided to prevent the tomatoes from falling during the transmission process, and the edges of the discharge trough are on both sides of the conveyor belt and in contact with the surface of the conveyor belt.

[0041] In some embodiments, as Figure 2 As shown, the outer surface of the transmission roller 31 of the discharge part 3 is wrapped with a grid, and the multiple transmission rollers 31 are arranged according to preset intervals, and the surface of the grid is provided with micro protrusions 311.

[0042] In this embodiment, the rotation of the transport roller 31 facilitates the forward movement of the peeled vegetables, thereby achieving the desired conveying effect. A grid is provided on the transport roller 31 to increase friction between the transport roller 31 and the peeled vegetables and, on the other hand, to remove any remaining peels from the peeled vegetables by the action of the grid on the surface of the peeled vegetables. To enhance contact between the grid and the vegetable surface, micro-protrusions 311 and slightly pointed bumps are provided on the grid, which effectively scrape any remaining peels from the surface.

[0043] In addition, a compressor may be included. The compressor is connected to the hollow transport roller 31. Air holes are provided between adjacent micro-protrusions 311. The compressor is electrically connected to the controller. The compressed gas can blow away the skin adsorbed on the roller, causing it to fall through the gaps between adjacent transport rollers 31 and leave the surface of the transport roller 31, thereby preventing the adsorbed skin from affecting the transport process and removing the residual skin.

[0044] It should be noted that, although tomato peeling is taken as an example in the present invention, it is not limited to being used to remove the skin of tomatoes. Other vegetables with similar shapes to tomatoes and whose skins can be scalded by boiling water can also be used with the equipment of the present invention.

[0045] Finally, the utility model provides a dehydrated vegetable peeling device, including a controller, a feeding part 1, a processing part 2 and a discharging part 3. The feeding part 1 includes multiple partitions connected in series, and the controller is connected to the feeding part 1, the processing part 2 and the discharging part 3 by signal; the processing part 2 includes: a robotic arm 21, a water trough 22, a spraying mechanism 23, and a peeling mechanism 24. The robotic arm 21 includes multiple independent pin assemblies, and the cylinder and the motor in the pin assembly respectively drive the pin 211 to extend and rotate; the spraying mechanism 23 is arranged above the water trough 22, the robotic arm 21 is arranged on the side of the water trough 22 and is arranged to move back and forth between the spraying position and the material taking position at the extended position of the feeding part 1, the peeling mechanism 24 is arranged at the extended position of the water trough 22, and the material taking position is provided with a conveyor belt, which is connected to the conveyor belt of the discharging part 3; the scraper of the peeling mechanism 24 is close to the skinned vegetables and sticks to their local skin; the discharging part 3 includes a discharging trough and multiple transmission rollers 31 arranged in the discharging trough. The utility model can remove the skin without damaging the flesh under the skin and can ensure the integrity of the vegetables, optimizes the structure of the vegetable peeling equipment, and improves the peeling quality of the peeling equipment.

[0046] The above embodiments merely illustrate the implementation methods of the present invention. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present utility model patent shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A dehydrated vegetable peeling device, characterized in that: Used to remove part of the vegetable skin, comprising a controller, a feeding part (1), a processing part (2) and a discharging part (3), wherein the feeding part (1) comprises a plurality of partitions connected in series, and a vegetable with skin is matched between two partitions, and the controller is signal-connected with the feeding part (1), the processing part (2) and the discharging part (3); The processing section (2) comprises: a mechanical arm (21), a water trough (22), a spraying mechanism (23), and a peeling mechanism (24); the mechanical arm (21) comprises a plurality of independent pin assemblies, wherein the cylinder and the motor in the pin assemblies respectively drive the pins (211) to extend and rotate; the spraying mechanism (23) is arranged on the water trough (22); the mechanical arm (21) is arranged on the side of the water trough (22) and at the extension position of the feeding section (1), and is arranged to move back and forth between the spraying position and the material taking position; the peeling mechanism (24) is arranged at the extension position of the water trough (22); the material taking position is provided with a conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt is connected to the conveyor belt of the discharge section (3); the peeling mechanism (24) comprises a scraper, and the scraper is arranged to be close to the skinned vegetables and adhere to the local skin of the vegetables; the discharge section (3) comprises a discharge trough and a plurality of transmission rollers (31) arranged in the discharge trough.

2. The dehydrated vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mechanical arms (21) and peeling mechanisms (24) are provided in two groups and are respectively arranged on both sides of the water tank (22); the spraying mechanism (23) sprays water to the two mechanical arms (21) respectively.

3. The dehydrated vegetable peeling device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mechanical arm (21) also includes an ultraviolet lamp, which is electrically connected to the controller; the spray mechanism (23) includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in parallel, each nozzle is provided with an electronic valve, and the electronic valve is electrically connected to the controller.

4. The dehydrated vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer surface of the transmission roller (31) is wrapped with a grid, and a plurality of the transmission rollers (31) are arranged at preset intervals.

5. The dehydrated vegetable peeling device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The surface of the grid is provided with micro protrusions (311).

6. The dehydrated vegetable peeling device according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes a compressor, which is connected to the hollow transmission roller (31), and air holes are provided between adjacent micro-protrusions (311). The compressor is electrically connected to the controller.

7. The dehydrated vegetable peeling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller controls the scraper in the peeling mechanism (24) to rotate around the vegetables with skin.

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