Tea leaf cutting device

Abstract

This invention provides a tea bud cutting device, including an identification device and a bud-cutting device. The identification device is connected to a camera with an image recognition system to scan and identify the tea buds before cutting. The bud-cutting device includes a ring cutter and a ring cutter support plate. The ring cutter has a tubular channel inside its ring shape to facilitate the collection of the separated tea buds. The ring cutter support plate provides a support platform for the ring cutter. The bud-cutting device receives the bud-cutting location information transmitted by the identification device. This invention achieves precise tea bud separation through the precise cooperation of the identification device and the bud-cutting device. While maximizing the protection of the integrity of the tea buds and leaves, it significantly improves the separation efficiency and purity, and has good adaptability and operability to meet the urgent needs of modern, high-quality tea production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of tea processing machinery technology, specifically, a cutting device for efficiently and precisely separating tea buds (or tender leaves) from tea stems in harvested tea leaves (fresh or withered leaves). Utility Model Background Technology

[0002] In the processing of premium teas (such as high-grade green tea, white tea, and yellow tea), there are significant differences in quality, taste, and economic value between tea buds (or tender leaves with one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves) and coarser tea stems. Effectively separating tea buds (tender leaves) from tea stems is a crucial step in improving the overall quality, uniformity of appearance, and commercial value of tea. Traditional manual stem-picking relies on skilled workers, which suffers from extremely low efficiency, high labor intensity, high labor costs, and difficulty in standardizing sorting methods, severely hindering the large-scale, standardized production of high-quality tea.

[0003] To replace manual labor, the industry has tried or applied various mechanized or semi-mechanized methods for tea stem separation, such as tea-picking robots that directly pick tea leaves between rows of tea trees. However, these methods are inefficient and costly. Reciprocating tea-picking machines, on the other hand, are prone to causing tea buds to break and leaves to crumble due to the uneven height of the tea buds, resulting in a large amount of tea stems mixed in. This does not meet the requirements for the integrity and appearance of high-grade tea leaves. In addition, the tea leaves collected often contain a large number of broken buds and leaves, and the effective bud yield is not high, resulting in waste of raw materials.

[0004] The core technical challenges faced by existing technologies:

[0005] Based on existing technologies, the following key technical challenges urgently need to be addressed in achieving efficient, precise, and low-damage separation of tea buds and stems:

[0006] The challenge of low-damage separation: How to protect the delicate tea buds and intact leaves from mechanical damage (breakage, crushing, abrasion) to the greatest extent during the separation process is the core requirement of high-grade tea processing, which is difficult to meet with existing mechanical methods.

[0007] The challenge of precise separation: How to effectively separate physically adhered (such as unbroken bud-stem connection points), similarly sized (short stems and bud stalks), and curved bud-stems, in order to improve the yield of pure buds and leaves and reduce the bud-leaf mixture rate in tea stems.

[0008] Adaptability challenges: How to adapt to changes in physical properties (hardness, toughness, moisture content) brought about by different tea tree varieties, picking standards (single bud, one bud and one leaf, one bud and two leaves), and tea leaf state (fresh leaves, withered leaves).

[0009] The challenge of balancing efficiency and cost: How to significantly improve separation efficiency and reduce unit cost while ensuring low damage and high precision, while the equipment itself needs to be structurally sound, easy to maintain, and cost-controllable.

[0010] Consequences of existing technological deficiencies:

[0011] The aforementioned technical challenges have led to problems in the practical application of existing tea sorting equipment, such as unsatisfactory separation effect (large damage, low purity), narrow applicability, unstable operation, and difficulty in meeting the processing requirements of high-grade tea. This forces many tea companies to still rely on costly manual sorting or accept lower quality consistency.

[0012] Specific improvement requirements are proposed:

[0013] Therefore, to address the specific technical bottleneck of efficiently, accurately, and with low damage separating tea buds and stems in tea processing, there is an urgent need to develop a novel tea-cutting device. This device should be able to accurately identify the connection point between tea buds and stems using artificial intelligence, achieving precise separation through optimized cutting actions (rather than simple striking or tearing). While maximizing the protection of the integrity of tea buds and leaves, it should significantly improve separation efficiency and purity, and possess good adaptability and operability to meet the urgent needs of modern, high-quality tea production. Utility Model Content

[0014] This invention first and foremost makes a significant change in its approach, shifting from direct harvesting in the tea plantation environment to a method where tea leaves are first harvested manually and indiscriminately according to certain requirements in the tea plantation environment, and then the tea buds are automatically sorted and collected by machines in a factory environment.

[0015] Since equipment capable of indiscriminately collecting tea leaves with stems and buds already exists, this invention is a device for separating and collecting tea buds from tea leaves with stems and buds in a factory environment.

[0016] A tea bud cutting device includes an identification device and a bud cutting device;

[0017] The identification device, which is connected to a camera with an image recognition system, scans and identifies the tea buds before they are cut.

[0018] The bud-cutting device includes a ring cutter and a ring cutter support plate. The ring cutter has a tubular channel inside its ring shape to facilitate the collection of the separated tea buds. The ring cutter support plate provides a bud-cutting support platform for the ring cutter, which can support the conveyor belt and provide a reliable cutting platform when cutting tea buds. The bud-cutting device receives bud-cutting position information transmitted by the identification device.

[0019] Furthermore, the ring-cutting knife includes a ring-shaped knife, a pressure knife suction elbow, and a jet-pressing leaf sleeve. The pressure knife suction elbow and the jet-pressing leaf sleeve are respectively connected to the suction pipe and the air pump pipe to provide airflow and collect tea buds.

[0020] Furthermore, a rotating support cover, a ball valve, and a ball valve switch are provided between the annular cutter and the pressure cutter suction elbow. The ball valve rotates under the action of the ball valve switch. The ball valve has a through hole along its central axis that matches the internal channel of the annular cutter. When the annular cutter descends to perform the cutting operation, the rotation of the ball valve connects the interior of the annular cutter with the pressure cutter suction elbow.

[0021] Furthermore, a rotating support cover is provided between the ball valve and the annular blade to limit the rotation of the ball valve.

[0022] Furthermore, a soft rubber sleeve for pressing leaves is provided on the outer edge of the ring-shaped blade to fix the tea leaves to be cut.

[0023] Furthermore, the ring cutter is equipped with a ring cutter movable sleeve, which provides an attachment point for the entire cutting device to move up and down, and the ring cutter movable sleeve is connected to the power unit.

[0024] Furthermore, a spring is provided around the annular blade to provide pressure for cutting the tea stem when pressed down.

[0025] This solution has the following advantages:

[0026] (1) This utility model uses a ring blade to rotate and cut tea buds. The ring blade has a retractable and rotatable cylindrical structure design. The ring blade covers the tea buds, which makes it easy for the air suction machine to collect the cut tea buds using negative air pressure.

[0027] (2) This utility model aims to accurately identify the position of tea buds and calculate the optimal position for cutting, so as to achieve precise and low-damage separation and maximize the protection of the integrity of buds and leaves. It requires a camera to take pictures of the tea leaves on the conveyor belt, and the pictures are transmitted in real time to a computing terminal for information processing. The computer vision technology in artificial intelligence is used to identify the tea buds and the connection position between the tea buds and the stem. With the help of other algorithms in the control system, the accurate position for cutting is obtained.

[0028] (3) The ring cutter achieves its rotational cutting function by engaging the protrusions on the inner wall of the ring cutter rotator with the spiral grooves on the outer wall of the rotating inner sleeve. This effectively targets the fragile connection points between tea buds and stems (such as the base of the petiole or the junction of the bud and stem), achieving low-damage separation. This design avoids the large-area impact, tearing, or squeezing action of traditional leaf-beating machines or shearing mechanisms, greatly reducing the risk of tea bud breakage, tender leaf breakage, and epidermal abrasion. Combined with artificial intelligence image recognition technology, its separation process is a mechanism of "precisely cutting off the connection point" rather than a brutal blow or cut, thus ensuring that the separated tea buds (tender leaves) are intact and have neat edges, significantly improving the appearance and commercial value of high-grade tea.

[0029] (5) The cutting action of the ring blade mainly relies on rotational cutting rather than impact or compression, so it has better adaptability to changes in the hardness, toughness, and moisture content of tea leaves (such as fresh leaves and withered leaves), and its working state is more stable. By adjusting the recognition requirements of the recognition device, it can easily adapt to the separation needs of different tea tree varieties (different bud and stem connection characteristics) and picking standards (such as single bud, one bud and one leaf, one bud and two leaves).

[0030] (6) The ring cutter is usually designed to work in continuous rotation. With a reasonable feeding system, it can achieve uninterrupted continuous cutting operation, and the processing efficiency is much higher than that of traditional equipment that is manually picked up and works intermittently.

[0031] (7) Its structure is relatively simple, and its operation is stable and smooth, effectively reducing the occurrence of material jamming and clogging, and ensuring the continuity and efficiency of production. Reduced maintenance costs and improved ease of use: The ring cutter has a compact structure and relatively uniform blade wear. The design usually takes into account easy disassembly, replacement or sharpening, and the maintenance operation is simple and quick, reducing equipment downtime and maintenance costs.

[0032] Key points of mechanical mechanisms:

[0033] (1) Structure of the ring cutter for cutting tea buds: The pressure knife suction bend is pressed down by the pressure rod. The rotating inner sleeve moves down because it is fixed to the rotating support cover and the pressure knife suction bend. The ring cutter rotator rotates as the rotating inner sleeve moves down because the circular protrusions on the inner wall are in the spiral groove of the rotating inner sleeve. This drives the ring cutter fixed on the ring cutter rotator to rotate. The springs connected to the rotating support cover and the two ends of the ring cutter rotator provide pressure for cutting tea buds, thereby achieving the purpose of cutting tea buds.

[0034] (2) Structure for providing airflow when the ring cutter collects tea buds: The airflow from the jet pump is jetted through the jet pressure sleeve of the ring cutter to the air inlet of the ring cutter rotator, thereby providing the airflow that sucks up the tea buds to the closed environment formed by the ring cutter and the conveyor belt.

[0035] (3) Airflow channel structure when the ring cutter collects tea buds: The ring cutter rotator and the rotating inner sleeve are cylindrical structures to reduce the movement resistance of the airflow carrying tea buds; the ball valve is connected to the ball valve switch. As the ring cutter moves downward, the ball valve push rod pushes the ball valve switch to open the airflow channel of the rotating support cover to the air intake bend of the pressure knife, so that the airflow can smoothly send the tea buds to the suction machine material pipe.

[0036] (4) Structure for fixing tea leaves when the ring cutter cuts tea buds: When the air-jet pressing sleeve moves down with the ring cutter rotator, the pressing soft rubber sleeve fixed on the air-jet pressing sleeve will contact the tea leaves before the ring cutter. The pressing soft rubber sleeve with toothed ends will fix the position of the tea leaves and prevent the tea leaves from rotating when the ring cutter rotates to cut the tea buds. In addition, when the ring cutter is lifted back to its original position, the pressing soft rubber sleeve, which is a short distance longer than the ring cutter, will push away the tea leaves that may be stuck to the ring cutter. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Figure 1 These are the assembly drawings of each part of the circumferential cutting tool;

[0038] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of the assembled components of the ring cutter body;

[0039] Figure 3 This is an assembly cross-sectional view of the cutting edge of the circumferential cutting tool; Detailed Implementation

[0040] The following detailed description illustrates the specific implementation method:

[0041] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the ring cutter A0 includes the following parts: pressure blade suction elbow A01, rotating support cover A02, rotating inner sleeve A03, ring cutter moving sleeve A04, ring cutter rotator A05, ring cutter A06, air jet pressure blade sleeve A07, pressure blade soft rubber sleeve A08, spring A09, ball valve A10, ball valve switch A11, ball valve push rod A12, ring cutter position clip A13, ring cutter limit rod A14, and ring cutter bearing A15; as well as the external pressure rod B12, horizontal round shaft B13, and horizontal lead screw B10 that transmit power and control the position of the ring cutter.

[0042] The pressure knife suction elbow A01 and the rotating support cover A02 are connected by the ring cutter limiting rod A14. The elbow contains a ball valve A10. The vertical movement of the pressure knife suction elbow A01 is controlled by the pressure rod B12. The pressure knife suction elbow A01 is connected to the suction machine's material pipe. The pressure knife suction elbow A01 provides vertical power transmission to the ring cutter A0 and also serves as the interface for conveying tea buds to the ring cutter A0. The rotating inner sleeve A03 is threaded to the rotating support cover A02. The rotating inner sleeve A03 is inserted from the cutting edge direction of the ring cutter rotator A05. The rotating inner sleeve A03 uses its own rotating grooves to rotate the ring cutter rotator A05 during vertical movement. A lead screw nut is fixed inside the ring cutter moving sleeve A04, which is connected to the horizontal lead screw B14. Connected by 10, the rotation of the horizontal lead screw B10 causes the ring cutter moving sleeve A04 to move horizontally. The other side of the ring cutter moving sleeve A04, connected to the horizontal lead screw B10, is connected to the horizontal circular shaft B13. These two horizontal shafts ensure the correct posture of the ring cutter moving sleeve A04. Ring cutter limiting rods A14 are inserted around the ring cutter moving sleeve A04, and the 12 ring cutter limiting rods A14 are embedded in two groups, respectively, into the rotating support cover A02 and the air jet pressure sleeve A07. Therefore, when the ring cutter moving sleeve A04 moves horizontally, it drives the entire ring cutter A0 to move. The annular blade A06 is fixed at the cutting edge of the ring cutter rotator A05. When the ring cutter rotator A05 rotates, it drives the annular blade A06 to rotate, thus achieving the cutting function. Air jet... The leaf-pressing sleeve A07 is fitted onto the ring-cutting blade rotator A05. The inner slit of the air-pressing sleeve A07 faces the air guide hole of the ring-cutting blade rotator A05. The outer nozzle of the air-pressing sleeve A07 is connected to the air pump pipe, which provides airflow to the ring-cutting blade. The air-pressing sleeve A07 is connected to the ring-cutting blade moving sleeve A04 through the inserted ring-cutting blade limiting rod A14, which can correct the position of the ring-cutting blade edge. The leaf-pressing soft rubber sleeve A08 is fitted onto the far end of the air-pressing interface of the air-pressing sleeve A07. The leaf-pressing soft rubber sleeve A08 is used to fix the position of the tea leaves when the ring-cutting blade cuts the buds, preventing the tea leaves from following the movement of the ring-cutting blade A06 and weakening the cutting effect. In addition, it can also push away the tea leaves that may stick to the ring-cutting blade A06 when the blade is lifted. The spring A09 is fitted onto the rotating... On the cylindrical surfaces of the support cover A02, the rotating inner sleeve A03, and the ring cutter rotator A05, spring A09 provides pressure for cutting tea buds; ball valve A10 is connected to ball valve switch A11. Ball valve A10 is placed between the rotating support cover A02 and the pressure knife suction elbow A01. As the ring cutter A0 descends, ball valve push rod A12 pushes ball valve switch A11 to open the suction channel of the ring cutter A0, so that the external suction function can suck away and collect the cut tea buds; ring cutter position card A13 is fitted on the screw nut of the ring cutter moving sleeve A04, and cooperates with the horizontal limit photoelectric gate to provide feedback on whether the ring cutter A0 is on the boundary, so as to facilitate the mechanical control development board to plan the movement of the ring cutter A0;Eight ring cutter bearings A15 are installed in two groups inside the pressure cutter suction elbow A01 and the ring cutter moving sleeve A04, respectively, and are respectively connected to both sides of the pressure rod B12 and the horizontal round shaft B13, which reduces the resistance when the ring cutter A0 moves horizontally.

[0043] like Figure 3 As shown, the cutting edge position at the lower part of the ring cutter A0 mainly includes the ring cutter rotator A05, the ring cutter A06, the air jet pressure blade sleeve A07, and the pressure blade soft rubber sleeve A08.

[0044] The inner ring of the jet-pressing leaf sleeve A07 and the ring-cutting knife rotator A05 are positioned opposite each other, both having evenly distributed air vents for transmitting the airflow to draw in the tea buds. The air vents have sealing structures on both sides to prevent airflow leakage. This airflow enters from the interface of the jet-pressing leaf sleeve A07, passes through the hollow internal area of ​​A07, and is then sprayed from the air vents of A07 onto the air vents of the ring-cutting knife rotator A05. The air vents of the ring-cutting knife rotator A05 guide the airflow towards the inner wall of the ring-shaped knife A06, and then blow it onto the conveyor belt and the cut tea buds, thus ensuring sufficient airflow to draw in the tea buds during the cutting process.

[0045] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of this utility model, and common knowledge regarding specific structures and characteristics is not elaborated upon here. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the structure of this utility model, and these should also be considered within the scope of protection of this utility model. These modifications will not affect the effectiveness or practicality of this utility model. The specific embodiments described in the specification can be used to interpret the claims.

Claims

1. A tea bud cutting device, characterized in that, Includes identification devices and bud-cutting devices; The identification device, which is connected to a camera with an image recognition system, scans and identifies the tea buds before they are cut. The bud-cutting device includes a ring-cutting blade and a ring-cutting blade support plate. The ring-cutting blade has a tubular channel inside to facilitate the collection of the separated tea buds. The ring cutter support plate provides a bud-cutting support platform for the ring cutter; the bud-cutting device receives bud-cutting location information transmitted by the identification device.

2. The tea bud cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ring-cutting knife includes a ring-shaped knife, a pressing knife suction elbow, and an air-jet pressing leaf sleeve. The pressing knife suction elbow and the air-jet pressing leaf sleeve are respectively connected to the suction pipe and the air pump pipe, and are used to collect tea buds and provide airflow.

3. The tea bud cutting device according to claim 2, characterized in that, A rotating support cover, a ball valve, and a ball valve switch are provided between the annular cutter and the pressure cutter suction elbow. The ball valve rotates under the action of the ball valve switch. The ball valve has a through hole along the central axis that matches the internal channel of the annular cutter.

4. The tea bud cutting device according to claim 3, characterized in that, A rotating support cover is provided between the ball valve and the annular cutter to limit the rotation of the ball valve.

5. The tea bud cutting device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The outer edge of the ring-shaped blade is equipped with a soft rubber sleeve for pressing the tea leaves to be cut.

6. The tea bud cutting device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The ring cutter is equipped with a ring cutter moving sleeve, which provides an attachment point for the entire cutting device to move up and down. The ring cutter moving sleeve is connected to a power unit.

7. The tea bud cutting device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The annular blade is surrounded by a spring that provides the pressure needed to cut the tea stem.

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