Integrated cutting mechanism for irregular potato grading and shaping

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of agricultural and sideline products processing machinery discloses irregular potato grading shaping integrated cutting mechanism, including support plate, controller, cutting device, grading bucket and conveying pipe, grading bucket is erected in the back side of support plate through support axle, motor is located below the bucket and drives internal rotating shaft, the multiple grading plates of the aperture decreasing from top to bottom are fixed in the bucket vertically, rotating shaft drives the rotation of the pusher plate corresponding to each layer, and the potatoes intercepted on each layer grading plate are swept into the corresponding conveying pipe, one end of conveying pipe is communicated with grading layer, and the other end converges in the top of cutting device. The utility model realizes the continuous automation operation from grading to cutting, solves the problem of process separation, large occupation and high mixed processing waste rate, and has the advantages of compact structure, accurate screening and high processing quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of agricultural and sideline product processing machinery technology, and in particular to an integrated cutting mechanism for grading and shaping irregular potatoes. Background Technology

[0002] Potatoes, as an important food and vegetable crop, are widely used in the food processing industry, such as in the production of French fries and potato chips. In the production of these products, cutting and shaping is a crucial step that directly affects the appearance quality of the final product and the utilization rate of raw materials. However, as a naturally growing tuber crop, potatoes have extremely irregular shapes and huge differences in individual size, which poses a challenge to mechanized and standardized processing.

[0003] Most current potato cutting equipment uses fixed-specification feeding channels and cutting molds. In actual production, if the raw materials are not pre-treated and are directly mixed for processing, potatoes that are too large are prone to clogging the feeding port or causing incomplete cutting, while potatoes that are too small are prone to shifting in the wide channel, resulting in incomplete cut product shapes or a large amount of waste residue. This not only seriously affects the product qualification rate, but also causes a great waste of raw materials.

[0004] To address the aforementioned issues, existing technologies typically employ a split production line layout. This involves first screening potatoes using a separate grading machine, and then conveying potatoes of different sizes to different cutting machines via conveyor belts for processing. While this approach addresses processing quality issues to some extent, it results in a large equipment footprint, a cumbersome production process, and increased operating time and energy consumption due to material transfer between multiple machines. There is a lack of highly efficient integrated equipment capable of simultaneously performing automatic grading and adaptive cutting within a compact workstation.

[0005] Therefore, this utility model proposes an integrated cutting mechanism for grading and shaping irregular potatoes to solve the shortcomings of existing technologies, such as the separation of potato grading and cutting processes, large equipment footprint, and high waste rate in mixed processing. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of the problems that exist in existing potato processing equipment, such as the separation of grading and cutting processes leading to large equipment footprint, cumbersome production process, high waste rate and inconsistent finished product quality due to cutting irregularly shaped and mixed-size raw materials, this utility model aims to provide an integrated grading, shaping and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes with an improved structure that can effectively solve the above problems.

[0007] This utility model provides an integrated cutting mechanism for grading and shaping irregular potatoes, including: a support plate, a controller and a cutter; as well as a support shaft, a grading bucket, a motor, a grading plate, a rotating shaft, holes, a pusher plate and a conveying pipe.

[0008] The support plate serves as the main base, the cutter is fixedly installed on the front top of the support plate, the grading bin is fixedly supported on the rear top of the support plate by the support shaft, the motor is fixedly installed on the rear top of the support plate and located directly below the grading bin, and the motor output end extends vertically upward through the bottom of the grading bin and is connected to the rotating shaft located at the center inside the grading bin.

[0009] Furthermore, the grading plates are vertically and evenly fixed inside the grading barrel, and the rotating shaft passes through the grading plates. The outer wall of the grading plates has holes for potatoes to fall or be sorted, and the diameter of the holes on the grading plates gradually decreases from top to bottom. The rotating shaft is fixedly installed with a pusher plate corresponding to each grading position. The pusher plate is configured to rotate with the rotating shaft to push the potatoes. One end of the conveying pipe is connected to the corresponding grading layer inside the grading barrel, and the other end converges and is fixed to the top of the cutter. The cutter has a cutting station corresponding to the conveying pipe inside. Through the above structural cooperation, the integrated continuous operation of potatoes from grading to cutting is realized.

[0010] Preferably, the controller is fixedly installed on the rear right side of the top of the support plate, and the controller is electrically connected to the motor and the cutter respectively, thereby realizing centralized control and adjustment of the operating status of the mechanism.

[0011] Preferably, the number of grading plates is set to three. The three grading plates from top to bottom divide the interior of the grading barrel into three independent screening spaces: an upper layer, a middle layer, and a lower layer. The uppermost grading plate has larger holes to allow smaller potatoes to pass through and fall into the lower layer, while larger potatoes are retained. This process is repeated to achieve step-by-step screening.

[0012] Preferably, the pusher plates are located above the corresponding grading plates. When the pusher plates rotate with the rotating shaft, they can sweep the potatoes stuck on the surface of the grading plates in the circumferential direction and push them into the corresponding conveying pipe, thus realizing an automated material discharge function.

[0013] Preferably, the number of conveying pipes is set to three, and one end of each of the three conveying pipes connected to the outer wall of the grading barrel corresponds to one of the three grading layers inside the grading barrel, thereby constructing three independent material conveying channels to avoid potatoes of different specifications from being mixed again during the conveying process.

[0014] Preferably, the cutter is configured to perform appropriate shaping and cutting processes using internal molds and blades of different sizes according to the size of the potatoes conveyed by the different conveying pipes, thereby ensuring the processing quality of raw materials of different sizes and reducing the waste rate.

[0015] Preferably, the bottom end of the support shaft is fixed to the upper surface of the support plate, and the top end of the support shaft is fixedly connected to the bottom wall of the grading barrel. The connection method allows the grading barrel to be suspended above the motor, which provides reasonable installation space for the motor and transmission components and optimizes the overall layout.

[0016] Preferably, a sealed bearing is provided at the connection between the rotating shaft and the bottom of the grading bin to prevent impurities in the grading bin from leaking and damaging the motor; a rotating bearing is provided at the center of the rotating shaft passing through the grading plate to ensure that the rotating shaft can maintain smooth and stable rotational movement when passing through multiple grading plates.

[0017] This utility model has the following beneficial effects: 1. This utility model solves the problems of separate potato grading and cutting processes, large equipment footprint, and discontinuous production operations in the prior art by integrating a vertical multi-layer grading structure and cutting components on a support plate and physically connecting the two using a conveying pipe. It achieves the effects of reducing material turnover links, reducing manual labor intensity, saving production space, and significantly improving overall processing efficiency.

[0018] 2. This utility model solves the problems of irregular potatoes being difficult to standardize and screening, and the easy jamming caused by relying solely on gravity for feeding, by setting up multi-layer grading plates with gradually decreasing apertures inside the grading barrel and cooperating with a motor-driven rotating pusher plate for active material sweeping. It achieves the effect of using physical apertures to realize accurate automatic grading of materials, effectively preventing blockage inside the grading barrel, and ensuring smooth material flow.

[0019] 3. This utility model uses multiple independent conveying pipes to directionally transport potatoes selected from different levels to different workstations corresponding to the cutter. It then uses molds and knives of different sizes and grades for processing, which solves the problem of poor cutting quality and high scrap rate caused by using a single specification of knife to process raw materials of different sizes in traditional processing methods. This achieves the effect of targeted shaping and cutting, greatly improving the finished product qualification rate and raw material utilization rate. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes proposed in this utility model. Figure 2 This is a partial structural diagram of the cutter of the integrated grading and shaping cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes proposed in this utility model. Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the grading barrel structure of the integrated grading, shaping and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes proposed in this utility model. Figure 4 This is a partial structural diagram of the grading plate of the integrated grading, shaping and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes proposed in this utility model.

[0021] Legend: 1. Support plate; 2. Controller; 3. Cutter; 4. Support shaft; 5. Grading bin; 6. Motor; 7. Grading plate; 8. Rotating shaft; 9. Hole; 10. Pusher plate; 11. Conveying pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0022] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this utility model, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1 to 4 This utility model provides an integrated cutting mechanism for grading and shaping irregular potatoes. It aims to solve the problem that the potato processing equipment in the prior art lacks effective grading pretreatment, which leads to high waste rate, non-standard cutting shape and equipment jamming when cutting and shaping irregular potatoes of different sizes. The integrated structural design realizes continuous automated operation of grading and cutting.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, the irregular potato grading and shaping integrated cutting mechanism includes a support plate 1 as the main mounting base, and a cutter 3, a controller 2, a grading bucket 5, and a drive assembly integrated and mounted on the support plate 1 through a specific connection relationship. The support plate 1 is made of metal plate with sufficient strength and stability to support the weight of the entire mechanism and provide a stable operating platform. The cutter 3 is fixedly installed on the front side of the top of the support plate 1 to receive the graded potatoes and perform the final shaping and cutting process. The controller 2 is fixedly installed on the rear right side of the top of the support plate 1 to realize centralized control of the electrical components of the entire mechanism.

[0025] A support structure for the grading and screening module is constructed on the top rear side of the support plate 1. The structure mainly consists of multiple support shafts 4 and a grading barrel 5. The bottom end of the support shaft 4 is vertically fixed to the upper surface of the support plate 1 by bolts or welding. The top end of the support shaft 4 is fixedly connected to the outer side of the bottom wall of the grading barrel 5, thereby stably suspending the grading barrel 5 above the support plate 1 and reserving installation space for the power drive components below. The support shafts 4 are evenly distributed around the central axis of the grading barrel 5 to ensure the stability of the grading barrel 5 during operation. The grading barrel 5, as the main container for potato grading, is designed with an open structure at the top or connected to a feed hopper for feeding the potato raw materials to be processed into it.

[0026] To achieve automated operation of the mechanism, a motor 6 is fixedly installed on the top rear side of the support plate 1, directly below the grading bin 5. The motor 6 serves as the power source for the entire grading system, with its output end extending vertically upward. The output shaft of the motor 6 is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the rotating shaft 8 via a coupling. The rotating shaft 8, as the core transmission component, extends vertically upward through the bottom center of the grading bin 5 and into the internal cavity of the grading bin 5. A sealed bearing is embedded at the connection between the rotating shaft 8 and the bottom of the grading bin 5, ensuring smooth rotation of the rotating shaft 8 while preventing impurities in the grading bin 5 from falling onto the motor 6 below. Driven by the motor 6, the rotating shaft 8 can drive the subsequent connected grading components to rotate, thus constructing an overall frame structure with the support plate 1 as the base, the grading bin 5 as the screening area, and the motor 6 and rotating shaft 8 as the core power source.

[0027] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The core technical feature of this utility model lies in the multi-level physical screening structure constructed inside the grading barrel 5. In order to achieve precise step-by-step screening of irregular potatoes, multiple grading plates 7 are fixed at intervals along the vertical direction on the inner wall of the grading barrel 5. The rotating shaft 8 passes vertically upward through the central area of ​​these grading plates 7, and the rotating shaft 8 and the grading plates 7 maintain a rotational engagement relationship. The rotating shaft 8 will not drive the grading plates 7 to rotate when it rotates. Specifically, there are three grading plates 7. These three grading plates 7 are arranged in parallel along the vertical direction, which physically divides the inner cavity of the grading barrel 5 into three independent and non-communicating screening spaces: the upper layer, the middle layer, and the lower layer, which are used to carry out screening operations at different stages.

[0028] Each grading plate 7 has multiple holes 9 through its surface for potatoes to be screened and fall through. The size of these holes 9 is not uniform, but arranged according to a specific grading logic. That is, from top to bottom in the vertical direction, the size of the holes 9 on the grading plate 7 decreases sequentially. Specifically, the holes 9 on the top grading plate 7 are designed to have the largest size to intercept large potatoes and allow smaller potatoes to pass through. The holes 9 on the middle grading plate 7 have the next smallest size to intercept medium-sized potatoes. The holes 9 on the bottom grading plate 7 have the smallest size to intercept small potatoes. This design of decreasing hole size creates a multi-level physical screening net to ensure that potatoes of different sizes can be accurately intercepted on the corresponding level plane.

[0029] In order to automatically unload the potatoes trapped on each grading plate 7, multiple pusher plates 10 are fixedly installed on the outer wall of the rotating shaft 8. The number of pusher plates 10 is consistent with the number of grading plates 7, which is three. Each pusher plate 10 is located in the upper area of ​​the grading plate 7. The pusher plate 10 adopts a long strip flat plate structure with sufficient rigidity to push the material. One end of the pusher plate 10 is firmly fixed to the outer circumference of the rotating shaft 8 by welding or other means, and the other end extends horizontally in the radial direction to a position close to the inner wall of the grading barrel 5, thereby covering most of the radius of the grading plate 7.

[0030] The pusher plate 10 and the grading plate 7 form a specific structural fit. The bottom surface of the pusher plate 10 and the upper surface of the corresponding grading plate 7 form a precise clearance fit. The clearance fit design ensures that the pusher plate 10 will not mechanically rub or get stuck with the grading plate 7 when it rotates with the rotating shaft 8, and can effectively contact and push the potatoes stuck on the surface of the grading plate 7. When the motor 6 drives the rotating shaft 8 to rotate, it drives each layer of pusher plates 10 to rotate synchronously. The pusher plate 10 sweeps and pushes the potatoes stuck on each layer of grading plate 7 in the circumferential direction. Under the combined action of centrifugal force and thrust, they move towards the side wall of the grading barrel 5, realizing the automatic cleaning function.

[0031] To further optimize the overall material flow efficiency and achieve directional processing after grading, this embodiment constructs a precise conveying channel between the grading barrel 5 and the cutter 3, specifically connected by conveying pipes 11. The number of conveying pipes 11 strictly corresponds to the number of layers in the grading plate 7, with a total of three pipes, each connecting the upper, middle, and lower independent spaces inside the grading barrel 5. The input end interface of the conveying pipe 11 is located on the side wall of the grading barrel 5 and aligned with the discharge area above the corresponding grading plate 7, ensuring that potatoes can smoothly enter the pipe under the pushing action of the pusher plate 10. The conveying pipe 11 is designed with a downward inclined structure along the material conveying direction, that is, the height of the connection end of the conveying pipe 11 with the grading barrel 5 is significantly higher than the height of the connection end with the cutter 3. Gravitational potential energy is used to assist the potatoes to automatically slide down in the pipe, avoiding material accumulation or blockage caused by horizontal conveying. The output ends of the three conveying pipes 11 converge and are fixedly installed at different feed ports on the top of the cutter 3.

[0032] As the terminal actuator, the cutter 3 does not have a single internal structure. Instead, it is divided into workstations according to the specifications of the materials conveyed by the three conveying pipes 11. The workstations connected to the upper large-diameter grading layer of the conveying pipe 11 are equipped with large-sized shaping molds and cutters, which are specifically used to process larger potatoes and prevent material jamming caused by small cutters. The workstations connected to the middle and lower conveying pipes 11 are respectively equipped with cutting components adapted to medium and small potatoes. Through this differentiated processing logic of dividing channels and specifications, the efficient utilization and standardized output of irregular raw materials are achieved.

[0033] Regarding the stability of the equipment and the protection of core components, the support shaft 4 is made of a high-strength solid metal cylinder. The bottom end is firmly locked to the upper surface of the support plate 1 by bolt assembly, and the top end is welded or flanged to the outer side of the bottom wall of the grading tank 5, thus providing rigid support for the suspended grading tank 5 and resisting the vibration generated by the operation of the motor 6. A sealed bearing assembly is installed at the through hole position of the rotating shaft 8 at the bottom of the grading tank 5. The outer ring of the sealed bearing is fixedly sealed to the bottom of the grading tank 5, and the inner ring is tightly fitted to the outer wall of the rotating shaft 8. The structure ensures that the rotating shaft 8 rotates smoothly and transmits torque, while forming a reliable physical barrier, effectively preventing the leakage of mud, sand, debris or cleaning liquid that may be generated inside the grading tank 5 to the motor 6 below along the axial gap, thus extending the service life of electrical components. The controller 2 establishes an electrical connection with the motor 6 and the cutter 3 through embedded or external wiring, respectively. The operator can adjust the speed of the motor 6 through the controller 2 to match the current feeding amount, so as to realize the automated collaborative operation of the whole machine.

[0034] Working principle: In the initial stage of operation, the operator sends a command through the controller 2 to start the motor 6 and the cutter 3, so that the whole mechanism enters the running state. At this time, the motor 6 drives the rotating shaft 8 and the pusher plates 10 fixed on the rotating shaft 8 to start rotating continuously inside the grading barrel 5, and puts the irregular potatoes to be processed into the feeding position at the top of the grading barrel 5. Under the action of gravity, the potatoes fall onto the surface of the uppermost grading plate 7. Entering the grading and screening stage, since the aperture of the holes 9 on the three grading plates 7 set from top to bottom inside the grading barrel 5 decreases sequentially, when potatoes of mixed sizes come into contact with the top grading plate 7, potatoes smaller than the aperture of the holes 9 pass through the holes 9 and fall to the next layer, while larger potatoes are physically retained on the surface of the top grading plate 7. Potatoes falling to the middle layer repeat this process, medium-sized potatoes are retained on the middle grading plate 7, and smaller potatoes continue to fall and are eventually retained on the surface of the bottom grading plate 7. Thus, automatic stratification and screening of materials in vertical space is achieved through a single feeding action. Entering the conveying and processing stage, as the rotating shaft 8 continues to rotate, the pusher plate 10 located above each grading plate 7 applies a circumferential pushing force to the intercepted potatoes, sweeping the potatoes into the inlet of the conveying pipe 11 corresponding to the side wall of the grading barrel 5. Under the guidance of the inclined structure of the conveying pipe 11 and the combined action of its own gravity, potatoes of different grades slide down along their respective independent pipes and accurately flow into the specific feed port corresponding to the top of the cutter 3. The corresponding station inside the cutter 3 uses molds and cutters of appropriate size and grade to perform shaping and cutting operations on the incoming potatoes, and finally outputs finished products with uniform specifications. This realizes fully automated continuous operation from raw material grading to finished product cutting, effectively solving the problems of high waste rate and machine jamming caused by irregular raw material shape in traditional processing methods.

Claims

1. An integrated cutting mechanism for grading and shaping irregular potatoes, including a support plate (1), a controller (2), and a cutter (3); Its features are, It also includes a support shaft (4), a grading bin (5), a motor (6), a grading plate (7), a rotating shaft (8), a hole (9), a pusher plate (10), and a conveying pipe (11). The support plate (1) serves as the main base. The cutter (3) is fixedly installed on the front top of the support plate (1). The grading bin (5) is fixedly supported on the rear top of the support plate (1) via the support shaft (4). The motor (6) is fixedly installed on the rear top of the support plate (1) and located directly below the grading bin (5). The output end of the motor (6) extends vertically upward through the bottom of the grading bin (5) and is connected to the rotating shaft (8) located at the center inside the grading bin (5). The grading plate (7) is fixed vertically and evenly inside. The rotating shaft (8) passes through the grading plate (7). The outer wall of the grading plate (7) is provided with holes (9) for potatoes to fall or be screened. The diameter of the holes (9) on the grading plate (7) gradually decreases from top to bottom. The rotating shaft (8) is fixedly installed with a pusher plate (10) corresponding to each grading position. The pusher plate (10) rotates with the rotating shaft (8) to push the potatoes. One end of the conveying pipe (11) is connected to the corresponding grading layer in the grading bucket (5), and the other end converges and is fixed to the top of the cutter (3). The cutter (3) is provided with a cutting station corresponding to the conveying pipe (11).

2. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The controller (2) is fixedly installed on the rear right side of the top of the support plate (1), and the controller (2) is electrically connected to the motor (6) and the cutter (3).

3. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are three grading plates (7). The three grading plates (7) from top to bottom divide the interior of the grading barrel (5) into an upper layer, a middle layer and a lower layer. The holes (9) opened on the uppermost grading plate (7) have a larger diameter so that smaller potatoes can pass through.

4. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pusher plate (10) is located above the corresponding grading plate (7). The pusher plate (10) is configured to sweep the potatoes stuck on the grading plate (7) into the corresponding conveying pipe (11) when it rotates with the rotating shaft (8).

5. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are three conveying pipes (11), and one end of each of the three conveying pipes (11) connected to the outer wall of the grading barrel (5) corresponds to one of the three grading layers inside the grading barrel (5).

6. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cutter (3) is configured to perform appropriate shaping and cutting processes according to the size of the potatoes delivered by the different conveying pipes (11).

7. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom end of the support shaft (4) is fixed to the upper surface of the support plate (1), and the top end of the support shaft (4) is fixedly connected to the bottom wall of the grading barrel (5), so that the grading barrel (5) is suspended above the motor (6).

8. The integrated grading, shaping, and cutting mechanism for irregular potatoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, A sealed bearing is provided at the connection between the rotating shaft (8) and the bottom of the grading barrel (5), and a rotating bearing is provided at the center of the rotating shaft (8) passing through the grading plate (7).

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