DEVICE FOR CLEANING NARROW ROOT GRANULES, CORRESPONDING CLEANING APPARATUS, HARVESTING AND CLEANING MACHINE AND METHOD

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for cleaning narrow root vegetables.

[0002] Examples of narrow root fruits include: dandelion root, parsley root, chicory root (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum), parsnip root (Pastinaca sativa), carrot root or cassava root (Manihot esculenta).

[0003] Cleaning devices are known from the prior art for separating root vegetables from unwanted impurities, such as soil or stones, which are carried along during the harvesting or clearing process.

[0004] EP2298057 discloses a roller cleaner in combination with a belt screen cleaner. The belt screen cleaner is movable relative to the roller cleaner in order to adjust the length of the cleaning path to the degree of contamination of the harvested crop. This device is essentially intended for cleaning sugar beets.

[0005] A separating device is known from GB2145612 for separating soil and / or stones from potatoes. The separating device has two star rollers and a clod roller over which the material to be separated is guided. Soil and stones fall through the star rollers, and potatoes are transported away above the rollers.

[0006] US Patent 5,069,292 discloses a cleaning device for root or tuber crops, such as potatoes, onions, or kohlrabi. The cleaning device has rollers and two belt conveyors that form a meandering cleaning path through which the material to be separated is guided.

[0007] US patent 3267502 discloses a device for cleaning root vegetables.

[0008] The known cleaning devices are not suitable for economically separating narrow root vegetables from soil and stones.

[0009] The present invention aims to make the separation process of narrow root vegetables, as well as their harvesting process, more efficient.

[0010] The present invention has, in particular, the objective of remedying the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0011] For this purpose, she proposes a device for cleaning narrow root vegetables, which has the features of claim 1.

[0012] One advantage of this device is that the roller device allows a thorough separation of the root vegetables from objects larger than the root vegetables, without incorrectly discharging the root vegetables along with these larger objects.

[0013] The first conveying device allows for a clean separation of the root vegetables from objects that are smaller than the root vegetables.

[0014] The features of claim 2 allow for an even better separation of the coarse material.

[0015] The features of claims 3 and 4 allow for a space-saving design of the device with a relatively long cleaning distance and a reliable discharge of the coarse material.

[0016] The features of claims 5 and 6 allow for economical manufacturing of the device and good separation of the root vegetables from the fine material.

[0017] The features of claims 7 and 8 define the root types for which the cleaning device achieves particularly good results.

[0018] The invention also relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning narrow root vegetables according to claims 9 and 10. This cleaning apparatus allows the root vegetables to be pre-cleaned and, if necessary, transported from a storage facility or harvesting device to the cleaning apparatus, thereby increasing efficiency.

[0019] The invention also relates to a harvesting and cleaning machine according to claim 11. This allows root vegetables to be cleaned economically directly after harvesting.

[0020] The invention also relates to a method for cleaning narrow root fruits according to claim 12.

[0021] The invention is explained with reference to the following exemplary description, which refers to the accompanying drawings, of which: the Figure 1 a schematic longitudinal view of a harvesting and cleaning machine according to the invention for harvesting and cleaning narrow root vegetables during the harvesting and cleaning process, and the Figure 2 a schematic overview of the harvesting and cleaning machine of Figure 1 is.

[0022] In the present description of the invention, suitability terms such as "designed to" are used in such a way that the associated action is also disclosed. For example, the expression "designed to transport" also includes the disclosure "transports".

[0023] The Figure 1 Figure 2 schematically shows a harvesting and cleaning machine according to the invention.

[0024] The harvesting and cleaning machine 2 is used to harvest narrow root vegetables 6 located in the ground 4.

[0025] In the context of the present invention, the term "narrow root crops" means root crops that have a root length to maximum root diameter ratio (WL / WD max) greater than 2, preferably greater than 4, greater than 5, greater than 6, greater than 7, greater than 8, or greater than 9. The root length (WL) is typically from 5 cm to 1 m, and the maximum root diameter (i.e., the diameter at the thickest point) is from 5 mm to 5 cm.

[0026] Preferably, the narrow root fruits 6 are formed from the group of: dandelion root, parsley root, chicory root (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum), parsnip root (Pastinaca sativa), carrot root, cassava root (Manihot esculenta).

[0027] The soil 4 contains, in addition to the root vegetables 6, earth comprising coarse material 8 and fine material 10. The coarse material 8 consists, for example, of stones or clods of earth that have a relative size larger than the size of the root vegetables. In particular, the coarse material 8 has a minimum dimension MDG that is larger than the maximum root diameter WD max.

[0028] Fine material category 10 includes, for example, soil clods, stones, or sand, which are significantly smaller than root vegetables. In particular, fine material category 10 has a maximum dimension (MDF) that is smaller than the maximum root diameter (WD max).

[0029] The harvesting and cleaning machine 2 defines a harvesting direction EFR, or more generally "direction of travel", which runs from right to left in the figures and is generally directed towards the front of the harvesting and cleaning machine 2.

[0030] The harvesting and cleaning machine 2 has wheels 16 and a frame (not shown). Furthermore, the harvesting and cleaning machine 2 includes a harvesting device 20, which is designed to extract the narrow root vegetables 6 and the surrounding soil, coarse material 8, and fine material 10 from the ground and deposit them as separated material 22. The separated material 22 can also include clumps of root vegetables 6 and adhering soil or stones, which are the same size as the coarse material 8.

[0031] The harvesting and cleaning machine 2 comprises a cleaning apparatus 24 for cleaning the narrow root vegetables. The cleaning apparatus 24 comprises a device 26 for cleaning narrow root vegetables, wherein this device has a first conveying device 28.

[0032] The cleaning apparatus 24 further comprises a second conveying device 30, which is arranged between the harvesting device 20 and the device 26 and is designed to transport the separated material 22 from the harvesting device 20 to the device 26.

[0033] In the Figure 1 In the separated material 22 shown, the stream of narrow root vegetables 6 is represented as a dotted-dashed line. The stream of coarse material 8 is represented as a solid line, and the stream of fine material 10 is represented as a dashed line.

[0034] The device 26 for cleaning narrow root vegetables comprises a roller device 32 comprising at least two rotatable rollers 34, which have a separation material inlet 36, a separation section 38, a coarse material outlet 40, a fine material outlet 42 and a roller gap 44 (see Figure 2). The conveying direction of the roller device 32 or the separation section 38 from the separation material inlet to the coarse material outlet is designated F1.

[0035] The separating material inlet 36 is preferably arranged downstream of the coarse material outlet 40 in the direction of travel EFR. Alternatively, the separating material inlet 36 is arranged at the same height as the coarse material outlet 40 in the direction of travel. The separating material inlet 36 can also be arranged laterally to the side of the coarse material outlet 40, either transversely to the direction of travel EFR or additionally. In this case, the conveying direction F1 is directed forward in the direction of travel EFR. The conveying direction F1 can also be directed obliquely forward or laterally.

[0036] The separation section 38 is formed by the upper surface of the rollers 34. The fines outlet 42 is located below the roller gap 44, and the coarses outlet 40 is situated at the end of the separation section opposite the separation material inlet 36.

[0037] The roller gap 44 is large or wide enough to allow the narrow root vegetables 6 to pass through to the fine material outlet and small or narrow enough to prevent the coarse material 8 from passing through or to retain it and transport it to the coarse material outlet 40.

[0038] The device 26 for cleaning narrow root vegetables has, in the present case, four pairs of rollers, each of which is formed by two rollers 34 driven in opposite directions, so that the roller surfaces move from above through the roller gap. One roller 34 of a roller pair is rotatable about an axis AA and the other roller 34 of a roller pair is rotatable about an axis BB ( Figure 2 The axes AA and BB are essentially parallel. The device 26 for cleaning narrow root vegetables can also have more or fewer than four pairs of rollers.

[0039] Each of the rotatable rollers 34 has a cleaning and transport helix 46 on its surface, which is designed to loosen impurities comprising the coarse material 8 from the root vegetables 6 and to transport the coarse material to the coarse material outlet. The cleaning and transport helixes 46 of the two rotatable rollers 34 of a roller pair are preferably counter-rotating.

[0040] The separation section 38, or the roller gap 44, and the rollers 34 are arranged and designed in such a way that clumps of root vegetables 6 and adhering soil or stones, wherein these clumps have the size of the coarse material 8, are broken up by the rollers 34 and at least the root vegetables 6 are separated from the clumps and pass through the roller gap.

[0041] The first conveying device 28 is located downstream of the roller assembly 32 and is arranged below the roller gap 44 at the fines outlet 42. The first conveying device 28 is designed to receive all narrow root vegetables 6 passing through the roller gap.

[0042] The first conveying device 28 has a conveying direction F2, which is opposite to the conveying direction F1 of the separating section 38.

[0043] In general, the first conveying device 28 comprises a movable transport or screening element, in particular an element with recesses, designed to separate fine material 10, having a maximum dimension smaller than the maximum root diameter, from the root vegetables 6. The first conveying device may, for example, comprise a vibratory conveyor having a vibrating plate as its transport or screening element. The first conveying device may also or additionally comprise a vibrating screen or vibrating sieve having a screen plate that moves cyclically back and forth.

[0044] In the present example, the first conveying device 28 comprises a belt conveyor which has a conveying or screening belt 50 as a transport or screening element. This belt is, in particular, a belt with recesses designed to separate fine material 10 from the root vegetables 6. Preferably, the conveying or screening belt 50 of the first conveying device comprises a "hedgehog belt." Such hedgehog belts are marketed, for example, by Artemis under the name "hedgehog bar belt" (see https: / / www.artemis-kautschuk.de / de / files / 03.2017_Katalog_Extern_Artemis_gruen_DE.pdf, page 6-2).

[0045] The first conveying device 28 can comprise any combination of one or more of the conveyors described above (e.g., belt conveyor and vibratory conveyor). These conveyors can be arranged sequentially. The first conveying device 28 can, for example, include a screen belt or hedgehog belt and a screen or vibrating plate.

[0046] The second conveying device 30 is designed to convey the separating material 22 to the separating material inlet 36.

[0047] The second conveying device 30 comprises at least one transport or sieve belt, in particular a belt with recesses, designed to separate fine material 10, with a maximum dimension smaller than the maximum root diameter, from the root vegetables 6. The second conveying device 30, or its transport or sieve belt, advantageously comprises a square bar belt or perforated bar belt 52, designed and arranged to receive the separated material 22 directly from the harvesting device 20. The square bar belt or perforated bar belt 52 is relatively insensitive to wear. Such square bar belts or perforated bar belts are, for example, marketed by Artemis under the designation "4-perforated bar belt" (see https: / / www.artemis-kautschuk.de / de / files / 03.2017_Katalog_Extern_Artemis_gruen_DE.pdf, pages 5-8).

[0048] The second conveying device 30 further comprises at least one hedgehog belt, in this case a first hedgehog belt 54 and a second hedgehog belt 56. The first hedgehog belt 54 is downstream of the square bar belt or perforated bar belt 52 and receives the material to be separated 22 from the square bar belt or perforated bar belt 52. The second hedgehog belt 56 is arranged entirely above the separation section 38 and receives the material to be separated 22 from the first hedgehog belt 54 and feeds it to the material inlet 36.

[0049] Alternatively, one of the two hedgehog belts 54, 56 or the square bar belt or perforated bar belt 52 can be omitted. The belts 52, 54, 56 can be structured or configured according to the harvester's configuration and can be designed as a square bar belt, perforated bar belt, hedgehog belt, or other type of belt.

[0050] The square bar belt or perforated bar belt 52 has a conveying direction F3, which in this case is directed rearward, or upwards, in the direction of travel EFR. The first hedgehog belt 54 and the second hedgehog belt 56 have conveying directions F4 and F5, respectively, which in this case are directed rearward, or upwards, in the direction of travel EFR. The second hedgehog belt 54 allows the overall height of the device to be kept relatively low.

[0051] In general, the harvesting device 20 is designed to extract the narrow root vegetables and soil from the ground and deposit them as separated material 22 on the second conveying device 30.

[0052] The harvesting device 20 also includes a third conveying device 60, which comprises a belt conveyor 62. The third conveying device 60 has a conveying direction F6 and is designed to receive the narrow root vegetables 6 from the first conveying device 28 and convey them further, for example to a cleaning device (not shown), washing device and / or to a bunker in the vehicle.

[0053] The use of the device involves one or more of the following steps: First, the soil and root vegetables 6 are lifted from the ground by the harvesting device 20 and deposited as separation material 22 on the second conveying device 30. The separation material 22 is conveyed by the second conveying device 30 towards the device 26 for cleaning narrow root vegetables.

[0054] The separation material 22, which consists of narrow root vegetables and coarse material as well as fine material, is fed to the separation material inlet 36 by the second conveying device 30.

[0055] The material to be separated 22 is guided over the separation section 38, whereby at least the coarse material and the narrow root vegetables are separated from each other. The narrow root vegetables 6 pass through the roller gap to the fine material outlet 42.

[0056] If the material to be separated contains 22 lumps of root vegetables 6 and adhering soil or stones, these lumps being the size of the coarse material 8, then these lumps, in particular all lumps, are broken up by the rollers 34 and the root vegetables 6 of the broken-up lumps pass through the roller gap 44. The fine material produced during breaking up also passes through the roller gap 44. The remaining coarse material 8 is conveyed to the coarse material outlet.

[0057] The coarse material 8, separated from the root vegetables, is discharged from the coarse material outlet 40.

[0058] The narrow root vegetables 6, or the fine material comprising the very fines, are conveyed from the fines outlet to the first conveying unit 28, in this case by gravity. The first conveying unit 28 separates the narrow root vegetables 6 from the very fines and then feeds them to the third conveying unit 60.

[0059] The device 26 is compact in design and has a high relative separation efficiency of the narrow roots of soil, clods of earth and stones, in particular a higher relative separation efficiency than a comparable sieve belt or hedgehog belt.

Claims

1. An apparatus (26) for cleaning narrow root crops, the root crops (6) having a maximum root diameter (WDmax) and a root length (WL), a ratio of root length to maximum root diameter WL / WDmax being greater than 2, the apparatus for cleaning root crops comprising: - a roller device (32) comprising two rotatable rollers (34) forming a separating material inlet (36), a separating track (38), a coarse material outlet (40), a fine material outlet (42) and a roller gap (44), and - a first conveyor (28) downstream of the roller device (32), - the separating track (38) being formed by the upper side of the rollers (34), the fine material outlet (42) being located below the roller gap (44), and the coarse material outlet (40) being located at the end of the separating track (38) opposite the separating material inlet (36), caracterized in that roller device (32) is designed so that the roller gap (44) is large enough to allow the narrow root crops to pass through to the fine material outlet (42) and small enough to prevent coarse material (8) with a minimum dimension greater than the maximum root diameter from passing through or being retained and transported to the coarse material outlet (40), and in that the first conveyor (28) is arranged below the roller gap at the fine material outlet (42) and is designed to receive all narrow root crops passing through the roller gap (44).

2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein at least one, preferentially each, of the rotatable rollers (34) has a cleaning and transport spiral (46) adapted to detach impurities comprising the coarse material from the root crops and to transport the coarse material to the coarse material outlet (40), preferentially wherein the cleaning and transport spirals (46) of the two rotatable rollers (34) are counter-rotating.

3. Device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the separating material inlet (34) is arranged behind the coarse material outlet (40) in the direction of travel (EFR) or is arranged at the same height in the direction of travel, and / or wherein the separating material inlet (36) is arranged laterally to the coarse material outlet (40) in a direction transverse to the direction of travel.

4. A device according to one of the Claims 1 to 3, wherein the first conveyor (28) has a conveying direction (F2) that is opposite to a conveying direction (F1) of the separating track (38) from the separating material inlet to the coarse material outlet (40).

5. A device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the first conveyor (28) comprises a movable transport or sieve element, in particular an element with recesses, adapted to separate fine material (10) having a maximum dimension smaller than the maximum root diameter from the root crops (6).

6. A device according to Claim 5, wherein the transport or sieve element is a transport belt or a sieve belt (50), in particular a belt with recesses, wherein in particular the transport belt or sieve belt (50) of the first conveying device (28) comprises a hedgehog belt.

7. A device according to one of the Claims 1 to 6, wherein the ratio of root length to maximum root diameter WL / WDmax is greater than 4, preferentially greater than 5; greater than 6, greater than 7, greater than 8 or greater than 9.

8. A device according to one of the Claims 1 to 7, wherein the narrow root crops (6) are selected from the group consisting of: dandelion root, parsley root, chicory root (cichorium intybus var. foliosum), parsnip root (pastinaca sativa), carrot root, manioc root (manihot esculenta).

9. A cleaning apparatus (24) for cleaning narrow root crops characterized in that it comprises a device (26) for cleaning narrow root crops according to any one of the preceding claims, and in that the cleaning apparatus (24) further comprises a second conveyor (30) designed to convey separation material (22) to the separating material inlet (36).

10. A cleaning apparatus according to Claim 9, wherein the second conveyor (30) comprises at least one transport belt or a sieve belt, in particular a belt with recesses, which is designed to separate fine material (10) having a maximum dimension smaller than the maximum root diameter of the root crops, and wherein in particular the transport belt or sieve belt of the second conveyor comprises a hedgehog belt or a square rod belt or perforated rod belt.

11. A harvesting and cleaning machine (2) comprising a harvesting device (20) for harvesting and cleaning narrow root crops (6), whereby the harvesting and cleaning machine defines a harvesting travel direction (EFR), characterized in that the harvesting and cleaning machine comprises a cleaning apparatus according to one Claims 9 or 10, and in that the harvesting device (20) is designed to convey the narrow root crops (6) and soil from the ground and to deposit them as separated material (22) onto the second conveyor (30).

12. A method of cleaning narrow root crops comprising use of a device according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 or a cleaning apparatus according to any one of Claims 9 or 10, or a harvesting and cleaning machine according to Claim 11, characterized by the following steps: - feeding separating material (22), which has narrow root crops, coarse material and fine material, to the separating material inlet, - guiding the separating material (22) over the separating track, whereby at least coarse material (8) and narrow root crops are separated from each other and whereby the narrow root crops pass the roller gap to the fine material exit, - discharging the coarse material (8) from the coarse material outlet, and - feeding the narrow root crops or fine material from the fine material outlet to the first conveyor.