Slit formation device

Abstract

To provide a slit formation device capable of forming longitudinal slits in outer skins of onions that do not damage the onions and allow the outer skins to be easily removed.SOLUTION: A slit formation device comprises: an arm 25 which extends in a vertical direction Z, of which upper end is supported axially so that its lower end gets closer to or separated from a central axis Z2 of an onion, and of which cutting upper end surface 104a descends downward from an upper end of the onion 100; and an outer skin cutting section 28 at a lower end of the arm 25 capable of forming a longitudinal slit 102 in an outer skin 101 of the onion 100 when the arm 25 descends downward from the upper end of the onion 100. The slit formation device further comprises at the lower end a leading guide member 31 that comes into contact with the onion 100 before the outer skin cutting section 28 along with a movement of the arm 25 and guides the outer skin cutting section 28 toward the cutting upper end surface 104a side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a slit forming device for cutting longitudinal slits into the skin of a spherical object, such as an onion. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a slit cutter device used to form vertical slits (cuts) in the outer skin of an onion in a pre-process in which the outer skin is peeled off by blowing air onto the onion.

[0003] The slit cutter device of Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of cutter arms that extend in the vertical direction and can be lowered from directly above the onion, and a slit cutter is journaled at the bottom of each of the plurality of cutter arms. The slit cutter device of Patent Document 1 is configured such that vertical slits are formed in the outer skin of the onion by lowering the cutter arms so that the slit cutter follows the outer surface of the onion.

[0004] However, the slit cutter device of Patent Document 1 forms vertical slits only in the middle of the onion skin in the vertical direction. In this way, if the onion skin is not cut by the slit cutter to the top and bottom ends in the vertical direction, the onion skin may not be peeled off smoothly and reliably.

[0005] Furthermore, when the cutter arm descends, the slit cutter at the lower end of the cutter arm comes into contact with the onion, which may damage the onion due to the impact. In particular, when the cutter arm is lowered over the onion and the slit cutter first hits the cut end portion where the core has already been cut, the tip of the slit cutter will thrust forcefully into the cut end portion, raising concerns that the cut end portion, which is already sensitive to damage, will become even more susceptible to damage. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-316550 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a slit forming device capable of forming vertical slits in the outer skin of an onion, which allows the outer skin to be easily removed without damaging the onion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This invention provides a slit forming device comprising: moving means having a tip portion that is close to or away from an onion central axis that passes through both ends, the root side end and the stalk side end, and which moves along the onion central axis from one end side where a cut end is formed to the other end side of the both ends; biasing means for biasing the tip portion of the moving means toward the adjacent side; and skin cutting means capable of forming a slit in the onion skin at the tip portion when the moving means moves from the one end side to the other end side, wherein the tip portion is provided with guide means for hitting the onion earlier than the skin cutting means as the moving means moves, guiding the skin cutting means toward the cut end side.

[0009] This invention makes it possible to easily remove the outer skin of the onion without damaging it. In detail, when the moving means moves, the skin-cutting means is guided by the guide means to the cut end of the onion, so that the skin-cutting means can initially come into contact with the cut end surface of the onion.

[0010] As a result, when the outer skin cutting means forms a slit in the outer skin of the onion as the moving means moves, the outer skin can be cut from the outer edge of the cut end of the onion, i.e., from one end of the central axis of the onion. Therefore, the outer skin can be easily removed by blowing air or the like, thereby improving the productivity of onions from which the outer skin has been removed.

[0011] Furthermore, since the guide means hits the onion before the skin-cutting means when the moving means moves, it is possible to reduce the impact caused by the skin-cutting means first hitting the cut end surface of the onion, which is easily damaged, directly. Therefore, the onion is not damaged when the slits are formed in the skin, and the yield of onions can be improved.

[0012] As another aspect of the present invention, the guide means may be formed with a guide surface that guides the cutting edge of the skin cutting means so that it first comes into contact with the onion and then contacts the outer surface of the onion while initially contacting the outer edge of the cut end.

[0013] According to the above configuration, the guide means comes into contact with the onion before the skin cutting means, and then the guide surface moves along the outer surface of the onion while being in contact with the outer surface, whereby the guide surface of the guide means can better guide the cutting edge of the skin cutting means to first come into contact with the outer edge of the cut end of the onion.

[0014] Therefore, the cutting edge of the skin-splitting means can be guided to prevent inadvertent contact with the easily damaged cut end of the onion and damage it, while a slit can be reliably formed in the onion skin from the outer edge of the cut end surface, thereby more reliably achieving the effect of easily removing the skin.

[0015] The means for peeling off the outer skin of the onion after the slits have been formed is not particularly limited, and for example, at least one of a means for blowing air using a blower or the like, or a means for placing the onion on a roller and rolling it can be used. In addition, this can be done automatically using a device, or manually using a tool or the like.

[0016] In another aspect of the invention, the skin cutting means may have at least a blade tip protruding portion where the blade tip protrudes from the outer surface of the guide means toward the onion, and the guide means may be formed with a tip contact portion that contacts the onion earlier than the blade tip protruding portion when the moving means moves, and the guide surface may have a first guide surface formed from the tip contact portion toward the blade tip protruding portion, and a second guide surface formed between the first guide surface and the blade tip protruding portion and guiding the blade tip protruding portion toward the other end side of the onion central axis further than the guide direction of the first guide surface.

[0017] Here, the guide direction of the first guide surface, i.e., the first guide direction, is a direction for guiding the skin cutting means away from the central axis of the onion, whereas the guide direction of the second guide surface, i.e., the second guide direction, is a direction for guiding the protruding portion of the cutting edge toward the other end side of the central axis of the onion further than the guide direction of the first guide surface.

[0018] According to the above configuration, the skin-cutting means is guided by the guide means which hits the onion earlier than the skin-cutting means, so that the tip of the protruding portion of the blade can initially hit the outer edge of the cut end by pressing it from one end side of the central axis of the onion.

[0019] Therefore, a slit can be formed in the outer skin of the onion from the outer edge of the cut end without inadvertently damaging the cut end, and as a result, the outer skin can be easily removed without damaging the onion.

[0020] As a further aspect of the present invention, the outer cover tearing means may include a pair of cutters, the pair of cutters being arranged in parallel to each other with a gap therebetween in the thickness direction.

[0021] According to the above configuration, the outer skin can be easily peeled off from the outer surface of the onion by blowing air. In detail, a pair of slits that are parallel to each other and separated by a gap can be formed in the outer skin by a pair of cutting edges, and an outer skin removal portion can be formed in the portion between the pair of slits that can remove the outer skin in the portion between them.

[0022] Therefore, since the outer skin removal section has a predetermined width corresponding to the gap, the opposing ends of the outer skins facing each other across the outer skin removal section can be separated from each other when air is blown onto them. Therefore, air can easily flow between the outer surface of the onion and the outer skin covering the outer surface through the opposing ends when air is blown onto them, and the outer skin of the onion can be easily peeled off.

[0023] In another aspect of the invention, a spacer member having a thickness corresponding to the gap is interposed between the pair of cutters in the thickness direction, and the cutter may protrude toward the onion together with the spacer member at the cutting edge protruding portion, with the cutting edge protruding toward the onion beyond the spacer member.

[0024] In addition to holding the pair of cutters across the gap, the spacer member can also function as a blade guide means for guiding the blade edges of the cutters along the outer surface of the onion when forming a slit in the onion skin.

[0025] In another aspect of the present invention, the onion having the cut ends formed at both ends may be provided with a pressing and holding means for pressing and holding the onion against each of the cut ends at both ends, and the pressing and holding means may be configured to abut against each of the cut ends at an inner position relative to the outer edge.

[0026] According to the above configuration, when the moving means is moved to form a slit in the outer skin of the onion, the pressing and holding means can firmly hold the onion by clamping it from both ends with the onion clamping portion.

[0027] Furthermore, since each of the pressing and holding means is configured to abut against a position more inward than the outer edge of each cut end at both ends, when a slit is formed in the onion skin by the skin cutting means, the blade tip of the skin cutting means does not interfere with the pressing and holding means, and the slit can be formed firmly up to the outer edge of each cut end at both ends of the onion.

[0028] Another aspect of the invention may include a conveyor belt that extends in a direction intersecting the onion's central axis and conveys onions with the cut ends formed at both ends, wherein the conveyor belt has an insertion hole formed through the onion's central axis into which the onion is inserted from the other end side of both ends, and an extrusion means is provided for pushing the onion inserted into the insertion hole from the other end side of the onion's central axis to the one end side.

[0029] According to the above configuration, when the onions are transported, the onions can be stably transported with the cut end on the other end side fitted into the fitting hole, while the extrusion means pushes the cut end surface on the other end side toward the one end side relative to the fitting hole, so that a slit can be reliably formed up to the outer edge of the cut end on the other end side of the onion without the cutting edge of the skin cutting means interfering with the transport belt.

[0030] Another aspect of the present invention may include an air blowing means for blowing air onto the onion with the slit formed therein, and an onion holding means for holding the onion from both sides of the onion's central axis, and a rotating means for rotating at least one of the air blowing means and the onion holding means relatively around the onion's central axis.

[0031] According to the above configuration, the outer skin can be efficiently peeled off by blowing air onto the onion without damaging the onion.

[0032] In particular, since a vertical slit can be formed including the outer edge of the cut end located at one end (upper end) of the central axis of the onion when forming the slit, the outer skin of the onion can be easily peeled off by simply blowing air without applying external force by contact with an object such as a roller.

[0033] In another aspect of the present invention, the moving means may be configured to move the tip portion in a returning direction along the central axis of the onion from the other end side to the one end side relative to the onion, and may be provided with a moving direction displacement means for displacing the tip portion in a direction away from the central axis of the onion against the biasing means by a distance greater than the maximum diameter of the onion when the tip portion moves in the returning direction.

[0034] According to the above configuration, when the blade tip of the moving means moves to the other side of the cut end portion on the other end side of the onion central axis of the onion and then returns to the one end side, the tip portion can be released (displaced) by the moving direction displacement means from the side approaching the onion central axis to the side moving away from it against the biasing means. This allows the tip portion of the moving means to return so that it does not get caught on the cut end portion on the other end side of the onion.

[0035] In another aspect of the present invention, the moving means includes a plurality of arms extending from the one end side to the other end side of the onion central axis, and the separating direction displacement means is composed of an arm pressing member that presses the arms so that the tip ends are displaced in the separating direction, and the arm pressing member may be configured to be capable of pressing the plurality of arms together.

[0036] According to the above configuration, by moving the moving means, the outer skin cutting means provided at each tip of the multiple arms can form multiple slits in the outer surface of the onion.

[0037] Furthermore, since the arm pressing member is configured to be able to press multiple arms together, the entire device can be made more compact and lighter than, for example, a case in which one is provided for each arm. Also, by pressing multiple arms together, they can be smoothly displaced from a closed state close to the central axis of the onion to an open state away from it. Effect of the Invention

[0038] According to the present invention, a slit forming device can be provided that can form vertical slits in the outer skin of an onion, which allows the outer skin to be easily removed without damaging the onion. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0039] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vertical slit forming unit of the present embodiment, partially in section; [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a side view showing the vertical slit forming unit in partial cross section. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of the vertical slit forming unit. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part along the line AA in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part taken along line BB in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part along the line CC in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] Enlarged view of the arm opening mechanism and its surroundings in Fig. 1 [Figure 8] (a) is a plan view of the lower end of the arm, and (b) is a side view of the outer skin tearing means and the guide means. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a front view of an onion peeling unit provided in an onion peeling device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 10] An explanatory diagram of the action of the outer skin tearing means and the guide means [Figure 11] An enlarged explanatory diagram of the outer skin tearing means and the guide means. [Figure 12] An explanatory diagram showing the process of forming vertical slits in the outer skin of an onion [Figure 13]An explanatory diagram of the action of the outer skin tearing means and the guide means DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a front view, partially in cross section, of a main part of the vertical slit forming unit 3 provided in the onion peeling device 1 of this embodiment, i.e., a view from the upstream side Ya to the downstream side Yb in the conveying direction Y. However, the vertical slit forming structure 16 is shown as viewed from the arrows A2-A2 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side view, partially in cross section, of a main part of the vertical slit forming unit 3 of this embodiment, i.e., a view from one side Wa to the other side Wb in the width direction W. However, the vertical slit forming structure 16 is shown as viewed from the arrows A1-A1 in Fig. 1.

[0041] 3 is a plan view showing the main parts of the vertical slit forming unit 3, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts along line BB in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts along line CC in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the arm opening structure and its surroundings in FIG. 1, FIG. 8(a) is a plan view of the arm lower end 25b, (b) a side view of the skin cutting portion 28 and the front-hit guide member 31, FIG. 9 is a front view of the skin peeling unit 4 provided in the onion peeling device 1 of this embodiment, FIG. 10(a1) is a plan view showing the state just before the front-hit guide member 31 first hits the onion 100, FIG. 10(b1) is a front view of the same shown partially in cross section, and FIG. 10(a2) is a cross-sectional view showing the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 when a vertical slit is formed. FIG. 10(b2) is a front view partially cross-sectionally showing the state of the onion 100 immediately after the first contact of the first contact guide member 31 with the onion 100, FIG. 11(a) is an enlarged view from the front of the state immediately after the cutter 36 first contacts the onion 100, FIG. 11(b) is an enlarged view from the front of the state immediately after the cutter 36 first contacts the onion 100, FIG. 11(c) is an enlarged view from the front of the state immediately after the cutting guide member 32 first contacts the onion 100, FIG. 12(a) is a front view showing the process of forming a vertical slit 102 in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100, FIG. 12(b) is a side view of the same, FIG. 13(a3) is a plan view showing the state immediately after the vertical slit 102 has been formed in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100, and FIG. 10(b3) is a front view partially cross-sectionally showing the same. [Overall structure] The onion peeling device 1 of this embodiment includes a vertical slit forming unit 3 (illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2), an outer skin peeling unit 4 (see Fig. 9), and an onion conveying unit 2 (see Figs. 1, 2, and 9). Furthermore, the onion peeling device 1 is provided with a conveying path 10 that extends horizontally from an onion supply point (not shown) that supplies onions 100 into the device to an onion discharge point (not shown) that discharges the onions 100 with their skins 101 peeled off to the outside of the device, passing through a vertical slit formation point 7 (see Figures 1 and 2) and a skin peeling point 8 (see Figure 9) in that order.

[0042] The vertical slit forming location 7 is a location where a vertical slit 102 (hereinafter referred to as "vertical slit 102") is formed in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 by the vertical slit forming unit 3, and the outer skin peeling location 8 is a location where the outer skin 101 is peeled from the onion 100 by the skin peeling unit.

[0043] Here, in the figure, arrow Z indicates the up-down direction of the onion peeling device 1, and similarly, arrow Za indicates the up-down direction, and arrow Zb indicates the down-down direction. Furthermore, in the figure, arrow Y indicates the conveying direction of the onions 100 along the conveying path 10, arrow Ya indicates the side of the onion supply location on the conveying path 10, i.e., the upstream side, and arrow Yb indicates the side of the onion discharge location on the conveying path 10, i.e., the downstream side. Furthermore, arrow W indicates the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction Y in a plan view, i.e., the width direction, arrow Wa indicates one side in the width direction, and arrow Wb indicates the other side in the width direction.

[0044] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the onion conveying unit 2 comprises a conveying belt 20 arranged horizontally and endlessly along the conveying path 10, a pair of pulleys (not shown) arranged at both ends of the conveying path 10 and tensioning the conveying belt 20, and a motor (not shown) as a drive source that rotates and drives one of the pair of pulleys, a main pulley (not shown), and is configured to be able to convey onions 100 along the conveying path 10 from the upstream side Ya in the conveying direction to the downstream side Yb in the conveying direction.

[0045] The conveyor belt 20 has fitting holes 20h formed therethrough, into which the onions 100 can be placed with their bottom ends (104b) fitted. The conveyor belt 20 has a plurality of fitting holes 20h arranged at a predetermined pitch along the conveying direction Y.

[0046] When supplying the onions 100 to the onion supplying location, the worker supplies the onions 100 by placing them in the fitting holes 20h in the upper surface of the conveyor belt 20 located at the onion supplying location. As a result, the onions 100 are supported by the periphery of the fitting hole 20h with the bottom end (104b) fitted in the fitting hole 20h, and are stably placed in the fitting hole 20h.

[0047] In this embodiment, the onion 100 supplied to the onion supply location has cut end surfaces 104a, 104b formed by cutting off the core ends of both ends (the root end and the stem end).

[0048] In detail, a root side cut end surface 104a (also referred to as the "upper cut end surface 104a") is formed at the root end of onion 100, and a stem side cut end surface 104b (also referred to as the "lower cut end surface 104b") is formed at the stem end of onion 100.

[0049] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the onion 100 is placed in the fitting hole 20h such that the stalk end of the two ends, the root end and the stalk end, is located at the lower end. As a result, the onion 100 is placed in the fitting hole 20h in a position where the onion central axis Z2 passing through the root end and the stalk end is aligned with the up-down direction Z.

[0050] In addition, the conveying belt 20 temporarily suspends the conveying of the onions 100 for a predetermined period of time while an operator places the onions 100 into the fitting holes 20h on the upper surface of the belt at the onion supply location, while a vertical slit 102 is formed in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 at the vertical slit forming location 7, and while the outer skin 101 is peeled off of the onion 100 at the outer skin peeling location 8.

[0051] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the efficiency of the peeling operation of the onions 100 is improved by synchronizing the timing of pausing and restarting the transportation at each of the onion supply location, the vertical slit formation location 7, and the skin peeling location 8.

[0052] 1, in this embodiment, a pair of conveyor belts 20 are provided in the width direction W in a plan view. The pair of conveyor belts 20 are arranged in parallel such that their respective conveying directions Y are parallel to each other and the arrangement pitch of the fitting holes 20h is the same along the conveying direction Y. Furthermore, the pair of conveyor belts 20 convey the onions 100 under the same control so that the timings of pausing and restarting and the conveying speeds are the same.

[0053] As a result, the onions 100 are supplied by the worker at the onion supply location, two at a time, corresponding to the insertion holes 20h on each side of the width direction W, and at the vertical slit formation location 7 and the skin peeling location 8, the processing performed at each location is performed simultaneously in pairs.

[0054] [Vertical slit forming unit 3] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vertical slit forming unit 3 includes a vertical slit forming unit main body 11 and an onion pushing part 12. The vertical slit forming unit 3 is provided across a pair of conveying paths 10 in the width direction W of the vertical slit forming area 7 . 1, an axis extending in a direction coinciding with the up-down direction Z at the center position of the vertical slit forming area 7 in plan view (i.e., the center position in the conveying direction Y and the center position in the width direction W) is set as the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1. The vertical slit forming unit 3 is configured to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1 in plan view.

[0055] 1 and 2, the vertical slit forming area 7 is provided with a vertical slit forming position P7 where a vertical slit 102 can be formed in the onion 100. The vertical slit forming position P7 is located directly above the fitting hole 20h in the conveyor belt 20 that has been temporarily stopped at the vertical slit forming area 7, and is located at a height where the bottom end (104b) of the onion 100 is not fitted into the fitting hole 20h.

[0056] As shown in Fig. 1, an axis passing linearly through both the top and bottom ends of the onion 100 placed at the vertical slit forming position P7 is defined as the onion central axis Z2. A pair of onion central axes Z2 are set symmetrically with respect to the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1 in the width direction W, and both extend parallel to the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1 in the up-down direction Z. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 2, both of the pair of onion central axes Z2 coincide with the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1 in the conveying direction Y at the vertical slit forming position 7.

[0057] The above-mentioned vertical slit forming unit main body 11 is provided above the vertical slit forming position P7, and the onion pushing part 12 is provided below the vertical slit forming position P7.

[0058] [Vertical slit forming unit main body 11] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the vertical slit forming unit main body 11 includes a fixed plate 13, a movable base plate 14, a lifting structure 15 for raising and lowering the movable base plate 14 relative to the fixed plate 13, a vertical slit forming structure 16 mounted on the movable base plate 14, an onion holding structure 17, and an arm opening structure 18.

[0059] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the fixed plate 13 is horizontally attached and supported by a rigid frame 20a provided in the onion peeler 1 using bolts or the like.

[0060] The movable base plate 14 has a plate thickness in the vertical direction Z, and is positioned horizontally below the fixed plate 13 so that the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1 passes through the center in a planar view, and is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the width direction W across a pair of vertical slit forming positions P7 in a planar view.

[0061] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lifting structure 15 includes a lifting cylinder 151, a guide shaft 152, and a bush 153 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). The lifting cylinder 151 includes a cylindrical cylinder body 151a as a fixed part, and a piston rod 151b as a movable part that slides relative to the cylinder body 151a.

[0062] The lifting cylinder 151 is attached and supported by a bolt or the like to the center of the fixed plate 13 in a planar view, with the cylinder body 151a in a position and attitude such that the central axis coincides with the central axis Z1 of the vertical slit forming unit so that the tip of the piston rod 151b faces downward.

[0063] On the other hand, the piston rod 151b of the lifting cylinder 151 is attached from above by a bolt or the like via the mounting plate 22 to the center of the movable base plate 14 in a planar view so that the tip (lower end) of the piston rod 151b can slide (i.e., can be raised and lowered) in the vertical direction Z on the movable base plate 14.

[0064] The fixed plate 13 is provided with a bush 153 and a guide shaft 152 on both sides in the width direction W with respect to the central axis Z1 of the vertical slit forming unit. The bush 153 is a linear bush with a flange, and the flange portion is attached to the periphery of the through hole 13a by using a bolt or the like in a state where the main body portion is fitted into a through hole 13a (see FIG. 1) formed in the fixed plate 13 in the up-down direction Z (plate thickness direction). The guide shaft 152 is held on the fixed plate 13 via the bush 153 so as to be slidable in the up-down direction Z.

[0065] Furthermore, the tip end (lower end) of the guide shaft 152 is fixed from above by bolts or the like at both sides in the width direction W with respect to the vertical slit forming unit central axis Z1 of the movable base plate 14. As a result, the pair of guide shafts 152 rise and fall integrally with the movable base plate 14 in accordance with the rise and fall of the piston rod 151b of the lift cylinder 151 (hereinafter abbreviated as "rise and fall of the lift cylinder 151"), and guides the lifting and lowering operation of the movable base plate 14 by the lift cylinder 151.

[0066] That is, the lifting structure 15 is configured to be able to lower the vertical slit forming structure 16 from an initial position above the onion 100 positioned at the vertical slit forming position P7, and to be able to lift the vertical slit forming structure 16 to return to the initial position.

[0067] As shown in Figure 1, the vertical slit forming structures 16 are mounted on each side of the width direction W with respect to the central axis Z1 of the vertical slit forming unit of the movable base plate 14, and are respectively disposed directly above the vertical slit forming positions P7 located on each side of the width direction W.

[0068] [Onion holding structure 17] Next, the onion holding structure 17 will be described. The vertical slit forming structure 16 will be described later. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 to 6, the onion pressing structure 17 mainly includes a bush 171 (see FIGS. 2, 4 to 6), a guide shaft 172, a pressing member mounting plate 173, and a pressing member 174.

[0069] 2, 4, and 6, the bush 171 and the guide shaft 172 are provided on both sides of the onion central axis Z2 of the movable base plate 14 in the conveying direction Y. As shown in Fig. 4, the bush 171 and the guide shaft 172 are disposed outward of the arm opening structure 18 with respect to the onion central axis Z2 in a plan view of the movable base plate 14. The bush 171 is a linear bush with a flange, and with the main body portion fitted into a through hole 14a (see Fig. 2) formed through the movable base plate 14 in the up-down direction Z, the flange portion is attached to the periphery of the through hole 14a using bolts or the like.

[0070] The guide shaft 172 extends in a direction that coincides with the vertical direction Z, and is journaled so as to be slidable in the vertical direction Z relative to a bush 171 fixed to the movable base plate 14. As shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4, and Fig. 5, a protrusion 175 that protrudes in a flange-like shape radially outward Do relative to the guide shaft 172 is formed integrally or integrally with the guide shaft 172 at a portion above the bush 171 on the guide shaft 172 extending in the vertical direction Z so as to be able to abut (engage) with the upper end of the bush 171.

[0071] 2 and 6, the pressing member mounting plate 173 is formed in a flat plate shape and is attached to the lower ends of the pair of guide shafts 172 so as to span horizontally between the lower ends along the conveying direction Y. The center of the pressing member mounting plate 173 in a plan view coincides with the onion central axis Z2 in a plan view (see FIG. 1).

[0072] 2, the pressing member 174 is integrally attached to the underside of the center and its peripheral portion of the pressing member mounting plate 173 in plan view so as to protrude from the underside. The pressing member 174 is formed of an elastic member in a block shape with an outer diameter slightly smaller than the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 in plan view. The pressing member 174 is attached concentrically to the pressing member mounting plate 173 so that the center in plan view coincides with the onion central axis Z2.

[0073] As shown in Figure 2, the pressing member 174 of this embodiment has a recess 174a cut out from the outer surface in the radial direction D to the inside in the radial direction D corresponding to each of the four arms 25 so that the cutting edge guide portion 27 and the skin cutting portion 28 provided on the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 do not interfere with each other when the arm 25 is in the closed state (see Figure 10 (b1)).

[0074] As shown in Figure 2, the onion pressing structure 17 is configured as described above, with the pressing member 174 etc. (i.e., the pressing member 174, the pressing member mounting plate 173, and the guide shaft 172) being integrally configured so as to be movable up and down relative to the movable base plate 14 via the bush 171.

[0075] In the onion pressing structure 17, the guide shaft 172 tries to slide downward relative to the bush 171 provided on the movable base plate 14 due to the total weight of the pressing member 174, pressing member mounting plate 173, and guide shaft 172. Therefore, after the lifting cylinder 151 is lowered to press down the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 from above with the pressing member 174, the total weight of the pressing member 174, etc. can be used to maintain the pressed state.

[0076] When the lifting cylinder 151 rises, the bush 171 rises together with the movable base plate 14, and the pressure applied to the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 by such a pressing member 174 or the like is maintained until the rising bush 171 abuts against a brim-shaped protrusion 175 provided on the guide shaft 172 from below.

[0077] On the other hand, when the lift cylinder 151 rises, the bush 171, which rises together with the movable base plate 14, comes into contact with the brim-shaped protrusion 175 provided on the guide shaft 172 from below, and then the pressing member 174 and the like rise together with the movable base plate 14 as if the bush 171 were to lift the guide shaft 172. As a result, the pressing of the pressing member 174 and the like against the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 is released by the time the lift cylinder 151 returns (rises) to the initial position.

[0078] When the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 is not pressed by the pressing member 174 or the like, the brim-shaped protrusion 175 on the guide shaft 172 is kept in contact with the upper end of the bush 171, as shown in Figure 1, so that the pressing member 174 or the like is restricted from descending any further relative to the movable base plate 14 due to its own weight.

[0079] [Arm opening structure 18] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 7, the arm opening structure 18 includes an arm opening cylinder 181 and a pressing member 182.

[0080] The arm opening cylinder 181 is provided on the side of the movable base plate 14, and is a cylinder that presses the arm inner protrusion portion 253 from above with a pressing member 182, thereby displacing the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 radially outward Do away from the onion central axis Z2 against the biasing spring 26.

[0081] More specifically, a cylinder mounting plate 184 is attached to the movable base plate 14 in a horizontal position by means of a bolt or the like via a support 183 (see FIG. 1) erected on the upper surface of the movable base plate 14 .

[0082] The arm opening cylinder 181 includes a cylindrical cylinder body 181a as a fixed part, and a piston rod 181b as a movable part that slides relative to the cylinder body 181a. The arm opening cylinder 181 has the cylinder body 181a attached integrally to the upper surface of the cylinder attachment plate 184 in such a position that the axial direction of the cylinder body 181a coincides with the onion central axis Z2 so that the tip of the piston rod 181b penetrates the cylinder attachment plate 184 and protrudes downward. The pressing member 182 is attached integrally to the tip end (lower end) of the piston rod 181b of the arm opening cylinder 181 from below.

[0083] The arm opening cylinder 181 is configured to be movable between an initial position (raised position) in which the pressing member 182 is positioned directly above the arm inner protrusion 253 that protrudes radially inward Di toward the onion center axis Z2 when the piston rod 181b rises, and a pressing position (lowered position) in which the underside of the pressing member 182 can press the arm inner protrusion 253 from above when the piston rod 181b descends.

[0084] When the pressing member 182 presses the arm inner protrusion 253, the arm 25 becomes the point of force at the arm inner protrusion 253, the arm shaft support 142 becomes the fulcrum, and the lower end 25b becomes the point of action, so that the lower end 25b is displaced radially outward Do against the biasing force of the biasing spring 26.

[0085] More specifically, the inner end of the lower end 25b of the arm 25, more specifically, the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 described later, which is provided on the lower end 25b, is displaced to a position away from the maximum diameter of the onion 100 in a planar view, radially outward Do from the onion central axis Z2 (see lower end 25b shown by a virtual line in Figure 13 (b3)).

[0086] 5 and 7, the arm opening cylinder 181 is configured so that the arm inner protrusions 253 of the four arms 25 can be pressed collectively by the underside of the pressing member 182 when the piston rod 181b descends. The four arms 25 are disposed directly below the pressing member 182 so that when pressed collectively by the pressing member 182, they swing in the same manner without interfering with each other. By pressing the arm inner protrusions 253 collectively by the pressing member 182, the four arms 25 are displaced from a closed state in which the lower ends 25b are close to the onion central axis Z2 to the above-mentioned separated position to an open state.

[0087] [Vertical slit formation structure 16] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 to 8, the vertical slit forming structure 16 mainly includes an arm 25, a biasing spring 26, a blade guide portion 27, and an outer skin cutting portion . 5 and 6, the direction approaching or moving away from the onion central axis Z2 in a plan view is defined as the radial direction D, the approaching direction is defined as the radially inward direction Di, and the moving away direction is defined as the radially outward direction Do. The central axis of the vertical slit forming structure 16 extending in the up-down direction Z coincides with the onion central axis Z2.

[0088] The arm 25 is long and extends in the vertical direction Z so as to pass through the movable base plate 14 in the vertical direction Z, and is formed in a plate shape having a plate thickness in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction D in a plan view.

[0089] The arm 25 is integrally formed with an arm straight portion 251 extending linearly in the downward direction Zb from the upper end of the arm 25, an arm arc-shaped portion 252 extending in the downward direction Zb from the lower end of the arm straight portion 251 and formed in an arc shape bulging radially outward Do toward a middle portion in the up-down direction Z, and an arm inner protruding piece portion 253 protruding radially inward Di from the upper end of the arm straight portion 251. The lower end 25b of the arm 25, i.e., the lower end 25b of the arm arc-shaped portion 252, is provided with the cutting edge guide portion 27 and the outer skin cutting portion 28 described above.

[0090] The vertical slit forming structure 16 includes four arms 25, all of which are formed to have the same shape and size. As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, these four arms 25 are equally distributed on the outer circumferential side of the onion central axis Z2. As shown in Fig. 5, in this embodiment, the four arms 25 are disposed at positions corresponding to the four corners of the movable base plate 14, which is rectangular in plan view.

[0091] 5, the movable base plate 14 has arm insertion grooves 141 that penetrate in the up-down direction Z (plate thickness direction) at locations corresponding to the insertion portions of the arms 25 and extend along the radial direction D. Then, in a state where the arms 25 are inserted into the arm insertion grooves 141, the lower ends 25b of the arms 25 are pivotally supported by the movable base plate 14 so as to be swingable in the radial direction D.

[0092] In detail, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 5 and 7, the arm 25 has the intermediate portion of the arm straight portion 251 in the vertical direction Z inserted into the arm insertion groove 141 of the movable base plate 14, and is supported by an arm shaft support portion 142 provided on the edge of the arm insertion groove 141 on the upper surface of the movable base plate 14.

[0093] As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the arm support portion 142 has an axis 143 extending in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction D in a planar view, and the arm 25 is supported by the axis 143 so that the extension direction of the axis 143 coincides with the thickness direction of the arm 25.

[0094] As a result, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 7, the arm 25 is supported in a position in which the upper part of the arm straight portion 251 in the vertical direction Z above the middle part protrudes upward from the upper surface of the movable base plate 14, the arm inner protrusion portion 253 protrudes radially inward Di toward the onion central axis Z2, and the arm 25 is supported in a position in which the lower part of the arm straight portion 251 in the vertical direction Z below the middle part hangs down from the underside of the movable base plate 14 (see Figures 1 and 2).

[0095] Furthermore, as described above, the upper part of the arm 25 is supported on the movable base plate 14 via the arm support portion 142, so that the lower end portion 25b can swing in the radial direction D so as to move closer to (radially inward Di) or away from (radially outward Do) the onion center axis Z2.

[0096] As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the biasing spring 26 is a coil spring that biases the lower end 25b of the arm 25 radially inward Di (onion central axis Z2) when viewed in a plane, and has one end connected to the movable base plate 14 and the other end connected to the arm 25.

[0097] More specifically, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, an outer extension plate 145 is attached integrally to the upper surface of each corner of the movable base plate 14, extending from the corner to the radially outward direction Do.

[0098] One end of the biasing spring 26 is connected to the upper end of a support 146 erected from the upper surface of a portion of the outer extension plate 145 on the radially outer side Do. Meanwhile, the other end of the biasing spring 26 is connected to a portion above the arm shaft support portion 142 of the arm 25, i.e., near the upper end.

[0099] As a result, the biasing spring 26 in this embodiment biases the arm 25 by utilizing the restoring force from a state extended beyond its natural length, but this is not limited to this, and the arm 25 may also be biased by utilizing the restoring force from a compressed state.

[0100] Next, the blade guide portion 27 and the outer skin cutting portion 28 provided at the lower end portion 25b (tip portion) of the arm 25 will be described. As shown in Fig. 6, and Figs. 8(a) and (b), the blade tip guide portion 27 is provided with a tip contact guide member 31 and a tearing guide member 32 (spacer member).

[0101] The first-hit guide member 31 is a guide member that contacts (first-hits) the onion 100 before the outer skin cutting portion 28, and then guides the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 provided on the outer skin cutting portion 28 so that it first contacts (initial hits) the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100.

[0102] 8(a), a pair of front-contact guide members 31 are provided to sandwich the lower end 25b of the arm 25 from both sides in the thickness direction. The pair of front-contact guide members 31 are formed to have the same shape and size.

[0103] The pair of tip-contact guide members 31 are attached by bolts or the like at two locations, a tip-side fixing portion 33 located on the tip side of the lower end 25b of the arm 25, and a base-side fixing portion 34 located closer to the base than the tip-side fixing portion 33, so that they are positioned facing each other relative to the lower end 25b of the arm 25.

[0104] As shown in Figures 8(a) and (b), the tip sides of the pair of end-contact guide members 31 are formed with chamfered portions 31a in which the corner portions facing each other in the thickness direction are cut out in an arc-shaped or linear shape.

[0105] The tip-contact guide member 31 is formed in a generally elliptical flat plate shape having an outer peripheral surface made up of a number of curved surfaces of different curvatures and straight lines, and is attached to the lower end 25b of the arm 25 in a position that fits along the lower end 25b of the arm 25 and protrudes downward beyond the lower edge of the lower end 25b of the arm 25 (see Figure 10(b1)).

[0106] As shown in FIG. 8(a), the tip side of the front contact guide member 31 protrudes radially inward Di in the same manner as the lower end 25b of the arm 25, but protrudes slightly further than the lower end 25b of the arm 25.

[0107] As shown in FIG. 8(b), the tip-contact guide member 31 is formed with an outer peripheral surface having a curved surface such that the radius of curvature on the tip side and lower edge side is larger than the radius of curvature on the base side and upper edge side of the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25.

[0108] 8(a) and 8(b), the outer skin cutting part 28 has a blade tip protruding part 37 where a blade tip 36a, which will be described later, protrudes further towards the tip side than the tip of the tip-hitting guide member 31. At a position below the blade tip protruding part 37 on the outer peripheral edge of the tip-hitting guide member 31, a tip-hitting part 35a is formed which comes into contact with the onion 100 first rather than the blade tip 36a of the outer skin cutting part 28 when the arm 25 descends. When the tip-hitting part 35a comes into contact with the onion 100, it abuts against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 rather than the cut upper end surface 104a (see FIG. 11(a)).

[0109] As shown in Figure 8 (b), on the outer peripheral edge of the tip-hitting guide member 31, after the tip-hitting portion 35a comes into contact with the onion 100, a guide surface 35 is formed continuously from the tip-hitting portion 35a to the tip-protruding portion 37, which guides the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 to the cutting upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 as the arm 25 further descends.

[0110] When the arm 25 descends, the guide surface 35 guides the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 so that after the first contact of the first contact guide member 31 with the onion 100, the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 first comes into contact with the upper cut end surface 104a of the onion 100 while abutting along the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 (see Figures 11(a) and (b)).

[0111] Furthermore, the guide surface 35 of the present example guides the cutting edge 36a from the radially inner side Di to the radially outer side Do so that the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 first contacts the outer edge 104aa (see FIG. 11(b)) on the upper cutting surface 104a of the onion 100.

[0112] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the guide surface 35 includes a first guide surface 35b formed from the contact portion 35a toward the cutting edge protruding portion 37 at the outer peripheral edge of the contact guide member 31, and a second guide surface 35c formed between the first guide surface 35b and the cutting edge protruding portion 37.

[0113] Both the first guide surface 35b and the second guide surface 35c are formed as curved surfaces and are continuously formed from the contact portion 35a to the cutting edge protruding portion 37 at the outer peripheral edge of the contact guide member 31.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 8(b), the second guide surface 35c is formed with a smaller radius of curvature (rc < rb) than the first guide surface 35b, that is, a sharp curve. Thereby, when the guiding direction of the first guide surface 35b descends along the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, it actively guides the cutting edge 36a of the outer skin cutting portion 28 from the radially inner side Di to the radially outer side Do compared with the guiding direction of the second guide surface 35c. In other words, the guiding direction of the second guide surface 35c actively guides the cutting edge 36a of the outer skin cutting portion 28 downward compared with the guiding direction of the first guide surface 35b.

[0115] As shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), the cutting guide member 32 is a guide member that guides the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 so as to be able to form a longitudinal slit 102 in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 by the cutting edge 36a that first contacts the onion 100. It is formed in a disk shape having a predetermined thickness t (see FIG. 8(a)), and forms the cutting edge protruding portion 37 together with the outer skin cutting portion 28. The cutting guide member 32 is pivotally supported at the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 at the tip side fixing portion 33, which will be described later.

[0116] The outer skin cutting section 28 is provided with a pair of cutters 36. The pair of cutters 36 are each formed in a disk shape having a cutting edge 36a around the entire circumference. The cutting edge 36a protrudes toward the radially outer side Do of the cutter 36. The cutter 36 is formed to have a larger diameter than the disk-shaped cutting guide member 32 by an amount equivalent to the cutting edge 36a so that the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 can be cut with the cutting edge 36a (see FIG. 8(b)).

[0117] The pair of cutters 36 are fixed together in a stacked state so that the thickness direction of each cutter coincides with the thickness direction of the tearing guide member 32, and they are coaxial with each other from both sides in the thickness direction relative to the tearing guide member 32, sandwiching the tearing guide member 32 therebetween.

[0118] In this way, the pair of cutters 36 are secured at the predetermined gap (t) by the interposition of the tearing guide member 32 having a thickness corresponding to the above-mentioned predetermined gap. In other words, the tearing guide member 32 functions as a spacer member for securing the pair of cutters 36 at the predetermined gap (t).

[0119] Here, the predetermined gap (t) is a gap that allows both cutting edges 36a of the pair of cutters 36 to come into contact with the outer skin 101 and cut through the outer skin 101 when the spacer abuts against the outer surface 106 of the spherical onion 100, and that allows the outer skin 101 to be cut through by each of the vertical slits 102 and does not come into contact with each other at the ends of the opposing outer skins 101, 101 when the outer skin 101 between the two vertical slits 102 is removed. The outer skin 101 between the two vertical slits 102 is referred to as the outer skin removal section 105 (see FIG. 10(a2)).

[0120] The pair of cutters 36 and the tearing guide member 32 constituting the above-mentioned outer cover tearing section 28 are rotatably supported at a tip side fixing portion 33 of the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25.

[0121] In detail, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a slit portion 255 is formed in the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 in the middle portion in the thickness direction from the tip to the base end at least to the portion corresponding to the tip side fixed portion 33, and the outer skin cutting portion 28 and the tearing guide member 32 integrated as described above are inserted into the slit portion 255 until their central axes become coaxial with the bolt 33a provided on the tip side fixed portion 33.

[0122] In the tip-end fixing portion 33, the outer cover tearing portion 28 and the tearing guide member 32 are supported at their centers in the plate thickness direction by a bolt 33a provided in the tip-end fixing portion 33.

[0123] In this way, the skin cutting portion 28 and the cutting guide member 32 journaled on the lower end 25b of the arm 25 are both in a state where they protrude toward the onion 100 side, i.e., toward the radially inner side Di, from the outer edge of the tip-hitting guide member 31 as the cutting edge protruding portion 37. As shown in Fig. 8(b), the cutting edge protruding portion 37 in this example is in a state where the radially outer side Do of the skin cutting portion 28 and the cutting guide member 32 protrude in an arc shape from each tip side of the tip-hitting guide member 31 over a range of approximately 120 degrees.

[0124] After the cutting guide member 32 first comes into contact with the onion 100, as the arm 25 descends, the guide surface 32a on the outer circumferential edge comes into contact with the outer surface 106 of the spherical onion 100 in place of the guide surface 35 of the first-contact guide member 31, and guides the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 downward.

[0125] Specifically, the guide surface 32a of the cutting guide member 32 guides the cutting edge 36a so that it protrudes an appropriate amount into the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 when a vertical slit 102 is formed in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 by a pair of cutters 36.

[0126] In other words, the guide surface 32a of the cutting guide member 32 guides the cutter 36 so that the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 does not penetrate too far into the onion 100, thereby damaging the onion 100, and so that the cutting edge 36a protrudes to an extent that enables the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 to be reliably cut through.

[0127] That is, the tearing guide member 32 has a guide function for guiding the cutters 36 in addition to the function as a spacer for holding the pair of cutters 36 at a predetermined gap (t) therebetween as described above.

[0128] [Onion press section 12] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the onion push-up section 12 includes a push-up member 121 and an onion push-up cylinder 122 serving as a drive source for pushing up the push-up member 121.

[0129] Onion push-up cylinder 122 includes cylindrical cylinder body 122a fixed to the device side, and piston rod 122b that slides relative to cylinder body 122a. Push-up member 121 is attached integrally to the tip of piston rod 122b, and is formed in a block shape with a smaller diameter than horizontal cut lower end surface 104b of onion 100, i.e., a flat upper surface that is slightly smaller in plan view.

[0130] The above-mentioned onion push-up cylinder 122 is attached to the frame 20b on the device side so that the tip of the piston rod 122b faces upward and is positioned below the conveyor belt 20. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the piston rod 122b of the onion push-up cylinder 122 is configured to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction Z between a retracted position (see the push-up member 121 shown by the imaginary line in Figures 1 and 2) where the upper surface of the push-up member 121 is positioned below the lower end (104b) of the onion 100 fitted into the fitting hole 20h of the conveyor belt 20, and a vertical slit forming position P7 positioned above the conveyor belt 20.

[0131] [Dermal Stripping Unit 4] As shown in FIG. 9, the peeling unit 4 includes an onion rotating holder 41 and a blower .

[0132] The onion rotating holding portion 41 is equipped with an onion pushing portion 43 that pushes up the onion 100 inserted into the fitting hole 20h located at the skin peeling area 8 to the onion skin peeling position P8, and an onion pushing portion 44.

[0133] The skin peeling position P8 is located above the position of the onion 100 inserted into the insertion hole 20h located at the skin peeling location 8 in the conveying direction Y of the conveyor belt 20, and is a position where air is blown onto the onion 100 by the blower 42.

[0134] The onion pushing-up portion 43 is provided below the fitting hole 20h located at the outer skin peeling portion 8, and includes a lifting cylinder 431 and a pushing-up member 432. The lifting cylinder 431 has a cylinder body 431a as a fixed part attached to the frame 21b on the device side in a position that coincides with the onion central axis Z3 so that a piston rod 431b as a movable part faces upward. The lifting cylinder 431 is configured so that a push-up member 432 can rise to the onion skin peeling position P8 from a retracted position (see push-up member 432 shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 9) located below the fitting hole 20h located at the skin peeling location 8 in the conveying direction Y of the conveyor belt 20, or can fall to the retracted position.

[0135] The push-up member 432 is formed, for example, in a block shape having an upper surface with a smaller diameter than the outer edge 104ba of the cut lower end surface 104b so that it can be pushed up from below onto the cut lower end surface 104b of the onion 100. The lower portion of the push-up member 432 is attached to the tip of the piston rod 431b of the lifting cylinder 431 via a rotating plate 45 which can be rotatable about the onion central axis Z3.

[0136] On the other hand, the onion pressing section 44 is located above the skin peeling position P8, and includes a lifting cylinder 441, a motor holding section 442, a motor 443, and a pressing member 444.

[0137] The lift cylinder 441 has a cylinder body 441a as a fixed part attached to the frame 21a on the device side in a position that coincides with the onion central axis Z3 so that the piston rod 441b as a movable part faces downward. The lift cylinder 441 is configured so that the pressing member 444 can press the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 by lowering the piston rod 441b from the initial position.

[0138] The motor holding part 442 has an upper part attached to the tip of the piston rod 431b of the lifting cylinder 431, and holds a housing of the motor 443 provided below. The motor 443 is held by the motor holding part 442 in a position where the motor shaft 443a protrudes downward and coincides with the onion central axis Z3 so as to be rotatable around the onion central axis Z3. The pressing member 444 has a lower surface formed with a smaller diameter than the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 so as to be able to press the cut upper end surface 104a from above.

[0139] The blowers 42 are provided, for example in pairs, on the outer side of the onion 100 in a plan view so as to be able to blow air toward the onion 100, and are disposed equally spaced on the outer periphery of the onion 100.

[0140] The above-mentioned onion rotating holding part 41 is equipped with a motor 443 as a driving source only on the onion pressing part 44 side of the onion push-up part 43 and the onion pressing part 44, so that it is rotated primarily by the motor 443, while being rotated passively by the rotating plate 45 of the onion push-up part 43. However, the onion rotating holding part of the present invention is not limited to this, and at least one of the onion push-up part 43 and the onion pressing part 44 may be equipped with a driving source.

[0141] [Vertical slit forming process] Next, a step of forming vertical slits 102 in onion 100 with both ends cut off at vertical slit formation location 7 (vertical slit forming step) will be described. 1 and 2, in the initial state of the vertical slit forming device, the arm opening cylinder 181 is in the raised position, and the arm 25 is maintained in the closed state by the biasing force of the biasing spring 26. Furthermore, in the initial state, as shown in FIG. 2, the onion pressing structure 17 is regulated so that the protruding portion 175 of the guide shaft 172 abuts (engages) from above against the bush 171 provided on the movable base plate 14, so that the guide shaft 172 does not slide further downward, that is, the pressing member 174 and the like do not descend further relative to the movable base plate 14.

[0142] Furthermore, in the initial state of the vertical slit forming structure 16, the blade tip protruding portion 37 (see Figures 8(a)(b)) provided on the lower end 25b of the arm 25 is positioned directly above the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 (see Figures 1, 2, and 10(a1)(b1)), and the tip contact guide member 31 is positioned directly above the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, which is located radially outward Do from the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100.

[0143] 1 and 2, the onion 100 fitted into the fitting hole 20h located at the vertical slit formation location 7 in the conveying direction Y of the conveyor belt 20 is pushed up to the vertical slit formation position P7 by the onion push-up cylinder 122. As a result, the push-up member 121 supports the onion 100 at the vertical slit formation position P7 with the cut lower end surface 104b of the onion 100 placed on its upper surface.

[0144] Next, when the lifting cylinder 151 is lowered, the movable base plate 14, the pair of vertical slit forming structures 16, the pair of onion holding structures 17 and the pair of arm opening structures 18 are lowered together.

[0145] As a result, as shown in the state shown in Figures 10(a1) and (b1), the pressing member 174 of the onion pressing structure 17 abuts against the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, and the weight of the pressing member 174 etc. presses down the onion 100 from above (see Figure 11(a)).

[0146] In this way, the onion holding structure 17 can utilize its own weight to lower the holding member 174 from a raised position until it abuts the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, and to hold down the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 with the holding member 174, so there is no need to provide a separate driving source for this purpose, and the entire device can be made compact and lightweight.

[0147] As described above, when the lifting cylinder 151 descends, the pressing member 174 of the onion pressing structure 17 comes into contact with the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, stopping further descent of the pressing member 174, etc. Meanwhile, as shown in Fig. 12(b), the movable base plate 14, etc. continue to descend by sliding downward relative to the guide shaft 172 so that the bush 171 moves away from the protruding portion 175 of the guide shaft 172.

[0148] 11(a), the end contact portion 35a of the end contact guide member 31 provided on the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 comes into contact with the onion 100 before the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 (i.e., makes a start contact). That is, the end contact guide member 31 provided on the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 comes into contact first among the vertical slit forming unit main body 11. At this time, the cutting edge protruding portion 37 is positioned directly above and spaced apart from the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 (see FIG. 11(a)).

[0149] In this embodiment, the pressing member 174 of the onion pressing structure 17 abuts against the onion 100, and then the end-contact guide member 31 provided at the lower end 25b of the arm 25 abuts against the onion 100. However, the end-contact guide member 31 and the pressing member 174 may abut against the onion 100 at the same time.

[0150] Due to further descent of the lifting cylinder 151 and the biasing force of the biasing spring 26, the front-contact guide member 31, which has made front-contact with the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, descends with the guide surface 35 abutting against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, as shown in Figures 11(a) and (b).

[0151] At this time, the guide surface 35 of the tip contact guide member 31 guides the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 so that it initially contacts the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, as shown in FIG. 11(b).

[0152] In this embodiment, as the guide surface 35 descends while abutting the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 is guided to descend while displacing from the radially inward Di (the state shown in Figure 11(a)) to the radially outward Do (the state shown in Figure 11(b)) just above the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, and as a result, initially strikes the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100.

[0153] In detail, after the tip contact portion 35a of the tip contact guide member 31 first contacts the onion 100, the first guide surface 35b (see FIG. 8(b)) of the guide surfaces 35 descends while abutting against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, thereby guiding the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 directly above the upper cut end surface 104a of the onion 100 so as to be displaced more actively radially outward Do than downward (see arrow d1 in FIG. 11(a)). Such guidance by the second guide surface 35c (see FIG. 8(b)) allows the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 to be guided radially outward Do to approximately above the outer edge 104aa of the upper cut end surface 104a without unintentionally coming into contact with the upper cut end surface 104a midway.

[0154] Next, the second guide surface 35c (see FIG. 8(b)) of the guide surface 35 descends while abutting against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, thereby guiding the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 so as to be actively displaced downward from the radially outer side Do directly above the upper cut end surface 104a of the onion 100 (see arrow d2 in FIG. 11(a)). This guiding by the second guide surface 35c allows the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 to initially come into firm contact with the outer edge 104aa of the upper cut end surface 104a of the onion 100, as if pressing it from above. That is, the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 can reliably cut through the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 from the upper end located at the outer edge 104aa of the upper cut end surface 104a.

[0155] As shown in Figure 11(b), when the cutting edge 36a of the cutting edge protruding portion 37 abuts against the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, as shown in Figure 11(c), the guide surface 35 of the tip contact guide member 31 and the guide surface 32a of the cutting guide member 32 also abut against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100.

[0156] As the lower end 25b of the arm 25 descends from that state, the guide surface 32a of the tearing guide member 32 descends while abutting against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, while the guide surface 35 of the front-end hit guide member 31 gradually rises up relative to the outer surface 106 of the onion 100. In other words, as the arm 25 further descends, only the guide surface 32a of the tearing guide member 32 gradually comes into contact with the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, instead of the guide surface 35 of the front-end hit guide member 31.

[0157] As a result, as shown in Figures 10(a2) and (b2), the guide surface 32a of the cutting guide member 32 can guide the cutting edges 36a of a pair of cutters 36 to form a pair of vertical slits 102 extending parallel to each other at a predetermined distance in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100.

[0158] 1 and 2, the push-up member 121 of the onion push-up section 12 is formed with a smaller diameter than the outer edge 104ba of the cut lower end surface 104b of the onion 100, as described above. Therefore, as shown in Figures 13(a3) and (b3), when the lower end 25b of the arm 25, such as the cutting edges 36a of the pair of cutters 36, descends below the lower end of the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, the push-up member 121 does not interfere with the push-up member 121, and the outer skin 101 can be securely cut through up to the lower end (104b) of the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, i.e., the outer edge 104ba of the cut lower end surface 104b.

[0159] As a result, the vertical slit forming unit 3 of this embodiment can form two vertical slits 102 (see Figure 10 (a2)) that are parallel to each other in the skin 101 from the upper end (104a) to the lower end (104b) of the outer surface 106 of the onion 100.

[0160] As shown in Figures 13(a3) and (b3), when the lower end 25b of the arm 25 is lowered below the lower end (104b) of the onion 100, the arm 25 is closed due to the biasing force of the biasing spring 26. However, as shown by the phantom line in Figure 7, the arm opening cylinder 181 can be used to lower the pressing member 182 to press the tips of the arm inner protrusions 253 of the four arms 25 (only two are shown in Figure 7) collectively from above to below, thereby opening the arm 25 against the biasing force of the biasing spring 26 (see arm lower end 25b shown by the phantom line in Figure 13(b3)).

[0161] In this state, the lifting cylinder 151 lifts the arm 25 to the initial position, and at that time, the movable base plate 14 lifts together with the bush 171 provided on the movable base plate 14, and during the lifting, the bush 171 abuts (engages) from below against the protrusion 175 of the guide shaft 172 (see FIG. 12(b)). As the lifting cylinder 151 further lifts in this state, the protrusion 175 is lifted from below against the mass of the pressing member 174, etc., and lifted together with the pressing member 174 etc. provided on the onion pressing structure 17. This releases the pressing member 174 from pressing the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

[0162] After the lifting cylinder 151 has risen to its initial position, the pressing member 182 is also raised to its initial position by the arm opening cylinder 181, whereby the arm 25 can be changed from a closed state to an open state by the force of the spring 26, thereby preparing for the formation of a vertical slit 102 in the onion 100 which is subsequently transported to the vertical slit forming location 7.

[0163] On the other hand, by lowering the push-up member 121 from the vertical slit formation position P7 to a retracted position by the onion push-up cylinder 122, the onion 100 with a vertical slit 102 formed therein can be fitted into the fitting hole 20h located at the vertical slit formation location 7, as shown by the imaginary lines in Figures 1 and 2.

[0164] The conveyor belt 20 restarts from a temporary stop while the vertical slit 102 is being formed in the onion 100, and conveys the onion 100 with the vertical slit 102 formed therein to the downstream skin removal location 8.

[0165] [External skin peeling process] The onion 100 transported to the skin peeling location 8 by the conveyor belt 20 is pushed up by the push-up member 432 from a state where it is fitted into the fitting hole 20h located at the skin peeling location 8 to the skin peeling position P8, as shown in Fig. 9. In this state, the lifting cylinder 441 of the onion pressing unit 44 is lowered to press the onion 100 from above with the pressing member 444, thereby holding the onion 100 so as to be sandwiched from both the top and bottom. Next, the motor 443 is driven to rotate the push-up member 432 together with the pressing member 444 via the rotating plate 45, and the onion 100 sandwiched between these members 444, 432 can be rotated (spinned) around the onion central axis Z3.

[0166] Next, air is blown by blower 42 against outer surface 106 of rotating onion 100. In the above-mentioned vertical slit forming step, two parallel vertical slits 102 are formed in outer skin 101 of onion 100, including both upper and lower ends 104aa, 104ba, so that outer skin 101 can be easily peeled off by blowing air by blower 42 in the outer skin peeling step.

[0167] The vertical slit forming unit 3 of the above-described embodiment can provide the following operational effects. The vertical slit forming unit 3 provided in the onion peeling device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, includes an arm 25 that extends in the vertical direction Z and is supported at the upper part so that the lower end 25b is close to or away from the onion central axis Z2, and that descends from above onto the onion 100 on which a cut upper end surface 104a is formed, and, as shown in Figures 8(a) and (b), an outer skin cutting portion 28 provided at the lower end 25b so as to be able to form a vertical slit 102 in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 when the arm 25 descends.As shown in Figure 11(a), the lower end 25b of the arm 25 is provided with a front-contact guide member 31 that contacts the onion 100 earlier than the outer skin cutting portion 28 as the arm 25 descends, guiding the outer skin cutting portion 28 toward the cut upper end surface 104a.

[0168] According to the above configuration, the outer skin 101 can be easily removed without damaging the onion 100. Therefore, the yield and productivity of the onion 100 from which the outer skin 101 has been removed can be improved.

[0169] In detail, when the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 first hits the onion 100 as the arm 25 is lowered, it hits the onion 100 with great force. Therefore, if the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 first hits the easily damaged upper cutting end surface 104a directly without the first hit guide member 31, for example, there is a concern that the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 provided on the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 will penetrate deeply into the upper cutting end surface 104a, making it even more susceptible to damage.

[0170] In contrast to this, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the arm 25 descends, the leading-edge guide member 31 abuts (i.e., leading-edge strikes) against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 before the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 of the skin-cutting portion 28, thereby reducing the force with which the cutting edge 36a of the skin-cutting portion 28 initially hits the easily damaged upper cutting end surface 104a. In this way, by suppressing damage to the onions 100, the yield of the onions 100 from which the outer skin 101 has been removed can be improved.

[0171] Furthermore, as described above, the tip-hit guide member 31 reduces the impact when the cutting edge 36a of the skin-cutting portion 28 first hits the onion 100 when the arm 25 descends, thereby making it possible for the cutting edge 36a of the skin-cutting portion 28 to first hit the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 rather than the outer surface 106.

[0172] In other words, the tip contact guide member 31 enables the cutting edge 36a of the skin cutting portion 28 to initially contact the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 without damaging it, so that when the arm 25 further descends, a vertical slit 102 can be reliably formed from the upper end of the outer surface 106 where the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100 is located, i.e., from the upper end of the skin 101 downward.

[0173] Therefore, the outer skin 101 of the onion 100 can be reliably cut downward from the upper end, and can be easily removed by blowing air, etc., resulting in improved productivity of onions 100 from which the outer skin 101 has been removed.

[0174] As shown in Figures 11(a), (b), and (c), according to this embodiment, the front-hit guide member 31 is formed with a guide surface 35 that guides the cutting edge 36a of the skin cutting portion 28 so that it first comes into contact with the outer edge 104aa of the cutting upper end surface 104a after the front-hit guide member 31 first comes into contact with the onion 100 and then abuts against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100.

[0175] According to the above configuration, as the arm 25 descends, the front-hit guide member 31 abuts (front-hits) the onion 100 before the skin-cutting portion 28, and then the guide surface 35 abuts against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 while descending along the outer surface 106.

[0176] As a result, the tip-hitting guide member 31 can better guide the cutting edge 36a of the skin cutting portion 28 so that it first comes into contact with the outer edge 104aa of the cutting upper end surface 104a, so that when forming a vertical slit 102 in the skin 101 of the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, it can be formed from the outer edge 104aa of the cutting upper end surface 104a.

[0177] Furthermore, the tip-hitting guide member 31 can guide the cutting edge 36a of the skin cutting portion 28 so that the cutting edge 36a first hits the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100, preventing the cutting edge 36a from accidentally coming into contact with the easily damaged cut upper end surface 104a of the onion 100. Therefore, the above-mentioned effect of easily removing the skin 101 without damaging the onion 100 can be more reliably achieved.

[0178] As shown in Figures 8(a) and (b), according to this embodiment, the skin cutting portion 28 has a blade tip protruding portion 37 in which at least the blade tip 36a protrudes from the tip side of the tip contact guide member 31 toward the onion 100, and the tip contact guide member 31 is formed with a tip contact portion 35a that contacts the onion 100 first rather than the blade tip protruding portion 37 when the arm 25 descends (see Figure 8(a)), and the guide surface 35 has a first guide surface 35b formed from the tip contact portion 35a toward the blade tip protruding portion 37, and a second guide surface 35c formed between the first guide surface 35b and the blade tip protruding portion 37 and guides the blade tip protruding portion 37 downward (see arrow d2 in Figure 11(b)) further than the guide direction of the first guide surface 35b (see arrow d1 in the same figure).

[0179] According to the above configuration, as shown by arrow d1 in Figure 11(b), when the arm 25 descends, the first guide surface 35b of the tip-contact guide member 31, which hits the onion 100 first before the skin-cutting portion 28, descends while abutting against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, thereby actively guiding the cutting edge 36a of the skin-cutting portion 28, which is located directly above the upper cutting end surface 104a, to the radially outward side Do where the outer edge 104aa of the upper cutting end surface 104a is located, so that the cutting edge 36a of the skin-cutting portion 28, which is located directly above the upper cutting end surface 104a, does not inadvertently come into contact with the upper cutting end surface 104a along the way.

[0180] Thereafter, as shown by arrow d2 in Figure 11(b), the second guide surface 35c of the tip-contact guide member 31 descends while abutting against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, thereby guiding the cutting edge 36a of the skin-cutting portion 28 so that it is firmly pressed from above against the outer edge 104aa of the upper cutting end surface 104a.

[0181] That is, the blade tip 36a of the skin cutting part 28 is guided by the second guide surface 35c so as to make a firm initial contact with the outer edge 104aa of the cutting upper end surface 104a while the impact caused by the tip contact guide member 31 is mitigated when the blade tip 36a of the skin cutting part 28 first hits the cutting upper end surface 104a. This allows the blade tip 36a of the skin cutting part 28 to firmly form the vertical slit 102 in the skin 101 of the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 from the outer edge 104aa of the cutting upper end surface 104a.

[0182] Therefore, the outer skin 101 located on the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a can be securely cut downward from its upper end without inadvertently damaging the cut upper end surface 104a, and as a result, the outer skin 101 can be easily removed without damaging the onion 100.

[0183] As shown in FIG. 8(a), according to this embodiment, the skin cutting section 28 is provided with a pair of cutters 36, which are arranged parallel to each other with a predetermined gap (t) between them in the thickness direction.

[0184] According to the above-mentioned configuration, the skin 101 can be easily peeled off from the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 by blowing air from the blower 42 provided in the skin peeling unit 4. 10(a2), when the arm 25 descends, two parallel vertical slits 102 extending in the vertical direction Z with a predetermined gap (t) between them can be formed from the upper end (104aa) to the lower end (104ba) of the skin 101 of the onion 100, and the skin 101 can be removed from the portion between the two slits (the portion corresponding to the gap). That is, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), a skin removal section 105 capable of removing the skin 101 from the portion between the pair of vertical slits 102 can be formed.

[0185] As a result, when one vertical slit 102 is formed in the outer skin 101 as in the conventional method, the outer skins 101, 101 at both ends facing each other across the vertical slit 102 face each other without any gaps, whereas when two parallel vertical slits 102 are formed in the outer skin 101, the outer skins 101, 101 at both ends facing each other across the skin removal section 105 can be spaced apart from each other.

[0186] Therefore, when air is blown onto the onion 100 in the skin peeling process, the air easily flows between the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 and the skin 101 covering the outer surface 106 through the skin removal section 105, so that the skin 101 can be easily peeled off from the outer surface 106 of the onion 100.

[0187] According to this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8(a), a cutting guide member 32 serving as a spacer member having a thickness t corresponding to a predetermined gap (t) is interposed between a pair of cutters 36 in the thickness direction, and as shown in Figure 8(b), the cutter 36 protrudes toward the onion 100 together with the cutting guide member 32 at the cutting edge protruding portion 37, and the cutting edge 36a protrudes toward the onion 100 beyond the cutting guide member 32.

[0188] According to the above configuration, the cutting guide member 32 guides a pair of cutters 36 while holding them at a predetermined gap (t) apart at a position closer to the cutting edge 36a than the tip guide member 31, so that two parallel vertical slits 102 can be smoothly formed in the outer surface 106 of the onion 100.

[0189] Furthermore, the cutting guide member 32 guides the cutter 36 while the guide surface 32a, having a predetermined thickness t, abuts against the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, thereby guiding the cutting edge 36a so that it does not penetrate into the onion 100 more than a predetermined depth.

[0190] In this way, the cutting guide member 32 not only has a guide function of guiding the cutting edges 36a of the pair of cutters 36 along the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, but also has a spacer function of holding the pair of cutters 36 at a predetermined gap (t) between them, as described above, so that it can be made compact and lightweight so as to be easily mounted on the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25.

[0191] As shown in Figure 10 (b2), according to this embodiment, an onion 100 having cut end surfaces 104a, 104b formed at both the upper and lower ends is provided with a pressing member 174 and a push-up member 121 as pressing and holding means for pressing and holding the onion 100 against the cut end surfaces 104a, 104b at both the upper and lower ends, and the pressing member 174 abuts against the inner portion of the upper cut end surface 104a excluding the outer edge 104aa, while the push-up member 121 abuts against the inner portion of the lower cut end surface 104b excluding the outer edge 104ba.

[0192] According to the above configuration, the pressing member 174 and the push-up member 121 can firmly hold the onion 100 by clamping it from both the upper and lower ends when the arm 25 is lowered to form the vertical slit 102 in the outer surface 106 of the onion 100.

[0193] Furthermore, since the pressing member 174 and the push-up member 121 are configured to abut on the cut end faces 104a, 104b at both the upper and lower ends at positions inside the outer edges 104aa, 104ba (the center in a plan view), they do not interfere with the cutting edge 36a of the cutter 36 when forming the vertical slit 102 in the outer surface 106 of the onion 100. Therefore, the cutter 36 can firmly form the vertical slit 102 up to the outer skin 101 located at the outer edges 104aa, 104ba of the cut end faces 104a, 104b at both ends of the onion 100.

[0194] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, according to this embodiment, a conveyor belt 20 is provided which extends along a conveying path 10 and conveys onions 100 having cut end surfaces 104a, 104b formed at both ends, and a fitting hole 20h into which the cut lower end surface 104b of the onion 100 is fitted is formed through the onion central axis Z2 in the conveyor belt 20, and an onion push-out portion 12 is provided as an extrusion means for pushing out the onion 100 with the cut lower end surface 104b fitted into the fitting hole 20h through the fitting hole 20h.

[0195] According to the above configuration, when the onion 100 is transported, the onion 100 can be transported stably by being placed on the conveyor belt 20 with the cut lower end surface 104b fitted in place, while when the vertical slit 102 is formed in the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, the vertical slit 102 is formed in the onion 100 with the cut lower end surface 104b pushed up through the fitting hole 20h, so that the cutter 36 does not interfere with the conveyor belt 20 and the vertical slit 102 can be reliably formed up to the lower end (104b) of the onion 100, i.e., the outer edge 104ba of the cut lower end surface 104b.

[0196] As shown in Figure 9, this embodiment includes a blower 42 as an air blowing means for blowing air onto an onion 100 having a vertical slit 102 formed therein, and a push-up member 432 and a pressing member 444 as onion holding means for holding the onion 100 from both sides of the onion central axis Z3, and a motor 443 as a rotation means for rotating the pressing member 444 of the blower 42 and the onion holding means 432, 444 relatively around the onion central axis Z3.

[0197] According to the above configuration, the outer skin 101 can be efficiently peeled off by blowing air onto the onion 100 without damaging the onion 100.

[0198] In more detail, when peeling off the outer skin 101 of an onion 100 having a vertical slit 102 formed in the outer skin 101, in the past, in addition to blowing air using a blower 42, a pair of rollers (not shown) arranged in parallel to each other so that their rotation axes are parallel were rotated to roll the onion 100 placed between the pair of rollers to peel off the outer skin 101. However, this has the drawback that the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 is easily damaged due to physical contact with the rollers.

[0199] In contrast, according to this configuration, by blowing air onto the onion 100 while it is rotating, no external force due to contact with an object acts on the outer surface 106 of the onion 100, so the outer surface 106 of the onion 100 is not scratched, and the outer skin 101 can be efficiently peeled off by blowing air from various angles.

[0200] In particular, when forming the vertical slits 102 in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100, as described above, the vertical slits 102 are formed including the upper and lower ends (104a, 104b) of the onion 100, and a skin removal portion 105 capable of removing the outer skin 101 in the portion between the pair of vertical slits 102 of the onion 100 is formed, so that the outer skin 101 can be easily peeled off without applying external force due to contact with an object.

[0201] According to this embodiment, the arm 25 is configured to move upward so that the lower end 25b returns to an initial position above the upper end (104a) of the onion 100 from below the lower end (104b) of the onion 100, and as shown in Figures 5 and 7, the arm opening structure 18 is provided with a pressing member 182 that displaces the lower end 25b radially outward Do from the maximum diameter of the onion 100 in a planar view against the biasing spring 26 as a biasing means when returning the arm 25 to its initial position (see lower end 25b shown by the phantom line in Figure 13 (b3)).

[0202] According to the above configuration, after forming the vertical slit 102 in the outer skin 101 of the onion 100, when the lower end 25b of the arm 25 is raised from a position lower than the lower end (104b) of the onion 100, the lower end 25b of the arm 25 can be raised without getting caught on the cut lower end surface 104b of the onion 100.

[0203] 13(a3) and 13(b3), when the lower end 25b of the arm 25 is lower than the lower end (104b) of the onion 100, the lower end 25b is positioned radially inward Di of the outer edge 104ba of the cut lower end surface 104b due to the biasing force of the biasing spring 26. If the lower end 25b of the arm 25 is raised from this state, it may get caught on the cut lower end surface 104b of the onion 100, causing the onion 100 to be lifted unintentionally.

[0204] In contrast, according to the above-described configuration, since the pressing member 182 is provided, the lower end 25b of the arm 25 can be raised in a state in which it is displaced radially outward Do beyond the maximum diameter of the onion 100 against the biasing spring 26 (see the lower end 25b shown by the virtual line in Figure 13 (b3)), so that the onion 100 can be raised without being lifted unintentionally.

[0205] As shown in Figs. 5 and 7, according to this embodiment, a plurality of arms 25 are provided, and a pressing member 182 as an arm pressing member is configured to displace the lower end portion 25b of the arm 25 radially outward Do by pressing the arm 25 (see Fig. 13(b3)), and is configured to be able to press the plurality of arms 25 together.

[0206] According to the above configuration, the pressing member 182 is configured to be able to press multiple arms 25 together, which makes it possible to make the entire device more compact and lighter than, for example, a case in which a pressing member is provided for each arm 25 individually.In addition, by pressing multiple arms 25 together, the lower ends 25b of the arms 25 can be smoothly displaced from a closed state close to the onion central axis Z2 to an open state away from the onion central axis Z2.

[0207] In the configuration of this invention and the above-mentioned embodiment, the root side end corresponds to the cut upper end surface 104a, and similarly The stem end corresponds to the cut lower end surface 104b. The tip corresponds to the lower end 25b of the arm, The cut ends correspond to a cut upper end surface 104a and a cut lower end surface 104b. The moving means corresponds to the vertical slit forming unit main body 11, The slit corresponds to the vertical slit 102, The outer skin cutting means corresponds to the outer skin cutting portion 28, i.e., a pair of cutters 36, The outer edges of the cut ends correspond to the outer edge 104aa of the cut upper end surface 104a and the outer edge 104ba of the cut lower end surface 104b. The spacer member corresponds to the tear guide member 32, The pressing and holding means corresponds to the pressing member 174 and the push-up member 121. The direction intersecting the central axis of the onion corresponds to the conveying direction Y. The other end of the onion center axis corresponds to the downward direction, One end side of the onion central axis corresponds to the upward direction, The extrusion means corresponds to the onion pushing part 12; The air blowing means corresponds to the blower 42. The onion holding means corresponds to the push-up member 432 and the pressing member 444, The rotating means corresponds to a motor 443, The biasing means corresponds to a biasing spring 26; The return direction along the onion central axis corresponds to the upward direction, The direction away from the onion central axis corresponds to the radially outward direction Do, The separating direction displacement means or the arm pressing member corresponds to the pressing member 182 of the arm opening structure 18, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

[0208] For example, in the onion peeling device 1 of this embodiment, an onion 100 with cut end surfaces 104a, 104b formed in advance at both ends is supplied by an operator at the onion supply point. However, in the present invention, as long as cut end surfaces 104a, 104b are formed at least at both ends of the onion 100 supplied to the vertical slit formation point 7, for example, the onion 100 supplied to the onion supply point does not need to have cut end surfaces 104a, 104b formed at both ends.

[0209] In this case, for example, a cut end surface forming unit (not shown) may be provided upstream of the vertical slit formation location 7 in the conveying direction Y, and the cut end surface forming unit may automatically form cut end surfaces 104a, 104b at both ends of the onion 100, which can then be conveyed to the vertical slit formation location 7.

[0210] Needless to say, the process of forming the cut end surfaces 104a, 104b at both ends of the onion 100 may be performed automatically as described above, or may be performed manually.

[0211] Furthermore, the conveyor belt 20 is not limited to a configuration in which the fitting holes 20h are formed. In other words, the onions 100 are not limited to being supplied by being placed in the fitting holes 20h at the onion supplying location, but may be supplied, for example, by simply being placed on the upper surface of the belt.

[0212] Furthermore, the vertical slit forming structure 16 is not limited to being provided in a pair in the width direction W in the vertical slit forming unit 3, but may be provided in one or more than two.

[0213] In addition, the skin peeling unit 4 is configured to blow air onto the onion 100 by fixing the blower 42 in a fixed position while rotating the onion rotating holding part 41 around the onion central axis Z3, but this is not limited to the above, and at least one of the onion rotating holding part 41 and the blower 42 may be rotated. [Explanation of symbols]

[0214] 3...Vertical slit forming unit (slit forming device) 11... Vertical slit forming unit main body (moving means) 12...Onion press part (extrusion means) 20...Conveyor belt 20h…Inset hole 25…Arm 25d…Lower end of arm (tip) 26... Urging spring (urging means) 28... Outer skin tearing section (outer skin tearing means) 32...Tear guide member (spacer member) 31...Front contact guide member (guide means) 35...Guide surface of the front guide member 35a…Tip 35b…First guide surface 35c…Second guide surface 36…Cutter 37…Blade tip protruding part 42...Blower (air blowing means) 100…Onion 101...Onion skin 102...Vertical slit (slit) 104a...Cut upper end surface (root end, cut end) 104aa...Outer edge of the cut upper end surface (outer edge of the cut end) 104b…Cut lower end surface (stem side end, cut end) 104ba...Outer edge of the cut lower end surface (outer edge of the cut end) 106…Outer surface of onion 121... Push-up member (pushing and holding means) 174...Pressing member (pressing and holding means) 182...Pressing member (separating direction displacement means, arm pressing member) 432...push-up member (onion holding means) 443...Motor (rotating means) 444... Pressing member (onion holding means) t…Gap Za: Upward (one end side of the onion central axis, the direction of return along the onion central axis) Zb: Downward (the other end of the onion's central axis) Do… Radial outer side (direction away from the central axis of the onion) Di: Radial inward (closer to the onion's central axis) Z2: Onion center axis Y: conveying direction (direction intersecting the central axis of the onion)

Claims

1. a moving means having a tip portion that approaches or moves away from an onion central axis that passes through both ends of the onion, the root end and the stalk end, and the tip portion moves along the onion central axis from one end side where the cut end is formed to the other end side of the both ends; a biasing means for biasing the tip end of the moving means toward the approaching side; A slit forming device including an outer skin cutting means capable of forming a slit in the outer skin of the onion at the tip end when the moving means moves from the one end side to the other end side, The tip end is provided with a guide means which, as the moving means moves, comes into contact with the onion before the skin-cutting means and guides the skin-cutting means toward the cut end. Slit forming device.

2. The guide means is formed with a guide surface for guiding the cutting edge of the outer skin cutting means so that the cutting edge first comes into contact with the outer edge of the cut end while the guide means first comes into contact with the outer surface of the onion. The slit forming device according to claim 1 .

3. The skin cutting means has at least a blade tip protruding portion where the blade tip protrudes from the outer surface of the guide means toward the onion, The guide means is formed with a front contact portion that contacts the onion earlier than the blade tip protruding portion when the moving means moves, The guide surface includes a first guide surface formed from the tip contact portion toward the blade tip protruding portion, and a second guide surface formed between the first guide surface and the blade tip protruding portion and guiding the blade tip protruding portion toward the other end side of the onion central axis further in the guide direction of the first guide surface. The slit forming device according to claim 2 .

4. The skin tearing means includes a pair of cutters, The pair of cutters are arranged in parallel with each other with a gap in between in the thickness direction. The slit forming device according to claim 3.

5. a spacer member having a thickness corresponding to the gap is interposed between the pair of cutters in the thickness direction; The cutter protrudes toward the onion together with the spacer member at the blade tip protruding portion, and the blade tip protrudes toward the onion beyond the spacer member. The slit forming device according to claim 4.

6. A pressing and holding means is provided for pressing and holding the onion having the cut end formed at both ends against each of the cut ends at both ends, The pressing and holding means is configured to abut against the cut ends at both ends at inner positions relative to the outer edges. The slit forming device according to claim 1 .

7. a conveyor belt extending in a direction intersecting the central axis of the onion and conveying the onion having the cut end formed at both ends; The conveyor belt has an insertion hole formed through a central axis of the onion into which the onion is inserted from the other end of the two ends, The onion is pushed out of the hole from the other end side to the one end side of the central axis of the onion. The slit forming device according to claim 6.

8. an air blowing means for blowing air onto the onion in which the slits have been formed; and an onion holding means for holding the onion from both sides of the central axis of the onion, and a rotating means for relatively rotating at least one of the air blowing means and the onion holding means around the central axis of the onion. The slit forming device according to claim 1 .

9. The moving means is configured to move the tip portion in a returning direction along a central axis of the onion from the other end side to the one end side with respect to the onion, and a moving-away direction displacement means for displacing the tip portion in a direction away from the central axis of the onion against the biasing means to a diameter greater than the maximum diameter of the onion when the tip portion moves in the returning direction. The slit forming device according to claim 1 .

10. The moving means includes a plurality of arms extending from the one end side to the other end side of the onion central shaft, the separating direction displacement means is composed of an arm pressing member that presses the arm so that the tip end portion is displaced in the separating direction, The arm pressing member is configured to be capable of pressing the plurality of arms together. The slit forming device according to claim 9.

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