WO2022019748A1

WO2022019748A1 - A system for separating fruits from fruit bunches

Info

Publication number: WO2022019748A1
Application number: PCT/MY2021/050019
Authority: WO
Inventors: Amin BIN HALIM RASIP
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-07-20
Filing date: 2021-03-31
Publication date: 2022-01-27
Anticipated expiration: 2023-01-20
Also published as: MY204830A

Abstract

The present invention discloses a system for separating fruits (10) from fruit bunches (20), comprises at least one array of rotating brushes (110, 120); and a carrier means (201, 202) for conveying the fruit bunches (20) through the array of rotating brushes (110, 120) to separate the fruits (10) from the fruit bunches (20).

Description

A SYSTEM FOR SEPARATING FRUITS FROM FRUIT BUNCHES

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a fruit harvesting system. More particularly, the invention relates to a fruit harvesting system for separating fruits from their respective fruit bunches.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Palm oil plays an important role in the agricultural and economic sectors of those regions where it is cultivated. These regions house vast areas of tropical rainforest rich in biodiversity and the leading countries which produce palm oil include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Colombia, Nigeria, Ecuador, Guatemala and Papua New Guinea. In the palm oil industries, palm oil is extracted from fresh fruit bunches by a series of processes. One of the processes is the stripping process, which comes after the sterilizing of fresh fruit bunches, where the sterilized fruits are segregated from their respective fresh fruit bunches. Conventionally, sterilized fresh fruit bunches are fed into a drum stripper and the drum rotates to cause the fruits to be detached from the bunch. Nevertheless, the fresh fruit bunches processed with the existing drum strippers often produce an end product that contains lots of fruit fibre which diminishes the oil recovery amount and quality of oil content. Furthermore, the stripper also has a number of deficiency in terms of stripping time, efficiency and productivity.

There are also another types of stripping machine which one can be found in a Malaysia Patent document MY145532A. This patent discloses an apparatus for segregating palm fruits from palm bunches. The apparatus comprises an outer vessel with a plurality of protruding structures attached to its inner operation wall, and an inner structure installed within the outer vessel with a plurality of protruding structures attached to the structure’s outer wall. Having at least one opening for the palm fruit bunches to be fed in a continuous manner and at the other end with a discharge opening for the separated palm fruits and empty palm bunches to be discharged and further transferred for palm oil extraction process, and a rotating means attached to the outer vessel and the inner structure for manipulating rotating operation. Although the apparatus has provided an efficient way to discharge the empty palm bunches, the separation process is still inefficient as the size of the apparatus’s inlet is fixed and the size of the fresh fruit bunches may vary. Furthermore, fruits of a larger size bunch can be easily damaged by the protruding structures which lower down the quality of oil produced.

Accordingly, there is a need to improve on the existing design of palm fruit stripping machine for high production rates, easy operation and lower maintenance cost. This invention provides such a system and apparatus thereof.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for separating fruits from fruit bunches, comprises at least one array of rotating brushes and a carrier means for conveying the fruit bunches through the array of rotating brushes to separate the fruits from the fruit bunches.

In this aspect of the invention, the fruit bunches can be attached to the carrier means via one or more wires.

In this aspect of the invention, at least one distal end of each fruit bunch has a fork pin penetrated therein, the fork pin may include a first portion with sharp edges configured to secure the fork pin in position after the penetration and a second portion where the wires can be attached thereon.

In this aspect of the invention, the carrier means can be further configured to rotate the fruit bunches about an axis of the connected wires.

In this aspect of the invention, the carrier means may include at least one wire carrier trackway for the wires to be connected thereon, whereby the wire carrier trackway extends in a direction parallel to the array of rotating brushes.

In this aspect of the invention, the wire carrier trackway is configured to convey the fruit bunches in a zig-zag movement via releasing or retracting the connected wires while traveling in a designated direction to pass through the array of rotating brushes.

In this aspect of the invention, the system may further comprise a conveyor system disposed beneath the rotating brushes to collect and convey the separated fruits to another process.

In this aspect of the invention, the rotating brushes can be arranged in two or more parallel arrays, having an adjustable gap therebetween where the fruit bunches passes therethrough.

In this aspect of the invention, the fruit bunches can be conveyed in a substantially upright manner and the rotating brushes can be alternately arranged in vertical and horizontal configurations.

In this aspect of the invention, bristles of the rotating brushes are made of rubber material.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawing the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood and appreciated.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a system for separating fruits from fruit bunches which embodies therein the principle features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of a plurality of rotating brushes arranged in a multi-tier configuration which surrounds a fruit bunch.

Fig. 3 shows an exemplary of a pork pin which is configured to penetrate into the fruit bunches.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, a system for separating fruits 10 from fruit bunches 20 is illustrated. The fruits 10 may include but not limited to palm oil fruits, rambutans, bananas, longans, lychees and any other fruits which grow in bunches. The system generally comprises one or more arrays of rotating brushes 110, 120 and a carrier means 201, 202 for conveying the fruit bunches 20 through the arrays of rotating brushes 110, 120 to separate the fruits 10 from the fruit bunches 20. Advantageously, a conveyor system 300 can be disposed beneath the rotating brushes 110, 120 to collect the separated fruits 10 and convey the fruits 10 to a subsequent process.

In one preferred embodiment, the carrier means 201, 202 comprises a pair of wire carrier trackways 201, 202, one 201 positioned at a location above the rotating brushes 110, 120 and the other one 202 is positioned at a location between the rotating brushes 110, 120 and the conveyor system 300. The pair of wire carrier trackways 201, 202 are extended in a direction parallel to the arrays of rotating brushes 110, 120. In operation, the fruit bunches 20 are linked to the wire carrier trackways 201, 202 via wires 210. The wire carrier trackways 201, 202 are configured to retract or release the wires 210 vertically while conveying the wires 210 along their respective pathway horizontally so that the fruit bunches 20 can be conveyed in a zig-zag movement, to increase the traveling distance for the fruit bunches 20 to pass through the arrays of rotating brushes 110, 120. Furthermore, the wire carrier trackways 201, 202 may also be configured to rotate the fruit bunches 20 about an axis of the wires 210.

Fig. 2 depicts an example of an attachment means 220 for the wires 210 to be linked to a fruit bunches 20. The attachment means 220 is preferably in the form a pair of fork pins 220 which penetrate into a fruit bunch 20 from opposing ends, preferably one from the top and the other one from the bottom of the fruit bunch 20. Each fork pin 220 has a first portion with sharp edges configured to secure the fork pin 220 in position after the penetration and a second portion where the wires 210 can be attached thereon. In one specific embodiment, the first portion of each fork pin 220 includes a fixed pointed head 223 for axial penetration and a pair of retractable pointed heads 221, 222 which can be triggered by a triggering mechanism to extrude from a body of the fork pin 220 and penetrates into the fruit bunch 20 from sideways to secure the fork pin 220 in position, and vice versa, retract back into the body for releasing the fruit bunch 20. Once the fruits 10 are separated from the fruit bunches 20, the fork pins 220 will then be pulled out from the empty fruit bunches 21 so that the empty fruit bunches 21 can be further processed accordingly.

Referring to Figs. 3, an exemplary arrangement of the rotating brushes 110, 120 are illustrated. Preferably, the rotating brushes 110, 120 can be arranged in two or more parallel arrays, having a gap therebetween where the fruit bunches 20 passes therethrough. Each array of the rotating brushes 110, 120 may comprise one or more vertical rotating brushes 120 which rotate about a vertical axis and one or more horizontal rotating brushes 110 which rotate about a horizontal axis, and the vertical and horizontal brushes 110, 120 are arranged in an alternate manner to form the array. The rotating direction and rotation speed of the rotating brushes 110, 120 are changeable and they are depended on the moving direction of the fruit bunches 20. Bristles of the brushes 110, 120 are preferably made of flexible rubber. However, it should be noted that the bristles can also be made of any other types of material as long as the material can provide sufficient resiliency for the fruit separation operation. In addition, each axis of the rotating brushes 110, 120 is movable to provide tolerance for the fruit bunches 20 to pass through but they are also being tension adjusted to ensure the rotating brushes 110, 120 are always in contact with the fruit bunches 20.

In one embodiment where the fruits 10 are palm oil bunches, it is also possible that spine leaflets are separated from the fruit bunches 20 during the process of fruit separation. Consequently, the conveyor system 300 will be receiving both the loose fruits 10 and the spine leaflets. In order to separate the fruits 10 from the spine leaflets, the conveyor system 300 can be operated at a designated speed such that the fruits 10 which has a much higher mass would be traveling to a further distance after exiting the conveyor system 300 due to inertia. Buckets can be placed at designated locations to respectively collect the fruits 10 and the spine leaflets. Alternatively, the conveyor system 300 can also incorporate a mesh filter which is sized to allow either the fruits 10 or spine leaflets to pass through the mesh filter and the other to be remained on the mesh filter. In a further embodiment of the invention, the fruit bunches 20 can be hung between the pair of wire carrier trackways 201, 202 via the wires 210 at a fix position, and at least one movable rotating brush 110, 120 is provided to circulate around the fruit bunches 20 for separating the fruits 10 from their respective fruit bunches 20. The fruit bunches 20 can also be rotated about the wire axis in a direction opposing to the rotating brush 110, 120.

The present disclosure includes as contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A system for separating fruits (10) from fruit bunches (20), comprising: at least one array of rotating brushes (110, 120); and a carrier means (201, 202) for conveying the fruit bunches (20) through the array of rotating brushes (110, 120) to separate the fruits (10) from the fruit bunches (20).

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the fruit bunches (20) are attached to the carrier means (201, 202) via one or more wires (210).

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein at least one distal end of each fruit bunch (20) has a fork pin (220) penetrated therein, the fork pin (220) has a first portion with sharp edges configured to secure the fork pin (220) in position after the penetration and a second portion where the wires (210) can be attached thereon.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the carrier means (201, 202) is configured to rotate the fruit bunches (20) about an axis of the connected wires (210).

5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the carrier means (201, 202) includes at least one wire carrier trackway (201, 202) for the wires (210) to be connected thereon, whereby the wire carrier trackway (201, 202) extends in a direction parallel to the array of rotating brushes (110, 120).

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the wire carrier trackway (201, 202) is configured to convey the fruit bunches (20) in a zig-zag movement via releasing or retracting the connected wires (210) while traveling in a designated direction to pass through the array of rotating brushes (20).

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a conveyor system (300) disposed beneath the rotating brushes (110, 120) to collect and convey the separated fruits (10) to other process.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the rotating brushes (110, 120) are arranged in two parallel arrays, having a gap therebetween where the fruit bunches (20) passes therethrough.

9 The system according to claim 1, wherein the fruit bunches (20) are conveyed in a substantially upright manner and the rotating brushes (110, 120) are alternately arranged in vertical and horizontal configurations.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein bristles of the rotating brushes (110, 120) are made of rubber material.