FR2658995A1 - Machine for washing vegetables and/or fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a machine for washing vegetables and/or fruit. The invention will apply especially to the field of building such machines and to the field of cleaning foodstuffs such as, in particular, cleaning potatoes. The machine (3) consists of a rotary drum (6) in which the vegetables or fruits to be cleaned are inserted and of a washing liquid supply (7), in particular a water supply. In addition, the said drum (6) has means (10, 11) for imparting to the vegetables and/or fruit a translational movement across the drum during its rotation, these means being built into the drum's inside face (9) without projections which might damage the said vegetables and/or fruit to be cleaned.

Description

 The invention relates to a vegetable and / or fruit washing machine. It will in particular find its application in the field of the construction of such machines and its use in the field of food products, in particular for cleaning potatoes.

 In many cases, after harvesting vegetables or fruit, it is necessary to clean them to remove, for example, traces of mud or soil.

 In particular, after grubbing up many vegetables or picking fruit, it is necessary to clean them so that they present a certain cleanliness aspect for their marketing.

 In the case of potatoes, which are now generally uprooted automatically by automatic machines, depending on the condition of the ground at the time of uprooting, the tubers are more or less covered with earth or mud.

 A first method is to make the earth fall by brewing them against each other. A second solution is to subject them to a washing liquid, generally water, in a drum machine.

 In this regard, vegetable and / or fruit washing machines are known, consisting at least of a rotary drum into which the vegetables or fruits to be cleaned are introduced, and a supply of washing liquid, in particular in water, suitable for spraying the fruits or vegetables to be cleaned contained in said drum.

 A first type of machine comprises a rotary drum, the axis of which is either vertical or horizontal, in which the fruits and vegetables are placed and then discharged after stirring for a certain time.

 The main disadvantage of these machines is the handling required to load the machine and then unload the machine when cleaning is complete.

 To overcome these drawbacks, another type of machine has been developed, which comprises a cylindrical rotary drum arranged substantially horizontally and open on its two lateral faces.

 The internal wall of such a drum is constituted by an assembly of metal half-rounds arranged over the entire periphery of the drum and whose axes are parallel to each other and parallel to the axis of the drum.

 To allow internal movement of the cleaned fruit or vegetables from one side face of the drum towards the other, there is also provided a helical bead, projecting from the internal face of the drum formed by said half-rounds, defining for example four turns along the entire length of the drum.

 One of the main drawbacks of such devices lies in the importance of blows and wounds given to fruits and vegetables during their treatment in the drum, this being detrimental for the good preservation of the latter.

 The blows and wounds are generated by the very constitution of the internal wall of the drum by the metal half-rounds and also by said helical bead and its attachment to the internal face of the drum.

 Another disadvantage of such washing machines lies in the weight of the drum which, remember, is made of metal, it is then necessary to use a large support frame and a significant drive power, especially when the machine capacity is large. In this regard, it is common to make washing machines whose drum has a diameter substantially close to one meter with a length of the drum of three to four meters.

 Another drawback of these machines lies in their cost price which is particularly high due to the machining and shaping of the particular parts and the assembly time required.

 One of the aims of the present invention is to provide a vegetable and / or fruit washing machine, in particular intended for cleaning potatoes, which makes it possible to overcome the drawbacks of the aforementioned existing machines and which in particular avoids damaging the fruits. or vegetables while cleaning and keeping them intact.

 One of the aims of the present invention is to provide a washing machine for vegetables and / or fruits, which allows continuous processing of food and which can therefore be integrated into an automated installation.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a fruit and vegetable washing machine, having a simple and light structure, but nevertheless allowing remarkable efficiency.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine whose maintenance is facilitated, which is an additional advantage given the wear observed in this type of machine.

 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear during the description which follows which is however given only for information and which is not intended to limit it.

 According to the present invention, the vegetable and / or fruit washing machine, in particular intended for cleaning potatoes, comprising at least one rotary drum into which the vegetables or fruits to be cleaned are introduced, is characterized in that said drum has means for creating a translational movement of vegetables and / or fruits through the drum during its rotation, integrated in its internal face, without harmful protuberance for said vegetables or fruits to be cleaned.

 According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the drum is arranged substantially horizontally and said means are constituted by a multitude of helical grooves formed on the internal face of the drum.

 The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description, accompanied by the accompanying drawings which form an integral part thereof.

 Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a complete vegetable cleaning installation.

Figure 2 shows a sectional view along the axis
II-II of the washing machine of Figure 1, produced according to the present invention.

 Figure 3 shows a partial front view of the washing machine of Figure 2.

 FIG. 4 shows a view of the developed drum showing in particular the arrangement of the bundle of tubes arranged on the internal face of the drum.

 Figure 5 shows a sectional view along the axis V-V of Figure 4, which specifies the relative position of the tubes of said bundle.

 Figure 6 shows a front view of a fastener according to the present invention for the arrangement of the tubes in the drum.

 Figure 7 shows a right view of the element in Figure 6.

 Figure 8 shows a top view of the element in Figure 6.

 The invention relates to a washing machine for vegetables and / or fruits, in particular for cleaning potatoes.

 Although more specifically developed for washing potatoes, the present invention would in no way be limited to this type of vegetable but could be applied to other vegetables or fruits which require cleaning without providing knocks or injuries to said fruits or vegetables.

 Nowadays, as production yields are higher and higher, it becomes necessary to clean vegetables in automated or almost automated installations.

 Figure 1 shows, for example, such an installation which allows the cleaning of potatoes.

 In a first station (1), the potatoes are soaked after they have been uprooted.

 At the end of this presoak, the potatoes are removed by a conveyor (2) to a washing machine (3), which is precisely the object of the present invention.

 On leaving this machine, the washed potatoes are sent to a drying station (4) then an inspection station (5) at which an operator removes the unusable potatoes.

 The major difficulty in such an installation relates to the washing station in which the potatoes are subjected to stirring under a spraying boom of water.

Given this turmoil, it is therefore necessary to avoid all blows or injuries that would be detrimental to the conservation of potatoes.

 As shown particularly in Figure 2, the washing machine (3) of the present invention comprises at least one rotary drum (6) and a supply (7) of washing liquid, which in particular is generally pure water .

 According to the present invention, the drum (6) is arranged substantially with its horizontal axis (8), as shown in particular in FIG. 3. Thus, the drum is in the form of a cylinder, the two lateral faces of which are vertical, one of the faces being intended to receive the potatoes after the presoak, the other of the faces being intended to evacuate the washed potatoes towards the drying station.

 According to the present invention, the drum (6) has means for creating a translational movement of the vegetables and / or fruits through the drum during its rotation, integrated in its internal face (9) without harmful protuberance for said vegetables and / or fruit to be cleaned.

 In other words, according to the present invention, a swirl is formed inside the drum to increase the efficiency of washing, but nevertheless the fruits or vegetables "slide" at the bottom of the drum, from one of its sides towards the other without being shocked or injured by protruding parts of the drum.

 In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, said means are constituted by a multitude of helical grooves (10) formed on the internal face (9) of the drum (6).

 More specifically, said internal face (9) of the drum (6) is constituted by a bundle of tubes (11), regularly spaced, arranged in a helix relative to the axis (8) of the drum.

 Thus, all the tubes are parallel to each other, and have a shape in the helical space, defining interstices in said helical grooves (10) as particularly shown in Figures 3, 4, 5.

 In an advantageous embodiment, the tubes (11) are cylindrical and made of plastic, such as PVC for example. Such an arrangement is advantageous because, from a straight tube, it can be deformed without special machining or bending to involve a curvature of a small radius.

 In particular, in the present invention, good results have been obtained when the propeller of the grooves (10) forms a half turn along the length of the drum (6).

 Such an arrangement is particularly illustrated in Figure 4 which shows the developed view of the cylinder formed by the drum (6). In other words, the tubes (11) are all parallel to each other and arranged obliquely with an offset from the two ends of the tube of C / 2, C being the circumference of the drum cylinder (6).

 For a relatively large length L of the drum, of the order for example of three to four meters, PVC tubes will admit such a deformation without prior bending.

 As regards the structure of said drum (6), as particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it advantageously consists of a cage, of the "squirrel cage" type formed by a set of inner hoops (12) and outer hoops (13) joined together by longitudinal crosspieces (14).

 This is a traditional mechanically welded construction. The crosspieces will for example consist of square metal tubes, while the hoops will consist of flat irons bent to the corresponding diameter for the drum.

 These hoops (12, 13) have, on the one hand, a framework function for the barrel but on the other hand, also have a function of fixing the bundle of tubes (11) and a function of driving the drum in rotation ( 6).

 With regard to the setting in motion of the drum, as particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drum cage is supported and driven by a set of belts (15), subject to a motor member (16) and acting on at least two outer hoops (13).

 More specifically, for example, the drive member (16) drives a transmission axis (17) rotatably mounted on the frame (18) of the machine and carrying for example two sets of pulleys (19).

 Then there are provided belts (15) suspended from said pulleys (19) which will take place at the periphery of the drum (6) and support and drive it. This is a simple and quite efficient construction.

 To avoid the tilting of the drum in the lateral direction or in the longitudinal direction, adapters will be adapted (20) integral with the frame (18) and bearing either on the belts or on the drum, to avoid any unwanted tilting. Such a construction is within the reach of the skilled person.

 The inner hoops (12) are, for their part, advantageously used for fixing the bundle of tubes (11) forming the internal face of the drum (6).

 More specifically, said tubes (11) are fixed at each inner hoop (12) by means of a fixing element (21), as shown particularly in FIG. 5, capable on the one hand of being made integral said hoop (12), and on the other hand, by cooperation with a neighboring element (21), to trap a tube (11), by imposing on it a radius of curvature to constitute said helix, and to define a center distance E of tubes (11) to form said helical grooves (10).

 Thus, these elements (21) being arranged at the level of the hoops (12), between these is defined a gap e between the two contiguous tubes (11), which will allow the evacuation of the washing water and any sludge .

 Figures 6 to 8 show an embodiment of a fastening element (21) which essentially has a base (22) and a head (23) at its upper part.

 The base (22) has a groove-shaped recess (24) capable of snapping onto the width of the inner hoop (12) as shown in particular in FIGS. 5 and 6.

 The head (23) has two grooves (25, 26) leaning symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis (27) of the head of the element (21), and open, the curvature of which corresponds to the outside diameter and of said tubes (11) , as shown in particular in Figure 5.

 On each inner hoop (12), one therefore engages as many fixing elements (21) as there are tubes (11) so as to immobilize said bundle of tubes and thus constitute said internal face (9) of the drum. (6).

 The grooves are such that, when two adjacent tubes are trapped by neighboring fixing elements (21), the tube can no longer escape from the housing thus formed as shown in FIG. 5.

 Furthermore, the longitudinal axis (27) of the head (23) of said element (21), and the axis (28) of said groove (24) define an angle d, as shown particularly in FIG. 8, corresponding to the propeller that we want to impose on said corresponding tubes.

 Thus, thanks to these fixing elements of very specific structure, the bundle of tubes forming the internal face of the drum is simultaneously fixed, their relative positioning between them to define the helical grooves (10) as well as the interstices necessary in order to make permeable to washing water and sludge around the periphery of the drum.

 Thanks to this arrangement, means are created to create a translational movement of the vegetables and / or fruits through the drum during its rotation, means which have no protuberance or protruding part which would risk damaging the food during its washing.

 In addition, at the two lateral faces of the drum, the ends of said bundle of tubes (11) are protected on either side of the drum to further avoid the projecting parts. This is done, for example, by arranging a skirt for protecting the ends of the tubes, made in particular of rubberized canvas.

 By way of nonlimiting example, good results have been obtained with the following embodiment - drum diameter close to one meter, - drum length = 3.60 meters - bundle of tubes made up of seventy three PVC tubes, diameter 32 millimeters , - length of the tubes approximately 4 meters for 3.60 meters of drum - natural bending of the tubes by providing an angle i of 660 - gap e between two tubes = 12 millimeters - center distance E between tubes = 44 millimeters - helix of each tube = half a turn along the length of the drum - eight inner hoops made from 80 mm by 8 mm flat iron - two outer hoops made from 130 mm by 10 mm flat iron - gearmotor with speed variation from O to 30 turns per minute on the drum.

 Naturally, other implementations of the present invention, within the reach of ordinary skill in the art, could have been envisaged without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims (10)

 1. Vegetable and / or fruit washing machine, in particular for cleaning potatoes, comprising at least one rotary drum (6) into which the vegetables or fruit to be cleaned are introduced, characterized in that that the drum (6) has means for creating a translational movement of the vegetables and / or fruits through the drum during its rotation, integrated in its internal face (9) without harmful protuberance for said vegetables and / or fruits to be cleaned .  2. Washing machine according to claim 1, c a r a c t e r i s e in that the drum (6) is arranged  t substantially horizontally and that said means consist of a multitude of helical grooves (10) formed in the internal face (9) of the drum (6).  3. Washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said internal face (9) of the drum is constituted by a bundle of cylindrical tubes (11), regularly spaced apart, arranged in a helix relative to the axis (8) of the drum, thus defining said helical grooves (10).  4. Washing machine according to claim 2, c a r a c t é r i s e in that the helix of the grooves forms a half turn along the length of the drum.  5. Washing machine according to claim 3, characterized in that said drum consists of a cage formed by a set of inner hoops (12) and outer hoops (13), joined together by longitudinal sleepers (14), said tubes (11) being fixed on said inner hoops (12).  6. Washing machine, according to claim 5, characterized in that said drum (6) is supported and driven by a set of belts (15), secured to a drive member (16) and acting at least on two outer hoops (13).  7. Washing machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said tubes are made of plastic and fixed at each inner hoop (12) by a fixing element (21), suitable for on the one hand to be made integral with said hoop (12), and on the other hand, by cooperation with a neighboring element (21), to trap a tube (11) by imposing on it a radius of curvature to constitute said helix, and to define a center distance E of tubes (11) to form said helical grooves (10).  8. Washing machine, according to claim 7, characterized in that said fixing element (21) has a base (22) having a groove-shaped recess (24), capable of snapping onto the inner hoop (12), as well as an upper part (23) comprising two grooves (25, 26) leaned symmetrically and open, whose curvature g corresponds to the outside diameter and of said tubes (11).  9. Washing machine, according to claim 8, characterized in that the longitudinal axis (27) of the upper part (23) of said element (21), and the axis (28) of said groove (24) define an angle corresponding to the helix which it is desired to impose on said corresponding tube.  10. Washing machine according to claim 3, c a r a c t é r i s e in that the end of said bundle of tubes (11) are protected on either side of the drum (6) to avoid protruding parts.