KR20240146784A - A extractor for flower stalks - Google Patents

Abstract

The flower stalk remover including the flower stalk removal stand and the flower stalk removal device of the present invention includes a flower stalk removal device moving means capable of moving the flower stalk removal device on the flower stalk removal stand according to the length of the flower stalk, and a means capable of automatically capturing, moving, and releasing the flower stalk, so that the flower stalk can be automatically removed. Accordingly, the efficiency of chive trimming work is increased and the time is reduced, thereby helping to shorten the delivery period and maintain the freshness of the chive, and the labor cost can be reduced, thereby significantly lowering the processing cost of the chive.

Description

A extractor for flower stalks}

The present invention relates to a flower stalk remover, and more particularly, to a flower stalk remover for automatically removing chive flower stalks.

Patent registration number 10-2000623 granted by the present applicant discloses a device for effectively removing foreign substances such as weeds, rags, and dead skin cells.

In addition, chives grow flower stalks in July and August, so you can remove these flower stalks and sell them on the market. The flower stalks, which grow longer than the length of chive leaves (20 to 24 cm), are about 25 to 40 cm long and 1 to 3 mm in diameter, but are usually about 1 mm. If you refer to YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKpd_1I1XF8 (How to easily remove chive flower stalks, Growing chives well, Farming YouTube, Farming Information Center), you can see that it is a completely manual method in which a person removes the flower stalk by hand. Another YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfVMuXGKYgk discloses a semi-manual method in which a person removes the flower stalk by hand while transporting the chives on a conveyor belt.

This manual method reduces work efficiency and increases the processing cost of chives. For example, the time required to remove the flower stems from a bunch of chives and the time required to peel them are almost the same. Removing the flower stems from a bunch of chives is a labor-intensive and time-consuming task.

Therefore, there is a need for an automatic process for removing flower stalks from chive bunches, and furthermore, a flower stalk remover that can work on the same line as a chive peeler.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a flower stalk remover that can automatically perform flower stalk removal work instead of the conventional manual method described above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simpler and more efficient flower stalk remover.

As one embodiment of a flower stalk remover for achieving the above-described problem to be solved, the flower stalk remover comprises a flower stalk remover stand and a flower stalk remover device, the flower stalk remover stand comprises a chive leaf support member in which one side of the flower stalk falls freely while maintaining chive leaves, a flower stalk remover device moving means capable of moving the flower stalk remover on the flower stalk remover stand according to the length of the flower stalk, and a means capable of automatically capturing, moving, and releasing the flower stalk.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk comprises a rotating roller having a plurality of V-shaped grippers mounted in a plurality of rows.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk comprises a rotating roller equipped with a plurality of scissor-hand grippers in a plurality of rows, the scissor-hand grippers being capable of moving the movable blades to control the distance from the fault blades.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk comprises a scissor hand capable of capturing and releasing the flower stalk, a rotating chain for moving the flower stalk captured by the scissor hand, and a guide longitudinal plate.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixed blade leg of the scissor hand is attached to the fixed plate, the movable blade leg is fitted to the guide rod so as to be able to move left and right along the guide rod, a guide pin is mounted on the end of the movable blade leg, and a spring is mounted on at least one of the legs of the movable blade and the support of the guide rod.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the guide longitudinal plate includes a sloped portion whose width gradually increases from one end and a longitudinal straight portion.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the forceps or scissor hands are coated with rubber or urethane.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the flower stalk remover comprises a means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk, such as a robotic arm or a slide arm using a linear motor.

The present invention provides an automatic flower stalk remover, which improves the efficiency of chive trimming work, reduces the time, shortens the delivery period, helps maintain the freshness of chives, and significantly reduces the processing cost of chives by reducing labor costs.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a flower stalk removal device and a flower stalk removal device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flower stalk removal device including a rotating roller of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a photograph showing the entirety of one embodiment of the flower stalk removal device of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a top perspective view of the guide longitudinal plate of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a series of photographs of an embodiment of the present invention, which sequentially capture the flower stem insertion position, flower stem pick-up or capture position, flower stem movement position, and flower stem release position of the guide pin of the present invention.
Figure 6 is a full photograph of the flower stem remover of the present invention.

The technical configuration and operational effects of the flower stalk remover according to the present invention for solving the above problems will be clearly understood by the detailed description below with reference to the drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention.

In addition, when explaining the present invention, if it is judged that a detailed description of a related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. That is, the description of components that are essential to the flower stem remover of the present invention but are not related to the characteristic configuration of the present invention will be omitted. In addition, in the case of structural symmetry, only one side will be described.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily practice the present invention.

Chives harvested from farmland in July and August include flower stalks, and it is desirable to first remove the flower stalks and remove foreign substances such as weeds, rags, and withered scales. Here, the flower stalk remover is placed between the cutter and the peeling roller set in the chive peeler patented by the applicant of registration number 10-2000623. When a bunch of chives moves through a conveyor and passes through the cutter, the base of the chives is cut, and each chive leaf and flower stalk are separated. Next, the bunch of chives moves along the conveyor belt to the flower stalk remover.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a flower stalk removal stand (1) and a flower stalk removal device (2) of the present invention. The flower stalk removal stand (1) is mounted on an upper frame and the flower stalk removal device (2) is mounted on a lower frame by a flower stalk removal device moving means so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow. The purpose of moving the flower stalk removal device in the direction of the arrow is to determine the position of the flower stalk removal device with respect to the flower stalk removal stand according to the length of the flower stalk. The flower stalk removal device moving means includes a rail (41, shown in Fig. 6) installed on the lower frame and a spiral shaft (40, shown in the second photo of Fig. 5) for moving the flower stalk removal device along the rail. The spiral shaft is helically connected to the flower stalk removal device (2), so that when the spiral shaft is rotated forward, it moves away from the flower stalk removal stand (1), and when it is rotated backward, it moves closer to the flower stalk removal stand (1). The flower stalk removal stand has a narrow chive leaf support member (11) cut slightly wider than the length of a chive leaf of 20 to 24 cm. When the chive leaves and flower stalks move together along the conveyor to the chive leaf support, since the flower stalks are longer and heavier than the leaves, one side of the flower stalk tilts down due to gravity, making it easy to capture and remove in the flower stalk removal device.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a flower stalk removal device. As a means for automatically capturing, moving, and releasing a flower stalk, a plurality of V-shaped grippers are mounted in a plurality of rows on a rotating roller. The number of rows of grippers can be determined according to the diameter of the rotating roller. In the chive leaf support member (11), a flower stalk in a bunch of chives is inserted into a V-shaped groove and is removed from the bunch of chives as the roller rotates. The rotating roller can be connected to a drive motor by a means such as a chain, a belt, and a gear. The flower stalk removal device including the rotating roller and the driving motor includes a flower stalk removal device moving means capable of moving the flower stalk on the flower stalk removal stand according to the length of the flower stalk.

In the V-shaped tongs of Fig. 2, there is a problem that the flower stem is not completely inserted or it is difficult to automatically remove the flower stem that is completely inserted. In response to this, a scissor hand tongs can be used instead of the V-shaped tongs. This means that the scissor hand tongs can control the distance from the fixed blade by moving the movable blade.

FIG. 3 is a photograph showing the entirety of an example of a flower stalk removal device. As shown in FIG. 3, the scissor hands (20) are arranged in a row of five at set intervals on eight fixed plates (32) installed along a rotating chain or belt. The rotating chain is driven by an electric gear that rotates about 60 times per minute. The arrangement of the scissor hands and the speed of the rotating chain can be changed according to the speed at which the chive bunches move on the conveyor and the amount of the chive bunches. Five to ten scissor hands can be attached to a row (one line), and when the number of scissor hands that can be attached along the rotating chain is two to twenty lines, 10 to 200 scissor hands can be installed.

The flower stalk removal device includes a scissor hand (20), and a guide longitudinal plate (31) fixed to one side along the rotational direction of the chain, which picks up or captures, moves, and releases a flower stalk through the movable blade (21) of the scissor hand (20). The scissor hand (20) has a movable blade (21) of the scissor hand and a fixed blade (22), and a leg (26) of the fixed blade (22) is attached to a fixed plate (34), and the leg (25) of the movable blade (21) is fitted to the guide rod (32) so as to be able to move left and right along the guide rod (32). A guide pin (24) is mounted at the end of the leg (25). A spring (33) is mounted between at least one of the legs (26) of the fixed blade (22) and one or more spring supports (35) mounted on the guide rod (32). The spring (33) is expanded to spread the legs (26) of the fixed blade (22) and the legs (25) of the movable blade (21) in a normal state, thereby placing them in a flower stem release position. When the scissor hand (20) moves, it catches and pulls out the chive flower stem, and depending on the thickness of the chive flower stem, the spring (33) adjusts the interval to catch and pull out the flower stem. In other words, the spring (33) enables working with various thicknesses of flower stems.

Fig. 4 is a top perspective view of the guide longitudinal plate (31) as seen from above. The guide longitudinal plate (31) has an inclined portion (312) whose width gradually increases from the leading end on one side and a longitudinal straight portion (314). When the electric gear rotates by the motor, the rotating chain rotates cyclically through the driven gear, and the fixed plate (34) fixed to the rotating chain rotates, and a row of scissor hands (20) attached to the fixed plate (34) also rotates together. When the guide pin (24) of the scissor hands is placed at the beginning of the inclined portion (312) of the guide longitudinal plate (31), the leg (25) of the movable blade (21) of the scissor hands (20) moves while pressing the spring (33) toward the leg (26) of the fixed blade (22), and the blades of the scissor hands spread out to be placed in a position for inserting a flower stalk. In the part indicated by a in Fig. 4, the scissor blades are gradually narrowed to firmly grasp the flower stem and are placed in the flower stem capture or catching position. In this state, when the rotating chain rotates further, the guide pin (24) moves along the straight section (314) (b in Fig. 4), and at this time, the scissor line pulls out the flower stem from the bunch of chives while firmly grasping it. The position of b in Fig. 4 is called the flower stem movement position. When the rotating chain rotates further, the guide pin (24) moves beyond the straight section (314), and the spring (33) expands to spread the legs (25) of the movable blade (21) of the scissor hand (20) and the legs (26) of the fixed blade (22) apart to be placed in the flower stem release position as shown in c in Fig. 4. In the flower stem release position, the flower stem is separated from the scissor hand and falls freely due to gravity. Then, the bunch of chives from which the flower stem has been removed moves on to the next process, the peeling process.

FIG. 5 is a photograph of one embodiment of the present invention, which sequentially captures the flower stem insertion position, flower stem picking or capturing position, flower stem moving position, and flower stem release position as the guide pin (24) moves along the guide length plate (31). As shown in the photograph, as the rotating chain rotates, the scissor hands are spread out, and when a flower stem falls freely and enters, the scissor hands catch it and move it to a place to be discarded, and then spread out again so that the flower stem falls from the scissor hands.

FIG. 6 shows a full photograph of a flower stand device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The length of the forceps or scissor hands used in the present invention is 10 to 100 mm, and the blades of the forceps or scissor hands are coated with rubber or urethane, which helps to move the flower stem while holding it tightly without cutting it. The material of the forceps or scissor hands may be a metal material including plastic, copper, stainless steel, iron, etc.

When the flower stalk remover of the present invention is used, 100 kg of chive flower stalks can be removed per hour, equivalent to the work of 5 people.

In the above, the flower stalk removal device has been described with reference to one embodiment of the present invention, but any means for removing the flower stalk by separating it from the chive bunch may be used. For example, instead of a robotic arm or a rotary chain that gathers each flower stalk and removes it at once, a slide arm using a linear motor may be used.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above as examples, they are only for the purpose of explanation and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible within a scope that does not depart from the technical idea of the present invention.

20: Scissorhands
31: Guide length direction plate
40, 41: Flower stalk removal device moving means
50: Rotating chain

Claims (9)

A flower stalk remover comprising a flower stalk remover and a flower stalk remover device,
A flower stalk removal device moving means capable of moving the flower stalk removal device on the flower stalk removal stand according to the length of the flower stalk,
A flower stalk remover comprising means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing said flower stalk. In the first paragraph,
A flower stalk remover comprising a rotating roller having a plurality of V-shaped grippers mounted in a plurality of rows, the means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalks. In the first paragraph,
A flower stalk remover comprising a rotating roller equipped with a plurality of scissor-hand grippers capable of controlling the distance from the broken blade by moving the movable blade in a plurality of rows, the means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk. In the first paragraph,
The means capable of automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk is a flower stalk remover including a scissor hand capable of capturing and releasing the flower stalk, a rotating chain for moving the flower stalk captured by the scissor hand, and a guide length-direction plate. In paragraph 4,
A flower stalk remover in which the fixed blade legs of the above scissor hands are attached to a fixed plate, the movable blade legs are fitted to a guide rod so as to be able to move left and right along the guide rod, a guide pin is mounted at the end of the movable blade legs, and a spring is mounted at least between the legs of the movable blade and the support of the guide rod. In paragraph 4,
The above guide longitudinal plate is a flower stalk remover including a sloped portion whose width gradually increases from one end and a longitudinal straight portion. In any one of the second to fourth paragraphs,
The above-mentioned forceps or scissors hands are flower stalk removers coated with rubber or urethane. In the first paragraph,
A flower stalk remover comprising a means for automatically capturing, moving and releasing the flower stalk, the means including a robotic arm or a slide arm using a linear motor. In the first paragraph,
The above flower stalk remover is a flower stalk remover including a chive leaf support member that allows one side of the flower stalk to fall freely while maintaining the chive leaves.