Patent ID: 11877588
Assignee: FRITO-LAY TRADING COMPANY GMBH
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A  B

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus for peeling tubers, the apparatus comprising:
a peeler device defining a cavity surrounded by a peeling mechanism, the peeler device having an input connected to the cavity for inputting tubers to be peeled into the cavity;
an illumination device for directing electromagnetic radiation into the cavity;
a camera having a lens defining a field of view, the field of view being oriented into the cavity, the camera being arranged for detecting electromagnetic radiation reflected into the lens from tubers located in the cavity during a peeling operation by the peeling mechanism; and
an operating system for operating the peeler device based on the reflected electromagnetic radiation detected by the camera, the operating system comprising:
a sampler for sequentially measuring a plurality of intensity values of the detected electromagnetic radiation;
a comparator for comparing the measured intensity values to determine a rate of change of the measured intensity values; and
a controller for controlling the peeler device in response to the rate of change of the measured intensity values.