Abstract:
A vegetative shredder and destemming apparatus that includes a shredding drum having a interior volume into which a harvested plant crop may be placed for processing. The drum includes a substantially cylindrical side with a plurality of openings and at least one brush roller disposed proximate the cylindrical side. A motor rotates the shredding drum and the brush rollers simultaneously. The apparatus employs centrifugal force to urge portions of the plant material into engagement with the drum&#39;s cylindrical side and the openings therethrough so as to allow bring the brush rollers to mechanically shred and destem the plant material.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/024,860, filed Jan. 30, 2008 (Jan. 30, 2008). 
     
    
     SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       THE NAMES OR PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0004]    Not applicable. 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0005]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0007]    The present invention relates to the field of crop processing equipment, and more particularly to an apparatus for destemming and removing vegetative material from a target crop. 
         [0008]    2. Discussion of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§1.97, 1.98 
         [0009]    It is well known to use automated methods for removing vegetable crops such as tomatoes and peppers. The machinery typically comprises devices that shake, agitate or oscillate the produce so as to break the vegetables free from their attached vines. For instance, a typical approach utilizes an agitating conveyor having spaced openings of such a size that when the vegetables or fruit are shaken free from the vine, the valuable fruit/vegetable falls through the conveyor openings and is collected in receptacles below the conveyor. The vegetative material remains on the conveyor and is transported to a waste collection, composting, and/or disposal area. 
         [0010]    Another method for segregating and removing vines, leaves or stems employ screw feeders that deposit material into a separating apparatus that has internal radially extending paddles, tines or brushes that rotate the material against a slotted surface. The slots are of a particular width to accept the produce of interest. The slots may be in the form of spaced rollers, may be flat wire or rodded grates or may be cylinders with apertures cut through the surface. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,129, to Dragt, discloses an apparatus for separating produce from a produce vine using a cylindrical shaker brush assembly having a plurality of spaced-apart tines extending radially outwardly, mounted to a frame for rotation about an axis. The brushes are vibrated during rotation creating a shaker brush assembly. The free ends of the tines are in close proximity to the conveyor assembly, creating contact between the crop and the shaker brush assembly. Exemplary patents include the following: 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,259, to Miedema, discloses a fruit destemmer having a continuous conveyor belt made up of a plurality of counter-rotating metal rollers rotatably supported at each end by endless chains. The fruit destemmer has an inclined bed with a driven shaft at each end. Each driven shaft has a wheel at one end and a sprocket at the other with the positioning of the wheel and sprocket being reversed on the other drive shaft. The continuous chains are driven by spaced sprockets mounted on a shaft positioned below the inclined bed. A rotatably mounted shaft, having a wheel mounted on each end, presses each continuous chain into close contact with the driving sprockets. The rollers used to form the endless fruit conveying belt are made of hard anodized aluminum which has a surface pattern to reduce fruit skinning. The rollers rotate counter to each other by a pair of spaced and adjustable segmented gear racks. The number of segments in contact with the rollers can be decreased to reduce fruit damage as the fruit becomes softer. 
         [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,205, to Flora, teaches a machine for destemming cherries. The fruit is moved over a transport frame on an endless belt. A stem wiper blade is rotated just above the surface of the fruit. A source of rapid horizontal motion is provided for the transport frame to cause the fruit to rotate so that the stems are elevated into the path of a blade and the blade detaches the stems from the fruit. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,687, to Johnson, discloses an apparatus for removing stems, dirt, and debris from picked green peanuts. Green peanuts are fed into a destemmer having a a slotted sloping plate through which rotating slotted destemmer wheels project. The stems are caught in the wheel slots and separated from the peanuts as the wheels rotate through the plate slots. The destemmed peanuts are deposited in a washing tank in which rotating cylindrical brushes force the peanuts under water, removing dirt and debris. 
         [0015]    The present invention provides novel improvements to the devices disclosed in the aforementioned references. A notable improvement consists of the combined use of a cutting cylinder and brush rollers to clean vegetative matter from a target crop. 
         [0016]    The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant&#39;s prospective duty of candor in disclosing information during examination that may be materially relevant to the allowability of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described herein. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    The present invention is a destemmer and a shredder of vegetative waste material associated with the destemming process. 
         [0018]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved destemming apparatus. 
         [0019]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved destemming apparatus that also shreds the waste vegetative material. 
         [0020]    A further object or feature of the present invention is a new and improved destemming apparatus which uses a cylindrical wire or perforated stainless steel drum to effect the destemming. 
         [0021]    An even further object of the present invention is to provide a novel destemming apparatus which employs bristled brush rollers that grab and remove vegetative material from the shredding drum. 
         [0022]    The apparatus for destemming and vegetative shredder (referred to as the destemmer hereafter) comprises a cabinet containing a motor which turns a plurality pulleys for running drive belts. The belts are operatively connected to drive rollers and brush rollers and provide rotational motive force for both. The brush rollers are arranged consecutively to cradle and engage the outer surface of a cylindrical shredding drum. The shredding drum has an axial dimension substantially equal to the length of the drive rollers and is placed upon the drive rollers in order to rotate about its longitudinal axis. The shredding drum tumbles any material inside, thus exposing the material to the surface of the shredding drum. The shredding drum also includes solid end caps, one or both of which has a hinged access door for accessing the interior of the shredding drum for loading and removing material to be processed in the destemmer. The surface of the shredding drum may take several forms, including a stainless steel wire basket conformation or a laser cut slotted cylinder conformation (also preferably stainless steel). The key to the conformation is the spacing and width of the aperture between wires in the wire basket or the width and spacing of the laser cut slots in the slotted conformation. In each instance, the apertures allow the vegetative material from the crop to protrude from the slots or openings in the shredding drum under the influence of centrifugal force during the rotation of the shredding drum, thus exposing the vegetative material to the brush rollers. The counter rotation of the brush rollers serves to grab the protruding vegetative material and strip it through the apertures in the shredding drum. The combined rotational movement of the shredding drum and the pulling of the brush rollers strip and cleave the vegetative material from the shredding drum. The apertures in the shredding drum are of sufficient gage to allow the vegetative material to be pulled through the aperture, while leaving the fruit, flowers, or harvest of interest to remain in the basket. The vegetative material is discarded through a chute in the body of the destemmer. 
         [0023]    The foregoing summary broadly sets out the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood, and so that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
         [0024]    Accordingly, before explaining the preferred embodiment of the disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and the arrangements set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The inventive apparatus described herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. 
         [0025]    Also, it is to be understood that the terminology and phraseology employed herein are for descriptive purposes only, and not limitation. Where specific dimensional and material specifications have been included or omitted from the specification or the claims, or both, it is to be understood that the same are not to be incorporated into the claims set out herein. 
         [0026]    As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based may readily be used as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims are regarded as including such equivalent constructions as far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Rather, the fundamental aspects of the invention, along with the various features and structures that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the provisional claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the present invention, its advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated the preferred embodiment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
           [0028]      FIG. 1  is an upper front left schematic perspective view of the destemmer; 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional front side view in elevation of the destemmer; 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  is a schematic cross-sectional back or rear side view in elevation of the destemmer; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3A  is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional back side view in elevation of the destemmer showing detail of the brush and roller assembly; 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  is a right side view in elevation of the destemmer with the right side panel removed for viewing the internal space within the destemmer cabinet; 
           [0033]      FIG. 4A  is right side view in elevation showing an alternative shredding drum design; and 
           [0034]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the destemmer with the shredding drum removed and showing the cabinet interior and contents therein. 
       
    
    
     DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS FIGS.  1 - 5   
       [0035]      100  destemmer 
         [0036]      110  cabinet 
         [0037]      112  cabinet front side 
         [0038]      114  cabinet left side 
         [0039]      116  cabinet right side 
         [0040]      118  cabinet bottom side (base) 
         [0041]      120  cabinet top side 
         [0042]      125  waste chute 
         [0043]      130  shredding drum 
         [0044]      135  alternative shredding drum 
         [0045]      140  semicircular cutout 
         [0046]      150  slots 
         [0047]      160  crop 
         [0048]      170  spindle/axle holes 
         [0049]      200  end cap 
         [0050]      210  motor 
         [0051]      220  brush rollers 
         [0052]      230  drive spindle 
         [0053]      240  drive roller 
         [0054]      250  support roller 
         [0055]      255  drive pulley 
         [0056]      257  drive shaft 
         [0057]      260   a  primary drive belt (for drive roller) 
         [0058]      260   b  primary drive belt (for brush rollers) 
         [0059]      265  brush roller pulleys 
         [0060]      270  bristles 
         [0061]      275  spindle pulley 
         [0062]      280  secondary drive belt 
         [0063]      300  hinged hatch 
         [0064]      400  final drive pulleys 
         [0065]      410  tertiary drive belts 
         [0066]      420  belt grooves 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0067]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 5 , wherein like reference numerals refer to like components in the various views, there is illustrated therein a new and improved apparatus for destemming and vegetative shredding referred to a destemmer hereafter), generally denominated  100  herein. 
         [0068]      FIG. 1  illustrates a first preferred embodiment of the inventive destemmer  100 . This view shows that the inventive apparatus generally comprises a cabinet  110  with a waste chute  125  and a cylindrical shredding drum  130 . The cabinet is a substantially cuboid box, having a front side  112 , a left side  114 , a right side  116 , a bottom side  118  (or base) for placement on a floor or ground, a top side  120 , and a back side  122 . The waste chute  125  may empty on any side of the cabinet. The top of the cabinet is open, with the tops of the left and right sides each having a semicircular or arcuate cutout  140  to accommodate the curved surface of the shredding drum  130 . The shredding drum is preferably fabricated from a sheet metal, stainless steel, ideally, and having a plurality of axially oriented perforations or slots  150  formed during manufacture by a process of laser cutting. These laser cut slots  150  allow the vegetative portion of a crop  160  to protrude through the slots  150  as the drum is rolled and centrifugal force acts on the crop material to pull it outwardly from the axis of rotation. As an alternative, the slots may be circumferentially oriented, or they may comprise the opening formed in a mesh or wire screen-type cylindrical shredding drum (as shown in  FIG. 4A ), and the wire or mesh pattern may consist of any of a number of suitable forms, including wires disposed principally circumferentially and thereby defining the outside wall of the cylinder with a suitable number of wires running transversely (i.e., from one end of the drum to the other) and welded to the circumferentially disposed wires in a sufficiently sturdy configuration; or wires disposed principally transversely (i.e., from one end of the cylinder to the other) with a suitable number of wires running circumferentially and welded to the transversely disposed wires in a sufficiently sturdy configuration. 
         [0069]    It will be noted that the cabinet  110  includes spindle or axle holes  170  cut into the cabinet sides and through which roller spindles or axles protrude. 
         [0070]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional right side view in elevation of the destemmer  100 . In this view, the shredding drum  130  shows a solid end cap  200  that serves to contain the crop  160  being processed within the shredding drum  130 . An electric or otherwise powered motor  210  provides a rotational motive force to a plurality of brush rollers  220 , a drive spindle (axle)  230 , and a drive roller  240 . A freely rotating support roller  250 , shown disposed pictured at the front of the destemmer, acts simply as a support for the shredding drum. The motor  210  includes a drive pulley  255  mounted on a drive shaft  257 , and the drive pulley is connected to the brush rollers  220  through a primary drive belt  260   b.  One primary drive belt interacts with the brush rollers  220  by winding through the brush roller pulleys  265 . The brush roller pulleys  265  preferably have a smaller diameter than the drive pulley  255  so as to produce a faster rotation of the brush roller pulleys  265  relative to the drive pulley  255 . In the preferred embodiment, the primary drive belt  260   b  interacts with at least three brush rollers, two outside (or outboard) and one inside, middle (or inboard) brush roller, each having a brush roller pulley  265 , and the primary drive belt is wound through the brush roller pulleys  265  in an “over-under-over” pattern, causing the outside brush rollers  220  to rotate in a direction opposite the middle or interior brush roller. This fast, counter rotational action by the brush rollers  220  initiates a grabbing action by the brush rollers  220 , which have bristles that extend at least partially into the slots  150  in the shredding drum  130 . This grabbing action pulls vegetative material through the slots  150  and directs the separated material into the waste chute  125 . A second primary drive belt  260   a  is connected to a spindle pulley  275 , which is approximately the same diameter as the drive pulley  255 , thus delivering a rotational force to the spindle  230 , which in turn provides rotational force to the drive roller  240  through a secondary drive belt  280 . The drive roller  240  is constructed of metal, with a rubber or other suitable coating for providing a traction surface to the shredding drum, the latter of which has an outer circumferential surface that rides upon the drive roller  240 . 
         [0071]    As used herein, “belt” means any kind of belt or chain employed to transfer power smoothly from an engine to a pulley. It is intended to encompass belts that are flat, vee shapped, round, reinforced, non-reinforced, toothed, notch, or cog, or any suitable combination thereof, and it is further intended to include the operationally equivalent kinds of chain. Accordingly, as used herein, the term “pulley” be understood to encompass apparatus suitable for use with complementary power transfer apparatus, such as the belts and chain described above. Thus, it will be understood to mean a toothed gear, a splined wheel or pulley, a smooth grooved pulley, and so forth. 
         [0072]    Spindle pulley  275  may be removed, and the brush rollers and drive rollers independently actuated by separate motors. Further, both rollers may be provided with reversible operation so that the brushing action relative to the rolling action of the drum can be altered and tailored to optimize the destemming and shredding action. Thus, in a second preferred embodiment, two motors are provided: a first gear motor rotating at 60 rpm and driving the drive roller, and a second brush motor rotating at 3500 rpm and driving the brush rollers. The purpose of the segregated operation is to permit operation of the drive rollers and rotation of the drum even after the brush motor is shut off. Accordingly, the rotating drum will continue to aerate product and thereby prevents the product from settling in piles that can heat up and cause mold. 
         [0073]      FIGS. 3 and 3A  provide a left side view of the destemmer  100  showing the orientation of the shredding drum  130  in relation to the drive roller  240 , the brush rollers  220  and the support roller  250 . The bristles  270  of the brush rollers  220  protrude through the slots  150  ( FIG.1 ) in the shredding drum  130 . A hinged access door  300  is disposed in the end cap  200  to provide access to the interior of the shredding drum  130 . 
         [0074]      FIG. 4  is partial cross-sectional rear view of the destemmer  100 , with a cut away of the cabinet  110  exposing the motor  210 , the brush rollers  220 , the drive roller  240 , and the spindle  230 . Mounted upon the spindle  230  are final drive pulleys  400  evenly spaced along the length of the spindle  230 , which employ tertiary drive belts  410  engaged on the final drive pulleys  400  and operatively connected to the drive roller  240  via belt grooves  420 . The belt grooves  420  align with the final drive pulleys  400  to provide the rotational force to the drive roller  240 , and thereby transferring rotational force to the shredding drum  130 . 
         [0075]      FIG. 4A  shows an alternative shredding drum  135  employed on the cabinet and motor drive unit. The drum is essentially a cylindrical wire basket comprising a plurality of circumferentially disposed circular wires or rods connected by a plurality of spaced apart transverse rods welded to the circumferential rods, in a manner well known in the art. This construction maximizes the available openings for presenting plant material to the brush rollers and provides rounded edges that reduce wear and tear on the roller bristles. 
         [0076]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the destemmer  100  showing the parallel orientation of the drive roller  240 , brush rollers  220  and support roller  250  in the cabinet  110 . Also pictured is the waste chute  125 . Tertiary drive belts  410  are pictured in the belt grooves  420  on the drive roller  240 . 
         [0077]    The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of this invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensional relationships, and operation shown and described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed, as suitable, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. It will be appreciated, for instance, that the entire inventive apparatus could be mounted on casters or rollers and thus made fully transportable. 
         [0078]    It will be further appreciated that the inventive apparatus need not be powered by a plurality of motor driven rollers disposed atop a cabinet of the kind described in the preferred embodiment. As an alternative, the shredding drum may be constructed around a central axle journaled in bearings supported in vertical supports. In such a configuration the axle is operatively connected to the motor through belts or may actually be an extension of the motor drive shaft itself. The brush rollers may be disposed at the sides of the shredding drum and driven by gears or belts operative connected to the drum axle. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the essence of the invention is the combination of the inventive motorized shredding drum and motorized brush rollers configured to share a single power source and utilizing centrifugal force to expose plant material for mechanical shredding and destemming. 
         [0079]    Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which shall be defined by claims when and as filed.