Gravity wheel de-stemmer

Abstract

A produce de-stemmer for generally symmetrical produce such as pepper pods that supports an item of produce in a propped orientation within a canister, a number of which are connected to a moving endless chain so that the canisters are cyclically inverted. A fixed support track resides below the moving canisters to support the item of produce so that a portion of the item is exposed during the canister travel. The exposed portion of the produce item is propelled into a cutting means which removes a desired portion of the produce item.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This Application is a Continuation Application of U.S. Ser. No. 12 / 931,483 filed Feb. 2, 2011 which is incoporated by reference herein in its entirety and which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 337,319 filed Feb. 2, 2010.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicableTHE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT[0003]Not applicableINCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC[0004]Not applicableDESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART[0005]Although mechanical harvesting has made inroads in the pepper growing industry, hand harvesting still accounts for 40-60 percent of a growers production cost. Mechanical harvesters are expensive and have met resistance due to cost. One of the more time consuming tasks for pepper growers is to de-stem the pods. Although a variety of trimmers have been proposed which feature containers for holding a single item of produce, most...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a device that trims and removes stemmable produce using only gravity, a fixed means, a static guiding means, and a static retention means. This device has few moving parts, is easy to operate and maintain, and consumes less energy compared to previous machines. It can be used for both mechanical and hand harvesting, and allows for rapid return on investment.

Problems solved by technology

Although mechanical harvesting has made inroads in the pepper growing industry, hand harvesting still accounts for 40-60 percent of a growers production cost.

Mechanical harvesters are expensive and have met resistance due to cost.

One of the more time consuming tasks for pepper growers is to de-stem the pods.

Although a variety of trimmers have been proposed which feature containers for holding a single item of produce, most are mechanically complicated and include aspects such as vibration or pressurized air in order to seat the item or to trim the ends.

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