Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
  • A01D46/00—Picking of fruits, vegetables, hops, or the like; Devices for shaking trees or shrubs
  • A01D46/28—Vintaging machines, i.e. grape harvesting machines
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
  • A01D46/00—Picking of fruits, vegetables, hops, or the like; Devices for shaking trees or shrubs
  • A01D46/28—Vintaging machines, i.e. grape harvesting machines
  • A01D46/285—Vintaging machines, i.e. grape harvesting machines with means for separating leaves and grapes, e.g. pneumatical means like blowing or aspirating devices
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23N—MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS
  • A23N15/00—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs
  • A23N15/02—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs for stemming, piercing, or stripping fruit; Removing sprouts of potatoes
  • A23N15/025—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs for stemming, piercing, or stripping fruit; Removing sprouts of potatoes for stemming grapes

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a de-stemming device and method applicable to harvesting machines, this device and this method also allowing the elimination of various waste contained in the crop received by the receiving and conveyor belts of said machines.
• destemming which consists of separating the berries from the branching stems that make up the peduncle and pedicels of the cluster, is very widely practiced in many regions, before treading the berries. Indeed, the presence of the cob and especially the tail of the bunch in the fermentation and maceration tanks produces coarse tannins which obliterate the finesse and the fruity and is the cause of the rusticity of certain wines. By eliminating the astringent, raspy and herbaceous stalks, we improve the taste qualities and the finesse of the future wine.
• the fruit and all the vegetable matter detached by the machine's harvesting system fall on receiving and conveyor belts and are conveyed to stainless steel containers which are emptied at the end of the row, in a transport skip.
• the crop is cleared of part of the undesirable plant debris (leaves, wood particles, etc.), by wind tunnels or other devices arranged on said path, upstream of the containers.
• the gross harvest poured into the containers of the harvesting machines contains a large percentage of berries detached from the stalks, a smaller percentage of unstemmed bunches, an even smaller percentage of grape juice and a certain amount of green products (leaves with their petiole) and various undesirable waste such as branches, debris from stakes, staples, insects, small animals, etc.
• the harvest thus composed is poured into transport bins and then brought to the cellar for additional sorting and ginning.
• the purpose of the method and the destemming device according to the invention is to remedy these drawbacks.
• this objective is achieved, by virtue of a destemming process according to which the process is carried out successively, during the routing of the raw harvest between the pouring end of the harvesting conveyors and the harvest recovery bins:
• the ginning device comprises, upstream, considering the direction of transport of the raw harvest, an extractor system making it possible to extract the juice and berries detached from the stalks, this extractor being, for example, constituted by a conveyor sieve produced in the form of an endless band and provided with meshes or openwork sized to let pass only the juice and the berries constituting a part of the raw harvest, and to retain the unseeded bunches and, downstream, a destemmer the entrance of which communicates with the overflow end of said extractor system, this destemmer allowing the destemming of the bunches constituting the remaining part of the harvest and the rejection of the stalks without seeds and undesirable plant waste (leaves, twigs, etc.) .
• the juice and the berries detached from the bunches are extracted by gravity during the routing of the raw harvest to the harvest recovery bins, so that the part of it which is subject to ginning is only of the order of 20% to 25%.
• This situation provides several interesting advantages: The possibility of reducing the size of the destemmers facilitating their boarding on the harvesting machines;
• the destemmer of the destemming system or of each destemming system of the harvesting machine is oriented perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the extractor or sorter. More specifically, the extractor or each extractor is arranged parallel or longitudinally with respect to the direction of advance of the machine during work, while the destemmer or each destemmer is oriented transversely or perpendicularly to said direction of advance.
• An important advantage arising from this characteristic arrangement is that the flow rate in the destemmer is not influenced by the different slopes of the ground on which the machine can be brought to move during the harvest, so that the passage time of the grape harvest in the destemmer is constant, whether downhill or uphill.
• waste of all kinds are ejected laterally.
• Figure 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the destemming device according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1.
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of Figure 1.
• Figure 4 is a side view illustrating the operation of the destemming device shown installed in the upper part of a harvesting machine of which there is only shown the top.
• Figure 5 is a plan view of Figure 4.
• Figure 6 is a rear view of Figure 4.
• Figure 7 is a side view of a second preferred example of the destemming device according to the invention.
• Figure 8 is a top view of Figure 7, the rotating cage of the destemmer being shown in partial section.
• Figure 9 is a rear view of the destemming device.
• Figure 10 is a side view illustrating the operation of this destemming device also shown installed in the upper part of a grape harvesting machine of which only the upper part has been shown.
• Figure 11 is a top view of Figure 10.
• Figure 12 is a rear view of Figure 10.
• Figure 13 is a side view illustrating the emptying of the destemmed harvest collected in the receiving bucket or one of the receiving bins of the machine.
• Berry harvesting machines such as grape harvesting machines most often comprise a harvesting assembly known per se, supported by a straddle carrying structure (not shown) self-propelled or arranged to be removably mounted on a tractor.
• the harvesting assembly comprises a shaking device generally consisting of two systems for detaching the berries 1 between which a space is provided for the passage of the row of vines or other shrubs overlapped by said harvesting assembly.
• Each harvesting conveyor system comprises, for example, a lower horizontal section (not shown) and an ascending section 4 conveying the raw harvest towards the upper part of the harvesting machine.
• a destemming device is mounted between each grape conveyor system 4 and the grape receiving bucket 3 located on the same side.
• the device and the method of the invention to harvesting machines comprising a grape conveyor system and a crop receiving bucket on each side of the median vertical plane of the whole harvesting of said machines, it is not excluded to apply the invention to smaller and lighter harvesting machines comprising only a single grape conveyor system and a single crop receiving bucket.
• the ginning device or each ginning device comprises, upstream, by considering the direction of routing of the gross harvest, of the system grape conveyor 4 to the grape receiving bucket 3, an extractor 5 arranged to allow the extraction of the juice and the berries B detached from the stalks by the action of the harvesting assembly and, downstream, a destemmer 6 whose l entry communicates with the overhanging end of said extractor, this destemmer being shaped to carry out the destemming of the bunches G constituting the remaining part of the harvest and the evacuation of ginned stalks and undesirable plant waste such as leaves, twigs and various debris .
• the extractor 5 can advantageously be constituted by a conveyor sieve produced in the form of an endless band and comprising meshes or openings dimensioned to let pass only the juice and the berries detached from the stalks, a conveyor sieve of this kind and its means of drive being described in document FR-2,795,599.
• the destemmer 6 is mounted following and in the extension of the juice and berry extractor 5.
• the destemmer is of the type comprising a drum 6a with horizontal or inclined axis, comprising a cylindrical side wall openwork and inside which is mounted at least one rotary hedgehog 6b consisting of an axial shaft 6c provided with radial ginning fingers 6d distributed from one end to the other of said shaft.
• a motorization arranged in a manner known per se, ensures the rotary drive of the ginning hedgehog 6b in one direction, and the rotary drive of the perforated drum 6a in the opposite direction (see arrows in FIG. 3).
• the rotary hedgehog 6b and the rotating drum 6a could also be rotated in the same direction.
• the axis of rotation of the drum 6a may or may not be concentric with the axis of the hedgehog 6b.
• the perforations of the drum 6a are calibrated to allow the passage of the bays.
• This drum is, for example, constituted by a stainless steel cylinder provided with a dense network of perforations or meshes of circular or square shape.
• the successive radial ginning fingers 6d are angularly offset with respect to each other, for example of the order of 30 °, along a helix, in order to convey the residue of the harvest (stalks, plant waste , various debris, small animals, etc.), from the inlet opening O1 of the destemmer 6 to the outlet opening O2 of the latter.
• the juice and berry extractor 5 and the destemmer 6 are placed one after the other, in a horizontal or approximately horizontal position.
• the juice and the berries detached from the stalks are extracted from the raw crop poured by the grape conveyor 4 onto the upstream end of the upper strand 5a of the conveyor sieve 5, during its journey towards the actual destemmer 6, so that said gross harvest is relieved of the juice and berries constituting more than half of the mass of the raw harvest during said journey.
• the berries detached from the stalks pass through the perforations or meshes of the side wall of the drum and fall, by gravity, into the underlying receiving bucket 3, while the stalks, branches, leaves and other waste are evacuated by the 'downstream end of the destemming device constituted, according to the example illustrated, by the outlet opening of the drum.
• FIGS. 7 to 13 Another preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown in FIGS. 7 to 13.
• This preferred embodiment differs from the previous one mainly in that the destemmer 6 'and the extractor or sorter 5 of the destemming system or of each 5-6' destemming system are arranged so as to form an angle between them.
• the destemmer 6 'of the destemming system 5-6', or of each destemming system is oriented perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the extractor or sorter 5, as shown in particular in FIGS. 8 and 11.
• the axis of the extractor or of each extractor or sorter 5 is arranged parallel or longitudinally relative to the direction of advance of the machine during work, while the destemmer or each destemmer 6 'is oriented transversely or perpendicularly to said axis of advancement.
• the extractor or sorter 5 and the destemmer 6 ' are preferably produced in the manner described above.
• a transport device for example constituted by an endless screw 7 arranged perpendicular to the extractor 5 transports the harvest from said extractor to the destemmer 6 '.
• This worm is, for example, arranged with a rotational ability in the bottom of a trough 8 into which pours said extractor.
• a vacuum cleaner 9 is disposed above the extractor or sorter 5. This suction device makes it possible to eliminate the last waste still present in the harvest before it enters the destemmer 6 ' .
• the harvest which enters the destemmer consists only of grains on stalks (about 20% of the harvest), the juice and the grains detached from the stalks spilled on the extractor or sorter 5 by the grape conveyor are passed through the latter (about 80% of the harvest).
• the extractor or sorter 5 is integral with the chassis of the machine, while the destemmer 6 'and the vacuum cleaner 9 are mounted on the frame of the tilting skips 3 for recovering the harvest, as shown Figure 13.
• the raw harvest V poured onto the extractors or sorters 5 by the harvesting conveyors 4 is discharged from the juice and berries detached from the stalks when it passes over said extractors, the vacuum cleaners eliminate the waste (leaves, petioles, and the like plant debris, ...) mixed with the bunches, then the wholly or partially ginned stalks and bunches pass into the destemmer 6 where they are completely seeded.
• the berries B fall into the skips 3, and waste of all kinds (petioles, branches, leaves, stalks) are ejected laterally, on each side of the machine ( Figure 11).

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Apparatuses For Bulk Treatment Of Fruits And Vegetables And Apparatuses For Preparing Feeds (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2003
  • 2003-11-10 FR FR0313190A patent/FR2861952B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2004
  • 2004-11-10 US US10/577,708 patent/US20080236126A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2004-11-10 WO PCT/EP2004/014156 patent/WO2005043979A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2004-11-10 EP EP04798130A patent/EP1706003A2/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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