DE BEER, Johannes, Joost (Plot 119, Wilgeboo, 2531 Potchefstroom District, ZA)
GOYVAERTS, Elisabeth, Margaretha, Alfonsina (23 Fern Villa Pl, 3201 Pietermaritzburg, ZA)
DE BEER, Johannes, Joost (Plot 119, Wilgeboo, 2531 Potchefstroom District, ZA)
| CLAIMS 1. A method of processing nuts or seeds, which method includes the step of removing fibres from the surface of nuts or seeds before mechanical removal of the shell of the nuts. 2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein the fibre removing step includes the step of grinding the surface of the nut with an abrasive material. 3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein the fibre removing step includes the step of brushing the surface of the nuts or seeds with a brush. 4. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the method includes tumbling the nuts over an abrasive surface. 5. A method as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the abrasive surface is increased by means of abrasive particulate matter. 6. A method as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the particulate matter is selected to have a larger or preferably smaller diameter than the nuts or seeds. 7. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the fibre removing step is dry. 8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein nuts are tumbled and screened in a rotary drum. 9. A method as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the nuts are brushed clean with a brush or set of brushes within a perforated drum, which brushes rotate relative to the drum. 10. A method as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the inner surface of a drum is provided with brushes extending towards the centre of the drum and a spiral is used to propel the nuts, in use, over the brushes. 11. An apparatus for removing fibres from the surface of nuts or seeds, which device includes: a rotating axle inside a perforated drum, which axle is provided with a plurality of sets brushes of which the bristles extend towards the inside of the drum wall. 12. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 1 , wherein the brushes are arranged in a spiral. 13. A method of processing nuts or seed, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. 14. An apparatus for removing fibres from the surface of nuts or seeds, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. |
Technical field of the invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing nuts.
Background to the invention A number of factors determine the effectiveness of the mechanical removal of nuts. In particular, the inventor found that nuts having fruit flesh fibres on its surface is particularly problematic. Nuts received from fibrous fruit pulping processes normally have fibres remaining on the surface of the nut. It is an object of the invention to improve the effectiveness of kernel removal, in particular for nuts processed from fruits which leave fruit flesh fibres on the surface of the nut.
General description of the invention
According to the invention there is provided a method of processing nuts, which method includes the step of:
removing fibres from the surface of nuts before mechanical removal of the shell of the nuts.
Instead of nuts, seeds may also be stripped from fibres or cleaned.
The fibre removing step may include grinding the surface of the nut with an abrasive material or brushing the surface with a brush or any other method that will shear fibres off from the surface of a nut.
The nuts may be tumbled over an abrasive surface. The abrasive surface may preferably be increased by means of abrasive particulate matter such as grinding stones or balls. The stones or balls may be selected to have a larger or preferably smaller diameter than the nuts to facilitate the separation of the particulate matter and the de fibred nuts. Examples of particulate matter are screened crusher rock, such as concrete aggregates, typically granite. The fibre removing step should preferably be dry.
The nuts may be tumbled and screened in a rotary drum in a batch process. The step of removing the fibres may also be a continuous process.
Instead, the nuts may be brushed clean with a brush or set of brushes within a perforated drum. The brush or brushes may rotate relative to the drum. In another embodiment, the inner surface of a drum may be provided with brushes extending towards the centre of the drum. A spiral may be used to propel the nuts, in use, over the brushes. Either or both of the drum and spiral may rotate relative to each other. The bristles of the brush should preferably be steel instead of plastic.
It will be appreciated that there are many possible configurations for a machine to move or allow movement of a brush over the surface of nuts. The step may include adaptation of a fruit pulping process and machine to clean the nuts or seeds.
The invention also extends to an apparatus or machine for removing fibres from the surface of nuts before mechanical removal of the shell of the nuts, as described above. The apparatus for removing fibres from the surface of nuts or seeds may preferably includes a rotating axle inside a perforated drum, which axle is provided with a plurality of sets brushes of which the bristles extend towards the inside of the drum wall. The brushes may preferably be arranged in a spiral. The applicant found that cleaned nuts from which the fruit flesh fibres have been removed require a fewer number of repeated impacts and a lower impact to break the operculum and extract the kernel from the nuts. An improvement of between 11 and 24% can be expected for the crack-out rate.
Detailed description of the invention The invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a side view of a machine for processing nuts, in accordance with the invention; and
Figure 2 shows an end view of the machine.
Referring now to the drawings, the machine for use in the method to process maroela nuts, in accordance with the invention, is generally indicated by reference numeral 10.
In this embodiment, the machine includes a rotating axle 12 inside wire mesh drum 14. the axle 12 is provided with seven sets of four wire steel brushes 16, which bristles 18 extend towards the inside of the drum 14 wall. The brushes 14 are arranged in a spiral to assist a one directional movement of nuts, in use. The diameter of the perforations of the wire mesh is smaller than the diameter of maroela nuts.
The axle 12 is driven by an electrical motor 15 at about 570 revolutions per minute.
The machine 10 further includes an inlet chute 20 for receiving a batch of about 20 kilograms maroela nuts. The fibres on the maroela nuts are then brushed off and driven by the spiral bristles 8 towards an outlet chute 22. It shall be understood that the example is provided for illustrating the invention further and to assist a person skilled in the art with understanding the invention and is not meant to be construed as unduly limiting the reasonable scope of the invention.