The present invention relates to a process and device for processing mushrooms. In particular, the invention relates to harvesting and packaging mushrooms on an industrial scale and manner.

Mushrooms are generally cultivated in beds with compost and possibly casing soil or a common or well-known alternative. Harvesting is done manually or mechanically, the latter so far mainly for mushrooms that end up in preserved packaging. For mushrooms of the higher quality classes, which are packaged as whole mushrooms in trays where they are widely visible, mechanical harvesting, and in particular the subsequent handling, leads to injuries and damage to the mushrooms, which manifests itself as discolouration, which is considered undesirable by consumers in particular.

However, (having to) harvest manually is a labour-intensive process that is not only costly but can also be physically demanding. For this reason, there is a desire to automate.

This also applies to the weighing and especially packaging of mushrooms, which is also still done a lot by hand or partly by hand. In this packing, it is desirable that the mushrooms are placed in the packaging in an orderly manner, especially with hats facing upwards on the layer in sight.

Although weighing is often largely automated, check-weighers are also used, where a mushroom can be manually added, removed or swapped if the weight is determined to be too different.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages, and/or to propose a method and device that bring about a less labour-intensive way of processing mushrooms.

To this end, the present invention provides a method for processing mushrooms, comprising:

Harvesting mushrooms from a growing bed whose upper surface forms a harvesting surface extending in a longitudinal and transverse direction; transferring the mushrooms onto a plane essentially parallel to the harvest plane but at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the harvest plane;

Gathering an optical representation of the mushrooms applied to the plane;

Analysing the optical representation and determine properties of individual mushrooms such as their exact position and/or orientation on the plane, their shape, size and/or colour; Selecting one or more mushrooms to be placed in a package based on the representation; Picking up the selected mushrooms from the plane; and Placing the packed mushrooms in a package. Harvesting the mushrooms can be done manually, but according to the present invention is preferably done by machine. This can be done, for example, by means of a saw (ribbon) or knife, or one or more rotating knives arranged to form an adjacent or partially overlapping cutting plane, or a waterjet. That cutting plane may be at right angles or at a smaller angle to the longitudinal direction of the bed, for example at 60 to 45 degrees. Thereby, it is possible that the cutting device moves relative to the growing bed or that the growing device is moved along the cutting device. In a general sense, they are movable relative to each other for this purpose, i.e. one of the two or both are movable.

Analysing an optical representation is preferably done automatically, for example using a microprocessor and/or software, such as artificial intelligence software with deep learning technique. Besides the mentioned mushroom properties, the optical representation also shows where each mushroom is located on the plane. This information can be used when picking up the mushrooms from the plane, both in the method according to the present invention and in the device described further below.

In one embodiment, the method according to the invention comprises harvesting the mushrooms by sawing or cutting, and transferring the mushrooms to the plane immediately adjacent and at essentially the same height, i.e. with a height difference of less than 5 cm, preferably less than 2 cm and further preferably between 0 and 1.5 cm. In practice this means that the plane may be directly on or adjacent to the harvesting surface.

Such a takeover is also called a knife takeover and may include a rigid, pointed or tapered part, as well as a belt, a cloth or a number of strings stretched side by side thus forming a string bed. In the latter part, an (end of a) guide may include a roller, bearings or wheels around which the belt, cloth or strings are stretched, thus facilitating mushrooms to be moved on the belt, cloth or strings.

In a subsequent embodiment, the invention includes scanning or filming or photographing the mushrooms on the plane for gathering the optical representation. Preferably, the analysis of the optical representation takes place during transport. In this way, a very time-, space- and costefficient processing method is obtained.

The mushrooms, when placed on a plane, will rest partly on their caps and partly on their stipes, occupying a tilted position (relative to the orientation in which they are growing). In this position, the size of the cap, as well as the ratio of its size to its height, and even the degree of maturity of the mushroom can be easily observed. Based on an image showing the mushroom in this orientation, selection criteria such as an (estimated) weight can be established. When the process according to the invention includes moving the mushrooms on a conveyor, the moved area of the conveyor per unit of time may be larger than the harvested area of the growing bed in the same unit of time, so that the mushrooms are on the plane with a larger average distance between them than on the growing bed. This is also referred to within the field as separating the mushrooms.

In an embodiment, the present invention comprises transporting the mushrooms at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the growing bed. Preferably, this is at an angle to the longitudinal direction but in the plane in which the growing bed and/or the growing surface thereof is located, possibly at a slight angle therewith, the transporter having a downstream inclined plane over at least a portion. By having the plane at an angle to the longitudinal direction and extending over at least part but preferably at least the entire width of the growing bed, the mushrooms can be separated, as the width of the plane due to the angle is greater than the width of the growing bed. At a 45-degree angle, the width is more than 1.4 times larger.

Alternatively or in addition to this, separating can also be achieved by setting the speed of the conveyor so high that the moved area of the conveyor per unit of time is greater than the harvested area of the culture bed in the same unit of time.

In yet a further embodiment, the selection criteria described above are used to select, grab and pack one or more mushrooms. The process may further include simultaneously placing multiple picked-up mushrooms in the package.

In yet a further embodiment, in between picking up the selected mushrooms from the plane and placing the picked mushrooms in a package, the process may include further transporting and/or processing the selected mushrooms, such as transporting the mushrooms in a harvesting belt, which may or may not have holes, or cutting stipes of the mushrooms.

The invention also relates to a device for processing mushrooms, comprising:

A growing bed for growing mushrooms;

A cutting device for cutting mushrooms from the growing bed; wherein the growing bed and the cutting device are mutually movable;

A plane for receiving sliced mushrooms from the slicer;

An optical recording device such as a camera or a (line) scanner for gathering an optical representation of the mushrooms applied to the plane;

An analysis facility for: o determining, based on optical representation, properties of individual mushrooms such as their exact position and/or orientation on the plane and/or such as their shape, size and/or colour; and o selecting, based on representation, one or more mushrooms to be placed in a package;

An engagement and displacement device for: o picking up the selected mushrooms from the plane; and o wrapping the packed mushrooms.

The plane may thereby comprise a conveyor, such as a conveyor belt, a cloth or a string bed, preferably adjacent to the cutting device to take over the cut mushrooms as quickly as possible and preferably immediately after they have been cut. Thereby, the conveyor may be positioned at a fixed distance from the cutting device and movable in relation to the growing bed jointly with the cutting device, so that the mushrooms should always travel the same, preferably short, distance between the cutting device and the plane, and preferably occupy an uncontrolled position for as short a time as possible.

The transporter, and in particular a transport direction thereof, may extend at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the bed and also transport the mushrooms at an angle to the longitudinal direction. In doing so, the conveyor may extend substantially across the entire width of the cutting device and/or the bed and is and/or moves preferably at a fixed distance from the cutting device relative to the growing bed.

The device according to the invention further preferably comprises a control device comprising or being in addition to the analytical device for controlling the gripping device for gripping and moving mushrooms on the basis of at least one of the determined properties.

The device according to the invention may also include a further transport device such as a harvesting belt, with or without holes, for further transporting the mushrooms between picking up the selected mushrooms from the plane and placing the picked mushrooms into a package, or a processing device such as a cutting device, for cutting feet of the mushrooms between picking up the selected mushrooms from the plane and placing the picked mushrooms into a package. The invention will now be explained with reference to Figure 1, which shows a top view of a device according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a device 1 for processing mushrooms, comprising a cultivation bed 2 for growing the mushrooms 3, a cutting device comprising rotatable cutting blades 4, 5, 6 for cutting the mushrooms 3 from the cultivation bed 2; wherein the cultivation bed 2 and the cutting device 4, 5, 6 are mutually movable, in the example shown due to the cutting device 4, 5, 6 being movable in the direction R, a plane 7 for receiving cut mushrooms 8 from the cutting device 4, 5, 6. The plane 7 is formed by a conveyor comprising a conveyor belt in the example shown.

The device further shows optical recording devices formed by a camera 9 or a (line) scanner 10 for collecting an optical representation of the mushrooms 8 applied to the plane 7. The apparatus further comprises an analysis device (not shown) for determining properties of individual mushrooms such as shape, size and/or colour based on the optical representation; and selecting one or more mushrooms to be placed in a package based on the representation, as well as a gripping and moving device 11 for picking up the mushrooms 8 from the plane and placing the picked mushrooms 8 in packages 12 by a feeding device 13.