The present invention is a fruit piercing assembly in which the drive assembly is located on the outside of the frame assembly to eliminate lubricants from the drive assembly contaminating the fruit as it was being pierced.

A separator for separating harvested fruit from other plant matter. The separator can be fitted to, positioned above, or integrated with, a collection bin and as such allows for material harvested by an automatic fruit harvester to be processed prior to deposition of the fruit in the collection bin.

The automated trimming of an untrimmed plant stem comprises a device for transporting an untrimmed plant stem to an imaging stage, using a camera to capture at least one image of the plant stem, sending the at least one image to a central processor which creates a trim map which constructs a pattern for moving a cutting armature along the plant stem, and trimming the plant stem by cutting structure of the cutting armature to change the untrimmed plant stem to a trimmed plant stem.

The disclosed technology includes a food system that prepares food based on a user's preferences and environment (e.g., health and diet, tastes, availability of food, costs, location, and what is stored or available for the food preparation system). The food system can store, cool, serve, prepare, juice, recognize with an antenna array, cut, weigh, sanitize, or compost food. The food system can include a robotic arm or water jet for cutting a food item. The disclosed technology improves food consumption for users based on diet and observed behavior (e.g., tracking caloric intake and exercise).

An apparatus for separating plant material from a harvested plant includes a frame and: (a) a planar sheet attached to the frame, the planar sheet having a thickness thereof and an aperture therethrough, the aperture having a length defining a longitudinal axis and a width equal to or greater than the thickness of the planar sheet; and (b) a motor-driven blade defining a cutting edge dimensioned for sweeping adjacent to one side of the planar sheet, the cutting edge being aligned with the longitudinal axis when adjacent to the aperture.

The planar sheet may be sloped in a downwardly sloped direction toward a receiving tray for receiving separated plant material. A plurality of apertures of different widths may be covered by pairs of oppositely sliding covers having beveled edges at the apertures. A path from each aperture in the downwardly sloped direction does not intersect any other aperture.

Sorting table with sorter rolls eliminates foreign matter remaining mixed in with the products of the harvest of small fruit. The sorting table features a sorting system constituted by a succession of rotating rolls of cylindrical shape arranged in parallel so as to form a mobile sorting plane, and a locomotion device, allowing the rotating drive of the rolls in the same direction, so as to allow transporting the grapes dumped on the upstream part of this sorting plane, in a direction that is perpendicular to the axis of the rotating cylindrical rolls and over the entire length of the sorting plane. The rotating cylindrical rolls allow the passage and drop-off of only the small fruit to be sorted, whereas the foreign matter of a size larger than that of the latter remains on the surface of the mobile sorting plane and is evacuated at the downstream end.

Sorting table with sorter rolls eliminates foreign matter remaining mixed in with the products of the harvest of small fruit. The sorting table features a sorting system constituted by a succession of rotating rolls of cylindrical shape arranged in parallel so as to form a mobile sorting plane, and a locomotion device, allowing the rotating drive of the rolls in the same direction, so as to allow transporting the grapes dumped on the upstream part of this sorting plane, in a direction that is perpendicular to the axis of the rotating cylindrical rolls and over the entire length of the sorting plane. The rotating cylindrical rolls allow the passage and drop-off of only the small fruit to be sorted, whereas the foreign matter of a size larger than that of the latter remains on the surface of the mobile sorting plane and is evacuated at the downstream end.

A plant stripper is provided. The plant stripper, in one implementation includes a motor comprising a drive shaft; a first roller coupled to the drive shaft and configured to be turned by the motor; and a second roller opposing the first roller and defining a gap between the rollers for receiving a stem of a plant. A stripping guide element defines an opening disposed opposite the gap between the first and second roller. The opening is defined by a surface surrounding the opening and configured to contact plant material while allowing the stem to pass through the opening. The surface is configured to remove plant material from the stem as the stem is pulled through the opening by the first and second rollers.

A destemming device includes a housing, a motor, and a belt system configured to fit within the housing. The housing includes at least one cutting aperture. The belt system includes a first belt assembly and a second belt assembly. The first belt assembly includes a first plurality of rollers and a first gripper belt extending around the first plurality of rollers. The second belt assembly includes a second plurality of rollers and a second gripper belt extending around the second plurality of rollers. The first gripper belt and the second gripper belt define a nip. The at least one cutting aperture is aligned with the nip. The motor is operatively connected to the belt system.

A destemming device includes a housing, a motor, and a belt system configured to fit within the housing. The housing includes at least one cutting aperture. The belt system includes a first belt assembly and a second belt assembly. The first belt assembly includes a first plurality of rollers and a first gripper belt extending around the first plurality of rollers. The second belt assembly includes a second plurality of rollers and a second gripper belt extending around the second plurality of rollers. The first gripper belt and the second gripper belt define a nip. The at least one cutting aperture is aligned with the nip. The motor is operatively connected to the belt system.