A nut processing apparatus includes a pair of side panels with a vacuum duct connected thereto. The nut processing apparatus which may be referred to as a vacuum unit is configured to be mounted directly to other nut processing equipment such as for example a stick remover. The vacuum unit includes a vacuum duct with an upper stationary portion and a lower pivotable portion.

Described herein are conveyor systems and application units which can be used to transport and simultaneously treat, or to facilitate treatment and inspection of produce, agricultural products, or other items. The conveyor systems and application units can be configured to allow products to be simultaneously rotated as they are moved along a packing line, which can facilitate the uniform application of spray coatings and/or allow the products to be uniformly blow dried while they are moved. Exemplary conveyor systems and application units can include a bed formed of a plurality of rollers and a rotation inducing device that causes the rollers to rotate while they are laterally transported, thereby causing the products lying on top of the bed to rotate during transport.

The invention relates to a device for cleaning root vegetables comprising at least two rollers (14) rotatably mounted about an axis (A) perpendicular to the direction of travel of the root vegetables on the rollers (14), characterized in that at least one of the rollers (14) is equipped with a means for heating its outer wall (16). Thus, with the outer wall of the roller (14) being heated, this has the effect of drying the soil that is possibly stuck thereon. This drying is enough to make the soil crisp and to overcome the suction phenomenon of the wet soil on the roller (14) and on the reliefs of the roller (14). The vibrations due to the displacement of the vegetables on the rollers ensure that the soil thus dried is detached and cause it to fall to the ground.

A pre-cleaning system is provided. The pre-cleaning system is for providing purification of unshelled hazelnut at least partially from foreign substances before processing of unshelled hazelnut. The improvement of the pre-cleaning system is that the pre-cleaning system includes at least one first separation unit where the foreign substances, which are outside the acceptable dimensions of unshelled hazelnut, are sieved and separated, at least one second separation unit positioned in the vicinity of said first separation unit and which can provide separation of foreign substances, which have specific weight lower than the specific weight of acceptable unshelled hazelnut, by means of an artificial air flow provided in at least one flow path provided thereon, at least one third separation unit positioned in the vicinity of said second separation unit and which can provide separation of foreign substances, which have specific weight higher than the specific weight of unshelled hazelnut.

A dirt removal and piling machine is ideally suited for use in cleaning and piling individualized and non-uniformly shaped workpieces, preferably sugar beets but also potatoes, other tuber crops, and even with aggregate rocks for a tilting receiving station. A further aspect of the present machine includes a workpiece unloading or receiving station which can tip sideways after a dump truck unloads the workpieces and longitudinally drives therethrough. In another aspect, the machine also includes a cleaning station having rotatable rollers, an underlying dirt conveyor and a moveable dirt dumping conveyor, hopper or bucket adjacent an end of the dirt conveyor and external to the rollers. Furthermore, another aspect of the machine includes an automatic and/or robotic sampling arm which is operable to remove a tuber crop workpiece sample and automatically package the sample after the sample has moved through a cleaning station.

A dirt removal and piling machine is ideally suited for use in cleaning and piling individualized and non-uniformly shaped workpieces, preferably sugar beets but also potatoes, other tuber crops, and even with aggregate rocks for a tilting receiving station. A further aspect of the present machine includes a workpiece unloading or receiving station which can tip sideways after a dump truck unloads the workpieces and longitudinally drives therethrough. In another aspect, the machine also includes a cleaning station having rotatable rollers, an underlying dirt conveyor and a moveable dirt dumping conveyor, hopper or bucket adjacent an end of the dirt conveyor and external to the rollers. Furthermore, another aspect of the machine includes an automatic and/or robotic sampling arm which is operable to remove a tuber crop workpiece sample and automatically package the sample after the sample has moved through a cleaning station.

Method to reduce contamination of dehydrated products, which includes: reception of the contaminated and partially or totally dehydrated product; analyze the contaminated and dehydrated product to determine the type and degree of contamination it has; through conventional analysis techniques that detect the presence of contaminating agents; place the contaminated and dehydrated product inside containers made of a material resistant to high temperatures and pressure, and configured in such a way as to allow the circulation of gaseous fluids so that said gaseous fluids make uniform contact with the product to be decontaminated; subject the contaminated and dehydrated product to at least one decontamination treatment, according to the results of the contamination analysis; and package the dehydrated and decontaminated product.

The present invention relates to an automatic machine for dry processing garlic sheaves as they are harvested, the machine being formed from a series of phases connected to each other (100, 200, 300 and 400) which house a plurality of modules that make up the machine. There is a first phase for receiving, shaking and cutting sheaves, as well as for removal of waste and discards; a second phase (200) with lifting and distribution modules; a third phase (300) for forward movement and placement; and a fourth phase (400) for brushing, combing, removing roots from garlic bulbs, straightening the stem base or disc thereof, cutting the stem to size, removing, weighing, distributing and storing the garlic bulbs, with a higher performance rate compared to current machines for similar purposes.

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 mounting assembly 100 for mounting a roller brush 12 onto a cleaning apparatus includes a mounting flange 102 and an end cap 104 interconnected together by extension springs 176 spanning therebetween. An idle shaft 106 is slidably mounted in the mounting flange 102 by a bearing interface 108. The distal end of the idle shaft 106 is fixed to the end cap 104 so that the springs 176 that urge the end cap 104 into engagement with the mounting flange 102 also bias the idle shaft to extend forwardly of the mounting flange while also permitting the idle shaft to retract to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the roller brush with the mounting assembly 100. The bearing interface 108 is designed to permit the projecting proximal end of the idle shaft to tilt upwardly to facilitate engagement with and disengagement from the roller brush 12.