Title of Invention

"A MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS DESKINNING OF SUGARCANES"

Abstract

A continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcane and other similar plant products characterized in that the said machine consists of a rotating cutter(l), the said rotating cutters are being fixed on one end of a hollow shaft (6), a pulley (5) being fixed on a other end of the said hollow shaft (6) as shown in figure, the said shaft being mounted on a frame (2) by means of bearings(3 & 4), plurality of rubberized rollers (7 & 8) being provided so as to pull out deskinned sugarcane, the said rollers being fixed on shafts which are being movably fixed on a frame (9), spur gears(lO) being fixed on one end of said shafts and a pulley(11) being fixed on one end of said one shaft, the said pulley being connected through belt to a reduction gear (12) and a motor (13), the said reduction gear (12) and a motor (13) being mounted on the said frame (9), a water jet (17) provided for cleaning deskinned canes, a tray (19) being provided next and below to the said rollers (7 & 8) so as to collect trimmings along with cleaning water , the said tray (19) has means for separating out trimmings from cleaning water, four legs (18) being provided to entire machine .

Full Text

The present invention relates to a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes and other similar plant products. India is world's leader in sugarcane production but uses age-old traditional processing technology. Our country holds first position in the production of sugarcanes followed by Brazil. Frequent occurrence of drastic fluctuations in sugar production is a cause of concern for its effective utilization. Mini sugar plants (Khandsari units) have received little attention for technology upgradation. They can function as efficient supplementary production facilities with the application of modern methods of sugarcane processing. But, the major problem is the fermented smell that develops during storage, which is mainly due to waxes present on the skin. With the ever increasing demand for soft beverages and fruit based beverages, both carbonated and still, are available in the market. India offers itself a potential market for these products. All the sugarcanes produced in the country are not lifted by the sugar mills, leaving almost one third for use in the production of gur (Jaggery; and khandsari. This necessitates finding ways and means of using sugarcane for other purposes. In this context, Central Food Technological Research Institute has made significant contributions in the field of sugarcane juice by undertaking front-line R&D work. CFTRI has developed processes for the preservation of sugarcane juice beverage in bottle, standi pouches, aluminium cans and also as powders. The beverage, being natural possesses a lot of medicinal and curative properties in the treatment of several ailments. The beverage is calorific and nutritive with bio-active compounds. The critical step of the process is removal of the skin, which will eliminate jaggery flavour during storage and avoid settling of particles. Moreover the non-sugar impurities like gums, waxes, pectins, etc. are found mainly on the external surface of the cane crushed for juice extraction. Consequently, juice quality is poor and its clarification is a complex and costlier process, as expensive centrifuges have to be used, which add to the processing cost. Also, lot of chemicals is used in the preparation of jaggery to bleach the colour and to obtain a golden brown colour. This is harmful as sometimes, they may lead to allergies in the consumer. Hence, it is always preferred to use jaggery with lower levels of chemicals or better no chemicals used. However, this is not possible as the jaggery industry uses juice extracted from canes without deskinning. This may be due to the fact that it involves a lot of labour to remove the skin and using chemicals to bleach is a easy way out. By deskinning, external impurities are eliminated along with the rind. Consequently, juice quality is far superior. This will also reduce the chemical load in the jaggery industry. Also the extraction efficiency is at par with the multitendum mills, hence competitive and cost effective. These facts indicate the importance of deskinning the canes. Present status of Technology The canes are being deskinned manually by employing number of labourers using a heavy SS knife. However, this method of deskinning is highly labour intensive and tedious. Hence, a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcane has been developed. The main object of the present invention is to provide a machine for deskinning of sugarcanes. Another object of the present invention is to provide a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes. Another object of the present invention is to reduce manual drudgery. Yet another object is to increase productivity compared to manual deskinning. Still another object is to provide a machine capable of working with a wide range of sizes (diameter) of canes. In the drawing accompanying this specification, figure land figure 2 represents the complete machine and the cutter for sugarcane deskinning. Accordingly the present invention provides the development of a device for sugarcane deskinning, which comprises of a complete machine as shown in figures 1-4. The following drawings are given by way of illustration of the present invention and therefore not to be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. Reference to drawings; Fig. 1 illustrates lateral view of a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes and other similar plant products. Fig. 2 illustrates front view of a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes and other similar plant products. Fig. 3 illustrates cross-sectional view of the rotating cutter used in a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes and other similar plant products. Fig. 3 illustrates lateral view of the rotating cutter used in a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes and other similar plant products. Description of drawings: FIGURE 1: In Fig. 1, numerals (7) & (8) indicate plurality of rubberized rollers, numeral (9) indicates a frame, numeral (10) indicates plurality of spur gears, numeral (11) indicates a pulley and belt drive, numeral (12) indicates reduction gear unit, numeral (13) indicates a motor and numeral (18) indicates a stand with four legs. FIGURE 2: In Fig. 2, numeral (1) indicates a rotating cutter, numeral (2) indicates a frame, numerals (3) & (4) indicate bearings, numeral (5) indicates a pulley , numeral (6) indicates a hollo w shaft, numeral (17) indicates a water jet and numeral (19) indicates a tray. FIGURE 3: In Fig. 3, numeral (16) indicates a circular spring. FIGURE 4: In Fig. 4, numeral (14) indicates a circular bush and numeral (15) indicates a plurality of steel strips. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention provides a continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcanes and other similar plant products characterized in that the said machine comprises: a cutter assembly further comprising of a rotating cutter(l), bearings (3 & 4) and a pulley (5) all mounted on a hollow shaft(6) which is in turn mounted on a frame (2); a means for pulling out deskinned sugar cane comprising of plurality of rubberized rollers (7 & 8) mounted on a frame (9); a mechanical drive assembly comprising of a plurality of spur gears(lO), pulley and belt drive (11), a reduction gear unit (12) and a motor (13) all mounted on a frame (9); a water jet (17) provided for cleaning deskinned canes; a tray (19) provided next to twin rollers (7 & 8) wherein the said tray(19) is adopted for collecting trimmings along with cleaning water wherein the said tray (19) has means for separating out trimmings from cleaning water; a suitable stand with four legs (18) adopted to mount the entire machine thereupon. In another embodiment of the present invention the rotating cutter (1) used is comprised of a plurality of steel strips (15) mounted on a circular bush (14). Steel strips (15) used have cutting edge having different lengths and a suitable depression to mount a circular spring (16). Plurality of strips (15) having a circular spring (16) mounted thereupon is a adopted to provide flexibility for feeding sugar canes of different diameter. The hollow shaft (6) coupled with twin rollers (7 & 8) used is adopted to guide the automatic feeding of sugarcanes to be deskinned.The motor (13) used is provided to drive rotating cutter (1) through pulley (5) mounted on a hollow shaft (6) as well as to to drive plurality of rubberized rollers (7 & 8) through pulley and belt drive assembly In another embodiment of the present invention, the cutter strips can be held together with any other mechanism of leaf springs instead of circular springs. The said machine comprises of a rotating cutter (1) mounted on a suitable frame (2) with bearings (3 & 4), a pulley (5), cutter (1), bearings (3,4) and pulley (5) all mounted on a hollow shaft (6) with an internal diameter of 40 -50 mm depending on the maximum size of the cane to be deskinned, through which, the canes are passed for deskinning, and also it acts as a guide for feeding, the machine also consists of a pair of rubberized rollers (7 & 8), of 100 to 200 mm diameter and mounted on a suitable frame (9) to pull out deskinned sugarcanes, with a mechanical drive consisting of spur gear pair (10), pulley and belt drive (11), reduction gear unit (12) and a motor (13), the motor also drives the cutter through the pulley (5) mounted on the hollow shaft (6), the twin rollers are used to automatically feed the sugarcanes through the rotating cutter (1), the rotating cutter consists of a circular bush (14), on to which multiples of steel strips (15) with a cutting edge and of different lengths such a way that complete deskinning is ensured, the steel strips has a suitable depression to mount a circular spring (16), this gives flexibility to accommodate different diameters of the canes to be deskinned, a water jet (17) is provided after the twin rollers (7 & 8) to clean the canes after deskinning, the entire system is mounted on a suitable stand (18) with four legs and a tray (19) is provided to collect the trimmings along with cleaning water with a provision to separate the trimmings and water. In another embodiment of the present invention, the cutter strips can be held together with any other mechanism of leaf springs instead of circular springs. In yet another embodiment of the invention multiple cutters can be suitably adapted to enhance the productivity The novelties of the present invention are: The machine can be used to deskin the canes in one stroke The machine is continuous The machine can accommodate wide range of diameters from 25 mm to 35 mm, the normal variations of sugarcanes The deskinning efficiency is above 95 % for any diameter of the canes The water jet provided removes the trimmings from the surface of the canes and also cleanses the canes. This facilitates continuity in the juice production, by feeding the canes directly to the extraction unit. The microbial load at the rinds is also considerably reduced due to deskinning and water cleaning The following examples are given by way of illustration of the present invention and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. The working of the deskinning device is explained below with particular reference to sugarcane deskinning. EXAMPLE 1 About 70 kg of canes were divided into three parts. One part was manually deskinned, one part was deskinned using the machine developed and the last part was unskinned. The diameter of the canes varied from 25 to 32mm. The canes were fed through feeding port manually. The deskinning was observed visually for the removal of green colour. The deskinning efficiency was 100 %. Juice was extracted using all the three parts and the yield was 43 ± 1 % in all the parts EXAMPLE 2 About 70 kg of canes were divided into three parts. One part was manually deskinned, one part was deskinned using the machine developed and the last part was unskinned. The diameter of the canes varied from 25 to 32mm. The canes were fed through feeding port manually. The deskinning was observed visually for the removal of green colour. The deskinning efficiency was 100 %. Juice was extracted using all the three parts and the yield was 47 + 1 % in all the parts ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 1. The machine can be used to deskin the canes in one stroke 2. The machine is continuous 3. The machine can accommodate wide range of diameters from 25 mm to 35 mm, the normal variations of sugarcanes. 4. The deskinning efficiency is above 95 % for any diameter of the canes 5. The water jet provided removes the trimmings from the surface of the canes and also cleanses the canes. This facilitates continuity in the juice production, by feeding the canes directly to the extraction unit. 6. The microbial load at the rinds is also considerably reduced due to deskinning and water cleaning We claim: 1) A continuous machine for deskinning of sugarcane and other similar plant products characterized in that the said machine consists of a rotating cutter(l), the said rotating cutters are being fixed on one end of a hollow shaft (6), a pulley (5) being fixed on a other end of the said hollow shaft (6) as shown in figure, the said shaft being mounted on a frame (2) by means of bearings(3 & 4), plurality of rubberized rollers (7 & 8) being provided so as to pull out deskinned sugarcane, the said rollers being fixed on shafts which are being movably fixed on a frame (9), spur gears(lO) being fixed on one end of said shafts and a pulley(l 1) being fixed on one end of said one shaft, the said pulley being connected through belt to a reduction gear (12) and a motor (13), the said reduction gear (12) and a motor (13) being mounted on the said frame (9), a water jet (17) provided for cleaning deskinned canes, a tray (19) being provided next and below to the said rollers (7 & 8) so as to collect trimmings along with cleaning water, the said tray (19) has means for separating out trimmings from cleaning water, four legs (18) being provided to entire machine . 2) A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating cutter (1) used is selected from a plurality of steel strips (15) fixed on a circular bush (14). 3) A machine as claimed in claims 1-2, wherein steel strips (15) used have cutting edge having different lengths and a suitable depression to mount a circular spring ( 1 6). 4) A machine as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the plurality of strips (15) having a circular spring (16) mounted thereupon is a adopted to provide flexibility for feeding sugar canes of different diameter. 5) A machine as claimed in claims 1& 2, wherein steel strips (15) used have cutting edge having different lengths and a suitable depression to mount a leaf springs 6) A machine as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the plurality of strips (15) having a leaf springs (16) mounted thereupon is a adopted to provide flexibility for feeding sugar canes of different diameter . 7) A machine as claimed in claims 1-6, wherein the hollow shaft (6) coupled with twin rollers (7 & 8) used is adopted to guide the automatic feeding of sugarcanes to be deskinned. 8) A machine as claimed in claims 1-7, wherein the motor (13) used is provided to drive rotating cutter (1) through pulley (5) mounted on a hollow shaft (6). 9) A machine as claimed in claims 1-8, wherein the motor (13) and reduction gear unit (12) used are provided to drive plurality of rubberized rollers (7 & 8) through pulley and belt drive assembly (11).

Documents:

778-del-2005-Abstract-(05-09-2014).pdf

778-DEL-2005-Abstract-(18-04-2012).pdf

778-del-2005-abstract.pdf

778-del-2005-Claims-(05-09-2014).pdf

778-DEL-2005-Claims-(18-04-2012).pdf

778-del-2005-claims.pdf

778-del-2005-Correspondence Others-(05-09-2014).pdf

778-DEL-2005-Correspondence Others-(18-04-2012).pdf

778-del-2005-correspondence-others.pdf

778-del-2005-Description (Complete)-(05-09-2014).pdf

778-del-2005-description (complete).pdf

778-del-2005-description (provisional).pdf

778-del-2005-drawings.pdf

778-DEL-2005-Form-1-(18-04-2012).pdf

778-del-2005-form-1.pdf

778-del-2005-form-18.pdf

778-del-2005-Form-2-(05-09-2014).pdf

778-del-2005-form-2.pdf

778-DEL-2005-Form-3-(18-04-2012).pdf

778-del-2005-form-3.pdf

778-del-2005-Form-5-(05-09-2014).pdf

778-del-2005-form-5.pdf