Seed potato cutting system with potato positioning mechanism
AssigneeSpudnik Equipment Company LLC
InventorsRainer Borgmann, Evan Steel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A seed potato cutting system includes a cutting roller unit, including an endless roller chain, having a plurality of parallel roller sets with longitudinal gaps therebetween, configured to convey seed potatoes resting in the gaps in a longitudinal direction through a plurality of pairs of upright cutting blades, a laterally-slidable thumb rake, disposed in each longitudinal gap parallel to the roller sets, having a plurality of upwardly extending thumbs, and a thumb rake alignment device, configured to sequentially laterally slide all thumb rakes in first and second directions, respectively, to contact and laterally align each seed potato with a corresponding pair of cutting blades as the roller chain conveys the seed potatoes theretoward.
Claims20
A seed potato cutting system, comprising:
- a cutting roller unit, including
- an endless roller chain, having a plurality of parallel roller sets with longitudinal gaps therebetween, configured to convey seed potatoes resting in the gaps in a longitudinal direction through a plurality of pairs of upright cutting blades;
- a laterally-slidable thumb rake, disposed in each longitudinal gap parallel to the roller sets, having a plurality of upwardly extending thumbs;
- and
- a thumb rake alignment device, configured to sequentially laterally slide all thumb rakes in first and second directions, respectively, to contact and laterally align each seed potato with a corresponding pair of cutting blades as the roller chain conveys the seed potatoes theretoward.
A seed potato cutting system, comprising:
- a seed potato sizing mechanism, configured to segregate uncut seed potatoes into size groups;
- a plurality of cutting roller units, disposed adjacent to the seed potato sizing mechanism, each cutting roller unit configured to receive a discrete size group of uncut seed potatoes from the sizing mechanism, each cutting roller unit including
- an endless roller chain, having a plurality of parallel roller sets with longitudinal gaps therebetween, configured to convey seed potatoes resting in the gaps in a longitudinal direction through a plurality of pairs of adjustably-spaced upright cutting blades;
- a laterally-slidable thumb rake, disposed in each longitudinal gap parallel to the roller sets, having a plurality of upwardly extending thumbs;
- and
- a thumb rake alignment device, configured to sequentially laterally slide all thumb rakes in first and second directions, respectively, to contact and laterally align each seed potato with a corresponding pair of cutting blades as the roller chain conveys the seed potatoes theretoward.
A seed potato cutting system, comprising:
- a seed potato feeding system, configured to convey seed potatoes to an inlet location in a feed direction;
- a sizing table, positioned to receive seed potatoes from the seed potato feeding system, having a plurality of groups of parallel sizing rollers disposed in series, each group being adapted to convey uncut seed potatoes and having a discrete and adjustable longitudinal spacing between adjacent rollers, the longitudinal spacing of each group being greater than the spacing of a preceding group, whereby seed potatoes sequentially drop between adjacent sizing rollers in order of increasing size;
- and
- a plurality of cutting roller units, each disposed below one group of sizing rollers to receive a discrete size group of uncut seed potatoes, each cutting roller unit including
- an endless roller chain, having a plurality of parallel roller sets with longitudinal gaps therebetween, configured to convey seed potatoes resting in the gaps in a longitudinal direction through a plurality of pairs of adjustably-spaced upright cutting blades;
- a laterally-slidable thumb rake, disposed in each longitudinal gap parallel to the roller sets, having a plurality of upwardly extending thumbs;
- and
- a thumb rake alignment device, configured to sequentially laterally slide all thumb rakes in first and second directions, respectively, to contact and laterally align each seed potato with a corresponding pair of cutting blades as the roller chain conveys the seed potatoes theretoward.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.