Process and assembly sort esp. hazel nuts from shells by sound difference

摘要

In a process and assembly to separate nuts from shells, the nut kernals are sized and separated from shells and shell residues. The novelty is that individual nuts and shells and shell particles are accelerated (13) to impact upon a hard face (5) and generate a sound which is registered by a microphone (14). The sound registered, indicates whether the substance is a nut or shell residue, and are accordingly separated (7) by a control unit (12). Shells, or nuts still attached to a shell residue, generate a sound in the frequency spectrum 5 to 15 kHz. Individual nuts and shells are repeatedly accelerated against the impact surfaces. Nuts are delivered to the accelerator by a vibrator conveyor belt (3), where they have an average residence time of from 2 to 10 seconds.