PNEUMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF TEA LEAF HAVING DIFFERENT QUALITIES BY PICKING SEASON

摘要

PURPOSE:To enable the processing of tea leaves with simple operation at a low cost, without necessitating the branched chute and the detouring conveyor, etc., of the conventional tea- processing apparatus, by placing a pneumatic classifier in a tea-processing line and switching the discharge damper and chute of the fan for the classification of stalks and leaves. CONSTITUTION:(1) In the case of producing low-grade tea, the damper 8 is turned on the separation cylinder 7, and the covering chute 15 is erected and placed immediately after the rear wall 10a of the classification hood 10 to cover the rear opening of the hood. The fan 4 is rotated, and the bucket conveyor 2 is started. The roughly roasted tea is thrown into the hopper 3, transferred toward the delivery end with the bucket conveyor 2, and dropped from the end. The falling tea is classified by the air flow of the fan 4 and thick stalks col lected in the air duct 6 are transferred from its opening 6a to the separation cylinder 7 and received by the receiving chamber 9. The tea leaves are dropped through the classification hood 10 and sent to the next step with the transfer conveyor 12. (2) In the case of producing high-grade tea, the damper 8 is turned to the closed position, the rear face of the delivery port of the separation cylinder 7 is covered with the covering chute 15, the fan 4 is stopped, and whole tea leaves are dropped through the air duct 6 into the separation cylinder 7.