Foods and beverages: apparatus – Means to treat food – Subdividing into plural products
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-11
2001-04-24
Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Means to treat food
Subdividing into plural products
C099S584000, C099S585000, C099S587000, C099S589000, C099S588000, C099S590000, C099S594000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220153
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to fruit processing equipment, and more particularly, to unique methods and apparatus for separating the fruit from the outer skin and seeds by automatically peeling the fruit, removing seeds, and separating each component from the other.
BACKGROUND ART
The canning or packaging of various fruits in ready-to-eat sections or slices is well known in the art and has been practiced for several decades both in the United States and in other countries. In fact, in about the 1930's, fruit canning began in the United States and was subsequently expanded to include the sectioning and slicing of fruits and the packaging of the fruit in containers and for being maintained under refrigerated or chilled conditions in order to provide fresh fruit sections and slices.
When this industry began in the United States, most of the operations on the fruit for peeling and sectioning the fruit was achieved by hand labor. Since the cost of hand labor, at that time, was reasonably priced, the fruit could be processed in this manner. However, as hand-labor costs increased, efforts were expended in automating the peeling and sectioning of the fruit. This activity resulted in several automated fruit scoring, slicing, and coring machines to be developed.
In spite of these efforts to develop equipment for automating the peeling, seed removal, sectioning and/or slicing of fruit, these efforts were not successful and most of the fruit processing business became dominated by production in foreign countries where labor was substantially less expensive than in the United States. This ultimately resulted in most of the fruit processing business in the United States being terminated. Presently, only a handful of processing plants remain in the United States, with foreign competition continuing to exert substantial pressure on the ability of these U.S. manufacturing facilities to produce fruit sections and slices at competitive prices.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a unique method and apparatus for processing fruit in a highly efficient and low cost manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a unique method and apparatus for processing fruit having the characteristic features described above which is capable of being employed in a substantially fully automated manner, with a minimum of hand labor requirements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a unique method and apparatus for processing fruit having the characteristic features described above which is capable of automatically removing and separating the outer skin and seeds form the edible fruit portion and transferring each component to separate receiving zones.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for processing fruit having the characteristic features described above which is capable of producing fruit slices or sections with production yields substantially greater than any other prior art method or system.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
By employing the present invention, all of the difficulties and drawbacks found in prior art systems are completely overcome and a substantially improved apparatus is attained for completely processing fruit by removing the outer skin and the seeds and separating the skin and seeds from the edible fruit portion. Although virtually all types of fruits can be employed using the present invention, the present invention is particularly applicable to the high-speed processing of honeydews, papayas, grapefruits, cantaloupes, mangos, and the like.
In accordance with the present invention, high-speed, fully automated processing of fruit is attained by simultaneously removing the seeds and outer skin from the fruit, and directing the removed seeds and skin to separate zones for disposal. The edible fruit portion is transferred to a separate zone for further processing.
In order to attain this high-speed, automated fruit processing, the fruit is first sliced in half prior to advancing the fruit to the processing equipment. This slicing step may be performed manually or using automated equipment. In addition, once the fruit has been sliced in half, the fruit is placed with the sliced portion facing downwardly on the conveyor system, for advancing the sliced fruit segment to the processing equipment. In addition, in the preferred embodiment, automatic centering equipment is employed for aligning the sliced fruit segments with the center zone of the conveyor.
In order to achieve the separation of the edible fruit from seeds and the skin of the fruit, the sliced fruit segment is advanced on the conveyor to the processing equipment of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fruit processing equipment is constructed for receiving the sliced fruit segment, with the open, cut surface of the fruit being placed in cooperating relationship with a seed scooping member, a peeling blade, and movement control means. In those instances where the fruit does not contain seeds, the seed scooping member is removed.
In accordance with the present invention, the movement control means frictionally contacts the outer surface of the sliced fruit segment and controllably, arcuately pivots the sliced fruit segment substantially about the center point of the fruit segment. This arcuate movement causes the skin cutting blade to enter the boundary between the inside surface of the skin and the outside surface of the edible portion of the fruit.
As in the fruit segment is arcuately pivoted, the cutting blade advances along this intersection surface or boundary until the entire outer skin has been removed. Simultaneously therewith, the seed scooping member engages the centrally located seed sack of the fruit and scopes the seeds away from the edible fruit portion as of the segment is arcuately pivoted in engagement with the skin cutting blade.
Once the fruit segment has been arcuately pivoted through 180°, the outer skin of the fruit segment has been completely removed as well as the centrally positioned seeds. Furthermore, with control chutes or channels cooperatively associated with the seed scoop and the skin cutting blade, both of these components are automatically fed to receiving containers for subsequent disposal, while the edible fruit portion is delivered to a processing zone.
In the preferred embodiment, the cutting blade employed for removing the outer skin surface of the fruit in a continuous, one step process comprises a thin, narrow, arcuately curved or horseshoe-shaped member. Once a cutting blade having the desired overall diameter for the particular fruit segment being processed has been selected and mounted in position, the flexibility of the cutting blade and fruit automatically adjusts for any minor dimensional differences between fruit segments, enabling the cutting blade to and enter the boundary between the inside surface of the outer skin and the outside surface of the edible fruit portion, and follow this curved surface as the fruit is arcuately pivoted relative to the fixed cutting blade. Once completely pivoted through 180°, the outer skin is completely severed from the fruit, leaving the edible fruit portion for subsequent use, as desired.
Similarly, by constructing a seed scoop member with the proper dimensions, any seeds or seed sacks centrally located in the fruit segment are quickly and easily removed from the edible fruit portion simultaneously with the removal of the outer skin. As a result, the processing equipment of the present invention provides the desired high speed, efficient and fully automatic removal of outer skin surfaces and seeds from all desired fruit, with the edible portion of the fruit being advanced as desired for further processing.
In accordance with the present invention, in order to provide the desired controlled arcuate movement of the fruit segment relative to the cutting blade and seed scoop member, two, juxtaposed, space
Kingslink USA, Inc.
Simone Timothy F.
Stoltz Melvin I.
LandOfFree
Automated peeler for fruit products does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Automated peeler for fruit products, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automated peeler for fruit products will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2540773