Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Separating a starting material into plural different...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-28
2001-08-07
Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Separating a starting material into plural different...
C099S568000, C099S571000, C099S574000, C099S581000, C426S632000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270824
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved high production nutcracking apparatus, and more particularly, to a nutcracking apparatus of the type disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,867 and application Ser. No. 09/638,423 filed Aug. 14, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,915 and which has an improved capability of aligning its components.
The nutcracking apparatus as disclosed in the above patent and application includes a rotatable turret which mounts a plurality of cracking units arranged about its periphery, with each cracking unit having an opening adapted to receive an individual nut from a nut feed conveyor which comprises a plurality of nut transport elements mounted in succession on a feed chain. Each of the nut transport elements includes an upwardly open transverse receptacle for holding an individual nut, and each cracking unit on the turret has an anvil which is moved axially into the receptacle at a pickup point so that the nut is engaged between the anvil and a crack die on the other side of the opening.
In operation, the feed conveyor moves tangentally past the rotating turret so that the anvils of the cracking units enter the receptacles of respective nut transport elements at the pickup point and engage and pick up the nut. After the cracking unit and engaged nut have moved away from the pickup point, the crack die of the cracking unit applies an impact to the nut to crack the shell.
To insure proper engagement of the nut, and to avoid damage to the components of the machine, it is important that the cracking units be properly aligned and timed with respect to the receptacles of the nut transport elements. Heretofore, the alignment and timing operation was carried out by manually releasing the drive of the turret so that it could be rotated without causing the feed conveyor to advance, and the turret was then rotated until the operator believed the anvil of a cracking unit was in its bottom dead center position and centered in a receptacle. This procedure was unsatisfactory however, since the covers and other components of the apparatus rendered it very difficult if not impossible to see the anvil of the lowermost cracking unit when it is located in the receptacle. Thus, proper alignment was not assured.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a high production nutcracking apparatus of the described type and which has provision for a simple and reliable alignment of the cracking units with respect to the receptacles of the nut transport elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other objects and advantage of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a high production nutcracking apparatus which comprises a turret mounted on a machine frame for rotation about a horizontal central axis, with the turret mounting a plurality of cracking units which are uniformly spaced about the periphery of the turret. An endless feed conveyor is provided which is composed of a plurality of nut transport elements mounted in succession along a feed chain, with each element including a generally semi-cylindrical receptacle which extends laterally across the element. The feed conveyor is mounted to the machine frame so as to define an upper run which extends generally tangentially with the periphery of the turret and to define a pickup point where the upper run perpendicularly intersects a radius of the turret. A drive system is provided for concurrently rotating the turret about the central axis and advancing the feed conveyor such that the cracking units are aligned with the receptacles of respective nut transport elements at the pickup point, and the drive system includes a releasable interconnection for permitting relative movement between the turret and feed conveyor at the pickup point. An indicator and locking device is mounted on the turret and the machine frame for indicating when the turret is rotated to a point wherein one of said cracking units is in a bottom dead center position with respect to the pickup point and for locking the turret against rotation in such position.
With the nutcracking apparatus as described above, the cracking units of the turret may be aligned with the receptacles of the nut transport elements by rotating the turret to an aligned position wherein one of the cracking units is in the bottom dead center position, and then moving the feed conveyor while the turret is stationary in the aligning position until the receptacle of one of the nut transport elements is centered in radial alignment with the one cracking unit which is in the bottom dead center position.
More particularly, the alignment procedure includes the steps of disengaging the interconnection of the drive system, rotating the turret to the aligned position wherein one of the cracking units is in a bottom dead center position with respect to the pickup point, then moving the feed conveyor while the turret is held stationary until the receptacle of one of the nut transport elements is centered in radial alignment with the cracking unit which is in the bottom dead center position, and then re-engaging the interconnection of the drive system. The apparatus is then in condition for normal, high speed operation, with a precise alignment of the nut cracking units with the receptacles of the nut transport elements being assured.
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Alston & Bird LLP
Machine Design Incorporated
Simone Timothy F.
LandOfFree
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