Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Separating a starting material into plural different...
Patent
1990-01-03
1992-04-28
Simone, Timothy F.
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Separating a starting material into plural different...
99567, 99584, 99588, 426481, A23L 1216, A23N 700, A23P 100
Patent
active
051087715
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for use in the preparation of stuffed baked potatos and particularly to the part of the process in which the flesh is removed from the cooked baked potato. This flesh may be subsequently mixed with other ingredients before being replaced in the empty potato skins if required
Currently much of the operation of removing flesh is done by hand. Machines do exist for removing the flesh automatically, for example by loosening the flesh and inverting the potato, but they either suffer from problems stemming from the stickiness caused by the starch in the potato or they are mechanically complex.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a simpler and more effective machine than any I am currently aware of.
STATEMENT OF INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for removing flesh from a cooked baked potato half, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a plunger carrying a convex-shaped dicer head and a device for automatically lowering and raising the dicer head by a predetermined stroke in synchronism with passage of a potato thereunder, the dicer head comprising a plurality of channels and being adapted to move through the cooked potato flesh on its downward stroke and lift flesh from the skin on its upward stroke.
The channels may be deep in which case the flesh adheres to the inside thereof and remains in the channels until pushed out. Where the channels are short or just apertures the flesh passes through the channels and collects above the dicer head, optionally in a container. Preferably the apparatus includes means for transferring the flesh to a flesh-removal conveyor.
The present invention includes a method of automatically removing flesh from a series of cooked-potato halves on a conveyor adapted to carry the halves in turn to and from a flesh removal station; at the flesh removal station and using apparatus described above, plunging a dicer head into the potato half and withdrawing the head with the flesh thereon; and transferring the flesh to a second conveyor.
Advantageously the apparatus includes a plurality of plungers arranged transversely across the passage of the potato halves and the method includes the step of advancing a plurality of potatos simultaneously to the flesh removal station.
The dicer head may comprise a grid of substantially vertical channels in which case the apparatus may include a set of pusher rods adapted to push the flesh out of the channels for transfer to the conveyor. These rods may be plastics material or corrosion resistant metal. Polycarbonate rods would be suitable.
Where the channels are short and the dicer head collects the flesh on its upper surface the flesh can be transferred to the second conveyor without clearing the channels. In some embodiments flesh may be allowed to accumulate above the dicer head before being transferred to the second conveyor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of one embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 2 is an underneath view of the dicer head of FIG. 1 and,
FIG. 3 is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
Cooked baked potatoes are cut in half manually or automatically and placed in pockets 12 in an indexed conveyor belt 13. The skins of the potato remain in the pockets for the duration of the process. Most of the flesh is removed at a flesh removal station and conveyed to a station at which it is mixed with other ingredients. The potato skins are subsequently refilled with the potato-ingredient mix before packaging. Each pocket 12 in the belt is a plastics material or metal mould shaped to be an optimum support for the grade of potato that is to be processed. The apparatus that is described hereafter is located at the flesh removal station at which the conveyor stops for long enough for the flesh to be removed.
The flesh removal apparatus comprises a dicer he
REFERENCES:
patent: 3320988 (1967-05-01), Armstrong et al.
patent: 3974722 (1976-08-01), Florian
patent: 4526093 (1985-07-01), Fogerson
patent: 4770092 (1988-09-01), Curtis et al.
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