Abstract: An apparatus peels fruit, in particular citrus fruit, by washing and sterilizing the fruit in a sterilizing bath. The washed and sterilized fruit is delivered to a perforator which makes a plurality of perforations through the outer surface of the peel of the fruit over its entire surface. The perforated fruit is then delivered to a conveyor which loads and orients the fruit so that it is spinning on the stem axis with the equator of the spinning fruit exposed to a plurality of slitting knives. The knives slit an equatorial cut through the outer surface of the peel. The slit and perforated fruit is then delivered to a carousel of canisters. Each canister is filled with fruit and an aqueous solution of a commercial pectinase. The solution is vacuum infused into the fruit so that the albedo attaching the peel to the fruit substantially disintegrates over a predetermined time period.

Abstract: A process for peeling fresh citrus fruit to provide peeled whole fruit, with ease of peeling and with limited amounts of adhering albedo. The fresh citrus fruit are initially chilled to a temperature well below room temperature, preferably less than about 10 degrees C. The chilled fruit are then scored so as to penetrate the albedo layer, but not the underlying juice sections, and the scored fruit are then immersed in an aqueous solution of a pectinase enzyme at an initial temperature of about 35 degrees C. The enzyme solution is then infused into the fruit, and after holding the infusion-treated fruit in the solution for a prescribed time period, without application of additional heat, the peel can be readily removed from the whole fruit.

Abstract: A conveyor discharge apparatus, and a related method of operation, that can lift and thereby eject any article carried by a conveyor of the apparatus through substantially relying on the motor that advances the conveyor of the apparatus. The apparatus includes an ejection mechanism having a plurality of ejection fingers that are each associated with a separate one of the pockets of the conveyor and are selectively movable between rest and ejection positions so as to lift and eject articles carried by the pocket in which the particular finger is located. The ejection mechanism is further configured such that the power required to lift and eject any article from the pockets is provided substantially by the motor that advances the conveyor. In operation, the conveyor is advanced via the motor and the fingers are selectively moved substantially via the power of the motor from their respective rest positions to their respective ejection positions.

Abstract: An apparatus for packing closely-arranged articles into a receptacle includes a rigid funnel having inwardly sloping walls and a downwardly projecting flexible skirt means attached to the funnel. The flexible skirt comprises a plurality of flexible planar segments that project downwardly into the receptacle. The funnel and skirt are lowered into an empty receptacle, the articles are packed, and the funnel and skirt are lifted out. The skirt means avoids contact between the articles and the walls of the receptacle as the receptacle is being packed, thereby decreasing the potential for damage to the articles. The apparatus includes a switch that stops the downward movement of the funnel and skirt when the bottom edge of the skirt is adjacent the bottom of the receptacle.