Abstract: An apple orienting apparatus is provided wherein one or more agitating spools are utilized to constantly agitate and rotate an apple until it is properly oriented. The agitator spools are mounted in an eccentric or off-center fashion to produce a wobble or eccentric motion in addition to rotational motion. The mechanism is especially useful with elongated apples but also is effective in orienting relatively round apples as well.

Abstract: A blade assembly for a selective peach pitter using simplified construction and a low-maintenance geometry to provide for extended operational efficiency and compensation for play due to wear in the components. The blade assembly includes an upper blade and a lower blade for bisecting a drupe along a suture plane and holding the pit during pitting, the upper blade and lower blade both being pivoted about a common blade pivot shaft and driven by a single main shaft from the larger pitter assembly. The lower blade pivot linkage includes an extendable crank arm drivingly coupled to an idler arm, drive arm support shaft and lower blade drive arm, the lower blade drive arm including a rocker face and a drive roller which respectively engage a rolling rocker face follower and a roller drive track located on a carriage coupled to the lower blade and pivotally mounted on the blade pivot shaft.

Abstract: A press for extracting juice from comestible solids and semi-solids such as fruit and vegetables which includes a stationary perforated platen, a juice pervious conveyor belt for carrying comminuted comestible into pressing position over that platen, a feeder for forming a series of separated non-continuous beds of comminuted comestible upon the belt, a rotary drive moving the belt incrementally to position each bed of comestible in sequence over the stationary platen and a pressing platen which has a pressing cavity overlying the stationary platen defined by a depending sealing flange circumscribing the bed of comestible and a flexible membrane within the cavity that can be expanded into pressing engagement with the bed by pneumatic pressure in order to press juice from the comestible for drainage through the juice pervious belt and perforated stationary platen into a juice collection pan.

Abstract: A press for extracting juice from comestible solids and semi-solids such as fruit and vegetables which includes a sectionalized stationary perforated platen, a juice pervious conveyor belt for carrying comminuted comestible into pressing position over that platen, a feeder for forming a series of separated non-continuous beds of comminuted comestible upon the belt, a rotary drive moving the belt incrementally to position each bed of comestible in sequence over the stationary platen and a pressing platen which has a pressing cavity overlying the stationary platen defined by a depending sealing flange circumscribing the bed of comestible and a flexible membrane within the cavity that can be expanded into pressing engagement with the bed by pneumatic pressure in order to press juice from the comestible for drainage through the juice pervious belt and perforated stationary platen into a juice collection pan.

Abstract: A filling apparatus for metal containers has a rotatable bowl carrying filling syrup or other fluid with a plurality of filling valves arranged on the bowl bottom around its periphery to fill empty containers moved into traveling engagement with each valve. A control cam manipulates each valve in a repeating sequence through close, vacuum, fill and vent positions. A switching cam follower tracking the control cam and a cooperating switch activate the valving sequence if a can is present at a particular filling valve and de-activate the sequence if a can is not present. A pneumatic cylinder actuated by series connected proximity sensors for metal objects, such as cans, manipulates the cooperating switch to direct the switching cam follower for each filler valve into one control cam tracking mode if an empty can is in place below the filler valve or into a second valve closing mode if a can is not present.

Abstract: A high speed vacuum syruper for containers has a rotatable bowl carrying filling syrup or other fluid with a plurality of filling valves arranged on the bowl bottom around its periphery to fill empty containers moved into traveling engagement with each valve. Each filling valve includes a ported valve seat mounted in an opening in the bowl bottom, a pivotable ported valve disc overlying the valve seat and a valve stem extending upwardly out of the bowl that carries a crank mounted control cam follower and a switching cam follower. A stationary control cam above the bowl and in tracking engagement with the control cam follower for each filling valve controls the location of the valve disc ports in relation to the valve seat ports to manipulate each valve in a repeating sequence through close, vacuum, fill and vent positions.

Abstract: A pear orienting apparatus for receiving, orienting and subsequently feeding oriented pears with the stem-end lowermost to peeling and coring devices in a machine of the type described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,058,502 and 3,797,639 including a canted reciprocable shaker pan feeding singulated pears to at least one channeled lifter that tumbles the singulated pears over spaced divergent guide plates onto an inclined and intermittently gated delivery chute.

Abstract: A vacuum filler is described which has an improved filling head particularly adapted for vacuum filling steel cans containing more-or-less compressible and tacky food products, such as tuna fish or salmon, with filling liquids of low viscosity, such as vegetable oil or water.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are described for pitting fruit of the drupe type, in which fruit having sound pits are torque pitted and fruit having split pits are spoon pitted. A coring spoon is spaced from the pit gripping portion of the fruit bisecting blades with spoon pitting being accomplished by moving the blades and coring spoon through the fruit and between the halves of the split pit to move the fruit gripping portions of the blade away from the split pit and bring the coring spoon adjacent the pit for cutting a core, including the split pit, from the fruit.

Abstract: A method is described for pitting fruit of the drupe type in a cyclical manner in a processing operation involving a series of processing steps in which fruit having sound pit is torque pitted and fruit having a split pit is spoon pitted. In the method the presence or absence of a fruit to be supplied to the pitting station from a preceding station is sensed and the cyclical operation of the process with the cyclical sequence of steps and machine operations is varied depending upon whether a fruit is presented to the pitting station during a cycle of operation or not, and if a fruit so presented has a sound or split pit. When a fruit having a split pit is presented, a coring spoon spaced from the pit gripping portion of fruit bisecting blades is moved into position by moving the blades and coring spoon through the fruit and between the halves of the split pits for cutting a core including the split pit from the fruit.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are described for pitting fruit of the drupe type, in which fruit having sound pits are torque pitted and fruit having split pits are spoon pitted. A coring spoon is spaced from the pit gripping portion of the fruit bisecting blades with spoon pitting being accomplished by moving the blades and coring spoon through the fruit and betwen the halves of the split pit to move the fruit gripping portions of the blade away from the split pit and bring the coring spoon adjacent the pit for cutting a core, including the split pit, from the fruit.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are described for pitting fruit of the drupe type in a cyclical manner in a processing operation involving a series of processing steps in which fruit having a sound pit is torque pitted and fruit having a split pit is spoon pitted. In the apparatus and method the presence or absence of a fruit to be supplied to the pitting station from a preceding station is sensed and the cyclical operation of the process and the apparatus with the cyclical sequence of steps and machine operations is varied depending upon whether a fruit is presented to the pitting station during a cycle of operation or not, and if a fruit so presented has a sound or split pit. When a fruit having a split pit is presented, a coring spoon spaced from the pit gripping portion of fruit bisecting blades is moved into position by moving the blades and coring spoon through the fruit and between the halves of the split pits for cutting a core including the split pit from the fruit.

Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed for positioning fruit of the drupe type in which the fruit is conveyed along a vertically elongated path from a receiving station upward along the path and then downward along the path to a discharge station with the positioning apparatus being operative to urge the fruit to a predetermined orientation during both the upward and downward portions of travel from the receiving station to the discharge station.