Abstract: In accordance with the teachings of the disclosure, a process is disclosed for pitting drupes. In some embodiments of a pitting process, the pitting machine uses a pitting knife that has a longitudinal passageway that extends axially through the pitting knife. The pitting machine has a steam source that provides pressurized steam to the passageway of the pitting knife. Prior to pitting the drupe, the pressurized steam flows through the passageway and onto a portion of a drupe positioned within a carrier in the pitting machine. The heat and pressure of the steam between the drupe and the cutting end of the pitting knife can soften a localized portion of the drupe so that the pitting knife can cut through the flesh of the drupe and eject the pit out of the opposite side of the drupe.

Abstract: Apparatus for extracting pomegranate seeds from pomegranates including a pomegranate breaker operative for breaking open pomegranates generally without cutting pomegranate seeds at the interior of the pomegranates and a pomegranate seed extractor operative to engage broken open pomegranates for separating the pomegranate seeds from other parts of the pomegranates.

Abstract: The present example provides an automated or mechanized, way of making a pepper boat from a de-stemmed pepper. In making the pepper boat, de-stemmed peppers may be split by a splitting assembly. As the pepper is split, or subsequently, a whisk assembly tends to clean a portion of the veins and seeds from the split pepper pod to form two substantially equal halves of a pepper boat, suitable for further food processing.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a vegetable delivery device for use in trimming roots and tops from bulbs such as onions. The device comprises a frame, a bottom conveyance means and a top conveyance means composed of a chain and gear system with a common synchronized drive. Concave cups are synchronously positioned in opposition to grasp and secure a vegetable as the conveyance means passes the vegetable to, through and past a cutting means. A wheel or skid means exerts a downward force against the top conveyance means proximal the cutting means as an additional manner of securing the vegetable as it passes the cutting means.

Abstract: Such are designed to optionally allow the stoning machine to work as an olive stoner-slicer and lie in establishing at quite some distance from a disc (14') bearing cups (14) serving as dollies during the olive stoning stage, a disc (17') bearing a plurality of cradles (17) toward which the stoned olives (31) are conveyed when the stoning punch (13) retracts, which punch is to this end provided with olive retaining spears (13') and it is thus at these cradles (17), i.e. outside the stoning area, where the olive is cut into slices with the assistance of a set of parallel, disc-shaped and turning blades (23) or fixed blades with an arcuate and concave cutting-edge (38), each such blades (23-38) being capable of taking up two near- and far-end positions with respect to the cradles (17) in order for the stoning machine to act also as a slicer or only as a slicer.

Abstract: In a machine for stuffing olives automatically with meat paste, olives are transferred from a serial infeed station to a runout station, at which the stuffed end product emerges, by way of a transfer station that comprises an indexing conveyor with peripheral contoured pockets interconnected by a profiled channel; the channel freely accommodates a fixed knife by which the top part of each olive is cut at a station between the infeed and runout stations, and a divaricator serving to spread the sides of the cut olive and thus create an opening into which the meat paste can be forced by an injector supplied from a relative feeder station. Advantageously, the infeed and runout stations, the conveyor and the feeder station are mechanically interconnected and driven synchronously by a single power transmission system.

Abstract: A device for pitting and pitting-and-stuffing olives includes two axially aligned punches for simultaneously cutting through an olive and of the end faces of which is fittingly supported in a seat formed in a cap positioned between the punches. One of the punches is hollow to provide access for a stuffing paste to be inserted into a pitted olive. Each punch has the same number of cutting fins of the same configuration. The cap has radial grooves coinciding in position with the cutting fins of each punch.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for producing soybean milk and, more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a foodstuff suitable for soybean milk production and an apparatus for carrying out the method. The apparatus includes a brushing machine for removing earth matter and earth-born germs depositing on material soybean, a band dryer for adjusting the water content of the material soybean so as to facilitate separation of the material into skin and flesh portions, a skin remover for separating the skin portion from the flesh portion and for dividing the flesh portion of each piece of soybean into four to eight parts, and flat pressing rollers for converting the resulting powdery masses into uniformly distributed flaky masses.

Abstract: A fruit pitting machine includes a feeder tray for feeding fruit singly to a fruit conveyor chain which travels around a rotatable support to convey the fruit along a feed path. The rotatable support carries a plurality of pitting plungers and coring knives which are axially aligned and movable by cams toward each other such that a plunger pierces one end of the fruit and a coring knife cuts out a core cap at the other end of the fruit. Thereafter, the pitting plunger pushes the core cap and pit into the coring knife and the pitting plunger and coring knife are retracted away from the feed path. The plunger is retracted with the pitted fruit thereon past a guide member which strips the pitted fruit from the plunger while the coring knife is retracted until a free end thereof is positioned between another guide member and a pitting chain which is rotated around the rotatable support.

Abstract: The machine for pitting olives and for stuffing the pitted olives with an edible paste, such as anchovy paste, a plurality of axially opening bonnets are arranged in a circle for rotation about an axis through a succession of stations. At a first station, a pit-containing olive is placed in each bonnet and held there by a fastening bush. Subsequently, the pit with an adhered tapin is punched from the olive; the pit is severed from the tapin and only the tapin is retained. As the pitted olive is rotated to a further station, a succession of orifices of a nozzle connected to an injector for stuffing paste is temporarily opened to the olive cavity. Then a gelification agent is applied to the paste contained in the olive, the saved tapin is restored to the olive as a cavity closure, and the fastening bush is withdrawn, freeing the stuffed olive from the machine.

Abstract: In an improved machine for pitting olives and then filling them with a paste, such as an anchovy paste, the olives are supplied from a hopper to a drum rotating on a fixed shaft. As the drum rotates, the pits are displaced out of the olives into orifices in nozzles mounted on the drum. The nozzles are radially displaceable. In addition to the pit containing orifices the nozzles also contain other orifices through which the paste is fed into the olives. The paste feeding orifices are spaced radially from the pit containing orifices in the nozzles. Paste is supplied from cartridges to radial slots in a feed disc and then into the nozzles mounted on the drum. The feed disc is mounted on a shaft spaced laterally from and parallel to the shaft for the drum.

Abstract: Continuous destoning and halving machine comprises a conveyor belt wound as an endless ring and consisting essentially of a chain to each link of which there is externally hinged a half cup, provided in a position opposing said hinging point with an idle roller sliding on a rail in order to be kept horizontal, during processing of the fruits or inclined for discharging purposes; on the horizontal part of the conveyor being provided loading station consisting of a fixed cylindrical peripheral duct there being provided inside said duct and fixed to the driven shaft of the conveyor a group of radial dividing elements each of which faces, during operation, to a single hole through which the first piece of fruit of each alignment is discharged singly on to the underlying half cup; the processing station consists of lower and upper cylindrical crowns moving rigidly with the driven ring gear and supporting cooperating vertically sliding mandrels aligned two by two.

Abstract: A blade assembly which, during a single cycle of reciprocation, both halves a pear or the like and cuts out the calyx or equivalent portion thereof. This assembly is shown employed in apparatus which automatically and sequentially functions to halve and remove the calyx from a plurality of pears or the like. Control means is also provided for synchronizing reciprocations of a blade assembly (or a gang of blade assemblies) relative to each of a successive plurality of continuously moving pears or the like.

Abstract: An inner portion of a conveyor comprising a plurality of pivotably joined crossbars having an open bottom receiving cup to hold a piece of drupaceous fruit is driven at a synchronized speed below a fruit feeder device. After the feeder device deposits a piece of fruit in each cup, the inner conveyor portion travels a short distance where it is joined by an outer portion of the conveyor comprising a like plurality of pivotably joined crossbars having an inverted covering cup with a perforated diaphragm top. The conveyor portions mate to partially enclose the piece of fruit within the cups. The fruit is conveyed through a pitting station where a star-shaped pitting tool is driven at high speed through the opening in the bottom of the receiving cup, into the piece of fruit to contact a pit of the fruit and push the pit upward through the perforation of the diaphragm in the covering cup. As the tool is withdrawn from the fruit, the fruit and its now separated pit are conveyed separately for further processing.

Abstract: An olive pitting and stuffing machine has a drum rotatable about an axis and provided with opposing pairs of clamping members angularly equispaced about the axis and respectively engageable with opposite ends of olives fed in succession generally tangentially to the drum. The drum also comprises respective tubular cutters axially aligned with each pair of clamping members and displaceable to cut an end out of the olive, a plunger axially aligned with each pair of clamping members on the opposite side of the drum adapted to pierce the olive through the other end and push out the olive pit, and a pimento inserter also aligned with the clamping members and effective to insert a folded piece of pimento as the stuffing in the interior of the olive.

Abstract: The above-captioned compounds, prepared by coupling of a protected L-aspartic acid derivative with the appropriate amine followed by cleavage of the protecting groups, are potent sweetening agents and exhibit also pharmacological, e.g. anti-inflammatory, properties.

Abstract: Apples which have been oriented, peeled and cored on the machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,081 are further processed to remove the fibrous carpel tissue providing the seed cell in the apple. Following removal of the seed cell, the apples may be discharged whole or passed through a slicing device to cut the apples into a plurality of segments.