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: A hulling device includes a cap, a pushing member, a spring between the cap and pushing member, and at least one nipper having two nipping members coupled to the pushing member and extending toward the cap. The nipping members are mutually shaped with the cap and slide contiguous respective contact regions of the cap to separate tips of the nipping members upon actuation of the pushing member. The separated tips can be inserted in a food item, such as a strawberry, and twisted and pulled to hull the food item. The user can release the pushing member when the tips are in the food item to improve gripping and severing the hull. The hulling device can also include a main body housing at least a portion of the pushing member, cap, spring, and first and second nippers, the main body being coupled to the cap, the pushing member, or both.

Abstract: A coring device is provided and in particular a coring device for coring cupcakes or similar food items. The coring device may comprise a body defining a channel therein; a plunger, received within the channel and configured to slide therein; and a flange, extending around at least a portion of the body. The body has a first and second end, at least one of which defines a cutting edge. The body and the flange may be a unitary construction.

Abstract: A device for hollowing out food products such as loaves of hemispherically shaped bread for the purpose of using the hollowed out loaf as a bowl for food. The device has a knife for cutting into the loaf and a loaf platform for holding the loaf of bread. The platform and knife are angled so that the cutting action removes a uniform sized conical section of bread from the central region of the loaf. The knife is mounted in restricted manner so that it will penetrate the loaf for cutting of the cone but will not pass through the loaf.

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 method of and apparatus for extracting the meat section and juice from a fruit while minimizing the amount of undesirable flavor components, e.g. peel oil, released from the fruit's peel. In one embodiment of the present invention, whole fruits are fed into a single station extraction apparatus that first cuts a equatorial groove in the fruit's peel while the fruit is rotated. A semicircular coring blade is then inserted into the groove and rotated 360.degree. which severs a spherical chunk of fruit meat from the peel. The small amount of fruit meat remaining on the peel's inner surface is then preferably extracted with a reaming element or fluid jet nozzle. In other particularly preferred embodiments, the grooving, coring, and reaming component mechanisms are incorporated into an indexing turret apparatus and a high-speed continuous motion turret apparatus.

Abstract: A fruit gripper head assembly for use in a machine for pitting fruits of the drupe type includes a support structure receivable onto a pitting machine, a plurality of gripper arms spaced about the central axis of the assembly and mounted on the support structure for pivotal movement toward and away from the central axis, and fluid pressure operated actuating apparatus operatively connected to the gripper arm and to the support structure for urging pivotal movement of the arms toward the central axis upon introduction of pressurized fluid behind that actuating apparatus to provide for pivotal movement of the arms to grip fruit to be pitted.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for removing skins and pits from avocados and the like in a process where the avocado is initially held in a split cup, knife means being operated for cutting through the avocado skin and flesh and for engaging and holding the avocado pit, jaw means being operated for engaging respective skin portions of the avocado, the jaw means then being retracted with the avocado skins, stripper means being movable relative to the knife means for urging the avocado flesh away from the avocado pit, the flesh portions of the avocados being collected in a first collection means, the pits and skins of the avocados being collected in a second collection means. Prior to processing in the manner described above, the avocados are preferably treated by immersion in hot avocado oil or the like in order to loosen their skins.

Abstract: Improvements to a torque-type peach pitter and method, during each cycle of which a peach is presented to a pair of peach bisecting and pit gripping blades for cutting the flesh of the peach to its pit at its suture plane and gripping the edges of the pit to hold it stationary and wherein the peach halves are twisted to separate them from the held pit. The improvements reside in a pre-slitter blade positioned to cut a portion of the peach flesh at the suture plane prior to its presentation to the peach bisecting and pit gripping blades.The peach pitter includes a normally inoperative curved spoon which is extended upon the detection of a split or defective pit and serves to cut such pit from the peach. The pre-slitter blade detects the absence of a peach in any pitting cycle and triggers means to disable the spoon operating mechanism so that the spoon will not be extended during such cycle.

Abstract: To prevent damaging the rotary reciprocating knives and/or the cups which hold the fruit in a pimento coring machine caused by non-synchronous operation of the fruit conveyor and the reciprocating knife carriage, a sensing probe on the carriage near its lower end engages a roller of the chain to prevent complete descent of the knife carriage, thus protecting the knives and cups when the non-synchronous condition exists. When the chain is properly synchronized with the knife carriage, the probe can enter a space between two rollers and two side links of the dwelling chain so as to allow full descent of the knife carriage and knives.

Abstract: In a peach pitter of the type including a pair of blades which both bisect the peach and grip the peach pit, a pair of jaws which twist the peach halves to remove them from the pit, and an aligner which orients the peaches so that their suture planes lie in the plane of the blades, a transfer mechanism is disclosed which accurately feeds individual, oriented peaches from the aligner to the blades in a sequence which minimizes the time required. A pair of claws grasp a peach at a transfer point on the aligner when it is momentarily substantially stationary and immediately carry the peach through an arc toward the blades.As the peach is impaled on the lower of the pair of blades, the upper blade descends to grip the pit. The claws, which are specially designed to insure that the peach is properly aligned with the pitting axis extending between the blades, are then released from the peach and rapidly returned to the transfer point in spread-apart condition ready to receive the next peach.

Abstract: A peach pitter of the torque type in which the space between the pit gripping teeth on the peach bisecting blades at the pitting station is open at both ends and each successive peach is fed into said space through one open end and the preceeding pitted peach and separated pit are discharged out of the other open end of said space.

Abstract: Apparatus for performing a plurality of successive operations simultaneously at each one of a plurality of work stations arranged in a row, each station accommodating a fruit piece, or the like, such as a citrus fruit member. The fruit pieces are sequentially advanced to the work stations in a stop and go movement utilizing a closed loop conveyor system. At the working stations, a pair of pneumatically operated reciprocally movable carriages, which are provided with suitable processing apparatus, sequentially move towards and away therefrom. These carriages ride on linear bearing bars. For example, coring and core removal can be accomplished at all stations.

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: In a peach bisecting and pitting machine in which the fruit is gripped by a deformable gripper during the pitting operation, apparatus is disclosed for sensing the presence or absence of a fruit within such gripper and for preventing the gripping deformation of the gripper when no fruit is present during the operation of the pitting machine.

Abstract: A torque-type pitter for pitting drupes such as cling-stone peaches and the like, having coplanar, body-bisecting and pit-holding blades, and coaxial elements for gripping the peach body at opposite sides of the plane of said blades for twisting the peach halves from the blade-held pit. One of said blades has pitting knives or a pitting spoon in the plane of said blade that are normally inoperative where the pit in the peach between the blades is sound, or momentarily appears to be sound, but upon said blade passing between the halves of a split pit without hesitation, said knives or spoon will automatically be projected into the gripped halves to positions in which the rotation of said halves by said elements will spoon-pit the halves.

Abstract: Drupe pitting apparatus includes means which receive such a fruit, produce a partial cut in its pulp and thus define two fruit halves adhered to the pit of the fruit and grips the pit, and means for gripping the outer surfaces of the two fruit halves.

Abstract: Apparatus to pit peaches consisting of a machine which receives a peach by partially cutting it and gripping the stone and while then rotating the peach through a circle engages the peach halves by resilient pneumatic grippers which adapt to the surface of the peach halves. After rotation through a predetermined angle in the cycle, the grippers rotate in opposite directions to separate the peach halves from the stone and, therefore, release the peach halves and the stone.