Abstract: A stuffing hand tool for inserting food material into pitted or cored produce items such as olives, figs, strawberries, cherries, which includes a body easily gripped with one hand by a user allowing a tube projecting from one end to be pressed into a mass of food material creating a plug of food material retained in the tube which is stuffed into an item when a plunger is advanced by depressing a pusher cylinder extended out from the opposite end of the body.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a machine for stoning mangoes. The method includes a stage of blocking the mango fruit frontally of a cutting blade (3), which performs a first cut below the stone and a second cut above the stone; the cuts, performed with the same or with different blades, intersects a whole length in a longitudinal direction of the fruit and are performed by thrust-insertion of a cutting blade in the longitudinal direction of the stone. The machine for implementing the method includes one or more work stations (6, 7, 8, 9), each of which includes at least a blocking group (10) which blocks the fruit in a desired position thereof; at least a station includes a blade (3) with a shaped cutting profile which is provided with straight motion and performs the cuts envisaged by the method; sliding means (11) are provided to cause the straight motion of the blade.

Abstract: A cherry pitter includes a container having a removable cherry holder with a plurality of cavities for holding cherries. A mating plurality of cutters is secured to the lid of the container, which is pivotally secured to the container. By rotating the lid downward the cutters are pushed into and through the cherries, pushing the pits into the container. A spring-loaded push-off plate holds the cherries down against the holder as the lid rotates upward again, separating the cherries from the cutters. These and other examples of the invention will be described in further detail below.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for pitting and stuffing food items include a processing tool that may pit any type of fruit of vegetable product. The same processing tool then stuffs the fruit or vegetable with another food item. The processing tool may include two sets of opposed knife assemblies that work in combination to remove a core of the first food item by cutting into the food item from one side to push the core toward the other knife. The second knife assembly defines and cuts the interior space of the first food item. The core may be retracted by the second knife assembly or completely pushed out by the first knife assembly. The second food item is loaded into the second knife assembly and then pushed into the space created in the first food item by a piston within the second knife assembly.

Abstract: A cherry pitter includes a container having a removable cherry holder with a plurality of cavities for holding cherries. A mating plurality of cutters is secured to the lid of the container, which is pivotally secured to the container. By rotating the lid downward the cutters are pushed into and through the cherries, pushing the pits into the container. A spring-loaded push-off plate holds the cherries down against the holder as the lid rotates upward again, separating the cherries from the cutters. These and other examples of the invention will be described in further detail below.

Abstract: A servo driven peach pitter mechanism with a servo motor (100) for a gripper mechanism head assembly (60) and a servo motor (118) for a selective knife (56), to achieve unlimited control flexibility in rotation of gripper mechanisms (62) and selective knife (56). Servo motor (100) controls rotation of a tubular housing (69) of the head assembly (60), which in turn rotates the gripper mechanism (62). Servo motor (118) includes a 90 degree gear box (114) which connects with a spindle (112) that carries the selective knife (56).

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: In the case, where fruits, which are relatively soft and liable to be bruised upon contact or collision with another object such as particularly in the case of white peaches, are to be separated into flesh and pit automatically, apparatus for assuring a high efficiency and a high yield is provided for separating and taking out flesh from the fruits without brusing the flesh as much as possible.

Abstract: A multi-lane machine for removing the seed cell from previously cored apples by selectively cutting a cavity therein. Various size apples are accommodated and the size of the seed cell cavity is varied depending on the size of the apple. The apples are conveyed along a path while the core hole is oriented relative to the path. Taking advantage of the alignment of the core hole, the apples are transferred onto a spindle and moved therealong by a pair of centering jaws to a seed cell station. The medial plane of the apple is positioned over a seed celling knife on the spindle while the size of the apple is measured as it is moved into the seed celling station. The knife is crescent-shaped and pivotally housed in and rotated by the spindle. A knife control mechanism extends the rotating knife into the seed cell a distance determinate of the size of the apple and in timed sequence with the movement of the jaws. Subsequently, the apple is displaced along the spindle and through a die to cut the apple in segments.