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 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: 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: 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: 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 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 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: 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 method and apparatus are disclosed for separating the meat of an olive into two end portions and preparing such an olive for packing. This method and apparatus provides for receiving an olive and producing a cut substantially through the meat in a plane transverse to an axis extending through the ends of the olive, thus defining a pair of olive meat end portions each extending around and adhered to a portion of the olive pit, with the receiving and cut-producing structure being configured to restrain movement of the olive end portion along the axis while permitting movement of the pit of the olive along that axis. Also provided are first and second punches each aligned with and mounted for reciprocation along the axis between two sets of respective positions, in one set the punches being outside the respective ends of the olive meat end portions and in the other set of positions the punches extending at least partially through the olive meat end portions sufficient to dislodge the pit from the end portions.

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 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: 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.