Mechanised halving and stoning of peaches etc. - for high yield of cleanly cut fruit with little tearing

摘要

The fruit is aligned with and pushed between spring-closed blades which cut through the pulp to grip the stone. A pair of spaced coaxial cups move in, each to grip a fruit half on one side of the blades, the gripping force being applied by fluid pressure, e.g. pneumatic or hydraulic, via an elastic diaphragm. The cups rotate the two fruit halves in opposite directions to detach them completely from the stone which is held stationary between the blades; and the fruit and stone are released separately. The machine pref. comprises several blade and cup stations evenly spaced around a disc which rotates to present each station in turn to a loading mechanism and then through the other stages of the stoning cycle.