Fruit and vegetable coring system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coring devices for fruits and vegetables often require multiple steps to remove the core and do not efficiently align with the core, leading to incomplete removal and retention issues during baking or cooking.
Innovation Solution
A fruit coring system featuring a cylindrical compression member with a handle and a cylindrical cutting edge, incorporating planar blades and tapers to compress and retain the core within the device for easy removal, along with alignment mechanisms like pins and caliper-like systems to ensure precise core extraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional coring device with a blade extending through the apple is used, then the core can be removed, but it requires multiple steps and leaves the bore open at both ends which is not suitable for retention of fillings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cutting function and core retention function into a single integrated device. The cylindrical member with internal blade and tapered bore structure performs both coring and core capture in one operation, eliminating the need for separate steps to remove the core and close the bore.
Solution Approach 2:
The device segments the coring process into distinct functional zones: the external blade for cutting, the internal blade for shearing the core, and the tapered bore for retention. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently within a single integrated tool.
2Manufacturing precision
If a coring device is used without alignment mechanisms, then the device is simpler, but the core alignment is poor leading to incomplete removal
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment mechanisms (pins or caliper-like systems) perform preliminary positioning of the coring device relative to the fruit core before the cutting action begins. This preliminary alignment ensures that the cylindrical member is properly positioned to capture the core, improving removal completeness without requiring complex real-time adjustment mechanisms during cutting.
3Ease of operation
If the bore is left open at both ends for easy core removal, then core extraction is simple, but filling and retention of foodstuffs during baking is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The device creates a localized closed bore structure with a tapered configuration that is closed at the bottom and open at the top. This local quality change in the bore geometry allows the core to be captured and retained within the fruit while maintaining easy extraction capability, and simultaneously provides the closed structure needed for filling and baking applications.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables one-step core removal with improved alignment and retention, facilitating efficient filling and cooking applications while being economical and durable.
Implementation Method 1
The reduction in the inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member due to blade taper providing sufficient compression of the sliced fruit (or vegetable) as it enters the cylinder to permit retention of the sliced portion (core) of the fruit within the cylindrical compression member for removal from the surrounding portion of the fruit.
Data Source
AI summary
A fruit and vegetable coring system comprises a cylinder exhibiting a cutting edge on one end and attachment to a handle at the other end. This cylindrical blade is used to make a cylindrical incision about the core of a fruit (or vegetable) and slice through the entire depth of the fruit (or vegetable). A planar blade(s) is made part of the interior of the cylinder in the proximity of the cylindrical blade for the purpose of shearing the fruit core and freeing it from the fruit upon rotation of the cylinder. The change in the inner diameter of the cylinder due to the interior taper of the cylinder associated with the blade is disclosed to be sufficient to compress the fruit core and thereby retain it in the cylinder for removal from the fruit.