Fruit Cutting Machine with Shaped Blades for Prismatic Pieces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for cutting watermelon or melon into small pieces are slow, laborious, and result in significant pulp waste, with existing machines being inefficient due to slow operation and high waste rates.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a first cutting station using parallel straight blades to cut fruits into round portions, followed by a second cutting station with shaped blades to cut these portions into prismatic fragments, incorporating a carousel, pusher, and sorting device to optimize cutting and minimize pulp waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual cutting methods are used, then flexibility in cutting shapes is maintained, but productivity is low and pulp waste is high
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting process is divided into two distinct stations: the first station cuts fruits into round portions using parallel straight blades, and the second station cuts these portions into final prismatic pieces using shaped blades. This segmentation allows each station to be optimized for its specific function, improving overall productivity while minimizing waste through precise cutting paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The first cutting station performs preliminary cutting of fruits into round portions before the final cutting stage. This preliminary action standardizes the shape and size of portions, making the subsequent final cutting more efficient and reducing pulp waste by pre-positioning the fruit material optimally.
2Productivity
If existing pattern cutting machines are used, then cutting automation is achieved, but operation speed is slow due to multiple moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cutting functions are merged into two stationary cutting stations rather than using a single machine with multiple moving components. The first station handles preliminary cutting and the second station handles final cutting, both with stationary blade arrays that reduce mechanical complexity while maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a mobile pusher that dynamically moves fruits through the cutting stations, and a mobile support base that adapts its position. This dynamic approach allows the stationary blade arrays to efficiently process multiple fruits without requiring complex moving mechanical structures.
3Productivity
If single slice cutting is performed, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting system is segmented into two specialized stations: the first station with multiple parallel straight blades for preliminary cutting, and the second station with multiple shaped blades for final cutting. This segmentation enables simultaneous processing of multiple fruits through parallel cutting paths, dramatically increasing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
Each cutting station is designed to handle multiple fruits simultaneously through its array of blades. The first station's parallel blades can cut multiple fruits into portions at once, and the second station's shaped blades can process multiple portions concurrently, providing multi-functionality that increases productivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Machine for the preparation of pieces of an oval or spherical fruit, such as a melon or watermelon, comprising: a first cutting station (10), predisposed to cut a fruit (100) into round portions (101) along parallel planes; a second cutting station (20), with two or more shaped blades (21a, b,c) predisposed to cut the round portions (101) into prismatic fragments; a sorting device (40), predisposed to detect a diameter of said round portions (101) and to assign each round portion (101) to a shaped blade (21a,b,c), selected on the basis of the diameter of the round portion.