Fruit Pitting and Cutting Machine with Segmented Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current machines that perform both pitting and cutting of fruits in one stage often result in fractured pits, leading to scattered pit fragments, which are difficult to remove and pose a risk, especially in processed fruits intended for infants.
Innovation Solution
A method and machine that separate pitting and cutting into two stages, with a pre-cutting stage creating incisions in the fruit before pitting, and using temporarily clamping devices to keep the fruit steady during pitting without invasive blades, ensuring the pit remains intact and is removed precisely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pitting and cutting are performed in the same time with the same tool, then the processing efficiency is improved, but the pit is fractured and split into two halves causing pit fragments to scatter in the fruit flesh
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the processing into two distinct stages: a pitting stage where the pit is separated from the fruit flesh while remaining inside the fruit, and a subsequent cutting stage where the fruit is divided into two halves. This segmentation prevents the pit from being fractured during cutting, eliminating pit fragments in the final product while maintaining processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The pitting operation is performed as a preliminary action before the cutting operation. By separating the pit from the fruit flesh first, the pit is protected from the cutting blades that will subsequently divide the fruit into halves, thereby preventing pit fragmentation while maintaining processing efficiency.
2Reliability
If vertical retaining blades are used to hold the fruit steady during pitting, then the fruit is temporarily blocked, but the blades cut the fruit flesh and remove the containing function of fibers that prevents pit splitting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vertical retaining blades from the system. Instead of using blades that cut the fruit flesh, the invention uses a different mechanism to hold the fruit steady during pitting, thereby preserving the fiber containing function that prevents pit splitting while maintaining fruit stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cup element that supports the fruit from below and a fruit pressing cap that presses the fruit from above as intermediary devices to hold the fruit steady during pitting. These intermediaries replace the harmful vertical retaining blades, providing the necessary fruit stability without cutting the fruit flesh or removing the fiber containing function.
3Ease of operation
If the fruit is divided in two halves before pitting, then the cutting operation is simplified, but the pit becomes separated while being cut making precise pitting impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the operations into two distinct stages: first performing the pitting operation on the whole fruit to separate the pit from the flesh, then performing the cutting operation to divide the fruit into two halves. This segmentation ensures that the pit remains intact during pitting and is not separated or fractured during the subsequent cutting operation, maintaining both operational simplicity and pitting precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
A fruit pitting and cutting method provides a fruit feeding along more fruit lanes, a pre-cutting stage to create an incision in the upper portion and the lower portion of each fruit (P), a pitting stage, in which the pit is separated from the flesh but remains inside the fruit, and a subsequent cutting stage in which a vertical cut is made in side parts of each fruit (P) to be divided into two halves. A multi-lane machine is also described that has a longitudinal frame (1), a fruit flight conveyor (3), movable upper and lower transverse heads (8, 9), a station (7) including a pre-cutting section (10), a pitting section (11), and a cutting section (12) separated in succession.