Automated Fruit Wedge Cutter with Slit Formation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Manual cutting of fruit or vegetable wedges is labor-intensive and repetitive, increasing the risk of injury, and existing tools do not efficiently produce wedges with slits for easy placement on drinking containers.

Innovation Solution

An automated food processing machine that can be configured to either cut whole fruits or vegetables into wedges or slit and wedge them, using an electronic control system and a blade set to perform slitting and wedging operations along specific axes, reducing manual labor and injury risk.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If manual cutting is used to prepare fruit wedges, then flexibility and simplicity are maintained, but labor intensity increases and injury risk rises

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesimplicityVSAvoidlabor efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical cutting with an automated mechanical system. A motorized actuator drives a cutting blade through the fruit automatically, eliminating the need for manual knife handling while maintaining operational simplicity through automated control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The machine performs the cutting operation autonomously once the fruit is positioned. The actuator automatically advances the blade, cuts the fruit into wedges, and retracts, allowing the system to serve itself without continuous human intervention during the cutting process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Device complexity

If manual cutting is used to prepare fruit wedges, then device complexity is minimized, but productivity decreases due to repetitive labor

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoidoutput rate

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting process is divided into discrete automated steps: positioning the fruit, advancing the blade, cutting through the fruit, and retracting. This segmentation allows each step to be automatically controlled while maintaining overall system simplicity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The cutting system transitions from a static manual process to a dynamic automated one. The blade moves dynamically through the fruit along a predetermined path, enabling rapid repeated cutting cycles that increase productivity without significantly increasing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Ease of manufacture

If manual cutting is used, then equipment cost is reduced, but the risk of cut-related injury increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovecostVSAvoidinjury risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the dangerous cutting action from human hands and places it within a controlled mechanical system. The blade is housed in a mechanism that guides its movement, isolating the hazard from direct human contact while maintaining affordability through simple mechanical design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The automated actuator serves as an intermediary between the operator and the cutting blade. It performs the dangerous cutting function on behalf of the operator, reducing injury risk while keeping the system affordable through the use of standard mechanical components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Productivity

If existing automated tools are used, then productivity increases, but they fail to provide the required slit in the wedges

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomation efficiencyVSAvoidcut geometry accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The machine first makes a preliminary cut to create the slit in the fruit before completing the wedge cuts. This preliminary action ensures that the characteristic slit geometry is established early in the process, allowing subsequent cuts to form proper wedges with the required slit feature.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The cutting process incorporates motion in multiple dimensions: the blade moves horizontally through the fruit to create the slit, then vertically to form the wedges. This multi-dimensional cutting path enables the machine to produce both the slit and wedge geometry in a single automated operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS10603806B2Automated machine for slitting and wedge cutting whole fruits and vegetables

Publication Date: 2020.03.31 SUPRACUT SYST INT

AI summary

An automated food processing machine receives a whole fruit or vegetable and presses it through a blade set to form slices or wedges. The machine includes a controller coupled to various components including linear motion actuators, a user interface, and sensors. One motion actuator coupled to a slitting blade. Another motion actuator is coupled to a ram. In response to an input the controller activates the motion actuators in a sequence including (1) linear motion of the slitting blade to form a slit in the whole fruit or vegetable and (2) linear motion of the ram to press the whole fruit or vegetable through a blade set to form the slices or wedges.