Multi-Lane Fruit Pitting and Cutting Machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fruit pitting and cutting systems face issues such as high breakage rates, aesthetically poor cuts, and inefficiencies in processing fruit of varying qualities, with torque systems causing fruit to split or become fragmented, and knife systems resulting in lower weight yield and unsatisfactory cuts.
Innovation Solution
A multi-lane machine with a pitting and cutting station that includes an upper and lower head equipped with momentary locking devices and blades, allowing for precise pre-cutting, pitting, and cutting in a single station, using vertically and horizontally moving blades to facilitate the insertion and rotation of pitting knives for efficient fruit separation and cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If torque pitting system is used, then pitting percentage is improved (97-98%), but fruit breaks and pit fragmentation increases (3-10%)
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting blades perform a pre-cutting action by separating the fruit halves before the pitting knives are inserted. This preliminary separation creates gaps that facilitate the insertion of pitting knives without requiring the fruit to be subjected to high torsional forces, thereby reducing fruit breakage and pit fragmentation while maintaining high pitting percentage
Solution Approach 2:
The pitting process is segmented into distinct stages: first the fruit is cut into halves by cutting blades, then pitting knives are inserted into the created gaps to remove the pit. This segmentation allows each operation to be optimized independently, avoiding the need for high torque that causes breakage
2Object-generated harmful factors
If knife pitting system is used, then fruit breakage is reduced, but cutting aesthetic quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting function is segmented from the pitting function. Dedicated cutting blades with optimized geometry perform the cutting operation to ensure aesthetic quality, while separate pitting knives perform the pit removal. This allows each component to be optimized for its specific function without compromise
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting blades act as intermediaries that prepare the fruit structure by creating gaps and separating halves before the pitting knives are inserted. This intermediary action enables the pitting operation to proceed without compromising the aesthetic quality of the final cut surfaces
3Reliability
If pre-cutting section is added to ease pitting knife insertion, then pitting effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-cutting function and pitting function are merged into a single integrated station. The cutting blades and pitting knives operate in sequence within the same station, eliminating the need for separate pre-cutting and pitting stations. This reduces device complexity while maintaining improved pitting effectiveness through the preliminary cutting action
Data Source
AI summary
A pitting and cutting process for fruit, in particular peaches, involves the coplanar insertion, inside each fruit, of right and left upper and lower cutting blades, reciprocally horizontally separating the blades, inserting in the fruit an upper and lower pitting knife, rotating the pitting knives around the pit, vertically displacing downward both the upper cutting blades and the lower cutting blades to complete the cutting of the fruit, returning the right and left upper cutting blades and the lower cutting blades, still in reciprocal horizontal separation, and reciprocally horizontally approaching the right and left upper cutting blades and the right and left lower cutting blades for repeating the process. The related machine is also described.