GB2037147A - Peeling-apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A rind paring machine having a support (5, 13) for the article, which is rotatable and axially displaceable and blade means (3) which is biased towards the article and which pivots through a generally arcuate path as the article is rotated and axially displaced to substantially follow the contour of the article. Preferably the support comprises a screw-threaded rod (13) which engages co-operating means (6) to cause the axial displacement of the support as it rotates, the blade means (3) is pivoted by a rigid drive rod (17) connected between the blade means (3) and the support (5, 13), and the blade means pivots against the bias of a torsion spring (10). Thus, when the co-operating means (6) is disengaged from the rod (13), the torsion spring (10) acts through the rod (17) to return the support and the blade means to a paring start position. <IMAGE>

Description

movement of the blade means, is caused by the axial displacement of the displaceable member of the support means, and in a preferred embodiment this is done by a rigid member drivingly connecting the axially displaceable member to the mounting means at a position offset from the second axis whereby axial movement of the displaceable member is transmitted through the rigid member into limited rotational movement of the mounting means. Preferably the mounting means includes a torsion spring which acts to bias the blade means towards a paring start position, and the torsion spring may act through the rigid connecting member to bias the axially displaceable member towards the start position.

One embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is an elevational view partly cut-away to reveal the axially displaceable member of the support means and the blade means; FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but having more cut-away to show the driving mechanism; FIGURE 3 shows a detail of the driving mechanism; FIGURES 4A-C show various stages of the paring operation, and FIGURE 5 is one circuit diagram for use with a two-speed electric motor in the apparatus.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is shown a rind paring machine having a housing 1 which may, for example, be moulded in plastics material. The machine has a base 9 and a partition 27, supported, for example, by a bracket 14. In FIGURE 1 a drawer 8, shown schematically for illustration only, is provided for receiving the peeled rind through hole 1a in a further partition. The housing 1 is open at its upper end to receive the article to be peeled on a fork 5 forming part of the support means. To locate the article on the fork 5 it will usually be necessary to pivot a support rod 2 of blade means 3 upwardly about a pivot bar 30. The rod 2 is biased by a spring 25 (FIGURE 4) towards the position shown in FIGURE 2 in which an abutment 31 on the support rod 2 engages an abutment 32 on a rotatable seating 11.In this position the blades 4 of the blade means 3 are at their closest to the fork 5.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 2 the fork 5 is rigidly connected to one end of a screw-threaded rod 13 which is rotatably supported in a journal 33 which permits axial movement of the rod 13. At its other end the rod 13 is rigidly connected to an arrangement, shown in greater detail in FIGURE 3, which transfers rotational drive to the rod while permitting said axial movement. The arrangement comprises two discs 20 and 22 each rigidly supporting a pair of connecting rods 21 and 23 respectively.Each disc slidingly receives the other pair of connecting rods, and rods 23 are rigidly connected with the screwthreaded rod 13 while rods 21 are rigidly connected through member 24 with a reduction gearing system SPECIFICATION Rind paring machine This invention relates to rind paring apparatus such as may be used in a household for peeling fruit and vegetables like apples, pears, oranges, pineapples, radishes and potatoes.

According to the present invention there is provided rind paring apparatus comprising support means for the article to be pared, the support means being capable of rotating the article about a fixed axis and having an axially displaceable member for displacing the article along the axis from a a paring start position, blade means having at least one blade for paring the article, which blade means is mounted for pivotal movement about a second axis, the blade means being pivotally displaced about the second axis simultaneously and in conjunction with the article being displaced along the first-mentioned axis, and the blade or at least one of the blades being capable of substantially following the contours of the article as the article rotates and is displaced along the first-mentioned axis and as the blade means pivots.

Convenientiy the support means rotates the article to be peeled through an electric motor, which may operate with either AC or DC power, so that a particular peeling operation may be carried out promptly and automatically in hygienic conditions, and preferably at an adjustable speed.

In view of the varying size and shape of different articles to be peeled, the blade means will normally be biased, preferably by spring means, towards the article. Furtherthe blade or blades may be exchangeable for ones of different shape or size. The axially displaceable member is conveniently biased towards the start position.

Preferably, the axially displaceable member of the support means comprises a screw-threaded rotatable rod which is capable of drivingly engaging with co-operating means that causes the rod to be axially displaced as the rod is rotated, and the co-operating means is conveniently releasable from driving engagement with the screw thread to permit the return of the support means to the paring start position. Paring will start at or adjacent one end of the article to be peeled.The support means may comprise in addition to the axially displaceable member an axially fixed portion through which rotational drive is transmitted, the axially fixed portion being drivingly engaged with the displaceable member through a sliding connection, which may comprise rotatable disc means coupled to each of the axially displaceable member and the axially fixed portion and sets of connecting rods fixed to respective disc means and axially slidably engaged with the other.

The blade means may comprise a supporting rod carrying the blade or blades at one end and pivotally connected at the other end to rotatable mounting means which defines the second axis. Conveniently, rotation of the mounting means, and thereby pivotal 15 driven by an electric motor 16. As shown in FIG URE 5, the motor 16 may be driven by AC power through the mains plug 19 or through DC power by a battery 18 which may be rechargable from the mains.

An adjusting rod 6 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 34 and is biased by a spring 12 into engagement with the screw-threaded rod 13. The adjusting rod 6 acts as co-operating means for the screw-threaded rod 13 so that, as the rod 13 rotates with the threads engaging the rod 6, the rod 13, with the fork 5 attached thereto, is displaced axially, such displacement being permitted by the arrangement 20-23.

The motor 16 is adapted to only rotate the rod 13 and fork 5 in one direction, that is the direction which causes upward displacement of the latter relative to the rod 6, and the rod 13 is released for axially downward displacement when the rod 6 is moved out of engagement with the thread of rod 13. The rod 6 projects externally of the housing 1 to permit manual displacement thereof by pivoting against the bias of spring 12. The rod 13 moves axially downwardly when released by the rod 6 under the bias of gravity and of a torsion spring 10, as hereinafter explained.

A rigid drive rod 17 is connected between the support means and the rotatable seating 11 to transfer the axial displacement of the screw-threaded rod 13 into corresponding rotational displacement of the seating 11. At one end (FIGURE 3) the drive rod 17 is journalled between the screw-threaded rod 13 and the connecting rods 23 attached to the rod 13 in a manner which permits rotation of the rods 13 and 23 relative to the rod 17 and which transfers said axial displacement of the rod 13 to the rod 17. At its other end (FIGURES 2 and 4) the rigid drive rod 17 is eccentrically and pivotally connected to the seating 11 at a position which avoids a top-dead-centre con dition being achieved when the screw-threaded rod 13 is at its lowest position.The seating 11 is mounted for rotation on a bracket 35, and the torsion spring 10 biases the seating 11 into the position shown in FIGURE 2. The torsion spring 10 acts through the rigid drive rod 17 to bias the screwthreaded rod 13 downwardly. The pivot rod 30 is also mounted eccentrically on the seating 11, on the opposite side thereof to the drive rod 17, so that as the seating is rotated by the rod 17, the pivot rod 30, and hence the support rod 2, is moved about an arcuate path (FIGURE 4). The support rod 2 is restrained from rotating about its longitudinal axis relative to the pivot rod 30 and rigidly mounts the blades 4 through a head 4a so that as the seating 11 rotates at least one of the blades at any one time substantially foilows the contours of the article to be peeled.To cater for different shaped and sized arti cles the head 4a and/orthe individual blades 4 may be exchanged for more suitable ones which will ensure the substantially complete peeling of the arti cle, and a slip or automatic stop device (not shown) may be provided for stopping peeling.

In use, the article to be peeled is located centrally on the fork 5 so that the top and bottom of the article are at extreme ends of the substantially arcuate path to be followed by the blades 4, bearing in mind the axial displacement of the fork 5. With a suitable set of blades 4 biased towards the article at the top thereof, and the support means at its downwardly biased position, the machine is in its paring start position and the motor 16 is actuated at a fast or slow speed by one of the buttons 7. Through the reduction gearing system 15 and the arrangement 20-23 (FIGURE 3) the motor 16 rotates the rod 13 and hence the article on the fork 5. Such rotation of the rod 13 causes, by its engagement with the rod 6, the rod 13 to be displaced axially upwardly in the drawings.Simultaneously by its connection with the support means, the rigid drive rod causes the seating 11 and hence the support rod 2 to be rotated. As the blades 4 are biased towards the article by the spring 25, the rotation of the article causes the blades to peel it, and the axial displacement of the article on the fork 5 ensures that the blades follow a generally helical path on the article. The rotation of the support rod 2 and of the blades 4 ensures that at least one of the blades 4 is retained at a cutting angle relative to the article throughout the axial displacement of the article. When the article has been fully peeled and the rod 13 is at its axially upper limit the machine is stopped and the article is removed from the fork. The machine may then be returned to its paring start position by pivoting the rod 6 away from the rod 13 against the bias of spring 12, so that the bias of torsion spring 10 displaces the blade means 3 and, through the drive rod 17, the support means.

Claims (14)

1. Rind paring apparatus comprising support means for the article to be pared, the support means being capable of rotating the article about a fixed axis and having an axially displaceable member for displacing the article along the axis from a paring start position, blade means having at least one blade for paring the article, which blade means is mounted for pivotal movement about a second axis, the blade means being pivotally displaced about the second axis simultaneously and in conjunction with the article being displaced along the first mentioned axis, and the blade or at least one of the blades being capable of substantially following the contours of the article as the article rotates and is displaced along the first mentioned axis and as the blade means pivots.

2. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the blade means is biased towards the article.

3. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the axially displaceable member of the support means comprises a screw-threaded rotatable rod which is capable of drivingly engaging with co-operating means that causes the rod to be axially displaced as the rod is rotated.

4. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which the co-operating means is releasable from driving engagement with the screw thread to permit the return of the support means to the paring start position.

5. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the support means comprises in addition to the axially displaceable member an axially fixed portion through which rota tional drive is transmitted, the axially fixed portion being drivingly engaged with the displaceable member through a sliding connection.

6. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the support means is rotated by a motor through a reduction gearing system.

7. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 6 in which the rotational speed of the support means is variable.

8. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the blade means comprises a supporting rod carrying the blade or blades at one end and pivotally connected at the other end to rotatable mounting means which defines the second axis.

9. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in which rotation of the mounting means, and thereby pivotal movement of the blade means, is caused by the axial displacement of the displaceable member of the support means.

10. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which a rigid member drivingly connects the axially displaceable member to the mounting means at a position offset from the second axis whereby axial movement of the displaceable member is transmitted through the rigid member into limited rotational movement of the mounting means.

11. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10 in which the mounting means includes a torsion spring which acts to bias the blade means towards a paring start position.

12. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the axially displaceable member of the support means is biased towards the start position.

13. Rind paring apparatus as claimed in claim 12 when dependent from claim 11 in which the torsion spring acts through the rigid connecting memberto bias the axially displaceable member towards the start position.

14. Rind paring apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.