JP7410741B2 - Citrus fruit peeler - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a citrus fruit peeler for peeling the peel of a citrus fruit from its pulp, and particularly belongs to the technical field of a structure for pumping fluid between the peel and the pulp.

BACKGROUND ART Peel peelers used for peeling the peel of citrus fruits from the pulp have been known (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). The pericarp peeler disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a nozzle that is connected to an air compressor and is supplied with compressed air from the air compressor. An injection hole for injecting compressed air in the radial direction of the nozzle is formed at the tip of the nozzle. When peeling a pericarp using the pericarp peeler of Patent Document 1, first, a nozzle is inserted from the apex of the citrus fruit through the fruit core until it reaches subcutaneously on the inner surface of the fruit core. Thereafter, by supplying compressed air to the nozzle and injecting it from the injection hole, the compressed air is forced between the pericarp and the pulp, and the peel can be peeled off from the pulp.

Further, the pericarp peeler disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a needle nozzle connected to an air supply machine and supplied with compressed air from the air supply machine. When peeling the pericarp using the pericarp peeler of Patent Document 2, a needle nozzle is inserted into the pericarp and air at a preset predetermined pressure is supplied for a predetermined period of time with the tip of the needle nozzle facing the albedo area. As a result, the fibers are torn in many areas of the albedo region, which allows the peel to be separated from the pulp.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 50-116674 JP2016-21882A

By the way, in the case of a pericarp peeler configured to supply compressed air to the inside of the fruit by inserting a nozzle into the fruit skin, as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is necessary to insert the nozzle to the desired depth. That is, since the nozzle of Patent Document 1 injects compressed air in the radial direction, for example, if the insertion of the nozzle is stopped at the core of the fruit, the compressed air will hit the pulp, causing the skin to peel off. Not only is this impossible, but the pulp may collapse under the pressure of the compressed air. Furthermore, in the case of Patent Document 2, if the needle nozzle is inserted too deeply, it will get stuck in the fruit pulp, and as a result, the same problem as in Patent Document 1 may occur. Furthermore, if the needle nozzle is inserted too shallowly, compressed air cannot be supplied to the albedo portion, and the peel cannot be peeled off.

In this way, if the nozzle cannot be inserted to the desired depth, it will be difficult to peel off the fruit skin, and in some cases, the pulp will be broken, so the operator must be very careful. This requires a certain degree of skill, and not just anyone can easily perform the peeling work.

In addition, as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when compressed air is supplied to the inside of the fruit, the pressure inside the fruit increases. The air inside the fruit tends to leak out between the gaps. For example, if an operation such as slightly moving the punctured nozzle is performed, the puncture hole in the pericarp will expand, making it easy for air to leak out. If the air supplied inside the fruit leaks to the outside, the pressure inside the fruit will not increase sufficiently, making it difficult to peel off the skin.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and its purpose is to enable anyone to easily and reliably perform peeling work of fruit skin without requiring any skill.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insertion stopper for setting the depth of a nozzle for pumping fluid between the pericarp and the pulp to a predetermined depth, so that the fluid pumped between the pericarp and the pulp is provided with an insertion stopper. The insertion stopper prevents the leakage of the liquid to the outside.

A first aspect of the present invention is a citrus fruit peeler for peeling the peel of a citrus fruit from the pulp, which has a flow path connected to a fluid pressure source, and the downstream end of the flow path is arranged at a plurality of locations on the outer surface of the tip. A nozzle that opens and is inserted into the pericarp, and a nozzle provided on the proximal side of the part of the nozzle in which the opening is formed, and when the opening of the nozzle reaches an albedo part between the pericarp and the pulp. and an insertion stopper that abuts the outer surface of the pericarp, and the opening of the nozzle is formed to open in multiple directions so that fluid can be discharged in multiple directions when the nozzle is viewed from the axial direction. The insertion stopper is characterized in that it is formed to cover a portion of the pericarp through which the nozzle is inserted.

According to this configuration, when the nozzle is inserted into the pericarp and the opening of the nozzle reaches the albedo portion, the insertion stopper comes into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp, making it impossible to insert the nozzle any deeper. Therefore, the operator does not need to be skilled because the operator can position the opening of the nozzle at an appropriate location within the citrus fruit by simply inserting the nozzle into the pericarp until the insertion stopper contacts the outer surface of the pericarp. Then, the fluid supplied from the fluid pressure source flows from the flow path of the nozzle through the opening between the peel and the pulp, and acts to tear the fibers in the albedo portion. This causes the peel to separate from the pulp. At this time, since the insertion stopper is arranged to cover the part of the fruit skin through which the nozzle is inserted, the fluid supplied inside the citrus fruit is less likely to leak out from the part of the fruit skin through which the nozzle is inserted. The pressure increases sufficiently, making it possible to peel off the pericarp cleanly as desired.

Further , the nozzle is provided with a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the position of the insertion stopper in the axial direction of the nozzle.

In other words, there are multiple types of citrus fruits, and even within the same type, the thickness of the skin may vary depending on the season and place of production. The insertion stopper determines the position of the opening by coming into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp, so for example, if the thickness of the pericarp becomes thick, the position of the opening may not reach the albedo area, and if the thickness of the pericarp becomes thin, the opening may not reach into the pulp. There is a risk that it will be reached. In the present invention, the position of the insertion stopper in the nozzle axis direction can be adjusted by the position adjustment mechanism. If the peel is thin, by moving the insertion stopper toward the tip of the nozzle, it is possible to easily accommodate differences in the thickness of the peel without having to prepare multiple types of nozzles with different lengths.

In a second aspect of the invention, the position adjustment mechanism includes a thread formed on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle in a predetermined range in the axial direction, and a threaded member having a thread groove threaded into the thread. The insertion stopper is attached to the threaded member.

According to this configuration, when the threaded member is rotated relative to the nozzle while the threaded groove of the threaded member is threaded into the thread of the nozzle, the position of the threaded member is adjusted steplessly in the axial direction of the nozzle. Can be changed. Since the insertion stopper is attached to this screwing member, the position of the insertion stopper can be adjusted steplessly by a simple operation of rotating the screwing member.

A third invention is characterized in that the insertion stopper protrudes radially outward of the nozzle and is continuous in the circumferential direction of the nozzle.

According to this configuration, when the insertion stopper comes into contact with the outer surface of the fruit skin, the insertion stopper can cover the entire circumference of the part of the skin where the nozzle is inserted, so that the fluid supplied to the inside of the citrus fruit can be It becomes even more difficult to leak.

A fourth invention is characterized in that the insertion stopper is made of an elastic material.

According to this configuration, when the insertion stopper comes into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp, the insertion stopper is elastically deformed to correspond to the shape of the outer surface of the pericarp. As a result, the gap between the insertion stopper and the outer surface of the pericarp can be minimized, making it even more difficult for the fluid supplied to the inside of the citrus fruit to leak. Incidentally, examples of the elastic material constituting the insertion stopper include rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, and the like.

A fifth invention includes a main body provided between the nozzle and the fluid pressure source, and the main body includes a valve mechanism that controls the flow rate of fluid to the nozzle, and a valve mechanism that controls the flow rate of fluid to the nozzle. A control lever is provided, and the flow rate of the fluid at the beginning of the stroke of the control lever is set to be smaller than the flow rate of the fluid at the end of the stroke.

According to this configuration, when the operator operates the control lever, the flow rate at the beginning of the stroke of the control lever is relatively small, so a large amount of fluid flows at once between the pericarp and the pulp when the peel begins to peel. The albedo portion can be gradually torn off. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the breakage of the pericarp that may occur due to the inflow of a large amount of fluid at once.

According to the present invention, an insertion stopper is provided to set the depth of the nozzle for pumping fluid between the peel and pulp to a predetermined depth, so that the fluid pumped between the peel and pulp can be prevented from leaking to the outside. Since this can be suppressed by the insertion stopper, anyone can easily and reliably peel the pericarp without requiring any skill.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a citrus fruit peeling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the tip of the peeler for citrus fruits. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the distal end portion with the insertion stopper disposed at the proximal end side. FIG. 2 is a view of the tip of the peeler for citrus fruit viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the distal end with the insertion stopper disposed at the most distal side. FIG. 3 is a side view of the citrus fruit peeler with the operating lever at the beginning of its stroke. FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 in which the operating lever is in the latter half of its stroke; It is a figure which shows the usage state of the pericarp peeler for citrus fruits. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the pericarp is peeled off from the pulp by the supplied fluid.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Note that the following description of preferred embodiments is essentially just an example, and is not intended to limit the present invention, its applications, or its uses.

FIG. 1 shows a citrus fruit peeling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The citrus fruit peeler 1 is an instrument used to pump fluid between the peel and pulp of a citrus fruit and peel the peel from the pulp using the force of the fluid. Examples of citrus fruits whose skins can be peeled by the citrus fruit peeling device 1 include lemons, oranges, tangerines, summer citrus, hassaku, Iyokan, navel, grapefruit, etc. The peeling device 1 for citrus fruits can be used, but is not limited to, when peeling the peels of various citrus fruits.

The peeling device 1 for citrus fruit is broadly divided into a main body part 10 and a tip part 20. The main body portion 10 is made of, for example, a metal cylindrical member, and is a portion that can be held by an operator who performs peeling work of the fruit skin. An inflow path 10a through which fluid from the fluid pressure source 100 flows is formed inside the main body portion 10. A downstream end of a hose 101 is connected to an upstream end of the inflow path 10a. The upstream end of the hose 101 is connected to a water pipe, which is a fluid pressure source 100. Clean water is supplied to the water pipe at a predetermined pressure, and thus the water pipe serves as a fluid pressure source 100. The hose 101 can also be connected to, for example, a faucet. Furthermore, the fluid pressure source 100 may be a pump or the like that pumps water at a predetermined pressure. In this embodiment, water, which is an incompressible fluid, is used as the fluid used to peel off the pericarp, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a compressible fluid such as air may be used. However, incompressible fluids are preferable to compressible fluids because they can easily enter between the pericarp and the pulp as intended.

A valve mechanism 10b is provided inside the main body 10 on the downstream side of the inflow path 10a. The valve mechanism 10b is for controlling the flow rate of fluid supplied to the nozzle 21 constituting the tip portion 20, and has a conventionally well-known structure. The main body portion 10 is provided with an operating rod 10c that operates the valve mechanism 10b. One end (lower end in FIG. 1) of the operating rod 10c is connected to the valve mechanism 10b. The other end of the operating rod 10c protrudes from the longitudinal end surface of the main body 10 to the outside of the main body 10, and the other end of the operating rod 10c is connected to an operating lever 30 provided on the main body 10. has been done.

When the operating rod 10c is pushed into the main body 10 (downward in FIG. 1), the valve mechanism 10b is opened and fluid is supplied to the nozzle 21. On the other hand, the operating rod 10c is biased toward the outside of the main body 10 (upward in FIG. 1) by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown), and when the operating lever 30 is not operated, the operating rod 10c is biased by the biasing member. It moves out of the main body part 10 by the urging force of. In this state, the valve mechanism 10b is in a closed state. When the operating rod 10c in the closed state of the valve mechanism 10b is pushed into the main body 10, the flow rate of fluid is small at the initial stage, and the flow rate of fluid increases according to the amount of pushing of the operating rod 10c. A valve mechanism 10b is configured. That is, the opening degree of the valve mechanism 10b is changed according to the amount of pushing of the operating rod 10c, and the opening degree is small in the initial stage and gradually increases toward the later stage.

On the downstream side of the main body 10 in the fluid flow direction, a pipe 11 to which the tip 20 is connected is provided so as to protrude in the radial direction of the main body 10 . An upstream end of a discharge passage 11a formed in the pipe portion 11 is connected to the discharge side of the valve mechanism 10b.

A lever support portion 12 that supports the operating lever 30 is provided on the outside of the tube portion 11 so as to protrude. The lever support portion 12 is provided with a support shaft 12a that swingably supports the operating lever 30. Further, the operating lever 30 and the operating rod 10c are rotatably connected by a support shaft 30a. The operating lever 30 extends from the vicinity of the support shaft 12a to the side of the main body portion 10 while being curved or bent, and the support shaft 30a is disposed at an intermediate portion thereof. Therefore, by holding the operating lever 30 together with the main body 10, the operating lever 30 can be swung about the support shaft 12a, and the operating rod 10c can be moved into the main body 10. can be done. The position of the operating lever 30 shown in FIG. 1 is the position where the valve mechanism 10b is in the closed state, and it is automatically returned to this position by the biasing force of the biasing member.

The operating rod 10c is provided with an elastic material 14 made of, for example, rubber or thermoplastic elastomer. The operating rod 10c is arranged to penetrate the elastic member 14. The elastic member 14 is located between the end surface of the main body portion 10 and the operating lever 30. As shown in FIG. 6, when the operating lever 30 is swung around the support shaft 12a, the elastic member 14 is moved so that the operating lever 30 hardly contacts the elastic member 14 at the initial stage of the stroke of the operating lever 30. 14 shapes and positions are set. After the middle stage of the stroke of the operating lever 30, the operating lever 30 comes into strong contact with the elastic member 14. As a result, the repulsive force from the elastic member 14 increases, and the operator feels a stronger reaction force from the operating lever 30. Due to the elastic deformation of the elastic member 14, the operating lever 30 can swing until the latter half of the stroke. Note that the elastic material 14 may be a spring or the like. Further, the position where the elastic member 14 is disposed is not limited to the illustrated position, but may be disposed at any position.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tip portion 20 includes a nozzle 21, a nut 25, a threaded member 26, and an insertion stopper 27. The nozzle 21 is made of a metal member such as stainless steel, and has an elongated shape. A large diameter base 22 is formed in the shape of a flange at the base end of the nozzle 21 . A large-diameter base portion 22 is fixed to the tip of the tube portion 11 of the main body portion 10 in the protruding direction. Further, a small diameter base 23 is formed in a portion closer to the tip than the large diameter base 22 so as to overlap with the large diameter base 22 .

A flow path 21 a is formed inside the nozzle 21 and is connected to the fluid pressure source 100 via the main body 10 . The flow path 21 a extends inside the large-diameter base 22 and the small-diameter base 23 to the base end of the nozzle 21 , and the upstream portion of the flow path 21 a is open to the base end surface of the nozzle 21 . The tip of the nozzle 21 is formed into a sharp-pointed portion 21b, and the provision of the sharp-pointed portion 21b makes it easier to insert the nozzle 21 into the pericarp. The flow path 21a extends within the sharply shaped portion 21b to the tip of the nozzle 21. The downstream end of the flow path 21a opens in the radial direction on the outer surface of the sharp-pointed portion 21b. As a result, fluid is ejected in the radial direction of the nozzle 21. The downstream end opening of the flow path 21a is indicated by the reference numeral 21c. As shown in FIG. 4 when the nozzle 21 is viewed from the tip side, four downstream end openings 21c are formed on the outer surface of the sharp-pointed portion 21b, so that fluid is injected in four directions. When the nozzle 21 is viewed from the axial direction (front end side), the downstream end opening 21c is formed so that fluid can be discharged in at least four directions. That is, the four downstream end openings 21c are open in different directions, and are formed at approximately equal intervals (every 90 degrees) in the circumferential direction of the nozzle 21. Note that the number of downstream end openings 21c may be three or less, or five or more. Further, it is sufficient that the fluid can be ejected in a plurality of directions, and two or more downstream end openings 21c may be opened in different directions.

As shown in FIG. 2, a thread 21d is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 21. The range in which the thread 21d is formed is a predetermined range on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 21 that is closer to the distal end than the small diameter base portion 23 and closer to the proximal end than the sharpened portion 21b. In this embodiment, the formation range of the thread 21d is set closer to the proximal end than the axial center of the nozzle 21. The nut 25 is screwed onto the thread 21d of the nozzle 21.

The threaded member 26 also threads onto the thread 21d of the nozzle 21, and is positioned closer to the tip of the nozzle 21 than the nut 25. That is, the threaded member 26 is a cylindrical member made of, for example, hard resin or metal, and as shown in FIG. A threaded groove 26a is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, a small diameter portion 26b having a smaller diameter than the proximal end is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the screwing member 26 on the distal end thereof. A protrusion 26c that protrudes outward in the radial direction and extends in the circumferential direction is formed at the tip of the small diameter portion 26b. The protruding portion 26c is an engaging portion with which the insertion stopper 27 engages, and may be provided discontinuously in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the insertion stopper 27 is provided closer to the proximal end than the portion of the nozzle 21 where the downstream end opening 21c is formed (the sharp-edged portion 21b), and the details will be described later. However, the downstream end opening 21c of the nozzle 21 is formed so as to come into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp when it reaches the albedo portion between the pericarp and the pulp. That is, the insertion stopper 27 has an annular portion 27a and an umbrella portion 27b made of, for example, rubber or thermoplastic elastomer, and the annular portion 27a and the umbrella portion 27b are integrally molded. The annular portion 27a is located closer to the proximal end than the umbrella portion 27b, and the annular portion 27a fits on the outside of the small diameter portion 26b of the screw member 26. Further, a grooved portion 27c is formed continuously in the circumferential direction on the inner circumferential surface of the annular portion 27a so as to correspond to the protruding portion 26c of the screwing member 26. The projection 26c of the threaded member 26 is fitted into the groove 27c, thereby engaging the projection 26c and the groove 27c, whereby the insertion stopper 27 is attached to the threaded member 26. become. Since the insertion stopper 27 is made of an elastic material, the protruding portion 26c and the concave portion 27c can be easily engaged by mainly elastically deforming the annular portion 27a.

When the nozzle 21 is inserted into the pericarp, the umbrella part 27b is formed so as to cover the part of the pericarp through which the nozzle 21 is inserted, and protrudes outward in the radial direction of the nozzle 21, and also extends through the nozzle 21. Continuous in the circumferential direction. The umbrella portion 27b is formed so as to be positioned closer to the tip of the nozzle 21 as it goes outward in the radial direction, and its hardness and wall thickness are set so that it is elastically deformed along the outer surface of the pericarp when it comes into contact with the pericarp. has been done.

The thread 21d of the nozzle 21, the nut 25, and the threaded member 26 constitute a position adjustment mechanism 40 that adjusts the position of the insertion stopper 27 in the axial direction of the nozzle 21. As shown in FIG. 1, when the nut 25 is rotated relative to the nozzle 21 and brought fully toward the base end of the nozzle 21, and the threaded member 26 is also brought fully toward the base end of the nozzle 21, Insertion stopper 27 also moves toward the proximal end of nozzle 21 . When the insertion stopper 27 has moved toward the proximal end of the nozzle 21, the sharp-edged portion 21b can be inserted into the pericarp most deeply.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the nut 25 is rotated in the opposite direction to the nozzle 21 to bring it fully toward the tip side of the nozzle 21, and the threaded member 26 is similarly moved fully toward the tip side of the nozzle 21. When the insertion stopper 27 is moved toward the tip of the nozzle 21, the insertion stopper 27 also moves toward the tip side of the nozzle 21. When the insertion stopper 27 moves toward the distal end of the nozzle 21, the sharp-pointed portion 21b is inserted into the pericarp at its shallowest depth. When fixing the threaded member 26, the nut 25 may be rotated so as to tighten the threaded member 26.

Therefore, the position of the insertion stopper 27 in the axial direction corresponds to the position of the nut 25 and the threaded member 26 with respect to the nozzle 21. By rotating the nut 25 and the threaded member 26, the axial position of the insertion stopper 27 can be adjusted steplessly. The axial position of the insertion stopper 27 can be adjusted depending on the citrus fruit whose skin is to be peeled. For example, when the peel is thick, the insertion stopper 27 can be moved to the base end side of the nozzle 21, and When the thickness of the pericarp is thin, by moving the insertion stopper 27 to the tip side of the nozzle 21, it is possible to easily deal with differences in the thickness of the pericarp without having to prepare multiple types of nozzles 21 with different lengths. be able to.

(How to peel off the peel)
Next, a method for peeling the pericarp will be explained. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the main body 10 and the fluid pressure source 100 are connected by a hose 101. Before making the connection, check whether the operating lever 30 is in the position that closes the valve mechanism 10b. Then, if the fluid pressure source 100 is a water supply, the water faucet is opened. At this time, check whether there is any water leakage from each part of the citrus fruit peeler 1.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a lemon 200 as a citrus fruit is prepared, and the lemon 200 is stabbed with the sharp-pointed portion 21b of the nozzle 21 of the peel peeler 1 for citrus fruits. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the sharp-edged portion 21b of the nozzle 21 is inserted into the peel 201 of the lemon 200, and when the downstream end opening 21c reaches the albedo portion 203 between the peel 201 and the pulp 202, the nozzle 21 is inserted. Since the stopper 27 comes into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp 201, the nozzle 21 cannot be inserted any deeper. Therefore, the operator can position the downstream end opening 21c of the nozzle 21 at an appropriate location inside the lemon 200 by simply inserting the nozzle 21 into the peel 201 until the insertion stopper 27 comes into contact with the outer surface of the peel 201. Therefore, no skill is required. At this time, the umbrella part 27a of the insertion stopper 27 is arranged so as to cover the insertion part 201a of the nozzle 21 in the pericarp 201. When the insertion stopper 27 comes into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp 201, the umbrella portion 27b of the insertion stopper 27 is elastically deformed to correspond to the shape of the outer surface of the pericarp. Thereby, the gap between the insertion stopper 27 and the outer surface of the pericarp 201 can be minimized.

Thereafter, the operator swings the operating lever 30 to open the valve mechanism 10b which is in the closed state. As the operating lever 30 is swung, the operating force is small in the early stage of the stroke until the operating lever 30 contacts the elastic member 14, and in the middle stage of the stroke, the operating force is reduced due to the repulsive force of the elastic member 14. growing. Therefore, it is possible to temporarily stop the operation lever 30 at the initial stage of the stroke and maintain a state in which the fluid flow rate is low.

As shown by the arrow in FIG. 9, the fluid injected from the downstream end opening 21c of the nozzle 21 flows between the pericarp 201 and the pulp 202 and acts to break the fibers of the albedo portion 203. At this time, the fluid also tries to flow toward the insertion portion 201a of the nozzle 21 in the pericarp 201, but since this insertion portion 201a is covered by the umbrella portion 27a of the insertion stopper 27, the fluid is difficult to leak to the outside. .

The pericarp 201 is peeled off from the pulp 202 by supplying the fluid. At this time, since the four downstream end openings 21c are open in four directions, the fluid is injected in four directions and spreads over a wide area between the pericarp 201 and the pulp 202 at once. Since the flow rate of the fluid at the time of initial injection is set to be low, excessive force is less likely to act on the pericarp 201 locally, and tearing of the pericarp 201 can be suppressed.

After maintaining the initial stroke for a while, when the operator further strokes the operating lever 30, the flow rate of the fluid increases, ensuring that the fluid reaches the back side of the lemon 200 and removes all of the peel 201 from the pulp 202. Peeled off. In other words, in this embodiment, when the operator operates the operating lever 30, the flow rate at the beginning of the stroke of the operating lever 30 is relatively small, so a large amount of fluid is generated between the pericarp and the pulp when the peel begins to be peeled. does not flow in all at once, and the albedo portion 203 can be gradually torn off. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the tearing of the pericarp 201 that may occur due to a large amount of fluid flowing in at once. When a large amount of fluid begins to flow backward from the insertion portion 201a of the nozzle 21 in the pericarp 201, the operating lever 30 is moved to a position that closes the valve mechanism 10b.

After that, the nozzle 21 is removed from the pericarp 201. Next, by tearing the pericarp 201, the pulp 202 can be taken out. As a method for taking out the pulp 202, for example, a method of soaking in water or hot water, a method of freezing, etc. can be used.

(Operations and effects of embodiments)
As explained above, according to the citrus fruit peeling device 1 according to this embodiment, when the nozzle 21 is inserted into the pericarp and the downstream end opening 21c of the nozzle 21 reaches the albedo portion, the insertion stopper 27 is Since it comes into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp, the operator can position the downstream end opening 21c of the nozzle 21 at an appropriate location within the citrus fruit without requiring any skill. Then, the pericarp can be peeled off from the pulp by the fluid supplied from the fluid pressure source 100. At this time, since the umbrella part 27b of the insertion stopper 27 covers the part of the pericarp through which the nozzle 21 is inserted, the citrus fruit can be peeled off. The fluid supplied inside becomes difficult to leak to the outside, and the pressure inside the citrus fruit can be sufficiently increased. Therefore, anyone can easily and reliably perform the work of peeling the fruit skin.

The embodiments described above are merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted in a limiting manner. Furthermore, all modifications and changes that come within the scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

As explained above, the citrus fruit peeling device according to the present invention can be used, for example, when peeling the peel of a lemon or the like from the pulp.

1 Citrus fruit peeler 10 Main body 10b Valve mechanism 21 Nozzle 21a Channel 21c Downstream end opening 21d Thread 26 Threaded member 26a Thread groove 27 Insertion stopper 30 Operation lever 40 Position adjustment mechanism 100 Fluid pressure source

Claims (5)

In a citrus fruit peeler for peeling the peel of citrus fruits from the pulp,
a nozzle having a flow path connected to a fluid pressure source, the downstream end of the flow path opening at a plurality of locations on the outer surface of the tip, and being inserted into the pericarp;
an insertion stopper that is provided on the proximal end side of a portion of the nozzle where the opening is formed, and that comes into contact with the outer surface of the pericarp when the opening of the nozzle reaches an albedo portion between the pericarp and the pulp. ,
The opening of the nozzle is formed to open in multiple directions so that fluid can be discharged in multiple directions when the nozzle is viewed from the axial direction,
The insertion stopper is formed to cover a portion of the pericarp through which the nozzle is inserted ,
A peeling device for citrus fruit, characterized in that the nozzle is provided with a position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the insertion stopper in the axial direction of the nozzle . The citrus fruit peeling device according to claim 1 ,
The position adjustment mechanism includes a thread formed on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle in a predetermined range in the axial direction, and a threaded member having a thread groove that threads into the thread,
A peeling device for citrus fruits, characterized in that the insertion stopper is attached to the threaded member. The citrus fruit peeling device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The peeling device for citrus fruit is characterized in that the insertion stopper projects outward in the radial direction of the nozzle and is continuous in the circumferential direction of the nozzle. The citrus fruit peeling device according to claim 3 ,
A peeling device for citrus fruits, wherein the insertion stopper is made of an elastic material. The citrus fruit peeling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
a main body provided between the nozzle and the fluid pressure source;
The main body is provided with a valve mechanism that controls the flow rate of fluid to the nozzle, and an operating lever that operates the valve mechanism,
A peeler for citrus fruits, characterized in that the flow rate of fluid at the beginning of the stroke of the operating lever is set to be lower than the flow rate of the fluid at the end of the stroke.

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