US2826228A - Pit removing means in drupe pitter - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1958 J. PERRELLI ETAL 2,826,228

' PIT REMOVING MEANS 1N DRUPE PITTER- f 'Filed June 27, 1955 4 sheets-'sheet 1 .Y

4IN VEN TORS JOSEPH PERRELL/ @50H65 E. /f/L NER BV f mmf l Ww Maw( A TTORNEYS March 11, 1958 J. PERRELLI ETAL 2,826,228

lPIT REMQVING MEANS TIN DRUPE -PITTER Filed June .2",v 1955 4 Sheets-Shea# 4 'y vllvyzazvroks v .JOSEPH PERRELL/ GEORGE E K/L/VE? ATTORNEYS United States Patent() PIfrffREMovlNG MEANS 1N DRUPE PITTER Joseph Perrelli,'fRichm0nd,-.and George EfKiiner, Oakland,L Calif., `assignorstoy FilpersCorporation Applieationilnne 27,1955, Serial iNof5185288 8- Claims. (CLJ 146-28) This invention irelates? to drupe y, pitters .fgenerally,and .tparticularlyl-ofrthe type tin which-` the, pit-.ofr-a clingstone Y drape is 1gripped between t the i adjacent i edges of :a ypair to coplanar bladessthattbisectsthe body.` of the-.drupelto `--tthedaitfand--thebody halves are thenfseparated from the therefrom.andbefore .thepit grippingkmeans" has lbeen :actuated to-.gripf the pitin another drupe.

. `1A..drupe,-pitternof. the type described isonev in which a whole drupe is positioned between a pair of pitxgripping members thatare-adapted toa'moveinto-.rm gripping .relation withthepit so l.as tohold the pit while .the

fllrupe halvesaare rotatedKA relative1 `thereto therebytfreeing suchlfhlves, from the pit.

- .ln .agpi-tter .of the above type. the pit may. clingatofone .aloft thegpit .fgrippi-ngaelements...afteri .the drupe halves have lbeeneparated. fromsthe y.pittandy removed fromV the latter. ThisLcanses -tron-blebecause the @nextdrupe to bepitted rshould ...havev norobstruction to being positioned between Qthe.r pit-gripping elements.

L The present invention j,provides means for positively dislodging arpit .that would ,otherwise be likely toY cause -diliitillty. by. remainingrbetween-,the pit gripping elements.

` It should `also bef-noted that Mon occasion ...the drupe halvesrriay` adhere totthe sidesfone ofthe bladessupportin'gthe pitgripping means. lThis invention, therefore, rlsdprovidesmeans for. stripping. such-.drupe halves from such blade andk "theu latter .means also rfunction `as l,an ,lawiiliary pit stripper.

In this connection. it should. .be stated. thatothermeans "heretfore providedl'forfthe ,purpose of`the1presentzinven- 'tion are not alwaysffiectivel for :accomplishing Ysaid .purfpose, .Whereas inl the ,present .instance Y there can .be no ifailure 'irrespective of. .how .the pit. ymay be carried. by .the pihgrippingameansi to which` it.-.is` adhered.

'"Othenbjects and advantages will-appearrin the.de

scription andinl the drawings.

In the drawings,

,E igul is,an; elevationalview, partlyincross section, ishowing thepresentv invention in full line in oneposition, arid in ,"dotdash" line in another position.

"FigLll is'aysefctional view takenalong line 4-4 of Fig. 2. ig. 5',.issa"fragmentary...sectional vview..taken lalong line."5-if5 f'FigZ.

`igj16` isnaperspective view yof the cams thatcontrol fthe motions f `the .pit gripping elements.

*vligsif7i to "13..inclusivey are, reduced sized views illus- ',tra'tingfthe. successivef steps in one-complete pitting cycle.

ice

l lthe blades i3, 4,-whichxis;the1left side as seen -in'therdraw- .ings 12 and -7.to' 1:3, twhile f theiright hand Vside :is athe rrearzside.

The b1ades:3,.4 andtpit gripping: elements 1,.f2athereon .are.alwayszspacedvaparh and in Fig. 7 they `aregshown in l,drupe freceivingposition f with a drupe i indicated at :6 in

dot-dash lines and? the pit of saidV drupe indicatedfat `7.

oppositev sides-.ofthe flowerblade l4 .and vspaced rear- 7wardly of blades. g3, =4 sogas 4wnot `to l interfere with theposi- .tioningroffdrupen lon:b1ade4=with thepit 7 substantially against the teeth of pit gripping element 2 Vand the :for- .wardlyfdirected:edge of member Sis a `stationary1member, generallyrdesignated- 8.

The-member i8 is formed in =two halves 9, 10y (Fig. 152) 'havingat' opposed sides :that are closely-adjacent toithe outer sides of blade 44,-.butsofspacedfrom =saidfsides`as to-clear the gpitygrippingzelement 2 upon movement of ,the latterfbetween them, as will.later'beexplained The `oppositely outwardlyv facing lsidesof halves 1,9, extend convergently forwardly to substantiahmeetingirek.lation ywith `the. opposed-liar` sidesof said halves.

movement ofthedrupe along the-lowerfbladeto fagposition with'pit 7 over thezelementiz and-:theiloweringgof :upper blade 3 causes1substantially.fcomplete-rbisectiontof the meat of the drupe to the pit.

The halves of the :drupe t at` oppositesides of the plane ,of blades 3, 4,'5v are gripped'bysanyfsuitable; meanstiwhen vthe-pit s held betwen elements f1, 2).,such as'showneand described in U.. S. Patent. No. 2,664,127 `issuedftoloseph PerrellirDecember l29, 1953andthe said halvesfarefthen vrotated relative to the pin to: free them from the pit '(Figs.

After the halvesaretreezfrom the pit` andare being removed therefrom, preferably by gravity (Fig. `10)fthe upper blade 3 4and element l1.-are moved-,upwardly ;(Fig.

11'). .ThevweightA` ofthe `drupe halves cansesthe `pit/to leave element 1. -The pit willusually falll oif the-element 2lwhen the-upper element lis moved,upward1y'and aw,ay from thelpit,.but this is notalways the case. Sometimes thezpitlwill bewheldon the. element .2, and when so held rit willfproject.. laterally'to `one side ,or the other of blade 4 vand element 2, orto Abothsides. ,Ifrthe pit-isnotire- `rnoved,.the next drupe thatis delivered for :pitting `will rusually be. mutiliated and will .i fail tobe properly pitted or may not -be pittedfat-all.

To positively insure `against a jpit `adhering tto ,the lower pit gripping element or remaining.betweentsaid elements, thesaid lower-elementissupported for Vmovementrearwardly.. of member Sand between the.halves.9, 10 of thestationary member.f8,.and the pit will bei-rst engagedby member 5 and-will-:positively bei dislodged from elementZ and removed from the `pathof travel ofthe next oncomingl drupe. that-is to be ypittedtl-ig.12),

assegna Although it is highly unlikely that pit 7 will adhere to element 2 after this movement, halves 9, 1h of member 8 will further positively dislodge said pit under such circumstances. Halves 9, 1Q also act to dislodge either or both of the drupe halves 6 which might adhere to the sides of blade 4. It is seen, therefore, that member 8 not only acts as a secondary pit stripper in case pit 7 is not dislodged by the primary pit stripper, member 5, but member 8 also acts as a drupe stripper to clean blade 4 of all obstructions to the incoming drupe.

After the pit has been knocked from the lower element 2, said element 2 and blade 4 will return to drupe receiving position (Fig. 13) preparatory to receiving another drupe, and the cycle will then be repeated.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, the means for causing the movements above described comprises a vertical, continuously rotating shaft 12 (Fig. 2), which is adapted to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from above. Secured on the lower end of shaft 12 is a cam assembly generally designated 13 (Figs. 2, 6). This cam assembly comprises a drum cam 14 providing a passageway 15 (Figs. l, 2) in which is positioned a cam follower 16.

The cam follower 16 is carried on the outer end of the short arm 17 of a crank generally designated 18 (Fig. 2) that is pivoted to a stationary part of the frame 19 by coaxial pivots 20 (Figs. 2, 4).

This short arm 17 is offset to one side of the plane of blades 2, 4 and is integral with a pair of long arms 21 (Figs. 1, 2) that extend downwardly past opposite sides of the actuating means for the upper blade 3, which will later be described more in detail.

The lower ends of arms 21 are pivoted at 22 (Figs. 1, 2) to the rear end portion 23a of lower blade 4. A bracket member 23 carries pivot 22 and is bolted to said portion 23a.

Forwardly of the arms 21 are another pair of arms 25 (Figs. 1, 2, 3) that are carried on frame 19 by coaxial pivots 26. These pivots connect the upper ends of said arms 25 to frame 19 and the lower ends of said arms are integral and carry a pivot 27 (Fig. 3) that connects said lower ends with blade 4 at a point forwardly of pivot 22.

The arms 25 and arms 21 function as parallel arms for holding the lower blade 4 and the pit gripping section 2 substantially horizontal during swinging of the arms rearwardly under the influence of the cam 14 and follower 16.

It will be seen that upon rotation of the shaft 12 and drum cam 14 the cam follower 16 will move downwardly upon its engagement with the sine curve of the cam 14 indicated at the left side of the cam in Fig. 2. This curve on the lower side of the drum is indicated at 28 in Fig. 3. Upon follower 16 engaging the sine curve 2S, the rearward and forward movement of the blade 4 and the pit gripping element or section 2 is quite rapid.

Rigidly secured to frame 19 by screws or bolts 30 are the halves 9, 10 of the stationary element S (Figs. 2, and member 5. Said member 5 is secured between halves 9, by the two top bolts 3) (Figs. 1, 2, 3).

These halves are complementary, having flat opposed sides between the lower ends of which the lower blade 4 and the pit gripping section are reciprocable as blade 4 is reciprocated under the influence of cam 14. The forward edges 31 of the halves 9, 10 extend vertically and preferably slightly concavely curved linearly thereof with the oppositely outwardly facing sides of said halves extending divergently outwardly from their forward sharpened edges.

In Fig. 1 in dot-dash lines the blade 4 is indicated in its rear most position at 33 in which the pit gripping ele ment 2 has substantially moved rearwardly past the forward, sharpened edge of member 5 and the forward edges 31 of the halves 9, 19 of stationary member 8. Thus, if a pit were on the pit gripping element 2, such pit would be positively knocked off the element irrespective of its position on the latter, whether centered on element 2 or projecting from opposite sides of element 2, or if any portion of 'such pit were to be on element 2 and to project to either side of element 2 a sufficient distance to be engaged by one or the other edges 31 of halves 9, 16.

The mounting of the lower pit gripping element 2 and blade 4 to swing past or relative to a stationary member such as guide 5 and the provision of such member and the means for swinging the element 2 and blade 4 in a pitting operation, are the main differences between the present invention and previous machines.

Carried by pivot 40 is a blade holder 42 (Fig. 2) that comprises a pair of forwardly directed clamping arms between which the upper blade 3 is held by bolts or screws 43. The upper end of member 5 also extends between said arms (Fig. 4) and is slidable therein. It is noted that the forward edge of member 5 and the rearwardly directed edge of blade 3 are formed arcuately about pivot 40 so that member 5 acts as a guide for both blade 3 and the arms of holder 42 during the rocking motion of blade 3 (to be described).

The upper blade holder 42 carries a cam follower 34 that is adapted to be held against the cuter periphery of a radial cam 35 that, in turn, is preferably below and integral with the drum cam 14. Thus cam 35 rotates with shaft 12.

A spring 36 (Fig. 2) reacting between a nut 37 on a rod 38 and a cap 39 carried by the stationary frame 19 of the pitter yieldably holds the cam follower 34 against cam 35.

The end of rod 38 that is adjacent to nut 37 is pivotally connected with the blade holder 42 at 41 (Fig. 2). This rod 38 is adapted to rock sufficiently to accommodate itself to the arcuate motion of pivot 41.

The peripheral contour of cam 35 is such that the blade holder is swung counterclockwise (looking at Fig. 2) to carry blade 3 and the pit gripping element 1 thereon from the full line position of Fig. 2 to the full line position of Fig. l (Figs. 7, 8) when cam follower 16 is in the straight track in the drum cam, and this position of cam follower 16 remains the same when cam 35 functions to start moving the upper blade and the pit gripping element back to the position shown in Fig. 2 (Fig. 11) after the halves have been twisted from the pit. However, when the pit is free from the halves and when the pit gripping element 1 moves out of engagement with the pit, the follower 16 will engage the sine curve 28 of the drum cam and the lower blade and pit gripping element 2 will quickly be moved rearwardly relative to the stationary pit removing member 5 to positively knock or dislodge the pit from the element 2. As soon as the last named element is moved back to the full line position of Fig. 2 (Fig. 13) it is ready for another drupe to be positioned on said lower blade and on the element 2 for pitting.

It is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited by the example given herein, but only by the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit gripping elements, means supporting said elements for relative movement vertically from a pit gripping position for gripping a pit therebetween to a pit releasing position out of said gripping relation to such pit and vice versa, a member adjacent to said pit gripping elements, means for-effecting said relative movement between said pit gripping elements, means mounting one of said elements for horizontal movement past said member and close to the latter for engagement by said member with a pit that may be carried by said one of said elements after such pit has been gripped between said elements, and only when said elements are in said pit releasing position, a frame on which said elements are supported for said relative vertical movement with said one of said elements below the aaaaaas other, said member bemgfirigid with said frame, means Vone'ctedi'withsaidf one of said L'lements'*fdr-isomoving it horizontally.

-tween elements when the latter are nearest jtoleach `other-and for releasing such pit from..gripping-relation of said elements when upper pit gripping element moves away from said lower pit gripping element, means for so moving said upper pit gripping element, means supporting said lower pit gripping element for generally horizontal movement relative to said upper pit gripping element, means for so moving said lower pit gripping element, and a stationary member above said lower pit gripping member positioned to engage a pit that may be carried by said lower pit gripping member during said movement of the latter, said means for moving said lower pit gripping member being operative when said upper pit gripping member is moved upwardly therefrom.

3. In a drupe pitter, a shaft supported for rotation, a first cam and a second cam secured on said shaft for rotation therewith, a first cam follower and a second cam follower respectively connected with said first cam and with said second cam for actuation thereby, a pair of pit gripping elements, means supporting one element of said pair for movement in a path of travel toward and away from the other element of said pair into and out of pit gripping relation to a pit adapted to be positioned between said pair, means supporting the other element of said pair for back and forth movement in a path extending generally angularly relative to the path of movement of said one pitting gripping element between a position in which such pit will be gripped between the elements of said pair when said one element is nearest said other element in its movement and a position olset to one side of said one element, means connecting' said first cam follower with said one element for actuating said one element and means connecting said second cam follower with said other element for actuation of said other element, said rst cam being adapted to move said first cam follower for actuating said one element and said second cam being adapted to move said second cam follower for actuating said other element for moving said other element to a position olfset to one side ofthe path of said one element when said one element is moved away from said other element, and means adjacent to said path of said other element stationary relative to the latter and in a position for engaging a pit that may adhere to said other element and be carried therewith for dislodging such pit.

4. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit gripping means having spaced, opposed, pit gripping edges between which the pit within a drupe is adapted to be positioned for gripping thereby, pit engaging means disposed in a plane common to said edges and adjacent to the latter in a position for being engaged by such pit when the latter is between said edges for being gripped thereby, supporting means supporting said pit gripping means for movement of one of said pit gripping means toward and away from the other and supporting said pit engaging means in its said position during such movement, actuating means connected with said one of said pit gripping means for causing said movement thereof whereby said pit will be gripped between said edges when said one of said pit gripping means is moved toward the other and will be released upon opposite movement of said one pit gripping means, means supporting said pit engaging means and one of said pit gripping means for movement of one relative to the other in a direction for causing said pit to be moved relative to said pit gripping means when said pit is released from gripping relation with said gripping edges, and means for causing said last mentioned movement.

...5. In a drupe pitter; a pair of pit gripping means havin' spaced, opposed, pit gripping edges between which the t 6 pit within a drupe is adapted to be *positioned for griplping thereby, tpitrenga'ging'fmeans disposed-"inf-afplane `:position for lbeingfengag'ed'by lpievi/'hen the l'tter is fbetween :said edgesfor beingV- grippedy thereby;` supporting 1 means i supportingtsaidspitigripping:u means` for fmovement -of one I'of said-bpittgripping; means:toward-vandaawayfrom t the otherr' and supporting said gpitcengaging 1 means iniits saidz position during-such movem'enL--actuating means con- --nected with said-f oneof said piti gripping:` means for causing said movement thereof whereby said pit will be gripped between said edges when said one of said pit gripping means is moved toward the other and will be released upon opposite movement of said one pit gripping means, means supporting said pit engaging means and one of said pit gripping means for movement of one relative to the other in la direction for causing said pit to be moved relative to said pit gripping means when said pit -is released from gripping relation with said gripping edges, and means for causing said last mentioned movement, said supporting means supporting said pit gripping means for movement of one relative to the other in a generally vertical direction, and the means supporting one of said pit gripping means and said pit engaging means being arranged and adapted for supporting them for movement of one relative to the other in a direction transversely to vertical.

6. In a drupe pitter, a pair of vertically spaced pit gripping blades disposed one above the other in a vertical plane and supported for movement of one blade of said pair toward Iand away from the other for gripping the pit within a drupe between said blades upon said movement of one toward the other, a pit engaging blade coplanar with said pit gripping blades having a laterally facing pit engaging edge at one of the corresponding ends of said pair of edges directed toward the space between said pair for engagement with the pit to be gripped between said pair of edges, means supporting one of the blades of said pair and said pit engaging blade for movement of one relative to the other in said plane and along the pit gripping edge of said one of the blades of said pair, means for effecting said last mentioned relative movement only when said one blade of said pair is moved away from the other blade whereby the pit between said pair of blades will be free for removal and will be dislodged from engagement with said one of the blades of said pair.

7. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit -gripping means disposed one above the other and having vertically spaced opposed pit gripping edges positioned in a vertical plane and between which the pit within a drupe is adapted to be positioned for gripping thereby upon movement of one means of said pair toward the other, a support supporting said one means for vertical movement toward and away from the other, a pair of horizontally spaced opposed members at opposite sides of said plane and at one of the ends of the pit gripping edge of the lower of said pit gripping means, said lower of said pit gripping means including its said pit gripping edge being supported for lateral movement into the space between said members, means connected with said lower of said pit gripping means for so moving the latter and said members being relatively close to said vertical plane whereby a drupe carried by said lower pit gripping means will be knocked from the latter upon its said lateral movement.

8. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit gripping means disposed one above the other and having vertically spaced opposed pit gripping edges positioned in a vertical plane and between which the pit within a drupe is adapted to be positioned for gripping thereby upon movement of one means of said pair toward the other, a support supporting said one means for vertical movement toward and away from the other, a pair of horizont-ally spaced opposed members at opposite sides of said plane and at one of the ends of the pit gripping edge of the lower of said,

pit gripping means, said lower of said pit gripping means jecting therefrom toward the space between said pit including its said pit gripping edge being supported for gripping edges for engagement With thePt adapted t0 lateral movement into the space between said members, be POSOnedPeWeen Said PgfPPng edges, and means means connected with said lower of said pit gripping means for S0 SuPPefUng Sad P115 engaglng meansfor so moving the latter and said members being rela- 5 tively close to said vertical plane whereby a drupe car- References Cited m the me of thls patent ried by said lower pit gripping means will be knocked UNITED STATES PATENTS from the latter upon its said lateral movement, pit en- 1,424,436 Barber Aug. 1,1922

gaging means supported between said members and pro- 2,664,127 Perrelli Dec. 29, 1953

Images