WO2022070208A1

WO2022070208A1 - Method of processing coconut with plunger assembly for an easy accession to edible portion

Info

Publication number: WO2022070208A1
Application number: PCT/IN2021/050939
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sivakumar RADARPA BHUJANGARAO
Original assignee: Vignesh Polymers
Priority date: 2020-09-29
Filing date: 2021-09-25
Publication date: 2022-04-07

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process of trimming the coconut and incorporating a system comprising a plunger and stopper assembly which further includes a base unit (5) and atop plunger unit. The base unit has circular unit with spiked legs and holes (9) to insert into the mesocarp portion of the coconut for stable fixing. The holes (10) provide air ventilation when pushed along with plunger guide (11). The top portion of the assembly is plunger unit comprising plunger (7) with stopper (6). The trimmed fruit is wrapped with a plastic before incorporating plunger assembly to obtain a final product. The device is operated by, pulling out stopper (6) and pushing in plunger (7) through the plunger guide (11) to peirce and form an apperture in coconut shell to access the edible portion (4). The top portion is sealed with a sticker, which can be removed and a straw can be placed.

Description

METHOD OF PROCESSING COCONUT WITH PLUNGER ASSEMBLY FOR AN EASY ACCESSION TO EDIBLE PORTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION:

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of processing a coconut by way of providing an easy access system for the internal edible portion of coconut by way of incorporating a plunger assembly which assists inpiercing and opening of the hard exterior shell with the help of the assembly incorporated onto the coconut.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

[0002] The edible portion of the coconut either the water or pulp is well protected by three different layers i.e., epicarp, mesocarp/ coir and hard shell / endocarp. The opening of the coconut to extract or access the internal liquid is growing in demand since the coconut water is the most natural and one of the safest natural drinks available. Piercing or breaking the hard endocarp is a major challenge to get access to the edible portion of the fruit. Several applications have been focussed to resolve the same.

[0003] The application CN 109911395Atitled as ‘a kind of spiral cover suction tube device on cocoanut shell’ discusses a spiral cover suction tube device being mounted onto the coconut shell by way of turning cap mechanism. The assembly provides the access to the internal edible portion of the fruit by way of rotatory straw device.

[0004] The application US2018044064A titled as ‘coconut tap’ relates to A coconut tap comprising a tubular body having first and second ends and a tapered portion adjacent the first end. A pin is received in the body such that a pointed first end thereof protrudes through an opening in the first end of the body. One or more apertures are provided in the body adjacent the first end such that the first end of may be inserted through the inner shell of a coconut at the site of an eye such that the apertures are located inside the inner shell to allow water from within the coconut to enter the body and exit via the open second end. [0005] Though the above mentioned prior art discusses the similar purpose however the present invention hold improvements with reference to design of assembly incorporated and provides a safe mechanism where the unit or assembly providing access to the edible portion is outside with no harmful elements or components contaminating the coconut water or pulp. The Plunger stopper which has been inserted does not enter the shell so that internal tender coconut content remains undisturbed and maintained in its most natural form.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION:

[0006] The objective of the present invention is to provide an access system which assists in breaking the hard exterior and provides access to the internal edible portion of the fruit with minimal effort..

[0007] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a safe and easy method to puncture the hard exterior of the fruit / coconut by incorporating an assembly which assists to provide an easy access to the internal edible part.

[0008] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method of processing a coconut equipped with a plunger assembly to provide a user friendly and easy access to the internal edible portion of the fruit by way of providing a quick and easy way to break the hard shell of the fruit / coconut.

[0009] Yet another objective of the invention is to provide an assembly to break the hard shell surrounding the edible portion of the fruit and still maintain the edible portion in the most natural manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

[0010] To achieve the above mentioned objectives, the coconut is processed in a manner the endo and mesocarp are trimmed so that it facilitates the incorporation of the plunger assembly. The plunger assembly mainly comprises of two critical components i.e, bottom / base portion and plunger and stopper unit (which forms the top portion of the assembly). [0011] The botom or base portion is a circular unit comprising legs which are needle like and can be inserted into the mesocarp portion of the coconut. The circular unit comprises of holes for air ventilation along with aperture/ plunger guide to guide the plunger when pressed or pushed down.

[0012] The top portion of the assembly is plunger with stopper unit. As the name suggests the plunger is equipped with stopper where the stopper when covers the plunger locks the movement of the plunger. The stopper when pulled out allows the plunger to move down since its unlocked. The plunger can be pushed down in this unlocked position which further penetrates to form a aperture onto the coconut. The top portion is sealed with sticker.

[0013] The entire assembly is made of recyclable plastic or PP plastic and apparatus is specifically one time use apparatus. To insert the assembly the coconut is trimmed and processed in a way it can be inserted to a depth of at least 40 mm. The coconut is processed by way of trimming and wrapped around with the plastic before incorporation of plunger assembly. The incorporation of plunger assembly is the last step of the process after which final product or fruit is obtained.

[0014] The objective and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

[0015] The objective of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates coconut with the plunger assembly

FIG. 2 illustrates the step by step process using the assembly to get access to internal edible portion of the fruit

FIG 3 illustrates the plunger assembly comprising base/ botom unit and plunger unit.

FIG. 4 illustrates the steps of processing of coconuts REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 exocarp

2 mesocarp

3 endocarp

4 edible liquid

5 base / botom of assembly

6 plunger stopper

7 plunger

8 plunger sticker

9 legs /spikes of base

10. holes

11. plunger guide

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

[0016] The present invention relates to a method of processing a coconut by way of providing an easy access system for the internal edible portion of coconut by way of incorporating a plunger assembly which assists in piercing and opening of the hard exterior shell with the help of the assembly incorporated onto the coconut thereby providing the user to easily access the fruit in its most natural form. The present invention discusses incorporation of the plunger and stopper assembly which assists in the easy piercing of the outer hard shell (3) to assist the user in providing an easy and effortless way to consume the edible portion of the fruit specifically coconut fruit. .More particularly the invention proposes the trimming of the coconut and providing with the environment to incorporate the plunger and stopper assembly which assists in the easy access to edible portion of the fruit.

[0017] The plunger and stopper assembly mainly comprises of two important components illustrated in FIG. 3

I. Base / botom portion (5), which is circular in shape and supports the critical plunger and stopper component on the top. The base / botom portion further comprises of : a) Legs (9)- which are spiked and tiny, the legs allow the base portion to peirce into the mesocarp portion of the coconut and remain there with stability. b) Holes (10)- which provide air release. c) Plunger guide (11) - an aperture which guides and allows the plunger in.

II. Plunger unit, which comprises of a) Plunger (7)- the plunger in the absence or stopper(6) or when unlocked, pressed / pushed moves downwards into the plunger guide (11) present in the base portion of the assembly and thereby it penetrates deep and forms an aperture on the hard external shell or endocarp (3) of the coconut. This assists in the access to the edible portion of the fruit (4) . A straw can be inserted into the assembly to avail access to the edible liquid portion of the fruit. b) Stopper (6) - the stopper locks the plunger and prevents the movement and allows the penetration of plunger when unlocked. c) Sticker - on the top of assembly.

The assembly is designed for one time use and is incorporated onto the coconut to provide easy access to the edible portion of the fruit as shown in FIG. 1.

[0018] The method of processing a coconut (as shown in Fig 4) comprises steps of.

1. Sourcing the raw tender coconut

2. Husk trimming process which is performed mechanically

3. Mechanical base shaping operation

4. Sleeve wrapping the coconut with the help of plastic

5. Shrink craft oven machine

6. Incorporation of plunger assembly

[0019] The present invention discusses a safe and natural way of processing the coconut and incorporating the plunger and stopper assembly to pierce the hard shell of the coconut and assists the users to effortless get access to the internal edible portion of the coconut in its most natural form.

[0020] The present invention has the following advantages:

• Allows the user to access the coconut easily without any external tools except a straw

• Provides the user or consumer an easy mode to break the hard shell • Providing the consumer with a product /fruit drink which is most natural and easily accessible

• Providing the consumer with a product which not only allows easy access to the water but also to the internal pulp of the fruit.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A accessing system for coconut to access the edible portion of the coconut by means of incorporating a plunger and stopper assembly; wherein, the said assembly comprises:

I. Base unit (5) , comprising of , spikes(9) to hold onto the fruit, holes(lO) for ventilation and, plunger guide (11),

II. Plunger unit, comprising of; plunger (7), to create an aperture , stopper (6), attached within the plunger via a loop structure and to assist in locking and unlocking of the plunger, when unlocked , the plunger (6) is pushed to pierce the shell

(3) thereby creating aperture to provide access to edible portion (4) of coconut.

2. A accessing system for coconut to access the edible portion of the coconut by means of incorporating a plunger and stopper assembly, wherein the assembly as claimed in claim 1 is made of PP plastic.

3. A accessing system for coconut to access the edible portion of the coconut by means of incorporating a plunger and stopper assembly, wherein the locking and unlocking as claimed in claim 1, is by removal of stopper (6) from plunger (7) and replacing the stopper (6) onto the plunger (7) respectively.

4. A accessing system for coconut to access the edible portion of the coconut by means of incorporating a plunger and stopper assembly, wherein the piercing as claimed in claim 1 is at least 40mm in depth.

5. A plunger and stopper assembly for accessing the edible portion of the coconut comprising, wherein, the plunger and stopper assembly comprising;

I. Base unit (5) , comprising of,

7 spikes(9) to hold onto the fruit, holes(lO) for ventilation and, plunger guide (11),

6. The method of processing a coconut includes the steps of : a) Sourcing the raw tender coconut, b) Mechanical husk trimming , c) Mechanical base shaping , d) Sleeve wrapping the coconut with plastic, e) Processing in shrink craft oven and f) incorporation of plunger assembly.

7. The coconut processed as claimed in claim 6 wherein, the dehusked, trimmed coconut wrapped in plastic and incorporated with plunger assembly on top portion.

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