Atlas Pacific Engineering Company

California Processing Machinery

Other

Konrad E Meissner

Douglas F Paterson

Don A Perry

Anthony D Oliver

C Richard Schoner

William V Redd

Michael S Lipford

Oldrich J Tichy

Marvin F Quay

Edward E Ross

John W Colombo

Gary L Dare

Grant R Merritt

An apple orienting apparatus is provided wherein one or more agitating spools are utilized to constantly agitate and rotate an apple until it is properly oriented. The agitator spools are mounted in an eccentric or off-center fashion to produce a wobble or eccentric motion in addition to rotational motion. The mechanism is especially useful with elongated apples but also is effective in orienting relatively round apples as well.

Agitating apple orientor

A pear processing method and apparatus is provided which includes several mechanisms for properly orienting the pear prior to coring, peeling and seed celling of the pear. Each pear is tumbled between a pair of orienting rolls to a position wherein the stem of the pear is oriented downwardly. Whiskers on one of the rolls speed up this orienting of the pear. A friction clutch on the other roll helps maintain the pear in its proper position, once the proper alignment has been attained. The pear is dropped downwardly into a transfer cup having four resilient fingers which tend to orient the pear. The pear is then pushed out of the transfer cup downwardly into a feed cup having a concave receptacle for centering the stem of the pear and three upwardly extending arms which grasp and center the blossom end of the pear. The pear is then transferred to a station wherein the pear is cored and thereafter peeled and seed celled simultaneously. The stem and blossom are also trimmed. The pear is thereafter passed into a slice cup having a design which more effectively separates the waste from the processed pear.

Pear processing method

Pear processing method and apparatus

A pear processing methods and apparatus is provided which includes several mechanisms for properly orienting the pear prior to coring, peeling and seed celling of the pear. Each pear is tumbled between a pair of orienting rolls to a position wherein the stem of the pear is oriented downwardly. Whiskers on one of the rolls speed up this orienting of the pear. A friction clutch on the other roll helps maintain the pear in its proper position, once the proper alignment has been attained. The pear is dropped downwardly into a transfer cup having four resilient fingers which tend to orient the pear. The pear is then pushed out of the transfer cup downwardly into a feed cup having a concave receptacle for centering the stem of the pear and three upwardly extending arms which grasp and center the blossom end of the pear. The pear is then transferred to a station wherein the pear is cored and thereafter peeled and seed celled simultaneously. The stem and blossom are also trimmed. The pear is thereafter passed into a slice cup having a design which more effectively separates the waste from the processed pear.

A blade assembly for a selective peach pitter using simplified construction and a low-maintenance geometry to provide for extended operational efficiency and compensation for play due to wear in the components. The blade assembly includes an upper blade and a lower blade for bisecting a drupe along a suture plane and holding the pit during pitting, the upper blade and lower blade both being pivoted about a common blade pivot shaft and driven by a single main shaft from the larger pitter assembly. The lower blade pivot linkage includes an extendable crank arm drivingly coupled to an idler arm, drive arm support shaft and lower blade drive arm, the lower blade drive arm including a rocker face and a drive roller which respectively engage a rolling rocker face follower and a roller drive track located on a carriage coupled to the lower blade and pivotally mounted on the blade pivot shaft. As the drive roller enters and traverses the roller drive track, rotational force of the lower blade drive arm in one direction is translated to pivotable motion of the lower blade between closed and open positions. As the drive arm rotates in the opposite direction, the lower blade is pivoted to the closed position and the rocker face engagement with the rocker face follower maintains the lower blade in that position during pitting. The upper blade also alternates between an open and closed position as a cam roller follower coupled to the upper blade follows a cam mounted on the main shaft of the pitter apparatus.

Peach pitter blade assembly

A lightweight peeling head is provided in which a plastic guard body cooperates with a rotary peeling cutter for determining the depth of cut made by the cutter wherein a ceramic wear resistant tracing shoe insert is formed in the plastic guard body. The ceramic tracing shoe rides against the surface of the fruit, for example apples, as the fruit is being peeled. A chip breaker is provided having a pair of teeth wherein each tooth has a positive rake relative to the direction of travel of the peel string and wherein each tooth has a positive attack angle whereby the peel string is driven towards the base of the teeth as the peel string is being cut by said tooth.

Peeling head

A pear orienting apparatus for receiving, orienting and subsequently feeding oriented pears with the stem-end lowermost to peeling and coring devices in a machine of the type described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,058,502 and 3,797,639 including a canted reciprocable shaker pan feeding singulated pears to at least one channeled lifter that tumbles the singulated pears over spaced divergent guide plates onto an inclined and intermittently gated delivery chute.

Pear orienting apparatus

A press for extracting juice from comestible solids and semi-solids such as fruit and vegetables which includes a stationary perforated platen, a juice pervious conveyor belt for carrying comminuted comestible into pressing position over that platen, a feeder for forming a series of separated non-continuous beds of comminuted comestible upon the belt, a rotary drive moving the belt incrementally to position each bed of comestible in sequence over the stationary platen and a pressing platen which has a pressing cavity overlying the stationary platen defined by a depending sealing flange circumscribing the bed of comestible and a flexible membrane within the cavity that can be expanded into pressing engagement with the bed by pneumatic pressure in order to press juice from the comestible for drainage through the juice pervious belt and perforated stationary platen into a juice collection pan.

Press for extracting juice from comestible solids and semi-solids such

A press for extracting juice from comestible solids and semi-solids such as fruit and vegetables which includes a sectionalized stationary perforated platen, a juice pervious conveyor belt for carrying comminuted comestible into pressing position over that platen, a feeder for forming a series of separated non-continuous beds of comminuted comestible upon the belt, a rotary drive moving the belt incrementally to position each bed of comestible in sequence over the stationary platen and a pressing platen which has a pressing cavity overlying the stationary platen defined by a depending sealing flange circumscribing the bed of comestible and a flexible membrane within the cavity that can be expanded into pressing engagement with the bed by pneumatic pressure in order to press juice from the comestible for drainage through the juice pervious belt and perforated stationary platen into a juice collection pan.

A filling apparatus for metal containers has a rotatable bowl carrying filling syrup or other fluid with a plurality of filling valves arranged on the bowl bottom around its periphery to fill empty containers moved into traveling engagement with each valve. A control cam manipulates each valve in a repeating sequence through close, vacuum, fill and vent positions. A switching cam follower tracking the control cam and a cooperating switch activate the valving sequence if a can is present at a particular filling valve and de-activate the sequence if a can is not present. A pneumatic cylinder actuated by series connected proximity sensors for metal objects, such as cans, manipulates the cooperating switch to direct the switching cam follower for each filler valve into one control cam tracking mode if an empty can is in place below the filler valve or into a second valve closing mode if a can is not present. One sensor detects filler valve position and the other sensor detects presence of a can by a change in the inductance of the sensor produced electric field. Concurrence of sensor outputs manipulates the cooperating switch.

Can detection and switch mechanism for can filling apparatus

A high speed vacuum syruper for containers has a rotatable bowl carrying filling syrup or other fluid with a plurality of filling valves arranged on the bowl bottom around its periphery to fill empty containers moved into traveling engagement with each valve. Each filling valve includes a ported valve seat mounted in an opening in the bowl bottom, a pivotable ported valve disc overlying the valve seat and a valve stem extending upwardly out of the bowl that carries a crank mounted control cam follower and a switching cam follower. A stationary control cam above the bowl and in tracking engagement with the control cam follower for each filling valve controls the location of the valve disc ports in relation to the valve seat ports to manipulate each valve in a repeating sequence through close, vacuum, fill and vent positions. The switching cam follower also tracking the control cam and a cooperating switch activate the valving sequence if a can is present at a particular filling valve and de-activate the sequence if a can is not present.

High speed vacuum syruper

A vacuum filler is described which has an improved filling head particularly adapted for vacuum filling steel cans containing more-or-less compressible and tacky food products, such as tuna fish or salmon, with filling liquids of low viscosity, such as vegetable oil or water.

Growing community of inventors

Lafayette, CA, United States of America

Konrad E Meissner