# US 10,945,453 B2 · Automatic machine for strawberry de-calyx and cutting in pieces > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,945,453 B2 - Document ID: US10945453B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/545,707 - Filed: 2015-12-03 - Published: 2018-03-22 - Granted: 2021-03-16 - Earliest claimed: 2014-12-05 - Assignees: PND Costruzioni Elettromeccaniche s.r.l. - Applicants: Giovanni Parlato - Inventors: Giovanni Parlato - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10945453B2 ## CPC - A23N 15/02: for stemming, piercing, or stripping fruit {(for household appliances A47J21/00)}; Removing sprouts of potatoes - B26D 3/26: specially adapted for cutting fruit or vegetables, e.g. for onions - B26D 1/34: moving about an axis parallel to the line of cut - B26D 2210/02: for cutting food products, e.g. food slicers - A23N: MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS (machines for cutting straw or fodder A01F29/00; disintegrating, e.g. shredding, B02C; severing, e.g. cutting, splitting, slicing B26B, B26D) - B26D: CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING (for growing crops or plants A01D, A01G; for fodder or straw A01F; for bulk butter A01J; for dough A21C; slaughtering A22B; for tobacco, cigars or cigarettes A24; marking-out, perforating or making buttonholes A41H25/00; manufacturing footwear A43D; brushmaking A46D; surgery A61B; disintegrating, mincing or shredding in general B02C; cutting wire, making pins or nails B21F, B21G; of the kind used formetal B23; cutting by abrasive fluid jets B24C5/02; hand-held cutting tools B26B; perforating, cutting-out, stamping-out or punching, or severing by means other than cutting B26F; for wood B27; for stone B28D; working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29; making boxes, cartons, envelopes or bags, of paper or similarly worked materials, e.g. metal foil, B31B; article or web delivery apparatus incorporating cutting or line-perforating devices B65H35/00; for leather or upholstery B68, C14B; for glass C03B; making matches C06F; for peat C10F; for sugar C13B45/00; for textile materials D06H; civil engineering, building, mining, see Section E; for light guides G02B6/25; cutting processed photographic material G03D15/04) ## Abstract This invention refers to an automatic machine for strawberry processing to de-calyx and remove the leaves and cut in pieces; it is used in the agro-alimentary industry, in processing industry and in canning industry; and it could be suitable also for processing of other products similar to strawberry. The machine is composed of a conveyor belt (1) at closed loop design, where one or more operators feed manually in vertical with the leaves and the calyx up in the holes (5) of each fruit-holder element (3) of the conveyor belt which moves continuously to bring the fruits, so placed, to the processing station composed of a frame where a header plate (14) reciprocates in horizontal and vertical, controlled and adjusted by sensors which lead the three processing operations done by the machine: strawberries alignment, de-calyxing and fruit ejection. In particular, the de-calyxing takes place through two cutting units (30) side by side composed of six rotating spindles (31) each one equipped with a rotating cutting head composed of two blades (32), optimized in their conformation and size, and wherein the opened tips penetrate to a adjusted depth, on the strawberry, around the calyx, and then close, during the penetration and the cutting, so to eliminate precisely the calyx with a minimum of straw berry fruit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An automatic machine for strawberries calyx and leaves removing and strawberry pieces cutting, the machine comprising: a conveyor belt having a central corridor and a sequence of fruit holder units disposed on sides of the central corridor, said fruit holder units are configured to place therein strawberries with calyx and leaves facing upwards, said conveyor belt is configured to move in continuous motion to displace the strawberries forward; a processing station for vertical height alignment of strawberries, de-calyx and fruit ejection, said processing station is configured to reciprocate in horizontal and vertical direction with respect to said conveyor belt, said processing station includes: aligning plates for height alignment of the strawberries with respect to said fruit holder units, said aligning plates are configured to allow adjustment of descent depth of the plates on the fruit holder units so as to control cutting depth of de-calyx the strawberries, two units disposed side by side including six rotating spindles each of which being equipped with a rotating cutting head including two blades having a tip, said two blades are configured to move towards one another while penetrating the strawberries removing thereby calyx of the strawberries. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein the fruit holder units are in parallelepiped shape with a rectangular base, each comprising: an upper plate with six holes; a polymer member provided with six through holes and slots for inserting therein cutting blades; a rectangular polymeric membrane interposed between the polymer member and the upper plate and is provided with six holes. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein the aligning plates are placed horizontal and parallel to the conveyor belt and are disposed on a threaded bars configured to allow adjustment of the descent depth. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein said processing station further includes two groups of plungers placed side by side, each consisting of six cylindrical polymeric units configured for vertical movement towards said conveyor belt; each plunger is formed with notches configured to allow engaging knives for cutting said strawberries when the plunger is lowered towards a strawberry. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, that strawberry decalyx is realized when the two units bring the blades closes to the strawberry without touching the strawberry. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein the cutting head of each unit is topped by a plate made with six struts, the plate is configured to displace the spindle up and down and is actuated by two pneumatic cylinders. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein the spindles are rotated by pulleys connected to a tubular rod and to a cylinder. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein the spindle is composed of two holding joists at a lower side of the spindle and are placed parallels and hinged to lateral plates so that they create a hub for opposite and specular rotation, and being connected, through orthogonal pins, to a lower side of a pushing rod, and to a ball head with a spring in an upper side of the spindle. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The automatic machine according to claim 8, wherein an end of each small holding joist is fixed, through a screw, to a cutting blade, so that the two blades are longitudinally opposite and specular, and slightly misaligned between the two blades. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein each blade has a bended structure according to an arc of a circle and ends with a tip. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein a linear distance between the tips of the two blades is adjustable; the linear distance between the tips of the two blades has a maximum gap of 23.5 mm and a minimum gap is 0 mm; and wherein a circular arc bend of the blade is 26 degrees.