Roller drive system for a fruit oil extractor
AssigneeBrown International Corporation
InventorsRonald C. Bushman, Scott R. Alexander, David J. Hancock
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for extracting oil from the peel of whole citrus fruit includes a frame and a plurality of parallel horizontal rolls including toothed projections for piercing the outer surface of the whole fruit. Each of the plurality of rolls is rotatably supported via a rotatable shaft that is mounted to the frame. A plurality of motors are secured to the frame, each of the plurality of motors are mechanically coupled to a corresponding shaft of the rolls, wherein each motor independently rotates the shaft and roll. The apparatus also includes a controller for individually controlling the rotational speed of each of the rolls.
Claims20
An apparatus for extracting oil from fruit comprising:
- a frame;
- a plurality of rollers rotatably supported on the frame;
- a motor linked to each of the rollers;
- and
- a controller linked to the motors.
An apparatus for extracting oil from the peel of whole citrus fruit comprising:
- a frame;
- a plurality of parallel horizontal rollers including toothed projections for piercing the outer surface of the whole fruit, each of said plurality of rollers supported on a shaft rotatably mounted to the frame, each shaft further including at least one sprocket mounted to one end thereof;
- a plurality of motors secured to the frame, each of said plurality of motors including a drive shaft having a sprocket mounted thereon;
- a plurality of drive chains, each drive chain mechanically coupling the sprocket on one of said motors to a corresponding sprocket on one of said shafts, wherein each of said rollers is independently driven by a separate motor;
- and
- a controller for controlling the rotational speed of each of said rollers by controlling the rotational speed of each corresponding motor.
A method of extracting oil from the peel of whole citrus fruit comprising the steps of:
- loading whole fruit onto a plurality of rotatable horizontal rollers, the rollers including toothed projections for piercing the outer surface of the whole fruit;
- rotating each of the plurality of rollers to puncture the fruit and release oil stored therein;
- and
- controlling the rotational speed of each of said rollers individually according to a pre-programmed set of instructions.
A method of extracting oil from fruit comprising the steps of:
- loading whole fruit onto a plurality of rotatable horizontal rollers, the rollers including toothed projections for piercing the outer surface of the whole fruit;
- rotating each of the plurality of rollers to puncture the fruit and release oil stored therein;
- and
- controlling the rotational speed of each of said rollers individually according to a pre-programmed set of instructions.
A fruit processing machine comprising:
- a plurality of drive motors;
- a plurality of rollers, with one roller linked to each drive motor;
- and
- control means for individually controlling rotational speed of each of the motors.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.