Apparatus for pitting fruits or drupe type

Apparatus for bisecting and pitting fruits of the drupe type, comprising

• means for receiving such a fruit, producing a partial cut in its pulp and thus defining two fruit halves adhered to the pit of said fruit, and gripping said pit,
• means for gripping the outer surfaces of said two fruit halves, said gripping means comprising
• a pair of opposed gripper heads, one each disposed on opposite sides of said fruit receiving and cutting means and each generally adjacent a respective one of said fruit halves, each said gripper head having a cavity facing said fruit receiving and cutting means,
• means for moving said gripper heads between a position distal said fruit receiving and cutting means and a position proximal said fruit receiving and cutting means in which said gripper heads substantially surround their respectively adjacent said fruit halves,
• an elastic, cup-like diaphragm element extending within and continuously across each said gripper head cavity for resiliently engaging and releasably gripping the outer surface of the respective said fruit halves and preventing contact between said fruit and other portions of said gripper head within said cavity when said gripper heads are in their fruit half surrounding positions,
• means for supplying a pressurized operating fluid into the spaces between each said gripper head cavity and its respective diaphragm element, whereby the introduction of such pressurized fluid into the spaces between such cavities and diaphragm elements will cause the diaphragm elements to be elastically deformed so as to adapt those diaphragm elements to the shape of the respective fruit halves and thus grip those fruit halves,
• valve means for controlling selective introduction and release of said pressurized fluid within said spaces, whereby such introduction and release of such pressurized fluid will effect selective gripping and release of the fruit by the gripping means, and
• means for rotating said gripping heads in opposite directions about an axis extending through said fruit while said diaphragm elements grip said fruit halves, whereby the fruit halves may be freed from one another and from the pit.