Industrial peeler for onions or the like bulbous and tuberous vegetation

An industrial peeler for vegetables such as onions which have skins, roots, tails and central axes which extend through the roots and tails, comprising,

• an orienting unit provided with means for guiding vegetables for movement along a path at an orientation where their central axes are vertically disposed, said orienting unit including a first endless flexible means for rotating the vegetables about their vertical central axes and for moving the vegetables in a forward direction,
• a cutting and notching unit having an infeed end disposed to receive vegetables from the orienting unit, said cutting and notching unit including cutting means for cutting off the roots and tails of the vegetables, notching means for forming notches in the skins of the vegetables, and blowing means for blowing the skins from the vegetables after the notches have been formed, first and second opposed members which engage the opposite sides of a vegetable in the cutting and notching unit, said second opposed member being a second endless flexible means which is supported on guide rolls and is operable for rotating the vegetables about their vertical central axes and for moving the vegetables in a forward direction through the cutting and notching unit, both of said opposed members being laterally deflectable by the arrival of a vegetable at the infeed end of the cutting and notching unit, linkage means associated with said opposed members for causing said opposed members to move equal lateral distances at said infeed end when they are deflected by a vegetable, said linkage means being operable to prevent the central axes of the vegetables from shifting laterally as they enter the infeed end of the cutting and notching unit.