US 4,380,953 A · Transfer mechanism in a peach pitter

Abstract

In a peach pitter of the type including a pair of blades which both bisect the peach and grip the peach pit, a pair of jaws which twist the peach halves to remove them from the pit, and an aligner which orients the peaches so that their suture planes lie in the plane of the blades, a transfer mechanism is disclosed which accurately feeds individual, oriented peaches from the aligner to the blades in a sequence which minimizes the time required. A pair of claws grasp a peach at a transfer point on the aligner when it is momentarily substantially stationary and immediately carry the peach through an arc toward the blades. As the peach is impaled on the lower of the pair of blades, the upper blade descends to grip the pit. The claws, which are specially designed to insure that the peach is properly aligned with the pitting axis extending between the blades, are then released from the peach and rapidly returned to the transfer point in spread-apart condition ready to receive the next peach. A quick-acting four-bar linkage is disclosed which rapidly closes the claws on the peach at the aligner, translates the claws from the aligner to deposit the peach at the pitting station, and releases the claws and retracts them in the brief interval before the pitter jaws grasp and twist the peach halves loose from the held pit. The linkage is also timed with the aligner and pitter functions so as to expedite the overall pitting operation.

Claims8

Dependent claims

In a transfer mechanism which transfers a peach from an aligner to peach bisecting blades having pit gripping means thereon adjacent to the pitting axis at a pitting station spaced from the aligner while maintaining the suture plane of such peach in the central plane of said blades, the improvement comprising:

(a) A pair of opposed, spaced claws each supported on one side of said central plane and being formed with oppositely inwardly facing peach-engaging surfaces diverging oppositely outwardly from and surrounding a central depression intersecting said pitting axis when said claws are at said pitting station for centering a peach carried by said claws about said pitting axis;
(b) Supporting means supporting said claws for movement toward and away from each other;
(c) Connecting means connecting said claws for movement together from said aligner to said pitting station and for removing said claws toward and away from each other;
(d) Drive means for moving said claws through a cycle of operation toward and away from said aligner and said pitting station and yieldably urging said connecting means to bias said claws toward each other during movement toward said pitting station for transferring the peach thereto and away from each other during movement toward said aligner for releasing said peach.

1 more element

In a transfer mechanism which transfers a peach through an arc about a horizontal transfer axis from an aligner on one side of said transfer axis to peach bisecting blades having pit gripping means thereon on opposite sides of a pitting axis parallel to said transfer axis at a pitting station on the other side of said transfer axis while maintaining the suture plane of such peach in the central plane of said blades intersecting said axes, the improvement comprising:

(a) A pair of opposed, spaced claws;
(b) A pair of brackets supported for swinging about said transfer axis and supporting said claws projecting therefrom in facing relation on opposite sides of said central plane;
(c) Pivot means supporting each bracket and its corresponding claw for swinging about one pivot axis of a pair of pivot axes extending transversely to said transfer axis and in spaced, parallel relation on opposite sides of said plane;
(d) Connecting means connecting said brackets and their corresponding claws for swinging together through said arc about said transfer axis, including:
(i) an auxiliary shaft extending transversely of said central plane and in parallel relation to said transfer axis,
(ii) a pair of parallel bars each connected at one of its ends to one of said brackets at a point offset from its respective pivot axis on the opposite side of said transfer axis from the other of said brackets, and each of said parallel bars projecting to its other end on the side of said central plane opposite its respective bracket;
(iii) linkage means connecting said other ends of said bars to said auxiliary shaft, whereby relative displacement of said auxiliary shaft with respect to said transfer axis causes said brackets and claws to swing about their respective pivot axes toward and away from each other.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Transfer mechanism in a peach pitter

Life of this patent

Transfer mechanism in a peach pitter

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims8