US 4,876,954 A · Method and apparatus for pitting and slicing olives · patentgrep

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for pitting olives and then slicing the pitted olives. In a preferred embodiment, each olive is carried in a cup positioned between a coring knife and a pitting knife in a manner so that the longitudinal axes of the cup and the knives coincide. As the cup and knives rotate around a drive shaft along parallel circular paths, a system of cams extends and retracts the knives relative to the cup, in order to pit the olive. After the pitting operation, the cup (containing a pitted olive) continues to rotate along its circular path past a set of slicing knives. The slicing knives are oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the cup's circular path, so that the slicing knives act as wedges to sever the olive cleanly into slices as the cup translates past the slicing knives. In the inventive method and apparatus, both the pitting and slicing operations are performed on each olive while the olive is held in a known orientation. The known orientation is not changed between the two operations, in order to enhance the uniformity of the resulting olive slices. The invention produces clean slices and reduces the amount of olive material destroyed during the slicing operation.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An olive pitting and slicing apparatus, including:

a rotatable drive shaft;
a plate fixedly attached to the drive shaft;
a first cup dimensioned to receive an olive, and fixedly mounted on the plate so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the plate to translate the first cup, and any olive within the first cup, along a substantially circular cup path;
a first pitting means capable of extending toward the first cup when the first cup occupies a first segment of the cup path to extract an olive pit from an olive in the first cup, wherein the first pitting means is also capable of retracting away from the first cup after extraction of the olive pit;
and
a set of slicing knives non-translatably mounted adjacent a second segment of the cup path, in such a position that the slicing knives engage with and slice a pitted olive in the first cup when the first cup occupies the second segment of the cup path, wherein the drive shaft is capable of rotating in a first rotational direction so as to translate the first cup along the cup path in said first rotational direction, and also including:
a frame;
a slicing knife shaft rotatably mounted on the frame and fixedly attached to the slicing knives so that rotation of the slicing knife shaft will rotate each slicing knife;
and
a slicing knife rotation means coupled to the slicing knife shaft, for rotating the slicing knife shaft and the slicing knives as a unit in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction as the first cup translates through the second segment of the cup path.

7 more elements

An olive pitting and slicing apparatus, including:

a rotatable drive shaft;
a plate fixedly attached to the drive shaft;
a first cup dimensioned to receive an olive, and fixedly mounted on the plate so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the plate to translate the first cup, and any olive within the first cup, along a substantially circular cup path;
a first pitting means capable of extending toward the first cup when the first cup occupies a first segment of the cup path to extract an olive pit from an olive in the first cup, wherein the first pitting means is also capable of retracting away from the first cup after extraction of the olive pit, and wherein the first pitting means includes:
a first cylindrical member defining a first cam track;
a first pitting knife attached to the drive shaft in a manner so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the first pitting knife to translate along a pitting knife path substantially parallel to the cup path;
a first cam follower riding in the first cam track and coupled to the first pitting knife so as first to push the first pitting knife into engagement with an olive in the first cup, and then to pull the first pitting knife out of engagement with the olive, while the first cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and while the first pitting knife occupies a first segment of the pitting knife path;
a second cylindrical member defining a second cam track;
a first coring knife attached to the drive shaft in a manner so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the first coring knife to translate along a coring knife path substantially parallel to the cup path;
and a second cam follower riding in the second cam track and coupled to the first coring knife so as to push the first coring knife into engagement with an olive in the first cup while the first cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and while the first coring knife occupies a first segment of the coring knife path;
and
a set of slicing knives non-translatably mounted adjacent a second segment of the cup path, in such a position that the slicing knives engage with and slice a pitted olive in the first cup when the first cup occupies the second segment of the cup path;
and
a first holding blade mounted in such a position adjacent the first segment of the cup path that the first holding blade engages with an olive in the first cup when the first cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and the first pitting knife is engaged with the olive but is being pulled out of engagement with the olive, and when the first holding blade is engaged with the olive the first holding blade exerts a resisting force on the olive opposing the force exerted on the olive by the first pitting knife as the first pitting knife is pulled out of engagement with the olive.

11 more elements

An olive pitting and slicing apparatus, including:

a rotatable drive shaft;
a plate fixedly attached to the drive shaft;
a first cup dimensioned to receive an olive, and fixedly mounted on the plate so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the plate to translate the first cup, and any olive within the first cup, along a substantially circular cup path;
a first pitting means capable of extending toward the first cup when the first cup occupies a first segment of the cup path to extract an olive pit from an olive in the first cup, wherein the first pitting means is also capable of retracting away from the first cup after extraction of the olive pit, wherein the first pitting means includes:
a first cylindrical member defining a first cam track;
a first pitting knife attached to the drive shaft in a manner so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the first pitting knife to translate along a pitting knife path substantially parallel to the cup path;
a first cam follower riding in the first cam track and coupled to the first pitting knife so as to first to push the first pitting knife into engagement with an olive in the first cup, and then to pull the first pitting knife out of engagement with the olive, while the first cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and while the first pitting knife occupies a first segment of the pitting knife path;
a second cylindrical member defining a second cam track;
a first coring knife attached to the drive shaft in a manner so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the first coring knife to translate along a coring knife path substantially parallel to the cup path;
and a second cam follower riding in the second cam track and coupled to the first coring knife so as to push the first coring knife into engagement with an olive in the first cup while the first cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and while the first coring knife occupies a first segment of the coring knife path;
and
a set of slicing knives non-translatably mounted adjacent a second segment of the cup path, in such a position that the slicing knives engage with and slice a pitted olive in the first cup when the first cup occupies the second segment of the cup path, wherein the slicing knives are mounted adjacent the first segment of the cup path and adjacent the second segment of the cup path, in such a position that the slicing knives begin to engage with a pitted olive in the first cup when the first cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and the first pitting knife is engaged with the olive and the slicing knives continue to engage with the pitted olive in the first cup when the first cup occupies the second segment of the cup path.

9 more elements

An olive pitting and slicing apparatus, including:

a rotatable drive shaft;
a plate fixedly attached to the drive shaft;
a plurality of cups, each dimensioned to receive an olive, each said cup being fixedly mounted near an outer periphery of the plate so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the plate to translate the cups, and any olives within the cups, along a substantially circular cup path;
a plurality of pitting units, where each said pitting unit is mounted on the drive shaft in a position adjacent one of the cups so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause each pitting unit to translate as a unit with the cup adjacent thereto, where each said pitting unit is capable of extending toward the cup adjacent thereto when the cup occupies a first segment of the cup path in order to extract an olive pit from an olive in the cup, and where each said pitting unit is also capable of retracting away from the cup adjacent thereto after extraction of the olive pit;
and
a set of slicing knives non-translatably mounted adjacent a second segment of the cup path, in such a position that the slicing knives engage with and slice a pitted olive in each cup as each said cup traverses the second segment of the cup path, wherein the drive shaft is capable of rotating in a first rotational direction so as to translate the cups along the cup path in said first rotational direction, and also including:
a frame;
a slicing knife shaft rotatably mounted on the frame and fixedly attached to the slicing knives so that rotation of the slicing knive shaft will rotate each slicing knife;
and
a slicing knife rotation means coupled to the slicing knife shaft, for rotating the slicing knife shaft and the slicing knives as a unit in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction while the cups translate along the cup path.

7 more elements

An olive pitting and slicing apparatus, including:

a rotatable drive shaft;
a plate fixedly attached to the drive shaft;
a plurality of cups, each dimensioned to receive an olive, each said cup being fixedly mounted near an outer periphery of the plate so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the plate to translate the cups, and any olives within the cups, along a substantially circular cup path;
a plurality of pitting units, where each said pitting unit is mounted on the drive shaft in a position adjacent one of the cups so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause each pitting unit to translate as a unit with the cup adjacent thereto, where each said pitting unit is capable of extending toward the cup adjacent thereto when the cup occupies a first segment of the cup path in order to extract an olive pit from an olive in the cup, where each said pitting unit is also capable of retracting away from the cup adjacent thereto after extraction of the olive pit, and wherein each pitting unit includes:
a first cylindrical member defining a first cam track;
a pitting knife attached to the drive shaft in a manner so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the pitting knife to translate along a pitting knife path substantially parallel to the cup path;
a first cam follower riding in the first cam track and coupled to the pitting knife so as first to push the pitting knife into engagement with an olive in the cup adjacent the pitting unit, and then to pull the pitting knife out of engagement with the olive, while the cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and while the pitting knife occupies a first segment of the pitting knife path;
a second cylindrical member defining a second cam track;
a coring knife attached to the drive shaft in a manner so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause the coring knife to translate along a coring knife path substantially parallel to the cup path;
and a second cam follower riding in the second cam track and coupled to the coring knife so as to push the coring knife into engagement with an olive in the cup adjacent the pitting unit while the cup occupies the first segment of the cup path and while the coring knife occupies a first segment of the coring knife path;
a set of slicing knives non-translatably mounted adjacent a second segment of the cup path, in such a position that the slicing knives engage with and slice a pitted olive in each cup as each said cup traverses the second segment of the cup path;
and
a first holding blade mounted in such a position adjacent the first segment of the cup path that the first holding blade engages with each olive in each cup translating through the first segment of the cup path while the pitting knife is engaged with said each olive but is being pulled out of engagement with the olive, wherein the first holding blade exerts a resisting force on the olive when the first holding blade is engaged with the olive, said resisting force opposing the force exerted on the olive by the pitting knife as the pitting knife is pulled out of engagement with the olive.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.