Fruit and vegetable juice press assembly

A fruit and vegetable juice press assembly comprising:

• a frame;
• a first housing removably supported on the frame;
• a fruit and vegetable processor removably mounted on the first housing, the processor including a grater rotatable about a generally vertically extending axis, an impeller disposed below the grater and also rotatable about said axis, the impeller including a circular disk having a plurality of radially extending vanes on its upper surface, and a discharge chute associated with the impeller and through which grated fruit and vegetables may be discharged;
• a hopper mounted above the processor in communication with the grater;
• a press bag having open and closed ends;
• press bag support means removably supporting the press bag with its open end in communication with the discharge chute;
• a juice collector supported by the frame below the press bag;
• drive means for driving the processor to cause fruit and vegetables within the hopper to be grated and impelled through the discharge chute into the press bag, the drive means including a motor mounted within the first housing;
• press means supported by the frame for pressing the press bag to squeeze juice from the grated fruit and vegetables which have been impelled into the press bag by the processor, the squeezed juice flowing by gravity from the press bag to the collector;
• control means for controlling the operation of the drive means and the press means;
• and
• a hopper cover which is pivotally secured to the hopper for movement between hopper open and hopper closed positions, the hopper cover having an extension which is disposed adjacent the housing when the hopper cover is in its closed position, the extension carrying a magnet, and wherein the control means includes a hopper cover magnet sensing switch which is located on the inside of the housing at a location in proximity to the magnet when the hopper cover is in its closed position, the control means preventing the operation of the drive motor unless the magnet is sensed by the magnet sensing switch.

A fruit and vegetable juice press assembly comprising:

• a frame;
• a first housing removably supported on the frame;
• a fruit and vegetable processor removably mounted on the first housing, the processor including a grater rotatable about a generally vertically extending axis, an impeller disposed below the grater and also rotatable about said axis, the impeller including a circular disk having a plurality of radially extending vanes on its upper surface, and a discharge chute associated with the impeller and through which grated fruit and vegetables may be discharged, the discharge chute being provided with a baffle movable between open and closed positions, the baffle normally being positioned in its closed position at the start of the cycle of operation and being shifted to its open position as material is being impelled through the discharge chute, the baffle then being moved to its closed position during the operation of the press means;
• a hopper mounted above the processor in communication with the grater;
• a press bag having open and closed ends;
• press bag support means removably supporting the press bag with its open end in communication with the discharge chute;
• a juice collector supported by the frame below the press bag;
• drive means for driving the processor to cause fruit and vegetables within the hopper to be grated and impelled through the discharge chute into the press bag, the drive means including a motor mounted within the first housing;
• press means supported by the frame for pressing the press bag to squeeze juice from the grated fruit and vegetables which have been impelled into the press bag by the processor, the squeezed juice flowing by gravity from the press bag to the collector;
• and
• control means mounted on the frame for controlling the functions of the drive means and the press means.

A fruit and vegetable juice press assembly comprising:

• a frame
• a housing supported on the frame;
• a fruit and vegetable processor mounted on the housing, the processor including a grater, an impeller, and a discharge chute associated with the impeller through which grated fruit and vegetables may be discharged;
• a hopper mounted above the processor and in communication with the grater;
• a press bag having a top open end and a bottom closed end;
• press bag support means removeably supporting the press bag with its open end in communication with the discharge chute;
• a juice collector supported by the frame below the press bag;
• drive means for driving the processor to cause fruit and vegetables within the hopper to be grated and impelled through the discharge chute into the press bag;
• press means supported by the frame for pressing the press bag to squeeze juice from the grated fruit and vegetables received from the processor, squeezed the juice flowing by gravity from the press bag to the juice collector, wherein the housing includes a first support lip to one side of the top of the press bag, and the press means includes a second support lip to the other side of the top of the press bag, the press bag support means being mounted on the first and second support lips;
• and
• control means mounted on the frame for controlling the functions of the drive means and the press means.

A fruit and vegetable juice press assembly comprising:

• a frame
• first and second horizontally spaced apart housings supported on the frame;
• a fruit and vegetable processor mounted on the housing, the processor including a grater, an impeller, and a discharge chute associated with the impeller through which grated fruit and vegetables may be discharged;
• a hopper mounted above the processor and in communication with the grater;
• a press bag having a top open end and a bottom closed end;
• press bag support means removeably supporting the press bag between the first and second housings with its open end in communication with the discharge chute;
• a juice collector supported by the frame below the press bag;
• drive means for driving the processor to cause fruit and vegetables within the hoper to be grated and impelled through the discharge chute into the press bag, the drive means including a motor mounted within the first housing;
• press means supported by the frame for pressing the press bag to squeeze juice from the grated fruit and vegetables received from the processor, the squeezed juice flowing by gravity from the press bag to the juice collector, and wherein the press means includes an air bag mounted on the frame, means for inflating and deflating the air bag, the second housing enclosing the air bag, and means for inflating the air bag, a cylindrical rod secured to the press bag and extending through the second housing in a direction towards the air bag, and a platen having a pressing surface, the platen being removeably secured to the end of the cylindrical rod disposed outwardly of the second housing;
• and
• control means mounted on the frame for controlling the functions of the drive means and the press means.

A fruit and vegetable juice press assembly comprising:

• a frame
• a housing supported on the frame;
• a fruit and vegetable processor mounted on the housing, the processor including a grater, an impeller, and a discharge chute associated with the impeller through which grated fruit and vegetables may be discharged;
• a hopper mounted above the processor and in communication with the grater;
• a press bag having a top open end and a bottom closed end;
• press bag support means removeably supporting the press bag with its open end in communication with the discharge chute;
• a juice collector supported by the frame below the press bag;
• drive means for driving the processor to cause fruit and vegetables within the hopper to be grated and impelled through the discharge chute into the press bag;
• press means supported by the frame for pressing the press bag to squeeze juice from the grated fruit and vegetables received from the processor, the juice flowing by gravity from the press bag to the juice collector, the press means including a platen moveable towards and away from the housing, the press bag being disposed between the platen and a fixed press surface on the housing, and wherein the discharge chute is provided with a baffle moveable between open and closed positions, the baffle normally being positioned in its closed position at the start of a cycle of operation and being shifted to its open position as the material is being impelled through the discharge chute, the platen engaging the baffle as it is pressing the fruit and vegetables received in the bag to shift the baffle back to its closed position;
• and
• control means mounted on the frame for controlling the functions of the drive means and the press means.