US 5,329,845 AGranted

Apparatus for waterless hulling of nuts and the like

OwnerRonald A. Bichelinventor

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Abstract

The apparatus comprises a cage (rotatable in one direction) formed by roller brushes (rotatable in the opposite direction) radially arranged about a axis to define a sloped chamber. A fender is located along one side of each roller brush. A stationary tube, closed at both ends and having a motor-driven rotatable auger therein, extends through the chamber. The tube has four openings (proceeding from the high to the low end of the chamber): a top (supply) opening; a bottom (feed) opening; a top (recovery) opening; and a bottom (discharge) opening. Unhulled nuts from the supply opening are fed through the feed opening by the auger and form a single layer against the chamber wall and advance through the sloped chamber. During cage and roller rotation, each nut is trapped between a fender and the bristles in the outgoing quadrant of the adjacent roller brush and the hull is removed. Fully-hulled nuts, when they reach the 3 o'clock to 1:30 o'clock position of the rotating cage, fall through the recovery opening into the tube and are expelled from the tube through the discharge opening by the auger.

Claims21

Dependent claims

Apparatus for removing the outer covering of products, such as fruits, vegetables or nuts, without using water comprising:

a plurality of rotatable rollers arranged in radially spaced-apart relationship about an axis so as to define a rotatable roller cage having a generally cylindrical, sloped, product-processing chamber having a high end and a low end;
abrading means on the peripheral surface of each of said rollers, that portion of said abrading means confronting said chamber as a roller rotates moving arcuately through a first quadrant toward the axis of said chamber and then through a second quadrant away from the axis of said chamber;
means to rotate said roller cage about said axis in one direction and to rotate each roller in a direction opposite to said one direction, taking into account the size and weight of said products and the rate at which said products are fed into said chamber, to effect distribution of substantially a single layer of said products along said rollers, to effect advancement of said products from said high end toward said low end of said chamber, and to effect removal of said outer covering of said products in contact with said abrading means of said rollers;
means to introduce said products into said chamber near said high end for processing;
container means in said chamber having a product-recovery opening in the top thereof near said low end of said chamber to receive products from which said outer covering has been removed and which are falling toward the bottom of said chamber;
and means to expel said products from which said outer covering has been removed from said container exteriorly of said chamber.

3 more elements

Apparatus for removing the outer covering of products, such as fruits, vegetables or nuts, without using water comprising:

a plurality of rotatable rollers arranged in radially spaced-apart relationship about an axis so as to define a rotatable roller cage having a generally cylindrical, sloped, product-processing chamber having a high end and a low end;
abrading means on the peripheral surface of each of said rollers, that portion of said abrading means confronting said chamber as a roller rotates moving arcuately through a first quadrant toward the axis of said chamber and then through a second quadrant away from the axis of said chamber;
means to rotate said roller cage about said axis in one direction and to rotate each roller in a direction opposite to said one direction, taking into account the size and weight of said products and the rate at which said products are fed into said chamber, to effect distribution of substantially a single layer of said products along said rollers, to effect advancement of said products from said high end toward said low end of said chamber, and to effect removal of said outer covering of said products in contact with said abrading means of said rollers;
and guard means in said chamber and associated with said rollers to enable products to make contact with only that portion of said abrading means moving arcuately through said second quadrant.

1 more element

Apparatus for removing the outer covering of products, such as fruits, vegetables or nuts, without using water comprising:

a plurality of rotatable rollers arranged in radially spaced-apart relationship about an axis so as to define a rotatable roller cage having a generally cylindrical, sloped, product-processing chamber having a high end and a low end;
abrading means on the peripheral surface of each of said rollers, that portion of said abrading means confronting said chamber as a roller rotates moving arcuately through a first quadrant toward the axis of said chamber and then through a second quadrant away from the axis of said chamber;
means to rotate said roller cage about said axis in one direction and to rotate each roller in a direction opposite to said one direction, taking into account the size and weight of said products and the rate at which said products are fed into said chamber, to effect distribution of substantially a single layer of said products along said rollers, to effect advancement of said products from said high end toward said low end of said chamber, and to effect removal of said outer covering of said products in contact with said abrading means of said rollers;
guard means in said chamber and associated with said rollers to enable products to make contact with only that portion of said abrading means moving arcuately through said second quadrant,
means to introduce said products into said chamber near said high end for processing;
container means in said chamber having a product-recovery opening in the top thereof near said low end of said chamber to receive products from which said outer covering has been removed and which are falling toward the bottom of said chamber;
and means to expel said products from which said outer covering has been removed from said container exteriorly of said chamber.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/097,137Filed 26 Jul 1993
Granted: 19 Jul 1994
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

A23N 5/002
Machines for hulling, husking or cracking nuts: for skinning nut kernels
A23N 12/005
Machines for cleaning, blanching, drying or roasting fruits or vegetables, e.g. coffee, cocoa, nuts: for dry-cleaning
Y02A 40/90
Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production: in food processing or handling, e.g. food conservation
A23N
Machines or apparatus for treating harvested fruit, vegetables or flower bulbs in