System for extracting liquids from fruit and the like
First Claim
1. A system for extracting juice from grapes and the like comprising:
- a destemmer having an input and an output, said input for receiving picked grapes, said destemmer for removing the stems and the leaves from said grapes, said destemmer partially crushing said grapes thereby producing must containing free run juice at said destemmer output;
a predrainer press adapted to receive said free run juice containing must from said destemmer output, said predrainer press adapted to subject said must to a gentle pressing action thereby extracting free run juice and residual juice from said must, said predrainer press having a predrainer output for the partially dried must, first filtering means for separating said extracted juices from said must, and first collection means associated with said filtering means for collecting said separated juices; and
at least one final press adapted to receive said partially dried must from said predrainer output and to subject said partially dried must to heavy compression action thereby extracting a preselected percentage of the residual juice from said partially dried must, said final press having adjustable control means for providing preselection of said percentage by adjustment of said compression action, second filtering means for separating said extracted residual juice from said partially dried must, and second collection means for collecting said separated residual juice.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for extracting liquids from fruit, vegetables, or other similar materials with particular application to dejuicing grapes. The system provides a destemmer for receiving picked grapes and for removing stems and leaves therefrom. The destemmer partially crushes the grapes during the destemming operation producing free run juice in the resulting grape must. The must is transferred to a predrainer screw press which separates and collects the free run juice and a preselected portion of the residual juice by means of a gentle pressing action augmented by centrifugal force. The partially dewatered must is then transferred to one or more final screw presses which apply heavy compression to extract the remainder of usable juice from the predrained must. The predrainer press and final presses have throughput control means to provide a continuous feed of grapes through the system for maximum efficiency of juice extraction. The control system may be manually operated, or must volume sensors and must moisture sensors added with control circuits for automatically adjusting the system as the input of grapes to the destemmer varies. The system is adaptable to a wide variety of grapes and other produce for materials by preselection of the variable and controllable operating parameters.
21 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for extracting juice from grapes and the like comprising:
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a destemmer having an input and an output, said input for receiving picked grapes, said destemmer for removing the stems and the leaves from said grapes, said destemmer partially crushing said grapes thereby producing must containing free run juice at said destemmer output; a predrainer press adapted to receive said free run juice containing must from said destemmer output, said predrainer press adapted to subject said must to a gentle pressing action thereby extracting free run juice and residual juice from said must, said predrainer press having a predrainer output for the partially dried must, first filtering means for separating said extracted juices from said must, and first collection means associated with said filtering means for collecting said separated juices; and at least one final press adapted to receive said partially dried must from said predrainer output and to subject said partially dried must to heavy compression action thereby extracting a preselected percentage of the residual juice from said partially dried must, said final press having adjustable control means for providing preselection of said percentage by adjustment of said compression action, second filtering means for separating said extracted residual juice from said partially dried must, and second collection means for collecting said separated residual juice. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for extracting juice from grapes and the like comprising:
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a destemmer having an input and an output, said input for receiving picked grapes, said destemmer for removing the stems and leaves therefrom, said destemmer partially crushing the grapes thereby producing must containing free run juice at said destemmer output; free run juice separation means adapted to receive said must from said destemmer output for separating said free run juice from said must, said separation means having juice collection means for collecting said separated free run juice, and an output for the must from which said free run juice has been separated; predrainer press means for receiving said must from said separation means output, said predrainer press means for separating a preselected percentage of residual juice from said must by subjecting said must to a gentle pressing action, said predrainer press means having an output for partially dried must, and first collection means for collecting separated residual juice; and at least one final press means adapted to receive said partially dried must from said predrainer press means, said final press means for subjecting said partially dried must to heavy compression action thereby extracting a preselected percentage of the remaining juice from said partially dried must, said final press means having second collection means for collection said separated residual juice. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A system for extracting liquids from produce such as fruits, vegetables or the like comprising:
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a destemmer having an input and an output, said input for receiving picked produce, said destemmer for removing the stems and the leaves from said produce, said destemmer partially crushing said produce thereby producing produce containing free run juice at said destemmer output; a predrainer press adapted to receive said free run liquids containing produce from said destemmer output, said predrainer press adapted to subject said produce to a gentle pressing action thereby extracting free run liquid and residual liquid from said produce, said predrainer press having a predrainer output for the partially dewatered produce, first filtering means for separating said extracted liquids from said produce, and first collection means associated with said filtering means for collecting said separated liquids; and at least one final press adapted to receive said partially dewatered produce from said predrainer output and to subject said partially dewatered produce to heavy compression action thereby extracting a preselected percentage of the residual liquid from said partially dewatered produce, said final press having adjustable control means for providing preselection of said percentage by adjustment of said compression action, second filtering means for separating said extracted residual liquid from said partially dewatered produce, and second collection means for collection said separated residual liquid.
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19. A system for extracting juice from grapes and the like having automatic control of system throughput and percentage of juices extracted comprising:
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a destemmer having an input and an output, said input for receiving picked grapes, said destemmer for removing stems and leaves therefrom, said destemmer partially crushing the grapes thereby producing must containing free run juice at said destemmer output; a predrainer press having a first hopper adapted to receive said free run juice-containing must from said destemmer output, said predrainer press having a first controllable drive system for controlling the throughput of said must through said predrainer press, said first hopper having first volume sensing means for producing a first signal proportional to the level of a head of must in said first hopper, said predrainer press having first volume detector means responsive to said sensing means for producing a first proportional control signal, said first controllable drive means connection to said first volume detector means and responsive to said first proportional control signal to control the throughput of must through said predrainer press so as to maintain a preselected head of must in said first hopper, said predrainer press serving to extract said free run juice and residual juice from said must for collection thereof and having an output for the predrained must; one final press having a second hopper adapted to receive said predrained must from said predrainer press output, said final press having a second controllable drive system for controlling the throughput of said predrained must through said final press, said second hopper having second volume sensing means for producing a second signal proportional to the level of a head of predrained must in said second hopper, said final press having a second volume detector means responsive to said second sensing means for producing a second proportional control signal, said second control drive means connected to said second volume detector means and responsive to said second proportional control signal to control the throughput of said predrained must through said final press so as to maintain a preselected head of predrained must in said hopper, said final press serving to extract a preselected percentage of residual juice from said predrained must for collection thereof and having an output for the final dry must; moisture sensing means disposed at said dry must output of said final press for producing moisture control signals proportional to the percentage moisture in said dry must; and dryness control means associated with said final press for controlling the percentage of juice extracted from said predrained must in said final press, said dryness control means connected to said moisture sensing means and responsive to said moisture control signals to control said final press to extract said preselected percentage of juice from predrained must. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification