DAMPED ROTARY PEELING HEAD

• US 3,552,459 A
• Filed: 05/22/1968
• Issued: 01/05/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vadas Leslie
• Original Assignee: Vadas Leslie
• Inventors: VADAS LESLIE
• Application Number:
  US04/731,237
• Time in Patent Office: 958 Days
• US Class Current: 99/588
• CPC Class Codes: A23N 4/20 for pineapples
• CPC Class Codes: A23N 7/002 Peeling pinaeapples A23N7/005 and A23N7/01 take precedence

Abstract

A rotary head for the contour peeling of pineapples has bell crank knife arms pivotally mounted on a rotor through which the pineapples are passed for contour peeling. A torsion spring urges the knives toward the fruit and a counterweight opposes the effect of centrifugal force on the knife. A hydraulic vane type damper is connected to the knife arm at its pivot point on the rotor, for freely accommodating knife motion toward the fruit while resisting sudden outward motion of the knife.

Claims

1. A rotary head for contour peeling fruit such as pineapples or the like, said head comprising a base, a rotor on said base, said base and rotor providing an opening through which the fruit can pass for peeling, a knife arm having a fruit radius pivot shaft on said rotor and disposed to one side of said fruit opening, said knife arm having a knife mounting leg extending across said fruit opening and a counter balance leg extending generally tangent to the rotational path of said pivot shaft, spring means for urging the knife mounting leg inwardly toward the fruit, and a substantially unidirectional hydraulic damper for hydraulically resisting outward motion of said knife mounting leg while substantially freely accommodating inward motion thereof, said damper comprising a vane mounted directly on said knife arm pivot shaft, a liquid filled housing on said rotor, liquid blocking partition means in said housing cooperating with said vane, port means in said damper for throttling liquid flow upon outward motion of said knife mounting leg, and relief valve means in said partition means for accommodating liquid flow upon inward knife motion.

2. The peeling head of claim 1, wherein the opening and closing motion of said relief valve means is substantially tangential to the path of rotation of said rotor for minimizing the effect of centrifugal force on the relief valve means.

3. The peeling head of claim 1, wherein said vane is double acting and said partition means comprises radially disposed partition elements, said relief valve means comprising a port in each partition element and a valve member mounted at each port for opening and closing motion in a generally tangential direction.

4. A rotary head for contour peeling fruit such as pineapples or the like, said head comprising a base, a rotor on said base, said base and rotor providing an opening through which the fruit can pass for peeling;

a damper on said rotor comprising concentric, relatively rotatable pivot shaft and housing elements disposed at one side of said fruit opening with one of said elements being fixed on the rotor, a knife arm on said rotatable damper element and having a knife mounting leg extending across said fruit opening and a counter balance leg extending generally tangent to the rotational path of said pivot, spring means for urging the knife mounting leg inwardly toward the fruit;

saId damper comprising double acting vane means mounted directly on the movable damper element and liquid blocking partition means on the fixed damper element, a liquid in said damper housing element, port means in one of said damper elements for throttling liquid flow upon outward motion of said knife mounting leg, and relief valve means for accommodating inward knife motion;

said fixed partition means comprising aligned walls radially disposed relative to the rotor center, said relief valve means comprising relief valve ports formed in said fixed radial walls, and a relief valve member mounted at each port for opening and closing motion in a direction that is generally tangential to the path of rotor rotation.