Patent US3696847A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3696847A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Apple slicer and celler
Assignee: Hexion Inc
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Filing: 1970-06-15
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Granted: 1972-10-10
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Expires: 1990-06-15
Abstract
Abstract The apparatus includes a cluster of knife blades which is moved up and down to slice the fruit; a free floating cylinder having axial slots and freely resting on the cluster, the cluster being disposed within the free floating member with its blades being positioned within the slots; an apertured cup holding a cored fruit positioned below the cluster, the core passage of the fruit being aligned with the aperture in the cup; and a celling knife disposed below the cup which is raised into the core passage in the fruit to remove the seed cell material thereupon. The sequence of operation is commenced by positioning the fruit in the cup below the cluster and above the celling knife. The free floating member is brought to rest on the fruit while the celling knife is raised into the core passage in the fruit, gradually expanded to remove the seed cell material therefrom in small particles, collapsed and retracted from the core passage. The cluster of knife blades is advanced against the fruit to slice same and retracted while the free floating member, being restrained by the flexible stop member, extracts wedged slices of the fruit from between the knife blades.
Inventors
- 👤 Arthur B Erekson
- 👤 Malcolm S Lane
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 16:27
CPC Classifications
A; A23; A23N; A23N4/00; A23N4/12; A23N4/14
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
An apparatus for slicing fruit, such as apples, comprising slicing means; means for raising and lowering said slicing means; a free floating member freely disposed on said slicing means; and an apertured receptacle disposed beneath said slicing means; said aperture serving to permit entrance of a cutting means into the core cavity of the fruit disposed in said receptacle for removing the seed cell material from within the fruit, said free floating member being adapted to freely rest on the fruit when said cutting means is moved into the core cavity of the fruit and being of sufficient weight to prevent any movement of the fruit while the seed cell material is being extracted, said slicing means being adapted to slice the fruit into a plurality of slices following the extraction of the seed cell material therefrom.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
137 words
An apparatus for slicing fruit, such as apples, comprising slicing means; means for raising and lowering said slicing means; a free floating member freely disposed on said slicing means; and an apertured receptacle disposed beneath said slicing means; said aperture serving to permit entrance of a cutting means into the core cavity of the fruit disposed in said receptacle for removing the seed cell material from within the fruit, said free floating member being adapted to freely rest on the fruit when said cutting means is moved into the core cavity of the fruit and being of sufficient weight to prevent any movement of the fruit while the seed cell material is being extracted, said slicing means being adapted to slice the fruit into a plurality of slices following the extraction of the seed cell material therefrom.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
96 words
Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said free floating member is a cylindrical structure provided with a plurality of slots extending axially and into the interior of said cylindrical structure and having a frusto-conical interior at its lower extremity to complement the shape of the upper portion of the fruit on which it rests during a sequence of operation of the apparatus; and wherein said slicing means includes a plurality of blades which extend radially from a central point, said slicing means being disposed within said free floating member with said blades being positioned in said slots.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
67 words
Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said slicing means includes a bolt having axially extending grooves; a ring member provided with grooves on the inner surface thereof, said ring member being disposed about said free floating member; said blades fitting into the grooves in said bolt and into the grooves in said ring member; and means for rigidly securing said blades to said ring member and said bolt.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus of claim 3 wherein each of said blades has a parallelogram configuration, including a lug, with the outer lower corner removed, said lug serving to secure the blade to the ring member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
58 words
Apparatus of claim 4 wherein said receptacle has an inverted frusto-conical form to generally complement the configuration presented by said blades, said receptacle being provided with grooves aligned with each of said blades to assure efficient slicing of the fruit disposed in the receptacle when the blades pass through the fruit and come to rest in said grooves.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
49 words
Apparatus of claim 5 including a frame member provided with an opening; said free floating member, which includes a flange at its upper extremity, being disposed through the opening in said frame member and freely resting on said frame member; said slicing means being attached to said frame member.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus of claim 6 including a flexible stop means mounted above said free floating member to restrain the upward movement of said free floating member when said slicing means is retracted after slicing the fruit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus of claim 7 including a conveyor means, a plurality of centrally apertured receptacles mounted on said conveyor means, and means for intermittently advancing said conveyor means to a position directly under said slicing means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
Apparatus of claim 1 including cutting means for removing the seed cell material disposed below said receptacle and means for raising and lowering said cutting means into and out of the core cavity of the fruit disposed in said receptacle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
59 words
Apparatus of claim 9 including means for rotating said cutting means when it is disposed in the core cavity of the fruit, and means for gradually expanding said cutting means to remove the seed cell material from the fruit in sufficiently fine particles to be screened out in a conventional manner for discarding undesirable small pieces of the fruit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus of claim 10 wherein said means for raising and lowering said cutting means and said means for raising and lowering said slicing means include a coordinate means for synchronizing operation of the respective means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
212 words
Method for slicing and celling fruit, such as apples, having a core cavity extending therethrough, comprising positioning the fruit disposed in an apertured receptacle above a celling knife and below a slicer assembly which includes a slicing means and a free floating member, the core of the fruit being axially aligned with the aperture in the receptacle; advancing the free floating member against the fruit so that the free floating member rests freely on the fruit while simultaneously elevating the celling knife into the core cavity of the fruit; rotating the celling knife while simultaneously gradually expanding the knife to remove the seed cell material from the fruit in sufficiently fine particles to be screened out in a conventional manner for discarding undesirable small pieces of the fruit, the weight of the free floating member being sufficient to prevent the fruit from turning; collapsing the knife and retracting it out of the core cavity of the fruit; advancing the slicing means against and into the fruit to divide the fruit into slices; elevating the slicing means while flexibly restraining the upward movement of the free floating member in order to remove slices of the fruit which have become wedged in the slicing means; and raising the free floating member off the fruit.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
212 words
Method for slicing and celling fruit, such as apples, having a core cavity extending therethrough, comprising positioning the fruit disposed in an apertured receptacle above a celling knife and below a slicer assembly which includes a slicing means and a free floating member, the core of the fruit being axially aligned with the aperture in the receptacle; advancing the free floating member against the fruit so that the free floating member rests freely on the fruit while simultaneously elevating the celling knife into the core cavity of the fruit; rotating the celling knife while simultaneously gradually expanding the knife to remove the seed cell material from the fruit in sufficiently fine particles to be screened out in a conventional manner for discarding undesirable small pieces of the fruit, the weight of the free floating member being sufficient to prevent the fruit from turning; collapsing the knife and retracting it out of the core cavity of the fruit; advancing the slicing means against and into the fruit to divide the fruit into slices; elevating the slicing means while flexibly restraining the upward movement of the free floating member in order to remove slices of the fruit which have become wedged in the slicing means; and raising the free floating member off the fruit.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
9 words
Method of claim 12 wherein said fruit is apples.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
31 words
Method of claim 13 including the step of intermittently moving apples disposed in a plurality of cups forming a conveyor into position under the slicer assembly and above the celling knife.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3351114A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-10 | 1976-04-10 | 1976-10-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-10 | 1980-04-10 | 1980-10-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-10 | 1984-04-10 | 1984-10-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |