Patent ID: 7608794
Filing Date: 2009-10-27
Classification: B07C

Abstract:
1. A process for sorting and pitting fruit matter comprising fruit flesh and pits to dislodge pits from said fruit flesh and to extract fruit flesh from said fruit matter in a form substantially free of pits, said process comprising: passing said fruit matter through a laser-based sorting unit and a diode-based sorting unit, in succession and in any order, said laser-based sorting unit differentiating said fruit flesh from said pits by differences in light scattering, and said diode-based sorting unit differentiating said fruit flesh from said pits by differences in light reflectance, each said sorting unit forming a unit input stream and two unit output streams whereby one of said unit output streams, defined as a fruit-flesh-rich output stream, has a higher proportion of pit-free fruit flesh than said unit input stream; at a location between said laser-based sorting unit and said diode-based sorting unit, contacting said fruit matter with a fluid jet of sufficient force to dislodge pits adhering to fruit flesh; and recovering as product fruit flesh that has passed through both said laser-based sorting unit and said diode-based sorting unit and that is substantially free of pits.