Abstract:
A device and method for shelling nuts. The device may be attached to a belt sander. The device includes a hopper into which the nuts are initially placed. Two large threaded fasteners on the central portion are used to adjust the system for the size of nut being shelled. A bracket placed behind the central portion attaches the device to the sander. The rotating belt brings the nut down to a lower opening formed to be just smaller than the shell of the nut being shelled. As the shell of the nut is caused to pass through this opening, the shell cracks. The nut with the cracked shell now impacts on one or more strike plates. These impacts further propagate the cracks formed in the shell so that the fragmented shells fall away from the nut. The nut and the cracked shells fall into the collection bag.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under Title 35 United States Code §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application 61/593,017 filed Jan. 31, 2012, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention pertains to a small, easy-to-use system and method for removing shells from nuts. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    The individual removal of the shells from edible nuts is known to most people who have ever used a nut cracker. On a larger scale, a variety of various types of machines have been made to remove the shells from edible nuts. Those businesses that specialize in the sale of edible nuts often begin by purchasing one or more expensive nut shelling machines. 
         [0006]    For the small grower, typically a farmer or rancher owning a few nut-bearing trees, the number of nuts to be shelled rarely justifies the expense of a nut shelling machine. Without a nut shelling machine, the only alternative for the farmer or rancher is a manual nut cracker. Therefore, a need remains in the art for a low cost, easy-to-use nut shelling system and method. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The nut shelling system and method of the present invention provides a low cost, easy-to-use system and method for shelling nuts. A better understanding of the system and method of the present invention is best understood by reference to the attached photographs and drawing figures. The invention may be attached to an ordinary work bench mounted sander. The rotating sanding disc on the side of the work bench mounted sander is not used. Only the rotating belt portion of the work bench mounted sander is used. The invention includes a hopper at the top into which the nut meats and the shell fragments fall. The two large threaded fasteners on the central portion are used to adjust the system and method of the present invention for the size of nut being shelled. A bracket placed behind the central portion attaches the nut sheller of the present invention to the sander. The rotating belt brings the nut down to a lower opening formed to be just smaller than the shell of the nut being shelled. As the shell of the nut is caused to pass through this opening by the frictional engagement with the rotating belt, the shell cracks. At the top of the hopper, one or more bars may be mounted. These bars both provide safety and can be used to regulate the size of the nut put into the sheller of the present invention. As the nuts enter the hopper at the top and fall through the central portion of the housing, the exterior of the nut eventually comes into contact with the moving belt. The friction of the moving belt against the outside surface of the shell pulls the nut through the opening at the bottom of the central portion which is formed to be just smaller than the nut. Movement of the nut through the opening cracks the shell. The nut with the cracked shell now impacts the strike plate. This impact of the outside of the shell with the strike plate further propagates the crack formed in the shell so that many of the fragmented shells will fall away from the nut. The nut and the cracked shells fall into the collection bag for separation at a later time. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown attached to a standard bench type belt sander. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown removed from the belt sander. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the opening into which the nuts to be shelled are placed. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a rear elevational view (from the side to be attached to the belt sander) of the preferred embodiment of the present invention disclosing the internal components of the main housing of the device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the internal components associated with the operation of the device. 
           [0013]      FIGS. 6A-6C  are plan views of an alternate embodiment of the angled plate of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0014]    The nut shell removal system and method is enabled by an apparatus having three key components. The first component is a power driven belt such as a belt sander. While a bench mounted belt sander is shown in the preferred embodiment described below, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that a portable belt sander may be used provided the necessary bracketry is fashioned to hold the portable belt sander in place. 
         [0015]    The second component is the angled plate along which the nuts to be shelled slide before making contact with the moving belt portion of the belt sander. As previously indicated, the position of the bottom of the angled plate is adjusted so that its distance from the moving belt is slightly smaller than the dimension of the shell to be cracked. The adjustment may be made in many ways, however, a bolt and locking nut is used in the preferred embodiment. 
         [0016]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that for those nuts which require application of force on the shell in a particular direction, the nut may have to be specially oriented with respect to the moving belt. For example, in the cracking of the shells of almonds, the angled plate may include channels which cause the almonds to be positioned so that the edge of each almond is in contact with the moving belt. 
         [0017]    The third component is the housing which holds the angled plate in the proper position with respect to the moving belt and provides a mounting to the sander. As previously indicated, the housing includes a hopper at the top constructed and arranged to receive the shelled nuts. The central portion provides the passage through which the nuts fall on their way to contact with the moving belt. On the bottom of the central portion of the housing is the exit chute which contains the striking plate to further crack the shell and separate the shell from the nut. The exit chute includes a bottom portion onto which the catch bag may be attached. 
         [0018]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the disclosed system and method may be used with various different types of nuts to include Brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, etc. Modification of the disclosed invention includes using a heavy-duty belt with a rubber coating or having a rough surface instead of the sanding belt. A hard rubber or hard rubber coating may be used with the angled plate. 
         [0019]    While a sander having an electric motor is shown, those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that a portable device driven by a hand crank attached to a special increasing gear set-up may be used if nut shelling is to be done away from a source of electricity. 
         [0020]    Reference is made below to a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the system of the invention. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that some variations on the size and configuration of the basic components of the invention may be made. The preferred embodiment shown and described is configured to fit onto a standard sized bench mounted belt sander of the type with a belt platform that may be varied in its angle to the base. The brackets of the present invention may be mounted to such a belt sander with relatively minor modifications to sander itself. As shown, four bolt or screw holes may be drilled and tapped into the sides of the belt platform where attached bolts will fit into the hook portions of the bracket. As the device of the present invention is easily removed from the belt sander, it may be returned to ordinary use when not being used to shell nuts. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of nut sheller  10  of the present invention shown to primarily comprise hopper  12 , main housing  14 , and exit chute  16 . Nut sheller  10  is attached to belt sander  18  shown in dashed outline form. Collection bag  20  (also shown in dashed outline form) is attached to exit chute  16 . 
         [0022]    Main housing  14  defines primary chute  22  that is mounted on and runs parallel to moving belt  19  of belt sander  18 . Hopper  12  is attached to primary chute  22  by way of hopper attachment bolts  24 . Extending through primary chute  22  and described in more detail below, is angled plate support rod  26 . Primary chute  22  is connected to belt sander  18  so as to run parallel to and cover moving belt  19  by way of mounting bracket  28 . Mounting bracket  28  is attached to belt sander  18  by way of bracket bolts  30   a  &amp;  30   b.  The internal components associated with primary chute  22  are described in more detail below. Externally, adjustment bolts  32  are seen to extend through the wall of primary chute  22  where they may be easily adjusted so as to alter the angle of the internal angled plate. Exit chute attachment bolts  33  connect primary chute  22  with exit chute  16 . 
         [0023]    As described above, nuts may be placed within hopper  12  where they fall by means of gravity into primary chute  22  which, running parallel with moving belt  19 , established a choke point at which the nut shells may be cracked. Subsequent motion of the nut shells through a series of strike plates within primary chute  22  and exit chute  16  separate the meat from the shell and dispense both into collection bag  20  through exit chute  16 . 
         [0024]    Reference is next made to  FIG. 2  which is a side elevational view showing nut sheller  10  again comprised primarily of hopper  12 , main housing  14 , and exit chute  16 . Nut sheller  10  in this view is shown removed from the external belt sander for clarity. 
         [0025]    Hopper  12  is shown to comprise hopper sides  34  and hopper base  36  which are oriented and sized to allow a quantity of nuts to be placed within the device and gradually fed into primary chute  22 . Again, hopper  12  is attached to main housing  14  and primary chute  22  by way of hopper attachment bolts  24 . Angled plate support rod  26  terminates on the external walls of primary chute  22  and extends therethrough in a manner that does not obstruct movement of nuts through the device. Top angle adjustment holes  25  are positioned in the walls of primary chute  22  of main housing  14  so as to allow for greater adjustment of the internal angled plate (described in more detail below). Mounting bracket  28  comprises part of main housing  14  and is positioned parallel with primary chute  22  so as to secure an open face of primary chute  22  parallel with and against the moving belt of the belt sander (not shown). Once again, the device is secured to the belt sander by way of mounting bracket  28  utilizing bracket hooks  31   a  &amp;  31   b.    
         [0026]    Exit chute  16  is attached to primary chute  22  by way of exit chute attachment bolt  33 . This attachment bolt may also extend across the width of the device to the opposite side since, in this position, it does not obstruct the path of the nuts. Exit chute adjustment channel  35  allows for variations in the distance between the choke point of the device (described in more detail below) and the strike plates associated with exit chute  16 . Choke point adjustment bolts  32  operate to move internal components so as to vary the angle of the internal angled plate and thereby vary the size of the choke point opening. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the device of the present invention showing the top of nut sheller  10  with hopper  12  comprising hopper sides  34  and hopper base  36 . Hopper feed shelf  44  extends into and over the top of main housing  14  and serves to deliver the unshelled nuts into primary chute  22 . Hopper attachment bolts  24  simply secure hopper  12  to main housing  14  and do not extend across the width of primary chute  22 . In contrast, angled plate support rod  26  extends across the width of primary chute  22  in a manner that supports angled plate  40  at its top edge (see description below). 
         [0028]    Mounting bracket  28  is shown to extend from an open face of primary chute  22  in a manner that allows it to attach to the belt sander and partially cover moving belt  19  so as to form choke point  52  between moving belt  19  and angled plate  40 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 4  is a rear elevational view showing the components of nut sheller  10  as seen from the side to which the belt sander is attached. In this view, hopper  12  extends away from main housing  14  and is secured thereto by hopper attachment bolts  24 . Exit chute  16  is secured to the lower end of main housing  14  where it receives the cracked, but not entirely unshelled, nuts. 
         [0030]    Internal to main housing  14  is primarily angled plate  40  which is secured to angled plate support rod  26  at an upper edge and is positioned under the edge of hopper feed shelf  44 . In this manner, the nuts fed into main housing  14  are unobstructed from falling into contact with angled plate  40 . Mounting brackets  28  are seen edge on, including bracket hooks  31   a  &amp;  31   b.    
         [0031]    Angled plate  40  is supported on angled plate support rod  26  and extends down through main housing  14  to a point where it is supported on a back side (not seen in this view) by angled plate adjustment posts associated with choke point adjustment bolts  32 . Angled plate  40  is retained against these adjustable support posts by means of retention spring  58 . Below main housing  14  and exit chute  16  are primary strike plate  54  (seen from the outside in this view) and secondary strike point  56  (seen from the inside in this view). 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  is a partial cut-away view that discloses the internal components of nut sheller  10  of the present invention and the manner in which these components combine and operate to first insure the cracking of the nut shell and then second the separation of the nut meat from the shell components. Nut sheller  10  is again shown to be made up of hopper  12 , main housing  14 , and exit chute  16 . The manner in which nut sheller  10  is attached to and supported on the belt sander, and in particular moving belt  19 , is shown as mounting bracket  28  positioned over bracket bolts  30   a  &amp;  30   b.    
         [0033]    Hopper  12  is attached to main housing  14  by hopper attachment  24  and exit chute  16  is attached to main housing  14  by exit chute adjustment bolt  33 . Hopper feed shelf  44  is shown extending into main housing  14  to provide the inlet for primary chute  22 . Hopper feed shelf  44  fits over angled plate support rod  26  and angled plate top support  42 . Angled plate top support  42  comprises the top edge of angled plate  40  formed in a U-channel and allowed to pivot on angled plate support rod  26  which extends through the width of main housing  14  as described above. Variations on the placement of angled plate  40  and angled plate top support  42  may be accomplished by placing angled plate support rod  26  in any of the other top angle adjustment holes  25  pre-drilled through the walls of main housing  14 . 
         [0034]    As the nuts fall from hopper  12  into primary chute  22 , they are channeled by angled plate  40  onto slide surface  50  thereof to choke point  52  between angled plate  40  and moving belt  19 . The movement downward at this point on moving belt  19  draws the nuts into choke point  52  squeezing them between angled plate  40  and the surface of moving belt  19 . In the process, the shells of the nuts are generally cracked, although not necessarily removed from the meat of the nut. The separation of the shells and the meat is accomplished by the accelerated motion of the cracked nuts downward towards primary strike plate  54  where impacts with primary strike plate  54  and impacts with secondary strike plate  56  serve to generally separate the shell pieces from the meat of the nut. 
         [0035]    The angle of angled plate  40  maybe adjusted not only by placement of angled plate support rod  26  into any of top angle adjustment holes  25 , but more specifically by the movement and adjustment of angled plate adjustment posts  48  which extends from adjustment bolts  32 . In the preferred embodiment, this angled plate adjustment post combination with adjustment bolts  32  comprise threaded bolts fitted with an additional nut to fix the bolt once properly adjusted. Angled plate adjustment posts  48  contact angled plate  40  at angled plate bottom support  46 . In the preferred embodiment, angled plate bottom support  46  is an L-bracket fixed to the back side of angled plate  40  to provide a contact point with angled plate adjustment posts  48 . 
         [0036]    Tension spring  58  is connected between a lower edge of angled plate  40  and a rear wall of main housing  14  to preference angled plate  40  against angled plate adjustment post  48 . In the preferred embodiment, the lower plate edge of angled plate  40  that provides one side of choke point  52  is not entirely rigid, and provides some flexibility in opposition to the generally inflexible surface of moving belt  19  against the rigid support surface of the belt sander over which the belt moves. In this manner, the system of the invention is unlikely to jam, even if the nut passing through choke point  52  is too hard to crack. In other words, some minimum flexibility to the lower edge of angle place  40  provides just the right resilient force to crack most nuts and still allow them to pass through to the exit chute without jamming the system. When the nuts move through choke point  52 , not only are their shells cracked, but the nuts are accelerated downward with great force to strike against primary strike plate  54 . With this greater force, the shell pieces begin to separate from the meat. Subsequent movement of the pieces of the nut shell and nut meat against secondary strike plate  56  serves to complete the separation process so that both nut shells and meat from the nut fall through exit chute  16  in a consolidated stream into the collection bag. 
         [0037]    There are known methods for dividing the loose pieces of nut shell from the loose pieces of meat. Most commonly shell pieces may be physically separated from the nut pieces by a flow of air that carries the nut pieces away from the nut meat originally in a mixed stream. In this manner, a quantity of unshelled nuts may be placed into the hopper and allowed by gravity to feed into the device of the present invention where they are automatically shelled and separated to be dispensed into a collection bag attached to the opening of the exit chute. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 6A-6C  are plan views of an alternate embodiment of the angled plate of the present invention. For those nuts which require application of force on the shell in a particular direction, the nut may have to be specially oriented with respect to the moving belt. For example, in the cracking of the shells of almonds, the angled plate  60  may include channels  62  which cause the almonds to be positioned so that the edge of each almond is in contact with the moving belt. 
         [0039]    Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications to the embodiment that still fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. Variations as to size and overall geometry of the device that incorporate the same basic components are anticipated. Variations in the manner in which the device is attached to different types of belt sanders, both portable and bench mounted, are also anticipated. The adjustable components as described above are intended to allow for slight modifications to the geometry of the device to accommodate variations in different types of nuts to be shelled and in different quantities to be fed into the device during a given operation of the device. Variations on the structure of the angled plate (as suggested by the alternate embodiment described) are further anticipated. Once again, all such variations do not necessarily fall outside the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.