Fruit processing machine

A washer for a fruit processing machine includes a rotary nozzle paddlewheel gear mounted in a nozzle housing. The rotary nozzle paddlewheel gear meshes with combination gears which in turn mesh with a wash nozzle. Fluid pumped into the housing drives the gears and blows out through the rotary wash nozzle creating a spray pattern. As the rotary wash nozzle completes a revolution, a hemispherical or larger region is sprayed by the fluid, cleaning the equipment to be washed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The field of the invention is fruit processing machines. 
2. Background 
In the automated process of extracting juice and pulp from fruit, 
substances such as skins, pulp, rag, and seeds are left behind on the 
surfaces of the fruit processing machine. These by-products must be 
removed periodically to maintain juice quality. 
Various methods have been used to clean fruit processing machines. Manual 
Cleaning, using a hose and brush, is labor intensive, slow, and 
inefficient. Certain fruit processing machines or juice extractors have 
been equipped with spray nozzles, fixed in certain positions. For 
cleaning, water is forced under high pressure through the spray nozzles. 
The water rushing through the nozzles is directed at the inner surfaces of 
the machine. Water strikes the inner surfaces of the machine with high 
impact and dislodges and washes away residual juice, skins, pulp, and 
seeds, thereby cleaning the machine. 
While usually more efficient than manual methods, the use of fixed nozzles 
has various disadvantages. A large number, typically hundreds, of 
conventional fixed nozzles may be required to wash all areas of the 
machine properly. Equipping a machine with this large number of nozzles is 
in itself an undesirable expense. In addition, the large number of 
nozzles, all spraying with high impact, requires the use of a very high 
volume of wash water which is undesirable for the environment and 
increases the cost of operation. For the foregoing reasons, there is a 
need for a fruit processing machine having an improved cleaning system. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
To these ends, a fruit processing machine has a washer with a nozzle 
housing. Preferably, a rotary nozzle paddlewheel gear is mounted in the 
nozzle housing. Water forced into the nozzle housing causes the rotary 
nozzle paddlewheel gear to rotate. A plurality of combination gears 
providing gear reduction is advantageously enmeshed with the rotary nozzle 
paddlewheel gear. In a preferred embodiment, one of the combination gears 
meshes with a rotary wash nozzle. The nozzle most desirably has a first 
wedge-shaped or tear drop shaped spray opening at a hemispherical end, and 
a second flat spray opening on a cylindrical body, of the nozzle. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fruit 
processing machine having an improved cleaning system. Other and further 
objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning in detail to the drawings, as shown in FIG. 1, the present fruit 
processing machine washer 10 includes a nozzle housing 12 with a housing 
wall 13 and a fluid inlet tube 14. The nozzle housing 12 has a generally 
cylindrical exterior surface shape and houses a rotary nozzle paddlewheel 
gear 16. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rotary nozzle paddlewheel gear 
16 is enmeshed with a combination gear 18. A plurality of combination 
gears 18 are provided, each enmeshed with another, effectively providing 
advantageous gear reduction. One of the combination gears 18 is enmeshed 
with a base gear 46 on the rotary wash nozzle 20, as best seen in FIG. 4. 
These components, as well as other components to be described may 
advantageously be made simply out of inexpensive materials such as 
stainless steel or plastic. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary nozzle paddlewheel gear 16 and combination 
gears 18 are mounted on gear mounting members 22, such as dowel pins, 
within the nozzle housing 12. Gear spacers 24 are provided to properly 
position the gears within the nozzle housing 12. In a preferred embodiment 
a spacer 26 is also used to ensure that rotary wash nozzle 20 is retained 
in proper position to engage only one combination gear 18. 
A housing cap 28 is mounted to the nozzle housing 12 preferably with 
flathead screws 30. The housing cap 28 includes an opening 32 coincident 
with an opening 34 in the fruit processing equipment to be washed. 
Referring to FIG. 10, fasteners hold the washer 10 to the walls 15 of 
equipment to be washed. The machine 70 shown in FIG. 10 is representative 
of a large class of machines to which the invention applies. The specific 
machine 70 in FIG. 10 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,021, 
incorporated by reference herein, as but one example. In a preferred 
embodiment, screws 36 extend through openings in the machine or equipment 
to be washed, through a gasket 38, and into the housing cap 28. The gasket 
38 provides a fluid tight connection between the housing cap 28 and the 
inside surface of the machine walls or panels 15, to prevent leakage of 
juice around the nozzle housing, when the machine is in use. 
The rotary wash nozzle 20 penetrates the housing cap 28 and the gasket 38 
through the opening 34. A bushing 40 guides the rotary wash nozzle 20 and 
resists abrasion. As shown in FIG. 10, because the rotary wash nozzle 20 
is relatively small, typically approximately one inch long, only a small 
portion of the rotary wash nozzle penetrates into the fruit processing 
spaces of the machine. 
In a preferred embodiment, the gear teeth 44 on the rotary nozzle 
paddlewheel gear 16 are enmeshed with outer gear teeth 48 on a combination 
gear 18. Inner gear teeth 50 on a combination gear 18 are similarly 
enmeshed with outer gear teeth 48 on another combination gear 18. A 
plurality of combination gears 18 are enmeshed with each other. In the 
preferred embodiment, four combination gears 18 are enmeshed with each 
other, providing gear reduction, with each combination gear 18 providing a 
gear reduction of about 4 to 1. Other embodiments may advantageously use 
one to six combination gears 18. The last of the combination gears 18 
providing gear reduction has its inner gear teeth 50 enmeshed with the 
base gear 46 on the rotary wash nozzle 20. 
Turning now to FIGS. 5-9, the rotary wash nozzle 20 comprises a circular 
base 52 containing a cavity 54, gear teeth 46 around the perimeter of the 
base 52, and a hollow cylindrical body portion 56. The cavity 54 extends 
through the cylindrical body portion 56. A hemispherical crown 58 contains 
a first orifice 60 and a second orifice 62. The second orifice extends 
into the cylindrical body portion 56. The first orifice 60 cuts through 
the spherical crown 58 and has a generally tear-drop shape, as viewed from 
above. The second orifice 62 is a planer sector-shaped opening cut at an 
angle to the axis of rotation of the body 56. 
In operation, wash water is pumped into the nozzle housing 12 through an 
inlet 14. The incoming wash water drives the paddles 42 causing the rotary 
nozzle paddlewheel gear 16 to rotate relatively rapidly, and to thereby 
drive the combination gears 18. Because of the effective gear reduction 
provided by enmeshing outer gear teeth 48 with inner gear teeth 50, each 
succeeding combination gear 18 will rotate more slowly than the preceding 
combination gear 18. The rotary wash nozzle 20 enmeshed with a combination 
gear 18 will also rotate at a relatively low rate. In a preferred 
embodiment the rotary wash nozzle 20 will rotate at approximately 5 to 10 
revolutions per minute. This relatively low rotation rate advantageously 
provides high torque to the rotary wash nozzle 20, to help prevent dirt, 
sand, or other particles from jamming the rotary wash nozzle 20 against a 
wall or panel 15 of the machine. 
After passing the paddlewheel gear 16, the water flows into the cavity 54 
in the rotary wash nozzle gear 20. The wash water, under pressure, will 
then be forced through the first orifice 60 and second orifice 62. This 
creates a high impact spray on the walls 15 of the fruit processing 
machine. The two orifices provide a spray fan coverage through an arc of 
approximately 110 degrees. As the rotary wash nozzle 20 is rotated, as 
described above, the spray will completely cover an entire hemispherical 
region, dislodging and washing away skins, pulp, seeds, and other debris. 
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, in an alternate embodiment a rotary wash 
nozzle 120 has a single orifice 164, providing a spray pattern covering an 
arc 166 of about 90 degrees. As the rotary wash nozzle 120 is rotated, the 
arc 166 sweeps a hemispherical region. 
The amount of water used by a single rotary wash nozzle 20 or 120 is 
similar to the amount of water used by a single fixed conventional nozzle. 
However, because the rotary wash nozzle 20 or 120 sprays an entire 
hemispherical region, or more, a single rotary wash nozzle cleans an area 
that would require numerous fixed conventional nozzles to clean. 
Additionally, because the rotary wash nozzle rotates relatively slowly, 
the sprayed wash water is concentrated on relatively small areas for 
relatively long periods of time, offering a thorough cleaning of the 
machine. Whereas perhaps hundreds of fixed nozzles might be required to 
clean a juice extractor, as few as only ten properly placed rotary wash 
nozzles may be required for certain machines. 
For specific applications, the gear teeth 44 on the rotary nozzle 
paddlewheel gear 16 may be directly enmeshed with gear teeth 46 on the 
rotary wash nozzle, causing the rotary wash nozzle to rotate at a 
relatively higher rate. Other well known rotating mechanisms may also be 
used as equivalents to the gear drives shown and described. 
Thus, a fruit processing machine washer is disclosed which provides high 
efficiency use of wash water, and requires the use of few wash nozzles. 
While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and 
described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more 
modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts 
herein.