Patent Publication Number: US-2021177034-A1

Title: Apparatus for peeling a mango

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the U.S. National Phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application PCT/IT2018/050206, filed Oct. 24, 2018, which claims priority to IT Application No. 102017000121906, filed Oct. 26, 2017, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
    
    
     SUMMARY 
     This invention relates to an apparatus for peeling a mango. 
     More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus which is able to remove the peel from half of a mango in a single peeling operation. 
     In the field of machines for peeling a mango there is currently a prior art machine which comprises a support for a mango designed to hold it and rotate it about an axis of rotation. 
     The machine is equipped with a blade, supported by an arm, which places it in contact with the peel of the mango whilst this is rotated. 
     The blade is shaped in order to interfere tangentially with the peel of the mango in order to remove a surface layer from it. 
     The arm is translated along the axis of rotation of the mango in such a way as to obtain the peeling of the mango by means of an action similar to a circumferential turning. 
     This machine for peeling mangos has the drawback of being fragile and bulky, as well as having an unsatisfactory productivity. 
     The problem at the base of this invention is that of proposing an apparatus for peeling a mango which improves the productivity and structural solidity with respect to the traditional machine which was described above. 
     The main purpose of the present invention is to make an apparatus for peeling a mango which provides a solution to the above-mentioned problem by overcoming the perceived drawbacks of the above-mentioned machine. 
     In the scope of this objective, an aim of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for peeling a mango which allows a greater quantity of peel of the mango to be removed in the same processing time and with the same processing efficiency. 
     Another aim of the invention is to make an apparatus for peeling a mango which is robust and reliable. 
     Another aim of the invention is to provide an apparatus for peeling a mango which has an easy maintenance and is simple to adjust. 
     This task, as well as these and other aims which will emerge more fully below, are attained by an apparatus for peeling a mango according to the accompanying claim  1 . 
     Detailed characteristics of an apparatus for peeling a mango according to the invention are indicated in the corresponding dependent claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge more fully from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an apparatus for peeling a mango according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example, in the appended drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an apparatus for peeling a mango according the invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a plan view from above of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3 a , 3 b  and 3 c    illustrate simplified diagrams of a detail of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in successive operational steps; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a simplified diagram of a plan view from above of the detail of  FIG. 3   b;    
         FIG. 5  illustrates a detail of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2  cross-sectioned along the plane IV-IV of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an enlarged detail of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With particular reference to the above-mentioned drawings, reference numeral  10  denotes in its entirety an apparatus for peeling a mango  100  which according to the invention comprises:
         a frame  11  having a seat A designed to receive a mango  100  to be peeled;   an operating element  12  projecting in the seat A and designed to constitute a pivot of rotation for a mango  100 ;   a handling device  13  having an operating surface  14  designed to interfere with the peel  101  of a mango  100  for exerting on it a traction B by friction; the handling device  13  faces the operating element  12  in such a way that a passage C for a mango  100  is defined between the operating element  12  and the handling device  13 ;   drive means  15  connected to the operating surface  14  to operate it according to a movement D designed to force a mango  100  against the operating element ( 12 ) and through the passage C, in order to rotate the mango  100  around the operating element  12  while the mango  100  passes through the passage C, as shown, for example, in  FIGS. 3 a   - 3   c;      elastic means  16  designed to oppose the distancing of the operating element  12  from the operating surface  14  in order to elastically adapt the width E of the passage C to the overall size of a mango  100 ;   a blade  17  placed in the passage C and spaced from the operating surface  14  in order to remove a surface layer of the mango  100 , which comprises the peel  201 .       

     The apparatus is able to remove a surface layer from the mango  100 , for the entire length of the mango  100 , by means of a single passage through the passage C. 
     In this way, in the preferred case wherein the blade is shaped for removing the peel from half of a mango, by the passage through the passage C, half of the peel is removed. 
     The apparatus  10  therefore enables the productivity of mango peeling to be increased dramatically with respect to the traditional machine described above. 
     Tests on a prototype of the apparatus  10  have shown that it is possible to obtain a productivity of approximately 150 mango halves peeled per minute. 
     In general, the apparatus  10  may be fed with a series of whole mangos, however, preferably, they are fed with a series of mango halves with the stones removed, as shown by way of example in  FIGS. 3 a   - 3   c.    
     In that case, each mango half can be completely peeled by the apparatus  10  in a single passage through the passage C. 
       FIG. 4  shows by way of an example, with a dashed line, the cross section of a half-mango which is intercepted by the blade  17 . 
     In order to peel the half of a mango, the blade  17  advantageously extends along a concave trajectory with respect to the operating element  12  and it is shaped to remove the peel  101  from half of a mango  100  following a single passage of the mango  100  through the passage C. 
     Preferably, the apparatus  10  also comprises a guide element located downstream of the passage C to be engaged by a mango  100  which, in use, is pushed through the passage C by the operating surface  14 . 
     The guide element  18  is advantageously shaped for guiding the mango  100  according to a trajectory F which is concave with respect to the operating element  12 , for guiding the mango  100  to interfere with the blade  17  according to the curvature of the outer surface of the mango  100 , so as to peel it efficiently. 
     The handling device  13  advantageously comprises at least one wheel  19  provided with a circumferential surface  20  which defines the operating surface  14 . 
     According to a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of the apparatus  10 , the handling device comprises two wheels  13  which advantageously have axes of rotation G 1  and G 2  forming an angle of between 90° and 135° and preferably equal to approximately 120°. 
     Preferably, the circumferential surface  20  of each wheel  19  has a concave profile, viewed according to a meridian section of the wheel  19 , for engaging efficiently the peel of a mango  100 . 
     In order to efficiently peel half of the mango, the operating element  12  preferably has an edge  21  which is substantially rectilinear so as to be engageable by the flat part deriving from the cutting of a mango  100  and defining for this a tilting axis H. 
     Alternatively, according to a possible embodiment of the apparatus, designed for the peeling of a whole mango, the edge  21  may be concave to define a tilting fulcrum which can be engaged by a side of mango whilst the opposite side is peeled by the blade  17 . 
     In order to obtain a precise peeling, the axis of rotation G 1 , G 2  of each wheel  19  is preferably coplanar with the tilting axis H. 
     For structural simplicity and stability of the apparatus  10 , the axes of rotation G 1 , G 2  of the two wheels  19  are advantageously mutually coplanar and substantially symmetrical with respect to a plane perpendicular to the tilting axis H. 
     Advantageously, the apparatus  10  also comprises a feed device  22  designed to feed a mango  100  in the seat A and to force it against the operating surface  14 . 
     According to a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the feed device  22  comprises a chute  23  inclined towards the seat A. 
     In that case, the operating element  12  will be shaped to constitute a continuation of the chute  23  for guiding a mango  100 , or a half of a mango  100 , up to the operating surface  14 . 
     The chute  23  and the operating element  12  will have a support surface  24  in the case of peeling a half of a mango, or concave, in the case of peeling a whole mango. 
     The operating element  12  advantageously comprises a support  25  mounted on a guide unit  26  fixed to the frame  11 . 
     Advantageously, the guide unit comprises a plurality of rollers  26  engaged by the support  25  and which define for the latter a sliding direction which is preferably directed towards the operating surface  14 . 
     The above-mentioned elastic means preferably comprise at least one spring connected to the support  25  and to the frame  11  for elastically opposing the moving away of the edge  21  from the operating surface. 
     The feed device  22  to obtain a precise and timed feeding of mangos  100 , advantageously also comprises a drive device  27 , superposed on the chute  23  so as to delimit in cooperation with the latter a channel K for feeding mangos  100  towards the seat A. 
     Preferably, the drive device  27  comprises a first conveyor belt. 
     Advantageously, the drive device  27  can be spaced with respect to the chute  23  to adapt the width of the channel K to the overall size of a mango which passes through it. 
     In that case, the first conveyor belt is preferably tiltable with respect to the chute  23  and preferably is pivoted to the frame  11  and to a relative end distal with respect to the seat A. 
     The feed device advantageously also comprises a second conveyor belt  28  located upstream of the chute  23  for feeding the latter with mangos to be peeled. 
     Advantageously, the apparatus  10  is configured in such a way that the mutual position of the operating element  12 , of the blade  17  and/or of the operating surface  14  is adjustable. 
     For example, the wheels  19  can be mounted on a support unit which is movable with respect to the frame  11  so as to be able to adjust their position with respect to the blade  17  and the operating element  12 . This in particular allows the thickness of the surface layer of the mango  100  which is removed during peeling to be defined. 
     Operationally, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in order to peel a series of half mangos  100  with the stones removed, these are positioned on the second conveyor belt  28  with the cut face engaging it. 
     Preferably, the mangos  100  are oriented in such a way that their main axis of extension is parallel to the feed direction defined by the second conveyor belt  28 . 
     The latter, in use, transfers the mangos  100  to be cut to the chute  23  along which these are slid by the action of the first conveyor belt or, in general, by the drive device, until reaching the seat A. 
     Here, the operating surface  14 , when moving, engages the peel of the mango  100  and draws the latter into the passage C thus rotating the latter about the edge  21  so that the blade  17  cuts the mango  100  superficially, removing a surface layer following the feeding of the mango  100  in the passage C and simultaneous rotation about the tilting axis H. 
     The rotation of the mango  100  is also guided by the guide element  18  which guarantees that the rotation also continues when the mango is almost completely peeled. 
     Advantageously, the apparatus  10  comprises two separate discharge conduits, not illustrated, of which a first designed to convey the peeled mangos into a first container and second designed to convey the peels into a second container. 
     The invention as it is conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variants, all falling within the scope of protection of the appended claims. 
     Further, all the details can be replaced by other technically-equivalent elements. 
     In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, can be varied according to the contingent requirements and the state of the art. 
     Where the constructional characteristics and the technical characteristics mentioned in the following claims are followed by signs or reference numerals, the signs or reference numerals have been used only with the aim of increasing the intelligibility of the claims themselves and, consequently, they do not constitute in any way a limitation to the interpretation of each identified element, purely by way of example, by the signs or reference numerals.