Improvements in Machines for Seeding Fruit.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th July, 1895-Accepted, 31st Aug., 1995
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Seeding Fruit.
I, ALFRED NICHOLLS, of Hotel Margaret, in City of Brooklyn, in the County
of Kings and State of New York, United States of America, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The present invention relates to mechanism for removing the seed of fruit from
the pulp or body thereof, especially dried fruit, such as raisins, currants, etc., one
form of mechanism for carrying out the invention being hereinafter set forth as the
same is adapted to seeding raisins.
I am aware that it has been heretofore proposed to expel or remove the seed
from raisins by various forms of mechanisms, which in essential respect act to
force the raisins upon teeth separated by spaces less than the thickness of the seeds
to be excluded and by such impaling action expel the seed from the pulp of the
raisins, and to remove the seeded fruit from the seeding teeth by the action of
blade-like strippers.
Such devices are ineffectual for seeding fruit in commercial quantities and
without wasting the substance of or unduly rupturing or tearing the fruit.
In seeding raisins mechanically in practical quantities, and by impaling the same
on a surface of points or teeth, and with the purpose of not destroying the natural
form of the fruit and of not wasting the pulp of the fruit, the following conditions
have to be considered.
If the impaling points are sufficiently slender to not unduly rupture or tear the
raisins nor force therefrom the pulp thereof, then by reason of the toughness of the
skin it is not practicable to force the raisins upon the impaling points by a single
action so as to at the same time drive the seeds from the fruit without injuring the
impaling teeth. If the impaling teeth be sufficiently strong to sustain a single
impaling and seed-removing action, then they would be so large as to undesirably
rupture and force out much of the pulp of the fruit, and the force of such action
would have to be in excess of the resistance of the seeds and would crush them,
which would spoil the fruit for commercial and consumption purposes.
The essential features of operation of my mechanism consist, in first partially
impaling the raisins upon the pointed or toothed surface, or so that the teeth will
only perforate one side or through the skin on one side of the fruit aud engage and
force the seeds to contact with the skin on the opposite side of the fruit, and in then
puncturing or rupturing the skin over the seed and pressing the same and the
underlying pulp further upon the impaling teeth, the actions of impaling the fruit,
opening the same and forcing the seed therefrom being separately effected.
Another difficulty heretofore experienced in seeding raisins in commercial
quantities, is that the gummy pulp of the raisins adheres to the working parts of
the machine and rapidly clogs and prevents the same from properly acting. This
gum adheres particularly to the impaling teeth and the devices which strip or
remove the fruit from the impaling teeth, which latter, as heretofore employed, act
to increase this difficulty, in that they have consisted of blades or devices of extended
or plane surfaces adapted to collect the gum and bind the stripped raisins together
nto clogging masses, whereas it is desirable that the raisins be singly stripped and
all away from the impaling surface without adhering together.
My improvement in this regard relates to the use of stripping wires-in contra-
listinction to blades or fingers, and in supporting said wires in such manner that

page_text: they may be readily removed and substituted by other like wires while one set or
stripping wires is being cleansed.
It is essential that the raisins be delivered singly or not in masses, to the impaling
surface, in order that they shall not overlic one another when submitted to the
impaling action, and to this end I provide means whereby the raisins are dropped
upon such surface and kept agitated or in motion so as to be separated if clinging
together and caused to feed singly to the impaling device.
It is also highly essential that the impaling teeth be kept clean of collections of
gum or pulp, and to this end I provide cleaning blades that lie in the grooves or
between the teeth of the impaling surface and collect whatever gum may pass the
strippers, which cleaning blades are mounted upon movable supports so that one
set thereof may be substituted by another while the former is being cleansed.
In the drawings accompanying this Specification
Figure 1 is a central vertical longitudinal section of a machine embodying my
iniprovements.
Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed cross-section of the fruit-carrying or impaling
roll taken between the circular plates composing the same.
Figure 3 is a lengthwise detail section of said roll looking from the left hand of
Figure 2.
Figure is an enlarged detailed view of the fruit stripping devices as viewed in
the direction of the upper arrow of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a similar detail view of the carrier roll cleaning-blades.
Figure 6 is an enlarged detailed section, similar to Figure 1, of the carrying roll,
showing certain modifications to be hereinafter more fully described.
Referring to these views in detail, 1 represents the general frame work of the
machine. 2 represents, as a whole, the fruit carrying roll or the surface upon
which the fruit is impaled for the purpose of removing the seed therefrom. This
roll is driven by belt 3, and it in turn drives the endless feeding belt 4, which runs
along the bottom of trough 5 into which the fruit is fed as from the spout 6,
7 being a long spout inclined from the vertical which delivers the fruit upon the
carrier roll. The belt 4 acts to agitate and separate the raisins and to deliver the
same singly or in a single layer to the delivery trough 7 down which they fall upon
the carrier roll and are thereby separated, and the movement of the roll keeps them
in motion so that they will not stick together but will be carried forward singly or in
a single layer.
The carrier roll 2 is composed of toothed plates 8 alternating with spacing
plates 9, which are properly bound together and fixed to the shaft of the
roll 10, the roll being supported in suitable journals on the frame of the machine.
The teeth 11 of the alternate plates of this roll are square in cross section and the
length thereof is such as conforms to the thickness of the fruit to be operated upon,
while the space between any two adjacent teeth is less than, or at least does not
exceed, the average smaller diameter of the seed of the fruit.
12 is a removable brush roll journaled in brackets or other like supports
fixed to the machine, and which roll is the impaling roll, or the one which
foi ces the fruit upon the teeth of the carrier, the roll being so adjusted relatively
to the fruit carrier surface, and the character of its surface, of fibre, bristles
or other yielding substance being such, that the fruit is impaled upon the
teeth without being, at least to any material extent, ruptured by the action of
the roll.
13 is a similar roll similarly mounted, but adjusted somewhat nearer to the
carrier surface, and the bristles or operative surface of this roll may be
stiffer or less yielding than that of the roll 12. The function of this roll is
to perforate the skin of the fruit lying over the seeds of the impaled fruit,
preliminarily to the unimpaled portion of the fruit being pushed from off the
seeds.
14 is a similar roll similarly supported on the frame, the brush or yielding
surface of which is adapted to engage the perforated skin of the fruit and

page_text: press the same down upon the main body of the fruit, thus leaving the seeds
upon points of the carrier surface but stripped of the skin and pulp of the fruit.
These rolls are driven by contact with the surface of the carrier roll, or they
may be driven by belting, such for example as is seen at 15 in Figure 6, their
peripheral speed, however, should be the same as that of the machine of the
carrier roll.
16 indicates a frame and a series of longitudinal wires carried thereby under
tension and located at different distances, or at di-tances whereby the first
wire 17 (see Figure 2) is at a distance from the carrier surface somewhat less
than the average thickness of the fruit seed, while the intermediate wires are set
successively slightly closer to the surface of the carrier roll, the last wire 18 just
escaping the points of the carrier teeth. The purpose of these wires is to remove
the seeds which have been excluded from the fruit impaled upon the carrior surface.
As the seeds roll under and out from or are brushed off by these wires the wires are
caused to vibrate and thereby further assist in removing the seeds by their vibrating
or flicking action; at the same time their vibration prevents undesirable accumulation
of gum upon the same.
In lieu of such wires a rapidly revolving roll, such as the brush roll 19 of
Figure 6 may be employed, and which has a peripheral speed considerably greater
than that of the speed of the carrier roll. Other like or similar acting devices
may be used for removing the excluded seed from the impaling points, the
desirable action of such device being that of a flicking or whisking nature. In
the use of such a roll or like device, a guard or cleaner 20 may be employed, the
purpose of which is to restrain and confine the flying seed as well as to remove
the same from contact with the seed-removing roll. To insure the removing
from the carrier surface of the seed that may pass the last wire 18, a comb 21
is provided, the teeth of which just clear the points of the teeth of the carrier
surface.
If it be desired, the wires 17-18 may be omitted, and the comb alone used, but
preferably with an air-blast nozzle 30 which is located to direct a jet of air under
pressure to between the points of the comb and the impaling surface, whereby
the seeds will be blown off. In the case of the use of an air jet, the comb may
be omitted, or it may be employed with one or more of the wires 17-18, or the
wires alone be used, the comb, or the wires, or both, acting to loosen the seed and
the jet acting to remove them. This comb is mounted in removable supports 22
so that it can be taken from the machine and cleaned at any time when needed
and another put in its place.
23 indicates a series of fruit stripping wires which are secured to the cross
beam 24 removably mounted in the frame. Adjustable bearing plates 25 are
provided whereby the wires are brought to a common plane and the desired
pressure of the same upon the carrier roll is effected. Preferably these wires are
slightly curved as shown, but in substantial effect they are arranged tangentially
to the carrier. The points of the wires rest in grooves 26 between the toothed
plates 8 of the carrier roll and upon the edges of the spacing plates 9, the spacing
plates being of smaller diameter than is the circle of the bottom of the spaces
between the teeth of the toothed plates, and preferably the thickness of the points
of these wires is not in excess of the depth of the grooves so formed, whereby it is
insured that the points of the fingers will be beneath the fruit when the same
reach the fingers as the carrier rotates. The function of these wires, is to strip the
seeded fruit from the carrier teeth. It is essential to this stripping action that the
fingers bear stiffly on the carrier so as to not have any vibratory or relative
movement, and be composed of long, slender wires, in contradistinction to blades or
plates.
27 indicates a series of rigidly supported scraping or cleaning blades mounted on
the bar 28 removably supported on the frame of the machine. These plates are of
the general segmental form shown in Figure 2 and their curved or working edges 29
lie in the grooves 26 and in contact, or very nearly so, with the edges of the spacing

page_text: plates 9 of the carrier roll, the thickness of these scrapers being practically that of
the said spacing plates. The function of these plates is to scrape off any gum
that may collect in the grooves 26 or on the groove sides of the teeth of the
carrier.
The action of the mechanism will now be understood: If raisins are being
operated on, for example, they are broken up and separated and singly delivered
upon the carrier roll by the feeding devices. As the raisins come under the
impaling roll they are slightly pressed upon the teeth of the carrier and their seeds
are engaged by such teeth and brought against the skin of the fruit. When the
raisins thus impaled come under the puncturing roll, the bristles or pointed surface
of the same puncture the skin over the seeds and start or slightly reinove the same
from off the seed, but this roll is not intended to further impale the fruit upon the
carrier, although such action may to a slight extent occur. The main purpose of
this roll is to puncture the skin over the seeds preparatory to its being pushed
off and down upon the body of the fruit. When the raisins reach the third or final
impaling roll, the seeds are free to be removed except that the skin and pulp
of the fruit still adhere to the sides of the seeds, and the action of this roll is to
strip the skin and the pulp from the seed and press the same down upon the
main body of the fruit, thus further and finally impaling the fruit upon the carrier
teeth, the fruit being brought to or below the points of the surface of the impaling
roll. After the raisins have left this roll the seeds will be found holding to the
points of the carrier surface by the gum or pulp but fully expresse or excluded
from the bodies of the raisins. The further action, is that of removing the seeds
by the seed-removing devices as already explained.
Either one of these rolls may, to some extent, have an action similar to that of
one of the others. The seed may be so massed in the fruit that the impaling roll
may cause one or more of them to break through the skin, and the puncturing roll
may act to remove some of the seeds which have been thus forced out, and in like
manner the final impaling roll may dislodge a few of the most easily removable
seeds, but it is to be understood that these actions are incidental to the main
actions of the rolls. It is possible, and I have practised the use of only one roll
for the purpose of puncturing the skin of the impaled fruit and stripping the pulp
and skin from the seed, but for working raisins I prefer to use two separate rolls.
When the seeded raisins reach the stripping wires they are gradually lifted or slid
along the impaling teeth and stripped therefrom.
In spite of the precautions, the various parts of the machine will gradually
become gummed and clogged. To reduce this difficulty to a minimum, all the
parts, except the main or carrying roll, are made removable so that duplicate
parts can be inserted. Limiting the effects of gumming is essential to successfully
seeding fruit in commercial quantities, especially as concerns the stripping wires,
it being particularly required that these devices be kept as free as possible from
gum so that the raisins in stripping oft from the carrier will be singly or separately
dropped and will not cling together or foum masses.
The impaling, puncturing, and final impaling, rolls may be substituted by
mechanism operating in sinalar manner (and constituting in effect separate surfaces
acting successively upon the fruit) with the impaling surface, to preliminary
impale the fruit and force the seeds against the skin of the same opposite the
impaling side, and to force the ruptured skin and pulp beneath the same down
upon or further impale the truit, so as to exclude the seeds from the fruit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier for conveying the
fruit and which is provided with a series of points or teeth spaced to engage the
seed of the fruit, a pressure mechanism the surface of which moves to and from
the carrier and acts to partially impale the fruit upon the carrier, and a punoturing

page_text: mechanism the surface of which moves to an 1 from said impaling surface and acts
subsequently to the action of said impaling mechanism to perforate the skin over
the seeds of the impaled fruit for the purpose of uncovering the seed of the fruit.
2. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier for conveying the
fruit which is provided with a series of points or teeth spaced to engage the seed
of the fruit, pressure mechanism having motion angularly with relation to the
carrier and acting to partially impale the fruit upon the carrier and by further
action to puncture or rupture the skin over the seeds of the impaled fruit to free
the seed preliminarily to removing the same from the body of the fruit.
3. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a roll for receiving and
conveying the fruit the surface of which is provided with a series of points or
teeth spaced to exclude the seeds of fruit impaled thereon, a pressure roll acting
to partially impale the fruit on the carrier teeth so that they engage the seed
preliminarily to removing the same from the pulp, and a brush roll acting to
rupture the skin of the fruit lying on and to force the same off the seed, substantially
as set forth.
4. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier roll provided with
a series of points or teeth spaced to exclude the seed of the fruit, a roll acting to
partially impale the fruit on the carrier so that its teeth engage the seed, a roll
acting to puncture or rupture the skin of the fruit lying on the seed, and a
roll acting to force the punctured skin and pulp of the fruit from around the
exposed seed.
5. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier roll provided with
a series of teeth spaced to engage and exclude the seeds of fruit impaled thereon,
and a series of two or more rolls adjusted at different distances from said carrier
and successively acting to partially impale the fruit on the carrier teeth and
rupture and displace the skin of the fruit lying over the seed preparatory to
removing the seed.
6. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit a carrier provided with teeth
spaced to engage the seed of the fruit when impaled upon said teeth, a roll acting
to partially impale the fruit upon the said carrier, a roll acting to perforate the
skin of the fruit over the seeds thereof, and a series of stripping wires 23
located between the teeth and acting to lift from the teeth the fruit impaled
thereon.
7. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier for conveying the fruit
composed of a series of spaced teeth, a series of two or more rolls acting to impale the
fruit upon the teeth and exclude the seeds therefrom, and a series of cleaning
blades located in the circumferential spaces between the teeth and acting to remove
therefrom collections of pulp or gum, substantially as set forth.
8. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier for conveying the
fruit composed of a series of spaced projections, pressure mechanism acting to press
the fruit upon the carrier, puncturing mechanism acting independently of the
pressure mechanism to open the fruit and expose the seeds thereof, and seed
removing mechanism operating to detach the seed from the said carrier.
9. In combination with the toothed carrier, pressure mechanism acting to impale
the fruit upon the carrier and exclude the seeds therefrom, and a wire or wires
arranged parallel to the surface of the carrier and acting to loosen the seeds
thereon, and a comb 21 acting to engage the loosened seeds and detach the same
from the carrier.
10. In combination with the toothed carrier, pressure mechanism acting to
inpale the fruit upon the carrier and exclude the seeds therefrom, mechanism such
as comb 21 arranged parallel to the surface of the carrier for engaging the
excluded seeds, and an air jet or nozzle 30 located to direct a blast of air against
the surface of the carrier for the purpose of removing the excluded seeds.
11. In combination in a machine for seeding fruit, a carrier for receiving and
conveying the fruit provided with a series of spaced teeth, pressure mechanism
acting to preliminarily or partially impale the fruit upon the teeth and rupture the

page_text: skin over the seed so as to exclude the same from the fruit, mechanism acting to
dislodge or remove the seed from the carrier, a series of stripping wires 23 acting
to remove the seeded fruit from the teeth of the carrier, and a series of blades
located in circumferential spaces between the teeth and acting to remove therefrom
collections of pulp or gum.
Dated this 30th day of July 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.