Patent ID: 8578845

Claim:
A cherry pitter having safety and convenience, comprising: a freestanding detachable base; a fruit support and pitter passthrough unit adapted for vertical mounting on the base, the unit defining axially aligned top and bottom openings and one or more side openings; a pitter containment cone generally having a cone shaped outer surface including one or more walls defining a central cavity with a top closed end and a bottom open end for placement over the unit, the cone further including a pitter bit that projects vertically downward within the top closed end of the cone in axial alignment with the top and bottom openings of the unit, further including a return member located between the unit and the closed end of the cone to bias the unit and cone from each other, wherein the bias of the return member may be overcome by depressing the cone vertically downward to move the pitter bit vertically through the unit while shielding the one or more side openings of the unit with the one or more cone walls.