Patent Document:

reference is now made to fig1 a and 1b which illustrate one embodiment of the present invention in the context of separation of pomegranates . it will be appreciated that a number of other embodiments are suitable such as the use of horizontal or vertical carousel for handling the fruit , rather than the conveyor as illustrated . it will be further appreciated that the presently described apparatus may be useful for separation of other types of produce as well as pomegranates . in the illustrated embodiment , a supply of fresh pomegranates is stored in a supply bin 10 . a single row of pomegranates proceeds along a slide or conveyor 12 into engagement with a dual cup engagement conveyor assembly 14 . conveyor assembly 14 comprises a pair of endless conveyor belts 16 and 18 onto which are mounted at predetermined intervals cup members 20 . the cup members 20 mounted onto conveyor belts 16 and 18 are arranged in facing pairs . conveyor assembly 14 is constructed such that cup members 20 may assume two possible orientations . their normal orientation is with their opening in a horizontal plane as seen in fig1 a over most of the rotation cycle beginning from output end of slide or conveyor 12 , the cup members 20 are rotated by 90 ° so as to have their openings facing each other and to lie in spaced relationship , as seen in fig1 b at reference numeral 22 . the 90 ° rotation of the cup members 20 on both conveyor belts 16 and 18 is produced by suitable cam members 23 which may be spring loaded or otherwise adjustable in order to provide a selectable or automatically adjustable spacing between the two facing cup members . it may be appreciated that at the portion of the conveyor assembly rotation cycle at which the cup members are in facing spaced relationship as seen at reference numeral 22 , each pair of facing cup members encloses a pomegranate 25 . the selectable spacing between the facing cup members is provided in order to accomodate different sizes of pomegranates . the rotation of the conveyor assembly 14 proceeds in a counterclockwise sense as seen in fig1 a , thus bringing individual pomegranates , each cupped by facing cup members 20 , to a vertical cutter 24 , which may be any suitable cutting element oriented on a vertical axis and which is arranged to pass between the facing spaced cup members 20 . the cutter 24 is operative to cut the pomegranate into halves . once the cup members containing the pomegranate pass the cutter 24 , the cup members 20 are permitted to reassume their normal orientation having their openings lying in a horizontal plane , and thus orienting the pomegranate halves , each having an exposed generally planar inner surface lying upward in a horizontal plane . the cup members 20 containing the pomegranate halves thus oriented are then supplied to a separation chamber 26 . separation chamber 26 , which will be described hereinafter in greater detail , comprises a bin - type housing 28 and a scanning gas jet assembly 30 disposed thereabove and in operative engagement with the pomegranate halves for separating the individual pomegranate seeds from the remainder of the pomegranate by means of a jet of pressurized gas , such as air , directed at the pomegranate halves . the bin - type housing 28 serves to collect the dislodged pomegranate seeds and to direct them to a pomegranate seed output conveyor 32 , which transports the pomegranate seeds transversely to a collection or transport container 34 . the remainder of the pomegranate halves remain in the cup members 20 and are conveyed by the conveyor belts 16 and 18 out from the separation chamber 26 to a dumping location 36 at which the pomegranate half remains are dumped onto a refuse conveyor 38 . a blade 40 is provided for assisting in removal of the pomegranate half remains from the cup members 20 . reference is now made to fig2 which illustrates in a detailed vertical section the mechanism of cup members 20 . each of cup members 20 comprises a concave supporting member 50 which is movably supported onto a conveyor belt . movably protruding into the volume defined by the concave supporting member 50 are a plurality of spikes 52 arranged in a crossed pattern to define four equal segments of a pomegranate half . in order to provide relative motion between the spikes and the concave supporting member , one or the other of spikes and concave supporting member 50 may be mounted on an automatically movable member , such as a piston or an electromagnet . engagement of spikes with the pomegranate when the pomegranate is securely held between two facing cup members effectively breaks the pomegranate halves into segments , thus facilitating pomegranate seed separation . in the illustrated embodiment , the concave supporting member 50 is mounted on a pneumatically operated piston 54 , which is , in turn , supported onto the conveyor belt . reference is now made to fig3 which illustrates apparatus for separating pomegranate seeds from pomegranates which is employed in the apparatus of fig1 a and 1b . the apparatus comprises a nozzle 60 , typically having an outlet diameter of 3 mm which is resiliently coupled by means of a corrugated gas conduit 62 to a supporting frame . pressurized gas , typically air at a pressure of 5 at . is provided by means of a compressor 66 associated with the apparatus or by an appropriate external source of pressurized gas . the nozzle 60 and frame 64 are supported onto a selectably orientatable frame 65 which is in turn suspended , in a slidable manner , on reciprocating shafts 67 and 68 . it may be appreciated that the relationship between the phase and frequencies of reciprocation of shafts 67 and 68 determines the pattern which a stream of pressurized gas defines on a plane lying below nozzle 60 . shafts 67 and 68 are in turn pivotably coupled onto rotating disks 70 and 72 , which are in turn coupled to rotating shafts 74 and 76 . shafts 74 and 76 may in turn be coupled to bevel gears 78 and 80 , the ratio of whose teeth may determine the frequency relationship between the reciprocation of shafts 67 and 68 . one of the bevel gears is coupled to a rotating energy source 81 . the operation of the apparatus of fig3 will be more fully appreciated from a consideration of fig4 which illustrates scanning apparatus constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and forming the basis for the apparatus of fig3 . for convenience , the reference numerals employed in fig3 are used also in fig4 for parts having the same function . it may be appreciated from a consideration of fig4 that an arrow 82 defining the normal to the plane defined by frame 65 will define a figure on a plane 84 lying therebelow . the configuration of the figure is a function of the phase and frequency relationship between the reciprocation of shafts . where the two frequencies are not multiples of each other , a lissajous figure results , resulting in a scanning motion over a predetermined portion of the plane , in which substantially the entire portion of the plane is systematically scanned within a predetermined period of time . it may be appreciated from a consideration of fig3 and 4 that nozzle 60 is operative to scan the entire exposed interior surface of a halved pomegranate within a known predetermined time , thus producing a stream of pressurized gas , typically at a separation of 4 cm from the nozzle outlet to the pomegranate surface , for separation of the pomegranate seeds from the fruit without causing appreciated damage to the pomegranate seeds . the seeds , thus dislodged , fall onto the collection bin type housing 28 which is suitably padded to minimize bruising . the travel of the nozzle in its scanning motion is such that the nozzle is oriented at a wide variety of angular orientations thus enhancing disengagement of the pomegranate seeds from the remainder of the fruit . it is also appreciated that the scanning apparatus , of which the apparatus shown in fig3 and 4 is an example , may be used for various other applications unrelated to fruit or produce separation and not limited to the application of a gas stream . once the pomegranate seeds have been separated from the remainder of the fruit , it is necessary to transport and store the seeds refrigerated while preserving them in their fresh state . in accordance with the present invention , storage and transport of the pomegranate seeds is effected in a modified atmosphere having limited o 2 and co 2 composition which ensures freshness for a long storage period ( for 3 - 4 months ). in experiments conducted during three years by the applicants , the results of storage of the pomegranate seeds were as follows : a durable fresh natural state during 3 - 4 months , and two weeks of shelf life when marketed and used , without using any chemicals . it may be appreciated that the storage of the pomegranate seeds was in the natural form , without the use of additivies . however , different composition of gases or coating with edible substances to lengthen the shelf life and preserve texture , color and taste should not be ruled out . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims which follow :

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