ABD RAHMAN, Nur 'Aliaa (Universiti Putra Malaysia, SerdangSelangor, 43400, MY)
MUSTAPA KAMAL, Siti Mazlina (Universiti Putra Malaysia, SerdangSelangor, 43400, MY)
ABD RAHMAN, Nur 'Aliaa (Universiti Putra Malaysia, SerdangSelangor, 43400, MY)
| CLAIMS 1 . An apparatus (10) for grating and peeling fruits or vegetables, the apparatus (10) includes at least a lower clamping means (12), at least an upper clamping means (14), at least a grating means (16), at least a peeling blade (20) and at least a supporting arm (22) which supports the peeling blade (20). 2. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the lower clamping means (12) is a trident (12). 3. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the trident (12) is rotatable. 4. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the upper clamping means (14) is a pushrod (14). 5. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the peeling blade (20) is a semi- cylindrical peeling blade (20). 6. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus (10) is further provided with an end-cutting blade (24). 7. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the end-cutting blade cuts (24) fruits or vegetables horizontally. 8. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the end-cutting blade (24) can be rotated to its storage position after usage. 9. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the grating means (16) is rotatable at 360°. 10. An apparatus (10) for peeling fruits or vegetables, the apparatus (10) includes at least a lower clamping means (12), at least an upper clamping means (14), at least a peeling blade (20) and at least a supporting arm (22) which support the peeling blade (20). 1 1 . The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the lower clamping means (12) is a trident (12). 12. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 1 , wherein the trident (12) is rotatable. 13. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the upper clamping means (14) is a pushrod (14). 14. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the peeling blade (20) is a semi- cylindrical peeling blade (20). 15. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the apparatus (10) is further provided with an end-cutting blade (24). 16. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the end-cutting blade cuts (24) fruits or vegetables horizontally. 17. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the end-cutting blade (24) can be rotated to its storage position after usage. 18. An apparatus (10) for grating fruits or vegetables, the apparatus (10) includes at least at least a lower clamping means (12), at least an upper clamping means (14) and at least a grating means (16). 19. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 18, wherein the grating means (16) is rotatable at 360°. 20. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 19, wherein the lower clamping means (12) is a trident (12). 21 . The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 18, wherein the trident (12) is rotatable. 22. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 18, wherein the upper clamping means (14) is a pushrod (14). 23. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 18, wherein the apparatus (10) is further provided with an end-cutting blade (24). 24. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 23, wherein the end-cutting blade (24) cuts fruits or vegetables horizontally. 25. The apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 23, wherein the end-cutting blade (24) can be rotated to its storage position after usage. |
The present invention relates to an apparatus for grating and peeling fruits and vegetables. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fruit peeler is needed in the processing of fruits in order to reduce the time required for peeling fruits. It is crucial for the fruit processing industry to operate at minimal operating costs. Peeling using hands is time consuming and may require several workers to perform the operation, and thus may increase the operating costs. Different types of fruits have different shapes and sizes. Thus, several different machines are provided for separately processing each of the fruits. Therefore, processing of a particular fruit, such as removing the skin from an orange, is usually performed by a particular machine, for maximizing the processing speed of the machine.
A peeler would peel the rind (and invariably some flesh) from the fruit. It is well known in the art of peeling machine to employ a machine having two opposing ends that secure and rotate an average sized, spheroid fruit. Devices suitable to peel fruits like apples, pears, etc. on industrial machines are known since a long time and they are of different kinds.
Fruit peeling machines available in the market nowadays are for peeling fruits with smooth skin structure such as oranges and watermelons. One example of those fruit and vegetable peeler is disclosed in European Patent Application 06425709.0. To be more specific, a fruit or vegetable is held at its both ends between a revolving support and a footstock and is rotated by a motor. A revolving blade is held by a support arm and is rotated by the same motor. Furthermore, the revolving blade is movable along the surface of the fruit/vegetable by the arm, and the revolving blade is brought into contact with the surface of the fruit/vegetable. That type of fruit and vegetable peeler is designed to peel and chop fruits without cutting its ends. User needs to remove the ends manually using knife and it may require additional labour work. It is more practical to include a pair of end-cutting blade to cut the fruit ends after the peeling process completes without the need of removing the fruit in order to cut the ends. Furthermore, this type of peeler does not comprise any grating devices to specifically remove fruit skin with some special structure on it. An exotic type of fruit that is becoming popular nowadays is dragon fruit or pitaya. This type of fruit has scaly structure on its skin which cannot be easily removed using the existing peelers in the market. Since this type of fruit starts to attract consumers' attention, hence, the processing of this fruit is now becoming popular in fruit and beverages processing industry. Hence, a suitable peeler is required, which enables the grating and peeling process of fruit skin.
Therefore, one technical object of the present invention is to provide fruits grater and peeler which is suitable to use domestically, which is small-sized and light-weight, and which is convenient in carrying and storage. It is another object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive but a promising apparatus with respect to small and medium scale fruit-based products processing system. SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Accordingly, there is provided an apparatus for grating and peeling fruits or vegetables, the apparatus includes at least a lower clamping means, at least an upper clamping means, at least a grating means, at least a peeling blade and at least a supporting arm which supports the peeling blade.
Further, there is also provided an apparatus for peeling fruits or vegetables, the apparatus includes at least a lower clamping means, at least an upper clamping means, at least a peeling blade and at least a supporting arm which support the peeling blade.
Also provided is an apparatus for grating fruits or vegetables, the apparatus includes at least a lower clamping means, at least an upper clamping means and at least a grating means.
The present invention consists of several novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying description and drawings, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a grater and an end-cutting blade according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a front view of a peeling blade according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention relates to an apparatus for grating and peeling fruits and vegetables. Hereinafter, this specification will describe the present invention according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, it is to be understood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments of the invention is merely to facilitate discussion of the present invention and it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalents without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
The following detailed description of the preferred embodiments will now be described in accordance with the attached drawings, either individually or in combination.
As shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention relates to an apparatus for peeling fruits and vegetables having spherical shapes such as apple and orange, and it is also useful for grating and peeling the fruit skin.
According to the present invention, this fruits peeler and grater is a useful machine to grate and peel fruit with scales on the skin and also other spherical shapes fruits automatically, without using manual instruments, which saves time and effort.
In one preferable form of the present invention, the peeler has clamping mechanism which consists of lower and upper clamp. The fruit is put on the lower clamp (that is the part that rotates the fruit) and then the upper clamp holds the fruit up. In another preferable form of the present invention, while the fruit is spinning, a grater is manually moved towards the fruit in order to remove the scales on the fruit skin as well as removing the whole skin. Meanwhile, for other fruits and vegetables such as apple, orange, cucumber and potato, a semi-cylindrical peeling blade is provided with an elastic system, which presses it on the fruit. It moves parallel to the rotation axis of the fruit, and moving on its profile, so that the fruit is completely peeled. After the fruit is successfully peeled, a pair of end-cutting blade is moved towards the fruit to cut both the fruit ends. As stated before, a special peeler is needed to effectively peel the fruit skin. For this reason, a new apparatus to grate and peel fruits and vegetables skin has been produced, in order to remove the skin for further processing. This fruit peeler and grater (from now on: peeler) consists of combined components that enable better peeling of fruits skin. The peeler is powered by electric and can be placed on the table. The structure of the illustrated peeler will be described here. As seen from the drawings, the apparatus (10) has a lower clamp (12) or trident (12) to rotate the fruit, an upper clamp (14) or pushrod (14) to hold the fruit up; a grater (16) and a peeler (18) to remove the scales on the fruit skin; a semi-cylindrical peeling blade (20) to peel other types of fruits; a supporting arm (22) to support the peeling blade (20) and an end-cutting blade (24) to cut the fruit ends.
The trident (12) is set on the apparatus (10) which supports the fruit to be grated and peeled. It supports the fruit and making it spins. The pushrod (14) is opposite the trident (12) and on the same axis. It can be moved by adjusting its locking nut and handle knob. It holds the fruit up to enable the rotation and also to push the fruit against the trident (12). The grater (16) is situated on a handle which is movable. It can remove the scales on the fruit skin as well as removing the whole skin and it is movable in 3D direction. The peeling blade (20) is situated on the arm (22) and its function is for peeling other fruits. The arm (22) is situated on a sliding vector and it moves parallel to the fruit rotation axis. It supports the peeling blade (20), which peels fruits other than the fruit; an elastic system presses the arm (22) softly on the fruit and holds the peeling blade (20) position against the fruit. The arm (22) enables the peeling blade (20) to move on the profile of the fruit, so that the fruit is completely peeled. A pair of end-cutting blade (24) is situated on another handle and its function is for cutting the fruit ends.
The detailed step-by-step procedure is now described. A fruit is placed on the centre of the trident (12) and the pushrod (14) is moved downwards the centre of the fruit top. The switch button is activated and the fruit starts spinning. In the case of a dragon fruit, place the grater (16) in contact with the fruit surface for grating and peeling process. While for other fruits, the peeling blade (20) is used, and the arm (22) which holds the peeling blade (20) starts moving parallel to the axis and enables the contact between peeling blade (20) and the fruit; which starts the peeling process. The fruit is peeled progressively by the combination of arm (22) and peeling blade (20) which moving wholly on the fruit profile. After the fruit is successfully peeled, both the fruit ends are being cut by moving the end- cutting blade holding arm towards the fruit.
These procedures are easy for individual involved in this field to understand. This innovative concept can be further improvised in order to improve its design as long as the variations would not affect its originality.
The procedures described are to explain the principles of the invention and practical application of those principles to enable the expert in the field to utilize the invention and introduce any practical variations to it, which would not affect the original concept. The scope of the invention can be defined by the claims with reference to the description set above and to the attached diagram.