This invention consists of a manually loaded machine for processing fruit and vegetables, in which the cutting of fruit and vegetables takes place by a continuous rotation of the fruit and vegetable support in association with the going up and down of push buffers on the cutting tools driven by a specially shaped cam or guide.

This machine is made of a steel base (1), a rotating plane supporting the fruit and vegetables to be processed, consisting of a round steel plate (2) on which there are eight circle stations (3), being equally distant from each other, where fruit and vegetables are supported and cut, each of them is provided with cutting tools;

The lower rotating plate (2) is connected with an upper circular plate (4) by couples of struts or steel stems (5) that they support and along which each of the eight turrets (6) bearing the push buffers (7) slides; a cam or guide (8) made of a specially shaped steel bar consisting of a first horizontal zero gradient section (9), and of two sloped sections that forming an angle of 125 degrees, one being a negative gradient (-28°) section(10), and the other specular one being a positive gradient ( +28°) section (10'). The cam or guide (8) is therefore made of a horizontal section and two oblique sections, one is ascending and the other one is descending.

Each of the eight turrets is bound to the cam or guide (8) by two rollers (11) opposed to each other with reference to the guide (8). Above them an electric engine starts the rotating motion of two joint plates (2) and (4), so that the rotating motion of the turrets (6) is consequently started, but since they are also bound to the guide (8) they can move at the same time autonomously along their own standing, according to the height of the guide (8) over the rotating plate (2).

The distance covered by each roller (11) along the cam (8) causes the cyclical going up and or down of each buffer (7) between a position of maximum height and a position of minimum height with reference to the underlying stations (3) of support and cutting of the fruit and vegetables to be processed.

Therefore the resultant of the rotation motion given to a bearing push buffer turret, bound to a path, causes its vertical going up and down motion

coordinated according to the underlying loading and cutting stations.

In a second version of this invention the cam or guide (8') is made of two steel bars (12) and (12') placed paralleled to each other and shaped like the guide (8), each of them is made of a first horizontal zero gradient section, and two inclined sections that forming an angle of 125 degrees, being one of them a negative gradient section of -28° and the other one being a specular positive gradient section of + 28°. Each of the eight turrets is bound to the cam or guide (8') by one roller (11') positioned between the two steel bars (12) and (12') of the guide (8').

Fig.1 shows a front simplified view of the machine with the guide of a double sliding roller

Fig.2 shows a side simplified view of the machine with the guide of a double sliding roller Fig.3 shows the rear view of the guide with a double sliding roller mounted on the machine

Fig.4 shows a front view of the guide or cam.

Fig.5 shows a side view of the guide or cam.

Fig.6 shows a view from above the plan, of the guide or cam.

Fig.7 shows a front view of the guide with a double sliding roller mounted on the machine.

Fig.8 shows a front simplified view of the machine with the guide of a single sliding roller

Fig. 9 shows a side simplified view of the machine with the guide of a single sliding roller

Fig.10 shows the rear view of the guide with a single sliding roller mounted on the machine

Fig.11 shows a front view of the guide or cam with two steel bars.

Fig.12 shows a side view of the guide or cam with two steel bars.

Fig.13 shows a view from above the plan, of the guide or cam with two steel bars.

While the lower plate (2) is rotating, the fruits are continuously loaded on the loading surface and conveyed to the stations (3), where the push buffers (7) are in their position of maximum height, that takes place when the distance covered by the rollers along the cam is horizontal and therefore the going up of the bearing buffer turrets is caused so that they are in a position of maximum height with reference to the underlying support stations of fruit and vegetables. The continuous rotation motion of the support plate (2) and then of the fruit and vegetables placed within the cutting sections associated with the going up and down motion of the push buffers on the cutting tools causes the removal of the core and the cutting of the fruit and its downloading on special evacuation belts. It is to be noticed that the single conveyed fruit, is completely cut in one station without being conveyed to different processing stations.

The adopted solution allows an excellent processing quality with the least production of waste, an optimum aesthetic quality of the product and a processed surely not polluted fruit during the whole processing cycle. It is possible to install different cutting tools allowing the cutting of different sized fruits, or the cutting of them in irregular cubes or perfect cylinders. The simple working mechanism of this machine allows an extremely rapid adjustment and setting of the machine itself and to easily replace a station with another one in a short time.