This invention relates to a method, which becomes apparent from the introducing part of the claim 1.

The prior art includes different methods of this kind, in which, however,there are considerable drawbacks. In the first place they are too slow for the modern industry. For instance a .parispotatoe, by which in this application is meant a sperical potatoe formed from a raw potatoe by removing material from it, is made manually with a cuplike tool. With this kind of tool several parispotatoes may be formed from a big. potatoe. The amount of manual work is considerable.

A parispotatoe can also be made by a so called crinding method, but in this case the quality of the product is changing very much and the production costs are also rather high. When this method is used the waste cannot be used to any other purpose.

The prior art also includes a Finnish patent publication 63664, which discloses a method for making parispotatoes mechanically. This method has certain similarities with the method disclosed by this application. The common features have been described in the introducing part of the claim 1. The most remarkable disadvantages of this method are the slowness and low production when compared to the amount of capital invested.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved, effective and therefore economical method for making bodies of different sizes and different shapes from vegetables as well as from potatoes.

Another object of this invention is to make parispotatoes of good quality.

The object of the invention is reached with a method, which comprises the features in the characterizing part of the claim 1. In the claims 2 - 7 advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized.

The object of this invention is also, to provide an equipment for carrying out a method in accordance with the invention. The features of this equipment are disclosed in the characterizing part of claim 8. In claims 9 - 15 advantageous embodiments of the invented equipment are characterized.

Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompaning drawings wherein:

Fig 1 is the front view of the main part of the equipment

Fig 2 is the side view of the main part of the equipment in the direction of the arrows A in Fig 1,

Fig 3 is a partially broken away view of the main part of the equipment taken substantially along the line III-III and in the direction of the arrows B in Fig 2,

Fig 4 is an enlarged view of the workwheel and of a part of the rationing wheel taken substantially

along the line IV-IV in the direction of the arrows A in Fig 1,

Fig 5 is a view of the workwheel seen in the direction of the arrow C in Fig 4,

Fig 6 is an enlarged part D of the workwheel in Fig 5,

Fig 7 is a partially broken away view of the drum, guiding cylinder and the pressure level,

Fig 8 is a fragmentary view of the rationing wheel,

Fig 9 is a fragmentary view of the rationing ^* wheel, the cutting tools and the vegetable,

Fig 10 presents a vegetable in the holder,

Fig 11 is a fragmentary view of a vegetable cut by the cutting tools in the holder and ready for shaping. The discs of the rationing wheel are also shown,

Figs 12-14 show different operations of the shaping,

Fig 15 is the front view of the feeding table,

Fig 16 is the feeding table seen from above,

ig 17 is the front view of the shaping tool,

ig 18 is the side elevational view of the shaping tool in Fig 17,

Fig 19 shows the shaft and the shaping blade of the shaping tool as seen in the direction of arrow E in Fig. 17.

In the following description a vegetable 74 is represented by a potatoe.

The main part of the equipment is built inside the body 11, which is supported by foots 12 on the floor. The shaft 16, Fig. 3, which is supported in the body 11 by bearings, is rotated by a motor 13 through the chain wheels 14 and 15 and the chain between them. To the shaft 16 there is also mounted a chain wheel 17, which through a chain wheel 18, which is secured to the end wall of the drum 9, rotates the drum 9. Fig 3 shows also another drum 10, the rotation of which has also been arranged in the same way from the shaft 16. The drums 9 and 10 rotate in the same direction. Between the chain wheels 17 and 18 there is a chain 19. The chain wheels 20 and 21 are mounted to the shaft 22. The chain wheel 20 is in engagement with the chain 19 so that it as well as the chain wheel 21 are rotating in the opposite direction when compared to the chain wheel 17. The rotation movement and the rotation direction of the chain wheel 21 are transferred to the chain wheel 23 through the chain 24 and further from the chain wheel 25, which is mounted to the same shaft as the chain wheel 23, through the chain 26 to the chain wheel 27. The chain wheel 27 is mounted to the shaft 28 and to the same shaft is also mounted the rationing wheel 1, the rotation direction of which accordingly is opposite to the rotation direction of the drums 9 and 10. The rotation direction of the shafts 16 and 28 is indicated by arrows in Fig. 3.

Motor 29 rotates the shaft 30 and through the belt wheel 31, the belt 32 and the belt wheel 33 the shaft 34, which is journalled with the bearings 35 to the bushing 36 secured to the flange 61. To the shaft 34 is secured a gear 37, which is in engagement with the gear 38. The gear 38 is secured to the bushing 39, which with the bearings 40 is journalled to another bushing 41. This in turn is secured to the end wall 43 of the drum 10 with a cover 42. The shaping tool 8 ¹ is fastened to the shaft 44, which in turn is fastened to the bushing 39. Accordingly the shaft 44 of the shaping tool 8' and the shaping tool 8' are rotating with the gear 38. The rotation direction of the shaping tool 8* can be reverred by reversing the rotation direction of the motor 29. The shaft 44 is further journalled to the inside periphery of the pressure piece 46 with the bearings 45. The pressure piece 46 is mounted slidingly inside the guide cylinder 47, which in turn is fastened to the drum 10. With the pressure piece 46 the shaping tool, and the shaft 44 can be moved in the direction of their longitudinal axis. The counter force is delivered by the spring 48. The pressure force directed to the pressure piece 46 is transmitted by the pressure lever 49 (Fig. 7), which is pivotally mounted to the drum 10 at point 50 and which accordingly rotates with the drum 10. In the body 11 there is a ring shaped cam 51, on which a roller 52 attached to the lever 49, is rolling. When the roller is following the cam 51 the shaft 44 and the shaping tool 8' are moving correspondingly in the direction of their longitudinal axis. The location of the said axial movement can be adjusted with a screw/nut equipment 53. Fig 7 also shows a support plate 54, the purpose of which is to support the pressure lever 49 during its movements.

The synchronising of the shaping tools 8 ¹ , which are in the drum 10 and the holders 6, 7, which are in the work wheel 5 in the rotation direction of the drum and of the work wheel takes place as follows: the flange 61 is fastened to the body 11. Between the bushing part 62 of the cam 51 and of the flange 61 there is a connecting ring 63, which is fastened with the screws to the bushing part 62 as well as to the flange 61. When the adjustment is needed the connecting ring 63 is unfastened from the flange 61, whereafter the cam 51 can be turned in relation to the body 11. Through this operation the location at which the movement of the shaping tool 8, and of the shaft 44 in the direction of their longitudinal axis takes place, can be changed in the rotation direction in relation to the holders 6, 7.

The work wheel 5 is secured to the shaft 55, which further is by means of the flange 56 fastened to the end wall 43 of the drum 10. The work wheel 5 and drum 10 consequently always rotate with the same speed. Between the shaft 55 and the shaft 34 there are bearings 57 and 58. Accordingly the shaft 55 and the work wheel 5, and also the drum 10 are supported by the shaft 34. The drum 10 is further supported by the bearing 59, the ring 60, the bushing 36, which is secured to the flange 61, the bearings 35 and the shaft 34.

The rotation direction of the motor 29 and shaft 55 is indicated by arrows in Fig. 3.

The work wheel 5 includes two discs 64, 65 (Fig. 5, Fig. 6), to which the holders 6, 7 are pivotally mounted. Inside the discs 64, 65 the safety plates 66

are ridgidly fastened. The purpose of these plates, is to make sure that the bath of the holders 6, 7 is free.

The construction of the drum 9 and the pertinent drive mechanisms are the same as that of the drum 10 described above.

The operation of the holders 6, 7 is governed by the cam 68 (Fig. 4) , which with a support means 67 is fastened to the body 11. The roller 70 is rigidly fastened to the holder arm 7 with a connecting piece 69." Also the gear 71 is rigidly attached to the holder arm 7. The gear 72 is in engagement with another gear 71. The gear 72 is rigidly fastened to the holder arm 6. As the roller 70 follows the cam 68 the holder 6, 7 opens and closes accordingly. The cover plate 73 is fastened to the body 11.

In the rationing wheel 1 (Fig. 4, Fig. 8), there are transfer beaks 79 including cups 2 for transferring the potatoe 74 from the feeding table 81 (Fig. 15) to the work wheel 5. The transfer from the cup of the rationing wheel 1 to the holder 6, 7 of the work wheel 5 takes place at the loading point 4. Figure 8 ^• shows a preferable construction of the rationing wheel 1 and of the cups 2. The rationing wheel 1 is built from four discs, from two outer discs 75 and 76 and two inner discs 77 and 78. In order to create the cup 2 in front of the beak 79 the edges of the inner discs 77 and 78 are closer to the rotation axis 106 (Fig. 2) of the rationing wheel 1 than the edges of the outer discs 75 and 76.. In order to prevent the potatoe from adhering to the periphery of the rationing wheel between the two next adjacent cups the edges of the inner discs 77, 78 are more remote

from the axis 106 of the wheel 1 than the edges of the outer discs 75, 76.

The rotation directions of the rationing wheel 1 and the work wheel 5 are indicated by arched arrows in Fig. 4.

Between the rationing wheel 1 and the work wheel 5 before the loading point 4 a pair of cutting blades 3 is secured to the body for cutting the raw potatoe to a predetermined thickness. The distance between the two blades is adjustable.

The rotation speeds of the rationing wheel 1 and of the work wheel 5 are synchronised so that the cup 2 and the corresponding holder 6, 7 always simultaneously reach the loading point 4 so that the transfer of the potatoe 74 from the cup 2 to the holder 6, 7 can take place.

The synchronising is based on the following equation:

TΓ D a ^■ π D P n a V a n ^* V P P in which

D = the diameter of the rationing wheel at the cup n — the number of cups a

V = the peripheral speed of the cups D = the diameter of the work wheel at the

P holder n = the number of the holders P

V = the peripheral speed of the holders

The equation expresses, that the cup ^' 2 needs the same time for the rotation the distance between two next adjacent cups than the holder needs for rotation the distance between the two next adjacent holders.

It is advantageous that the peripheral speed of the cup 2 is lower than that of the holder 6, 7. Then the transfer of the vegetable from the cup to the holder takes place easier. From the equation it is evident that Va can be changed in relation to Vp by changing other values in the equation.

In the embodiment described above

D 500 mm a = n = a 12

V = 524 mm/s a

D = 300 mm P n — 4 P

V — 942 mm/s P

The feed table 90 co-operates with the main equipment described above. The feed table is shown in the figures 15 and 16 and its purpose is to transfer the potatoes 74 from the work table 81 of the feed table 90 to the cups 2 of the rationing wheel 1. The feed table includes a body 82, inside which the work table 81 is journaled. The work table 81 is rotated by a motor 83 through the belt 84 and the belt wheel 85. In the wall 86 of the body 82 there is an exhaust opening 89' at the rationing wheel 1. The exhaust opening is created by the guiding plates 87 and 88. Underneath the exhaust opening 89' and in the center of it there is a support plate 89 extending to the level of the ^' work table 81 from underneath. The purpose of this plate is to support the potatoe when

the cup 2 is not at the exhaust opening. The support plate 89 is so thin, that it goes in between the discs (for instance 77, 78, Fig.8). The feed table 90 is mounted to its place so that the support plate 89 and the discs 77, 78 are overlapping. The body 82 of the feed table is pivotally secured with an arm 91 to the column 92. Thanks to this arrangement the feed table can be turned from its actual work position to the side for service work. The turning direction of the arm 91 is indicated in Fig. 16 with a two-headed arrow.

The rotation direction of the work table 81 is indicated by an arrow too.

Potatoes 74 are transported to the work table 81 with a belt conveyor, which is a conventional design and therefore is . not described closer in this application. To the supporting ^' bearing of the work table there is arranged a feeler 93 of the work table load, the purpose of the feeler being to give a signal to the governing mechanism of the belt conveyor then, when the load of the work table exceeds a predetermined limit of weight. Having received this signal the governing- equipment of the belt conveyor stops the belt conveyor. As soon as the potatoe load on the work table has become smaller than the predetermined weight limit, the belt conveyor starts again. The purpose of this arrangement is to secure the continuous troublefree operation of the feed table 90. As seen in Fig. 15, the work surface of the feed table 81 is inclined towards the periphery, in other words sloping towards the periphery. The purpose of this arrangement is to make the potatoes 74 roll to the periphery of the work table 81. The distance between the guiding

plates 87 and 88, which form the exhaust opening 89', can be adjusted so that the width of the exhaust opening corresponds to the size of the potatoes 74, which size again is dependent on the size of the parispotatoe to be made.

Eight shaping blades 102 have been fastened to the shaft 101 of the shaping tool (Figs. 17-19). In every blade 102 there is a shaping edge 103 and in the shaping edge there is a groove 104 for collecting and retaining the potatoematerial. The excess of the potatoematerial created during the shaping operation is removed along the path between the blades 102. This removal is enhanced by openings 105 which are located at that part of the blade 102, which is adjacent to the cylindrical surface the shaft 101.

The shaping edges of a shaping tool 8', 8" may be concave or convex. The number of the shaping blades 102 shall not be less than three, because the shaping edges 103 are to support the potatoe during the shaping in at least three radial directions. The support is advantageously provided by both shaping tools, but at least by one of then. The support may be concave, cuplike, as in Fig. 18, but it may also be convex, if the shaping edges are convex, in which case a concave surface of revolution is to be shaped.

In Figs. 17-19 the shaping tool is designed for making parispotatoes, there - for the curvature of the shaping edge 103 is an arc of a circle and both shaping tools 8' and 8" are similar. One shaping edge (in Fig. 17 that one, which is parallel to the long side of the sheet) is an arc of a halfcircle. The body will then be a ball, a parispotatoe 94.

The equipment as a whole operates as follows. As an example the shaping of a parispotatoe is described:

The potatoes 74 are brought with a belt conveyor, which is not shown, to the feed table 90. By the rotation of the work table 81 the potatoes are driven one by one out from the exhaust opening 89 ' , when the cups 2 of the rationing wheel 1 in turn pick up the potatoes. When no cup 2 is opposite to the exhaust opening, that part 80 of the rationing wheel 1, which is between the two next adjacent cups 2 prevents the potatoe from falling from the exhaust opening 89'. Before the potatoe is transferred from the cup 2 to the holder 6, 7, the cup 2 transports it through the cutting tools 3, which are cutting the potatoe to a predetermined thickness. This is shown in figures 9 and 11. They also show schematically the discs 75-78 of the rationing wheel 1. Figure 11 shows also the holder 6, 7. In figure 11 the pair of shaping tools 8 is ready to start the shaping of the potatoe.

In Fig. 2 the holder 6, 7 of the work wheel 5 is picking up the potatoe from the cup in the loading point 4. In Fig. 4 the point in the cam 68 corresponding to the loading point 4 is indicated with the reference number 4 of the loading point. At that point the holder 6, 7 closes around the potatoe 74 (Fig. 10). During the rotation of the work wheel 5 and the drums 9, 10 the shaping of the potatoe takes place with the shaping tools 8. It is important, that the potatoe is rigidly held by the holders 6, 7 during the shaping notwithstanding the centrifugal force, which tends to loosen the potatoe from the holder. For this purpose the above described concave cup created by the shaping edges 103 of the shaping tools 102 supports the potatoe from both sides during

the shaping. The stability of the potatoe in the holder is also enhanced by the practice, in which the shaping tools 8 ¹ , 8" are rotating in opposite directions. When the potatoe is held rigidly in the holders it is possible to shape also small potatoes mechanically better than when applying the methods and the equipment of prior art. It is also possible to use higher velocities of the work wheel, which increases the production. When the potatoe is held ridigly a good surface quality, especially colour is achieved. The surface doesn't turn black, because it doesn't receive blows originated by moving of potatoe in the holder. It also becames round. The potatoe material collected in the groove 104 of the shaping edge 103 gives to parispotatoe a beautiful dim surface. The potatoe material created by the shaping departs along the axial channels between the blades 102. The departure is enhanced by the openings 105. The shaping is finished when the potatoe comes to the unloading point 97.

Fig. 12 shows, that at the last stage of the shaping before the unloading point the first shaping tool 8* is fed until a predetermined plane 98. Thereafter the first shaping tool 8' is retracted and the second shaping tool 8" is fed in accordance with the fig. 13 beyond the same plane 98. When this feed movement is completed the shaping of the parispotatoe 94 is finished. During this last operation the parispotatoe 94 is in contact with an obstacle 96, which in this case is a plate. This obstacle is located in line with the feed direction of the second shanping tool 8". The purpose of this contact is to support the parispotatoe, when the second shaping tool 8" is cutting it loose from the remains 95. Immediately after this operation the .holder 6, 7 passes the

obstacle 96, the holder 6, 7 opens at the unloading point 97 and the finished parispotatoe 94 together with the remains 95 is removed from the holder 6, 7 with a centrifugal force or with compressed air or by pushing the parispotatoe with the second shaping tool 8". The finish parispotatoe 94 then rolls for instance along a flute 99 (Fig. 4) to a receiver and the remains 95 are transferred to the waste basket. The holder 6, 7 remains open until the loading point where it is then ready to pick up the next potatoe from the cup 2 of the rationing wheel 1.

The finishing of the shaping of the parispotatoe can also be completed so, that at the last stage of the finishing the shaping tools 8', 8" are fed each until to a predetermined plane of its own, the planes being spaced from- each other a predetermined short distance ^' so, that between them remains a clearance of approximately 0,15 mm only. Thereafter the holder 6, 7 opens at the loading point 97 and the centrifugal force throws the parispotatoe and the remains together for instance to a belt conveyor. At this stage the finished parispotatoe 94 gets loose from the remains 95 whereafter the parispotatoes and the remains are assorted from each other. The parispotatoe needs no further treatment.

The efficiency of the embodiment described above can be increased by increasing the number of shaping tools 8 in the drums 9, 10 and the number of holders 6, 7 in the work wheel 5. In the above embodiment four pairs of shaping tools 8 as well as four holders 6, 7 are shown. Also increasing the peripheral speeds of the cups 2 and of the holders 6, 7 increases the efficiency.

Many kinds of surfaces of rotation can be shaped by making the shaping edges 103 either concave or convex and by altering the curvature of the shaping edge. Instead of potatoe also other vegetables can be shaped by the invented method and equipment.