POMEGRANATE ARILS

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pomegranate aril removal machine that enables extracting pomegranate arils without damaging the pomegranate arils. During the removal process, it is ensured that pomegranate arils are collected with minimum damage, and thus the quality and commercial value of the final product obtained can be enhanced.

Prior Art

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit species belonging to the family of Lythraceae that consists of small arils and hundreds of edible seeds that form the fruit itself, which has a sour and sometimes sweet flavor, and that is often cultivated in moderate climate regions.

The pomegranate contains high amounts of Vitamin C, polyphenol, iron, potassium, it and strengthens the immune system. Furthermore, the pomegranate regulates cholesterol and blood glucose levels, prevents cancer cells from developing, and also supports cardiovascular health. Due to these properties, the pomegranate arils have been preferred to be used in both the food industry as a food source and also in a great variety of applications in medicine.

Pomegranate juice is used for scaling in dentistry due to its anti-viral properties. Several studies have shown that the tannin substance contained in pomegranate can help the risk of heart attack to be reduced. Pomegranate seed oil is considered to be effective against the reproduction of breast cancer cells by blocking estrogen synthesis. Lately, some research has been conducted to determine whether pomegranate juice can be utilized to fight prostate cancer.

Pomegranate peel and membranes within the pomegranate fruit contain polyphenol called punicalagin. The punicalagin that exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects can conveniently be absorbed by the human body. Punicalagin and the oil acid called punicic acid contained within the pomegranate seed are considered to be the most remarkable factors to unveil the positive effects on cardiovascular health and possible cancer-preventive effects of the pomegranate. Some research results have been provided to show that the pomegranate is able to keep blood glucose levels and insulin resistance under control and can provide protection against neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

To be able to consume and also to utilize the pomegranate arils in areas including medical and food industries, the pomegranate arils are required to be firstly separated from the pomegranate peel.

As it is a quite challenging process to prevent arils from incurring any damage while removing the pomegranate arils manually, it is likewise tough to protect the pomegranate arils against such damage during removing the arils by means of a machine.

The pomegranate aril removal machines known from the prior art are unable to provide an efficient removal process. The machines of the prior art, receive the entire fruit and they process even the pomegranates with rotten, spoilt inner portions. In such cases, the pomegranates having spoilt arils are processed together with other edible ones, and thus product quality is reduced.

As processing spoilt pomegranate arils together with the edible ones may cause the spoilt pomegranate arils to spoil the other edible ones during the storage or retention process, it would also lead to further financial loss.

Current machines crush the pomegranate during an aril removal process. For example, during pomegranate juice processing, the removal machines currently known, crushes the pomegranate in order to squeeze the arils. While trying to obtain pomegranate juice, the pomegranate peel and membrane also mix inside the pomegranate aril juice.

Therefore, during the processing of pomegranate juice, in particular, it is quite important to remove pomegranate peel and membrane from arils. Otherwise, the tannin particularly contained in the peel in considerable amounts leads to rancidity in the fruit juice processed and also may result in the reduction in the product's economic value.

In the machines that are already known from the prior art, the pomegranate fruit is firstly crushed and then is whirled inside a rotary drum, thereby the arils come apart from the membrane of the pomegranate and they drop down and this constitutes the aril removal process.

According to an alternative method, the pomegranate fruit is cut and cracked, and subsequently, arils are enabled to be separated through the use of compressed water. However, in the aril removal process carried out by the use of the bursting method, as the fluid introduced out of membranes and peel of the pomegranate fruit mixes with the arils, an acrid taste occurs and such a taste inhibits the palatable flavor anticipated to be tasted from the pomegranate juice.

A utility model application numbered CN206612165 discloses an aril separator removal machine that is capable of discarding pomegranate peels. When the description of the related patent application is reviewed, it is seen that said machine transfers the pomegranate fruit to a drum by means of a conveyor belt. A detail of said drum is formed in a conical structure. By rotating the drum, it is intended to peel the pomegranate off.

However, the structure is considered to crush the peels during the discarding process and to cause the peels to release the water contained in said peels as well.

The patent application numbered ES2241472 describes a machine that allows the pomegranate to be cut, in order to peel said pomegranate off applying pressure and treating through the use of a fluid jet.

In accordance with the said patent application, the pomegranate is cut in half to obtain two parts of pomegranate. The compressed liquid is sprayed onto the two parts that have been cut by the use of the liquid jet. Such pressure causes the arils contained in the pomegranate fruit to be removed from the peel.

However, the use of pressured fluid for removing pomegranate arils causes the pomegranate arils to incur damage. In case the pomegranate arils incur damage during a pomegranate aril removal process, both the quality of the pomegranate arils obtained will be reduced and also the economic value of the product will be diminished. The patent application numbered W02009023277 discloses a pomegranate processing machine. The related machine is intended to remove pomegranate arils. A pair of belts are separated from each other through a cavity within the machine. Said two belts move in a common direction adjacent to the cavity and they have been positioned closer to each other on a less larger portion of the pomegranate than a width of said pomegranate. The pomegranates passing through the cavity are thus compressed between these two belts. One of the belts moves faster than the other one, and thus both a compressing force and a cutting force acts on the pomegranate's peel and therefore the peel is cracked and opened to extract the pomegranate arils

However, as the belts that have been described in the patent application numbered W02009023277 leads to the pomegranate peel being squeezed and releasing its juices and for the pomegranate arils to be damaged by being squeezed during a removal process; this may lead to reduction in the quality of the final product to be obtained.

The patent application numbered US2015082998 discloses a machine that aims to remove the pomegranate arils out of the pomegranate fruit without cut said pomegranate arils.

As far as it is understood from the description of the related application, pressure is applied on the pomegranate from an end of said pomegranate and, it enabled for the fruit to be burst and the arils to be removed from the other end of the pomegranate .

However, as in the other applications known from the prior art, applying pressure on the fruit would lead to both extraction of the peel's juice and also to damaging of arils. Problems Aimed To Be Solved By Means Of The Invention

The primary aim of the invention is to provide the machine to be used for removing pomegranate arils without causing the arils to incur any damage or for them to be crushed, and also to provide a method for operating the related machine.

By using the machine and the method according to the invention, it has been intended to remove pomegranate arils by tapping the pomegranate which is similar to removing said arils by hand without creating high pressure on the pomegranate fruit. As no pressure is created on the pomegranate fruit, the integrity of the fruit can be ensured. Until the removal process is completed, the integrity of the peel and arils can be ensured and thus product quality can be enhanced .

An aim of the present invention is to provide a machine that is capable of being used for processing pomegranate juice in particular and is able to remove pomegranate arils or to process the pomegranate juice without giving any damage to the peel or membrane of the pomegranate. Thereby it is prevented from the pomegranate juice to have a rankish taste, as the membrane contained within the pomegranate and the peel of said pomegranate are not crushed.

With the use of the machine subject to the invention, both the pomegranate arils can be removed without incurring any damage and a large number of arils contained in the pomegranate fruit can be removed from the fruit.

Description of the Drawinqs

Figure 1, is a top perspective view of the pomegranate aril removal machine, Figure 2, is a top view of the pomegranate aril removal machine,

Figure 3, is an exploded detailed view of the pomegranate aril removal machine,

Figure 4, is a sectional view of the pomegranate aril removal machine from one side,

Figure 5, is a detailed view of a secondary drive means and tapping means from one side,

Definitions of the Reference Numbers in the Drawings

1. Machine body

2. Conveyor belt

3. Primary drive means

4. Secondary drive means

5. Tapping means

6. Drum

7. Motion means

8. Tapping edge

9. Motion transfer means

10. Discharge means

11. Tapping unit

Description of the Invention

The invention is related to a pomegranate aril removal machine that enables the arils contained in the pomegranate fruit to be removed without being damaged and that enables the pomegranate peel and the pomegranate membrane to be discarded without being damaged, wherein said peel and membrane of the pomegranate are the waste materials of the entire removal process .

The pomegranate aril removal machine subject to the invention basically consists of; a conveyor belt (2) on which the pomegranates are positioned by being cut into 2 parts wherein cavities for allowing pomegranate arils to drop down is provided on at least a part of said conveyor belt, a primary drive means (3) that is used for the continuous movement of the conveyor belt (2); tapping means (5) that allows the pomegranate arils to be removed by striking the pomegranate fruit pieces wherein these pieces of the pomegranate fruit are moved by means of the motion of said conveyor belt (2) .

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a surface of the conveyor belt (2) has been provided with a screen wire. Hence, the pomegranate arils that are peeled off with the impact of the tapping means (5) can be discharged through the cavities formed on the screen wire.

The cavities formed on the screen wire have a larger size than the pomegranate arils to discharge the pomegranate arils out of a removal medium without being damaged.

According to Figure 1, the pomegranate arils that are removed on the conveyor belt (2) by means of the impact of the tapping means (5) can be transferred out of the machine body (1) by means of a discharge means (10) .

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the movement of the conveyor belt (2) is provided by a primary drive means (3) .

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary drive means (3) is designed in an engine form and helps the drums (6) to move in a rotational movement. In this case, the conveyor belt (2) is designed to have a continuous transfer mechanism form, that is similar to the transfer belt.

The tapping motion that the tapping means (5) create on the pomegranate fruit is provided by the secondary drive means (4) (Figures 3 and 4) .

To peel off the pomegranate arils with the tapping impact of the tapping means (5), each one of the pomegranate fruits is initially cut in two parts and is positioned on the conveyor belt (2) . The pomegranate aril removal machine subject to the invention can be operated with the cutting machine in order to cut the pomegranate fruit into 2 parts before the initialization of the removal process.

To remove the pomegranate arils out of the fruit, it is preferred to position a cut surface of the pomegranate fruit on the conveyor belt such that said cut surface is placed on a surface of the conveyor belt (2) . In such a case, the tapping means (5) will act on the pomegranate peel and the pomegranate arils can be discharged by being removed from the peel through the cut surface that has no peel thereon.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the tapping means (5) is formed of a plurality of tapping units (11) that have been arranged successively. Each tapping unit (11) has tapping edges (8) on the motion means (7) that have been provided within the structure of said units. The motion means (7) that have the tapping edges (8) thereon is designed to move in a rotational manner.

The motion means (7) is provided with at least a motion transfer means (9) . The motion transfer means (9) enables the movement created by the secondary drive means (4) to be transferred to the motion means (7) .

In Figure 5, at least a detail of the motion means (7) is designed in a triangle form. The motion means (7) designed to have a triangle form have a tapping edge (8) on each corner of the triangle that forms the body of said motion means.

In an alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the motion means (7) are designed in a prism form that has an end triangle cross-section. The motion means (7) can also be formed in a frame form that has triangular end portions.

With the driving of the secondary motion means (4), the motion means (7) designed in triangle form is rotated. Thus, the tapping edges (8) positioned on the corners of the triangle form, taps or strikes the pomegranate fruit successively.

According to Figure 5, the tapping edges (8) are designed to have a cylindrical form.

With reference to Figure 5, the tapping means (5) is comprised of a plurality of tapping units (11) . Each tapping unit (11) defines a unit having the motion means (7) that is able to rotate in a circular manner, and the tapping edges (8) that are positioned on the motion means.

According to Figure 5, the tapping means (5) is formed of 12 tapping units (11) each of which has 3 tapping edges (8) thereon. The tapping units (11) are arranged successively to strike the fruit moving on the conveyor belt (2) a successively. Thus, more than one tapping unit (11) can act on a pomegranate fruit moving on the belt and hence the arils within the pomegranate can be removed with high removal efficiency .

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the secondary drive means (4) has been designed to be an engine. In line with a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the system can electronically be controlled due to that the secondary drive means (4) and the primary drive means (3) are designed to be an engine.

When desired, the speed of the conveyor belt (2) and the speed of the tapping means (5) can be adjusted by changing the speed of the secondary drive means (4) and the primary drive means (3) . In the case that the system is operated by the use of automation, such a speed adjustment can be fulfilled by a processor .

The process steps of the method for operating the pomegranate aril separator removal machine that has been disclosed above in detail are described below.

• cutting the pomegranate fruit in two parts by using an external tool,

• positioning the fruit that is cut in two parts on the conveyor belt (2) such that the cut surface of said fruit is faced to the belt (2) surface,

• peeling off the pomegranate arils with the tapping impact of the tapping means (5) which strikes the pomegranates that are being moved on the conveyor belt (2),

• removing the pomegranate arils through the cavities formed on the conveyor belt (2)

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tapping means (5) has at least a tapping edge (8) around its circumference and said tapping means provides a tapping impact by circularly rotating said at least a tapping unit (11) . Furthermore, in another preferred embodiment of the invention, the tapping means (5) has been provided with a plurality of tapping units (11) that are arranged successively. With the rotational movement of the tapping units (11), the tapping units (11) that are successively arranged strike the two halves of each pomegranate fruit being moved on the conveyor belt (2), and thus the performance of the removal process can be enhanced. In various embodiments of the invention, the speed and direction of the primary drive means (3) and the secondary drive means (4) can be controlled by a user or a computer processor . The possibility of the speed/direction of the secondary drive means (4) to be controlled would directly mean that the speed/direction of the motion means (7) can be controlled. In different embodiments of the invention, the tapping edge (8) can also be associated with a drive means. In such a case, the tapping edge (8) can be moved independently of the motion means (7) and the speed/direction of this movement can be controlled as well.