초록 ▼

Method of an apparatus for extracting whole juice sacs from citrus fruits by fluid impinging chunks of peeled fruit meat. In one embodiment, a fruit chunk is fed into a fluid impingement chamber that includes a plurality of off-center orifices. High-pressure fluid emitted from the orifices strikes t

Method of an apparatus for extracting whole juice sacs from citrus fruits by fluid impinging chunks of peeled fruit meat. In one embodiment, a fruit chunk is fed into a fluid impingement chamber that includes a plurality of off-center orifices. High-pressure fluid emitted from the orifices strikes the fruit chunk and spins it such that the fruit chunk\s juice sacs are stripped from the chunk\s sectional membranes. In another preferred embodiment, a plurality of fluid impingement chambers are incorporated into a high-speed, continuous motion turret. In yet another preferred embodiment, fruit chunks are fed into an inclined tube that includes fluid orifices which emit high pressure fluid. Controlling the fluid pressure, nozzle orifice size, number of orifices, direction of fluid jets, impingement time, and size and shape of the fruit chunks determine how substantially the radial membranes of fruit chunks are stripped of juice sacs without shredding the membranes. By avoiding contamination by or commingling with flavor-deteriorating membranes or peel components of fruits, the resulting juice and juice sac slurry has a taste more like fresh-squeezed juice after further processing and storage than current commercially-made juice.

대표청구항 ▼

An apparatus for separating juice sacs from the radial membranes of a peeled chunk of fruit, said apparatus comprising: (a) a fluid impingement chamber for accommodating said peeled fruit chunk such that said peeled fruit chunk is free to rotate; (b) means for inserting said peeled fruit chunk into

An apparatus for separating juice sacs from the radial membranes of a peeled chunk of fruit, said apparatus comprising: (a) a fluid impingement chamber for accommodating said peeled fruit chunk such that said peeled fruit chunk is free to rotate; (b) means for inserting said peeled fruit chunk into said fluid impingement chamber; (c) means for injecting a pressurized fluid into said chamber (d) such that said fluid impinges against and imparts a moment to said peeled fruit chunk, whereby said juice sacs are stripped from said radial membranes of said fruit chunk.