STRUCTURE OF A ROTOR FOR MACHINES FOR EXTRACTING JUICE AND PUREE FROM FOOD PRODUCTS OF VEGETABLE OR ANIMAL ORIGIN

Abstract

A rotor (8) for a machine (1) for extracting puree or juice from a food product of vegetable or animal origin, being provided with a hub (11) having an external conical, or cylindrical, surface (13) from which a plurality of blades (6, B.sub.n,m) protrudes, in which the hub (11) and the blades (6) form a monolithic body obtained with a process selected from: welding of the blades to the hub, machining of the blades and the hub from a monolithic semi-finished product. The blades (6) are arranged according to a matrix B.sub.n,m where n is the number of blades (6) in the longitudinal direction (9) and m is the number of blades (6) along a circumferential direction, where n>≤2 and m≤2; the blades B.sub.n,m have at least a concave portion with a concavity oriented in the direction of rotation (10) of the rotor (8). The hub (11) has an axial length (L) and each of the blades B.sub.n,m has an axial length A less than L/n with n≤2.

Claims

1. Structure of rotor (8) for a machine (1) for extracting puree, or juice, from a food product of vegetable origin or animal, said machine comprising: an inlet (3) for the food product of vegetable or animal origin from which the puree, or the juice, is extracted; a sieve (7) provided with a plurality of holes; wherein said rotor (8) is configured to be mounted on a shaft (12) connected to a motor (80), in such a way to rotate within said sieve (7) about a rotation axis (9) in a determined direction of rotation (10), said rotor (8) being provided with a hub (11) having an external conical or cylindrical surface (13), from said external surface (13) protruding a plurality of blades (6, B.sub.n,m) configured to apply a centrifugal force al product fed into said machine (1) through said inlet (3), in such a way to divide said product in inlet in a main product comprising said puree, or juice, which passes through said sieve (7) and is discharged through a first outlet (4) and in a waste product which, instead, does not pass through said sieve and is discharged through a second outlet (5); said structure of rotor (8) being characterized in that: said hub (11) and said blades (6) form a monolithic body obtained with a process selected from: welding of said blades to said hub, machining of said blades and said hub from a monolithic semi-finished product; said blades (6) are arranged according to a matrix Bn,m where n is the number of blades (6) in the longitudinal direction of said axis (9) for each value of m, where m is the number of blades (6) along a circumferential direction for each value of n, where n≥2 and m≥2; said blades Bn,m have at least a concave portion with a concavity oriented in the direction of rotation (10) of said rotor (8); said hub (11) has an axial length (L) and each of said blades Bn,m has an axial length A less than L/n with n≥2, a blade Bn,m is circumferentially staggered with respect to a blade B(n+1),m in such a way that the food product of vegetable, or animal, origin N leaves a blade Bn,m in the longitudinal direction according to a substantially helical trajectory T and finds the following blade B(n+1),m at a distance (G).

2. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein a blade Bn+1,m is circumferentially staggered from a blade Bn,m+1 of a distance F measured along a circumferential direction along the surface of said hub of at least 50 mm and anyway not greater than the planar development of the external surface (13) of the hub (11) corresponding to a quarter of a turn angle, to allow the stones to pass in case of great stones.

3. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein a blade Bn,m is axially staggered from a blade B(n+1),m in such a way that along a circumferential direction there is an overlapping length S, with S set between 10 mm and 100 mm.

4. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the blades (6, Bn,m) are oriented at an angle R opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor set between 1° and 30°.

5. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein for rotors used for fruits with large stones the number m of blades along a circumferential direction is set between 2 and 4.

6. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein for rotors used for fruits with small stones the number m of blades along a circumferential direction is set between 3 and 8.

7. Structure of rotor (8) according to claim 6, wherein for rotors used for fruits with small stones said number m of blades along a circumferential direction is set between 3 and 5.

8. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein, for rotors used for refiner extruders, i.e. downstream of extraction sections, the number m of blades along a circumferential direction is set between 6 and 16.

9. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein, in longitudinal direction, between a blade and a next blade, ridges (20) are provided which have a radial height less than the blades (6).

10. Structure of rotor (8) according to claim 9, wherein said ridges (20) have a radial height comprised between ⅓ and 1/10 of the blades.

11. Structure of rotor (8) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein, the last blade of the rotor has a longer length to cover a final portion in the longitudinal direction of the sieve (7), and to cover with the remaining part a region of the containing body (2) which faces an outlet for the waste products (5).

12. Machine (1) for extracting puree or of juice from a food product of vegetable or animal origin, characterized in that it comprises a rotor according to any claim from 1 to 11.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The invention will be now illustrated with the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, exemplifying but not limitative, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

[0042] FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a side elevation view a machine for extracting juice, or puree from food products of vegetable, or animal, origin in which it is possible to install a structure of rotor, according to the invention;

[0043] FIG. 2 shows the machine for extracting juice, or puree from food products of vegetable, or animal, origin a cross-section view according to arrows II-II;

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the rotor of FIG. 2;

[0045] FIG. 4 shows a partial perspective scheme of a possible alternative embodiment provided for the rotor regarding the circumferential overlap of the blades;

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a perspective partial scheme of possible alternative embodiment of the rotor regarding the inclination of the blades with respect to the longitudinal direction of the rotor;

[0047] FIG. 6 shows a partial perspective scheme of a possible alternative embodiment of the length of the blades in the end zone in the longitudinal direction of the rotor;

[0048] FIG. 7 shows a planar development scheme along a circumferential direction of the rotor in a possible configuration;

[0049] FIG. 8 shows a partial perspective scheme of a possible alternative embodiment of the rotor regarding the ridge portions among the blades in longitudinal direction;

[0050] FIG. 9 shows a planar development scheme along a circumferential direction of the rotor in a possible configuration for fruits with stones of medium and big size;

[0051] FIG. 10 shows a planar development scheme along a circumferential direction of the rotor in a possible configuration for a refiner extruder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0052] In FIG. 1 is shown as an example a possible machine 1 that can be used in plants for producing puree, or juice, starting from food products of vegetable, or animal, origin, such as a rough extruder, or a refiner extruder, in which it is possible to install a structure of rotor, according to the invention. The machine 1 essentially comprises a cylindrical containing body, or “housing”, 2 provided with an inlet 3 for the product to be treated, an outlet 4 for the part of product to be used, and an outlet 5 for the part of product to be wasted. The machine 1 is provided with a rotor 8, according to the invention, shown in FIG. 2 and in different embodiments in the following figures from 3 to 10, which is caused to rotate by a motor 80 by a shaft 12. The product introduced into the cylindrical body 2 of the machine 1 through the inlet 3 is forced by the centrifugal force applied by a series of blades 6 of the rotor 8 to pass through a sieve 7 provided with holes (not shown) and having cylindrical, or conical, shape. Also the hub 11 of the rotor 8 can have a cylindrical or conical shape.

[0053] According to the invention, the hub 11 and the blades 6 form a monolithic body, in particular obtained with a process selected from the group of: welding of the blades to the hub, machining of the blades and the hub from a monolithic semi-finished product. Furthermore, the blades 6 are arranged according to a matrix B.sub.n,m where n is the number of the blades 6, for each value of m, in the axial direction 9 and m is the number of blades 6, for each value of n, along a circumferential direction, where n≥2 and m≥2.

[0054] In particular, the blades B.sub.n,m can have at least a concave portion with a concavity oriented in the direction of rotation 10 of the rotor 8. More in particular, the hub 11 has an axial length L.

[0055] Advantageously, each of the blades B.sub.n,m has an axial length A less than L/n con n≥2.

[0056] A blade B.sub.n,m is, advantageously, circumferentially staggered with respect to a blade B.sub.(n+1),m in such a way that the food product of vegetable, or animal, origin N leaves a blade B.sub.n,m in longitudinal direction according to a substantially helical trajectory T and finds the following blade B.sub.(n+1),m at a distance (G).

[0057] In the embodiment of FIG. 3, for example, n can be equal to 5 and m to 3, whilst G can be equal to the distance between B.sub.1,1 and B.sub.1,2, that means equal to half of the circumferential distance on the external surface 13 of the hub 11 between two following blades having the same axial number n.

[0058] Furthermore, in a possible embodiment, a blade B.sub.n+1,m is circumferentially staggered with respect to a blade B.sub.n,m+1 of a distance F measured along a circumferential direction along the surface of the hub of at least 50 mm and anyway not greater than the planar development of the external surface 13 of the hub 11 corresponding to a quarter of a turn angle, to allow the stones to move over in case of large stones.

[0059] In FIG. 3, the sum of the distances G and F corresponds to the pitch P between two blades B.sub.n,m and B.sub.n,m+1.

[0060] A substantially helical motion T of the food product of vegetable, or animal, origin, N, is obtained passing from a blade B.sub.n,m, B.sub.n,m+1 and B.sub.n,m+2. In practice, the blades with the same number n bring the food product of vegetable, or animal, origin from the inlet 3 to the outlet 4, causing it to slide against the sieve 7.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 4, in a possible embodiment, a blade B.sub.n,m is axially staggered with respect to a blade B.sub.n+1,m in such a way that along a circumferential direction there is an overlapping length S, in particular with S set between 10 mm and 100 mm. For reasons of simplicity of illustration, in FIG. 4 a rotor analogous to that one of FIG. 3 is shown only partially.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 5, in a possible embodiment, the blades 6 of the “matrix” B.sub.n,m are oriented at an angle β opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor set between 1° and 30°. For reasons of simplicity of illustration, in FIG. 5 a rotor analogous to that one of FIG. 3 is shown only partially.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 6, in a possible embodiment, the last blade in the longitudinal direction of the rotor has a length longer than those having a smaller number n, in order to cover both a final portion in the longitudinal direction of the sieve 7, and, with the remaining part, a region of the cylindrical containing body 2 which faces a waste outlet 5. For reasons of simplicity of illustration, in FIG. 6 a rotor analogous to that one of FIG. 3 is shown only partially.

[0064] As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 7, in a possible embodiment, for rotors that are used for fruits with small stones such as apples, papaya, cherry, plum, etc. the number m of the blades along a circumferential direction can be 4, and for these sizes m can be set between 3 and 8, and in particular between 3 and 5.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 9, in a possible embodiment, for rotors used for fruits with large stones, such as peach, apricot, mango, avocado, etc. the number m of blades along a circumferential direction can be 2, and in other embodiments can be set between 2 and 4.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 10, in a possible embodiment, for rotors used for refiner extruders, in particular arranged downstream of extraction sections, the number m of blades along a circumferential direction can be 8, and in further embodiments can be, advantageously, set between 6 and 16.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 8, in a possible embodiment, in the rotor 8, in the longitudinal direction, between a blade and a next blade, ridges 20 can be provided having a radial height less than the blades 6, in particular between ⅓ and 1/10 of the blades. For reasons of simplicity of illustration, in FIG. 8 a rotor analogous to that one of FIG. 3 is shown only partially.

[0068] In all the embodiments, the rotor has, advantageously, round edges.

[0069] The solutions shown in the embodiments described above can be also combined with any other embodiment above described and illustrated.

[0070] The foregoing description of a specific embodiment will so fully reveal the invention according to the conceptual point of view, so that others, by applying current knowledge, will be able to modify and/or adapt for various applications such an embodiment without further research and without parting from the invention, and it is therefore to be understood that such adaptations and modifications will have to be considered as equivalent to the specific embodiment. The means and the materials to realise the different functions described herein could have a different nature without, for this reason, departing from the field of the invention. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.