Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for pitting olives, in which each olive is held between a pair of matching knives as the knives are rotated along parallel circular paths by a rotating drive shaft. The knives may both be coring knives or may both be pitting knives, and are aligned so that their longitudinal axes coincide and the common longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the olive's circular path. As the knives rotate along parallel circular paths, they are translated by cams along their common longitudinal axis so as to penetrate opposite ends of the olive simultaneously and then to push the pit out through one end of the olive. The coring knife embodiment of the invention leaves a clean bore through the pitted olive after removal of the core (including the pit), and prevents the pit from tearing away an irregularly shaped olive portion during removal. The pitting knife embodiment of the invention, on the other hand, maximizes the weight of the pitted olive product by employing cross-shaped pitting knives to make incisions in the olive ends which define flaps. The flaps at one end of the olive are displaced as the pit is pushed out through that end. The flaps then close after the pit has been removed.

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First Claim