FR2530424A1 - Fruit press with membranes. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention concerns a mobile grape press. This press comprises a chassis 10 mounted on four wheels 11 and 12 and a container 15 intended for containing the grape juice. A membrane press 16 comprises a series of pockets 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 having different volumes and able to be inflated by compressed air at a predetermined pressure. This press is particularly advantageous for allowing the grapes to be crushed without mixing them, the drawing off of the grape juice in large quantities and of excellent quality by applying a normal pressure.

Description

Membrane fruit press
The present invention relates to a membrane fruit press comprising a chassis, a juice receiving bucket mounted on the chassis, and a membrane press disposed above this bucket.

Grape presses with a central membrane are already known, comprising a rotary drum in which the grapes are rotated while they are pressed and therefore kneaded during this operation. Mixing has the drawback of releasing into the juice all kinds of mineral and organic residues and dust, molds, residual deposits from sulphating treatments, etc.

On the other hand, there is a traveling grape press described in French patent application No. 78/29472, in which the press mounted on a chassis comprises progressive-action press-plates, controlled by hydraulic cylinders. This machine eliminates the drawbacks of rotary presses, but its construction is necessarily very heavy because the stresses exerted on the crushing plates and on the hopper are very high.

The present invention proposes to produce an improved traveling grape press of lighter construction, which satisfies the basic conditions required to produce good quality grape juice.

For this purpose, the grape press according to the invention is characterized in that the membrane press comprises several pockets with compressed air, arranged to exert increasing pressure on the fruit to be pressed, in the direction of movement of the grapes to the inside the press.

According to a preferred embodiment, said pockets of the membrane press are juxtaposed and comprise two by two a common partition. In addition, each pocket preferably has a mouthpiece and is associated with means for generating a determined pressure inside this pocket. In this way the grapes introduced into the press at one end are subjected to an increasing pressure, which reaches its maximum value at the end of the press at which the marc cake is ejected. ~ Contrary to what happens in the presses rotating drum, the grapes travel along a translatory path from the introduction orifice to the ejection orifice.

The membrane press advantageously comprises a rigid upper carcass, and the pockets are at least partially housed inside this carcass. This rigid carcass preferably has a semi-cylindrical shape. Each pocket has a semicylindrical upper part housed inside the carcass, two substantially flat side walls and a more or less curved lower membrane intended to exert more or less strong pressure on the grapes to be pressed.

The multiple pockets whose volume and pressure increase as the grapes move inside the press, and the difference in levels and pressures of the successive membrane elements constituting the lower walls of the successive pockets, cause crumbling grapes without mixing, and eliminate the disastrous consequences of mixing on the quality of the grape juice.

The present invention will be understood mietx with reference to the description of an exemplary embodiment and the accompanying drawing in which
FIG. 1 represents a schematic view in longitudinal section of the press according to the invention,
FIG. 2 represents a cross-sectional view of the press according to FIG. 1, and
FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of the pockets constituting the membrane press according to the invention.

With reference to the figures, the traveling grape press according to the invention comprises a frame 10 carried for example by four wheels 11 and 12 fixed on two axles 13 and 14, and on which are mounted on the one hand a bucket 15 intended to collect the juice of the pressed grapes, and on the other hand a membrane press 16. The bucket comprises a discharge tap 17, arranged at its rear lower end. A fastener 18 makes it possible to hang the press on a tractor vehicle known per se. To facilitate the movement of the press movement, one of the axles can be connected to a drive mechanism which therefore ensures a certain autonomy for this press. The press 16 is separated from the bucket by a grid 19 of a type known per se. The membrane press itself has a filling orifice 20 preferably having the shape of a hopper, associated with a pusher 21 actuated by pneumatic means, so as to push the whole grape inside: inside the press in the direction of arrow A. The membrane press consists of a set of pockets 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, adjacent hoses each equipped with a pressurized air filling device 22 ′, 23 ′, 24 ′, 25 ′, 26 ′, provided with a valve which is preferably constituted by a pressure limiting valve. Thanks to this device, each of the bags can be inflated under a determined pressure which increases in the direction of the arrow A.

As shown particularly in Figure 3, the press consists of a rigid semi-cylindrical carcass 27 inside which are arranged the pockets 22 to 26, the number of which is of course not limited to the number of pockets shown by these figures. Each of these pockets has an upper part 8 housed inside the carcass, two substantially flat side walls 29 and 30 and a lower membrane 31 which constitutes the bearing surface on the grapes contained in the press. The pocket volume increases in the direction of arrow A. Similarly, the pressure of these pockets is gradually increasing in this same direction. The different levels between the lower membranes of each pocket cause the grape seeds to crumble. Due to the increasing volume of the pockets, the space between the grid and the lower surface of the pockets decreases in the direction of the arrow. AT.

As the contact pressure of the lower membranes of the bags increases in this same direction, a combined effect is produced due to both the increase in pressure and the restriction of the volume, which generate a progressive crushing of the grapes without these are not subjected to a mixing action.

The pressure in the pockets can advantageously range from 0.5 kg / cm2 to 5 ku./rm2. The press allows batch work to be carried out, the space occupied by the rn2rc discharged through the orifice 32 of the machine being replaced by new clusters introduced into the hopper 20, at each cycle. Devices 33 for removing soil or solid residues are placed under the grid 19 and can be actuated by hydraulic jacks in the direction of the double arrow
B to push said residue outwards and to clean the slots through which the juice flows at each cycle.

A selection of juice is possible thanks to the addition of a separator on the receiving bucket and possibly the division of the receiving tank into several independent tanks.

 It is understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described, but can undergo different modifications and come in different variants obvious to one skilled in the art.

Claims (6)

Claims 1. Fruit press with membranes comprising a frame, a bucket for receiving juice, mounted on this frame and a membrane press arranged above this bucket, characterized in that the press (16) has several pockets (22,23 , 24,25,26) with compressed air, arranged to exert an increasing pressure in the direction of movement (A) of the grapes inside the press. 2. Press according to claim 1, characterized in that said pockets of the membrane press are juxtaposed and comprise two by two a common partition. 3. Press according to claim 1, characterized in that the membrane press comprises a rigid upper carcass (27) -, and in that the pockets are at least partially housed inside this carcass 4. Press according to claim 3, characterized in that the rigid carcass has a semi-cylindrical shape. 5. Press according to claim 4, characterized in that each pocket comprises a semi-cylindrical upper part (28), housed inside the carcass (27), two substantially flat side walls (29,30) and a membrane lower (31) more or less curved, intended to exert more or less strong pressure on the grapes passing through the press. 6. Press according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each pocket has a mouth, and means (22 ', 23', 24 ', 25') for generating a predetermined pressure inside ~ rieur de the corresponding pocket.