US2813376A - Abrading machine actuated by water pressure - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 19, 1957 M. P. MIDDLEMARK 2,813,376

ABRADING MACHINE ACTUATED BY WATER PRESSURE Filed June 13, 1957 711 1l Il Il r/ /l l/ l/ ll//l f/f/ Tu`v//////////////l//'//// /i le? l I l C? INVENTOR. Mei/fw Mams/mmf ABRADING MACHINE ACTUATED BY WATER PRESSURE Marvin P. Middlemark, Rego Park, N. Y.

Application June 13, 1957, Serial No. 665,459

4 Claims. (Cl. 5l-5) This invention relates to a peeling 'or abrading machine particularly useful for peeling potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables or fruits wherein the skins are usually removed prior to cooking but which is also useful for treatment of machine parts such as small metal, plastic, or wood which are to be de-burred, honed, ground, sanded, or tumbled. The machine of this invention is `of the type where an abrasive disc is designed to be rotated by water pressure so that the machine may be simply connected to a water faucet which thus supplies the actuating power.

Machines of the above type have been known but their use has involved considerable objections. For example, prior machines require a high degree of water pressure to operate satisfactorily. For the same reason, referring to vegetable peeling machines, such machines would only accommodate a relatively limited number of potatoes since otherwise the load would be too great for the Water pressure available. Another objection was insuflicient wash water directed against the vegetables as they were being peeled. Such wash water serves to -clear away the peelings and also as a lubricant for the vegetables, enabling them to be tumbled more completely across the abrading elements of the machine.

With the foregoing in mind, I have devised a machine which remedies the above objections. The abrading wheel is provided with specially formed vanes which impart a high speed to the abrading wheel. The vanes further operate to discharge wash water against the articles being treated after the pressure of the water .has been imparted to the wheel. In other words, it is .un necessary to divert incoming water directlyto be employed as wash water since my machine is designed yto first take advantage `of the pressure thereof for driving the wheel.

A further object of this invention `is to provide improved formation of the bowl which holds the vegetables or other articles. To this end, the sides of the bowl are likewise formed to effect a scraping or cleaning action. Thus, the .sides of the bowl are formed with grooves in the shape of saw-teeth which help scrape the articles. These saw-teeth are furthermore self-cleaning in that they are vertical so as to permit wash water to run down them without hindrance and thus clear them of scrapings or peelings.

The invention will be further understood from the following description and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse, cross-sectional view of the machine as taken across the line 1 1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view as taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and being further partly broken away to illustrate details of construction;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken along the line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View as taken along the line 4-4 .of Figure 1; and

Figure `5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional viewillustrating the connection off the upper bowl to the lower bowl.

nited States Patent 0 2,813,376 Patented Nov. 19, 1957 ICC The lmachine comprises a vegetable receiving chamber formed by the ixed lower bowl 10 and thel removable upper bowl '11 which are intersecured at their respective peripheries to form a completely enclosed chamber. Upper bowl or cover 11 is formed with a bottom peripheral lip or rim 12 provided with Va plurality of downwardly depending bayonet projections 13 which interlock with bayonet slots 14 formed on the peripheral rim 15 of the lower bowl 10. Slots 14 have an overhand 16 so that projections 13 are slipped into slots 14 and the bowl 11 rotated slightly luntil the projections `13' are fully seated so as to intersecure the bowls. Of course, the bayonet connection described is vlargely conventional and any known means such as interlocking snap projections or complementary annular threads on lthe bowl rims may be employed.

Upper bowl 11 is provided throughout its inner surface with longitudinal vertical grooves 17 defined by saw-teeth as illustrated in Figure 4. `Saw-teeth grooves 17 have sharp leading edges which face the direction of rotation of the abrading disc as will hereinafter be described. Bowl 11 is further formed with an embossed ring 18 by which the lbowl may be rendered stable in an inverted position so that it may be used simply as a bowl apart from the apparatus.

Lower bowl 10 is integral with the base 19 and it is similarly formed with vertical grooves 20 in saw-tooth form. As will be described hereinafter, grooves 1'7 and 20 assist in the scraping or peeling action. For this purpose, the bowls may be fabricated of high impact polystyrene plastic.

Base 19 is annular and formed with channel-shaped spider arms 21, three sucharrns being shown. Each arm is formed with an opening 22 for supporting a suction cup 23. Each arm is further formed with an inward opening 24 so as to drain away any water which flows on such arms.

At the central or inward junction of arms 21 is formed upwardly extending hollow 'boss 25. A brass or Phosphor bronze bushing 26 is secured therein. A suggested method of accomplising this is `to form the bushing with outer knurling and insert it into the boss 25 while the plastic is hot. Thereafter the plastic shrinks and rmly grasps the bushing 26. This bushing serves as a bearing as will hereinafter be described. Base 19 is also formed with .an integral laterally disposed water inlet conduit 27 which receives the water pipe 28. As shown in Fig ure l, conduit 27 is best formed with a slight upward disposition or tilt of from two to five degrees. Accordingly, water is introduced in a slightly upward direction to compensate for its tendency to drop through gravitational forces. Further, this feature assists in the bowl washing action as will be later described.

The abrading disc 30 may also be formed of high irnpact plastic and it functions .as the door of the lower bowl. It takes the form vof a water wheel driven by the pressure of .the water introduced `through pipe 23. It is formed with a central hub 31 to which is secured the upper end of .a shaft 32. Shaft 32 is preferably of meta-l such as steel. A suggested method of securing the shaft to the hub is to .knurl the upper end of shaft 32 and insert it,.preferably while the `hub 31 is hot, forceably into the opening thereof. The :lower end of shaft 32 is reduced in diameter relative to the upper end and it is smooth peripherally so as Lto rotate easily in bearing bushing 26. The upper end of lshaft 32 rests upon the bushing 26.

Disc 30 is Afor-meri with a vdownwardly depending annular rib 33 .on its underside. From `such annular rib 33 extends a .series .of annularly arranged vanes which are V-shaped .in horizontal cross-section. .Each vane ris formed by two angularly related walls which depend downwardly from the underside of the disc. Thus, wall 342 projects tangentially from annular rib 33 up to the center of the annular space betweeen rib 33 and base 19, and the other wall 35, forming the V, returns at an angle of about 100 to wall 34 toward the inner surface of base 19. As shown herein, about 12 such V-shaped vanes are provided spaced about 1% apart although obviously this number and spacing may be increased or decreased as desired.

An important feature of this invention is the provision of holes 36 in the abrading disc 30 which holes are disposed within the included angle of each V-shaped vane and adjacent to the apex thereof as illustrated in Figures l and 2. The purpose thereof is to introduce water from the underside of the abrading disc to the upper side thereof so as to assist in the cleaning of the vegetables. Such wash water also helps clean the sides of the bowls and washes away the peelings.

The upper surface of abrading disc 30 is coated with abrasive quartz or other material such as silicon carbide. This abrasive material may be simply cemented to the upper surface of the disc by a conventional waterproof cement. However, any desirable abrading surface may be employed.

This invention is practiced in the following manner:

The potatoes or other articles are loaded into the lower bowl 10. The remote end of pipe 28 is connected to a water faucet which supplies water under pressure such as the normal city pressure. When the water is turned on it will flow through pipe 2S and conduit 27 as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2 and it will impinge with force on the inner Walls of the V-shaped vanes comprised of arms 34 and 35. This will cause the abrading wheel 30 to rotate, the lower end of shaft 32 rotating within the bushing 26. The speed of rotation will be considerable depending upon the water pressure and inversely with the load. However, the load will have less effect by virtue of the water which will be introduced to the top of the disc 30 as will hereinafter be described. Such water acts somewhat as a lubricant so that the potatoes will tumble more easily and will not tend to bind either against themselves or against the sides of the bowl.

As the water strikes the inner walls of each vane as the disc rotates, it imparts its force to such vanes and then tends to flow into holes 36 and to the top of the abrading disc. The water becomes very turbulent and it is sprayed with considerable velocity around the potatoes as Well as around the insides of both bowls. It will be observed that the water is not thus introduced into the bowls until the pressure or force thereof is substan- 7 tially completely imparted to the V-shaped vanes. In other words, substantially no force or pressure is lost in supplying the wash water to the bowls. This action thus makes possible the utilization of minimum pressures for rotating the disc since no pressure is required to be diverted for washing the vegetables. However, another important factor in assuring high speed to the disc with minimum pressures is the rear formation of the V-shaped vanes which, of course, is in inverted V-shape. Thus, rear apices 41. of the vanes act as the prows of a ship in forcing its way through accumulated water. It will be understood that the spaces between the vanes become rapidly filled up with water particularly in the vicinity contiguous to conduit 27. Such water offers an impediment of speed of rotation but the apices 41 streamline the rear surfaces of the vanes and cut through such water with a minimum of resistance. Obviously, the holes 36 also function to clear the vanes of water but they do not act fast enough wherefore the apices 41 are required to slice through accumulated water.

Because of the complete utilization of the water pressure, the abrading disc will rotate rapidly and will clean the vegetables thoroughly and expeditiously. At the same time, more vegetables can be accommodated because of the improved action. It has been found that the sides of the bowl in saw-tooth formation, also are of value in scraping the vegetables. It will be observed in Figure 2 that, as shown, the abrading wheel 3i) rotates in a clockwise direction. Accordingly, the potatoes will also be impelled in a clockwise direction. With this in mind, l have arranged the vertical grooves 17 and 20 with their saw-tooth edges inclined toward the direction of rotation. Thus, in Figure 3 the arrow 45 designates the direction that the potatoes are impelled. The straight side 46 of saw-teeth grooves 20 face in the direction of rotation so that the potatoes strike the sharp edges of the grooves with considerable force. This further scrapes and cleans the potatoes. It will be observed that since the grooves 1'7 and 20 are Vertical, the wash water will simply flow down them so as to clean away scraped skins.

Grooves i7 face the same way as grooves 2t). It may also be observed that the upward tilting of conduit 27 is useful in directing water toward and into the holes .'56 so as to assist in the washing action.

While I have shown and described what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as shown in the appended claims. Further, I have emphasized the utility of the machine for potatoes or other vegetables but it is also useful for fruits or for treating various articles such as metal, plastic or wooden parts as indicated above.

What is claimed is:

l. An abrading machine comprising a bowl, an abrading disc rotatably mounted therein, a series of annularly arranged vanes on the underside of the disc, said vanes being V-shaped in horizontal cross-section and formed from two angularly related walls depending downwardly from said underside, said disc being formed with holes disposed adjacent the apices of said V-shaped vanes and communicating with the included angle of said vanes, and an upwardly tilted conduit for directing a stream of water under pressure upwardly within the included angle of said vanes whereby said water will actuate said disc and will also flow through said holes to the upper side of said disc.

2. An abrading machine comprising a bowl, an abrading disc rotatably mounted therein, a series of annularly arranged vanes on the underside of the disc, said vanes being V-shaped in horizontal cross-section and formed from two angularly related walls depending downwardly from said underside, and means to direct a stream of water within the included angle of said vanes so as to import rotation to said disc, said disc being formed with holes disposed adjacent the apices of said V-shaped vanes and directly communicating with said vanes whereby water will flow from said vanes through said holes to the upper side of said disc.

3. An abrading machine according to claim 2 and including an upper bowl, and locking means for securing said upper bowl to said lower bowl, said upper bowl being formed with longitudinal vertical grooves on its inner surface.

4. An abrading machine comprising upper and lower bowls connectable to each other to form a substantially fully enclosed chamber, a base on said lower bowl, an abrading disc rotatably mounted in said base and having a top abrading surface which constitutes the floor of said lower bowl, an annular rib integrally depending from said abrading disc, a series of V-shaped vanes integrally formed with said abrading disc and said rib, each of said vanes comprising a first wall extending tangentially outwardly from said rib and a second wall extending from said first wall in a return direction and at an angle therewith so as to impart rotation to said disc, said disc being formed with holes disposed adjacent the apices of said V-shaped vanes and communicating with said included angle of said vanes so that a portion of said stream of water may be diverted from said vanes upwardly and into said lower bowl.

References Cited in the le of this patent 6 Johnston May 17, 1938 Mayer June 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS IGreat Britain Nov. 9, 1948

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