STONE SPLITTING COMPLEX Russian patent published in 1997 - IPC

FIELD: food-processing industry, in particular, reprocessing of apricot, peach, plum stones. SUBSTANCE: fruit stone splitting complex has charging hopper, gage and lines, with number of lines being equal to number of gaged fractions. Each line has auger-type conveyor enclosed in housing, piece-by-piece distributing device formed as height restrictor, orienting device, splitting device and discharge tray. Height restrictor is formed as diffusion portion of housing. Orienting device is defined by auger coil channel, with width of coil decreasing and depth of coil increasing in the course of advancement of material. Splitting device is formed as confuser member fixed on housing in axial alignment with auger above its last but one coil. EFFECT: increased efficiency, simplified construction and enhanced reliability in operation. 2 cl, 2 dwg