BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The present invention relates to an apparatus for extracting juice and pulp from fruit or vegetables.

It is desirable to enhance the yield in the extraction of juice and pulp from fruit or vegetables.

According to a first aspect, a first apparatus is provided for extracting juice and pulp from fruit or vegetables in order to obtain a flowable mass, such as juice or puree, comprising:

a receptacle;

a cylindrical strainer located within said receptacle and rotatable about its axis of symmetry, said cylindrical strainer having a bottom and a perforated side wall;

a motor unit for rotating said cylindrical strainer about its axis of symmetry;

an inlet unit for introducing fruit or vegetables into said strainer;

an outlet unit for collecting flowable mass from said receptacle, characterized in that the apparatus further comprises

a flexible element located within said strainer and urged against the inside surface of said perforated side wall.

According to a second aspect, an apparatus is provided for extracting juice and pulp from citrus fruit, comprising:

a receptacle;

a strainer, preferably having a cylindrical shape, located within said receptacle and rotatable about a strainer axis, said strainer having a bottom and a perforated side wall;

a citrus mill rotatable about a citrus mill axis, said citrus mill having a citrus mill dome provided with protrusions, preferably ribs, at its outer surface;

a motor unit for rotating said strainer about said strainer axis and for rotating said citrus mill about said citrus mill axis;

an outlet for collecting juice and pulp from said receptacle, characterized in that

said citrus mill is located within said strainer;

said strainer is rotatably driven via a strainer power train operatively connected between said motor unit and said strainer;

said citrus mill is rotatably driven via a citrus mill power train operatively connected between said motor unit and said citrus mill.

The first apparatus and the second apparatus can be transformed into each other by exchanging their respective extraction units.

The extraction unit of the first apparatus includes

the cylindrical strainer located within the receptacle and rotatable about its axis of symmetry by the motor unit, said cylindrical strainer having a bottom and a perforated side wall; wherein

the flexible element located within the strainer and urged against the inside surface of the perforated side wall.

The extraction unit of the second apparatus includes

the strainer located within the receptacle and rotatable about the strainer axis by the motor unit, said strainer having a bottom and a perforated side wall;

the citrus mill rotatable about the citrus mill axis by the motor unit, said citrus mill having a citrus mill dome provided with protrusions, preferably ribs, at its outer surface; wherein

said citrus mill is located within said strainer;

said strainer is rotatably driven via a strainer power train operatively connected between the motor unit and the strainer;

said citrus mill is rotatably driven via a citrus mill power train operatively connected between the motor unit and the citrus mill.

It is a further object of the present invention to prevent dripping of juice and pulp from the outlet of the apparatus.

According to a third aspect, an apparatus is provided for processing fruit or vegetables in order to obtain a flowable mass, such as juice or puree, comprising:

a receptacle;

an extraction unit for mechanically extracting juice and pulp from said fruit or vegetables, said unit being located within said receptacle for discharging said juice and pulp into said receptacle;

a motor unit drivingly connected to said extraction unit;

an outlet unit for collecting flowable mass from said receptacle,

characterized in that said outlet unit comprises:

a spout duct associated to an opening at the bottom of said receptacle; and

a valve element for opening and closing said opening;

said spout duct and said valve element being coupled to each other (“spout operated valve”);

said spout duct being pivotably supported about a horizontal axis and having an inner duct portion extending underneath said opening and an outer duct portion protruding from said apparatus;

said pivotable spout duct being pivotable between a first position where said spout duct forms a downward slope from its inner duct portion to its outer duct portion and where said valve element is in its opened position, and a second position where said spout duct forms an upward slope from its inner duct portion to its outer duct portion and where said valve element is in its closed position.

