DESIGN OF CONCEPTUAL CITRUS FRUIT JUICER FOR HAWKERS IN INDIA

Raghunath D1, Prakash V Unakal2, Gopinath C 3 1-M.Sc. [Engg.] Student, 2-Professor, 3- Professor, Department of Design M.S.Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies, Bangalore

Abstract
Healthy diet plays an important role in maintaining good health. Fruits and vegetables are naturally available resources and healthy food supplements for human consumption. In developing countries like India, street vendors supplies fruit juices for low and middle class people at affordable price. Due to economic growth and changing lifestyle there is an increase in consumption of fruit juice in India. Consequently, there is a need to provide a hygienic street vended fruit juice which satisfies both consumer and hawkers. There is a lot of scope to introduce a manual juicer which is safe to drink and easy to maintain. Data collection was carried out by various research methods and analyzed. It was seen that there is increase in juice consumption in India as people are more health conscious. Auger type juicer is highly efficient and as high nutritional value from extracted juice when compared to other type of juicer. From user study it was concluded that periodic cleaning of juicer was of prime importance in maintaining hygiene, as fermentation starts after two hours if juicer is not used continuously. Due to complex product structure the user hesitates to clean the juicer during the day and it takes long time for cleaning the juicer. Dust and debris are the main contaminants on the collected juice as it is placed in an open environment. From the identified needs QFD was developed and the main priorities should considered are mechanism, material, ergonomics and form. From the QFD, Product Design Specification (PDS) was made. Concepts were generated by solving issues like cleaning, hygienic, assembly and disassembly. Final concept was selected using Pugh selection method by evaluating all the concepts with datum product. A 1:1 mock up model had been made to validate the concept and feedback was collected from users. From simulation, the proposed concept mock- up was found to have saving of over 50% time for cleaning compared to conventional juicer. It is thus surmised that the proposed concept is likely to be a superior substitute for the existing ones in terms of maintenance and hygienic issues. Keywords: Citrus Juicer, Manual Juicer, Commercial Juicer, Hawkers, Citrus Juice, Hygiene

Nomenclatur e
Kg mm Kilogram millimeter weight Length

Abbreviations CAD PC PDS Specifications QFD Deployment Computer Aided Design Polycarbonate Product Design Quality Function

1.

INTRODUCTION

Fruits and vegetables are rich source of vitamins, proteins, minerals and fibres. There are vast benefits of consuming raw fruits and vegetables. Fruit juice cleanses and nourishes our body and also acts as thirst quencher. Juicing is an activity which separates liquid from fibre part of the fruit. History of extracting juice from fruits and vegetables is older than agriculture. In olden days people manually squeeze the fruit with help of hand for extracting juice from fruits. Solid food particle are difficult to digest and absorb by human body when compared to liquid food. Fruit juices provide instant energy to our body. Due to changing lifestyle, people prefer fruit juice rather than raw fruit as it takes time to peel and chew the fruit. 1.1 Citrus Juicer Citrus fruit cant efficiently extract juice from conventional juicer (ordinary juicer). Citrus fruit requires a dedicated juicing machine as the flesh is soft and outer SAS

peel has bitter taste and contains some indigestible chemicals. Citrus juicer is special juicer used for extracting juice from fruit like orange, sweet lime, lime and lemon. Solid fruits like apple, pineapple cant be efficiently extract juice from citrus juicer. Reamer is the conventional manual citrus juicer. The common method of extracting juice from citrus fruit is to cut fruit into half and then by using a reamer or press for extraction. Due to technology advancement different types of advanced citrus juice are available in the market. Juicers are categorized into two they are household and commercial juicer. As juicing gains popularity in India due to increase in health conscious among people house hold juicers is well developed in terms of usability, aesthetics and maintenance. Less attention is paid towards small juicer used by hawkers. Commercial juicers are used in hotel, cafes, restaurant, juice shop, street vendors etc. 1.2 Street Vendors Street vendors are providing juice at affordable price to most sector of the people in India. They sell fruits, juices, vegetables, snacks, etc and it varies according to traditions of the place. Street vending is popular in urban and sub urban areas. As India is a developing country, many people afford to consume juice offered by street vendors. Street vending provides employment opportunity to many people to live their daily life. Citrus juice is selling by street vendor at affordable price. But few people hesitate to drink due to lack of facilities and unhygienic conditions

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2.

DESIGN METHODOLOGY

A systematic design methodology is followed to achieve reliable and most suitable solution. It involves the following steps. Journals and patent research Market study and user(GEMBA)survey Bench marking QFD matrix PDS Concept generation and selection Final concept refinement physical modeling and validation

3.

LITURATURE REVIEW

Journal papers and patents explored here are related directly or indirectly to the proposed area of work that is design of a Citrus fruit juicer. These papers are to support and enlighten the whole process of design in the specific area.

3.1 Citrus Fruit Extraction Method

This article focusing on citrus juice extraction methods, as extraction method is a major area to be focused to make a hygienic and efficient juicer. Brown Method In this method the fruit is cut into half and squeeze against the reamer to extract the juice. Juice cant be fully extracted from the citrus fruit [1]. In line method In this method, machine has upper and lower cup. The fruit is fed on to the lower cup and the upper cup moves down and encloses the fruit for extraction. The upper cup has finger like structure in order to prevent the fruit from bursting. Upper and lower knife cut the plug to separate the peel from the inner flesh portion of the fruit. The upper cup starts exerting pressure on the fruit to move the inner flesh portion into the strainer via the bottom plug. The orifice tube moves upward tends to press the inner portion of the fruit in the strainer tube. Due to the pressure the juice is extracted from the inner portion of the fruit [1].

Fig. 1 In line method [1]

3.3 Role of Extraction Method

Extraction method plays important role in maintaining the nutrition content of the juice. To get full nutrition benefits of juice it must be consumed soon after extracting from the fruit. Vitamin C [ascorbic acid] is main constituent in citrus fruit and help in maintaining the shelf life of the juice. Ascorbic acid in citrus fruit is unstable and decomposes with heat, light, time and oxygen. After few hours fermentation starts and results in juice turns more acidic and stale taste. Pasteurization is the technique followed to increase the shelf life of the juice. [1]

3.4 Street Vended Food

Consumption of food from street vendor is increased in recent years in India and getting popular among educated and rich people. This is due to increase in population. Ensuring food safety is important factor for street vendor. Most of the illnesses are caused due to unhygienic food. Most of the unhygienic conditions are due to uncovering the prepared food, improper wash area, as people wash their hands next to the cart area, open dust bin which attracts flies, cleaning of plates and glasses in unclean water and water used for preparing the food. Many people are aware of these issues but they consume because of hunger, thirst and economic status. Even though some vendor prepare under hygienic conditions, the food get contaminated due to poor handling of food. Availability of good water is main factor for maintaining hygienic condition. Creating awareness among public regarding hygienic condition through media can increase the awareness among public and vendors [3].

3.2 Extraction Type

Juice from citrus fruit can be extracted by two methods. Citrus water and total citrus fruit method. In citrus water, outer skin and white layer is removed which results in watery. As white layer is rich in vitamin P, there is a huge nutrient loss in this method. In total citrus fruit, outer peel is removed and juice is extracted with white layer which results in thick and creamier juice. It requires citrus juicer and cant extract by conventional juicer [2].

3.5 Ergonomic Aspects of Hand Wheel Turning

This article gives an overview of the ergonomic factors need to be considered while operating hand wheel.

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Ergonomic Concerns in Design of Hand Wheel Hand wheel placement height, orientation Turning radius increase in radius reduce the effort Handles diameter, length, material and texture Grip strength power grip The result shows that people prefer 8 & 12 inch diameter for low force settings and 16 inch is preferred for high force [4]. 3.6 Citrus Ripening Season There are different families of sweet lime available in India and each variety has different harvesting and ripening season which makes fruit available throughout the year. Orange is a seasonal fruit and its produced between September and May. Lime available throughout the year, but maximize its availability in June and August [5]. 3.7 Structure of Citrus Fruit Citrus fruit has an outer rind. White pith is inside the outer rind which is rich in vitamin P. After the white pith, fruit segment contain juice sacs and seeds [6].

Fig. 3 Press type juicer [7-10] 4.2 Auger Type Juicer In single auger type juicer it uses total citrus fruit extraction type. It has an auger in which the fruit is crushed against the wall by rotating the auger screw. It is available in various sizes. Advantages are the resultant juice will be creamier and rich in nutritional content. It can efficiently extract juice from the fruit and yield more when compared to press type juicer. No bitter taste. As yield is more this type of juicer can be suitable for commercial market. Main disadvantage is difficult to maintain.

Fig. 4 Single auger juicer [11-13]

4.3 Bench Marking

By studying the various available commercial juicers, single auger citrus fruit juicer is suitable for commercial purpose due to its high yield capacity. Kalsi is most selling juicer brand in this category. This is the best juicer in terms of quality when compared to other brands. So this juicer is chosen as competitive bench marking product. Its specification are listed below

Fig. 2 Structure of citrus fruit [6]

4.

TYPES OF COMMERCIAL CITRUS JUICER

There are two different types of commercial citrus juicer. They are press type juicer and single auger juicer. These types of juicer are available for both household and commercial purpose. 4.1 Press Type Juicer In press type it uses brown method for extracting juice from the fruit. It has a lever mechanism for pressing the fruit against the reamer for extracting the juice. It is available in various sizes. Advantage are easy to maintain, compact and reliable. Main disadvantage are its less efficient and while extracting juice it extracts peel oil which results in bitter taste.

Fig. 5 Bench marked product [9]

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Extraction method Number of auger Mode Strainer

Total citrus fruit method 1 Manual Stainless steel

5.

PRODUCT STUDY

Fig. 7 Working principle of auger juicer

6.

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

6.1 GEMBA Study and User Survey GEMBA Study was conducted to understand the citrus juicer usage and to identify the problems faced by the user. Users included street hawkers selling citrus juice. Fig.8 shows the photos taken during the GEMBA study. Fig. 6 Different parts of auger juicer Auger screw - Auger screw is conical in shape, which is supported by face plate fixed on the outer body and screw for fixing the crank. Auger screw has spiral thread like structure as shown in fig. 6 in which the gap between the spiral thread is decreasing in order to squeeze the fruit efficiently. Waste Control Fly Bolt -Waste control fly bolt is used to control the amount of waste ejection. If the adjustment rod is fully closed, as the screw rotates the seeds in the fruit starts crushing which produce bitter taste. Also increases the effort of operator. If the adjustment rod is fully opened, some quantity of juice will not extract from the fibre and reduces the effort of operator. Face plate - Face plate is used to support the worm shaft and to arrest the horizontal movement of worm shaft. 5.1 Working Principle of Single Auger Juicer Peeled fruit is inserted into the hopper. Crank is rotated and with help of plunger a reasonable amount of pressure is exerted in order to press the fruit against the auger screw. As the auger screw is rotated the fruit is squeezed gradually by the spiral arrangement on the auger screw as shown in fig. 7. The worm shaft moves the pulp along and press against the strainer to extract juice. There is no heat and oxidation takes place as it is rotated in slow speed. The white pith on the orange or sweet lime while squeezing, form a fibrous structure which made to move along with the worm shaft. At the end the waste fibre is ejected and controlled by waste control fly bolt. Strainer is used to filter the seed and the waste fibre while squeezing.

Fig. 8 User study Main observations from GEMBA study are User has to clean the machine if not used for more than 2 hours, as fermentation starts in the fibre struck in between the auger screw. Difficulties in cleaning the machine in between the day Difficulty in assembling the face plate Seven screws require assembling and disassembling the juicer. Machine is too bulky, cant be cleaned easily. Dust accumulation on juicer and juice collecting vessel. 15-20 minutes require for cleaning the machine. No proper grip in handle. Lack of appearance 6.2 Design Opportunity Design can intervene at Cleaning the juicer Assembling and disassembling the juicer Hygienic of the juicer

6.3 Study of Technical Voices- Findings from QFD Technical voices from QFD are listed below. These were studied and incorporated while concept ideation stage. Mechanism- easy to clean and assemble is considered Volume 10, Issue 2, Sep 2011

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Ergonomics- Placement of juicer (height), Handle diameter, holding postures and weight of the juicer are considered Material - this contribute to the weight, hygiene and appearance of the juicer Form - this contribute to appearance of the juicer Product structure this contributes to assembling and disassembling of the juicer Size easy to carry, reachability are considered Product design specification (PDS) is arrived from the QFD. 6.4 Ergonomic Details All dimensions are considered according to Indian anthropometric data Dimensions considered for handle, height from ground to base of the juicer are shown in below fig 9.

7.2 Concept 1

Mechanism h i

Fig. 10 Concept 1 In this concept new mechanism housing as shown in fig. 10 enables the user to clean the juicer quickly. Mechanism housing has upper and lower casing and auger screw placed in between. A step at the end is provided in order to prevent the leakage of juice. Flange on the upper and bottom casing end is used to provide rotational axis and to arrest the horizontal movement of the auger screw. After assembling the mechanism housing it is inserted on to the mounting base and the hole on flange and mechanism housing gets aligned. Then the whole unit is inserted on to the screw fixed on the cart with help of bolts. Finally crank is press fit on to auger screw slot. Important features are Two bolts require to assemble and disassemble the juicer Separate mechanism housing Easy to clean Press fitted crank

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 9 Palm, grip and elbow dimensions [14] a = 111mm (95th percentile) - Hand breadth b = 35mm (power grip) - Handle diameter c = 1039mm (50th percentile) - Elbow height [15] Calculation of preferred Height to Place the Juicer Juicer should be placed in correct height in order to prevent improper body posture. Height of the juicer auger screw centre to ground = 1039 mm Average collecting vessel height = 250 mm (max) Height from ground to base of the juicer = 1039 250 = 789 mm Apart from the dimensions, other parameters are taken care to improve the ergonomic aspect are given below Weight of the juicer Decrease awkward body postures while assembling and disassembling the juicer

Fig. 11 Assembly sequence of concept 1 7.3 Concept 2 In this concept separate mechanism housing is used. After assembling the mechanism housing, it is inserted in to the rectangular base frame. The mechanism housing has a threaded hole on the top for fixing with the help of screw to arrest the horizontal movement of the mechanism housing. Finally the crank is press fit on to the auger screw slot. The hopper is made up of polycarbonate material is fixed on the top of the rectangular frame. PC sheet is used to cover the front portion of the rectangular frame. No need of disassembling the whole juicer for cleaning. Mechanism housing can be taken out for cleaning in between the day.

7.

CONCEPT GENERATION

Based on Product Design Specification concepts are generated using mind mapping tool. 7.1 Mind Mapping The juicer is classified in to main body, mounting, handle, dust protection, mechanism, cleaning and cost. Each parameter is further classified to explore more ideas.

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Mechanism housing Transparent cover

Upper casing Auger screw

Fig. 12 Concept 2 The main highlights of this concept are Easy to clean One screw for assembling and disassembling the juicer No tool requires. Peeled fruits can store on the rectangular frame to prevent dust accumulation on peeled fruits. Metaphor Bottom casing Fig. 15 Assembly sequence of concept 3

7.5 Concept 4

Fig. 13 Assembly sequence of concept 2 7.4 Concept 3

Fig. 16 Concept 4

Upper Casing

Auger screw PC cover

Bottom casing Fig. 14 Concept 3 In this concept the bottom casing of mechanism housing is integrated into support legs for fixing the juicer on to the cart. Crank is integrated into auger screw. The assembly procedure starts with fixing the bottom casing on to the cart. Then the auger screw integrated with the crank is placed on the flange at end of bottom casing for arresting the horizontal movement. Finally upper casing is fixed with the bottom casing with help of fly bolt. Transparent PC sheet are snap fit to the bottom casing. Main features of concept are, Hollow support to reduce the weight of juicer Two screws to assemble and disassemble Transparent PC sheet to improve aesthetics of juicer Easy to clean Sleek and stylish

Fig. 17 Assembly sequence of concept 4 This concept is developed by taking conch shell as metaphor. It represents purity, nature and emotionally connected to Indians. This concept has upper and lower casing. The lower casing is fixed to the cart with bolts. Then the strainer is placed on the provision provided on the bottom casing. The auger screw integrated with crank is placed on the bottom casing and finally the upper casing is placed on the lower casing and fixed with help of flybolts. Two plastic portions are provided on two sides of the lower casing to improve the appearance and attract the people. It is snap fitted on to the lower casing. The form is designed such that the juice is flowing from the conch shell, which conveys it is pure without any ingredients, fresh and clean.

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Main highlight of concept-4 are Easy to clean Stylish Two fly bolts require assembling and

Transparent juice collector makes the user to feel the freshness and purity of juice. Stainless steel frame

disassembling the juicer. Form represents purity and fresh

7.6 Concept 5
Fig. 20 Juice collecting chamber Flexible

Fig. 18 Concept 5 In this concept the juice collecting chamber is designed separately with Polycarbonate. Juice is collected at the centre. This concept has two triangular supports which has a base for fixing to the cart. Support A has a hole on top for fixing the mechanism housing firmly. The assembly procedure starts with assembling the juice collector on to the supports then inserts the mechanism housing in to the triangular support. Then transparent cover and mechanism housing is fixed with help of screw. Juice collector is not integrated with the mechanism housing. Finally the crank is assembled to the auger screw with press fit. The transparent portion extends up to the bottom as shown in fig 18 to prevent the dust accumulation. An additional flexible transparent sheet is used for covering front side of the juicer when not in use. While operating the juicer the user has to hook the PC sheet on the hook provided. Hopper for feeding fruits is integrated with the transparent plastic portion. Fig. 21 Flexible cover in closed and open condition

7.7 Concept Evaluation and Selection

The generated concepts were compared and studied using Pugh method with the bench marked product. Concept 5 was selected as the final concept and it was verified with user opinion. The selected concept is modeled using CATIA and rendered in Hyper shot for visualization.

Fig. 19 Assembly sequence of concept 5 Juice collecting chamber is a conical shape with bottom slopes towards other side from both the ends forming a receptacle. The direction of juice flow is as shown in fig 20. Template is provided to avoid misalignment between supports while installing the juicer. Main highlights of the concept are One screw for assembling and disassembling the juicer No tools required Hygienic Stylish

Fig. 22 Final concept

7.8 Ergonomic Model

1:1 scale Ergonomic model was done to analyze the body posture, dimensions and placement of juicer (height). Study was conducted among 7 users. From study it is found that there is enough space for placing and accessing the juice collecting vessel. Handle diameter for comfortable holding were analyzed and considered as 35mm. Overall length, height and width of the juicer are within reachable zone. Hand is straight to the center axis of the juicer. Height at which he juicer is placed is comfortable for most of the people. Mechanism housing can be easily removed and inserted in to the supports easily. Fixing of transparent cover can be easily done

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without any difficulties. Fig 23 shows the various posture of the user.

Hand straight to center axis of juicer Overall dimensions are within reachability

Juicer has comfortable handle, easy to clean and good appearance

Enough clearance for placing glass and large collecting vessel. Fig. 25 Validation of product with user Separate mechanism housing enable to clean the juicer on the cart and takes less time Quick and easy to clean during the day as it has only one screw without any tool Form is good and attractive The final product fulfils the requirement of the hawkers and consumers in terms of maintenance, appearance and hygienic.

Posture of hand while rotating the crank Fig. 23 Postural study

7.9 Mock-up Model for Selected Concept

A 1:1 Mock-up model is developed in MDF wood and sprays painted to validate the concept. Fig.24 shows the dimensional drawing and mock-up model of the final concept. 4

9.

SUMMARY

Throughout the study a systematic approach has been followed to arrive at a reliable and most competent solution. From the research methods various issues like cleaning, assembling and disassembling were identified. From the identified areas, cleaning, assembling, disassembling, hygiene and appearance issues were prioritized by QFD. PDS was made based on user requirements. Different concepts were generated by PDS using mind mapping technique to solve the above mentioned issues. Digital modeling was done for better visualization. Final concept was selected using Pugh selection matrix by evaluating the concepts with datum product. A 1:1 mock up was made to validate the final concept. From simulation, the proposed concept mock- up was found to have saving of over 50% time for cleaning compared to conventional juicer. It is thus surmised that the product concept is likely to be a superior substitute for the existing ones in terms of maintenance and hygienic issues.

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10. REFERENCES Fig. 24 Concept 8. VALIDATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The product has better grip which makes it more comfortable while operating. Transparent cover protect juicer and juice collecting vessel from dust particles Transparent juice collecting chamber is attractive. Easy to place the large collecting vessel and peeled fruits. [1] Bates, R .P. and Morris, J .P., Principle and Practice of small and medium scale fruit juice processing, FAO Agricultural servive bulletin, Rome 2001. [2] John Kohler., Types of Citrus fruit extraction, www.discountjuicer.com, 08-10-2010. [3] S, Ahmed P., S, Lahiry., M, Shahjahan., Hygienic Practice and Consumption of Street Food among Inhabitants in Selected Locations of Dhaka City, Sub journal of public health, Vol. 2, Number 1, January June 2009. [4] Glen West., Donald S. Bloswick., Biomechanical and Psychophysical aspects of Handwheel turning, University of Utah. [5] Milind S. Ladaniya., Citrus fruit , Biology, Technology and Evaluation, Acadamic press, 2008. [6] Structure of citrus fruit, www.visual.merriamwebster.com, Retrieved on 10th Nov, 2010. 119 Volume 10, Issue 2, Sep 2011

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[7] Unknown, Press type juicer, www.discountjuicer.com, retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [8] Unknown, Manual Press type juicer, www.alatest.co.uk, retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [9] Unknown, Manual citrus juicer, www.basantappliances.com, Retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [10] Unknown, Manual press type juicer, www.metrokane.com, Retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [11] Unknown, Manual single auger type juicer, www. basantappliances.com, Retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [12] Unknown, Single auger type juicer, www.kalsiproducts.com, Retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [13] Unknown, Manual single auger juicer, www.indiamart.com, Retrieved on 15th Nov, 2010. [14] Debkumar Chakrabarti, Indian Anthropometric Dimensions for Ergonomic Design Practice, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, 1999. [15] Sarah, Factors in ergonomic hand tool design, www.malcodesignanddeliverygroup.wordpress. com, retrieved on 7th Dec. 2010.

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