NZ226838A

NZ226838A - Cheese making machine

Info

Publication number: NZ226838A
Application number: NZ226838A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Hubert Bertsch
Original assignee: Josep Bertsch Gmbh & Co Kessel
Priority date: 1987-11-04
Filing date: 1988-11-04
Publication date: 1991-05-28
Also published as: DE3868008D1; EP0315623A1; ATA291987A; DK102790A; YU204288A; ATE71796T1; EP0315623B1; DK102790D0; PT88947B; RU1774844C; AT387687B; AU2605588A; ES2029351T3; PT88947A; WO1989004116A1

Abstract

A cheese basin has a container (2) which delimits a receiving space (1) for the milk product. The container (2) comprises a wall composed of two partial cylindrical halves and a bottom (6) which extends downward from the wall. Said bottom also consists of two halves which meet in the transverse median plane of the container and are each provided with an outlet (7). In each container half, a vertical stirring and cutting blade (4) rotates and scrapes the associated sections of the container wall and the bottom, and is mounted in a container upper section (3). Each half of the container bottom has a section (6') which merges into the vertical container wall (2') and is concave with respect to the receiving space and a flat section (6'') connected to said concave section. The flat sections of the bottom halves have an essentially circular contour and meet in a transverse median plane of the container (2). The outlet in each flat section is arranged eccentrically with respect to the axis of rotation of the stirring and cutting blade (4).

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> 22 6 8 3 8 ¥ Priority Date(s): ... . 1A Complete Specification Filed: 11 .VVr1. Class: \ 3 2'8'M Publication Date: P.O. Journal,- No: N.Z. NO. NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CHEESE-MAKING MACHINE A*' * 4fl0\I®** let£ We, JOSEF BERTSCH GESELLSCHAFT m.b.H. & CO. KESSEL-UND MASCHINENFABRIK INDUSTRIEANLAGENBAU, an Austrian company of Herrengasse 23, A-6700 Bludenz, Vorarlberg, Austria, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement - 1 - (Followed by 1A) IA 226838 Wk, Cheese-Making Machine Thia invention concerns a cheese-making machine vith a vat forming a holding-space for the milk product. This vat has a wall consisting of tvo halves, each of which is a partial cylinder; it also has a bottom running downwards from the wall. This bottom likewise consists of two halves which meet along the vat's transverse mid-plane and which each have one outlet. In each half of the vat there is a vertical rotary stirring and cutting blade; these sweep the respective sections of the vat wall and of the bottom area, and they are mounted in bearings in the top part of the vat. 3 , >««*. SP-/C-0 133587, Cheese-making machines of this typejihave been proposed in which the bottom part of each half of the vat is designed as a section of a circular cone, with an outlet at its point. The main disadvantage with this design is that, in the region of the obtuse-angled transition between the bottom of the vat and the vat wall, the circulatory movement of the product when it is being moved against the vat wall by the stirring and cutting blades is rendered more difficult, particularly in an upwards direction. There is also the problem that, during emptying, because of the coincidence of the stirring-blade axis and the outlet axis, eddies are formed in the V outlet area, together with air vortices that flow through the outlet. Furthermore, because of the twin-coned bottom, uniform filling of the vat, which is performed from a particular point in the vat, cannot be achieved. Finally, the greatest static pressure during production occurs in the region of the point of the cone, and this results in irregular dispersion of the colloid. There is also the danger that lumps will be formed and that the outlet will get blocked because of the combination of higher static pressure and lower rate of circulation in the outlet area. The aim of the invention is to produce a cheese-making machine, of the kind described at the beginning, that avoids the above-described disadvantages of state-of-the-art designs, and offers good filling, emptying, and cleaning properties, optimal 22 6 8 circulation of the product in the vat, and avoidance of any disturbance in the outlet region. The cheese-making machine as per the invention distinguishes itself in that each half of the bottom of the vat has two sections: a section which is concavely curved relative to the holding-spaoe and which merges with the vertical wall part of the vat, and a planar section which merges with said curved section; the planar sections of the halves of the vat bottom are essentially circular in contour and adjoin each other at the transverse mid-plane of the vat; the outlet from each planar section is positioned eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the respective stirring and cutting blade. Because of the smooth transition between the vat wall and the bottom part, this design gives optimal circulation of product pressed against the vat wall; at the same time, if the vat wall is heated or cooled, better heat transfer is achieved. The gentleness with which the product is deflected results in less dust formation with the curds and whey mixture. The essentially shell-shaped bottom of the cheese-making machine as per the invention makes it possible to fill and empty the vat evenly. The eccentric arrangement of the outlet avoids any formation of eddies or air vortices during the emptying process. Furthermore, the outlet is protected from blockage because the respective stirring and cutting blade is constantly sweeping the outlet area. A further feature of the invention is that the concavely curved section of each half of the bottom, when viewed in a vertical section, consists of at least one arc but preferably two adjoining arcs, with the transition arc that merges with the vertical vat wall being smaller in diameter. In the vat design as per the invention, the essentially circular, planar sections of the two halves of the bottom are tangential to each other at the transverse mid-plane of the cheese-making machine, or overlap each other by a certain amount, likewise at the transverse mid-plane. In accordance with another feature of the invention, the vat is connected to the source of a pressure medium, so that the holding-space can be placed under positive pressure for the purpose of emptying it. By this means, mechanical feeding equipment such as 3 22 6 8 3 8 a vhey pump and/or a curds pump can be dispensed with; this enables the product to be treated gently and makes a predetermined vhey grain size possible, because there is no danger that the product vill be broken up by the feed equipment. This also has the advantage that the output rate can be infinitely adjusted. Examples of embodiments of the invention are described in detail below, vith reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a cheese making machine as per the invention; this is a section taken at line I-I in fig, 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of the empty vat of the cheese-making machine depicted in fig 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of a variant form of the vat of the the cheese-making machine. The cheese-making machine shown in fig. 1 has a vat 2 which forms the holding-space 1 for the milk product. This vat has wall parts 21, consisting of two partial cylinders. These wall parts 2* adjoin each other along a plane of symmetry, namely the transverse mid-plane X-X of the vat, as shown in the top view in fig. 2. The vat 2 is surrounded by an external casing 3 which is shaped like a race-track when viewed from above. Above the vat 2, the external casing 3 has an upward-tapering upper casing section 3*. In each half of the vat there is a stirring and cutting blade 4, which can rotate on a vertical axis that coincides with the axis of the respective circular cylinder. The stirring and cutting blades 4, together with their drive shafts 4', are mounted in a stirring-gear bridge 5 attached to the top section 3' of the casing. The bottom of the vat 2 likewise consists of 2 halves which adjoin each other along the transverse mid-plane X-X. The wall of each half of the bottom has a concave curved section 6* and a horizontal, planar lower section 6". The concave section 6' is formed by two adjoining arcs as shown in the sectional view in fig. 1. One arc, with a smaller radius Rl, merges with the cylindrical wall and is connected, via an arc of considerably larger radius R2, to the bottom section 6", which is straight when seen in a sectional view. The bottom sections 6" are circular; they are tangential to each other at the transverse mid-plane X-X, as shown in fig. 2, and are concentric to the partial-cylindrical vat vail 2'. In each circular, planar bottom section 6", there is an outlet 7 vith a 4 22 6 8 3 8 closure; this outlet is positioned eccentrically vith respect to the centre of the circle and to the axis of rotation of the stirring and cutting blade. The outer edge of each vertical stirring and cutting blades 4 runs parallel, and closely adjacent to, the vat vail parts 2' and the bottom of the vat. As shown in fig. 1, the stirring and cutting blades 4 are attached to their rotating shafts 4* by cranX arms so that their working areas partially overlap and so that when the blades are in alignment with the longitudinal mid-plane of the vat, they osculate, with one blade underlapping the other. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3 the two circular, planar, lower bottom sections 6" also overlap each other so that, for the two halves of the bottom of the vat, a common lower bottom surface is formed consisting of two circular sections, symmetrical to the transverse mid-plane X-X. The vat 2 of the cheese-making machine as per the invention can be subjected to a heating or cooling medium fed into the space between the vat 2 and the casing 3, and can also be connected to a pressure-medium source (not shown in the drawing), in order to produce a positive pressure in the vat during the emptying phase, to help the emptying process. The holding-space 1 can be subjected to a compressed gas or gas mixture that is not harmful to food products. The gas or gas-mixture presses the cheese-making machine's contents through the outlet 7, e.g. to a portioning device, intermediate cheese-curd vat, or the like. These devices, which are not shown, are possibly positioned at a higher level than the bottom 6 of the cheese-making machine. The above-mentioned measure makes it possible both to discharge the whey through a pipe system 8 that can be swivelled into the holding-space 1, and to discharge the prepared curds and whey mixture through the outlet 7. It also enables cheese-making to take place under positive pressure. The invention is not limited to the embodiment examples described above; these can be modified within the context of the general concept of the invention, particularly as regards the mutual overlapping of the planar bottom sections as in fig. 3, the number of arc generatrices of the concavely curved bottom-section, and the magnitude of the radii of the individual arc generatrices. </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> 226838 5 WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A cheese-making machine having a vat forming a holding-space for the milk product, with this vat having a wall consisting of two part-cylindrical halves, and - extending downwards therefrom - a bottom, also consisting of two halves, which adjoin each other along a transverse mid-plane and which each have an outlet; and having in each half of the vat a vertical rotary stirring and cutting blade which sweeps the corresponding sections of the vat wall and bottom area, and which is mounted in bearings in the top of the vat;

characterized in that each half of the bottom of the vat has a section which is concavely curved relative to the holding-space and which merges into the vertical wall part of the vat, and, connected to said curved section, there is a planar section; and these planar sections of the two halves of the vat-bottom are substantially circular in contour and adjoin each other at the transverse mid-plane of the vat; and the outlet in each planar section is positioned eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the stirring and cutting blade.

2. A cheese-making machine in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the concavely curved section of each half of the bottom of the vat, when viewed in a vertical section, consists of at least one arc with the transition arc that merges into the vertical wall part of the vat having the smaller diameter.

226838 '

6

3- A cheese-making machine in accordance with claim 1 characterised in that the concavely curved section of each half of the bottom of the vat, when viewed in a vertical section, consists of two intermerging arcs, with the transition arc that merges into the vertical wall part of the vat having the smaller diameter.

4. A cheese-making machine in accordance with claims 1, 2 or 3 characterized in that the substantially circular planar sections of the two halves of the bottom of the vat are tangential to each other at the transverse mid-plane of the cheese-inaking machine.

5. A cheese-making machine in accordance with claims 1, 2 or 3 characterized in that the substantially circular planar sections of the two haJves of the bottom of the vat overlap each other at the transverse mid-plane of the cheese-making machine.

6. A cheese-making machine in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the vat is connected to a pressure-medium source whereby the holding-space can be put under positive pressure for the purpose of cleaning said space.

7. A cheese-making machine substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

JOSEF BERTSCH GESELLSCHAFT m. b. H. & CO. KESSEL-UND MASCHINENFABRIJ INDUSTRIEANLAGENBAU By their Attorneys /f*?'

HENRY HUGHES LIMITpt, ^

(v 1$APRw9i

£ I V

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