Vortex cheese processing apparatus and method
OwnerJoseph Ablerinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cheese cooker and mixer includes a tank containing heated water. The tank has an outer cylindrical housing with an concentric inner cylindrical screen. An inlet proximate to a top of the tank provides an opening by which cheese curds are introduced within the cylindrical screen. The heated water is fed into the tank tangentially to the curvature of the cylindrical screen to create a vortex therein which aids in directing the cheese downward in the tank. After melting and forming a large mass, the cheese is extracted through an outlet proximate to a bottom of the tank. A conveyor with counter rotating augers mixes the cheese exiting the tank.
Claims20
An cheese processing apparatus comprising:
- a tank for containing a liquid at a temperature which causes the cheese to melt, and having an inlet proximate to a top of the tank through which to introduce the cheese and an outlet proximate to a bottom of the tank through which to remove melted cheese;
- and
- a mechanism to create a vortex of the liquid within the tank.
11 The cheese processing apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein the conveyor comprises an auger within a casing that is inclined upward from the outlet of the tank and which has an opening in upper section through which the auger ejects the cheese.
A cheese processing apparatus comprising:
- a tank for containing a liquid and having an outer housing and a cylindrical interior wall with a plurality of apertures there through, the interior wall dividing the tank into an inner region and an outer region, the tank also having an inlet through which to introduce the cheese into the inner region and having an outlet below the inlet through which to remove the cheese from the inner region;
- a first conduit having at least one opening through which the liquid enters the tank and creates a vortex within the inner region;
- and
- a conveyor adjacent the outlet to receive the cheese removed from the tank.
A method for processing cheese comprising:
- delivering a quantity of a heated liquid into a tank;
- creating a vortex in the heated liquid contained in the tank;
- feeding cheese through an inlet into the tank;
- and
- removing the cheese through an outlet that is below the inlet in the tank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.