Continuous cheese former for bulk cheese
AssigneeDamrow Company, Inc.
InventorAllen J. Pittelko
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cheese former for making large batches of cheese in a continuous process includes a tower having a screen along its internal side wall and a central screen extending along the axis of the tower, wherein whey may be separated from a curds and whey mixture introduced into the tower by drawing the whey through the screens toward both the perimeter of the tower and the central axis of the tower for removal from the system. This permits large quantities of cheese such as 600-650 pound blocks or 500 pound barrels to be made in a continuous tower forming system.
Claims49
A cheese forming apparatus for continuously making bulk cheese from a source of a mixture containing curds and whey, comprising:
- a. a tower having a closed top and an open bottom, a substantially cylindrical side wall and a central axis;
- b. discharge means for selectively opening and closing the bottom of the tower;
- c. transfer means for introducing the mixture into the tower at its closed top;
- d. first separator means substantially concentric with and adjacent the inner periphery of the tower side wall and adapted for separating whey from the mixture and collecting the separated whey at the periphery of the tower;
- e. second separator means substantially coaxial with the central axis of the tower and adapted for separating whey from the mixture and collecting the separated whey at the center of the tower;
- and
- f. means for simultaneously drawing a vacuum on said first separator means and said second separator means when said tower bottom is closed, for placing the tower and transfer means under negative pressure, whereby mixture is drawn into the tower.
A cheese forming apparatus for continuously making bulk cheese from a source of a mixture containing curds and whey, comprising:
- a. a tower having a closed top and an open bottom, a substantially cylindrical side wall and a central axis;
- b. transfer means for introducing the mixture into the tower at its closed top;
- c. first separator means substantially concentric with and adjacent the inner periphery of the tower side wall and adapted for separating whey from the mixture and collecting the separated whey at the periphery of the tower;
- d. second separator means substantially coaxial with the central axis of the tower and adapted for separating whey from the mixture and collecting the separated whey at the center of the tower;
- e. means for withdrawing and removing the collected whey from the periphery and center of the tower;
- f. a door movable between an open position whereby formed cheese may be discharged from the bottom of the tower and a closed position for closing and sealing the bottom of the tower;
- g. a pair of co-planar cutting plates each having opposite end edges and parallel opposite side edges and disposed at the bottom of the tower in a plane substantially orthogonal to the axis of the tower;
- h. means for supporting said pair of plates for lateral sliding movement between an open non-abutting position and a closed abutting position;
- and
- i. a cutting blade along one end edge of each plate and adapted for intersecting the axis of the tower when each plate is moved from the open non-abutting position to the closed abutting position, said cutting blades being disposed in abutting contact with one another when the plates are in the closed position.
A cheese forming apparatus of continuously making bulk cheese from a source of a mixture containing curds and whey, comprising:
- a. a tower having a closed top and an open bottom, a substantially cylindrical sidewall and a central axis;
- b. discharge means for selectively opening and closing the bottom of the tower, the discharge means comprising a door horizontally movable between an open position and a closed position and vertically movable between a sealing position and an unsealed position, whereby formed cheese may be discharged from the bottom of the tower when the door is in the open and unsealed positions and whereby the tower may be closed and sealed when the door is moved to the closed and sealed positions;
- and
- c. a cutter adapted for slicing the discharged cheese at predetermined intervals for producing a selected quantity of cheese.
A cheese forming apparatus for continuously making bulk cheese from a source of a mixture containing curds and whey, comprising:
- a. a tower having a closed top and an open bottom, a substantially cylindrical sidewall and a central axis;
- b. discharge means for selectively opening and closing the bottom of the tower, the discharge means comprising a door movable between an open position whereby formed cheese may be discharged from the bottom of the tower and a closed position for closing and sealing the bottom of the tower, the door including a substantially flat planar plate having opposite side and end edges, a frame for supporting a door at its side edges, means for laterally moving the door along its side edges in said frame in a direction generally orthogonal to the axis of said tower, and means for moving the frame and door in unison in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the tower;
- and
- c. a cutter adapted for slicing the discharged cheese at predetermined intervals for producing a selected quantity of cheese.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.