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US 5,749,287 AGranted
Perforated drainage pipe for draining whey/curd mass
AssigneeTebel--MKT B.V.
InventorFrank Schouten
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTebel--MKT B.V.
InventorFrank Schouten
Estimating the term…
The invention relates to a drainage pipe with perforations for draining whey from a whey/curd mass, in which the perforations are formed by small holes, and the hole size lies within the range 0.05-3 mm, while the hole density lies within the range 5-50,000 holes/cm.sup.2. Such a pipe is used in the preparation of cheese. In a drainage pipe which is provided with a large number of small holes, a larger part of the surface can be perforated, with the result that the drainage is more efficient. A natural counterpressure can be built up by varying the hole size and the hole density over the surface of the pipe, thus making expensive facilities for regulating the counterpressure unnecessary. The hole size and/or hole density can be varied in such a way over the surface of the pipe that the open surface increases from top to bottom. Various grid patterns are described for this. If the pipe is made of plastic, the full circumference of the pipe can be provided with holes, with the result that the full surface of the pipe is available for drainage. The invention also relates to a device which is provided with at least one drainage pipe of the type according to the invention and to methods for manufacturing such a drainage pipe.
Drainage pipe with perforations for draining whey from a whey/curd mass, the perforations are formed by a plurality of small holes (4) defining an open surface, the hole size lies within the range of 0.05-3 mm, while the hole density lies within the range of 5-50,000 holes/cm.sup.2, the hole size and/or the hole density is varied over the surface of the pipe (2), characterized in that the open surface defined by the holes (4) increases from one end of the pipe (2) to the other end of the pipe (2).
A vertical drainage pipe having a top (2a) and a bottom (2b) with perforations extending through said pins for draining whey from a whey/curd mass, the perforations formed by a plurality of small holes (4) defining an open surface, the hole size lies within the range of 0.05-3 mm, while the hole density lies within the range of 5-50,000 holes/cm.sup.2, characterized in that the open surface in the part of the pipe (2) which is adjacent the top 2(a) is made smaller than the open surface in the part of the pipe (2) which is adjacent the bottom 2(b).
A whey drainage pipe adapted for draining whey from a whey/curd mass, comprising:
A device adapted for preparing a curd mass by draining whey from a mixture of whey and curds, comprising:
A device adapted for preparing a curd mass by draining whey from a mixture of whey and curds, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.