Apparatus and methods of forming cheese blocks
OwnerCharles Gregory Missoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A number of cheese block forming towers are fed curds from a central vat. Curd accumulates in each tower and its weight causes whey to be expressed. Individual blocks are severed from the bottoms of the columns of curd by guillotine blades. A controller monitors both the output of each severing device (rate of discharge of blocks and their weight) and the rate of use of curd in each tower. The latter is determined by the same time that the level of curd takes to drop from sensor to sensor. These factors may then be used to adjust the output of severing devices or the charge rate of curd to balance the outputs of the multiple tower.
Claims10
A cheese block forming apparatus comprising:
- a cheese block forming tower;
- a whey and curd supply inlet;
- a whey drainage column;
- a severing device having a cheese block support platform;
- and
- a controller,
- wherein the cheese block forming tower includes the whey draining column and the severing device and is operably connected to the whey supply inlet, and the controller substantially continuously monitors the output from the severing device and the curd to cheese conversion pressing time to maintain a substantially uniform supply of curd to the cheese block forming tower.
A cheese block forming apparatus comprising:
- a cheese block forming tower;
- a whey and curd supply inlet;
- a whey drainage column;
- a severing device having a cheese block support platform;
- and
- a controller,
- wherein the cheese block forming tower includes the whey draining column, the severing device and is operably connected to the whey supply inlet, and the controller is connected to a pair of sensors mounted in spaced apart relationship, one above the other, in the whey drainage column to substantially continuously monitor the output of the severing device and the curd to cheese conversion pressing time to maintain a substantially uniform supply of curd to the cheese block forming tower.
A cheese block forming apparatus comprising:
- at least two cheese block forming towers each tower including
- a whey and curd supply inlet;
- a whey drainage column;
- a severing device having a cheese block support platform;
- and
- a controller, wherein the towers are coupled to a common supply of cheese curd through the supply inlet and the controller substantially continuously monitors the output of the severing device and the curd to cheese conversion pressing time of each tower to maintain a substantially uniform supply of curd to each tower.
A cheese block forming apparatus comprising
- at least two cheese block forming towers each tower including
- a whey and curd supply inlet;
- a whey drainage column;
- a severing device having a cheese block support platform;
- and
- a controller, wherein the towers are coupled to common curd supply and each tower has a pair of sensors mounted in spaced apart relationship, one above the other, in the whey drainage column to substantially continuously monitor the output of the severing device and the curd to cheese conversion pressing time of each tower to maintain a substantially uniform supply of curd to each tower.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.