Cheese vat having fluid accessible seal assembly
AssigneeAdvanced Process Technologies, Inc.
InventorsPaul R. Bokelmann, Craig J. Campbell, Gary L. Starkson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cheese process vat is disclosed. The cheese process vat includes an enclosure and a shaft assembly, preferably a shaft assembly having a shaft and a plurality of agitator panels arranged on the shaft. The cheese process vat preferably further includes a shaft seal assembly having a fluid accessible clean-in-place chamber. Methods of using the respective cheese process vats are also disclosed.
Claims23
A cheese process vat having a fluid accessible cleaning/sanitizing chamber through which a cleaning/sanitizing fluid can be passed to clean/sanitize the cheese process vat during a cleaning/sanitizing process, the cheese process vat comprising:
- a vat body having an interior and first and second ends;
- a shaft assembly including a shaft extending between the first and second ends;
- the shaft including a concentric flange having an inner face;
- and
- a shaft seal assembly including a seal assembly subunit including an inner seal holder, a face seal and a shaft seal, each of which surround and are concentric with the shaft;
- wherein the shaft seal and the face seal are engaged with and separated by the inner seal holder;
- the face seal and the shaft seal each having a seal body and a seal lip;
- the seal lip extending away from the seal body;
- wherein the shaft seal is pre-loaded so that the shaft seal lip engages the shaft;
- the face seal is pre-loaded so that the face seal lip engages the inner face;
- the inner seal holder defines a first portion of a fluid conduit channel and the shaft, the inner seal holder, the face seal and the shaft seal cooperate to define a fluid accessible cleaning/sanitizing chamber to which cleaning/sanitizing solution can flow via the first portion of the fluid conduit channel.
A cheese process vat having a fluid accessible cleaning/sanitizing chamber through which a cleaning/sanitizing solution can be passed to sanitize the cheese process vat during a cleaning/sanitizing process, the cheese process vat comprising:
- a vat body having an interior and first and second ends;
- a shaft assembly including a shaft extending between the first and second ends;
- the shaft including a concentric flange having an inner face;
- and
- a shaft seal assembly including a seal assembly subunit including an inner seal holder, a face seal, a shaft seal, an outer seal holder and a seal retaining plate, each of which surround and are concentric with the shaft;
- wherein the shaft seal and the face seal are engaged with and separated by the inner seal holder;
- wherein the inner seal holder defines a first portion of a fluid conduit channel and the shaft, the inner seal holder, the face seal and the shaft seal cooperate to define a fluid accessible cleaning/sanitizing chamber to which cleaning/sanitizing solution can flow via the first portion of the fluid conduit channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.