Food processing vat with heat exchangers
AssigneeCheese & Whey Systems, Inc.
InventorsTimothy J. Isenberg, John E. Zirbel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A food processing vat is provided with a zoned heat transfer system that includes a heat exchanger with a baffle that extends between a pair of spaced apart sheets. The baffle directs a flow of a heat transfer fluid through a void space between the sheets of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may also include multiple spaced apart posts that extend through the heat exchanger and around which the heat transfer fluid can flow. The posts and/or baffle may be defined by welded points of joinder between the sheets, and the sheets may be inflated to provide the space therebetween, such that the posts and/or baffles extend as webs of material that connect the sheets of the heat exchanger.
Claims17
A vat system comprising:
- a vat that includes a bottom wall and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall and an inside space of the vat defined inwardly of the bottom and side walls;
- and
- a heat exchanger provided in at least one of the bottom and side walls, including:
- (i) a pair of sheets comprising an inner sheet arranged relatively closer to the inside space of the vat and an outer sheet arranged relatively further from the inside space of the vat, wherein the inner and outer sheets are connected through an array of connections at spaced-apart connection locations with at least parts of the inner and outer sheets being spaced from each other and defining a void space of the heat exchanger inwardly of curved cross-sectional profile segments of the outer sheet between adjacent connection locations of the inner and outer sheets, the void space of the heat exchanger being configured to convey a heat transfer fluid therethrough;
- and
- (ii) a baffle extending between and connecting the sheets to each other, at least part of the baffle being spaced inwardly from an outer periphery of the heat exchanger and directing flow of the heat transfer fluid through the void space of the heat exchanger.
A vat comprising:
- an outer jacket having an outer surface that defines an outer surface of the vat;
- an inner shell having an inner surface that defines an inner surface of the vat;
- and
- a heat exchanger provided between the outer jacket and inner shell and including an inner sheet defining the inside surface of the vat and an outer sheet arranged outwardly of the inner sheet, the heat exchanger having a void space through which a heat transfer fluid can flow and multiple posts connecting the inner and outer sheets to define curved cross-sectional profiles of the outer sheet between adjacent posts, the multiple posts extending through the void space such that heat transfer fluid flows around the multiple posts while flowing through the void space of the heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.