AU718212B2

AU718212B2 - Packing grated cheese

Info

Publication number: AU718212B2
Application number: AU73462/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Malyon Mccrea Smith
Original assignee: Grated Cheese Co Ltd
Current assignee: New Zealand Dairy Board
Priority date: 1995-11-06
Filing date: 1996-11-05
Publication date: 2000-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2016-11-05
Also published as: AU7346296A; WO1997017257A2; WO1997017257A3

Description

WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -1- PACKING GRATED CHEESE

FIELD

This invention relates to the packing of particular material, and in particular irregularly shaped or oblong particles. It has particular application to the packing of individually quick frozen items such as foodstuffs, and has particular application to the packing of individually quick frozen grated cheese, as such material is formed in a variety of sizes and shapes, and is typically oblong or substantially rectangular in shape, having one dimension which is significantly longer than the other dimensions.

BACKGROUND

Packing of grated cheese, and in particular individually quick frozen grated cheese has resulted in bulky packages with a considerable amount of waste space because of their regular shape of the grated cheese particles. A typical "IQF" cheese particle may for example be much longer than it is wide, and for example may be of the order of 3mm x 2mm x 13mm. Such "IQF" cheese particles are commonly packed into cartons having a plastic liner, for export. Such export packs may for example comprise 12kg of product.

These cartons can be packed on pallets, and then packed into containers for shipping.

There is a need to improve on the packing density of such products.

OBJECT

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method and/or apparatus for packing particulate articles such as individually quick frozen grated cheese, or one which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -2- STATEMENT OF INVENTION In one aspect the invention provides a method of packing particulate articles, the method including introducing the particulate articles into a container, shaking or vibrating the particulate articles, and applying pressure to the particulate articles.

Preferably the shaking or vibrating is applied to the outside of the container so that the contents of the container are shaken or vibrated.

Preferably the pressure is applied by means of a press plate exerted against the open end of the container to press against the particulate articles to confine them within the container.

More preferably the pressure plate is moved by a pneumatic or hydraulic ram.

Preferably the shaking is continuous throughout the packing operation, whilst at the same time the pressure plate is moved towards the particulate articles.

More preferably the pressure plate is applied towards the particulate articles in a series of steps or pressures to enable the particular material to be shaken down into more and more closely packed arrays.

For example the ram applying pressure to the pressure plate may cycle over a period of for example 30 seconds applying pressure initially at 20psi, then 40psi, then 60psi, then then 100psi. (NB. the pressures are "air pressures" applied to the ram).

Alternatively the shaking operation may be discontinuous so that the material is first shaken and then pressure is applied by the pressure plate. Then shaking may recommence, and more pressure applied to the pressure plate, and shaking stops. Then the shaking operation may commence again, followed by more pressure and so on until the packing operation is completed. However this discontinuous operation is less preferable, as it increases the timing required to achieve the required packing density, and also requires the shaking or vibrating mechanism to be continually switched on and off.

WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -3- In another aspect the invention provides apparatus for the packing of particulate material, including means for holding a container, means for applying a shaking or vibrating force to the container, and means for applying a pressure plate to an open end of the container, the pressure plate being connected to means for applying pressure to the pressure plate to enable the pressure plate to move relative to the container.

Preferably the means for providing a shaking force to the container consists of a shaking table supported on resilient mounts.

Preferably the means for holding the container consists of one or more clamping plates mounted on the shaking table.

Preferably the pressure plate is connected to a pneumatic or hydraulic ram, which is in turn mounted on supports connected to the shaking table.

In another aspect, the invention provides a container of particulate articles which has been packed to a higher packing density then hitherto, by means of the method or apparatus of this invention. Preferably the particulate articles comprise individually quick frozen foodstuffs of oblong or irregular shapes. More preferably the particulate articles comprise individually quick frozen grated cheese, which has been packed into cartons having plastic liners, and packed to a higher than normal density with minimal distortion of the cartons.

Preferably the apparatus for the packing of particulate material includes means for holding a carton, means for applying vibrations to particulate material within the carton during the packing operation, and means for applying a pressure plate to an open end of the carton, the pressure plate being connected to means for applying pressure to the pressure plate to enable the pressure plate to move relative to the carton.

In another aspect the invention provides a carton of compressed individually quick frozen food particles which has been packed by means of any one of the above methods.

WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -4- In another aspect the invention provides a carton of grated cheese wherein the grated cheese is a mass of compressed individually quick frozen grated cheese and has a packing density in excess of 520kg/cubic metre.

Preferably the cheese is compressed individually quick frozen grated mozzarella cheese.

In another aspect the invention provides a shipping container containing cartons of grated cheese as described above, wherein the shipping container has a mass of at least 13.8 tonnes when packed solely with cartons of compressed individually quick frozen grated cheese.

DRAWINGS

These and other aspects of the invention which should be considered in all its novel aspects, will become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1: illustrates a preferred packing machine inside elevation.

Figure 2: shows Figure 1 with the carton in place in the frame of the machine, a movable side wall is clamped against the carton and a pressure plate has moved downwards towards the carton PREFERRED EMBODIMENT This packing machine is designed to pack individually quick frozen grated cheese into cardboard cartons containing on average 12kg of cheese. These cartons are preferably supplied with a plastic liner, and have four flaps at their upper open end. Such a carton can be filled with "IQF" grated cheese at a filling station to the required weight, and then moved to the packing station. The carton 10 can be inserted into the frame of the packing station so that it sits on a shaking table 11 and is situated between side walls 12 and 13. Side wall 12 is movable relative to the shaking table to apply sideways WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 pressure to the carton in order to hold it in place.

This movable wall 12 can be resiliently mounted to an angle plate 14 attached to the shaking table, and can be moved by a suitable ram, e.g. a pneumatic or hydraulic ram, preferably of short stroke enabling rapid movement of the side wall 12 towards or away from the carton.

Any other convenient means of holding the carton in place may be used. We have found that a short stroke ram and adjustable side plate 12 is sufficient to hold the carton, and resist distortion of the carton during the packing operation.

The shaking table 14 is preferably supported on four resilient mounts 20, in the form of steel rods supported on a base 21, and connected to the base 21 by appropriate resilient means such as springs 22. The underside of the shaking table 14 is connected to a shaking or vibrating mechanism, for example a pneumatic ram 25 connected by means of an appropriate pivot 26 to a pivot block 27 so that rapid reciprocation of the ram would cause the shaking table 14 to vibrate up and down. Of course, other shaking or vibrating mechanisms can be used, and the shaking need not be in the vertical plane but may be from side to side, or in a random fashion, for example by means of an orbital shaking mechanism, or may include other sources of shaking or vibration perhaps a series of rapid impacts in order to cause the particulate material to settle into a close packed array.

Mounted on the shaking table 14 are a series of supports 30, 31 which in turn support a cross-member 32. As shown there are two supports 30, 31 in the form of metal pillars, to which a cross-member 32 is attached. This cross-member 32 supports an additional ram 33 which applies pressure to a pressure plate 35. The pressure plate 35 is preferably of similar dimensions to the open space and the top of the open carton. The pressure plate 35 is preferably connected to two sliding support rods 36, 37 to prevent the support plate 35 from rotating as it moves up or down towards or away from the interior of the carton.

Preferably the fixed side plate 13 is attached to the support pillar 31 by means of an appropriate angle bracket 38, to enable the side plate 13 to resist sideways forces exerted by the ram 15 used to move the movable support plate 12.

The pressure plate 35 is connected to the ram 33 by means of an appropriate pivot WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -6and pivot block 41 to enable the pressure plate to have some degree of freedom as it presses against the "IQF" frozen cheese.

The various rams are preferably controlled by a suitable control mechanism such as a programmed logic controller which controls the clamping operation, the shaking operation, and the movement of the pressure plate.

METHOD

The operation of the packing apparatus will now be described.

Preferably the container is a cardboard carton with a plastic liner. This carton is filled at a filling station with for example 12 kilograms of IQF cheese. It is then moved to the packing apparatus. At this point the two end flaps on the upper open end of the carton are folded down and the two side flaps of the carton remain up and open. The carton is then located in the frame of the packing station on the shaking table 11 and between the side walls 12 and 13. The ram 15 attached to side wall 12 moves the side wall firmly against the carton and clamps the carton in place (as in Figure 2) on the shaking table 11. The purpose of this is to hold the carton in place and prevent distortion of the carton during the operation of the packing apparatus. The shaking table 11 commences to shake or vibrate from the action of the pneumatic ram 25 situated below to settle within the carton. At the same time as the shaking table 11 is shaking or vibrating, the pressure plate 35, situated directly above the carton, moves downward towards the carton (as in Figure 2) and applies pressure to the contents of the carton in an incremental way, for example 20 psi, then 40 psi, then 60 psi, then 80 psi, then 100 psi (NB. the pressures are "air pressures" applied to the ram). Once a maximum pressure has been reached the shaking or vibrating ceases and the pressure plate 35 is withdraw.

Preferably a shaking and pressure cycle takes 29 seconds per carton. The sidewall 12 is withdrawn from the side of the carton and the carton can now be removed to the next station for sealing.

This method substantially as described maximises the packing density of the particles being packed. The most efficient way to pack particles like, for example, IQF grated cheese would be to align each separate particle. The shaking and pressure combination used in this method may partially achieve this and therefore increase the packing WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -7density of such particles.

EXAMPLE 1 A conventional 12kg box of "IQF" grated cheese has the following dimensions: 280mm wide x 380mm long x 245mm high.

We have found that we can improve on the packing density by producing boxes of the following dimensions: 232mm wide x 365mm long x272mm high.

We have found that by using the apparatus and method of this invention we can increase the packing density by 12-20% over the conventional "IQF" grated cheese packing operations.

We have calculated that by packing boxes in this way we can pack 48 boxes x 12kg boxes on a pallet instead of 36 x 12kg, increasing the quantity of product in a shipping container whereby giving significant advantages both in terms of storage, and transport costs. For example we can now pack 13.5 tonnes of grated cheese into a shipping container instead of 10.8 tonnes per shipping container. We expect that by improving on our experimental machine we can increase the packing density to at least 14 tonnes per container.

VARIATIONS

Although the preferred embodiment described a machine making use of pneumatic rams, we believe that hydraulic rams will provide a more efficient (and less elastic) shaking operation, and a more uniform application of pressure to the pressure plate.

Although we have described only one way of folding the cartons in place, it will be appreciated that other holding mechanisms could be used.

Although we prefer to use a hydraulic or pneumatic ram to apply pressure to the pressure plate, it will be appreciated that other means of applying pressure could be used, for example a toggle action lever, or a motor operated screw press, or any one of the other numerous ways of applying pressure to a pressure plate.

WO 97/17257 PCT/NZ96/00123 -8- Finally, various other alterations or modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of this invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A carton of grated cheese, wherein the grated cheese is a mass of compressed individually quick frozen grated cheese, and has a packing density in excess of 520kg/cubic metre when vibrated and compressed within the carton.

2. A carton of grated cheese as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cheese is compressed individually quick frozen grated mozzarella cheese.

3. A shipping container containing cartons of grated cheese as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said shipping container has a mass of at least 13.8 tonnes when ~packed solely with cartons of compressed individually quick frozen grated cheese.

4. A method suitable for packing individually quick frozen grated cheese to achieve a packing density in excess of 520kg/cubic metre as claimed in claim 1, which includes introducing the individually quick frozen grated cheese into cool a container, shaking and vibrating the said grated cheese, and applying sufficient pressure to the said grated cheese to compress it to a packing density of 520kg/cubic metre.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pressure is applied by means of a pressure plate exerted against the end of the open container to press against the individually quick frozen grated cheese.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein pressure is applied to the individually quick frozen grated cheese in a series of steps or pressures by way of a control means capable of regulating the pressure applied in the range of

10-100 psi wherein the pressure plate cycles over a period of 30 seconds applying pressure at 20psi, then 40psi, then 60psi, then 80psi, then 100psi. 7. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the vibrating operation is discontinuous such that the grated cheese is first vibrated, then the pressure applied, and then the order is repeated until packing is complete and in that in use it is capable of exerting a significant force on the cheese to achieve the desired packing density. 8. Apparatus when used for the packing of individually quick frozen grated cheese at a packing density in excess of 520 kg/cubic metre, which includes means for holding a carton during the packing operation, and means for applying an orbital shaking or vibrating force to the container and a means for applying a pressure plate to an open end of the carton, the pressure plate being connected to a means for applying pressure to the pressure plate to enable the opressure plate to move relative to the carton. 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the means for holding the carton consists of one or more clamping plates mounted on a table. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the means for applying the pressure is by way of a pneumatic or hydraulic ram which is mounted on supports connected to the shaking table. .9

11. A carton of grated cheese as claimed in claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.

12. A shipping container as claimed in claim 3, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.

13. A method suitable for packing individually quick frozen grated cheese to produce a carton as claimed an claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.