DE29812845U1 - Device for extracting whey from a container, in particular from a cheese maker - Google Patents

Description

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13.07.1998

Device for sucking whey from a container, in particular from a cheese maker

The innovation relates to a device for sucking whey out of a container, in particular from a cheese maker, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The device of this type has the task of removing part of the whey from the cheese maker that accrues during the cheese-making process, especially after the rennet has been cut. Since the curds that are produced by cutting are very sensitive to mechanical and fluid-mechanical stress, the whey must be extracted as gently as possible without causing problems during extraction due to the suction device becoming clogged with curds or causing curd losses.

It is known to install suction devices of the type in question, in particular suction pipes with sieve-shaped inlets, permanently in the cheese maker or to arrange them so that they can be moved to the required position in the curd/whey mixture for suction. Fixed arrangements have the disadvantage that they can hinder the cutting and stirring process of the rennet and are prone to clogging if the sieve-shaped inlets are designed with relatively narrow passage cross-sections in order to reduce the curd losses that occur with the whey that is removed. If the known suction devices are arranged in such a way that they reach into the working area of the cutting and stirring blades, the latter must be stopped during the suction process. This interruption extends the processing process of the curd/whey mixture, as it is then not possible to simultaneously process the curd/whey mixture with the cutting and stirring blades and extract the whey.

From FR 21 46 532 a device for sucking whey out of a cheese maker is known, which is positioned in a fixed position in the maker and whose

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body performs a rotational movement so that the sieve openings are repeatedly exposed to curd components that have settled there. If the known suction device is temporarily moved into the cheese maker and thereby intervenes in the working area of the cutting and stirring blades, the latter must be stopped during the suction process, as described above.

DE-OS 21 25 134 describes another device for extracting whey, which is also permanently positioned in the cheese maker and has the following essential features:

1Ö of the device of the generic type, whereby a sieve jacket can be set into a relative movement to the surrounding curd/whey mixture in the container interior of the cheese maker by means of a drive. The relative movement of the sieve jacket can consist of an alternating pivoting movement around its main axis or in a full rotation with, for example, a continuously variable rotation speed. If this known device for suction is also temporarily brought into the cheese maker and thereby intervenes in the working area of the cutting and stirring blades, the same disadvantages apply as with the device described above according to FR 21 46 532.

DE 878 577 describes a whey draining device for a cheese vat, which is arranged in a recess in the vat wall and has a drain pipe mounted in a vertical guide and can be moved up and down. In this known device, the telescopic suction pipe in the form of an overflow is used to drain the whey and thus also to adjust the fill level of the curd/whey mixture in the cheese maker. Since the device is located in a recess in the vat wall and thus does not interfere with the working area of the cutting and stirring blades, the latter do not have to be stopped during the whey suction, but the known device is susceptible to clogging, since the sieve openings of the stationary sieve body can easily become clogged with curd components.

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The aim of the present innovation is to create a device for sucking whey out of a container, in particular from a cheese maker, with which it is possible to suck the whey out gently and reliably while minimizing cheese losses while having a high suction capacity.

The object is solved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the proposed device according to the innovation are the subject of the subclaims.
10

The proposed device has, among other things, two essential features:

• It can be completely lowered into the curd/whey mixture, preferably automatically controlled, in such a way that the cheese-making process, in particular the accompanying cutting and stirring process of the rennet, is not impaired. If the device is arranged outside the working area of the cutting and stirring tools, the resulting whey can be sucked off in parallel with the processing of the curd/whey mixture using the cutting and stirring tools, so that the continuous availability of the proposed device enables a high suction capacity during the processing of the curd/whey mixture.

• The tubular body with sieve-shaped inlets (hereinafter referred to as sieve) performs a relative movement over the entire filling height relative to the curd/whey mixture remaining in the cheese maker during the suction process, preferably a continuous rotational movement, so that the sieve openings are repeatedly cleared of curd components that have settled there and the whey can be suctioned out very gently and reliably. Instead of the continuous rotational movement, the sieve can also perform an oscillating rotary movement and/or an oscillating axial displacement movement. These oscillating movements keep the sieve-shaped inlets largely free of blockages.

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The lowering movement of the suction pipe into the curd/whey mixture is advantageously achieved according to the proposal in that it consists of a telescopic outer pipe penetrating the passage and a telescopic inner pipe engaging in the end of the telescopic outer pipe facing away from the passage, the latter being designed to be axially displaceable and sealed relative to the telescopic outer pipe.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the proposed device, the end section of the telescope inner tube engaging in the telescope outer tube is designed on the outside as a piston that is sealed in the telescope outer tube and on the inside as a check valve that allows flow through the telescope inner tube from the sieve into the surroundings of the container, with the end of the telescope outer tube facing away from the feedthrough sealingly enclosing the outside of the telescope inner tube. This embodiment allows the telescope inner tube to be axially displaced within the telescope outer tube in a relatively simple manner, namely by applying a pressure medium, preferably compressed air, to the front side of the telescope inner tube closed by the check valve.

In order to enable the suction pipe to be lifted out of the interior of the container and thus out of the curd/whey mixture, a further embodiment of the proposed device provides that the telescopic inner pipe is essentially accommodated in the telescopic outer pipe during its axial upward displacement, and that the telescopic outer pipe is accommodated in a telescopic housing in the area between the passage and its end facing the container, the interior of which is connected to the interior of the container via an access opening in the container.

Lifting the telescopic inner tube out of the container and thus out of the curd/whey mixture is particularly easy if, as is provided for in another embodiment of the proposed device, the space between the telescopic housing and the telescopic outer tube is provided with a second pressure medium connection arranged on the telescopic housing and a

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Connection to the space between the telescopic inner tube and the telescopic outer tube below the piston.

In order to ensure that the whey is sucked out without interruption, another embodiment of the proposed device provides that a housing is provided above the passage, which is supported in a fixed position on the container and has a connection to the interior of the telescopic outer tube, a first pressure medium connection and an upper limit for a closing element of the check valve. The whey flow moves the closing element of the check valve into the above-mentioned housing, where it does not form any significant flow resistance due to the enlarged housing cross-section there, while simultaneously being positioned and fixed in its upper limit. The upper limit is, as is further proposed, designed as a funnel-shaped catching device. A fall back of the closing element from its upper limit during the whey sucking out is reliably prevented by the fact that, as is also provided, a locking device is arranged below the upper limit, the bolt of which, preferably automatically controllable, extends almost completely through the housing essentially transversely to the axis of the latter.

The need to stop the cutting and stirring blades during the suction of the whey is eliminated if, in the case of a container which, in the area of its vertical container wall, is composed of two wall parts which, when viewed from above, are in the shape of a circular arc, the tubular body (sieve) in the area where the wall parts penetrate, outside the working area of the cutting and stirring blades, can be lowered into a correspondingly expanded area of the container.

In addition, due to its special design, the proposed device can be reliably and completely cleaned on site in the flow without difficulty (CIP capability) if a spray device for applying cleaning fluid is provided in the space between the telescope housing and the telescope outer tube, below the feedthrough.

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An example of the innovation is shown in the drawing and is explained below in terms of structure and function.

Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a widely used

coming container for the preparation of a curd/whey

Mixture (cheese maker) according to the state of the art;

Figure 2 is a simplified plan view of Figure 1 to illustrate a

preferred arrangement position of the proposed device; 10

Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of the

proposed device according to the innovation, wherein the latter is in its suction position in which it is lowered into the curd/whey mixture in the cheese maker; 15

Figure 4 shows the device according to Figure 3, also in a schematic representation in its basic and rest position, in which it is located above the filling level of the curd/whey mixture and

Figure 5 shows a meridian section through the proposed device according to Figures 3 and 4 in the area of the feedthrough and the housing adjacent above it.

A cheese maker (Figures 1, 2) known in its basic structure, for example from EP 0 133 587 B1, consists of a container 12.1, which can be placed on the floor using support feet not specified in detail, and a double agitator 12.2 arranged in a fixed position above the container 12.1 and supported on the container 12.1. The container 12.1 has a vertical container wall, which is made up of two wall parts 12.3, 12.4 that are in the shape of a circular arc when viewed from above. Accordingly, the interior of the container 12.1 has a horizontal cross-sectional shape in the form of two adjacent circular sections. The container 12.1 can be closed off at the top by a lid.

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12.5 and furthermore has a floor which as a whole is covered with

12.6 is designated.

The double agitator 12.2 comprises two cutting and stirring blades, each marked with . The cutting and stirring blades 13 rotate in the interior of the container around vertical axes of rotation 12.7, 12.8 that are parallel to one another and are arranged in the center of the circular arc-shaped wall parts 12.3, 12.4 and run through overlapping working circles. The cutting and stirring blades 13 are arranged eccentrically to their axes of rotation 12.7 and 12.8 and cover a working surface whose outer circle radius is larger than the mutual distance between the axes of rotation 12.7, 12.8. The declared aim in the design of such a cheese maker is that all areas of its interior filled with the curd/whey mixture are covered by the cutting and stirring tools.

The container base 12.6 is made up of two directly adjacent base parts 12.9, 12.10 in the basic shape of a circular cone with a cone tip pointing downwards, the cone axes of which coincide with the rotation axes 12.7, 12.8 of the cutting and stirring blades 13. The base parts 12.9 and 12.10 are each provided with a closable drain opening 12.11 in the area of their two cone tips. Both drain openings 12.11 open into a common drain channel 12.12.

The basic structure of a cheese maker briefly outlined above makes it clear that it is not possible to arrange the proposed device inside the container 12.1 without the device interfering with the working area of the cutting and stirring blades 13. The arrangement position of the device in which there is no intervention in the working area of the cutting and stirring blades 13 is marked with A or A' in Figure 2. 30

The device consists of a telescopic housing 11 (Figure 3) which is arranged on the cover part 12.5 of the cheese maker 12, to the interior of which has an access opening 12b, extends vertically upwards and in the basic position

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The design of the proposed device (Fig. 4) essentially comprises a tubular body with sieve-shaped inlets 10 (sieve), a telescopic outer tube 8b and a telescopic inner tube 9. At the upper end of the telescopic housing 11 there is a housing 6 with a connection 6a, a controllable valve 1, an upper end position limit 4b for a preferably spherical closing element 4c of a check valve 4, a first pressure medium connection 6b and a locking device 2. Furthermore, a drive 3 for generating the rotational movement of the sieve 10, the telescopic outer tube 8b and the inner tube 9 is arranged in this area. The drive 3 transmits its rotary motion to the telescopic outer tube 8b via a gear transmission 7, consisting of a driving and a driven gear 7a or 7b, and a passage 8a in the area between the housing 6 and the adjacent end part of the telescopic housing 11. A spray device for applying cleaning fluid is designated 5. It is arranged in the space between the telescopic housing 11 and the telescopic outer tube 8b, below the passage 8a. The lower end position limit of the closing element 4c of the check valve 4 is designated 4a. The maximum filling level of the curd/whey mixture in the container 12 is marked 12a. The cutting and stirring blades are designated 13.

The telescopic outer tube 8b and the inner tube 9 are preferably arranged coaxially to one another and axially displaceable against one another, whereby the upper end of the telescopic inner tube 9, which remains in the telescopic outer tube 8b when both tubes 8b, 9 are completely moved apart, is designed as a check valve 4 with the spherical closing element 4c (see Figure 5). In addition, the end section of the telescopic inner tube 9 engaging in the telescopic outer tube 8b is designed on the outside as a piston 9a, which seals in the telescopic outer tube 8b in such a way that when the first pressure medium connection 6b is pressurized with compressed air, the telescopic inner tube 9 and the outer tube 8b move apart axially. The check valve 4, whose closing element 4c is in the lower end position limit 4a, is closed. The telescopic outer tube 8b is further designed such that, for example, the space between the telescopic housing 11 and the telescopic outer tube 8b is provided with a

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a second pressure medium connection 11a arranged in the upper housing part 11b of the telescopic housing 11 can be pressurized with pressure medium, preferably compressed air. The pressure medium reaches the space between the telescopic inner tube 9 and the telescopic outer tube 8b below the piston 9a via a connection not shown or designated in detail, so that the axial retraction of the telescopic inner tube 9 into the outer tube 8b is thereby effected.

From the basic position (Fig. 4), the rest position, the sieve 10 and the telescopic inner tube 9 connected to it are lowered into the curd/whey mixture (filling level 12a, Figure 3). This is done by applying compressed air to the first pressure medium connection 6b (Figure 5). The closing element 4c of the check valve 4 is in the lower end position limit 4a. The valve 1 (Figure 3) is closed. At the same time as or after the lowering of the telescopic inner tube 9 and the sieve 10, the latter are set in rotation in connection with the telescopic outer tube 8b via the drive 3 and the gear transmission 7, consisting of the driving and driven gears 7a and 7b, respectively, on the way through the passage 8a (Figure 5). The driven gear 7b is connected to a bearing part 8.2 via a connecting part 8.1. The connecting means are designated 8.6.

The bearing part 8.2 is screwed at its lower end to a head part 8.3 that is firmly connected to the telescopic outer tube 8b and serves as a stop for the piston 9a, via a second connecting means 8.7. The bearing part 8.2 is mounted on the inside on the outside of a lower housing 6c, which is connected to the housing 6 via a so-called clamping ring connection 6d. An inner bearing shell 8.4 serves this purpose. The bearing part 8.2 is mounted on the outside via an outer bearing shell 8.5, which is accommodated in the upper housing part 11b. A cover 11c ensures the axial securing of the outer bearing shell 8.5 in the upper housing part 11b. The connecting means for this are designated 11d. The piston 9a is equipped with seals 9b for the purpose of sealing, with a sliding ring 9c being provided between these two seals 9b.

After the telescopic inner tube 9 and the sieve 10 have been completely lowered (Figure 3), the whey can be sucked out via the connection 6a

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For this purpose, the valve 1 is opened. The spherical closing element 4c of the check valve 4 is moved from its lower end position limit 4a to its upper end position limit 4b in the housing 6 as a result of the volume flow (closing element 4c*; see also Figure 5). The end position limit 4b is designed as a funnel-shaped catch device 4d. In the upper end position limit 4b, the closing element 4c* is fixed by actuating the locking device 2 using a bolt 2a, even after the whey extraction process has ended, in such a way that it cannot fall back into its lower end position limit 4a. Falling back into the lower end position limit 4a is generally not permitted because this would make it impossible to clean the entire device by flow following the whey extraction, after the cheese maker 12 has been completely emptied.

After the whey has been sucked out, the second pressure medium connection 11 a is pressurized with compressed air. The sieve 10 and the telescopic inner tube 9 move into the basic position of the device (Figure 4), whereby the valve 1 can remain open.

A so-called CIP cleaning (“cleaning in place” in the flow) of the entire device is carried out by supplying cleaning agent via the connection 6a, which thereby cleans the telescopic outer tube 8b and the inner tube 9 from the inside. A further supply of cleaning agent can be provided via the spray device 5, which is arranged between the inner wall of the telescopic housing 11 and the outer wall of the telescopic outer tube 8b, so that this area as well as the telescopic outer tube 8b from the outside and the sieve 10 can be subjected to cleaning in the flow.

The proposed device can be arranged in such a way that it is positioned inside or outside the area of influence of the cutting and stirring tools 13 (also referred to above as cutting and stirring blades) in the cheese maker. Positioning outside the aforementioned area of influence enables, as already shown above (position A or A'), a

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These tools must be operated at the same time as the proposed device is operating (whey extraction). Otherwise, the cutting and stirring tools must be stopped and removed from the device’s location area as long as the device’s telescopic inner tube 9 is lowered into the cheese maker 12. 5

The relative movement between the sieve 10 and the curd/whey mixture in the cheese maker 12, as provided for in the innovation, preferably takes place through a uniform and continuous rotational movement. A form of movement comparable to this in terms of the effect that occurs can also be achieved through an oscillating circumferential movement of the sieve 10 and/or an oscillating movement of the sieve 10 in its axial direction. For this purpose, the drive 3 and the provisions for transmitting the movement must be designed in a suitable manner.

Claims (11)

Protection claims 1. Device for sucking whey out of a container, in particular from a cheese maker, with a tubular body with sieve-shaped inlets, which is arranged in the position required for sucking the whey out of a curd/whey mixture and carries out a relative movement to the surrounding curd/whey mixture in the container in order to expose curd components which keep getting stuck in the sieve openings, with a suction pipe engaging in the tubular body, which on the other hand is provided with a connection to a device for sucking the whey, characterized in that the suction pipe (8b, 9) is directly or indirectly firmly connected to the tubular body (10) and with its end section (8.1, 8.2, 8.3) pointing away from the latter penetrates a passage (8a) provided directly or indirectly on the container (12) and is arranged in this passage so as to be movable relative to the container (12), that the end section (8.1, 8.2, 8.3) outside the container (12) is connected to a drive for generating the relative movement, preferably a continuous rotational movement, and that the suction pipe (8b,9) consists of a telescopic outer pipe (8b) penetrating the passage (8a) and a telescopic inner pipe (9) engaging in the end of the telescopic outer pipe (8b) facing away from the passage (8a), the latter being designed to be axially displaceable and sealed relative to the telescopic outer pipe (8b). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the telescopic outer tube (8b) is mounted in the passage (8a) so as to be rotatable and axially immovable. 3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the telescopic outer tube (8b) is mounted in the passage (8a) in an oscillatingly rotatable and/or oscillatingly axially displaceable manner. 13.07.1998 4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the end section of the telescopic inner tube (9) engaging in the telescopic outer tube (8b) is designed on the outside as a piston (9a) which seals in the telescopic outer tube (8b), and on the inside as a check valve (4; 4a, 4c) which allows flow through the telescopic inner tube (9) from the tubular body (10) into the surroundings of the container (12), and that the end of the telescopic outer tube (8b) facing away from the passage (8a) sealingly encloses the outside of the telescopic inner tube (9). 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the telescopic inner tube (9) is essentially received in the telescopic outer tube (8b) during its axial displacement upwards, and that the telescopic outer tube (8b) is received in the region between the passage (8a) and its end facing the container (12) in a telescopic housing (11), the interior of which is connected to the interior of the container (12) via an access opening (12b) in the container (12). 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the space between the telescopic housing (11) and the telescopic outer tube (8b) is provided with a second pressure medium connection (11a) arranged on the telescopic housing (11) and has a connection to the space between the telescopic inner tube (9) and the telescopic outer tube (8b) below the piston (9a). 7. Device according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that above the passage (8a) there is provided a housing (6) which is supported in a stationary manner on the container (12) and which has a connection to the interior of the telescopic outer tube (8b), a first pressure medium connection (6b) and an upper end position limit (4b) for a closing element (4c) of the check valve (4). WAFG0798 :::·::: * I! ^:: ,. ^: 13.07.1998 *** " 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the upper end position limit (4b) is designed as a funnel-shaped catching device (4d)
is. 9. Device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that below
the upper end position limitation (4b) is provided with a locking device (2), the bolt (2a), automatically controllable, reaching almost completely through the housing transversely to the axis of the latter. 10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that in a container (12.1) which consists in the region of its vertical container wall of two wall parts which are in the form of circular arcs in plan view
(12.3, 12.4), the tubular body (10) in the penetration area of the wall parts (12.3, 12.4), outside the working area of the Cutting and stirring blades (13) can be lowered into a correspondingly enlarged area of the container (12.1). 11. Device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that in the space between the telescope housing (11) and the telescope outer tube (8b), below the passage (8a), a spray device (5) for applying cleaning fluid is provided.