DK145691B - PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING CHEESE FORMS WITH CREAM - Google Patents

Description

os) DENMARK

® (12) SUBMISSION WRITING, in "145691 B

DIRECTORATE OF THE PATENT AND TRADEMARKET SYSTEM

(21) Application No. 59 ^ 1/74 (51) Intel.3 A 01 J 25/11 (22) Filing Day 15 · Nov. 1974 (24) Race day 15 · Nov. 1974 (41) Aim. available 17 · May 1975 (44) Presented 51 · Jan. 1985 (86) International Application No. - (86) International Filing Day (85) Continuation Day - (62) Master Application No. -

(30) Priority 16 Nov. 1973 * 7315742, NL

(71) Applicant STICHTING BEDRIJENEN VAN THE NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR ZUI = VELONDERZOEK, Ede, NL.

(72) Inventor Hermannus Jan £> language, NL.

(74) Associate Engineer Hofman-Bang & Boutard.

(54) Method and apparatus for filling cheese molds with us = temass.

The invention relates to a method of the kind set forth in claim 1. Such a method is described in Danish patent specification 126,294, which also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method. In the known method and in the known apparatus, the mixing material is introduced into the drainage column or columns from above. The whey seeps out through the preferably cylindrical, thin perforated wall of the columns, while the curd grains sink and eventually accumulate in the lower part of the column or columns.

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When release of a drainage column's lower drainage opening for curds, the total curds of the colander sink · partially down into the cheese mold placed under the column, after which a knife is passed over.

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□ 2 145691 cuts the curd body between the column and the cheese mold. This cutting can take place at equal time intervals or initiated by organs for detecting curd in the column when they have observed a certain curd level in the column. The cutting operation also triggers a number of working steps, including removing the curd filled cheese mold and placing an empty cheese mold under the drainage column.

However, the known method and the corresponding apparatus have the significant disadvantage that curds or curds are filled from the drainage column or columns even in cases where, in the lower part of the column, curds have accumulated up to the detection means, but where this curd has not yet settled sufficiently. In practice, experience has shown that the curd detection means often give their signal for initiating the bottling operation and the cut-off operation for detecting curd at the detection level, although the density of the curd below this is still very small and the curd has disappeared again shortly after the signal delivery. the detection site, e.g. a detection light beam, due to continued sedimentation below the detection level. This means that the cheese forms are frequently filled with curds of disparate and usually insufficient density due to an even larger whey proportion.

Especially when the known apparatus has several co-operating drainage columns, there will be a great risk of producing uneven and poor quality cheese portions, partly because a uniform supply of curd grains cannot be ensured to all the columns, even when introduced into them. the same volume of blending material consisting of curd grain and whey.

The present invention aims to alleviate this grave deficiency in practice and to this end, to ensure that the filling of the cheese molds from the column or columns can only take place after the necessary settling and compression of the curd grains have taken place. all cheese forms contain curds with exactly the same density. This is achieved by the measures specified in the characterizing part of claim 1. Namely, these achieve that although the supply of blend material to the column is interrupted when curd is observed at the detection level, but this first observation does not entail any transfer of curd to the curd form through the column's lower outlet opening, observing the curd at the detection level. is continued or repeated one or more times until assurance is reached that the total volume of the column below the detection level is filled with sufficiently drained and sufficiently compact curd. Only then is the control pulse released to release the column lower outlet for curd. On the other hand, if the continued or repeated observation at the detection level shows that there is no longer a sufficient amount of curd, the feed material supply to the drain column is no longer released or increased. This supply of mixing material is repeated several times, if necessary, to compensate for the continued sinking and condensation in the column portion below the observation level.

As stated in claims 2-4, the detection accuracy and thus the uniformity of the curd portions from different drainage columns and the homogeneity of each curd portion are increased.

The invention also relates to an apparatus of the kind specified in the preamble of claim 5 for carrying out the method. The apparatus is peculiar to the characterizing part of claim 5. If you only work with a single drainage column, you will in many cases want a continuous supply of the mixture of whey and cheese grains to the column. In that case, a curd block will be drained and cut off from the drain column each time the curd in the column has reached the predetermined level. In addition, up to this level, the cheese mass will have reached a certain minimum density during the sinking and the stiffness, which is indicated by the detector itself, or is determined by taking into account a time delay from the moment the detector detects curds with too low density. . The same possibilities exist if several drainage columns are used, especially if each such molding and drainage column is provided with a mixture of curd grain and whey independently of the material supply to the other columns, by means of a separate pump. However, when using more than one column 4 U5S91 at the same time, it is far more convenient to completely work with intermittent application of whey curd mixture to the columns.

A time delay is also desirable in releasing the supply of whey and curd to the column, thereby avoiding unstable operation due to frequent starting and stopping of the delivery means, e.g. pump. The release of the material supply and the blocking thereof with said time delay has the additional advantage of giving the curd sufficient time to sink together in the column and to stiffen, without such, the time delay detector means for the curd would otherwise give its control signal at a time. wherein the curd is not yet sufficiently solidified, e.g. may be because it is difficult or impossible to make the detector distinguish between solidified and non-solidified curd. If a detector capable of making this distinction is used, it is not always necessary to use the detector's signals with said time delay.

According to the invention, the apparatus may have one or more additional detectors, in particular for detecting whey at a desired highest whey level, and for blocking whey and curd supply when this detector detects whey at this level.

In addition, a detector interacting with said detectors can be found to detect whey at a lower whey level, to control a separate supply of whey or water.

Such means for detecting the presence of whey may be designed in a variety of ways known to those skilled in the art, merely comparing whey to air. To this end, various conventional types of detectors can be used to detect the presence of any liquid or an electrically conductive liquid. Far more difficult is the detection of the presence of curd with sufficient density. This can be achieved by determining the difference in electrical conductivity of precipitated curd in whey on one side and curd free whey on the other. However, since this electrical conductivity is not only dependent on the presence of more or less cheese mass in the embankment, but also on other varying factors such as temperature, acidity, presence of added additional substances such as water, etc., it is more convenient according to the invention. comparing a measurement provided by such a curd detector with a measurement of a parameter of the whey, preferably of the whey, from the same process, of the same type, acidity and at the same temperature as the whey in the column. Hereby, according to the invention, the means for measuring the whey parameter and for providing the comparison signal may be arranged in a space which communicates via a liquid with the interior of the column but is separated from it by a sieve plate through which whey can pass but which prevents curd in arriving at the measuring means located at the same height as the curd detector.

Instead of the electrical conductivity as measured parameter can be used light transmittance. In addition, the light reflection difference between whey and curd can be used, which is, however, less advantageous. In many cases, a system is conveniently employed which includes a detector of known type for detecting a particular fluid level in a hopper, and consisting of a moving, e.g. rotary or reciprocating body which, in some sunken curd, encounters significantly greater resistance to its movement than in pure whey, and which detects this resistance and transforms it into e.g. a corresponding electrical signal if there is a relatively large amount of curd in the area of operation of the body or which is stopped by said resistance and converts this stop into a signal for controlling the material supply to the column and / or the material discharge thereof.

The curd detector may be designed or configured to detect at a certain time the presence of sufficient curd to stop the supply of blend of whey and curd grains. However, during the continued immersion of the curd and the stiffener, its surface in the column will sink and reach a level below the desired level at which the column contains sufficient curd to remove from the column a sufficiently large curd block or the material supply to the column can be kept locked. This problem can be solved by re-opening the blocked material mixer to the column with a certain time delay until it is again blocked by the curd detector again detecting the presence of a significant amount of curd in the column. The whey, which flows mainly down the column, thereby contributes to the sinking and stiffening of the curd. This whey is preferably removed from the column through a perforated wall at or near the lower end of the column. In this way, the means for supplying the material mixture to the column can be opened and locked alternately e.g. several times until the final solidified curd surface of the column no longer sinks below the predetermined desired level detected by the curd detector, after which the column discharge opening for the curd can be released and a curd block can be cut off. This curd extraction can be controlled by the curd detector itself, or can take place at certain time intervals, the size of which depends on the frequency of the cheese processing processes or the frequency with which curd material is to be transferred to the column or columns. In any case, these time intervals can be adjusted so that there is always sufficient time to collect a sufficient amount of curd in the sunken and solidified state in the column or columns before the curd is drained from them.

Measurements in the whey and curd can be compared in a known manner, for example by means of a Wheatstone bridge, if electrical signals are used.

However, the detector will often be contaminated with curds so that the bromine resistance in the two branches of the Wheatstone Bridge becomes uneven, even when the detectors are placed in exactly the same kind of liquid, e.g. in pure whey. However, in the method and apparatus of the invention, the curd surface will be lowered each time a curd block is removed and removed from the column, so that the curd detector will be surrounded by pure whey in the same way as the whey reference detector. This makes it possible to automatically compensate for these resistance differences in the two branches of the Wheatstone bridge in the time intervals between the cutting of a curd block and the opening of the supply of blend of whey and curd grains to the column until the bridge is in balance. In this way, the effect of any contamination of electrodes on the measurements is eliminated, thereby avoiding a falsification of the measurement results. This compensation can be obtained by a sufficiently long delay between the blocking of the supply of the blend material and the opening of the feeder of the blend material so that there is sufficient time for the compensation without being disturbed by curd. This is easy to achieve because the compensation only takes two or three seconds and because the actual time lag in the system may well be greater.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with the aid of the drawing, which partly shows from the side and partly in vertical section an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention with a ramp drain column.

The drawing shows a column 1 for whey curd drainage, with an upper end portion 2 in the form of a reverse cone stub. This tapered upper column portion 2 has an outlet nozzle 3 for whey. Inside the upper column portion 2 is arranged a perforated cylindrical body 4 which separates the space within the body of the column from a space existing between the body 4 and the column portion 2, whose horizontal cross-sectional area increases upwards. The lower end portion of the column is formed by a perforated wall consisting of one or more portions 5 »6 arranged one on top of the other. These hollowed lower pillar wall portions are enclosed in each whey collection container 7 and 8, respectively, with each outlet spout 9 and 10, respectively, for drained whey. The column is closed at the bottom by means of a sliding valve which can be moved back and forth horizontally as indicated by the double arrow for opening the column downwards and for blocking the lower opening of the column respectively. The sliding valve may in a manner known per se be formed as a disc or plate with a cutting edge for cutting a curd block from the curd column in the drainage column of the apparatus during the closing movement of the valve. When the valve 11 is in the open position, curd is ejected through the lower opening of the column under the influence of the weight. of the curd and whey in the column. The cut curd block may be collected in a suitable container, e.g. a cheese mold 12 on a table 13 on which the mold can be displaced e.g. by means of other cheese molds which are pushed from the side 13 under the column 1 from the side, thereby pushing the filled mold 12 away from the lower end of the column.

From a cooking apparatus, a mixture of whey and curd grains is passed through a conduit 14 into the column 1. Mixture 8 is easily transported to the column by a pump 26. If several columns are present, the material supply conduit 14 may be branched by one corresponding to the number of columns. number of branch lines as indicated at 15 and 16 in the drawing. The branch lines have an end portion 17 which projects centrally into the column in question and to whose lower end portion is attached an underneath distribution plate 18 which distributes the mixing material evenly in the column and prevents the mixing material from being introduced into the column in the form of a column. downward directed beam of material that would interfere with the immersion, settling, and starch of the curd in the lower portion of the column.

In each branch line 15, 16, a pipeline 19 opens, through which preferably additional whey or water can be introduced into the branch line 15 and thus into the column 1 from the same cooking apparatus. This supply is controlled by a valve 20 inserted in the pipeline 19.

A curd detector 21 is arranged in the column at a desired level. When the detector's indication for a good observation is to be compared with a corresponding indication in curd-free whey, at the same height as the detector 21, but at a breathed place in the column, a whey detector 22, so shielded by a perforated wall 23, that only whey but not curd can come into contact with whey detector 22. At the upper end of the column, a whey indicating detector 24. Between the detectors 21, 22, on the one hand, and the ramp detector 24, on the other hand, there may be additional ramp detectors 25 at various levels in the column.

In the branch lines 15 and 16 there is an adjustable valve 27.

Are the detectors for whey and curd electrodes which e.g. measuring the electrical conductivity and thereby indicating whether the detector in question is in contact with whey or curd or a mixture thereof containing a larger or smaller proportion of curd, the drainage column is electrically grounded. A comparator 29, e.g. one using a wire 28 electrically grounded Wheatstone bridge 29, compares the values measured by detectors 21 and 22. If at the detector 21 germ whey, this electrode will output the same signal as the whey electrode 22. In that case, the Wheatstone bridge 29 is in balance and no resultant signal is transmitted from it. If enough curd is present at the electrode 21, the signals emitted by the electrodes 21 and 22 will no longer be the same, so that in the Wheatstone bridge 29 a differential signal is produced which is applied to an amplifier 30 which, to a time delay means 31, gives a signal of sufficient strength. From the time delay means 31, a signal is transmitted to a time delay means 35 which, however, can only be activated for closing the valve 27 via a valve actuating means 36, but not for opening the valve.

When the means 31 gives a signal for closing the valve 27, and at the same time one or more corresponding valves 27 for controlling the supply of the mixing material to one or more other drainage columns must be closed, an AND-gate 33 ensures that the pump 26 is completely stopped, or the pumping power of the pump is reduced.

A time delay means 34 associated with the OG gate 33 is not activated when the OG gate 33 delivers its signal for stopping the pump 26 or for reducing the pump flow rate, the time delay means 34 merely serving to provide a time delay of e.g. six seconds when pump 26 is restarted. Also, the member 35 closes valve 27 with a time delay of six seconds. In this arrangement, the valves 27 are safely prevented from closing before the pump 26 comes to a standstill after the power supply to the pump has been interrupted. Each drain column has essentially the same separate electrical circuit as shown in the drawing for column 1. These corresponding additional circuits, however, are not shown in the drawing except for a time delay means 32 corresponding to the time delay means 31 of a neighboring drainage column not shown.

The wall detectors 25 are connected by a conduit to each of their contact means 37 in a switch with a switch arm 38, by means of which all the detectors 25 can be alternately coupled to a signal amplifier 39 for closing the valve 20, when the respective wall detector 25 is connected. whey.

The trap detector 24 is connected to the wire from the curd detector 21 to the comparator, i.e. to Wheatstone Bridge 29.

10 145691

In the foregoing description of the apparatus and its function, it has been assumed that the sliding valve 11 by the column dog is opened and closed by means of a maneuver not shown in fixed time intervals of e.g. 30 seconds. However, the apparatus can also operate such that the curd detector 21 controls the sliding valve 11 so that this valve is opened when the curd 21 is in sufficiently compact and rigid condition that in the space between the detector 21 and. there is a sufficiently large quantity of drained curd. This automatic periodic opening and closing of the slide valve 11 can take place simultaneously with the opening and closing of the supply of the mixing material consisting of curd grain and whey for the drainage column.

If the curd detector is not only capable of responding to the presence of a sufficiently large amount of curd, but is further adapted to distinguish sufficiently precisely between a greater or lesser amount of curd at one and the same height in the drainage column, or between more or less far-fetched and solidified curd, no time delay means are required in the line for interrupting the mixing supply or such time delay means when operating the sliding valve at the lower end of the column. In that case, the time delay means 31 may lapse, but time delay is still required upon re-opening for the supply of the material mixture to the column to ensure that the pump 26 operates smoothly.

The signal lines from the detectors 21 and 24 are interconnected to ensure that only the supply of the blend of whey and curd grains is opened to the column if both detectors detect a need for such material supply. To this end, this portion of the circuit is arranged so that each of the detectors 21 and 24 will interrupt the supply of blend material to the column independently of the other detector, but that on it. on the other hand, it is only reopened for the supply of blend material, if both detectors indicate a need for such supply, that is, if there is not enough curd at the detector 21 or whey at the detector 24. This can be realized in practice by suitable OR gates and OGs. ports in the signal lines from electrodes 21 and 24 to Wheatstone Bridge 29.

Claims (11)

The detectors 25 ensure that the curd is continuously submerged in whey and that the mixture of curd and whey through the portion 17 of the supply line is introduced into the column below the liquid surface thereof and thus does not come into contact with air. The time delay provided by the time delay means 31 can e.g. be of the order of 3 seconds. In the illustrated embodiment, this means ensures the desired time delay both at the opening and at the closing of the material supply. A method of filling cheese molds (12) with curds, in which a blend of whey and curd grains is introduced into a drainage column (1) or several parallel drainage columns adapted to drain curds from their lower end, and at a certain height in the column or columns the presence of curd is detected, thereby providing a control signal, characterized in that the supply of blend material to the column is interrupted or reduced when a certain minimum amount of curd is detected at said level in the drain column, so that the column interior with respect to said column upon detection of curd, respectively, or continue to be observed, respectively, after or for a period of time, during which the mixing material supply to the column continues to be blocked or at least reduced, that the material supply to the column is reopened or increased if at the end of the period a sufficient amount of curd is not observed. on observations the level and that the observation and re-opening of the material supply or its increase is repeated until, for a sufficiently long period or two successive observations, a sufficient amount of curd is detected at the observation height, after which the curd form is filled with curd from the lower part of the column. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that after each blocking of the supply of mixing material to the drainage column, it is reopened for this supply with a certain time delay from the moment when the amount of curd at the said level in the column becomes too small. 12 t 145691 Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the supply of the mixture of whey and curd grains is also interrupted or reduced when at a higher level than the level of curd detection, whey is present in the column and that it is reopened only for the supply of mixture material or this supply is increased again when the amount of curd becomes too small at the curd detection level. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that a separate supply of water or whey is opened to the column as the whey surface thereof drops below a level below said high whale detection level. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to claims 1-4, with one or more columns (1) for removing whey from curd on drainage, and with a means (21) for detecting curd, characterized in that the detecting means is arranged in a height in the column up to which the curd in the sunk and stiffened state has increased when sufficient curd has accumulated in the column to drain a curd block which can be formed into a cheese in a cheese mold (12), and the apparatus has means controlled by the curd detector (21) arranged to, if necessary, repeatedly block or reduce the supply of curd and whey mixture to the column and again release or increase the mix material supply until for a sufficiently long period or two successive observations are detected sufficiently dense curd at the observation level, and only then to open a locking member at the lower end of the column. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that at least one member (24) arranged to detect the presence of whey at this level and which is associated with means for blocking the presence of whey at a higher level is arranged in the column. or reduce the supply of blend material consisting of whey and curd grains to the column when the whey reaches the said level of detection and that there are associated means with the whey detection means so arranged that when the whey surface has sunk below the whale detection means level and this means has issued a signal for reopening for the supply of the blend material, only opens for this supply if the pulp mass detecting means (21) also gives a signal for opening this material supply. Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it has a means (22) for measuring a whey parameter, and means for comparing these measurement values with the measurement values of the curd detection means (21), for providing a difference signal which in the case of a sufficiently large value for this signal indicates the presence of sufficiently close curd at the curd detection means. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the whey parameter means (22) is preferably arranged at the level of the curd detector (21) and in a separate chamber in the column which is separated from the remaining volume of the column by a perforated wall (23). ), preferably a sieve which is only suitable for whey but not for curd, so that the latter cannot come into contact with the whey parameter body (22). Apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that it is arranged to detect the presence of curds by measuring the difference between the electrical conductivity of the curds and the rolls or light absorption. Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the curd detection means is a moving means adapted to output a signal for controlling the supply of whey and curd grains when the resistance to its movement reaches a certain value resulting from, that the body moves in curd. Apparatus according to any one of claims 5-9, characterized in that it has means adapted to correct the measurement pulses of the curd detector during the time intervals where the detector is only in contact with whey and wherein