EP2043423A1

EP2043423A1 - Device and method for the pressing of cheese

Info

Publication number: EP2043423A1
Application number: EP07726176A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gisbert Strohn
Original assignee: ALPMA Alpenland Maschinenbau GmbH
Current assignee: ALPMA Alpenland Maschinenbau GmbH
Priority date: 2006-07-26
Filing date: 2007-06-28
Publication date: 2009-04-08
Also published as: RU2008128017A; WO2008011954A1; DE102006034548A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a cheese press (10) with pressing instruments arranged on a stand (12) for the pressing of press molds (24) that are filled with curd, with the pressing instruments designed to exert a horizontally directed pressing force to a horizontal pressing stack (30) that is formed from multiple pressing molds (24) that are arranged next to each other in the direction of pressing.

Description

Apparatus and method for pressing cheese

The invention relates to a cheese press and a method of pressing cheese-filled molds.

In the production of cheese, in particular sliced cheese, a mixture of cheese curd and whey is added following fermentation and the aggregation and contraction known as syneresis

Milk proteins pressed to further reduce the whey content in the cheese. As part of industrial cheese production, the mixture of cheese curd and whey is filled by means of a portioning machine into special, perforated molds, which allow the whey to escape during the pressing process, while the cheese mass is retained in the mold to finally form cheese loaves.

The pressing of the filled molds is usually carried out on a press line, e.g. Includes 30 press stations for a corresponding number of press molds. Above each pressing station, a pneumatic cylinder is arranged, which causes the pressing of the cheese curd-whey mixture in the vertical direction under a pressure of 0.1 to 0.3 bar on the cheese surface until the whey content of the cheese mass has dropped below a certain value , This pressing process takes up to two hours and must not be interrupted.

The press stations of a press line are occupied by means of appropriate conveying devices successively with dies. The pressing process is then carried out by simultaneously pressing the sames valve controlled pneumatic cylinder started. A single operation of the pneumatic cylinder is usually not provided for cost reasons, since a reassembly of the press line is in any case only possible again when the pressing process for the last used mold is completed.

In order nevertheless to enable at least largely continuous work, a plurality of pressing sections are arranged next to one another and moreover usually in two or more planes one above the other, which can be fitted alternately. In such an arrangement, it is necessary to einhausen each individual press area to prevent dripping of escaping whey on underlying press places. At the same time, the enclosure serves to protect neighboring press stations from splash water and aggressive cleaning chemicals, which are produced by means of spray heads arranged within the housing when the pressing stations are necessary.

In such arrangements the access for maintenance and cleaning work is usually difficult. Since a lateral distance of at least 50 mm for the housing must be maintained between two pressing stations and the vertical spacing of the individual levels is predetermined by the pneumatic cylinder including the pressing path in addition to the die height, there is also a space requirement which increases the efficiency of a Production line for cheese is limited, not least because of the amount of existing production space.

In the event of faults, in particular of the conveyors for press line assembly, it is necessary that maintenance personnel must enter the pressing device, which often only by accident-prone and cumbersome climbing between the superimposed press planes is possible, thereby causing the standstill usually multiple pressing pieces with the result of production losses.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cheese press or a method for pressing with cheese curd filled molds with improved space utilization and ease of maintenance and cleaning.

The object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1 and by a method having the features of claim 24.

In particular, the solution is carried out by a cheese press with pressing means arranged on a frame for pressing molds filled with cheese curd, the pressing means being designed to exert a horizontally directed pressing force on a horizontal press stack formed from a plurality of press molds arranged side by side in the pressing direction.

Thus, according to the invention, several molds can be pressed together with horizontally acting pressing means. By using a horizontal arrangement of the dies instead of a vertical arrangement according to the prior art, the vertical space requirement of the cheese press is greatly reduced. Furthermore, in comparison with a space saving also conceivable vertical stacking of molds unwanted pressure is avoided by the weight of the stacked molds. As a result of the cheese press according to the invention, the same pressing pressure is exerted on each press mold of a horizontal press stack, any friction within the press molds being negligible or being adjusted by a suitable setting of the press mold. pressure can be compensated for all press molds of a press stack in the same way.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the press molds of a press stack are arranged adjacent to one another. As a result, the horizontal extent in the pressing direction is minimal.

The press stack can be arranged between two pressing surfaces formed by the pressing means, horizontally spaced from each other, of which at least one in the horizontal direction against the other pressing surface can be driven.

At least one pressing surface is advantageously formed by a stop which is arranged on the frame and, in particular, is immovable relative to the frame. As a result, effort and space requirements are further reduced because only one of the two pressing surfaces acting on a press stack must be driven.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a plurality of pressing means and / or press stack are arranged vertically one above the other. In such an arrangement, the overall height is determined essentially only by the vertical extent of the stacked in the horizontal direction of press molds, so that can be multiplied with a corresponding room height, the number of press stations per base.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a rack frame is provided with stacking shelves arranged one above the other for receiving at least one press stack, wherein in particular each shelf is assigned its own pressing means. By means of the storage areas serving the storage of the molds during the pressing process on the one hand optimal space utilization is achieved in the vertical direction and on the other hand, for example, avoided that dripping during pressing whey drips on underlying molds or pressing means. In addition, this ensures good accessibility in the event of a fault or for maintenance and cleaning work.

Preferably, the pressing means are arranged substantially within a region of the frame which encompasses a pressing path of the pressing stack. The pressing path of a single mold can, due to escaping grain, e.g. about 60 - 80 mm. As a result, for a press stack size of, for example, 30 press molds, a press travel of more than 2 m results, which causes a corresponding horizontal expansion of the press media. As a result of the arrangement of the pressing means within the area of the frame which surrounds the pressing path, the horizontal extent of the cheese press according to the invention is further reduced.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the drive of the press ram is effected by one or more pneumatic cylinders.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the pressing means comprise at least one press die acting on the press stack and at least one threaded spindle rotatably drivable on the frame for pressing the press die and arranged longitudinally of the press direction. By means of such threaded spindles can be realized in a cost effective and space-saving manner, even longer pressing paths, which nevertheless allow a fine regulation of the pressing pressure.

The ram can be driven by means of two juxtaposed, spaced in the radial direction of threaded spindles, wherein the ram extends between two threaded spindles. Here- by the occurrence of bending moments acting on the threaded spindles is largely avoided and improves the introduction of force in the ram. Furthermore, the ram is thereby guided in the pressing direction.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the drivable pressing surfaces are arranged between two pressing stacks facing each other in the pressing direction and designed for simultaneous pressing of both pressing stacks against opposing, in particular static pressing surfaces or stops. The drivable pressing surfaces act here between the two pressing stacks and push them in opposite directions apart against the respective static pressing surfaces. Thus, the number of simultaneously pressable by a pressing means press molds can be further increased. Furthermore, the attachment of the drivable pressing surfaces on the frame can be simplified, since the

Press forces act mainly in opposite directions on the fixed pressing surfaces and thus largely cancel each other in the attachment area. For driving the pressing surfaces, one or more common pressing means for both pressing stacks or even separate pressing means for each pressing stack can be provided.

So that no different pressing pressure is exerted on the two pressing stacks, common pressing means are preferably mounted in a floating manner in order to compensate for force differences between the pressing stacks arising during pressing.

In the case mentioned above, it is further preferred if at least one of the threaded pressing surfaces is provided with a threaded spindle provided with two counter-rotating threads, wherein in particular the opposing pressing surfaces are designed as immovable stops. In particular, when providing such threaded Spindles is preferred for the above reasons, a floating storage.

The threaded spindle can be driven by a stepper motor or a servomotor. As a result, the pressing force can be regulated in fine steps.

Advantageously, a tilting device is provided for tilting a press mold and / or a vertical stack of a plurality of press molds about a horizontal axis, wherein the tilt angle is in particular 90 °. With the help of this device, the molds, which are initially upright for infestation, move into the required horizontal position for performing the pressing operation.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a gripper for inserting and / or removing at least one mold, in particular a part of a press stack, is provided in / from the frame. Advantageously, the gripper is designed to tilt at least one mold about a horizontal axis. Thus, the gripper additionally assumes the function of the tilting device.

Furthermore, the gripper may have at least one lateral stop for supporting the molds, so that these or individual components thereof are held in the gripper during transport.

The gripper can also be arranged on a linearly displaceable in all spatial directions lifting. Thus, several shelves of the cheese press can be operated with a single gripper. Preferably, this lifting carriage is arranged on the frame of the cheese press, which can in particular also carry the above-mentioned shelf surfaces. This allows a simplified structure, since no additional Licher carrier for the lifting or ceiling mounting is required.

Alternatively, the gripper is arranged on a articulated robot. Also by such a robot, the necessary range of motion for the gripper can be ensured.

Preferably, the gripper is rotatable about a vertical axis. This achieves the greatest possible flexibility in loading the cheese press, in particular if the press molds still have to be rotated about a vertical axis before they are inserted into the cheese press. In particular, in this context, it makes sense if two racks are arranged opposite each other, wherein both racks a common gripper for insertion and / or removal of molds is assigned. In this way, the common gripper can be used in an economical manner, since it can equip the second frame with press molds, for example, while the pressing process already takes place in the first frame. Thus, the number of required grippers can be kept low for larger pressing arrangements.

Preferably, the mold is designed as a container with a press cover displaceably guided in the mold for facilitating the pressing of curd. The lid represents a pressing element for the cheese mass and at the same time prevents it from leaking out of the mold during horizontal tilting.

The solution of the above-mentioned object is also achieved by a method for pressing of cheese-filled molds with the steps: - filling of curd into the molds, - Arranging several press molds in the pressing direction to a horizontal press stack and

- Pressing the press stack in the horizontal direction.

As a result, the advantages already mentioned can be achieved.

The method preferably comprises the steps:

Arranging a plurality of press molds into a small pile and

- Successive assembling of the press stack from at least one small stack, preferably from several small stacks.

In this way, the assembly of the press stack can be accelerated because not every mold has to be transported individually to its intended location.

Advantageously, in the context of a method according to the invention, each mold can be tilted about a horizontal axis, in which case the tilted molds are arranged to form a horizontal micro-stack. Alternatively and preferably, however, it is also possible to arrange a plurality of press molds into a vertical small stack and then to tilt this small stack about a horizontal axis. The formation of the small stack and the tilting thereof can be accomplished in particular by one and the same gripper.

In a further variant of the method, empty press molds are arranged in the press stack for filling the press stack to a predetermined width. Since in a cheese press according to the invention the press stack must have a certain length at the beginning of the pressing, upon reaching the end of the batch, ie when not enough filled press molds are available to reach the predetermined stack width, they can pass through the empty molds are made a corresponding balance. Alternatively, a shorter shelf may be provided for receiving a smaller number of dies.

In an advantageous variant of the method, several molds are removed simultaneously from the press stack. This shortens the time required to unload the molds and the cheese press is available more quickly for refilling.

Furthermore, two pressing stacks lying opposite one another in a pressing direction can be pressed simultaneously by at least one pressing means acting simultaneously on both pressing stacks.

Further preferred embodiments and method variants of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the drawings. The invention will be explained below with reference to an embodiment with reference to the drawings; in these show:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an inventive

Cheese press, and

Fig. 2 is another side view of the cheese press of FIG. 1 from a 90 ° offset direction.

1, a cheese press 10 has a rack frame 12, which is shown shortened according to the dashed line in the drawing. It comprises two superimposed shelves 14 which are arranged on vertical supports 16. 2, which represents an end view of the cheese press of FIG. 1, the shelves 14 are on one side to the right of the supports 16 of the rack frame 12 from. Opposite the rack frame 12, a further rack frame 12 'is arranged, in which the shelves 14 are mounted in a mirror-image manner, so that a gap or a walk-through passage remains between the opposite shelves 14. To increase capacity, further shelves 14 can be arranged on the sides of the shelves 12, 12 'facing away from the shelves 14, the presentation of which has been omitted here for reasons of clarity.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, a plurality of molds 24 filled with a mixture of cheese curd and whey are arranged on the shelves 14 adjacent to one another. The press molds 24 are each composed of a container 26 and a press cover 28 arranged displaceably therein.

On the lower shelf 14 a plurality of press molds 24 are arranged in a non-pressed state, wherein the shelf 14 is not yet completely filled.

In the upper shelf 14 is a composite of several molds 24 press stack 30, in which the pressing process is almost completed in the illustrated state. In comparison to the press molds 24 arranged on the lower shelf 14, it can be seen that the press lids 28 are now pushed further into the containers 26 due to the whey which has escaped through the pressing process.

Each shelf 14 are each associated with two threaded spindles 18, which are fastened to the rack frame 12 or 12 'and are each supported by a server. derotor 20 are rotatably driven. The two threaded spindles 18, each associated with a shelf 14, are connected to a diagonal strut 22, which is provided with corresponding internal threads for receiving the threaded spindles 18 and is driven in the pressing direction A when the threaded spindles 18 are actuated.

In particular, in the upper shelf 14 is also very easy to see that the pressing of the press stack 30 between a fixed, arranged on the shelf frame 12 stop 32 and a movable, arranged on the diagonal strut 22 press die 34 takes place. The diagonal brace 22 is located in the illustrated pressing position approximately at the end of the predetermined by the length of the threaded spindle 18 pressing travel. The above-mentioned pressing means 18, 20, 22, 32, 34 are provided in all shelves in an identical manner and provided for clarity only for the upper shelf 14 of the left shelf 12 with reference numerals.

In Fig. 2 can be clearly seen that by the diagonal brace 22, which connects 30 with respect to the press stack 30 diametrically opposed threaded spindles, a uniform force is applied to the punch 34, so that the force exerted on the threaded spindles 18 bending moment and thus the risk jamming of the pressing mechanism is negligible.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for loading and unloading the shelves 12, 12 ', a gripper 36 is provided which is slidably mounted on a lifting carriage 38 in three orthogonal directions. In addition, the gripper is rotatable about a vertical axis to both shelves 12, 12 ' to be able to operate and to receive molds 24 delivered outside the frame area.

For supporting the lifting carriage 38, running rails 40 running parallel to the pressing direction A are arranged at the upper ends of the supports 16, wherein the running rails 40, the racks 12, 12 'project beyond the end. The lifting carriage 38 comprises a mounted on the rails 40, displaceable in the pressing direction A bridge 41, on which a trolley 42 is mounted, which allows a perpendicular to the pressing direction A horizontal displacement of the gripper 36. The gripper 36 is vertically displaceable along a lifting column 44 rotatably mounted on the trolley 42 about a vertical axis.

The gripper 36 itself has a plurality of gripping elements 46 or prongs for receiving a small stack 50 formed from a plurality of molds 24, wherein each gripping element 46 supports a mold 24. It should be noted that such a small stack 50 usually comprises more than the two molds 24 shown in FIG. 2, in particular four or five molds 24 can be detected simultaneously by a correspondingly dimensioned gripper 36.

In order to prevent the falling out of the outer press cover 28 of the small stack 50 or to laterally support the press molds 24, a side stop 48 is provided on one or both sides of the gripper 36. Below the gripping elements 46, a collecting trough 52 is also provided, which collects whey emerging from the small stack 50.

It should also be noted with regard to the press molds 24 that molds 24 with a size of 30 cm x 50 cm can preferably be used here for the production of cuboid standard cheese bars, but this is the case use of the cheese press 10 according to the invention is not limited to this form.

The following describes a process for pressing cheese curd which can be carried out with a cheese press according to FIGS. 1 and 2:

First, by means of a portioning machine, not shown, a mixture of cheese curd and whey in an upright and thus open-topped container 26 is filled. Subsequently, a press cover 28 is inserted from above into the container 26, wherein the container 26 and the press cover 28 are made to fit. Now, the thus assembled mold 24 is tilted by 90 ° about a horizontal axis by means of a tilting device, not shown.

Other filled and tilted dies 24 are juxtaposed to a horizontal, small stack 50 of the desired size, with each press cover 28 of one die 24 adjacent to the bottom of another die 24.

The small stack 50 is then picked up by the gripper 36 and placed on a free shelf 14. The ram 34 is initially in its left end position, as shown for the lower shelf in Fig. 1. Meanwhile, more molds 24 are filled, tilted and put together to form another small stack 50.

This further small stack 50 is then subsequently placed on the previous small stack 50 on the shelf 14 in order to form the press stack 30 in this way. It is irrelevant to the process whether the formation of the press stack 30 at the stop 32 or the press die 34 is started. Further small stacks 50 or possibly also empty press molds 24 are inserted into the shelf 14 until the press stack has reached its length predetermined by the distance between the press punches 34 and stop 32.

Now, the punch 34 is moved by driving the threaded spindles in the pressing direction A. As a result of the pressing action, excess whey escapes from the molds 24 until at the end of the pressing process essentially only cheese mass remains in the molds 24. This condition is illustrated for the upper shelf 14 of FIG. By selecting the drive speed of the servomotors 20 or by cyclically controlling the pressing pressure and speed can be controlled.

The pressing process is completed after about 1 to 2 hours. During this time, more shelves 14 and / or racks 12, 12 'can be fitted.

By oppositely driving the threaded spindle 18, the plunger 34 is released from the press stack 30 and returned to its original position. Subsequently, the molds 24 are again removed by means of the gripper 36 successively in small stacks 50 from the shelf frame 12. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 cheese press

12, 12 'shelf rack

14 shelf

16 support

18 threaded spindle

20 servomotor

22 diagonal strut

24 press mold

26 container

28 press cover

30 press stacks

32 stop

34 press punches

36 grippers

38 lifting carriages

40 track

41 bridge

42 trolley

44 lifting column

46 gripping element

48 side stop

50 small piles

52 drip tray

A pressing direction

Claims

claims

A cheese press (10) having press centering on a frame (12, 12 ') for pressing cheese-filled press molds (24), characterized in that the pressing means apply a horizontally directed pressing force to a horizontal one of a plurality are formed by pressing in the pressing direction adjacent to each other arranged molds (24) formed press stack (30).

2. Cheese press according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the compression molds (24) of a press stack (30) are arranged adjacent to each other.

3. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the press stack (30) between two pressing surfaces formed by the pressing means (32, 34) is arranged, of which at least one is drivable in the horizontal direction.

4. cheese press according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one pressing surface by a on the frame (12, 12 ') arranged, in particular relative to the frame (12, 12') immovable stop (32) is formed.

5. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized that a plurality of pressing means and / or press stack (30) are arranged one above the other.

6. cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a shelf frame (12, 12 ') with stacked shelf surfaces (14) for receiving at least one press stack (30) is provided, in particular each shelf (14) own pressing means assigned.

7. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressing means are arranged substantially within a press path of the press stack (30) comprising region of the frame (12, 12 ').

8. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressing means at least one on the press stack (30) acting press punch (34) and at least one on the frame (12, 12 ') along the pressing direction arranged cylinder, in particular a pneumatic cylinder for driving the press punch (34).

9. cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressing means at least one on the press stack (30) acting press ram (34) and at least one on the frame (12, 12 ') along the pressing direction arranged rotatably driven threaded spindle (18) for driving the press punch (34).

10. cheese press according to claim 9, characterized in that the press ram (34) by means of two juxtaposed, spaced apart in the radial direction threaded spindles (18) is drivable, wherein the press ram (34) between the two

Threaded spindles (18) extends.

11. Cheese press according to one of claims 3 to 10, characterized in that the drivable pressing surfaces between two pressing in the opposite direction pressing stacks (30) are arranged and for simultaneous pressing of both press stack (30) formed opposite to each other, in particular static pressing surfaces (32) are.

12. cheese press according to claim 11, characterized in that the pressing means comprise at least one provided with two opposing threads threaded spindle (18), wherein in particular the opposing pressing surfaces are formed as immovable stops (32).

13. Cheese press according to one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the threaded spindle (18) by a stepping motor or a

Servomotor (20) is drivable.

14. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a tilting device for tilting a mold (24) and / or a vertical stack of a plurality of dies (24) is provided about a horizontal axis, wherein the tilt angle is in particular 90 °.

15. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a gripper (36) for insertion and / or removal of at least one mold (24), in particular a part of a press stack (30), into / from the frame (12, 12 ') is provided.

16. cheese press according to claim 15, characterized in that the gripper (36) for tilting at least one mold (24) is formed about a horizontal axis.

17. Cheese press according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the gripper (36) has at least one lateral stop (48) for supporting the press molds (24).

18. Cheese press according to one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the gripper (36) is rotatable about a vertical axis.

19. Cheese press according to one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the gripper (36) is arranged on a linearly displaceable in all directions Hubschlitten (38).

20. Cheese press according to claim 19, characterized in that the lifting slide (38) on the frame (12, 12 ') is arranged.

21. Cheese press according to one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the gripper (36) is arranged on a articulated robot.

22. Cheese press according to one of claims 15 to 21, characterized in that two racks (12, 12 ') are arranged opposite to each other, wherein both racks (12, 12') a common gripper (36) for insertion and / or removal of Press molds (24) is assigned.

23. Cheese press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mold (24) as a container (26) with a in the mold (24) displaceably guided pressing lid (28) is adapted to allow the pressing of cheese curd.

24. A method for pressing cheese-filled molds (24), comprising the steps of:

Filling curd into the molds (24), arranging a plurality of molds (24) in the pressing direction to a horizontal press stack (30) and pressing the press stack (30) in the horizontal direction.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized by the steps:

Arranging a plurality of press molds (24) into a small stack (50), and successively assembling the press stack (30) from at least one small stack (50).

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized by the steps:

Tilting the dies (24) about a horizontal axis and placing the tilted dies (24) in a horizontal position

Small pile (50).

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized by the steps of: arranging the press molds (24) to a vertical micro-stack (50) and tilting the micro-stack (50) about a horizontal axis.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, characterized by the step:

Arranging empty molds (24) in the press stack for filling the press stack (30) to a predetermined width.

29. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 28, characterized by the step: simultaneous removal of a plurality of molds (24) from the press stack (30).

30. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 29, characterized by the step: simultaneous pressing of two opposite each other in a pressing direction pressing stacks (30) by at least one on both pressing stack (30) simultaneously acting pressing means.