FI106978B - Device for draining whey from a whey / curd mixture - Google Patents

Description

106978

Apparatus for draining whey from a whey / curd mixture

The invention relates to an apparatus for draining whey from a whey / cheese-5 pulp mixture (30) having at least one column comprising an inner tubular element (11; 35), a sealing element arranged within the outer tubular element (1; 34) and forming at least one sealing element. a fluid holding seal between said two tubular elements (1, 11; 10 34, 35), comprising at least an endless element made of a resilient material which interacts with the second tubular element and at least a part of which is displaceable by the pressure medium against the tubular member and 15 forms a seal, said endless member made of resilient material being connected to the alignment members fixed to the inner tubular member.

Such apparatus is generally known.

20

In cheese making, the whey / curd mixture produced by the enzymes added to the milk and the acid excitement (bacterial culture of lactic acid) is passed through a curd to separate the whey from the pulp. Such an apparatus comprises one or more mold tubes formed from an inner and outer column. The space between these columns is divided by partitions into a plurality of chambers separated by sealing elements. The chambers thus formed, called back-pressure chambers, are connected to risers to separate the whey they -] **: ·. 30 ra / cheese mix. These counter-pressure chambers connected to the risers control the separation of the whey by generating back pressure.

• · • · ·

A known sealing element is located on the inner wall of the outer column: ·: ··: 35. The alignment members comprise a flange having an inner circumference; ···; organized career. A fillable rubber band or hose is placed in the groove.

A ribbon with a special profile and a special shape is inserted into the indentation insert in the groove in the flange. The flange has a 2,106978 pressure medium inlet pipe permanently attached to an elastic band. The tape can be filled with medium through this tube. As the tape fills, it expands and moves slightly out of the groove, thereby contacting the inner column with the position-5 flange and forming a fluid-tight seal between the two columns.

The band or hose must have a special profile and a special shape, since when filled, only the inner circumference of the band can move. 10 The outer ring is held in place in the groove of the flange.

The special shape and profile of the tape make it expensive to manufacture. Another disadvantage of such a tape is that it has to be manufactured separately and with great precision, which means that its delivery time is long. A further disadvantage of this tape is that it is difficult to replace it. The costs associated with the use of this known sealing element are therefore high.

A further disadvantage is that air is used as the pressure medium. 20 In the event of a leak, air may come into contact with the whey, which is undesirable from a hygienic and economic point of view, since the whey is acidified and the market value of the acid whey is low. In the event of a leak, air can also enter the curd, which is equally harmful.

• Λ! 25; ! It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for soldering whey with a sealing element which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for drainage of whey which has a sealing element which does not need to be used. pressurized gas medium.

• · ···

It is also intended to provide a system for whey drainage, ·: ··· 35 with a sealing element that is easy to remove and replace. without special tools.

• · · 1 · · • · · 3 106978

The device for draining whey according to the invention is characterized in that the alignment member is a flange which is fixed by tubular elements around the inner element and extends into an annular space between the outer and inner tubular elements with a groove in the outer circumference thereof. manufactured endless element, and having one or more pressure medium inlets within the groove.

According to the invention, the sealing element is disposed on an inner column which is removable to provide an easily accessible structure. When the pressure medium is supplied, it fills and expands in the groove space behind the endless sealing element made of resilient material. Because the gesture-15 blade fits precisely into the groove and seals the groove, the medium in the space behind the element increases the pressure, causing the element! moves outwards. The element then presses against the outer column and forms a fluid-tight seal between the inner and outer columns.

20

An advantage of the apparatus according to the invention is that the element can be made of commercially available materials. In addition, the infinite element is simple to fabricate, for example, by cutting it directly to the desired length and joining it. 25 by welding or gluing the ends together or by any other suitable means. The cost of manufacturing such an element is thus low compared to the cost of manufacturing a known air-filled tape.

«··« "j ·. 30 Removing and replacing an element is also a very simple operation that can be done without the use of special tools.

• I..1 If, in the absence of pressure medium, the outer side of the groove and the periphery of the periphery of the element are roughly in the same cylindrical plane, the seal may advantageously be arranged such that the displacement of the element under pressure is less than half the width of the element.

4, 106978

According to a preferred embodiment, the sealing element is annular, which means that the space filled by the pressure medium in the groove behind the element is uniform in size, whereby this medium can create a uniform pressure applied to the element.

The element is most preferably made of rubber or an elastic plastic material, since the endless element can then be easily fitted in place with a slight wedge thereby sealing the 10 grooves; a suitable material is neoprene rubber.

For hygiene purposes, the element preferably has a solid structure.

According to another embodiment, when the element is not under pressure, it is preferably circular in cross section so as to seal the groove well. Other shapes, such as square or rectangular shapes, are equally possible provided the groove is well sealed.

20

According to one possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing element is mounted in the groove prestressed so that the element is completely in the groove when it is not under the influence of a pressure medium. In this way, the inner column is easily removed from the 4 4 25 outer column.

4 4 4 4 4 4 1

For the same purpose, the apparatus of the invention may also be designed such that, in the non-sealing position, the element is entirely within the groove under the influence of a pressure below normal atmospheric pressure. In this case, the medium exerts a suction force of 4 on the element, so that the element is sucked into the groove.

•

According to one embodiment, the pressure medium supply means are adapted to supply a liquid medium, preferably water: ·: ··! 35 fungus. In the event of leaks, water does not damage the products - vice versa: ·· *: unlike air which has a detrimental effect on whey and curd.

4 <<4 «t«

4 I

5, 106978

To ensure an even better seal, the alignment members preferably do not have a flange in the outer tubular member. In this case, the inner wall of the outer tubular element is smooth. In the compression position, the element changes its shape slightly under the influence of pressure exerted by the pressure medium, whereupon the element in question. the contact surface of the element with the inner surface of the outer element increases. If the inner surface of the outer tubular member is smooth, the inner member is easily positioned within the outer member, since the inner member sealing element 10 does not need to be aligned with the outer member flange as in the known sealing member.

The alignment means may also comprise pressure medium removal means. The pressure medium can then be easily removed in the non-activated state of the sealing element. It is also possible to recycle the cleaning fluid behind the element to clean the element and the space behind it. Since the sealing element is easily removable, it is also possible to clean it from the outside satisfactorily.

20

Although using the prior art solution the gasket is once placed on a fixed outer column and when using the device according to the invention the gasket is placed as many times on the inner column as the number of inner columns used in the outer column. The structure of the sealing elements is much simpler and It is cheaper that, on average, using two or few internal columns per dispenser reduces the cost per device by half. Three * '? 30 or four sealing elements are required per inner post.

• «·

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 illustrates a prior art sealing element, 6 106978 Figure 2 illustrates by way of example a sealing element according to one embodiment of the invention, and Figure 3 schematically illustrates an has sealing elements.

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a prior art sealing element. This sealing element is disposed in connection with an outer tubular element 1, only a portion of which is shown in cross-sectional view, and having a flange 2. A flanged gas-filled strip or hose 3 is connected to the flange 2 and connected to the supply means 7 for supplying air. When the hollow strip 3 is filled with air by means of the air supply means 7, the inner circumference of the strip 3 moves outwardly, i.e. towards the inside of the column, and contacts the flange 2 'of the inner tubular element 11 to form a seal between the elements 1 and 11. This figure clearly shows the special profile and particular shape of the strip or hose 3.

20

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of an example of a sealing element according to one embodiment of the present invention. Parts identical to those of the device shown in Figure 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

«« ·. ··; 25;: · The sealing element comprises a flange 20 disposed in the inner: * · * end tubular element 11 in the apparatus for draining whey from the whey / curd mixture. The flange 20 has a groove 21 on its outer circumference. The groove 21 is provided with an endless element 23 which fits into the groove 21 and seals it. Preferably, the element collapses lightly when placed in the groove to ensure effective sealing. In the groove 21, the space 24 behind the endless element 23 *: * communicates with the supply means 25, 26, 27 for supplying the pressure medium 8. When the pressure medium 8 is fed:: · ♦: 35 by the supply means 25, 26, · ···. 27, the space (24) behind the element 23 in the groove 21 is pressurized. The element 23 is stretched and displaced outwardly by the action of the pressure medium 8 and comes into contact with the inner wall surface 29 of the outer tubular 7 106978 element 1. The position of the element 23 in the stretched state due to the pressure medium 8 is indicated by the number 23 'in the dashed line in Figure 2. The element 23 is slightly deformed at the point where it comes into contact with the smooth inner wall 29 of the outer tubular element 1, thereby increasing the contact surface and hence the sealing effect.

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus 30 for flowing whey from a whey / curd mixture. The whey / curd mixture is fed through a tube or hose marked by a reference numeral 33 into a feeder 32 at the top end of an outer tubular member 34 and a centrally arranged inner routed tubular member 35, to separate and remove curd blocks. The member 36 has a line 37 for removing whey. Similarly, the column has a plurality of lines 38 for removing whey from space 39 between outer tubular member and inner tubular member 39. This is all known, for example, from US-3,982,480.

The space 39 between the tubular elements is divided into annular subdivisions by means of sealing elements. In the example shown, ** **:: 25, two sealing elements 40, 41 are used to produce tt; r three separate subdivisions. Reference numeral 42 represents the pressure medium supply channel (tube, hose, or line). In this example, line 42 serves as a feed line for each of the sealing elements, **, but it is of course possible to provide a separate feed line 30 for each of the sealing elements, which facilitates the control of the sealing force of each element separately.

«

As shown, sealing elements may be used between the top and bottom ends of the column, but they could also be located at the top and bottom 35. In that case, there may be intermediate seals in the middle, or. they may be missing.

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Claims (13)

Apparatus for draining whey from a whey / curd mixture (30) having at least one column comprising an inner tubular 5 element (11; 35) arranged within the outer tubular element (1; 34) and at least one sealing element to form a fluid holding seal. between said two tubular elements (1, 11; 34, 35), the sealing element (20, 23; 40, 41) comprising at least an endless element (23) made of resilient material, which interacts with the second tubular element (11; 35). and at least a portion of whose circumference can be displaced by the pressure medium (8) so as to press against the second tubular element (1; 34) and form a seal, said endless element (23) made of resilient material being connected to the inner tubular element (11; 35). to the alignment means (20), characterized in that the alignment means (20) is a flange secured by tubular elements (1, 11) around the inner element and extending into an annular space (39) between the outer and inner tubular elements, wherein a groove (21) is provided in the outer periphery of the flange 20, an endless element (23) made and that one or more inlets (27) of the pressure medium (8) are provided inside the groove (21). ·. * ·: 25 Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the displacement of the endless element (23) by the action of the pressure medium (8) is less than half the width of that element. • »· • · · · Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the endless element (23) is annular. • · ·. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the endless element (23) is made of rubber or elastic plastic. ·: ·: 35 i ” Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the endless element (23) is made of a solid material. t * «· 9 106978 Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the endless element (23) has a circular cross-section when it is not under pressure. 5 Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the endless element is mounted prestressed in the groove (21) so that the element is completely in the groove (21) when it is not subjected to pressure medium (8). Apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, in the non-sealing position, the endless element (23) is completely under the action of a pressure medium (8) at a pressure lower than normal atmospheric pressure. 15 8 106978 Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the sealing element comprises pressure medium supply means (25, 26, 27; 42) comprising at least one channel (25; 42) connected to the pressure medium inlets (27). 20 Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the pressure medium supply means (25, 26, 27; 42) are arranged to supply the liquid pressure medium during use. \ '- j 25 Apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the feeding means (25, 26, 27; 42) are suitable for feeding water. • · · • · · · · Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alignment means (20) also comprise pressure discharge means "j." 30. Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the apparatus has at least one pressure medium hose or line disposed in the space 35 between the inner and outer tubular members and connected to the at least one sealing element. 10 106978