GB1423958A - Automatic chisset remover - Google Patents

Abstract

1423958 Automatic chisset remover W CROCKATT & SONS Ltd 30 Oct 1974 47068/ 74 Heading A2B Apparatus for removing cheese from a chisset 2 having an open top and a closed bottom having drain holes therein, said apparatus including a hood 100 adapted to engage the bottom in an air-tight manner and having a compressed air inlet 114 therein, locking means for selectively preventing disengagement of the hood and the chisset, the pressure of the compressed air fed into the hood acting on the face of the cheese via the drain holes to push the cheese out through the open top of the chisset. The hood 100 is made to engage and disengage with the chisset by means a pneumatic ram 96. The chisset 2 comprises a rectangular box 4 provided with a strengthening member 14 and a lid 10 having a depending rim 12. The chisset containing pressed curds is received at one end 24 of a floor mounted frame which comprises six equal length sections through which each chisset is transported in succession, a step in removing the cheese from the chisset taking place in each section. Double chain conveyors 26 bring the chissets into the first section where it is supported on runners 32 and guide rails 34. Further movement is hindered by check arms 36 operated by pneumatic rams. When the check arms are moved out of position a pawl bar 44 operated for reciprocal movement by a pneumatic ram 48 moves the chisset out of the first section into the second when means are provided for removing the lid 10. Said means include wedge shaped members 56 secured to frame 54, the tips 57 of said members 56 engaging between the rim 12 of the lid 10 and the upper surface of member 14, thus prising the lid off as the chisset advances beneath the members 56. Means is provided between the third and fourth sections for inverting the lidless chisset, such means comprising a rotatably mounted shaft 78 extending transversely across the main frame and carrying four arms 86 at 90‹ spacing. Each arm 86 is formed from U-section metal channel formed with inwardly directed flanges. The anms are so arranged that a chisset drawn by pawl 76 from the second section into the third section is located between arms 86, the strengthening member 14 being located beneath the flanges. The arms are then rotated through 180‹, stopping at 90‹ to allow the following arms to engage the following chisset. A third pawl 92 on the pawl bar 44 disengages the chisset from its supporting arms and transfers it to the fifth section where the hood 100 is used to lift the chisset away from the cheese, which is transferred to the next section and removed by hand. An inclined gravity roller conveyor 116 at right angles to the main frame conveys the empty chisset to a conveyor for cleaning and re-use. All rams and pawls are coupled to a control mechanism which synchronises all the operations of the apparatus.