GB515738A - Improvements in apparatus for making butter or treating like substances - Google Patents

Abstract

515,738. Kneading-machines. O'CONNELL, J., and KERR, H. May 9, 1938, No. 13767. Convention date, May 11, 1937. [Class 86] [Also in Group I] Apparatus for manufacturing butter, applicable also for treating like substances, such as edible fats, emulsified oils, soaps &c., in a continuous operation, comprises an extruder section having coacting screw extruders, and an adjacent continuous working section into which the substance is fed and from which it is continuously discharged by the coacting extruders, means being provided for circulating a cooling- medium around the extruder chamber and through the screws &c., for effecting a sudden chilling of the substance being treated. In the manufacture of butter, cream is fed through an inlet 43, Figs. 1, 3, into a chamber 20 in which it is shock-chilled. The chamber 20 has a jacket 24 through which brine or other cooling medium is passed, and two co-acting screws 31 which extrude the material from the chamber and are hollow and provided with a circulation of cooling medium, which is supplied in series or parallel to the screws and jacket 24 and is discharged within the screws as jets or sprays through perforations 49, 50, Fig. 4, in supply pipes 47, the medium returning outside pipes 47 to a discharge chamber 51 surrounding inlet manifolds 48. The screws 31 fit in recesses 30 leaving a minimum amount of clearance, the two recesses 30 merging into one another. At the inlet 43 the members 31 are devoid of thread and recesses 44 having eccentric clearances are provided, and a jacket 45 is included through which warm water may be circulated to prevent chilling of the cream prior to entry into the screw threads. The screws 31 are supported in bearings 32 and have thrust bearings 33, and are driven from a motor 42 through a chain 41 driving a pinion which drives a gear wheel 39 on the shaft 38 of each screw. The material is discharged from chamber 20 to a working chamber 21 having rotatable working elements 53 driven by gear wheels 55 rotated in unison by a pinion 56 driven by a chain 57 from a motor 58. The chamber 21 is preferably jacketed to receive a cooling medium. The finished product is discharged through a mould 59, Fig. 11, on to a platform or roller conveyer 60, on which it is cut into blocks of predetermined size by a cutter 61. To facilitate cleaning, the chambers 20, 21 are mounted on rollers 66, 67 to enable them to be moved longitudinally clear of screws 31, flexible connecting pipes being provided for the cooling medium connections.