IE48292B1 - Process and package unit for curing,storing and transporting cheese - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for curing, storing and transporting cheeses (7), particularly of the cheddar-type comprises a pallet (1) with vertical frames (2) fitted to its sides and horizontal sheets placed between two or more frames (2). A supporting lattice-work, Figure 2, consists of vertical sheets placed crosswise on the intermediate sheets or on the pallet (1). The frame (2) may consist of four or more sheets (3, 10) hinged at (4, 11) with the lengths being selected to allow four hinges (4) to be positioned vertically at the pallet corner, so that each layer may be separately removed and the outer framework folded for storage.

Description

The present invention is concerned with a process for curing,storing and transporting Cheddar-type cheeses or corresponding cheese after the cheeses have been pressed in moulds, possibly cut into blocks, and preferably packed into a plastics film or bag, whereat the cheeses are laid into rectangular compartments whose height is somewhat higher than that of a pressed cheese block and whose length and width are equal to the length and width of the cheese block. The invention is also concerned with a package unit for performing the process.

The steps of packing and curing of a 40 pound (18 kg) block of Cheddar cheese are to-day the following: The pressing of the cheese mass takes place either in steel moulds in vertical or horizontal presses or in one-ton (960 kg) presses. The pressing time varies from 4 to 16 hours depending on whether a highproduction or low-production season is concerned.

In the mould press the cheese is pressed into the standard size of 280 x 360 mm, and the height varies from 165 to 175 mm. The one-ton piece pressed in a one-ton press is after pressing cut into the size of 280 x 360 x 175 mm, and the size remains rather constant.

After pressing and cutting, the 40 pound block is, as a rule wrapped into a plastics wrapping. As the material is used thin or thicker film or Cryovac (Trade Mark) bag. The plastics is hot-sealed or choked around the cheese.

Hereupon the cheese is put into a cardboard box which is closed by tape. The cardboard box, on the other hand, is placed into a plywood box, which has a loose lid. The lid is tightened onto the box by means of two bands. Alternatively, around the cardboard box, a box is constructed out of loose plywood sheets, and for supporting this box four bands are required passing crosswise around the box.

In both cases the cheese boxes are stacked onto a pallet, and the load is secured to the pallet by means of 2 to 4 bands. The pallet is transported to the curing store for curing that takes 6 to 12 months.

After curing, the cheese pallet is brought to the forwarding, the bands are cut off from around the pallet and from around the cheese boxes, the cardboard box is opened, and it is ascertained that no mould has been formed underneath the film. Hereupon the cured cheese is packed again into a cardboard box and forwarded to the market.

In some cheese-making dairies the cheeses are cured after wrapping into film in plastics boxes which are, dimensioned precisely in accordance with the dimensions of the cheese block in respect of the other dimensions except as regards the height. The plastics boxes are stacked onto steel pallets, because wooden pallets do usually not stand the weight of the load without deformation. On the other hand, deformation of the wooden pallet causes deformation of the cheese and an unstable (dangerous) stacking. Also, gas formation rather often occurring in cheeses may make the stack of cheese boxes unstable.

After curing, the cheeses are taken away from the plastics boxes, inspected in respect of any mould, and packed into cardboard boxes for marketing. Empty plastics boxes require the same space at the dairy as filled boxes do.

A third curing alternative is, after wrapping the Cheddar cheeses in film and cardboard boxes,curing of the cheese on pallets in cardboard boxes. This form of curing causes some deformation of cheeses, especially in the bottom layers. Occurrence of gases in the cheese may also cause instability of box stacks and be perilous to those working in the store.

The handling of cheese for curing and after curing is laborious, the annual consumption of steel bands may amount to hundreds of thousands of Finnmarks.

The storage space cannot be utilised efficiently .

The cheeses may be deformed during curing.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks. The process in accordance with the invention is characterised in that the compartments are formed on a load pallet in itself known by using vertical pallet frames made of sheets and in themselves known, which frames are fitted at the sides of the pallet and whose height equals the height of the compartments, and by using horizontal intermediate sheets to be placed between two or more subsequent pallet frames, as well as a supporting latticework consisting of vertical sheets placed crosswise on the intermediate sheets or on the pallet. The package unit in accordance with the invention, for performing 8 292 the process, the bottom of said unit consisting of a load pallet with standard dimensions is characterised in that the unit is a system of compartments whose vertical outer walls consist of two or more pallet frames placed one on top of the other and fitted at the outer edges of the pallet, that the horizontal intermediate walls of the compartment system consist of intermediate sheets, placed between the pallet frames, the intermediate sheets being preferably made of one piece each and their size corresponding the size of the pallet, that the vertical partition walls of the compartment system consist of supporting latticeworks consisting of sheets fitting inside the pallet frame, and that the lid of the compartment system consists of a horizontal sheet placed in the topmost supporting latticework.

The invention is based on bulk treatment of cheese blocks in the curing, storage and transportation of Cheddar cheese, a curing, storage and transport unit for cheese being formed out of pallets .frames, intermediate sheets, side sheets, and supporting latticework. In this unit the curing of cheese takes place in a robust plastics film or bag in its correct shape with dimensional precision without outside cardboard boxes. In other words, the cheese retains its precisely angular shape, which is important in view of subsequent treatment.

In the process in accordance with the invention, the Cheddar cheese blocks (40 lb blocks) are stacked, e.g..onto a European standard pallet of 800 x 1200 mm, into layers of 8 cheeses,6 layers per pallet. The side dimensions of the cheeses are standardized, 280 x 360 mm and the supporting latticeworks are dimensioned accordingly. Any swelling of the cheese mass as a result of gas formation during curing of the cheeses has been taken into account in the dimensioning of the height of the compartment system so that the height of a compartment is 180 mm.

The pallet unit constitutes a stable unit that is easy to stack in storage conditions, up to a stack height of 5 to 6 units. No supporting means are required in the store for stacking. The storage space can be utilized efficiently.

After curing (6 to 12 months), the cheeses may be sent in the curing units straight to the factory cutting and packing consumer packages or be packed into cardboard boxes for sale. At this stage it is easy to ascertain occurrance of any mould.

A significant advantage consists of the little requirement of storage space of the curing unit when it is empty. The space requirement is only about 30 per cent of the space required by a filled unit.

Neither the cheeses nor the pallets have to be provided with bands. The ventilation in the curing store is improved considerably by the the circumstance that, when pallets are stacked one on top of the other, a ventilation opening always remains between each pallet unit, said opening extending through the entire line of pallets always at the same level. All the cheeses are in their own compartments as surrounded by plywood sheets, which , together with good ventilation, ensures uniform curing of the cheese in its space limited with dimensional precision.

During periods of peak production, the pressing time of cheese must be limited even to four hours. By means of the present system the shape of the cheese remains as desired despite the short pressing time.

Employment of manpower in the package, curing and storage handling of cheese may be minimized. The weight of the unit (1000 kilograms) constitutes a good load unit for internal transfers and for external transports.

The invention will be described more closely below with reference to the attached drawings, wherein.

Fig. 1 shows a package unit in accordance with the invention.

Fig.2 shows the bottom layer of a package unit in accordance with the invention, from which unit the outer wall has been removed from one corner, and Fig. 3 shows a hinge used at the corners of the package unit.

The bottom of a package unit in accordance with the invention consists of a load pallet 1 with standard dimensions, whose dimensions of length and width are preferably 800 mm and 1200 mm. Underneath the pallet there are normal pallet legs 12, between which the forks of a fork-lift truck can be fitted.

Along the outer sides of the pallet, a vertical pallet frame 2 is fitted, which forms a part of the outer wall of the compartment system. The height of the pallet frame is most appropriately 180 mm, being somewhat (about 5mm) higher than the height of the cheese blocks obtained from the press. The pallet frame consists ofsix sheets 3 and 10, whose short sides are connected to each other by hinges 4 and 11 so that an endless chain is formed. On the long sides of the pal let the pallet frame consists of one sheet 3 on each side, and on the short sides of two sheets on each side. The bottom edges of the corner hinges 4 are provided with projections 9 extending to the outer sides of the sheet portion of the pallet.

The construction of the hinges 4 and 11 is such that a pallet frame detached from the compartment system may be folded together so that the components 10 of the short sides are placed between the long sides 3, with the outer sides of the short sheets against each other. Then the pallet frame takes only little space in the flat position, and its length equals the length of the longer side of the pallet.

Inside the pallet frame 2, against its long sides, two vertical side sheets 13 are fitted that are bevelled at their ends. By means of them the insertion of the hinges at the corners of the frame is eliminated and all the corners of the compartments are made rectangular The partition walls of the compartment system are made of a supporting latticework. The latticework has one sheet 5 corresponding the long side of the pallet and three sheets 6 corresponding the short side of A8292 the pallet. The height of the sheets in the supporting latticework equals the height of the pallet frame.

The top side of the long latticework sheet 5 has three recesses corresponding the thickness of the short latticework sheets 6 at uniform distances from each other and, correspondingly, the bottom side of each short sheet 6 is at the middle provided with one recess that corresponds the thickness of the long sheet 5. The height of the recesses is one half of the height of the sheets. In this way it has been possible to fit the sheets into a latticework in which the shorter sheets 6 are perpendicular to the long sheet 5 and which is placed inside the pallet frame. In this way eight separate compartments l_5 have been formed, into each of which a cheese 7 can be fitted.

When the compartments are filled with cheeses,an intermediate sheet 8 is placed onto the first cheese layer, said sheet being equally large as the pallet 2o 1. A supporting latticework is also placed onto the intermediate sheet, and in this way the next layer of compartments can be formed for the cheeses. A total of six layers of compartments are placed onto the pallet 1, and the topmost layer is closed by means of a lid which is of the same kind as the intermediate sheets 8.

The invention is not restricted to the above embodiment alone, but it may show variation within the scope of the claims. The forming of the pallet frame out of sheets of different lengths and the connecting of the sheets can also be performed in other ways except by means o.f hinges as described above. The number and the dimensions of the compartments, of course, depend on the size of the cheese blocks. The compartment system may also be used for curing other types of cheeses besides Cheddar cheeses if these cheeses require similar treatment.

Claims (5)

1. A process for curing, storing and transporting Cheddar-type cheeses or corresponding cheeses after the cheeses have been pressed in moulds, possibly cut into blocks, and preferably packed into a plastics film or bag, whereby the cheeses are laid into rectangular boxes, whose height is somewhat higher than that of a pressed cheese block and whose length and width are equal to the length and width of the cheese block, characterised in that the boxes are constituted by shape-maintaining compartments which are formed on a load pallet by using vertical pallet frames made of sheets which are fitted at the sides of the pallet and whose height equals the height of the compartments,and by using horizontal intermediate sheets placed between two or more subsequent pallet frames, as well as a supporting latticework consisting of vertical sheets placed crosswise on the intermediate sheets or on the pallet.

2. A package unit for performing the process claimed in claim 1, the bottom of said unit consisting of a load pallet with standard dimensions, characterised in that the unit is a system of compartments whose vertical outer walls consist of two or more pallet frames placed one on top of the other and fitted >&8 2S2 - 14 at the outer edges of the pallet, that the horizontal intermediate walls of the compartment system consists of intermediate sheets placed in between the pallet frames, the intermediate sheets being preferaby made 5 of one piece each and their size corresponding to the size of the pallet, that the vertical partition walls of the compartment system consist of supporting latticeworks consisting of sheets fitting inside the pallet frame, and that the lid 10 consists of a horizontal supporting latticework.

3. A package unit as in that the pallet frame joined together by means 15 sheets being selected so positioned vertically at of the compartment system sheet placed on the topmost Tainted in claim 2, characterised consists of four or more sheets of hinges, the length of the that four hinges can be the corners of the pallet.

4. A process for curing, storing and transporting cheddar-type cheeses and the like in block form, substantially as herein described with reference to 20 and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

5. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 1 constructed arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.