US1019235A - Aerating butter-separator. - Google Patents

Description

A. FAY. AERATING BUTTER SEPAEATOR.

I 7 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7,1911. 1,019,235

PatentedMr. 5, 1912,

2 SHEETS-SHEET v1.

Jhventar A. PAY. AERATING BUTTER SEPARATOR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE7,1911.

1,919,235. Pat e nted Mar.5,1912.

' zsmnzrs-mm 2.

ALPHEUS FAY, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

AERATING BUTTER-SEPARATOR.

Specification of 'Letters' Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912- Application the; June 7, 191,1. Serial No. 631,840.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known'that- I, ALrHEUs FAY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a certain new and useful Aerating Butter-Separator,

of which the following is a specification.-

My invention relates to butter separators of the aerating type, and its object is to provide a simple device of this character, of increased efficiency, for separating the butter from the non-fatty milk elements by an aerating and agitating action, andwhich will be adaptable readily to different cond tions metwith in such treatment.

My invention consists in the provision of a novel construction of the dasher or agitator, and in improved relative arrangement of the dasher and brake, as well as in improved means for imparting motion to the mechanism, whereby the liquid acted upon is utilized as a medium in the distribution of the energy applied to the driving of the separator. My invention also consists in therdetails of construction and arrangement, as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure'l is a sectional elevation of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail planview of part of one of the brake arms. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the dasher or agitator, the upper part, well as the agitator shaft, being in elevation. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of .said agitator. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of part of the agitator. Fig. 6 illustrates, in sectional plan, a modification of the agitator. z

The agitator 1 is of improved design, to more efficiently agitate the liquid, as will be described, and mounted on a vertical shaft 2. A bracket 3, with a standard 3* on a base 3", supports the operating mechanism. The vessel l, to hold the liquid operated upon, is supported on the base 3 in a depression therein, and is readily removable therefrom. The driving shaft 5 is horizontally journaled in the bracket 3, at thetop of the apparatus, and has a crank or handle 6 outside the bracket, for manually operating the separator. The brake 7 is rotatable, and com- 'prises upright slats 7 embracing the agitater 1, inside the vessel. This brake'7 has the upper arched arms 7 receiving and hplding rigidly the upper ends of the slats 7*; the lower ends of the slats are held in lower horizontal arms 7, which have a stud 7 extending down and turning'in a step' bearing 7 on the bottom of thevessel 4.

Above, these arms7 have a hub 7 thathas a step bearing 2" for the vertical agitator shaft 2, at the lower end thereof. This agitator shaft has the bearing for its upper end in the bracket 3, at- 2.

The upper arched'arIns-7 of the brake 7 have a central hub 7 .that receives the reduced hub-of a dished bevel gear 7 Said arms 7*, and, consequently, the entire'brake 7, are rigidly attached to this gear 7 to r0- tate with it, byfimeans of a thumbscr ew 7, as here. shown. The hollow side of this dished gear-,7 is presented upwardly, and a pinion 2 'is rigidly mounted directly on the agitator shaft 2, within the hollow ofthe dished gear 7. The shaft 5 has two bevel gears 5 and 5 rigidly mounted on it,'which mesh with the dished gear 7 and with the pinion 2, respectively, the gears and the pinion being proportioned accordingly. As shown, -the dished gear 7 and its meshing gear 5 are of equal diameter, and they are, accordingly, miter gears, while the gear .5 is of the same diameter as the gear 5?, but proportioned to mesh with the pinion 2*. The dished formation of the gear 7 allows the two driving gears 55 and 5 to be thus of the saine diameter, which is preferred, as it gives a mOIGfiIIIShBd appearance to the apparatus. The necessary provislon is that the agitator 1 be rotated faster than the brake 7 rotates, and in the same direction.

The agitator 1 comprises the lower hollow impelling member 1, on the lower endof the hollow shaft 1'. The hollow shaft 1* has the downwardly furcated hub 1 thatis rigidly secured to the agitator shaft 2 by a thumbscrew, and receives the 0 en upper end of the hollow shaft 1 in its .Lll'QtLtlOIlS; thus, air may enter and pass down into the hollow shaft. This open uppcr end of the shaft is brought high enou h, in each instance", to be above the level of the liquid in the vessel. In its extreme upper position, as illustrated, it is somewhat above the upper rim ofthe vessel 4, allowing the vessel to be completely f lled, if desired. However, in practice, filled, enough space being'left above theliquidto avoid throwing liquid from the vessel by the action of'the rotating brake 7.

The hollow impelling member 1 of the the vessel is 'not completely agitator 1, before referred to, may best be described as rectangular, with equal sides, but wit-h the corners or, angles removed, or, as illustrated in Fig. 6, as triangular, equi" lateral, with its angles removed. In either case, being hollow, with relatively thin walls, the removal, or omission, of the corners leaves apertures 1 communicating from the interior of the hollow impeller to the space in the vessel, or to the liquid therein; fhe. lower end of the hollow shaft l being open, the air can circulate down into the 111i38Ii0I. of the impeller 1 and'out through the apertures 1 intothe liquid in the vessel.

Inspection of Fig.4 will enable it to be readily understood that the walls of the angular agitator will agitate the liquid out side the agitator, and they will also impel the liquid inside the agitator, acting centrifugally on it, so that it will pass out through the apertures 1, in the direction of the small white arrows. \Vith the rotation of the agitator as indicated by the long arrows, the pressure on. the surrounding liquid, outside the agitator, will be substantially in the direction of the small black arrows. It will be understood that the centrifugal impelling effect on the inside liquid, forcing it out of'the -agitator.through the apertures 1, will causea partial vacuum inside of the agitator, which will, in turn, induce the downward flow of air through the hollow shaft, and out with the liquid, and through the liquid in the main. body. The agitation and the universal air currents thus set up are what are desired, and my inven-- 'tion produces them in a peculiarly effective manner, owing to the novel formation of the agitator, just described.

It will be found advantageous to adjust the parts of the agitator so as to regulate the amount of aeration with respect to the amount of agitation, F or this purpose, the angular hollow agitator is made with its upper wall detached from its side Walls, and adjustably secured thereto by screws 1, taking into lugs i on the lower side of the upper wall, and taking through, vertical slots in said side walls, to be tightened against said side Walls, and hold them stationary in variouspositions. This upper wall may be rigidly attached, or integral, with the tubular shaft 1, and the lower wall, or bottom, simply has an opening in its center through which the agitator shaftQ- passes, and Wit-hwhich it has a close bear-- ing, which thus steadies the lower end of the agitator.

By the adjustment just described, it will be seen that the bottom of the agitator may .be made to approach the upper side, diminishing the space inside the agitator, as well as the, size of the apertures 1', but, at the same tithe, the side walls, which dothe agi- -tion, the butter will be tating, are not altered, since they simply move up, outside the upper wall, and present the same surface to the surounding liquid. Thus, relative adjustment of the agitation and aeration is accomplished in a most simple manner, the' parts being economically constructed, and the manipula tion and the work of keeping them clean being reduced to a minimum.

As shown, especially in Fig. 2, where the slats of the brake 7 are attached to the arms,

these arms are bifurcated to receive the slats between their bifurcations, and, in addition each arm has a slit 7 extending back from the bifurcated part, allowing approach of the parts, so that a screw 17, passing through the arm, across the slit 7, may

draw the parts tightly together and clamp the shit. The lower arms 7 have these screws 7", which may be turned with a screw driver, but the upper arms 7 have thumbscrews 7", so that the slats may be readily detached from the arms 7", allowing disassemblage of the brake if desired, for cleaning the parts. In the same way, the arms 7' may be the gear 7, and the hub l may be loosened from the shaft 2-, and the shaftwithdrawn. This latter detachment is sufficient to allow separation ofthe' agitator from the brake. The lower part of the impeller member 1 may be removed from the upper part, allowmg 'access to the interior thereof, and also to the interior of the hollow shaft l so that all parts-may be conveniently cleaned and. kept in a sanitary condition.

The bracket 3 is secured to its standard 3 by having a stud 3 that fits into a socket- 3 on the standard, they having corresponding otfsets 3 that prevent swinging of the bracket on the standard; a thumb-screw 3 passes up into the lower end of the stud 3 where. it extends to the lower open end of detached from the hub of the socket 3, and bears against the lower side of the socket, clamping the bracket firmly in position. This fastening is loosened, and the bracket raised, when with drawing the shaft 2 from the agitator and brake, as before mentioned.

For making butter with my separator, either sweet or sour cream may be taken, and a suitable quantity placed in the vessel, at a temperature of about 60 to (35 degrees Fahrenheit, and the apparatus operated for a period of from three to five minutes. After such a period of agitation and aeraseparated from the cream and collected in a mass. The residue, containing the non-fatty milk elements, is then withdrawn, a faucet at being provided in the lower part of the vessel 4 for the purpose of conveniently removing liquids from the vessclwhile leaving the solid substance. However, it is impossible to effect an entire separation of the undesirable milk residues from the butter by merely decanting after. the separating process has been completed. I employ additional steps, amounting toa new process in the preparationof perfectly palatable butter, bygranulating it with a purifying aerating agitation, which is performed with the butter mass in contact with a body of pure .water.

. After all the non-fatty elements have been removed as thoroughly as possible by simpledec'antation, as above mentioned, I introduce a quantity of pure water at a temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit into the ves sel, with the mass of butter that has been left therein, suflicient to submerge the mass. The operation of the apparatus is then resumed, and the agitation and aeration car-- ried on, bringing every particle of the mass into intimate cont-act with the pure water, with the presence of the circulating air. This resultsin substantially dissolving the non-fatty elements, or, with respect to the insoluble ones, efi ecting suspension of such elements in the water, which may. be withdrawn, carrying the elements with it. The thoroughness of the purifying action of'my process is finally reached when thewater, which may be repeatedly supplied afresh,

shows 'no more traces of the milk elements, as

itis withdrawn. Agitation and aeration of one or two minutes, duration will result in granulation of the butter mass, and it is in this granulated condition that the operation is carried on to completion, which will require a few minutes more operation. Such granulation gives the butter the best consistency for the efficient action of the air and water thereon, as before alluded to. When the purifying operation is completed, the granules will float on the water in the vessel, in a neutral condition, and they may then be removed from the surface of the water and worked'in any approved manner, the salt being added as desired. The granular consistency of the-butter is again of the greatest advantage in the working and salting operations, since it allows thev best texture to be imparted; to the butter, and the most uniform and'intimate incorporatiomof the salt therewith. The saltmaybeintroduccd in solution, if desired, as the granulated butter produced by my process will absorblimited quantities of moisture, for such purpose,-with great facility.

Other operations upon milk substances are also performed with great advantage with my apparatus, not only where separating is to be done, but in mixing and incorporation,

dr in the preparation of the substances for such mixing or incorporation- It Wlll also be adaptable for use in arts not involving the use of milk substances, for separating,

mixing, agitating, or other treatment of liquid oi; semi-liquid substances, oremulsions, .or-pafstes.

In any case, the peculiar arrangement of the operative mechanism will exhibit a novel advantage, in that the agitator and the" brake rotate in the same direction, at different speeds, and are thus adapted to cooperate and perform their functionpthat of producing the required agitation of the substance being treated. It is evident that in a performing this function, there will be a reaction taking place through the substance, such as the liquid, which will cause the morev rapidly rotating part to exert a. driving effeet on the more slowlyrotating one, which will transmit this driving effect to the driving member of the apparatus in the form of assistance in turning the more rapidly rotating one. This results in a balanced action of the device throughout, with all the acting Thus, with the agitator moving at a relatively. high speed, the efficiency is. manifestly greater than with a stationary brake. This balanced, equalizing action is in accordance with a princlple that is original with me, so far as its disclosure has been concerned, and

.itis here exemplified as a correlative system of energy transmission, with a liquid, or other fluid, or a semi-liquid, as an element or medium of the system. It is apparent that theprinciple may be present in the opera -tion of devices differing in their minor details, or in ,their arrangement, and in the purposes for which they are designed. I, therefore, do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise details of construction and arrangement herein set forth, but I 1 What I claim as new and desire to secure by. Letter Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, a rotatable agitator, a rotatable brake embracing the agitator and rotating coaxially withit, a bevel gear with which the brake rotates, a bevel pinion with which the agita; tor rotates, a driving shaft. at an angle totlieaxis of the agitator and brake, and-bevel gears-on the drivingshaft' meshing, respec tively, with,said gear with which the brake rotates, and with said pinion, saidcgears and. pinions being so proportioned-that'the agilitator rotates faster than thebrake does. aim in the same direction 2. In a device guarantee described: a rotatable agitator anda, shaft there-v law for, a rotatable brake with said shaft for an axis, a' bevel pinion on said shaft rotating therewith, a dished bevel gear on the brake rotating therewith and embracing said pinion, and bevel gears, coaxial and of equal diameter, meshing, respectively, with the pinion. and with the dished gear, for the purposes set forth.

' 3. In a device of the character described, a hollow agitator adapted to act centrifugally on a substance and agitate it and aerate it by rotation at a relatively high speed, and a brake adapted to enact with the agitator by rotation at a relatively low speed in .the same direction as that of the rotation of the agitator, and means for actuating said agitator and said brake, whereby they are correlated through the substance agiin a hub having a step of said sides,

tated..

4. In a device of the character described,

an agitator shaft, an agitator, a tubular shaft on the agitator around the agitator shaft and extending upward, and a brake slats embracing the agitator and arms above and below tlieagitator having axes on the shaft, the arms below meeting bearing for the shaft, and the arms above meeting ina hub whereby rotative movement may be transmitted to the brake, said arms above being arched u pward from said slats to said hub, over the tubular shaft, and'actuating means for the agitator and the brake.

1 5. In a-device of the character described, an ,agitator having a plurality of sides and a t'o'p and a bottom, forming a. closed box, except at .the corners thereof, where there are apertures formed by omission of parts bottom and top that would complete the angular formation thercat, and

a communicating opening .in the top.

6. In a device of the character described, an agitator-having a plurality of sides and a top and a bottom, forming a closed box, except at the corners thereof, where there are apertures,'formed by omission of parts of said sides, bottom and top that would complete the angular forinationthereat, and in the top, where a communicating opening is formed, said agitator having a hollow shaft attached continuous with said communicating opento said top with its interior ing.

7. In a device of the character described, an agitator having straight sides meeting a top and a. bottom and forming a closed box, except at corners thereot, where there are rectangular apertures formed, and in the top, where a communicating opening is formed, said agitator also having a hollow shaft attached to said top with its interior continuous with said communicating opening, forv the purposes set forth.

8. In a device of the character described, an agitator comprising an upper side and. a hollow shaft attached thereto with its interior opening therethrough, and a lower side spaced down from the upper side, and lateral sides attached to the lower and the upper sides, forming a closed box, except at corners thereof, where there are. rectangular apertures formed, and means for adjusting the size of said apertures, for the purposes set forth.

a. In a device of the character described, an agitator adapted to act centrifugally on a'substance when rotated in it, and to induce air currents through the substance, producing aeration, and means whereby the aeration may be varied without varying the agitation, for the purposes set forth.

10. In a device of the character described, an agitator having an upper side, with means for rotating the agitatorand for admitting air below said upper side, attached thereto, a lower side spaced down from said upper side, lateral sides secured to the lower side, leaving apertures at the corners and extending up and embracing said upper side at its edges, lugs on the lower surface of the upper side of the agitator, and screws taking into the lugs, said lateral sides having upright slots through which the screws take into said lugs, the screws being adapted to clamp the lateral sides to the edges of the upper side, in various adjusted positions, for the purpose set forth.

ll. In a device of the character described, an agitator of box-like formation with apertured corners, and ahollow shaft extending up from its top with its interior comn'iunieating with the interior of the box-likeagitator, a shaft extending through the hollow shaft, and tl'irough the bottom of the boxlike agitator, which makes therewith to steady the lower end of the agitator,a furoated hub on the upper end of the hollow shaft, said upper end being open, and said shaft extending through the hub, and means for securing the hub to the shaft, for the purposes set forth.

ALPHEUS FAY.

W'itnesses CLARENCE PERD'EW.

H. M. FAY.

intimate contact

Images