Apparatus for Making Cheese

The present invention relates to apparatus for filling a plurality of longhorn cheese hoops with curd and then compressing the curd within the hoops until a finished cheese is formed.

The prior art method and apparatus used to make cheese in longhorns or cheese hoops in the quantities envisioned by the invention, generally required a procedure substantially as follows. The cheese hoops which comprise generally perforated stainless steel cylindrical containers are filled and packed by hand by an operator. The hoops are each weighed during the packing operation to insure that the proper amount of curd has been placed in each of the hoops in order to achieve consistency from one hoop to the next. the hoops are then individually lifted onto a cheese press and aligned in horizontal relation end to end between two press members. The hoops mutually engage each other in a telescoping relationship in end to end relation such that the curds within the hoops will be compressed when the hoops are axially compressed. The aligned hoops are placed under pressure by the press members acting on the opposite ends of the line of hoops to force the whey out of the curds and the pressure is maintained until a finished cheese is formed. When the cheese is finished the hoops and cheese are manually removed from the apparatus so that the finished cheese can be stripped from the hoops.

The apparatus of the present invention sets forth several substantial improvements over the prior art, reducing the manual labor required to produce the cheese and increasing the consistency and quality of the cheese produced. The invention is directed to the concept of placing a plurality of empty longhorn cheese hoops on a movable cart positioned such that they can be filled with curd and the curd compressed to form a finished cheese without being removed from the cart. This process avoids the manual labor required to fill and pack each of the hoops individually and to lift each of the filled hoops onto a pressing apparatus. The invention also avoids the necessity of weighing each of the hoops during the filling process.

The apparatus of the invention includes a movable cart which supports a plurality of cheese hoops placed adjacent to each other in closely spaced relation and aligned so that they can each be filled from the top. A filler tray is placed over the aligned hoops such that sleeves projecting downwardly from the bottom of the tray are received in each of the hoops. The cart and hoops may then be conveyed to a hopper containing curds such that curds can be poured into the tray and evenly distributed to each of the hoops. The sleeves received in the hoops extend several inches above the top of the hoops. The hoops and sleeves are filled to approximately the level of the top of the sleeves with each of the hoops containing substantially the same amount of curds. The cart containing the filled hoops and including the filler is then moved to be received under a vertical press. The press includes a plurality of downwardly extending plungers which are aligned to be received within the sleeves and hoops. The plungers are driven downwardly by pneumatic actuators into the sleeves to pack the curd therein into the hoop thereby compressing the curd. The plungers are then raised and the cart and hoops removed from the press so that the filler can be removed from the hoops. A piece of cheese cloth is then laid on top of the curd and a perforated circular metal disc is laid over the cheese cloth. The cart and filled hoops are then reinserted beneath the press and the plungers activated a second time to place a compressive force on the metal discs and on the curds. The plungers are maintained in compressive engagement for several hours or longer until the curds have been compressed sufficiently to form a finished cheese.

The plungers of the vertical press are supported from a press head which is in turn secured to the piston of the actuating cylinder. The plungers are each independently vertically slideably mounted in the press head but are biased downwardly by coil springs such that the pressure maintained by the plungers on the curd in each of the hoops is generally equal.

By using the apparatus of the invention, the cheese hoops can be moved from one work station to another on the movable cart such that it is not necessary to remove the hoops from the cart until the cheese making process has been completed. This substantially eliminates the manual labor formerly required to lift the filled hoops onto the press and removal of the hoops from the press following the pressing operation.

The apparatus of the invention also avoid the requirement that the hoops be weighed to insure the proper amount of curd has been placed in the hoops to maintain the consistency of the cheese produced. The hoops used in the present invention are each filled to generally the same level with curd and are simultaneously compacted by the plungers. Since the curd poured into each of the hoops is of a generally uniform consistency, the cheese produced in each of the hoops will be uniform using the method of the invention. The apparatus of the invention thus eliminate the need for additional labor to weigh the hoops.

As is readily apparent, apparatus of the invention also reduces the time required to pack each of the cheese hoops with curd because a plurality of hoops can be filled simultaneously and because the packing of the curds into the hoops is accomplished by a single compression stroke of the vertical press plungers.

These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the present invention wherein the cart and filler tray are received within the vertical press;

FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the cart, the cheese hoops and filler trays of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the cart received within the vertical press but without the cheese hoops and filler trays being shown;

FIG. 4 generally shows a cross-sectional end view of the cart and the filler trays received within the vertical press;

FIGS. 5-9 are schematic views illustrating the process for filling the cheese hoops with curd and for compressing the curd using the vertical press of the invention.

The present invention is directed to apparatus for filling cheese hoops with curd, packing the curd in the hoops, and then compressing the curd for an extended period of time until a finished cheese is formed. The apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 as generally including a movable hoop cart 10 for supporting the cheese hoops 16, a plurality of filler trays 12 which facilitate filling of the hoops with curds and a vertical press 14 for packing and compressing the curds in the hoops.

The cart 10, which is best shown in FIG. 2, consists of a horizontally extending frame 22 which is supported on four wheels 20. The frame 22 supports a corrugated tray 24. The corrugated tray 24 includes vertically extending side walls 26 surrounding its periphery and a whey outlet 28. The whey outlet 28 may be connected to a receptical for receiving whey which is forced out of the curd during the cheese making process. The rectangular tray 24 is of such dimension that a plurality of hoops 16 can be placed on the tray in closely spaced adjacent relationship and held in such relationship by the side walls 26. The hoops 16 used with the apparatus of the invention are approximately 6 inches in diameter and are sufficiently long to hold 12 or more pounds of curd. The rectangular tray 24 shown in the drawings is of sufficient size to support 60 hoops in adjacent position and arranged in five rows. The cart 10 also includes a pair of circular bushings 30 secured to and extending from each of its ends for receiving the lower ends of cart handles 32. The cart handles 32 are generally rectangular and are useful to permit the cart 10 to be pushed from one station to another by the operator.

Three adjacent filler trays 12 are provided to be received on top of the hoops 16 to facilitate the filling of the hoops with curds. Each of the fillers 12 includes a tray like portion 34 having a bottom wall 36 and vertical side walls 38. A plurality of downwardly extending cylindrical sleeves 40 project from the lower side of the bottom wall 36. As shown in FIG. 4, when the filler 12 is placed upon the hoops 16, the sleeves 40, which have an outside diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the hoops 16, are received within the upper portions of the hoops and are designed to permit curds which are poured into the tray 34 to be funneled into the hoops. The sleeves 40 of the filler 12 which are positioned at the corners, each include radially outwardly extending pins 42 which are intended to rest upon the upper surface of the hoops 16 to maintain the proper positioning of the filler tray 12 on the hoops. It should be noted that the sleeves extend several inches above the upper edge of the hoops 16.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the filler trays are designed to facilitate the filling of the hoops 16 with curd from a hopper H. The cart 10 supporting the hoops 16 and the filler trays 12 is moved by the operator to a position below a hopper such that curds can be poured into the filler tray 34. The vertically extending walls 38 are approximately 3 inches high and prevent spillage of the curds during the filling operation. The operator controls the flow of curds into the tray such that the hoops 16 and sleeves 40 are filled to the desired level, for example, to the level of the bottom wall of the filler tray 12.

Though the apparatus shown in the drawings illustrates the use of 60 hoops and three fillers 12, it should be readily apparent that the invention includes within its scope any desired number of hoops 16.

When the hoops 16 have been filled with curd, the cart 10 is moved to a position where it is received within the vertical press 14. The vertical press comprises a frame generally depicted as element 44 and consisting of a pair of spaced vertically extending side walls 46 and 48 which are joined by a bridge 50 extending between the upper portions of the side walls. Each of the side walls 46 and 48 are comprised of three vertically extending rectangular tubes 52 joined by horizontally extending rectangular tubes 54 and 55 welded to the upper and lower ends of the vertically extending rectangular tubes 52, respectively, thereby forming a rigid structure. The bridge 50 extending between the side walls 46 and 48 is comprised of three pairs of opposed horizontally extending angles 56 which are rigidly attached to the upper ends of the side walls so as to thus form, with the side wall 46 and 48, a rectangular arch capable of receiving therein the cart 10 and hoops 16 during the pressing operation. Each of the side walls 46 and 48 of the frame is supported by legs 58. In order to provide means for accurately aligning the position of the cart with respect to the vertical press, a pair of projections 57 extend inwardly from the vertical side walls 46 and 48 and are positioned to contact the projections 23 extending outwardly from the cart frame 22.

The angles 56 are arranged in three opposed pairs, each of said pairs supporting a pneumatic cylinder 60. The pneumatic cylinders 60 are supported by the angles 56 such that a pneumatically actuated piston rod 62 extends downwardly between the side walls 46 and 48 and equidistant therefrom. The lower end of each of the piston rods 62 is journalled in fixed relationship to a horizontal press head 64. The press head 64 includes a plurality of vanes 66 welded to its upper surface to increase its rigidity and a plurality of vertically extending spaced bores 65 for slideably receiving plungers 70 which extend downwardly from the bottom surface 67 of the press head. The plungers 70 are comprised of a plunger head 72 which is defined by a generally cylindrical disc of an outside diameter substantially equal to but receivable within the inside diameter of the sleeve 40. The plungers 70 also include a plunger rod 74 which is slideably received within one of the spaced bores 65 of the press head 64 as stated for vertical movement with respect to the press head. The plungers 70 are each guided in their vertical movement by a cylindrical guide 80 secured to the bottom surface 67 of the press head 64 and including a bore 82 in alignment with the spaced bores 65.

In order to maintain the proper alignment of the press head 64 and the plungers 70 with the sleeves 40 and hoops 16 a guide rod 68 is secured to the upper surface 69 of the press head and extends perpendicularly upwardly from the press head such that it is slideably receivable in a bushing 84 supported by a bracket 86 which is in turn secured between the two angles 56 supporting the pneumatic cylinder 60.

The plungers 70 are biased downwardly with respect to the press head 64 by coil springs 76 which surround the plunger rod 74 and which are compressed between the upper surface 75 of the plunger head 72 and the bottom surface 67 of the press head 64. The plungers 70 are limited however in their downward movement by cotter pins 90 extending through transverse bores 94 in the upper ends of the plunger rod 74 for abutment with the upper surface 69 of the press head 64.

During the operation of the apparatus of the invention, after the hoops 16 and sleeves 40 have been filled to the desired level with curd, the pg,10 cart 10 supporting both the filled hoops 16 and the filler 12 is moved by the operator so as to be received within the vertical press 14 between the side walls 46 and 48 in such a manner that the plungers 70 are aligned with the sleeves 40 and the hoops 16. The operator activates valve 78 causing the pneumatic cylinder 60 to force the press heads 64 downwardly and to force the plungers 70 into the sleeves 40. Downward movement of the plungers in the sleeves 40 packs the curd held in the sleeves downwardly into the hoops 16 and compresses the curd. The force applied by the plungers 70 on the curd in each of the hoops 16 is substantially equal despite variations in the level of the curd in the hoops because of the equalizing effect of the coil springs 76.

After the curd has been thus compressed, valve 78 is again actuated by the operator to lift the press heads 64 and to remove the plungers from the hoops 16 and the sleeves 40. The cart 10 is then removed from the vertical press 14 to permit removal of the fillers 12. Circular pieces of cheese cloth are then placed in the hoops over the cheese and overlaid by circular perforated metal discs. The cart is then reinserted into the vertical press 14 such that the plungers 70 are again aligned with the hoops 16. Valve 78 is actuated to force the press heads 64 downwardly and to force the plungers 70 into compressive engagement against the circular perforated metal disc. The pressure is maintained on the discs for several hours or until the curds have been compressed sufficiently to complete the cheese making process. It should be noted that a particular advantage of the present invention is that the pressure applied by each of the plungers during the final compression process can be maintained at a substantially equal value due to the use of the coil springs 76 even though the level of the cheese in the hoops may vary slightly. Thus results in the production of cheeses which are substantially equal in consistency and quality. When the process has been completed the plungers may be removed from the hoops and the cart 10 removed from the vertical press to permit the finished cheese to be stripped from the cheese hoops 16.

The present invention thus sets forth apparatus for making cheese which requires substantially less manual effort than prior art processes and produces a plurality of finished cheeses simultaneously having a uniform quality. The invention is a substantial improvement over the prior art because it provides means for filling a large number of cheese hoops during a single step and in such a manner that the cheese hoops will each contain the same amount of cheese curds, thereby yielding cheeses which have a uniform weight, consistency, and quality. The invention also provides means to avoid the manual labor previously required to pack the cheese hoops with curd and required to move the filled hoops from one work station to another during the processing of the cheese. Finally, the invention sets forth means of maintaining equal pressures on the curds in each of the cheese hoops thereby insuring the consistency of each of the cheeses formed.