Cheese making apparatus |
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| 申请号 | US87144169 | 申请日 | 1969-02-10 | 公开(公告)号 | US3696950A | 公开(公告)日 | 1972-10-10 |
| 申请人 | DAIRY EQUIPMENT CO; | 发明人 | PETERS NORMAN J; | ||||
| 摘要 | This invention relates to cheese making equipment including a vat to contain cheese curd, and a portable unloading unit for conveying the curd from the vat to an elevated location. The vat is provided with an open end which is enclosed by a hinged door and the cheese curd is removed from the vat by a blade attached to a reciprocating carriage. The blade acts to push the curd out of the open end of the vat into a hopper of a portable unloader unit where a horizontal auger, located within the hopper, conveys the curd to an inclined auger which extends upwardly and discharges the curd into hoops or onto a conveying system. | ||||||
| 权利要求 | 1. In a food processing apparatus, an open-top vat to contain a food product and having an open end, a door to enclose the open end, a portable unloading unit disposEd outside of the vat and including a hopper to be positioned adjacent said open end, and having a width greater than the width of said open end, a blade extending transversely of the vat, and means for moving the blade in a reciprocating path of travel to move the product through the open end of the vat and into the hopper, said portable unloading unit also including an elevator communicating with the hopper for elevating the product from said hopper to a desired elevated location. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower surface of the vat adjacent said open end is provided with a recess and said hopper has a height such that the upper end of the hopper fits within the recess and beneath the open end of the vat. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, and including a discharge container connected to the upper end of the elevator to receive said product from the elevator, said discharge container having a discharge opening enclosed by a movable door, and means responsive to the door being moved to the closed position for stopping operation of said elevator. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, and including drain conduit means located in the lower end of the housing and positioned beneath the level of said hopper, said drain conduit means, when open, serving to discharge a washing fluid from said hopper and housing. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, and including a sealing assembly disposed between the door and the end of the vat bordering said open end, said sealing assembly including a flexible generally U-shaped sealing member and a rigid generally U-shaped reinforcing member disposed within said sealing member, the ends of said reinforcing member projecting outwardly of the corresponding ends of said sealing member, means for connecting the projecting ends of said reinforcing member to said door, said flexible sealing member being free of attachment to said door, and means for clamping the door against the end surface of the vat with said flexible sealing member providing a fluid-tight seal between the door and said end surface. 6. In a cheese making apparatus, a vat to contain cheese curd and having an open end, a door pivotally connected at its upper end to the vat and disposed to enclose the open end, a portable unloading unit disposed outside of the vat and including a hopper to be positioned adjacent said open end to receive cheese curd discharged through the open end, discharge means located within the vat for discharging the curd through said open end and into the hopper, said portable unloading unit also including an elevator communicating with said hopper for elevating the curd from said hopper to a desired elevated location, and locking means associated with the lower end portion of the door for locking the door to the vat, said locking means including a locking element connected to the vat and movable when in a disengaged condition to a non-obstructing position where it will not interfere with positioning of the hopper adjacent said vat. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said locking element is pivotally connected to the vat and is freely pivotable to said non-obstructing position when the locking means is disengaged. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the lower surface of said vat is provided with a recess beneath said open end and said locking element is located within said recess. 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said hopper is provided with passage means communicating with said elevator and said apparatus includes conveying means disposed in the hopper and extending transversely of the vat for moving the product toward the passage means and delivering the product through said passage means to said elevator, said conveying means including a rotatable shaft and a spirally arranged wire spaced radially outward from said shaft and connected to said shaft. 10. The unit of claim 9, wherein said passage means is located centrally of said hopper and said conveying means comprises a pair of spirally arranged wires carried by said shaft and spaced radially outward of said shaft, said spirally arranged wires having opposite pitches with each wire arranged to move the product toward said passage means. 11. In a food processing apparatus, a vat to contain a food product and having an open end, a removable door to enclose the open end of the vat, a portable unloading unit disposed outside of the vat and including a hopper to be positioned adjacent said open end, discharge means located within the vat for discharging the product through said open end and into the hopper, said portable unloading unit including an elevator communicating with said hopper for elevating the product from said hopper to a desired elevated location, and connecting means removably interconnecting the vat and said portable unloading unit for maintaining the hopper in position adjacent said open end of the vat when said product is being unloaded. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said connecting means comprises an arm interconnecting the hopper and said vat. 13. In a food processing apparatus, a vat to contain a food material and having an open end, a door to removably enclose the open end of the vat, a portable unloading unit disposed outside of the vat and including a hopper to be positioned adjacent said open end, discharge means located within the vat for discharging the material through said open end and into the hopper, said portable unloading unit including an elevator communicating with said hopper for elevating the material from said hopper to a desired elevated location, said hopper having a surface to be disposed flatwise against the open end of the vat, and trough means located beneath the joint between the end of the vat and said surface of the hopper for collecting material falling through said joint. 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said trough means is connected to said hopper and extends beneath the bottom surface of the vat. 15. The structure of claim 13 and including connecting means for removably interconnecting the vat and the portable unloading unit for holding said surface of the hopper in tight engagement with the end of the vat. |
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