Cheese making apparatus

Claim 1

An apparatus for processing cheese curd, comprising a closed housing, a first conveyor disposed within the housing and including a porous endless belt, means for supplying a mixture of cheese curd and whey to the first belt with the whey draining through said belt and said curd remaining as a layer on said belt, whey discharge means in said housing for discharging whey from the housing, a second conveyor including a second endless belt disposed beneath the first conveyor and disposed to move in the opposite direction from said first conveyor, means for transferring the layer of curd from the first belt to the second belt with said curd layer being inverted during said transfer, second discharge means in said housing for discharging the curd from the second conveyor, and baffle means disposed between the first and second conveyors for receiving whey draining through said first belt and directing said whey away from said second conveyor to said whey discharge means.

Claim 2

An apparatus for processing cheese curd, comprising a closed housing, a first conveyor disposed within the housing and including a porous endless belt, means for supplying a mixture of cheese curd and whey to the first belt with the whey draining through said belt and said curd remaining as a layer on said belt, whey discharge means in said housing for discharging whey from the housing, a second conveyor including a second endless belt disposed beneath the first conveyor and disposed to move in the opposite direction from said first conveyor, means for transferring the layer of curd from the first belt to the second belt with said curd layer being inverted during said transfer, second discharge means in said housing for discharging the curd from the second conveyor, and baffle means disposed between the first and second conveyors for receiving whey draining through said first belt and directing said whey away from said second conveyor to said whey discharge means.

Claim 14

An apparatus for continuously matting and milling cheese curd, comprising a closed housing, a first conveyor disposed within the housing and including a porous endless belt, means for supplying a mixture of cheese curd and whey to said first belt with the whey draining through said belt and the curd being retained on the belt in the form of a mat, a second conveyor disposed beneath said first conveyor and including a second endless belt operable to travel in the opposite direction from said first belt, transfer means for transferring the curd mat from the first belt to the second belt with said mat being inverted during said transfer, whey discharge means in said housing for discharging whey from the housing, baffle means disposed between the first and second conveyors, said baffle means extending transversely of the conveyors and extending a substantial portion of the length of the first conveyor and covering at least a portion of the length of the second conveyor, said baffle means including a sloping surface terminating in a low portion, whereby whey draining through said first belt will flow along said surface to said low portion and will be conducted to said whey discharge means, curd mill means disposed within the housing for receiving the curd mat from the second belt and for milling the curd mat into chunks, and second discharge means for receiving the chunks from the curd mill means and discharging the same from said housing.

Claim 15

An apparatus for continuously matting and milling cheese curd, comprising a closed housing, a first conveyor disposed within the housing and including a porous endless belt, means for supplying a mixture of cheese curd and whey to said first belt with the whey draining through said belt and the curd being retained on the belt in the form of a mat, a second conveyor disposed beneath said first conveyor and including a second endless belt operable to travel in the opposite direction from said first belt, transfer means for transferring the curd mat from the first belt to the second belt with said mat being inverted during said transfer, whey discharge means in said housing for discharging whey from the housing, baffle means disposed between the first and second conveyors, said baffle means extending transversely of the conveyors and extending a substantial portion of the length of the first conveyor and covering at least a portion of the length of the second conveyor, said baffle means including a sloping surface terminating in a low portion, whereby whey draining through said first belt will flow along said surface to said low portion and will be conducted to said whey discharge means, curd mill means disposed within the housing for receiving the curd mat from the second belt and for milling the curd mat into chunks, and second discharge means for receiving the chunks from the curd mill means and discharging the same from said housing.

Claim 16

An apparatus for making cheese, a support structure, a porous belt mounted for movement on the support structure and having a conveying run to receive a layer of cheese curds and whey, drive means to move the belt in a path of travel, a plurality of spaced support rolls journalled for free rotation with respect to the support structure and disposed transversely to the direction of travel of said belt to support said belt in travel, portions of the belt disposed between adjacent spaced rolls in the conveying run sagging downwardly from a plane extending between the upper extremities of said adjacent rolls so that the belt travels in a fixed undulating path to provide a stretching action for the layer of curds and drain the whey through the porous belt.

Claim 17

An apparatus for making cheese, a support structure, a porous belt mounted for movement on the support structure and having a conveying run to receive a layer of cheese curds and whey, drive means to move the belt in a path of travel, a plurality of spaced support rolls journalled for free rotation with respect to the support structure and disposed transversely to the direction of travel of said belt to support said belt in travel, portions of the belt disposed between adjacent spaced rolls in the conveying run sagging downwardly from a plane extending between the upper extremities of said adjacent rolls so that the belt travels in a fixed undulating path to provide a stretching action for the layer of curds and drain the whey through the porous belt.

Claim 20

A method of processing cheese curd, comprising the steps of mounting an endless porous belt for travel in a conveying run and a return run, supporting the conveying run of the belt by a series of spaced rolls, sagging the belt downwardly in the spaces between adjacent rolls from a plane passing through the upper extremities of adjacent rolls so that the belt travels in the conveying run in a fixed undulating path, feeding a mixture of cheese curd and whey onto the conveying run of the belt, and advancing the belt to cause the mixture to move in said undulating path to stretch the mass of cheese curd and drain the whey through the porous belt.

Claim 21

A method of processing cheese curd, comprising the steps of mounting an endless porous belt for travel in a conveying run and a return run, supporting the conveying run of the belt by a series of spaced rolls, sagging the belt downwardly in the spaces between adjacent rolls from a plane passing through the upper extremities of adjacent rolls so that the belt travels in the conveying run in a fixed undulating path, feeding a mixture of cheese curd and whey onto the conveying run of the belt, and advancing the belt to cause the mixture to move in said undulating path to stretch the mass of cheese curd and drain the whey through the porous belt.