Washington—The US Patent and Trademark Office recently awarded a patent for an invention related to a method and assembly for receiving and conveying particles of cheese curd downstream along a cheese processing line, where augers are used to receive and convey the cheese particles.
Inventors are Kyle Johnson and Michael Olson. The patent was assigned to Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance, parent company of Tetra Pak.
The method and system according to this invention has particular application in a cheese processing line that uses conveyors, such as auger-type conveyors for receiving particles of cheese curd and conveying the particles of cheese curd downstream along a cheese processing line. Augers may be used at various stages along a cheese processing line configured for producing a Cheddar-type cheese. For example, augers may be used to convey the cheese curd during the draining, salting, and/or mellowing stages of cheese production.
The method and assembly use an auger assembly for receiving particles of cheese curd and conveying the particles of cheese curd downstream along a cheese processing line.
The auger assembly includes an auger housing, a first auger having a first shaft extending through the auger housing, a second auger having a second shaft extending through the auger housing and arranged colinearly with the first shaft, a first bearing mounted to the auger housing and arranged at the end of the first shaft, and a second bearing mounted to the auger housing and arranged at the end of the second shaft. The second shaft has an end that faces an end of the first shaft, and the first bearing and second bearing are colinear and facing each other.
Advantageously, a slotted groove is formed in each of the bearings to enable a clean-in-place (CIP) fluid to contact surfaces of the bearings, such that cleaning of the bearings is ensured, the patent explained. The slotted grooves may extend through an entire longitudinal length of the bearings to enable the CIP fluid to travel along the auger shafts by way of the grooves and across the area where the bearings are connected with the shafts.
The bearings are also removably mounted to a housing of the auger assembly using a mounting bracket which also supports the CIP fluid line to direct the CIP fluid to the slotted grooves. Thus, the bearings are easily replaceable within the auger assembly, the patent noted.
