IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Travis, of Mercaston, Derby, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CHEESE."
Sealed the 27th October 1857, and dated the 4th May 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Travis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th May 1857.
I, GEORGE TRAVIS, of Mercaston, Derby, do hereby declare the nature of
the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CHEESE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus used in the
manufacture of cheese. For this purpose the tub or vessel used has at one or
more sides two or more holes made through it, one lower than the other, and
both are below the level at which the milk will stand in such tub or vessel.
These holes are kept plugged or stopped till the whey is to be run off, when
in each case the plug or stopper of the upper hole is to be removed and the
whey is allowed to flow from the upper surface of the curd (which is con-
tinually pressed downwards) over a sliding valve or gate, the upper edge of
which is always kept slightly below the surface of the whey in the vessel or
tub. The sliding valve or gate moves, fluid-tight, between guides fixed on
the inside of the vessel or tub, and is caused to descend as the pressing plate

page_text: on the surface of the curd descends by the pressure applied thereto. Tho
valve or gate is of a curved form, projecting a distance into the vessel, the
lower part being closed, and the gate or valve is of such a depth that it comes
below the upper hole formed through the side of the tub or vessel. By this
apparatus the whey as it flows over the gate or valve will descend and flow
through the hole in the side of the tub, where it is received into a sieve, or
allowed to flow away without passing through a sieve. As the gate or valve
descends, its lower part or closed bottom comes below the second or lower
hole, and the whey is discharged through that hole. The valve or gate is
so constructed and worked that it may be caused to descend low enough to
run off all the whey from the upper surface of the curd.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Travis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd November 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, GEORGE
TRAVIS, of Mercaston, Derby, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Travis, Her special licence that I, the said George Travis,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Travis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said George Travis, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and inme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Travis, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus used in the
manufacture of cheese. For this purpose the tub or vessel used has at one or
more sides two or more holes made through it, one lower than the other, and
both are below the level at which the milk will stand in such tub or vessel.
These holes are kept plugged or stopped till the whey is to be run off," when
in each case the plug or stopper of the upper hole is to be removed and the
whey is allowed to flow from the upper surface of the curd (which is con-
tinually pressed downwards) over a sliding valve or gate, the upper edge of
which is always kept slightly below the surface of the whey in the vessel or
tub. The sliding valve or gate moves, fluid-tight, between guides fixed on the
inside of the vessel or tub, and is caused to descend as the pressing plato on
the surface of the curd descends by the pressure applied thereto. The valve
or gate is of a curved form, projecting a distance into the vessel, the lower
part being closed, and the gate or valve is of such a depth that it comes below
the upper hole formed through the side of the tub or vessel. By this
apparatus the whey as it flows over the gate or valve will descend and flow
through the hole in the side of the tub, where it is received into a sieve, or
allowed to flow away without passing through a sieve. As the gate or valve
descends, its lower part or closed bottom comes below the second or lower
hole, and the whey is discharged through that hole. The valve or gate is so
constructed and worked that it may be caused to descend low enough to run
off all the whey from the upper surface of the curd.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a portion of a vertical section of a pan or vessel used for
making cheese; Figure 2 shows an interior view; Figure 3, a plan; and
Figure 4 shows a variation in the sliding gate or valve used to run off the
whey. The pan or vessel a, a, in which the whey and card are produced, has
formed through its side two or more openings, b, b, which are kept plugged
or closed till the whey is to be run off, and it is not necessary to introduce the
sliding gate or valve into its position till the whey is to be run off from the
curd; c, c, are fixed guides, which receive and guide the sliding gate or valve.
d. When the whey is to be run off, and the gate or valve is in its place, and
the lower end is below the upper opening b, the plug or stopper is to be
removed from the upper opening 6; the whey flowing over the top of the

page_text: gate or valve d will pass out at b, and flow into a separate sieve or strainer
placed below the outlet b. The gate or valve d is to be progressively slided
down as the curd is pressed into a less and less space at the bottom of the pan
or vessel a,.a, and when the bottom of the gate or valve has come below tho
second opening b, the plug in that opening is to be removed. The valvo or
gate.d may be made in two or more parts, one capable of sliding within the
other, as is shown in Figure 4.
.Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the, same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
application of apparatus, such, as is herein described, to the pans or vessels
used for making cheese.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Travis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
WM GREEN,
of Matlock, Derbyshire,
Law Clerk.
GEORGE TRAVIS. (L.S.)