Improvements in Treating and Transporting Milk.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 18th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 18th Feb., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Treating and Transporting Milk.
I, ALEXANDER BERNSTEIN, of Stadthausbrücke 13, Hamburg, in the Empire
of Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the treatment and transportation of milk.
It is well known that when new milk is transported over great distances it is
prejudicially affected as the milk is subject to deterioration at ordinary temperatures
of the air. This deterioration results froin the fact, that the sugar, which is con-
tained in the milk, is partly changed into lactic acid under the influence of the air
at ordinary temperatures.
Various methods have been adopted in order to prevent this deterioration, the
most common being the sterilization of the milk in air-tight vessels.
Apart from
the fact that the taste of the milk is thereby materially altered, this process is
expensive and not certain in its results, as it seems impossible to secure the
air-tight fitting of the covers in a large number of small vessels. The sterilization
is therefore more adapted to the treatment of small quantities of milk if expense is
no object.
My new process is mainly intended for the purpose of supplying towns with
large quantities of milk from distant country districts by rail or water without the
necessity of using air-tight vessels for the transport.
My process consists mainly in keeping the milk during the whole time of
transportation at such a high temperature that the formation of lactic acid is
impossible but that the milk does not assume the peculiar flavour of boiled milk.
This temperature I have found to be between 60° and 70° Celsius.
I proceed as follows:-The milk after being collected from the farms is stored
in vessels in which it is heated to about 60° Celsius and retained at that temperature
up to the time of transport.
For transportation I avail myself of vessels which are surrounded by heated
water of, say, 65° Celsius, the heating being effected by steam or other means.
These vessels are filled with the heated milk, and the milk is retained at the
temperature of 60° to 70° Celsius during the whole time of transport. In keeping
the milk at this temperature until it arrives at the place of destination, the
possibility of deterioration under the influence of the air is excluded and the
necessity of air-tight vessels is avoided.
If the milk is to be stored at the place of destination, the process of heating may
be continued; but if the milk is to be sold to small consumers it is advisable to cool
it as quickly as possible, in order to avoid temperatures which are known to be
detrimental to the milk.
The milk kept warm in the manner herein before described for one or two days.
and then quickly cooled is far more durable than new milk.
Dated this 21st day of October 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Treating and Transporting Milk.
1. ALEXANDER BERNSTEIN, of Stadthausbrücke 13. Hamburg, in the Empire
of Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the treatment and transportation of milk.
It is well known that new milk cannot be transported over great distances with-
out being prejudicially affected as the milk is subject to deterioration at ordinary
temperatures of the air.
This deterioration results from the fact that the sugar which is contained in
the milk is partly changed into lactic acid under the influence of the air at
ordinary temperatures and this causes coagulation of the milk either at once or on
being boiled.
It is now understood that this influence of the atmospheric air is due to the
presence of numerous kinds of bacteria which find their way into the milk even
before it is drawn from the cows.
Amongst the various methods which are used for preserving milk during transport
that most commonly adopted consists in keeping the milk as cool as possible.
Another method consists in sterilizing the milk in air-tight bottles and cooling
these bottles before transporting them. But neither of these methods has the
advantages of the process which forms the subject matter of the present invention.
According to my invention I keep the milk at a high temperature and pre-
ferably a temperature of between 60° and 70° Celsius during the whole time of
transport, as I have found that if milk is kept at a relatively high temperature no
formation of lactic acid takes place. This temperature may be lowered to
about 50 degrees or it may be raised to 100 degrees Celsius; but the first mentioned
is not always a safe temperature and the other has the disadvantage of imparting
the peculiar flavour of boiled milk.
In carrying out my invention I proceed as follows:-1 collect the milk from
various farms at convenient stations and pour it into a vessel, in which it is heated
to about 60 degrees Celsius, and I then pour it into the vessel or vessels in which
it is to be transported. Such a transport vessel is protected from cooling by being
surrounded by warm water (the heat lost by radiation being replaced by artificial
heat in order to maintain the milk at the desired temperature) and the said vessel
is adapted to be placed on a railway car or on board ship. The milk may be
stirred to prevent separation of the cream, and the vapour should escape freely from
the heated milk.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which :-
Figure is a longitudinal section :
Figure 2 a transverse section; and,
Figure 3 a plan of such a transporting vessel.
a is the milk vessel, the covers at the ends of which carry bearings b, b for a shaft c
on which a blade or agitator d is fastened. The shaft e passes through a stuffing-
box on one of the said covers and carries on the projecting end a worm-wheel e
(Figures 1 and 3) through the medium of which the shaft c is rotated to cause the
movement of the agitator, whereby the milk in the vessel is put into motion so that
the separation of the cream is prevented. The milk is poured into the transport
vessel through the tube and is withdrawn through the tube
which is pro-
vided with a tap y. The tube should be left open to allow the vapours to
escape.
i
g
The milk vessel a is surrounded by a jacket h, the space between which and the

page_text: vessel a is filled with warm water, and this jacket again is protected from the cooling
influence of the air by a wooden casing j.
The water is introduced into the space through the tube k and is withdrawn
through the cock or tap 1.
In the drawing I have shewn the motion of the blade e as being produced by
electrical means, and for this purpose a storage battery m. Figures 1 and 3, is
placed underneath the platform and is connected by suitable conductors to a small
dynamo electric motor », the armature shaft of which carries a worm o gearing into
the worm-wheel e. It is to be understood that any other suitable means may be
employed for operating the blade d.
In order to maintain the necessary temperature of the water in the space i steam
is very advantageously used if available, but gas or hot air may be used equally
well. In the drawing a coil of heating tubes p is shewn at the bottom of the water
space i, into which coil steam, hot air or other heating agent is introduced at one
end through the valve g and after passing though the tubes escapes at the other end
through a funnel r.
As it is necessary to keep the temperature of the milk constant between the
limits already mentioned 1 avail myself preferably of an electric arrangement to
effect this constancy. For this purpose a thermometers (Figure 1) is arranged in
the water space so as to be affected by the heat of the water." A conducting
wire & is sealed into the lower bulb of this thermometer and another wire s² is
sealed into the top part in such a manner that if the temperature rises to 60° Celsius
the mercury comes into contact with the upper wire. The shaft q' of the inlet
valve y passes through stuffing-boxes in the shell of the said valve, and at one end
of this shaft q' a lever t is attached which is connected to an iron rod u which is
drawn into a solenoid v as soon as a current of electricity is passed through the
said solenoid. On the other end of the shaft q' an arm carries a weight which
normally holds the valve open. When an electric current passes through the
solenoid the rod is moved to close the valve q and when the current is interrupted
the weight acts to open the valve.
A. wire we connects one pole of the battery m to the top wires of the thermometer
and another wire w' conveys the current from the wire s' of the mercury bulb to
the solenoid and thence back to the other pole of the battery.
The action of this arrangement will be easily understood. As soon as the water
has reached 60° or any other desired temperature to which the thermometer is
adjusted, the current passes through the solenoid and this causes the closing of the
valve g. The water now commences to cool and when owing to such cooling
the mercury falls the electric current is broken and the solenoid loses its power;
then the weight on the lever opens the valve q and the heating commences anew.
In this way a very even temperature of the water is maintained.
All the parts of the apparatus described which are in contact with milk should
be enamelled or of a metal which does not injuriously affect the heated milk.
By the continuous heating until the milk arrives at the place of destination, the
deterioration of the milk is avoided without the necessity of using air-tight vessels.
Also all germs of disease, which are easily propagated by milk, are completely
destroyed and the milk so treated in transport is far more wholesome than ordinary
milk and more durable.
If the transport lasts a long time the temperature may be lowered occasionally
and afterwards raised again.
Another advantage of my new process consists in the fact that milk heated above
50 degrees Celsius will not form any butter by being shaken, which milk is very apt
to do when transported cold.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The process of preserving milk during transportation consisting in conveying

page_text: it in vessels in which the milk is kept at high temperatures at which no formation
of lactic acid takes place, substantially as described.
2. In apparatus for conveying milk the combination with the milk-vessel of
means for maintaining the milk at a high temperature, substantially as described.
Dated this 17th day of January 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.