IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO VESSELS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE.
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Waller, of Lickhill, near Calne, in the County
of Wilts, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO VESSELS USED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE."..
Sealed the 12th September 1856, and dated the 26th June 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Waller at the
. Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
June 1856.
I, HENRY WALLER, of Lickhill, near- Calne, in the County. of. Wilts; ido
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. APPLICABLE
TO VESSELS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE," to be as follows:-
This Invention applies to certain vessels used in the manufacture of cheese,
for the purpose of breaking up and pressing the curd, and drawing off or
removing the whey therefrom.
Before describing the nature of my Invention, I would remark that I am
aware that vessels have been previously constructed for such purposes with
fixed-strainers at the side, closed when required by means of a plug, fixing

page_text: quite tight at the back, to prevent as much as possible the escape of curd; but
such strainers have been found defective in practice, owing to the strainer
being always exposed to great pressure. The plug rising first from the bottom
of the vessel exposes the strainer (especially the lower part thereof) to the
pressure of the whole material therein; at the same time the lower part of the
strainer renders no efficient service, owing to the settling of the curd towards
the bottom of the vessel; this pressure on the inside forcing the strainer
outwards, and the counter pressure and friction, when applying the plug, soon
cuts the strainer through, and renders it of no further service.
In my improved arrangement I employ a circular vessel with a small
vertical chamber at the side. This chamber is closed by a shutter, capable of
sliding vertically in grooves, and divided horizontally into two, three, or more
sections, the edges of the divisions being bevilled or grooved so as to form a
close joint. Immediately behind this shutter I place a small sliding strainer
(formed by preference of perforated metal). This strainer is capable of
moving vertically in grooves, and only slightly exceeds in depth the height of
one division of the sliding shutter. In using this apparatus, the curd is first
broken up by means of a revolving curd cutter of any suitable form. When
the curd has sufficiently settled, the strainer is placed opposite to the upper
division of the sliding shutter, and that division of the slide is then withdrawn,
which allows a portion of the whey to flow off into the chamber, whence it is
withdrawn by a tap or valve. When the curd has settled still further, and
the body of the whey is brought to that level, the strainer is moved opposite to
the second division of the sliding shutter, which is next withdrawn, and so on
until the whole of the whey has been run off. The curd is pressed by means
of an ordinary pressing plate and screw.
By the use of this arrangement, it will be evident that the strainer, being
always at or near the level of the contents of the vessel, is never exposed to
great pressure, as heretofore, and is therefore much more durable, and less
liable to injury; a much smaller and less expensive strainer may be used, and
being always above the curd, it is not liable to become choked, or to allow the.
curd to be forced through it by the pressure.