AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING MUN WORD DRAM THE CURD IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE."
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Philip Coombes, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING
MUN WORD DRAM THE CURD IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said Philip Coombes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
June 1865.
I, PHILIP COOMBES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
SEPARATING THE WHEY FROM THE CURD IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE," to be
as follows:-
It has been the practice hitherto in the manufacture of cheese to separate
or remove the whey from the curd by a ladle or other dish or vessel lifted or
moved by hand, and it has been and now is well known that the process is
very tedious, and that whey so separated or removed contains or carries in
suspension a portion of curd or matter fit for being made into cheese. My
Invention consists of apparatus by which the pure whey can be removed
I construct a pump of any
regularly and expeditiously from the curd.
ordinary kind, preferably made of metal, and with metallic valves, and make
the lower end of the suction pipe of fine wire gauze, or of finely perforated
material; or, which I greatly prefer, I surround the lower end of the suction

page_text: pipe in and by wire gauze or finely perforated material made to resemble a
vessel several times the diameter of the suction pipe. The said pump with
its perforated or openwork lower part is provided with a stand, and when it
is to be used the said lower part is placed in or amongst the coagulated milk,
from which, by operating the pump, a regular and continuous extraction of the
whey is effected, and such whey may be discharged at the delivery nozzle or
forced to any desired place.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Philip Coombes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th December 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PHILIP
COOMBES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, béaring date the Fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Philip Coombes,. Her special license that I, the said Philip Coombes, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Philip
Coombes, 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 "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
SEPARATING THE WHEY FROM THE CURD IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Philip Coombes, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Philip Coombes, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement (that is to say) :-
It has been the practice hitherto in the manufacture of cheese to separate
or remove the whey from the curd by a ladle or other dish or vessel lifted or

page_text: 'moved 'by hand, and it has 'been 'and now is well known that the process is
very tedious, and that whey so separated or removed contains or carries in
'suspension a portion of curd or matter fit for being made into cheese.
My 'Invention consists of apparatus by which the pure whey can be removed
regularly and expeditiously from the curd. I construct a pump of any
ordinary 'kind, preferably made of metal, and with metallic valves, and make
the lower end of the suction pipe of fine wire gauze or of finely perforated
material; 'or, which I greatly prefer, I surround' the lower end of the suction
pipe in and by wire gauze or finely perforated material made 'to resemble a
'vessel 'several times the diameter of the suction pipe. The said pump with
its perforated or openwork 'lower part is provided with a stand, and when it
is to be used' the said lower part is placed in or amongst (the "coagulated
'milk, from which by operating the pump 'a regular' and' continuous extraction
of the whey is effected, and such whey may be discharged at the delivery
nozzle or forced to any desired place.
"That apparatus which I have found to answer well 'may be readily "seen
and understood in detail, I have attached héréto a Sheet of illustrative
Drawings,' shewing by Fig. 1'a'view in perspective, and by Fig. 2 a vertical
section. Herein-after like letters of reference denote the same parts in both
views.
.:
a represents the legs of the stand or frame, which are strengthened by the
platform b, tie rods c, and separating pieces d; e, the working barrel of a lift
pump, with delivery nozzle f, operating handle and support:g, rod h, and
valve i; jis a screwed piece for connecting the working barrel and the
suction pipe k. The said screwed piece j is formed with a seating for the
bottom valve l. The lower end of the suction pipe kis surrounded by the
filter or sieve, composed of bottom plate m, rods or ribs'n, filtering material
of fine wire gauze, hair, or other suitable material 'o, and top-ring p. In this
top ring there are two openings 9 (shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 1), and
attached to the disc r there are two.projecting pieces s; these form a sort of
bayonet joint, allowing 9 to be passed over s, and the filter or sieve to be
turned round and locked or fastened. It will be observed that all the parts of
the apparatus just described are so formed that they can be easily separated;
this is so that they may be easily scalded or cleaned, a matter of great im-
portance in the manufacture of cheese when apparatus made of metal is
employed. It will also be observed that all the valves are metallic, and that
no hemp or other flexible or elastic packing capable of absorbing moisture is
employed. By preference I make the working barrel and suction pipe of the
pump of copper, the rod and valves of brass, the stand of galvanized or tinn'd

page_text: iron, and the filter or seive of copper or brass wire or bair; it is obvious,
however, that the different parts may be made of various materials. In
practice I prefer to adopt the following course:-After the coagulated milk
has been broken up in any usual way, I gather or collect the curd to one side
of the vessel, then pass "the whey extractor" down amongst the whey at the
opposite side of the vessel, and at the same time commence to pump away or
separate the whey. In this way the whey is drawn or allowed to flow
gradually away from the curd, and it does not carry any material quantity of
the curd with it in suspension.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and particularized
one modification thereof, which, as before mentioned, I have found to answer
well, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the use of
the particular apparatus shown on the Drawings and herein described, nor to
the use of any particular kind or construction of force or lift pump, nor to any
form of the filter or sieve for a semicircle or piece of gauze or sieve, the ends of
which being made to touch the inner surface of the vessel, and to allow space
for the pump would answer equally well; what I claim is, in the manufacture
of cheese, separating or removing whey from curd by apparatus constructed
and operating substantially as herein set forth and illustrated by the modi-
fication shewn on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Philip Coombes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
In the presence of
JOHN T. KING,
Patent Agent,
4, Clayton Square,
Liverpool.
PHILIP COOMBES. (L.S.)