Cheese Cooling Mold Unit with Peripheral Gap Film

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional cooling mold units for cheese products are inflexible, difficult to clean, and require large quantities of cooling liquid, often resulting in product contamination.

Innovation Solution

A cooling mold unit with a design featuring at least one cooling mold, a tray with leadthroughs, and a base element, where the cooling mold is arranged in the leadthrough with a sectionally peripheral gap, allowing for trickle film cooling without direct contact with the cooling liquid.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If conventional cooling methods (baths, nozzles, or hollow cooling molds) are used, then cooling effect is achieved, but cooling liquid contacts the product causing contamination risk and requires large quantities of cooling liquid

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduct contaminationVSAvoidcooling liquid consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a film of cooling liquid as an intermediary that flows over the outer surface of the mold rather than contacting the product directly. The cooling liquid forms a thin film that transfers heat through the mold wall to cool the cheese product internally, preventing direct contact between the cooling liquid and the food product while maintaining effective heat transfer

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling liquid is applied as a thin film on the external surface of the mold, creating a flexible cooling layer that conforms to the mold geometry. This thin film approach allows efficient heat transfer from the cooling liquid through the mold wall to the product without requiring large volumes of liquid or direct contact with the product

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

2Ease of operation

If conventional cooling mold units are used, then cooling function is provided, but the units are difficult to clean and not flexible to use

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of cleaningVSAvoidcooling mold structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling mold unit is segmented into separate components: the mold cavity, the base element with leadthrough, and the cooling liquid supply system. This segmentation allows each component to be independently cleaned and maintained, with the cooling liquid being applied externally to surfaces that are easily accessible for cleaning, eliminating the need to disassemble complex internal cooling channels

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of incorporating cooling channels within the mold structure (which would require complex internal passages that are difficult to clean), the invention inverts the approach by applying cooling liquid externally to the mold surface. This external application method simplifies the mold structure and makes cleaning straightforward, as the cooling function is provided by the externally applied liquid film rather than internal channels

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Temperature

If conventional cooling methods are used, then cooling is achieved, but considerable quantities of cooling liquid are required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling efficiencyVSAvoidcooling liquid quantity

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution provides efficient, flexible, and easy-to-clean cooling of cheese products, reducing energy consumption and preventing product contamination by minimizing contact with cooling liquid.

Implementation Method 1

The cooling liquid collected in the tray flows by gravity through the at least one gap between the leadthrough and the cooling mold and areally down the outer wall of the cooling mold, whereby the cooling mold and thus the molded cheese product located therein are cooled without contact with the cooling liquid

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 2

The cooling liquid collected in the tray flows by gravity through the at least one gap between the leadthrough and the cooling mold

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectGravity: Gravitation

Data Source

PatentUS20250134154A1Cooling mold unit and cooling device

Publication Date: 2025.05.01 ALPMA ALPENLAND MASCHINENBAU GMBH

AI summary

The invention relates to a cooling mold unit for cooling molded cheese products by means of a cooling liquid, in particular water. It comprises at least one cooling mold, in particular a tubular cooling mold, that can be filled with a cheese mass and that has—in the position of use—an end-face upper opening and an end-face lower opening, at least one tray having at least one leadthrough for receiving the cooling mold, and a base element, in particular a base plate, that is connected to a lower end of the cooling mold and that has at least one recess which is associated with the lower opening and through which the lower opening is accessible. The cooling mold is arranged in the leadthrough, wherein the leadthrough is dimensioned such that an at least sectionally peripheral gap is formed between a margin of the leadthrough and an outer wall of the cooling mold. The present invention further relates to a cooling device for cooling molded cheese products by means of a cooling liquid.