阅读说明：本技术 液态奶制备方法及其设备 (Liquid milk preparation method and equipment ) 是由 关志涵 李洪亮 牛世祯 孙丽生 祁凌 钱文涛 王孟辉 崔国庆 云小虎 杜文明 于 2019-11-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种液态奶生产方法以及采用该方法的液态奶生产线,所述方法包括将原料奶分别泵入至少两个分支,在所述至少两个分支中的至少第一分支中原料奶被制备成预定指标的含量高于目标含量,而在所述至少两个分支中的至少第二分支中,原料奶被制备成预定指标的含量低于目标含量；利用控制器,根据检测到的第一分支中的料液的预定指标的含量数值和第二分支中的所述预定指标的含量数值以及所述预定指标的所述目标含量值,确定第一分支中的料液的量和第二分支中的料液的量,并混合以得到成品液态奶。利用本发明,可以精确控制成品液态奶中的蛋白含量,不仅能够保证成品奶符合国家标准,而且能够防止蛋白浪费并降低生产成本。(A method of producing liquid milk and a liquid milk production line using the method, the method comprising pumping raw milk separately into at least two branches, in at least a first branch of the at least two branches the raw milk being prepared to a content of a predetermined indicator above a target content, and in at least a second branch of the at least two branches the raw milk being prepared to a content of the predetermined indicator below the target content; and determining the amount of the feed liquid in the first branch and the amount of the feed liquid in the second branch according to the detected content value of the preset index of the feed liquid in the first branch, the detected content value of the preset index in the second branch and the detected target content value of the preset index by using a controller, and mixing to obtain the finished product liquid milk. The invention can accurately control the protein content in the finished liquid milk, not only can ensure that the finished milk meets the national standard, but also can prevent protein waste and reduce the production cost.)

1. A method for preparing liquid milk to obtain finished milk having a predetermined target content, comprising the steps of:

the first step is as follows: pumping raw milk into at least two branches respectively, wherein in at least a first branch of the at least two branches the raw milk is prepared to have a content of a predetermined index higher than a target content, and in at least a second branch of the at least two branches the raw milk is prepared to have a content of the predetermined index lower than the target content;

the second step is as follows: detecting the content of a preset index of the feed liquid in the first branch;

the fourth step: determining, by means of a controller, an amount of feed liquid in the first branch and an amount of feed liquid in the second branch to be mixed at least on the basis of the detected content value of the predetermined index of the feed liquid in the first branch and the target content value of the predetermined index, and mixing the determined amounts of feed liquid in the first branch and the determined amounts of feed liquid in the second branch in a mixing device to obtain the finished liquid milk.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid milk is milk and the predetermined indicator is protein content.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a third step of detecting the predetermined indicator of the feed liquid in the second branch simultaneously with, before or after the second step, and in a fourth step the controller determines the amount of feed liquid in the first branch and the amount of feed liquid in the second branch to be mixed based on at least the detected value of the content of the predetermined indicator of feed liquid in the first branch, the detected value of the content of the predetermined indicator of feed liquid in the second branch and the target content value of the predetermined indicator.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

a stirring step before the second step and a stirring step before the third step, in which the feed liquid in the first branch and the second branch is sufficiently stirred by a stirring device.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

a weighing step, prior to the stirring step, in which the quantity of the feed liquid to be stirred is weighed in the first branch and the quantity of the feed liquid to be stirred is weighed in the second branch.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

in the stirring step, the stirring device may stir at a stirring speed and/or a stirring time determined according to the weighing result in the weighing step.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the fourth step includes the controller controlling an opening degree of a first variable flow pump supplying the feed liquid in the first branch to the mixing device and an opening degree of a second variable flow pump supplying the feed liquid in the second branch to the mixing device according to the detected content value of the predetermined index of the feed liquid in the first branch and the content value of the predetermined index of the feed liquid in the second branch and a target value of the predetermined index, and mixing the supplied feed liquids in the mixing device to form the finished milk.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

a sixth step: detecting a content value of the predetermined indicator of the finished milk;

a seventh step of: determining whether the value of the predetermined indicator of the finished milk is within a predetermined range of the target value.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

an eighth step: when the seventh step judgment result shows that the value of the finished milk is outside the predetermined range of the target value, the controller calculates the amount of the feed liquid of the first branch to be mixed in the mixing device, the amount of the feed liquid of the second branch to be mixed in the mixing device, and the amount of the finished liquid milk to be mixed in the mixing device, based on the detection result in the sixth step and the target content value of the predetermined index, and mixes the calculated amounts of the feed liquid of the first branch, the feed liquid of the second branch, and the finished milk in the mixing device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the eighth step includes the controller turning off the second variable flow pump when the detection result in the sixth step is lower than the lower limit of the predetermined range of the target value; the controller turns off the first variable flow pump when the detection result in the sixth step is higher than an upper limit of a predetermined range of the target value.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the controller adjusts the opening degree of the first variable flow rate pump and the opening degree of the second variable flow rate pump according to the result of detection in the sixth step.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first branch is a concentrated milk branch, the first step further comprising a concentration step to concentrate the raw milk into a concentrated milk in which a content of a predetermined index is greater than a target content of the predetermined index.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second branch is a raw milk branch.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the controller controls the opening degrees of the first variable flow pump and the second variable flow pump according to a calculation formula:

the target value is the condensed milk value x the opening of the first variable flow pump + the raw milk value x the opening of the second variable flow pump.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the fourth step includes: the controller sets the opening degree of one of the first variable flow rate pump and the second variable flow rate pump to a value within a predetermined range, and then calculates the opening degree of the other of the first variable flow rate pump and the second variable flow rate pump based on the calculation formula.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: the predetermined range is 5% to 95%.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first branch is a concentrated milk branch and the second branch is a permeate branch.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein prior to the first step further comprising: a step of separating the raw milk into concentrated milk and permeate, and supplying the concentrated milk to the concentrated milk branch and the permeate to the permeate branch.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first variable flow dispensing pump and the second variable flow dispensing pump are the same pump.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the controller calculates the opening of the first variable flow pump and the opening of the second variable flow dispensing pump according to the following equations:

the opening of the first variable flow distribution pump is ═ (target protein content ÷ concentrated feed liquid protein content) × 100%;

the opening degree of the second variable flow rate distribution pump is (1-target protein content ÷ concentrated feed liquid protein content) × 100% ═ 1-the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump.

21. A liquid milk production line for producing liquid milk having a predetermined target content, comprising at least two branches, a content of the predetermined target content of a feed liquid in a first branch of the at least two branches being higher than the target content and a content of the predetermined target content of the feed liquid in a second branch of the at least two branches being lower than the target content,

the first branch comprises a first detection station at which a content of a predetermined index of the feed liquid in the first branch is detected;

a mixing station, located downstream of the first and second branches and comprising mixing means to mix the feed liquid from the first branch and the feed liquid of the second branch to obtain finished milk; and

a controller configured to calculate an amount of the first branched feed liquid and an amount of the second branched feed liquid to be mixed in the mixing station based on at least the detection result of the first detection station and the target content of the predetermined index, and to control supply of the calculated amounts of the first branched feed liquid and the second branched feed liquid to a mixing device of the mixing station.

22. The liquid milk production line of claim 21, wherein:

the liquid milk is milk, and the predetermined index is protein content.

23. The liquid milk production line of claim 22, wherein the first branch further comprises a first stirring station upstream of the first detection station and comprising first stirring means for stirring the feed liquid.

24. The liquid milk production line of claim 23, wherein the first stirring station further comprises a first weighing device, the controller being configured to control the stirring time and/or the stirring speed of the first stirring device depending on the weighing of the feed liquid in the first branch by the first weighing device.

25. The liquid milk production line of claim 24, wherein the first branch further comprises a first variable flow pump downstream of the first detection station to supply feed liquid in the first branch to the mixing station;

the second branch further comprising a second variable flow pump downstream of the second detection station to supply feed liquid in the second branch to the mixing station; and

the controller is configured to calculate and control the opening degree of the first variable flow pump and the opening degree of the second variable flow pump based on at least the detection result of the first detection station and the target content of the predetermined index.

26. The liquid milk production line of claim 25, further comprising a third detection station downstream of the mixing station and detecting the value of a predetermined indicator of the finished milk obtained by mixing.

27. The liquid milk production line of claim 26, wherein the controller is configured to receive the test result from the third testing station and determine whether the test result is within a predetermined range of a target content value.

28. The liquid milk production line of claim 27, wherein the controller is configured to recalculate and set the opening degrees of the first and second variable flow pumps based on the determination.

29. The liquid milk production line of claim 27, wherein the controller is configured to return the finished milk to a mixing station when the determination indicates that the predetermined indicator is outside of a predetermined range of the target value.

30. The liquid milk production line of claim 29, further comprising a third variable flow pump for pumping the finished milk back to the mixing station, wherein the controller is configured to calculate and set the opening degrees of the first, second, and third variable flow pumps based on the detection result of the third detection station and the target value of the predetermined index when the determination result indicates that the detection result of the third detection station is outside the predetermined range of the target value.

31. The liquid milk production line of claim 30, wherein:

the controller is configured to turn off the second variable flow pump when the detection result of the third detection station is lower than a lower limit of a predetermined range of the target content value; and when the detection result of the third detection station is higher than the upper limit of the preset range of the target content value, the controller turns off the first variable flow pump.

32. The liquid milk production line of any one of claims 21 to 31, wherein the first branch is a concentrated milk branch and the second branch is a raw milk branch, the second branch further comprising a first detection station to detect a content of a predetermined index of the raw milk in the second branch, the controller being configured to calculate an amount of feed liquid of the first branch and an amount of feed liquid of the second branch to be mixed in the mixing station based on at least a detection result of the first detection station, a detection result of the second detection station and a target content of the predetermined index, and to calculate the opening degrees of the first and second variable flow pumps based on a detection result of the first detection station, a detection result of the second detection station and the target content of the predetermined index.

33. The liquid milk production line of claim 32, wherein the second branch further comprises a second stirring station upstream of the second detection station, the second stirring station comprising a second stirring device for stirring the feed liquid in the second branch.

34. The liquid milk production line of claim 33, wherein the second stirring station further comprises a second weighing device, the controller being configured to control the stirring time and/or the stirring speed of the second stirring device depending on the weighing of the feed liquid in the second branch by the second weighing device.

35. The liquid milk production line of claim 34, wherein the first branch further comprises a concentration station upstream of the first detection station to concentrate the raw milk into concentrated milk.

36. The liquid milk production line of claim 35, wherein the controller controls the opening of the first variable flow pump and the opening of the first variable flow pump according to a calculation formula:

the target content value is the detection result of the first detection station × the opening degree of the first variable flow pump + the detection result of the second detection station × the opening degree of the second variable flow pump.

37. The liquid milk production line of claim 36, wherein the controller sets the opening degree of one of the first variable flow pump and the second variable flow pump to a value within a predetermined range, and then calculates the opening degree of the other of the first variable flow pump and the second variable flow pump based on the calculation formula.

38. The liquid milk production line of claim 37, wherein the predetermined range is 5% to 95%.

39. The liquid milk production line of any one of claims 21 to 31, wherein the first branch is a concentrated milk branch and the second branch is a permeate branch, upstream of the first and second branches, further comprising a separation station at which raw milk is separated into concentrated milk and permeate and fed to the concentrated milk branch and permeate branch, respectively.

40. The liquid milk production line of claim 39, wherein the first variable flow dispensing pump and the second variable flow dispensing pump are the same pump.

41. The liquid milk production line of claim 40, wherein the controller controls the opening of the first variable flow pump and the opening of the first variable flow pump according to a calculation formula:

the opening of the first variable flow distribution pump is ═ (target protein content ÷ concentrated feed liquid protein content) × 100%;

the opening degree of the second variable flow rate distribution pump is (1-target protein content ÷ concentrated feed liquid protein content) × 100% ═ 1-the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a liquid milk preparation method and preparation equipment thereof, in particular to a liquid milk preparation method and preparation equipment capable of accurately controlling the protein content in finished milk.

Background

Different countries have relevant standards for liquid milk to ensure that the liquid milk on the market reaches a predetermined quality. For example, in the Chinese national liquid milk Standard GB25190-2010, protein indices up to 2.90g/100g (cow milk) and 2.8g/100g (goat milk) are specified.

The production process of the common liquid milk comprises milk collection, filtration, temporary storage, milk purification, cooling, storage and inspection, and for large-scale dairy enterprises, because of the difference of raw milk collected from farmers or self-pastures, the liquid milk obtained by simple collection and filtration can not reach the national standard, and the protein content can not reach the national standard in the common situation.

Therefore, before the finished liquid milk is delivered from the factory, a certain process is required to ensure that the liquid milk can meet the national regulations. Methods for increasing the protein content of liquid milk typically include flash evaporation, falling film concentration, membrane filtration, and the like, and although these procedures can increase the protein content in liquid milk, the protein content in liquid milk cannot be precisely controlled. Flash evaporation is a treatment for removing part of water from milk by releasing pressure suddenly under high temperature and high pressure during the processing of milk. Through the process of flash evaporation, partial water can be evaporated to achieve the purpose of increasing the protein content. However, there are large fluctuations in the protein content of the finished milk obtained by flash evaporation, for example in the range of 2.90/100g ± 0.05 or even more, which on the one hand run the risk of not meeting national standards and on the other hand lead to protein waste if the protein content exceeds the standards. This is a significant waste for large liquid milk enterprises.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve this problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a liquid milk production method by which the protein content in the finished milk can be accurately controlled within a predetermined range, for example, within a range of 2.90g/100g ± 0.02 for the chinese standard.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for carrying out the manufacturing method, by which finished milk having a protein content precisely controlled within a predetermined range can be obtained.

According to the invention, a method for preparing liquid milk comprises the following steps:

the first step is as follows: pumping the raw milk into a raw milk branch and a concentrated milk branch respectively;

the second step is as follows: concentrating the raw milk within the concentrated milk branch to produce concentrated milk;

the third step: detecting a value of a predetermined indicator of the produced concentrated milk;

the fourth step: detecting a value of the predetermined indicator of raw milk in a raw milk branch;

the fifth step: determining, with a controller, an amount of the concentrated milk and an amount of the raw milk based on a value of a predetermined index of the concentrated milk and a value of the predetermined index of the raw milk and a target value of the predetermined index, and mixing the determined amounts of the concentrated milk and the determined amounts of the raw milk.

Preferably, the liquid milk is milk, and the predetermined index is the protein content in the milk.

The invention can accurately control the protein content in the finished liquid milk, not only can ensure that the finished milk meets the national standard, but also can prevent protein waste and reduce the production cost. In addition, the invention can accurately control the whole production process through a controller or a computer, thereby being beneficial to the automation degree of the production process and improving the yield.

According to the present invention, there is provided a production line for producing liquid milk implementing the above method, the production line including a raw milk branch including a raw milk detecting station for detecting a value of a predetermined index of raw milk, a condensed milk branch including a condensing station for condensing the raw milk to generate condensed milk and a condensed milk detecting station for detecting a value of the predetermined index of the condensed milk produced, a mixing station, and a controller configured to receive detection results of the raw milk detecting station and the condensed milk detecting station, calculate amounts of raw milk and condensed milk to be mixed, respectively, according to the detection results and a target value of the predetermined index, and control the mixing station to mix the calculated amounts of raw milk with the calculated amounts of condensed milk to obtain finished milk.

Preferably, the liquid milk is milk, and the predetermined index is the protein content in the milk.

By utilizing the production line, the protein content of the obtained finished milk can be accurately controlled to a target value, so that not only is the national requirement met, but also the production cost rise caused by overhigh protein content can be avoided. In addition, the controller is adopted to carry out on-line control on the production line, so that the automation level of the production line can be improved, and the yield is improved.

Drawings

The above and other objects and features will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, unless otherwise specified, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid milk production line according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of preparing liquid milk according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a controller that may be used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid milk production line according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of preparing liquid milk according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT (S) OF INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is noted that although in the specific embodiments described below milk is used as an example for illustration, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to cow's milk, but may be applied to any liquid milk, such as goat milk, camel milk, etc. In addition, in the description of the embodiments below, the directional terms "upstream" and "downstream" are respectively used to indicate the direction in which the product is conveyed in production of the production line, for example, "upstream" refers to the direction from which the product (in this description liquid milk) originates, and "downstream" refers to the direction in which the product is to be conveyed.

In addition, in the present specification and claims, ordinal words such as first, second, etc., are used, but the use of the ordinal words is merely for distinguishing one feature from another, and does not indicate the degree of importance between the features or the order between steps modified by the ordinal words, so that a first step may be performed before a second step, but also includes a case where a first step is performed after a second step or a case where a first step is performed simultaneously with a second step, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the problem of inaccurate protein content in finished milk, a novel solution is proposed according to the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention, the raw milk is concentrated to form concentrated feed liquid, the protein content of the concentrated feed liquid is higher than the target protein content, in the subsequent treatment, the concentrated feed liquid and the feed liquid with the protein content lower than the target protein content are mixed, the mixing is carried out under the control of a computer, the mixed feed liquid obtained after mixing is detected, and optionally, feedback control is carried out, and the mixing ratio of the concentrated feed liquid and the feed liquid with the low protein content is adjusted in real time, so that the accurate control of the protein content in the finished milk is realized.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments thereof, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

The first embodiment:

a first embodiment according to the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

Integral structure

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid milk production line 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the liquid milk preparation line 100 comprises a raw milk tank 110, which branches off from the raw milk tank 110 to the downstream line 100 into two branches, a first branch or condensed milk branch 120 and a second branch or raw milk branch 130, the condensed milk branch 120 comprising, for example, a condensing station 121, a stirring station 123, a first detecting station 125, a first buffer station 127 and a first variable flow distribution pump 129 in a downstream direction from upstream to downstream, to provide condensed raw milk, hereinafter referred to as condensed milk; the raw milk branch 130 comprises, for example, in the upstream to downstream direction, a stirring station 131, a second detection station 133, a second buffer station 135 and a second variable flow dispensing pump 137, to supply the raw milk unconcentrated downstream, the concentrated milk branch 120 and the raw milk branch 130 merging downstream in a mixing station 140, at which station 140 the concentrated milk and the raw milk, calculated and metered, are mixed to obtain the finished milk having a precise content of protein components. Downstream from the mixing station 140 may optionally include a third inspection station 150 and a product tank 160. Between the third testing station 150 and the product tank 160, a return line 170 may optionally be included, which return line 170 may be returned to the mixing station 140 by a third variable flow dispensing pump 171, although it is understood that the return line 170 and the third variable flow dispensing pump 171 may be omitted.

Optionally, as in conventional liquid milk production lines, a filtration station, a staging station, a milk cleaning station, a cooling station, etc. may be included upstream of the raw milk tank 110 to subject the purchased or harvested raw milk to preliminary processing, e.g., filtration, sterilization, etc. The sterilized and purified raw milk is temporarily stored in the raw milk tank 110.

Downstream most of the entire production line, a packaging station 180 may also be included to package the finished milk into products of predetermined specifications.

In addition, the production line 100 also includes a controller 200, and the controller 200 controls the operation of the entire production line 100, which will be described in detail below.

Hereinafter, each of the main parts of the liquid milk production line according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Concentrated milk branch 120

The concentrated milk branch 120 is a branch for concentrating raw milk supplied from a raw milk supplier, and the raw milk is concentrated by the concentrated milk branch 120 so that the protein content thereof is increased, for example, to a concentration of 3.00 to 20.00g/100 g.

The concentrated milk branch 120 includes a concentration station 121, within which concentration station 121 a process, such as flash evaporation, falling film concentration, or membrane filtration, may be performed to concentrate the raw milk provided upstream. Thus, within the concentration station 121, respective concentration devices are included, for example: flash evaporation equipment, single-effect falling film equipment and Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane filtration equipment provided by different equipment manufacturers (such as Lele company, GEA company, Lijin company and the like).

Downstream of the concentration station 121, a stirring station 123 is provided, which stirring station 123 stirs the concentrated raw milk from the concentration station 121 to homogenize the components of the stirred concentrated milk. The mixing station 123 generally includes a bucket and a mixing device disposed within the bucket. As an alternative, the stirring device includes a motor and a stirring blade driven by the motor, wherein the motor may be operated at a variable speed or a constant speed for a predetermined time under the control of the controller. Preferably, at this mixing station 123, weighing means (not shown) are provided to determine the amount of concentrated milk that needs to be mixed, and the mixing time can be adjusted according to the amount of concentrated milk. The weighing means can be realized, for example, by a conventional weighing machine, which, as a preferred embodiment, can comprise a flow meter that measures the flow of concentrated milk therethrough and obtains the amount of concentrated milk entering the stirring station 123 by calculation.

For example, if the weighing device measures that the amount of concentrated milk to be stirred is greater than 20 tons, the stirring time is adjusted to at least 20 minutes, and if the weighing device measures that the amount of concentrated milk to be stirred is less than 20 tons, the stirring time is adjusted to at least 15 minutes. Alternatively, the effect of sufficient stirring may also be achieved by changing the stirring speed of the stirrer rather than the time; in addition, the stirring time and the stirring speed of the stirrer can be changed.

Downstream of the mixing station 123, a detection station 125 is provided, at which detection station 125 the protein content of the concentrated milk is detected. The detection station 125 is provided with a detector, for example, a MilkoScan FIT120 milk composition analyzer, to detect the protein content of milk. However, it will be appreciated that other methods of detecting the protein content of milk may be used, such as the conventional Kjeldahl method, and the invention is not limited to any particular type of detector. The detection station 125 sends the protein detection results to a controller (described later).

Downstream of the detection station 125, a buffer station 127 is preferably provided, in which buffer station 127 the detected concentrated milk is temporarily stored for use in subsequent processes.

Downstream of the staging station 127, a pump 129 is provided, the pump 129 being a variable flow pump to supply a predetermined amount of concentrated milk downstream from the staging station 127, e.g., the mixing station 140, under the control of the controller.

Raw milk branch 130

As shown in fig. 1, the raw milk branch includes a stirring station 131, a testing station 133 downstream of the stirring station 131, a staging station 135 downstream of the testing station, and a variable flow pump 137 that pumps the raw milk in the staging station downstream (the mixing station).

The mixing station 131 of the raw milk branch may be similar to the mixing station 123 and may also optionally be provided with a weighing device, which may be the same or different from the concentrated milk branch, in order to determine the amount of raw milk entering the mixing station 131. The stirring station 131 operates according to the amount of raw milk to sufficiently stir the raw milk. For example, when the amount of raw milk entering the stirring station 131 exceeds 20 tons, the stirring time is at least 20 minutes, and if the amount of raw milk is less than 20 tons, the stirring time may be set to at least 15 minutes. However, this is only an alternative stirring solution and may be combined by varying the stirring speed and/or varying the stirring time to obtain a homogeneous raw milk.

Downstream of the stirring station 131, a detection station 133 is provided, which detection station 133, like the detection station 125 in the branch of concentrated milk, is provided with a detector, such as a MilkoScan FT 120 milk composition analyzer or other detector, whose detection results are sent to a controller (to be described later), to detect the protein content in the raw milk.

Downstream of the detection station 133, a buffer station 135 is provided, in which buffer station 135 the raw milk that has been detected will be temporarily stored.

The staging station 135 may be provided with a pump 137, the pump 137 being a variable flow pump to supply a metered amount of raw milk to the downstream mixing station 140 under the control of the controller.

Mixing station 140

The mixing station 140 includes a mixing tank (not shown), and one or more stirring devices (not shown) are disposed in the mixing tank.

Under the control of the controller, the variable flow pump 129 and the variable flow pump 137 pump a predetermined amount of concentrated milk and a predetermined amount of raw milk, respectively, into the mix tank, and mix them in the mix tank. Preferably, at the inlet of the mixing tank, weighing means are provided, which may be identical to or different from the weighing means provided in the concentrated milk branch or in the raw milk branch, to determine the total amount of raw milk and concentrated milk fed in, and to control the operating time and/or speed of the stirring means in the mixing tank according to the results obtained by the weighing means.

After being mixed by the mixing station 140, the semi-finished milk is pumped to the semi-finished tank 160 for temporary storage, and the semi-finished milk is supplied to a downstream process from the semi-finished tank 160, such as UHT of different equipment manufacturers (lile, GEA, SPX, etc.), and aseptic filling machines of different equipment manufacturers (lile, comas, cider, etc.) to finally form a product for marketing.

Optional feedback branch

Downstream of the mixing station 140, upstream of the semi-finished product tank 160, a feedback branch is optionally included for checking before sterilizing, aseptic filling of the semi-finished product to determine that the factory product meets the relevant specifications.

The feedback branch comprises, for example, a detection station 150 and a switching valve 190 arranged downstream of the detection station 150, upstream of the semi-finished product tank, by means of which switching valve 190 the outlet of the detection station 150 can be switchably connected to the semi-finished product tank 160 or to the return line 170 and the variable flow pump 180 of the feedback branch. To this end, the testing station 150 may include a buffer tank to temporarily store the tested semi-finished milk.

Production process

A method for producing liquid milk according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the flowchart of fig. 2.

Raw milk is fed into a raw milk tank for temporary storage through milk collection, filtration, milk purification, cooling and the like (step S110).

The raw milk is pumped into the concentration station 121 of the concentrated milk branch 120 and concentrated in the concentration station 121 (step S120), and simultaneously, sequentially or before, the raw milk is pumped into the stirring station 131 of the raw milk branch 130 and stirred in the stirring station (step S220). Preferably, the raw milk is weighed before being pumped into the raw milk branch 130 (step S210), and the controller 200 controls the stirring device in the stirring station to operate for a predetermined time and/or at a predetermined speed according to the weighing result to stir the raw milk. By determining the stirring speed and/or the stirring time of the stirring device of the stirring station by using the weighing result, various components in the raw materials can be distributed more uniformly, and accurate detection in the next step is facilitated.

The raw milk concentrated at the concentration station 121 becomes concentrated milk and is pumped into the stirring station 123 and stirred therein (step S130), and is preferably weighed before being pumped into the stirring station 123 (step S125), and the controller 200 controls the stirring device in the stirring station 123 according to the weighing result so that the stirring device operates at the time and/or the stirring speed set by the controller 200 to stir the concentrated milk. By using the weighing result to determine the stirring speed and/or the stirring time of the stirring device of the stirring station, various components in the concentrated milk can be distributed more uniformly, which is beneficial to the accurate detection in the next step.

The blended milk concentrate is pumped to the testing station 125 and tested (step 140) in the testing station 125, and the results of the testing are transmitted to the controller 200 and stored in the memory device 202 of the controller 200. As an optional operation, it is determined whether the detection result is within the preset range (step S155), and if the detection result is out of the preset range, the controller 200 adjusts the operating parameters of the concentration station 121 according to the detection result, so as to make the protein content of the concentrated milk after concentration within the preset range.

In case the detection result is within the preset range (step S155: yes), the concentrated milk will be pumped to the buffer station 127 for temporary storage (step S150).

In the raw milk branch, the raw milk mixed by the mixing station 131 is pumped to the sensing station 133 and the protein content is sensed in the sensing station (step S230), and the sensed result is transmitted to the controller 200 and stored in the storage device 202 of the controller 200. The detected raw milk is pumped to the buffer station 135 of the raw milk branch for temporary storage (S240).

The controller 200 sets the opening degrees of the variable flow rate pump 129 and the variable flow rate pump 137 according to the detection result from the detection station 125 and the detection result from the detection station 133, and pumps the concentrated milk and the raw milk into the mixing station 140 using the variable flow rate pump 129 and the variable flow rate pump 137, and the stirring device in the mixing station 140 mixes the pumped concentrated milk and the raw milk to form the semi-finished milk (step S300). As an example, in the mixing step, the opening degrees of the variable flow pump 129 and the variable flow pump 137 may be calculated according to equation 1 as follows:

target protein × 100 ═ concentrated milk protein content × opening of variable flow pump 129 + raw milk protein content × opening of variable flow pump 137 (formula 1)

In production, the opening degree of the variable flow pump 129 may be set to an initial value, for example, in the range of 5% to 95%, and then the opening degree value of the variable flow pump 137 is calculated based on the initial value of the opening degree of the variable flow pump 129 and is assigned to the variable flow pump 137. Of course, it is also possible to first set the variable flow pump 137 to an initial value, for example, in the range of 5% to 95%, and set the opening value of the variable flow pump 129 based on the initial value and allocate the opening value to the variable flow pump 129.

Before the semi-finished milk after mixing is pumped into the semi-finished tank 160, optionally including a detection step (S310) in which the semi-finished milk is detected at the detection station 150 and the detected protein content result is transmitted to the controller 200, the controller 200 judges whether the detection result, i.e., the protein content of the semi-finished milk is within a predetermined range of a preset target value, for example, within ± 0.02g of the target value of 2.9/100g (step S320), and sets a switching valve position to pump the semi-finished milk into a subsequent semi-finished tank 160 when the judgment result is yes.

If the determination result in step S320 is no, the switching valve switches to the feedback branch, and the controller 200 sets the opening degrees of the variable flow rate pump 129, the variable flow rate pump 137, and the variable flow rate pump 180 according to the detection result detected by the detection station 150, the detection result detected by the detection station 125, and the detection result detected by the detection station 133, and pumps the semi-finished milk, the raw milk, and the concentrated milk to the mixing station 140 to mix them. As a control example, when the detection result detected by the detection station 150 indicates that the protein content in the semi-finished milk exceeds the upper limit of the threshold range, the controller 200 turns off the variable flow pump 129 of the concentrated milk branch, turns on the variable flow pump 180 and sets the opening of the variable flow pump 180 and the opening of the variable flow pump 137 of the raw milk branch to re-mix the semi-finished milk with the raw milk to reduce the protein content in the semi-finished milk, and when the detection result detected by the detection station 150 indicates that the protein content in the semi-finished milk is within the threshold range, switches the switching valve while turning off the pump 180, pumps the semi-finished milk into the semi-finished tank 160, and at the same time, the controller 200 adjusts the opening of the variable flow pump 129 and the opening of the variable flow pump 137 according to the last detection result (detection result exceeding the threshold range) of the detection station 150, re-turns on the variable flow pump 129, to continue the mixing of the concentrated milk and the raw milk (step S300); as another case, when the detection result detected by the detection station 150 indicates that the protein content in the semi-finished milk is lower than the lower limit of the threshold range, the controller 200 turns off the variable flow pump 137 of the raw milk branch, turns on the variable flow pump 180 and sets the opening of the variable flow pump 180 and the opening of the variable flow pump 129 of the concentrated milk branch according to the detection result of the detection station 150 to mix the semi-finished milk with the concentrated milk to increase the protein content in the semi-finished milk, and switches the switching valve while turning off the pump 180 when the detection result detected in the semi-finished milk at the detection station and detected at the detection station 150 indicates that the protein content in the semi-finished milk is within the threshold range, pumps the semi-finished milk into the semi-finished tank 160, and at the same time, the controller 200 adjusts the opening of the variable flow pump 129 and the opening of the variable flow pump 137 according to the last detection result (detection result lower than the threshold range) of the detection station 150, the variable flow pump 137 is turned back on to continue the mixing of the concentrated milk and the raw milk (step S300).

Alternatively, the feedback branch may be omitted, and when the result detected by the detection station 150 is not within a predetermined range of the target value, the controller adjusts the opening degrees of the variable flow pumps 129 of the concentrated milk branch and 137 of the raw milk branch according to the detection result to adjust the amounts of the raw milk and the concentrated milk supplied to the mixing station, and at the same time, the production line temporarily stores the semi-finished milk detected as unsatisfactory in another temporary storage tank (not shown) for subsequent processing.

Controller 200

The present invention provides a controller that can be programmed to implement the method of the present invention. Fig. 3 illustrates a controller 200 that is programmed or otherwise configured to receive various test results and control associated equipment.

The controller 200, which may also be referred to as a computer, may include a central processing unit (CPU, also referred to herein as a "processor" and a "computer processor") 201, which may be a single or multi-core processor, or a plurality of processors for parallel processing. The controller 200 also includes a memory or storage unit 202 (e.g., random access memory, read only memory, flash memory), a communication interface 203 (e.g., a network adapter) for communicating with one or more other systems, and an input-output interface 204, such as a cache, other memory, data storage, and/or an electronic display adapter. The storage unit 202, the communication interface 203, and the input-output interface 204 communicate with the CPU201 through a bus. The storage unit 202 may be a data storage unit (or data repository) for storing data. Controller 200 may be operatively coupled to a computer network ("network") by way of communication interface 203. The network may be the internet, an intranet and/or an extranet, or an intranet and/or an extranet in communication with the internet. The network is in some cases a telecommunications and/or data network. The network may include one or more computer servers, which may implement distributed computing, such as cloud computing. The network, in some cases with the aid of controller 200, may implement a peer-to-peer network that may cause devices coupled to controller 200 to appear as clients or servers.

The controller 200 is coupled to the weighing device of the condensed milk branch 120, the stirring station 123, the detection station 125, the variable flow pump 129 through the input-output interface 204; weighing devices for raw milk branches, a stirring station 131, a detection station 135 and a variable flow pump 137; a mixing station 140; a detection station 150 of the feedback branch, a switching valve 190 and a variable flow pump 180.

The CPU201 may execute a series of machine-readable instructions, which may be embedded in a program or software. The instructions may be stored in a storage location, such as memory 202. Examples of operations performed by the CPU201 may include reading, decoding, executing, and writing back.

With continued reference to fig. 3, the storage unit 202 may store files such as drivers, function libraries, and saved programs. The storage unit 202 may store programs and recorded sessions generated by a user, and outputs associated with the programs. The storage unit 202 may store user data, such as user preferences and user programs. The controller 200 may, in some cases, include one or more additional data storage units external to the controller, such as on a remote server in communication with the controller 200 over an intranet or the internet.

The controller 200 may communicate with one or more remote controllers over a network. For example, the controller 200 may communicate with a remote controller of a user (e.g., an operator). Examples of remote controllers include personal computers, tablets, phones, smart phones, or personal digital assistants. A user may access the controller 200 through a network.

The methods described herein may be implemented by machine (e.g., computer processor) executable code that is stored in the memory unit 202 of the controller 200. The machine executable or machine readable code may be provided in the form of software. During use, the code may be executed by the processor 201. In some cases, the code may be retrieved by the storage unit 202 and stored on the memory 202 for access by the processor 201.

The code may be precompiled and configured for use with a machine having a processor adapted to execute the code, or may be compiled during runtime. The code may be provided in a programming language that may be selected to enable the code to be precompiled or compiled (as-

complied) manner.

Aspects of the methods of the systems provided herein, such as controller 200, may be embedded in programming. Various aspects of the technology may be viewed as an "article of manufacture", typically in the form of machine (or processor) executable code and/or associated data that is carried or embedded in a machine-readable medium. The machine executable code may be stored on an electronic storage unit, such as on a memory (e.g., read-only memory, random access memory, flash memory) or a hard disk. "storage" type media may include any or all of the tangible memories or their associated modules of a computer, processor, etc., such as various semiconductor memories, tape drives, disk drives, etc., that may provide non-transitory storage for software programming at any time. All or portions of the software may sometimes communicate over the internet or various other telecommunication networks. Such communication, for example, may enable software to be loaded from one computer or processor into another computer or processor, such as from a management server or host computer into the computer platform of an application server. Thus, another type of media which can carry software elements includes optical, electrical, and electromagnetic waves, such as used across physical interfaces between local devices through wired and fiber optic fixed telephone networks and various over-the-air communication lines. Physical elements carrying such waves, such as wired or wireless communication lines, optical communication lines, etc., may be regarded as media carrying software. As used herein, unless limited to a non-transitory, tangible "storage" medium, terms such as a computer or machine "readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution.

Thus, a machine-readable medium, such as computer executable code, may take many forms, including but not limited to tangible storage media, carrier wave media, or physical transmission media. Non-volatile storage media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, any storage device such as in any computer or the like, such as may be used to implement the databases and the like shown in the figures. Volatile storage media includes dynamic memory, such as the main memory of such a computer platform. Tangible transmission media include coaxial cables; copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise the bus within the controller. Carrier-wave transmission media can take the form of electrical or electromagnetic signals, or acoustic and light waves such as those generated during Radio Frequency (RF) and Infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media therefore include, for example: a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD or DVD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards paper tape, any other physical storage medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave transporting data or instructions, cables or links transporting such a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read programming code and/or data. Many of these forms of computer-readable media are involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processor for execution.

Second embodiment:

a second embodiment according to the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 4 and 5. It is to be understood that in the following description of the second embodiment, features or components similar to those of the first embodiment will be briefly described, and may be understood by referring to the description of the first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 4, in a liquid milk production line 100' according to a second embodiment of the invention, similar to the first embodiment, two branches are included, namely: a first or concentrated milk branch 120 ' and a second or permeate branch 130 ', the concentrated milk branch 120 ' comprising, in a downstream direction from upstream, a concentrate tank 122 ', a stirring station 123 ', a first detection station 125 ', a first staging station 127 ' and a first variable flow distribution pump 129 ' to provide concentrated raw milk to a downstream mixing station 140 '; the second or permeate branch 130 ' includes, for example, in an upstream to downstream direction, a permeate tank 132 ', a blending station 131 ', a second detection station 133 ', a second staging station 135 ', and a second variable flow distribution pump 137 ' to provide permeate to the mixing station 140 '. Upstream of the first branch 120 ' and the second branch 130 ', a separation station 105 is further included, in which separation station 105 the raw milk from the raw milk tank 110 ' is separated into a concentrated feed liquid (hereinafter also referred to as concentrated milk) and a permeate, and the concentrated feed liquid is supplied to the concentrate tank 122 ', and the permeate is supplied to the permeate tank 132 '.

The separation station 105 may include a device that separates the raw milk into a concentrated feed solution and a permeate, for example, a membrane filtration system, and may suitably include a pump to pump the separated concentrated feed solution and permeate into the concentrate tank 122 'and permeate tank 132', respectively.

Also included is a controller 200 ', which controller 200' controls the operation of the entire production line 100 ', for example, receives the sensing results from the first sensing station 125' and the second sensing station 133 ', and controls the opening degrees of the first variable flow distribution pump 129' and the second variable flow distribution pump 137 'according to the sensing results, thereby supplying the calculated amounts of concentrated feed liquid and permeate to the mixing station 140'. At the mixing station 140 ', the feed concentrate and permeate are mixed and the mixed product milk is pumped to a semi-product tank 160' for temporary storage. In one embodiment, considering that the protein content in the permeate is very low, the second detection stage 133 'may be omitted in order to simplify the apparatus and the control method, in which case the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump 129' and the opening degree of the second variable flow rate distribution pump 137 'may be calculated only by the detection result of the first detection stage 125'.

Downstream of the intermediate tank 160', a feedback branch is optionally included, the structure of which is substantially identical to that of the first embodiment and, therefore, will not be described in detail here.

A production process according to a second embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 5.

In step S110', raw milk is fed into raw milk for temporary storage through milk collection, filtration, milk purification, cooling and the like;

at step S120 ', the raw milk is pumped into the separation station 105 ' and separated into a concentrated feed solution and a permeate at the separation station 105 ', which are pumped into the concentrate tank 122 ' and the permeate tank 132 ', respectively;

at step S130 ', the concentrated liquor of the concentrate tank 122 ' is then supplied to the mixing station 123 ' and the concentrated liquor that is mixed at the mixing station 123 ' and preferably pumped into the mixing station 131 ' prior to mixing is weighed and the weighing result is sent to the controller 200 ' so that the controller 200 ' sets the operating time and/or operating speed of the mixing device within the mixing station according to the weighing result;

at the same time as step S130 'or before or after step S130', the permeate of the permeate tank 132 'is supplied to the stirring station 131' and stirred at the stirring station 131 'at step S230'. Similarly, prior to the stirring, the permeate fed to the stirring station 131 ' is weighed and the controller 200 ' controls the operating time and/or the operating speed of the stirring means of the stirring station 131 ' according to the weighing result;

at step S140 ', the agitated concentrated feed solution is tested at the first testing station 125 ' to determine the protein content of the concentrated feed solution, and the test results are provided to the controller 200 ';

in step S240 ', the agitated permeate is tested in the second testing station 133' to determine the protein content in the permeate, and the test result is provided to the controller 200 ', which step S240' may be performed simultaneously with step S140 'or before or after step S140', without limitation.

In step S150 ', the controller 200 ' calculates the opening degrees of the first and second variable flow rate distribution pumps 129 ' and 137 ' according to the detection result of the first and second detection stations 125 ' and 133 ', and controls the first and second variable flow rate distribution pumps 129 ' and 137 ' to the calculated opening degrees to supply the concentrated feed liquid and the permeate to the mixing station 140 '.

In step S150 ', the controller 200' may calculate the opening degrees of the first and second variable flow distribution pumps 129 'and 137' according to the following formula 2, and as mentioned above, since the protein content in the permeate is low, the protein content of the permeate may be ignored, and thus, the calculation formula may be simplified as follows:

target protein × 100 ═ concentrated feed protein content × opening degree of first variable flow pump 129' (formula 2)

Preferably, the first variable flow distribution pump 129 ' and the second variable flow distribution pump 137 ' are the same variable flow distribution pump, and thus, the opening degree of the second variable flow distribution pump 137 ' may be calculated according to the following equation 3:

the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump 129 ═ (target protein content ÷ concentrated feed liquid protein content) × 100%;

the opening degree of the second variable flow rate distribution pump 137 '(1-target protein content ÷ concentrated feed liquid protein content) × 100% ═ 1-the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump 129' (formula 3)

For example, when the target protein content is 2.92/100g, the detection result of the first detection station 125' is 3.07/100g, and the protein content of the permeate is 0.01g/100g, the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump is 95% or (2.92 ÷ 3.07) × 100%, and at this time, the opening degree of the second variable flow rate distribution pump is set to 5%, whereby the protein content of the finished milk is 2.92 ± 0.02%. For another example, when the target protein content is 2.92/100g, the opening degree of the first variable flow rate distribution pump 129 'is set to 29.2% and the opening degree of the second variable flow rate distribution pump 137' is set to 1-29.2% to 70.8% in the case where the protein content of the concentrated feed liquid is 10.00/100g as measured in the first detection station and the protein content of the permeate liquid is 0.01/100g as measured in the second detection station.

In step S160 ', the concentrated feed liquid and the permeate are mixed in the mixing station 140 ', and the mixed semi-finished milk is supplied to the semi-finished tank 160 '. After that, the detecting step S310, the determining step S320 and the like in the first embodiment are optionally included, and are not described herein again.

The controller 200' according to the second embodiment of the present invention may be similar to the controller 200 of the first embodiment, and thus, will not be described herein again. The controller 200' can receive the results from the weighing device and the various testing stations and control the production line according to the results, in particular the opening of the variable flow dispensing valve, so as to obtain a precise target protein content in the semi-finished milk.

Although the invention has been described in detail above with reference to two embodiments according to the invention, it should be understood that the invention should not be limited thereto. It will be appreciated that the relevant features of the two embodiments described above may be combined with or substituted for one another to thereby achieve still further embodiments, for example, in the first embodiment a third branch may also be added, similar to the permeate branch of the second embodiment, whereby the controller controls the opening of the variable flow distribution valves of the three branches, thereby achieving accurate protein content. It is further noted that in the above description of the two embodiments the liquid milk production line is described as comprising a mixing station, a first detection station, etc., but this is for descriptive convenience only, it being understood that the above mixing station, first detection station, weighing station, mixing station, etc. need not be separate production stations, but two or more of them may be integrated in one production station and perform several tasks in one production station, and therefore such a configuration where several stations are integrated is also included within the scope of the present invention.

The invention has been described above with reference to milk products and the protein content in milk products, but it is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to other types of dairy products, such as goat milk, camel milk, etc., and that the measure is not limited to protein content, but may be other measures. In addition, it is within the scope of the present invention that the various steps mentioned in the above description of the method or production process do not have to be performed sequentially, but that some steps may be performed simultaneously or some steps may be performed in reverse order.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limiting, but illustrative.