Claims
- 1. A process for producing milk comprising the steps of:
delivering raw milk to a raw milk storage station; processing the raw milk into only first and second milk varieties; and filling individual consumer-sized containers from at least one of the first and second milk varieties.
- 2. The process of claim 1 wherein the filling step includes the step of providing four or more different types of milk from the first and second processed milk varieties.
- 3. The process of claim 2 wherein the providing step includes using only the first processed milk variety to form the first type of milk.
- 4. The process of claim 3 wherein the providing step includes using only the second process milk variety to form the second type of milk.
- 5. The process of claim 4 wherein the providing step includes using selected amounts of the first and second processed milk varieties to form the third and fourth types of milk.
- 6. The process of claim 5 wherein the providing step includes using a greater proportion of the first processed milk variety to form the third type of milk.
- 7. The process of claim 5 wherein the providing step includes using a greater proportion of the second processed milk variety to form the fourth type of milk.
- 8. The process of claim 1 including the step of supplying first and second containers of different capacity.
- 9. The process of claim 1 including the step of stacking the filled containers on a pallet and wrapping the containers together on a pallet for shipment to the customer.
- 10. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of labeling the individual containers in response to a command from a control member detailing information regarding the container size, customer, and type of milk.
- 11. A flexible filling dairy plant comprising:
a receiving station for the receiving raw milk into the plant; a heat treatment station for processing the raw milk into only two grades of processed milk; a control station for receiving information relating to a customer order and outputting control signals based on the information; and a filling station operatively associated with the two grades of processed milk capable of producing at least four types of milk into individual containers from the two grades of processed milk in response to the control signals from the control station.
- 12. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 11 comprising a shipment station receiving the filled containers from the filling station and packaging the containers on a pallet based on the customer information received at the control station.
- 13. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 11 wherein the shipment station stacks containers one atop the other, includes first wrapping equipment for combining the containers into groups of a selected size for stacking in rows and columns on a pallet, and includes second wrapping equipment for holding the rows and columns on the pallet.
- 14. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 11 further comprising a blow molding station for forming different size and predetermined quantities of containers in response to the customer order information.
- 15. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 13 further comprising a labeling station for preparing labels for the individual containers in response to the customer order information.
- 16. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 11 further comprising a labeling station for preparing labels for the individual containers in response to the customer order information.
- 17. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 11 wherein the two grades of milk are the richest (3.25%) and the least rich (skim) of butter fat content milk.
- 18. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 17 wherein the filling station uses only the 3.25% milk to fill containers with 3.25% milk and only skim milk to fill containers with skim milk.
- 19. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 17 wherein the filling station uses a first selected proportion of the 3.25% milk and the skim milk to produce 2%.
- 20. The flexible filling dairy plant of claim 17 wherein the filling station uses a second selected proportion of the 3.25% milk and the skim milk to produce 1% milk.
- 21. A process for producing milk for sale and consumption, comprising the steps of:
receiving raw milk into a raw milk storage station; pasteurizing the raw milk and then separating the pasteurized milk into only first and second milk varieties of different milk fat content; and filling individual consumer-sized containers a) only from the first and second milk varieties and b) from varied proportions of the first and second varieties.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No. 60/102,491, filed Sep. 30, 1998.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60102491 |
Sep 1998 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09408633 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Child |
09858026 |
May 2001 |
US |