Device for mixing dry ingredients of a herb or spice mixture

Abstract: A device for mixing dry ingredients for a herb or spice mixture comprises a frame (1,4) equipped with a mixing vessel (2) and a driving motor which, by means of a drive shaft, realises a homogeneous mixing within the mixture. The mixing vessel (2) is placed perpendicular to the drive shaft (3) of the driving motor, so that, during operation, the mixture in it will, time and again, be overturned. For the purpose of a smooth changing of the mixing vessel (2) for another one, the mixing vessel is detachably mounted to the frame (4). Thanks to a similar replacement of mixing vessels, cross-contamination of successive herb mixtures can be minimised, without long cleaning times being required.

Description: The present invention concerns a device for mixing dry ingredients, particularly of a herb or spice mixture, comprising a primary frame having a driving motor with a drive shaft which is capable of carrying a mixing vessel in a direction traverse to said drive shaft and of rotating said vessel with respect to said primary frame. For that matter, it is noted that, within the scope of the invention, the notion of herb or spice mixture needs to be interpreted in such a broad sense that it is to be understood to mean not only mixtures of merely spices or herbs but also mixtures of both spices and herbs, whether or not combined with salts, natural or other sweeteners, colouring agents, dehydrated vegetables, binding agents or any other additive which is desirable in (large-scale) cooking with regard to foods or drinks to be prepared. In particular, however, the invention concerns a device for preparing mixtures of the above-mentioned type to be used as an ingredient in meat and fish products. In an existing device of the type referred to in the opening paragraph, the ingredients to be mixed are dumped in a long, horizontally placed mixing vessel fitted with a number of mixing arms placed at regular intervals. The mixing arms are driven by the drive shaft of the driving motor in such a way as to realise a final homogeneous mixture of ingredients. However, one of the drawbacks of a known device of this kind is the fact that extremely careful action is required to prevent cross-contamination of successive herb mixtures. In order to prevent the remnants of a mixture left in the device from ending up in a subsequent mixture of a different composition, the mixing vessel, including the present mixing arms, always needs thorough cleaning. During that time, the device is out of operation, which, from the view of business economics, is indisputably unattractive. Furthermore, cleaning is usually done by spraying water under high pressure, which, in a production environment for mixing dry ingredients, is particularly problematic because it promotes lumping. Carefully drying the device after cleaning it, alone, is not sufficient, because inevitably the environmental air within the factory, too, will be dampened. Inter alia for avoiding cross-contamination of pharmaceutical or chemical products US patent 4.775.242 discloses a mixing device which utilizes detachable and replacable mixing vessels. The devices comprises a primary frame with a driving motor and a drive shaft which carries a mixing vessel and is capable of rotating said mixing vessel around a horizontal axis. In this known device the mixing vessel hangs freely at an arm mounted to the drive shaft which moreover comprises closure means for closing a filling mouth of the vessel. A drawback of this device is that whilst the mixing vessel is in principle replacable and detachable the connection with the closure means needs to be very tight in order to hold the weight of the vessel during rotation. As such the closure means are for instance bolded to the vessel, which is time consuming and imposes substantial limits to the throughput of the device. A similar device is known from US patent 5.512.207 which recognizes the drawbacks of the aforementioned known type of mixing device. Instead it discloses a method of mixing materials using mixing vessels which are each sealed by their own, individual cover, which mixing vessels may be received on two lifting forks mounted to the drive shaft of the motor. The mixing vessel is secured to said forks by means of securing pins in order to prevent the vessel from coming loose during rotation. A drawback of this known device is that closing the vessels and securing them to the lifting forks needs manual intervention and is hence prone to mistakes. Moreover securing and particularly closing the vessels is time consuming and therefore limiting to the throughput of the disclosed method. German patent application 34 33 674 describes a mixing device in which only the bottom portion of a mixing vessel is replaceable. During the mixing process the entire vessel remains stationary, the actual mixing operation being performed by a rotor which extends vertically down into the vessel. This means that after the mixing process the device needs thorough and extensive cleaning before a different mixture may be processed. A mixing device which uses rotation of the entire mixing vessel for mixing a mixture contained therein is known from US patent 3.328.004. This device is particularly intended for mixing plastic granules with dyestuff. The mixing vessel in this case consists of a cylinder drum which is rigidly mounted inside a frame which frame is connected to the drive shaft of a driving motor in order to enable a rotation of the vessel . perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. Because the mixing vessel is fixed inside the device also in this case a thorough and extensive cleaning is necessary before a next, different mixture can be processed without the risk of cross contamination. Moreover for filling, emptying and cleaning of the device, the interior of the mixture vessel is merely accessible via a relatively narrow gap between the top of the cylinder and a lid member, which is relatively impractical. German patent application 1.282.610 discloses a mixing device with interchangeable mixing vessels which are received inside a circular support frame which is mounted on the drive shaft of the driving motor. Also in this case the mixing vessels needs manual closure and securing inside the frame, which is prone to mistakes and limits the throughput of the device. International patent application WO 82/04407 describes a mixing device using mixing vessels of which merely a bottom portion is interchangeable. Said bottom portion is united with a closure member containing a rotor to form a mixing chamber and subsequently tilted upside down. The mixing process is then entirely performed by means of said rotor which extends into the mixing chamber. Because of the latter, cleaning of the device is rather cumbersome and the device is accordingly relatively prone to cross contamination. Moreover the connection between both portions of the mixing chamber requires careful attention in order to avoid separation during the tilting process. French patent application 2 254 362 discloses still another embodiment of a mixing device with a mixing vessel of which merely a bottom portion is interchangeable. Also in this case, the bottom portion is joined with a closure member to form the actual mixing chamber. said closure member is mounted on the drive shaft of the driving motor to enable a rotation of the mixing vessel around an horizontal axis to effect mixing of the contents of the vessel. Because the mixing vessels hangs freely the entire weight of it is exerted on the connection between the closure and bottom portion of the vessel. Said connection accordingly needs to be strong and secure but is applied manually each time and accordingly prone to failure. Moreover the mixing vessel is hardly covered once it is released from the device for further storage. A mixing device in which the mixing chamber is formed entirely by an interchangeable mixing vessel is disclosed in US patent 4.077.613. The mixing vessel of this device consists of a box which is to be precisely aligned inside a receiving arm of a docking station. To this end the exterior of the vessel is provided with recesses and the interior of the arm with complementary rails. Locking and securing of the vessel inside the docking station is effected by means of pins which engage in corresponding holes in the vessel wall. As the arm is connected to the drive shaft of a driving motor inside the docking station the vessel may be rotated around an horizontal axis to effect mixture of the contents of the vessel. Also in this case the vessel hangs freely during rotation so that the fixation of the vessel inside the receiving frame needs special attention as it is fully exposed to the load of the vessel. One of the aims of the present invention is to supply a device of the type referred to in the opening paragraph which meets the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing for a mixing device with mixing vessels which are readily interchangeable, yet automatically securely fixed within the device during operation. In order to achieve the object in view, a device of the type referred to in the opening paragraph is characterised in that said drive shaft carries a secondary frame with support means to receive said mixing vessel in a detachable manner and with closure means for closing a filling mouth of said mixing vessel, in that said secondary frame is equipped with a lifting device capable of bringing said support means and said closure means together while enclosing said mixing vessel there between, and in that the secondary frame comprises alignment means for mutually aligning and registering the mixing vessel and the closure means, while the mixing vessel is being inserted. The invention is based, among others, on the view that a homogeneous mixture of the distinguished materials can be achieved not only by working the materials with a rotor but also by rotating the mixing vessel itself, which will cause the materials to be, time and again, overturned until a homogeneous mixture has been achieved. Moreover, one of the unique aspects of this device is the fact that it works with changeable mixing vessels. This has the advantage that, after a mixture has been prepared, its vessel will be taken away, after which the device can immediately be put into use again mixing another vessel, possibly containing another herb or spice mixture. Standing times attached to cleaning the installation between similar operation cycles are thus avoided. Furthermore, the mixing vessel, after being emptied, can be cleaned outside the mixing area, so that a physical separation between mixing and cleaning can be realised. Thus, cleaning water is prevented from affecting the humidity in the mixing area adversely. Moreover, from a logistic point of view, too, the invention presents some important advantages in that the mixing vessel can at the same time be used as a storage vessel for the mixture concerned, which, from there, is poured into a smaller package or can also form an ingredient for another mixture itself. In addition, the vessel can be filled with the various ingredients outside the mixer plant. The materials are thus collected in the mixing vessel and taken to the mixer, so that between two successive mixing cycles, whether or not dissimilar, the mixer is hardly out of operation, if at all. Because the vessel is detachably received within the secondary framed and clamped between the support means and closure means, the vessel itself does not need to be coupled to the drive shaft which facilitates a remarkably swift and practical mutual replacement of vessels. The mixing vessel is simply placed on the supporting framework and is, by means of the lifting device, joined to the closing device, which seals the mouth hermetically. In practice, these operations prove to be very easy and quick to realise, which makes it possible to achieve an extremely high efficiency. At the same time the clamping of the mixing vessel between the support means and the closure means provides for a secure placement of the vessel within the device without the requirement of further human intervention. Furthermore, a specific embodiment of the device is characterised in that the closure means comprise a rotor with side branches which is driven by propelling means, at least during operation, and which extends into the mixing vessel for breaking possible clods in a mixture inside the mixing vessel. Such a rotor, generally referred to as lump breaker, revolves in the mixture at a high rotational speed. It does not so much serve the purpose of mixing the materials, but is primarily intended for smashing unhoped-for lumps in the mixture to powder. Because of its integration in the closing device, the rotor, together with the closing device, is taken outside the vessel at the end of a mixing cycle, so that its relatively small surface is accessible to smooth cleaning or changing. Meanwhile, the vessel used before can be removed for further processing or to serve as a storage vessel. The above-mentioned secondary frame can be suspended unilaterally or multilaterally. However, according to the invention, an additional embodiment of the device is characterised in that the secondary frame is on one single side connected to the drive shaft, the other side hanging free. In practice, it has been proved that a similar unilateral suspension can be produced in such a manner that it is sufficiently strong to withstand lengthy continuous operation, while the side of the frame hanging free is very well accessible, from various angles, to supply and removal of mixing vessels. According to the invention, an additional embodiment of the device is characterised in that the secondary frame is fixed to the drive shaft in such a way that, during operation, a mixing vessel of which the section is at least partly rectangular rotates around its diagonal axis. In practice, a similar suspension of the secondary frame has been found to lead to an extraordinary mixture within the vessel, supposedly because, the vessel revolving, the contents are repeatedly thrown over its walls. An additional specific embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterised in that the supporting framework of the secondary frame comprises two spoons which are nearly parallel, to each other at least, on which a mixing vessel is to be received and that, on one end, the spoons are connected to a pressure cylinder. A connecting rod of this pressure cylinder is, as a movable part, fitted coaxially in a box profile of the frame, this box profile also comprising a cylinder housing of the pressure cylinder. In theory, within the scope of the invention, the lifting device can also be reinforced by other means than one or several pressure cylinders, in accordance with this special design. The reinforcement could, for example, be based on one or several gear racks or screw thread spindles. However, in practice the device as described here proves extremely compact, reliable and efficient. The invention will now be explained in more detail by means of a sample embodiment and an accompanying drawing, in which: figure 1 shows a cross-section of a sample design of the device according to the invention in a first position; and figure 2 shows a cross-section of the sample design of figure 1 in a second position. For that matter, the figures are purely schematic and not drawn to scale. Notably, for purposes of clarity, some dimensions in the drawing have been represented in a (highly) exaggerated manner. Whenever possible, corresponding parts are indicated with the same reference number. The device in figure 1 comprises a frame 1 which contains propelling agents in the form of a powerful electric motor and associated electronic control devices. The frame 1 can be produced as a mobile part and in that case also comprises a counterweight in order to keep the whole device in balance under all circumstances or can, as in this case, be permanently attached to the shop floor. The electric motor can be coupled to an external microcomputer with which the various mixing programmes can be loaded, tuned to the specific herb, spice or other mixture to be formed. By means of a drive shaft and by intervention of a flange device 3 coupled to it, the driving motor is connected to a secondary frame 4 of the device. The secondary frame is thus suspended on only one side so as to be optimally reachable and accessible from the other side. In practice, the flange device 3 can be dimensioned to be sufficiently strong for a similar unilateral suspension. The various materials for the mixture are collected outside the device in the right proportions in a mixing vessel 2 up to a total weight of approximately 1,250 kilogrammes at most. The mixing vessel 2, thus filled, is taken to the device by means of a fork-lift truck or any other device and loaded onto a supporting framework 5 of the secondary frame 4. A cover 8 on the mixing vessel 2 serves the purpose of hermetically sealing a mouth 14 of the mixing vessel 2 during transport. In this case, the supporting framework 5 of the frame 4 comprises two parallel spoons 6 on which the legs 7 of the mixing vessel 2 are to be received as detachable parts. The ends of both of the spoons 6 are connected to a connecting rod 11 of a pressure cylinder 10 which is, as a movable part, fitted coaxially in a box profile 9 of the frame 2, in which a housing 12 of the cylinder has been fitted. The pressure cylinders 10 are part of a lifting device capable of lifting the vessel 2 with its contents. The pipes needed for the pneumatic, hydraulic or other reinforcement of the pressure cylinders 10 run to the primary part 1 of the frame through a fluid coupling in the flange device, but have been omitted in the drawing for purposes of clarity. After the mixing vessel 2 has been placed on the supporting framework 5 as described before this and has been fixed to it efficiently, the cover 8 is removed and the lifting device reinforced, so that the mixing vessel and a closing device 13 for its mouth 14 are joined, eventually sealing the mixing vessel 2 hermetically, resulting in the position of figure 2. For that matter, the closing device 13 comprises a rotor 15 which points into the vessel and has side branches 16. The rotor is driven by an electric motor 17 placed onto the closing device. A similar rotor, generally referred to as lump breaker, is intended for breaking up unhoped-for lumps in the mixture to powder again. The electrical cable work of the motor 17 can be led through the heart of the flange device 3 to the stationary part 1 of the device, but has not been drawn for purposes of clarity. In the position of figure 2, the primary driving motor of the device is switched on, so that the secondary frame 4 with the mixing vessel 2 placed on it will rotate around a central axis of the flange device 3. The contents of the mixing vessel are thus, time and again, overturned, so that its various components mix with each other. Thus, by carrying out a suitable mixing programme in terms of combinations of rotational speed, amount of rotations and direction of rotation, an extremely satisfactory mixture can be obtained. After completion of the mixing cycle, the mixing vessel is lowered by means of the lifting device 10 in order to be changed for another mixing vessel after the lump breaker has been cleaned or changed, if necessary. In this way, in a short period of time, the device is prepared for another mixing cycle of a different mixture and therefore entails practically no standing times. Owing to the fact that a new mixing vessel is always used, contamination of one mixture by remnants of the other is prevented efficiently, without the device having to be placed out of use for a long time for the purpose of thorough cleaning. After removal of the mixing vessel, its contents can be poured into a suitable package or kept in stock in the vessel itself. Eventually, when the vessel is empty, it can be cleaned, for example with water, in an automatic tunnel-like washing device, whether or not installed for this specific purpose, outside the immediate proximity of the mixer plant. In this way, penetration of the production area by moisture and damp air can be reduced. All in all, the invention thus offers an embodiment of a mixer plant with which a mixture of dry ingredients, a herb or spice mixture in particular, can be formed in an extremely efficient and functional manner, preventing cross-contamination of one mixture by remnants of another mixture, practically without any imposed standing times. Although in the foregoing the invention has been explained in more detail by means of just this one example, it will be clear that the invention is by no means limited to this example. On the contrary, for a specialist, many more variations and forms are possible, without requiring him to leave the scope of the present invention. The lifting device shown and described in more detail, for example, can be produced differently, based on, for example, the working of a gear rack or a screw thread spindle. Likewise, the part of the secondary frame which contains the closing device can be produced as a moving part next to or instead of its other part in order to join vessel and closing device. Furthermore, at the expense of part of its accessibility, but in favour of mechanical stability, the secondary frame can be suspended bilaterally. In addition, it is possible to abandon the secondary frame completely, fixing the vessel directly to the drive shaft of the driving motor, in a direction diagonal to it, as a removable part. However, the use of a secondary frame as described above makes it easier to place the vessel in the device and fix it there, thus boosting its throughput speed. In the example given, whenever possible, the parts of the device and the vessel have been manufactured in stainless steel for purposes of durability and hygiene. However, these parts can also be manufactured from other materials.

Claims: Device for mixing dry ingredients, particularly of a herb or spice mixture, comprising a primary frame (1) having a driving motor with a drive shaft which is capable of carrying a mixing vessel (2) in a direction traverse to said drive shaft and of rotating said vessel (2) with respect to said primary frame (1) characterized in that said drive shaft carries a secondary frame (4) with support means (5) to receive said mixing vessel in a detachable manner and with closure means (13) for closing a filling mouth (14) of said mixing vessel (2), in that said secondary frame (4) is equipped with a lifting device capable of bringing said support means (5) and said closure means (13) together while enclosing said mixing vessel there between, and in that the secondary frame (4) comprises alignment means for mutually aligning and registering the mixing vessel (2) and the closure means (13), while the mixing vessel is being inserted. Device according to claim 1 characterized in that the closure means comprise a rotor with side branches which is driven by propelling means, at least during operation, and which extends into the mixing vessel for breaking possible clods in a mixture inside the mixing vessel. Device according to claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the secondary frame is on one single side connected to the drive shaft, the other side hanging free. Device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the secondary frame is fixed to the drive shaft in such a way that, during operation, a mixing vessel of which the section is at least partly rectangular rotates around its diagonal axis. Device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the supporting means (5) of the secondary frame (4) comprises two spoons (6) which are substantially parallel to each other and are capable of receiving said mixing vessel thereon and in that , at one end, the spoons are connected to a pressure cylinder with a drive rod which is fitted coaxially in a box profile of the frame, which moreover comprises a cylinder housing of said pressure cylinder.

Inventors: DRIESSEN JAN, DRIESSEN, JAN
Applicants: VERSTEGEN SPECERIJEN B V, VERSTEGEN SPECERIJEN B.V.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B01F3
IPC codes: B01F7, B01F3