Patent GB-843628-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to mixing and agitating appliances
Inventor: ANDREWS FRANK LESLIE
IPC: E01C21/00
Filed: 1956-05-09
Abstract: 843,628. Mixing machines. MINISTER OF SUPPLY. Aug. 8, 1957 [May 9, 1956], No. 14374/56. Class 86 A mixing or agitating appliance comprises a blade or blades to act upon the material to be treated, the blade or each blade being rotatable bodily about a fixed axis and means for oscillating the blade or each blade about its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the fixed axis whereby the inclination of the blade or each blade to the fixed axis may be varied during the bodily rotation. As shown in Fig. 3, blades 37 project radially from a pair of hollow shafts 22, 24 mounted horizontally side by side in a mixing trough 1. The shaft 22 is secured at its ends to spindles 8, 23 mounted in bearings 9, 21, the spindle 8 being rotatable by a sprocket 19 through a slipping clutch 20. The shaft 24 is secured at its ends to spindles 25, 27 mounted in bearings 26, 27a and rotatable from the spindle 8 through gear wheels 29, 28. A trunnion 2 secured to one end wall 1b of the trough is aligned with the spindle 8 and the trunnion 2 and spindle 8 are mounted in bearings 3, 7, Fig. 1, carried by brackets 4, 6 mounted on a stand 5, whereby the trough 1 which normally rests on a stop bar 10 and has a counterweight 99, may be tilted to empty its contents. The sprocket 19 is connected by a chain 18 with a sprocket 17 driven from an electric motor 14 through a variable reduction gear box 15 and controlled by a wheel 15a. Slidable axially in but rotatable with the shafts 22, 24, Fig. 3. are shafts 47, 51 respectively, the shaft 51 being urged to the left by a spring 57. Rotatable with the shaft 22 is a gear wheel 59 engaging a gear wheel 60 rotatably mounted on the spindle 25. The ratio of the gears 59, 60 differs slightly from the ratio of the gears 28, 29 so that the gear 60 is rotatable slowly relative to the shaft 51. A cam 61 integral with the gear 60 engages a roller 62 on a radial spindle 64 secured to the shaft 51 so that during rotation of the gear 60 relative to shaft 51 the latter will be reciprocated within the shaft 24. The shaft 51 is inter-connected with the shaft 47 by means of rotatable flange members 76 on the shafts 47, 51 engaging pins on forks 81 carried by a lever 82 pivoted at 83 to a bracket 84 carried by the trough 1, whereby the shaft 47 will also be reciprocated within the shaft 22. The rotatable member 76 for the shaft 51 is under the urge of a spring 57a which assists the spring 57. Referring to Fig. 4 each hollow shaft 22, 24, has spaced therealong octagonal collar 30 secured to the shafts by screwed bushes 31. Rotatable in the bush 31 is a cup-like member 33 restrained from axial movement relative to the bush by a flange 34. The root 36 of a blade 37 is secured in the member 33 by a pin 35 also secured to a spacer collar 38 between the blade and bush. Also secured to the member 33 by a bolt 41 is is a lever 40 carrying a pin 42 supporting a roller 44 which latter is engaged in an associated peripheral slot 50 or 52 in the shaft 47 or 51. Clearly as the shafts 47 and 51 reciprocate relative to the shafts 22, 24 the blades 37 will be oscillated in the bushes 31. The frequency of oscillation may be varied by having various detachable cams 61. If the ratio of the gears 59, 60 is made the same as the ratio of the gears 28, 29 the blades will not rock about their axes but their inclination relative to the shafts 22, 24 may be set as desired. Alternatively a body of uniform thickness may replace the cam 61. Instead of two. shafts carrying blades one may be sufficient and the trough then made correspondingly smaller. The trough is provided with a lid 87 hinged to a member 91 carried by uprights 92 on the stand 5. A pin 98 on the lid is engageable with a slotted pivoted lever 95 to retain the lid in its open position. The shafts and their blades instead of being mounted in a trough as shown may be mounted in a frame so as to be lowerable upon or into material to be treated. Specification 744,602 is referred to.