Patent Publication Number: US-6910801-B2

Title: Agitating and mixing device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a device for agitating and mixing two or more kinds of bulk materials, for example, raw materials of cement, row materials of chemicals, raw materials of pharmaceuticals, ceramics, raw materials of cosmetics, raw materials of metals, fertilizers, feeds, raw materials of paints, raw materials of foods, sludge, and magnetic abrasives. 
   Commonly known as conventional agitating and mixing devices are a type in which bulk materials are put into a container and the container is rotated and revolved and a type comprising agitating blades in a container for mixing bulk materials. 
   However, the former type has a problem of its complex structure and the latter type has problems that it is difficult to uniformly mix bulk materials and considerable labor is required for maintenance, for example, cleaning the agitating blades. 
   The present invention is made for the purpose of solving the aforementioned problems and the object is to provide an agitating and mixing device with a simple structure which can uniformly mix bulk materials. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In order to achieve the aforementioned object, an agitating and mixing device in an aspect of the present invention comprises: a rotary shaft  6  to be rotated by a driving means  3 ; a container outer shell  7  fixed to the rotary shaft to tilt relative to the rotary shaft; and an inner shell  9  fixed inside the container outer shell, wherein bulk materials are put into a receiving space  13  formed between the container outer shell and the inner shell and are then agitated and mixed. 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention comprises: a rotary shaft  6  to be rotated by a driving means; an inner shell  9  fixed to the rotary shaft to tilt relative to the rotary shaft; a container outer shell  7  fixed around the inner shell; an automatic feed/discharge unit  33  for bulk materials which is mounted to the container outer shell via a rotary joint  35 ; a screw blade  42  formed on said rotary shaft inside the automatic feed/discharge unit, wherein the bulk materials are put into a receiving space formed between the container outer shell and the inner shell by normal or reverse rotation of said rotary shaft, are then agitated and mixed, and after that are discharged by reverse or normal rotation of said rotary shaft. 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention comprises: a driving gear  56 , to be rotated by a driving means, and a plurality of supporting gears  55 ; a pair of rotary rings  53 ,  54  supported by said gears, a container outer shell  7  fixed to the rotary rings to tilt relative to the rotary rings; and an inner shell  9  fixed inside the container outer shell, wherein bulk materials are put into a receiving space formed between the container outer shell and the inner shell and are then agitated and mixed. 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention comprises: a pair of rotary shaft halves  6   a ,  6   b  to be rotated by a driving means; a plurality of container outer shells  7 A- 7 E fixedly disposed between the rotary shaft halves via partition plates  57 ; inner shells  9  fixed inside the container outer shells, respectively; openings  59  formed in said partition plates, respectively; and flap doors  61  arranged on said openings, respectively, wherein two container outer shells  7 A and  7 E positioned at both ends are fixed to the rotary shaft halves  6   a ,  6   b  to tilt relative to the rotary shaft halves  6   a ,  6   b , respectively and the middle container outer shells  7 B- 7 D are arranged to form V-like shapes as seen in the front view, and wherein bulk materials are conveyed successively into and through receiving spaces formed between the container outer shells and the inner shells, whereby the bulk materials agitated and mixed. 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention, in combination with any of the embodiments above, being characterized in that said container outer shell(s) and said inner shell(s) are polygonal. 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention, in combination with any of the embodiments above, being characterized by further including heat exchangers  26 ,  27  into which steam or chilled water is supplied and which are attached to the outer surface(s) of said container outer shell(s) and/or the inner surface(s) of said inner shell(s). 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention, in combination with any of the embodiments above, being characterized by further including a plurality of agitating blades  49  disposed between said container outer shell(s) and said inner shell(s). 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention, in combination with any of the embodiments above, being characterized by further including partition walls  43 ,  44  disposed between said container outer shell(s) and said inner shell(s) and a plurality of agitating blades disposed between the partition walls. It should be noted that the numerals attached to the aforementioned components are intended to be referred with the attached drawings just for providing an easier understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention at all. 
   An agitating and mixing device in a further aspect of the invention comprises a rotary shaft to be rotated by a driving means; a container outer shell fixed to the rotary shaft to tilt relative to the rotary shaft; and an inner shell disposed inside the container outer shell, wherein bulk materials are put into a receiving space formed between the container outer shell and the inner shell and are then agitated and mixed by rotating said container outer shell and said inner shell in directions opposite to each other. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS.  1 (A),  1 (B) show an embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, 
     FIG.  1 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  1 (B) is a schematic sectional view taken along a line B—B in FIG.  1 (A); 
     FIGS.  2 (A) and  2 (B) are enlarged views showing main parts of FIG.  1 (A); 
     FIGS.  3 (A)- 3 (C) are illustrations for explaining works of the present invention; 
     FIGS.  4 (A),  4 (B) show a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  wherein FIG.  4 (A) is a schematic sectional view thereof and FIG.  4 (B) is a side view showing stirring plates shown in FIG.  4 (A); 
     FIGS.  5 (A)- 5 (C) show a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  wherein FIG.  5 (A) is a schematic sectional view thereof, FIG.  5 (B) is a plan view showing stirring plates shown in FIG.  5 (A), and FIG.  5 (C) is a side view showing the same; 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic sectional view showing a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
     FIGS.  7 (A),  7 (B) show another variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , wherein FIG.  7 (A) is a schematic sectional view thereof and FIG.  7 (B) is a side view showing projections of FIG.  7 (A); 
     FIGS.  8 (A)- 8 (D) are schematic sectional views showing variations of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
     FIGS.  9 (A)- 9 (D) are schematic sectional views showing variations of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
     FIGS.  10 (A),  10 (B) show another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIG.  10 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  10 (B) is a schematic sectional view taken along a line B—B in FIG.  10 (A); 
     FIGS.  11 (A),  11 (B) show another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIG.  11 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  11 (B) is a schematic sectional view taken along a line B—B in FIG.  11 (A); 
       FIG. 12  is a front view showing further another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 13  is a front view showing further another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention; 
     FIG.  14 (A) is a sectional view taken along a line A—A of  FIG. 13 , 
     FIG.  14 (B) is a view taken along a line B—B of  FIG. 13 , and FIG.  14 (C) is a partial sectional view of FIG.  14 (C); 
       FIG. 15  is a sectional view similar to FIG.  14 (A) but showing a variation of the embodiment of FIGS.  14 (A)- 14 (C); 
       FIG. 16  is a front view showing a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIG. 17  is a front view showing a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 12 ; 
     FIGS.  18 (A),  18 (B) show yet another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIG.  18 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  18 (B) is a view as seen in a direction of arrow B of FIG.  18 (A); 
     FIGS.  19 (A),  19 (B) show a variation of the embodiment of FIGS.  18 (A),  18 (B), wherein FIG.  19 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  19 (B) is a view as seen in a direction of arrow B of FIG.  19 (A); 
     FIGS.  20 (A),  20 (B) show another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIG.  20 (A) is a front view thereof, and FIG.  20 (B) is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.  20 (A); 
       FIG. 21  is an illustration for explaining the works of the embodiment of FIGS.  20 (A),  20 (B); 
       FIG. 22  is a front view showing further another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention; and 
     FIG.  23 (A) is a sectional view taken along a line Y—Y in FIG.  22  and FIG.  23 (B) is a sectional view showing main parts. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. FIGS.  1 (A) through  3 (C) show an embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, FIG.  1 (A) is a front view thereof, FIG.  1 (B) is a schematic sectional view taken along a line B—B in FIG.  1 (A), FIGS.  2 (A) and  2 (B) are enlarged views showing main parts of FIG.  1 (A), and FIGS.  3 (A)- 3 (C) are illustrations for explaining works of the present invention. 
   As shown in FIG.  1 (A), the agitating and mixing device  1  of this embodiment comprises a frame  2 , an adjustable speed motor (driving means)  3  attached to the frame  2 , a pair of supports  4 ,  4  standing on the frame  2 , a rotary shaft  6  rotatably supported by bearings  5  on the supports  4 , a polygonal container outer shell  7  secured to the rotary shaft  6 , a polygonal inner shell  9  which is analogously fixed inside the container outer shell  7 , a driven sprocket (or pulley)  10  connected to one end of the rotary shaft  6 , and a driving sprocket (or pulley)  12  coupled to the driven sprocket  10  via a chain (or belt)  11 . The driving sprocket  12  is connected to the adjustable speed motor  3 . The rotary shaft  6  extends through the container outer shell  7  in the horizontal direction. The container outer shell  7  is arranged such that its axis tilts relative to the rotary shaft  6  and side plates  7   c  of the container outer shell  7  are secured to the rotary shaft  6 . 
   Formed between the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  is a receiving space  13  for receiving bulk materials to be agitated and mixed. Inside the receiving space  13 , a plurality of wires  14  are arranged to extend between the right and left side plates  7   c  as necessary. Among the shell plates composing the polygon of the container outer shell  7 , two adjacent shell plates are biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  which are provided with handles  15  and of which one sides are hinged by hinges  16  so that the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  can freely pivot. As shown in FIG.  2 (B), the other sides of the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  can be latched to each other by latching means  17  comprising a hook  17   a  and a latch  17   b . As shown in FIG.  2 (A), stopper plates  19   a  are fixed to both side edges of the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  and clamping handles  19   b  are rotatably disposed to the side plates  7   c  of the container outer shell  7 . The stopper plates  19   a  and the clamping handles  19   b  compose clamping means  19 . The biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  and side plates  7   c  can be tightly closed by the clamping means  19 . The container outer shell  7  has a sight glass  20  formed at arbitrary locations for observing the condition of agitation and mixing. 
   Hereinafter, works of the agitating and mixing device having the aforementioned structure will be described. After releasing the latch and clamping of the latching means  17  and the clamping means  19 , the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  are opened by operating the handles  15  as shown by dotted lines of FIG.  1 (B) to put bulk materials into receiving space  13  and, after that, the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  are closed. Then, the adjustable speed motor  3  is driven and the speed of rotation is adjusted suitably for agitating and mixing the bulk materials to rotate the rotary shaft  6 . Therefore, the container outer shell  7  is rotated. When the agitation and mixing is finished, the motor  3  is stopped at a position where the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  face downward. The biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  are opened to discharge the agitated and mixed bulk materials. To agitate and mix another bulk materials after discharging the agitated and mixed bulk materials, the motor is driven after closing the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  and is stopped at a position where the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  face upward. After that, the aforementioned processes are repeated. 
   According to the present invention, since the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  are polygonal, bulk materials caught by corners fall down so as to generate turbulence of the bulk materials by the rotation of the container outer shell  7  in a direction of arrow as shown in FIG.  3 (A), thereby uniformly agitating and mixing the bulk materials. In addition, since the container outer shell  7  is arranged such that its axis tilts relative to the rotary shaft  6 , every rotation of the rotary shaft  6  by 180° reverses the tilting direction of the container outer shell  7  from right to left or from left to right as shown in FIGS.  3 (B) and  3 (C). As a result, the bulk materials move in the receiving space  13  like waves as shown by dotted lines so that bulk materials in an upper layer flow below the bulk materials in an under layer at the opposite side, thereby uniformly agitating and mixing the bulk materials. 
   In case of mixing bulk materials which are easily caked by agitation, wires  14  are arranged inside the receiving space  13  so that caked bulk materials are hit and broken by the wires  14 . 
   FIGS.  4 (A),  4 (B) show a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  wherein FIG.  4 (A) is a schematic sectional view thereof and FIG.  4 (B) is a side view showing stirring plates shown in FIG.  4 (A). In this variation, plate-like stirring plates  21  are disposed on the respective inner surfaces of the shell plates of the container outer shell  7  and the respective outer surfaces of the shell plates of the inner shell  9  to extend over their entire length, thereby further uniformly mixing bulk materials. The stirring plates  21  may be disposed on either the container outer shell  7  or the inner shell  9  and may be disposed at corners of polygon of the container outer shell  7  and/or inner shell  9 . 
   FIGS.  5 (A)- 5 (C) show a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  wherein FIG.  5 (A) is a schematic sectional view thereof, FIG.  5 (B) is a plan view showing stirring plates shown in FIG.  5 (A), and FIG.  5 (C) is a side view showing the same. In this variation, a large number of stirring plates  21  having small widths are disposed at the respective corners of the inner surface of the container outer shell  7  and on the respective outer surfaces of the shell plates of the inner shell  9 . The stirring plates  21  are alternatively arranged to tilt as shown in FIG.  5 (B). In addition, the stirring plates  21  on the container outer shell  7  and the stirring plates  21  on the inner shell  9  are arranged in a zigzag pattern as shown in FIG.  5 (C). The stirring plates  21  may be disposed on either the container outer shell  7  or the inner shell  9 . 
     FIG. 6  is a schematic sectional view showing a variation of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . In this variation, stirring plates  21  each having a shovel-like end are disposed on the respective inner surface of the shell plates of the container outer shell  7 . Because of this configuration of the stirring plates  21 , bulk materials can be stirred upward, thereby further uniformly mixing the bulk materials. The stirring plates  21  may be disposed on the inner shell  9  or both the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9 . 
   FIGS.  7 (A),  7 (B) show another variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , wherein FIG.  7 (A) is a schematic sectional view thereof and FIG.  7 (B) is a side view showing projections of FIG.  7 (A). In this embodiment, a large number of projections  22  are disposed on the respective outer surfaces of the shell plates of the inner shell  9  so that caked bulk materials are hit and broken by the projections  22 . The projections  22  may be disposed on the container outer shell  7  or both the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9 . 
   FIGS.  8 (A)- 8 (D) show variations of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , wherein FIG.  8 (A) shows a variation in which the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  are arranged such that the corners of the container outer shell  7  do not coincide with the corners of the inner shell  9 , FIG.  8 (B) shows a variation further comprising another inner shell  9 ′ disposed inside the inner shell  9  to form two receiving spaces  13 , FIG.  8 (C) is a variation in which the respective shell plates composing polygons of the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  have curved surfaces (convex or concave surfaces), and FIG.  8 (D) shows a variation in which the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  are cylindrical. 
   FIGS.  9 (A)- 9 (D) show variations of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , wherein FIG.  9 (A) shows a variation in which the inner shell  9  is formed to have a throttling middle portion, FIG.  9 (B) shows a variation in which the inner shell  9  is formed to have an inclined portion at one side, FIG.  9 (C) shows a variation in which the inner shell  9  is formed to have a bulged middle portion, and FIG.  9 (D) shows a variation in which the container outer shell  7  is also formed to have a throttling middle portion in addition to the variation of FIG.  9 (A). 
   FIGS.  10 (A),  10 (B) and FIGS.  11 (A),  11 (B) show another embodiments of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIGS.  10 (A),  11 (A) are front views thereof and FIGS.  10 (B),  11 (B) are schematic sectional views taken along a line B—B in FIGS.  10 (A),  11 (A), respectively. In the following embodiments, corresponding component parts are designated with the same reference numerals utilized in the aforementioned embodiment, thus omitting the detail description of such component parts. 
   In the embodiment of FIGS.  10 (A),  10 (B), the biparting lids  7   a ,  7   b  and clamping means  19  are driven by air cylinders  23 . Air is supplied to the air cylinders  23  through an air-supply joint  24 , an air passage in the rotary shaft  6 , and pipes  25 . 
   In the embodiment of FIGS.  11 (A),  11 (B), the agitating and mixing device is further provided with a drying function or a cooling function. The container outer shell  7  is provided on its outer surface with a plurality of heat exchangers  26  and the inner shell  9  is also provided on its inner surface with a heat exchanger  27 . A steam or chilled water supply joint  29  is connected to one end of the rotary shaft  6  so that steam or chilled water is supplied to the heat exchangers  26 ,  27  through a passage in the rotary shaft  6  and pipes  30 . Connected to the other end of the rotary shaft  6  is a moisture suction joint  31 , whereby moisture within the receiving space  13  is discharged through a pipe  32 . 
     FIG. 12  is a front view showing further another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention. In this embodiment, the container outer shell  7  is provided with an automatic feed/discharge unit  33  for automatically supplying and discharging bulk materials. The automatic feed/discharge unit  33  comprises a rotary shaft  6  attached to the inner shell  9  to extend through the container outer shell  7 , a rotary tube  34  fixed to the container outer shell  7 , and a stationary tube  36  connected to the rotary tube  34  and the rotary shaft  6  through rotary joints  35 ,  35 . Provided above the stationary tube  36  is a feed hopper  37  and provided below the stationary tube  36  is a discharge hopper  39 . The feed hopper  37  and the discharge hopper  39  are provided with shut-off dampers  40 ,  41 , respectively. The rotary shaft  6  is provided with a screw blade  42  arranged along the rotary tube  34  and the stationary tube  36 . The driving means  3  is composed of a motor capable of switching between the normal rotation and reverse rotation. Mark “a” designates a heating steam inlet and “b” designates a heating steam outlet, and “c” designates a vacuum pump connection port for reducing the pressure in the container outer shell  7 . 
   Hereinafter, works of this embodiment will be described. The shut-off damper  40  is opened and bulk materials are supplied from the feed hopper  37 . As the rotary shaft  6  is rotated in the direction indicated by a solid-line arrow in  FIG. 12 , the bulk materials are supplied into a space between the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  by the screw blade  42 . As a predetermined amount of bulk materials are conveyed into the container outer shell  7 , the shut-off damper  40  is closed and the bulk materials are agitated and mixed. When the agitation and mixing is finished, the rotary shaft  6  is reversely rotated in the direction indicated by a dotted-line arrow in  FIG. 12  so that the bulk materials are conveyed to the discharge hopper  39  by the screw blade  42 . The shut-off damper  41  is opened to discharge the agitated and mixed bulk materials out of the device. 
   FIGS.  13 - 14 (C) show still another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein  FIG. 13  is a front view thereof, FIG.  14 (A) is a sectional view taken along a line A—A of  FIG. 13 , FIG.  14 (B) is a view taken along a line B—B of  FIG. 13 , and FIG.  14 (C) is a partial sectional view of FIG.  13 . 
   In this embodiment, an outside wall  43  and an inside wall  44  (partition walls) which are composed of continuous arc faces are arranged to face each other so that a receiving space  13  is formed between the outside wall  43  and the inside wall  44  and heating steam chambers  45 ,  46  are formed between the container outer shell  7  and the outside wall  43  and between the inner shell  9  and the inside wall  44 , respectively. A plurality of agitating shafts  47  are disposed inside the receiving space  13  and are each provided with a plurality of agitating blades  49 . Fixed to one end of each agitating shaft  47  is a pulley  50 . A driving belt or chain  51  is wound around the pulleys via tension pulleys  52 . A driving motor  53  is connected to one of the pulleys  50 . It should be noted that the structure of an automatic feed/discharge unit  33  is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG.  12 . 
   Hereinafter, works of this embodiment will be described. The rotary shaft  6  is driven by the motor  3  to rotate the container outer shell  7  as shown by a solid-line arrow in FIG.  14 (A). In addition, the driving motor  53  is driven to rotate the agitating shafts  47  as shown by a dotted-line arrow. Accordingly, bulk materials are further uniformly agitated and mixed by agitation of the agitating blades  49  in addition to the agitation by the rotation of the container outer shell  7 . As shown in FIG.  14 (C), some or all of agitating blades  49   a ,  49   b  on a agitating shaft  47  may be arranged to tilt in an opposite direction of the tilting direction of corresponding ones of the adjacent agitating shaft  47 . According to this arrangement, bulk materials are conveyed from right to left and left to right, thereby further uniformly agitating and mixing the bulk materials. 
     FIG. 15  is a sectional view similar to FIG.  14 (A) but showing a variation of the aforementioned embodiment. In this variation, the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  are formed into polygon without partition walls composed of the outside wall  43  and the inside wall  44  as shown in FIG.  14 (A) and the agitating blades  49  are disposed between the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9 . 
     FIG. 16  is a front view showing a variation of the embodiment of FIG.  12 . Though the rotary shaft  6  extends through the container outer shell  7  in the embodiment of  FIG. 12 , rotary shaft halves  6  secured to the both sides of the container outer shell  7  compose the rotary shaft  6  in this embodiment. This enables the reduction in sectional area of the inner shell  9 , thus reducing the size of the device and reducing the power, as for the same capacity. It should be noted that this variation is not limited to be adapted to the embodiment of FIG.  12  and is also be adapted to the other embodiments. 
     FIG. 17  is a front view showing a variation of the embodiment of FIG.  12 . In this variation, an automatic feed unit  33   a  for supplying bulk materials is arranged on one side of the container outer shell  7  and an automatic discharge unit  33   b  for discharging the bulk materials is arranged on the other side of the container outer shell  7 . A discharge hopper  39  is disposed at the outlet of the automatic discharge unit  33   b . As bulk materials are supplied from a feed hopper  37  and the rotary shaft  6  is rotated in the direction indicated by a solid-line arrow in  FIG. 17 , bulk materials are supplied into a space between the container outer shell  7  and the inner shell  9  by the screw blade  42 . After a predetermined amount of bulk materials are conveyed into the container outer shell  7 , the bulk materials are agitated and mixed. When the agitation and mixing is finished, the rotary shaft  6  is reversely rotated in the direction indicated a dotted-line arrow in  FIG. 17  so that the bulk materials are conveyed to the discharge hopper  39  by the screw blade  42 . 
   FIGS.  18 (A),  18 (B) show yet another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIG.  18 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  18 (B) is a view as seen in a direction of arrow B of FIG.  18 (A). In any of the aforementioned embodiments, the container outer shell  7  is rotated by the rotary shaft  6 . In this embodiment, however, rotary rings  53 ,  54  are employed instead of the rotary shaft  6 . 
   That is, the rotary rings  53 ,  54  are fixed to the both sides of the tilt container outer shell  7 . One of the rotary ring  53  is supported by a supporting roller (or gear)  55  from below and the other rotary ring  54  is supported by a supporting gear  55  and a driving gear  56 . The driving gear  56  is meshed with external teeth of the rotary ring  54 . The supporting gear  55  and the driving gear  56  are supported to the supports via bearings  5 . A driven sprocket  10  is arranged on the other end of the driving gear  56  and is coupled to a driving sprocket (or pulley)  12  via a chain (or a belt)  11 . 
   According to the present invention, the employment of the rotary rings  53 ,  54  enables the reduction in size of the container outer shell  7 , thus reducing the size of the device itself, as for the same capacity, in a comparison of the case that the rotary shaft  6  extends through the container outer shell  7 . 
   FIGS.  19 (A),  19 (B) show a variation of the embodiment of FIGS.  18 (A),  18 (B), wherein FIG.  19 (A) is a front view thereof and FIG.  19 (B) is a view as seen in a direction of arrow B of FIG.  19 (A). Also in this variation, rotary rings  53 ,  54  are employed instead of the rotary shaft  6  similarly to the embodiment of FIGS.  18 (A),  18 (B). 
   In this variation, the frame  2  is formed in a box shape comprising sub frames  2   a ,  2   b . Four supporting gears (or rollers)  55  are disposed on each of the upper and lower sub frames  2   a ,  2   b  by bearings  55   a . The tilt container outer shell  7  are supported by two rotary rings  53 ,  54  meshed with and supported by the supporting gears  55 . External teeth of one of the rotary rings  54  are meshed with a driving gear  12  so that the rotary ring  54  is connected to the driving motor  3  through the driving gear  12 . According to this variation, the device fits in the sub frames  2   a ,  2   b , thus further reducing the size of the device. 
   FIGS.  20 (A),  20 (B) and  FIG. 21  show another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein FIG.  20 (A) is a front view thereof, and FIG.  20 (B) is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.  20 (A), and  FIG. 21  is an illustration for explaining the works thereof. 
   An agitating and mixing device of this embodiment comprises a frame  2 , an adjustable speed motor (driving means)  3  attached to the frame  2 , a support  4  standing on the frame  2 , a main shaft  6   a  which is supported to an upper portion of the frame  2  via a bearing  5  such that the main shaft  6   a  is horizontally rotatable, a rotary shaft  6  fixed to the outer periphery of the main shaft  6   a , a rotation converter  70  which is fixed to the rotary shaft  6  and is arranged to tilt relative to the rotary shaft  6 , a polygonal container outer shell  7  rotatably supported to the rotation converter  70 , a bevel gear  71  fixed to one side of the container outer shell  7 , and a ring gear  72  secured to the support  4  coaxially with the rotary shaft  6 . The bevel gear  71  and the inner teeth of the ring gear  72  are meshed with each other. The shaft  7   f  of the container outer shell  7  is connected to the rotation converter  70  via a bearing  74 . The container outer shell  7  is provided with a flap lid  73  formed at the other side thereof. 
   In this embodiment, as the rotary shaft  6  is rotated, the container outer shell  7  is revolved, just like swing of one&#39;s head, in a direction of arrow B as shown in FIG.  21 . In addition, by the revolution of the container outer shell  7 , the bevel gear  71  is successively meshed and moved along the ring gear  72  so that the container outer shell  7  is rotated on its axis in a direction of arrow A, thereby effectively mixing two or more kinds of bulk materials. Loading of bulk materials into the container outer shell  7  is conducted by opening the flap lid  73  in a position shown by dotted lines and the discharge of the bulk materials is conducted in a position shown by solid lines in FIG.  20 (A). 
   FIG.  22  and FIGS.  23 (A),  23 (B) show further another embodiment of the agitating and mixing device of the present invention, wherein  FIG. 22  is a front view thereof, FIG.  23 (A) is a sectional view taken along a line Y—Y in  FIG. 22 , and FIG.  23 (B) is a sectional view showing main parts. 
   An agitating and mixing device  1  of this embodiment comprises a frame  2 , an adjustable speed motor (driving means)  3  attached to the frame  2 , a pair of supports  4 ,  4  standing on the frame  2 , rotary shaft halves  6   a ,  6   b  which are rotatably supported to upper portions of the support  4 ,  4  by bearings  5 ,  5 , respectively. A driven sprocket (or pulley)  10  is connected to one end of one rotary shaft half  6   a  and is coupled to a driving sprocket (or pulley)  12  via a chain (or belt)  11 . The driving sprocket  12  is connected to the adjustable speed motor  3 . 
   Between the rotary shaft halves  6   a  and  6   b , a plurality of polygonal container outer shells  7 A,  7 B,  7 C,  7 D,  7 E are continuously joined to each other via partition plates  57 . The right-most container outer shell  7 A and the left-most container outer shell  7 B in  FIG. 22  are fixed to tilt relative to the rotary shaft halves  6   a ,  6   b , respectively and the middle container outer shells  7 B,  7 C,  7 D are fixed to form V-like shapes as seen in the front view. Each of the container outer shells  7 A- 7 E is provided with a polygonal inner shell  9  in the same manner as the aforementioned embodiments. 
   The rotary shaft half  6   a  is fixed to the inner shell  9  in the right-most container outer shell  7 A. In addition, a rotary tube  34  similar to that shown in  FIG. 12  is fixed to the container outer shell  7 A and a stationary tube  36  is attached to the rotary tube  34  and the rotary shaft half  6   a  via rotary joints  35 ,  35 . A feed hopper  37  is formed above the stationary tube  36 . The rotary shaft half  6   a  is provided with a screw blade  42  along the rotary tube  34  and the stationary tube  36 . On the other hand, the rotary shaft half  6   b  is fixed to the inner shell  9  in the left-most container outer shell  7 B. In addition, a rotary tube  34  is fixed to the container outer shell  7 E and a stationary tube  36  is attached to the rotary tube  34  and the rotary shaft half  6   b  via rotary joints  35 ,  35 . A discharge hopper  39  is formed below the stationary tube  36 . The rotary shaft half  6   b  is provided with a screw blade  42  along the rotary tube  34  and the stationary tube  36 . 
   Each of the partition plates  57  between respective adjacent ones of the container outer shells  7 A through  7 E is formed with an opening  59  to which a flap door  61  is disposed such that the door  61  can pivot about a pivot  60  secured to the partition plate  57  as shown in FIGS.  23 (A),  23 (B). The flap door  61  is driven by a driving means, not shown, to control the open area of the opening  59 . A guide plate  62  is arranged on the opposite side of the flap door  61  with respect to the opening  59  to prevent backflow of bulk materials while bulk materials flow in a direction of arrow in FIG.  23 (B). 
   Hereinafter, works of this embodiment will be described. As bulk materials are supplied from the feed hopper  37  and the rotary shaft half  6   a  is rotated in the direction indicated by a solid-line arrow in  FIG. 22 , the bulk materials are supplied into the container outer shell  7 A by the screw blade  42  and agitated and mixed between the container outer shell  7 A and the inner shell  9 . The bulk materials which have been agitated and mixed in the container outer shell  7 A are scooped up by the flap door  61  during the flap door  61  is moved upward so that the bulk materials are conveyed along the guide plate  62  into the adjacent container outer shell  7 B. During this, the flow rate of bulk materials is controlled by controlling the open area of the flap door  61 . After that, the bulk materials are conveyed successively into the container outer shells  7 C,  7 D,  7 E and are then discharged from the discharge hopper  39  by the screw blade  42 . 
   As apparent from the above description, the agitating and mixing device according to the present invention comprises a rotary shaft to be rotated by a driving means, a container outer shell fixed to the rotary shaft to tilt relative to the rotary shaft, and an inner shell fixed inside the container outer shell. Bulk materials are put into a receiving space formed between the container outer shell and the inner shell and are then agitated and mixed. Therefore, uniform agitation and mixing of bulk materials is achieved with a simple structure. 
   It should be noted that bulk materials may be agitated and mixed by rotating the container outer shell and the inner shell in directions opposite to each other.