Kneading method and apparatus

A reciprocating kneader comprising:

• a cylindrical casing;
• a screw extending into said cylindrical casing wherein said screw comprises flights;
• and
• pins extending into said cylindrical casing;
• a gear box comprising:
• a casing;
• a gear box primary shaft adapted for coupling to a motor;
• a primary rotational gear attached to said gear box primary shall which rotates in concert with said gear box primary shaft;
• a secondary rotational gear engaged with said primary rotational gear which rotates in concert with said primary rotational gear;
• a gear box secondary shaft attached to said
• secondary rotational gear which rotates in concert with said secondary rotational gear;
• a primary oscillation gear attached to said gear box
• primary shaft which rotates in concert with said gear box primary shaft;
• a secondary oscillation gear engaged with said primary oscillation gear which rotates in concert with said primary oscillation gear wherein said secondary oscillation gear rotates on said gear box secondary shaft;
• an adjustable eccentric coupled to said secondary oscillation gear wherein said adjustable eccentric rotates in concert with said secondary oscillation gear;
• a yoke engaged with said adjustable eccentric wherein said yoke oscillates on an axis perpendicular to said gear box secondary shaft in response to contact with said adjustable eccentric during rotation and said gearbox secondary shaft moves along a gearbox secondary shaft axis in concert with yoke oscillation;
• a housing pivotally attached to said yoke at a yoke
• pivot axis and pivotally attached to said casing at a casing pivot axis herein said yoke pivot axis and said casing pivot axis are not parallel;
• and
• wherein said gear box secondary shaft is coupled to said screw such that movement of said screw moves in concert with movement of said gear box secondary shaft;
• and
• a motor coupled to said gear box primary shaft.

A process for operating a reciprocating kneader which has a screw shaft which both rotates and oscillates comprising:

• providing a primary source of rotation;
• providing a secondary source of rotation driven by said primary source of rotation;
• providing rotational motion from said secondary source of rotation so as to provide oscillation to said screw;
• rotating said screw from said primary source of rotation;
• whereby said screw rotates and oscillates from said primary source of rotation and wherein the rate of oscillation per rotation does not vary with the rate of rotation from said primary source of rotation.

A process for kneading raw material in a kneader having a rotating screw with an axis of rotation within a cylindrical housing, said screw having a multiplicity of flights thereon intermeshed with stationary pins extending from said cylindrical housing, comprising the steps of:

• rotating said screw to move said raw material through said kneader such that said flights intermesh with said pins to knead said raw material;
• simultaneously reciprocating said screw such that said flights pass between said pins both rotationally and translationally in a direction parallel to the axis of the screw;
• correlating said rotation and oscillation to prohibit contact between said flights and pins;
• said oscillation occurring at a rate of two or greater oscillations per rotation.