Mixing apparatus
AssigneeRed Devil Equipment Company
InventorRandy J. Brunn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mixing apparatus for providing gyroscopic movement to a mixing container via a direct drive system including a fixed ring gear, a planetary gear engaging the ring gear and a mechanism for rotating the container both about a center drive axis and an orbiting axis which is angularly displaced from the center drive axis. The invention also relates to a mechanism for facilitating insertion and removal of the container from the mixing apparatus including a mixer chassis and a top lid and lid closure assembly which are pivotally connected to a portion of the mixer chassis.
Claims21
A mixing apparatus comprising:
- a support frame;
- a fixed gear connected with said support frame and having gear teeth arranged in a generally circular path around a first axis;
- a mixer chassis carrying clamp means for holding a container of material to be mixed, said clamp means including container gripping means rotatable relative to said mixer chassis about a second axis for gripping engagement with the container of material to be mixed and a lid closure assembly connected with said gripping means for moving said gripping means between a closed position in which the container is in gripping engagement and an open position in which the container is released from gripping engagement;
- first drive means for rotating said mixer chassis about said first axis;
- and
- second drive means carried by said mixer chassis for rotating said gripping means about said second axis, said second drive means including a planetary gear having gear teeth for engagement with the gear teeth of said fixed gear and a planetary gear shaft extending from said planetary gear, whereby said planetary gear and said planetary gear shaft rotate as said mixer chassis rotates about said first axis;
- and
- means connected with said planetary gear shaft and said gripping means for transmitting rotational movement of said planetary gear shaft to said gripping means.
A mixing apparatus comprising:
- a support frame;
- a mixer chassis rotatable about a first axis and carrying clamp means for holding a container of material to be mixed, said clamp means including container gripping means rotatable relative to said mixer chassis about a second axis for gripping engagement with the container of material to be mixed, said gripping means including a bottom pallet and a top lid;
- first drive means for rotating said mixer chassis about said first axis;
- second drive means for rotating said gripping means about said second axis;
- and
- said clamp means further including a lid closure assembly connected with said top lid and pivotally connected to said mixer chassis, whereby said lid closure assembly and said top lid connected thereto are pivotally movable between a closed position in which said lid is in gripping engagement with the container and an open position in which said lid is disengaged from the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.