High horsepower hydraulically driven continuous mixing and processing system

A high horsepower continuous processing machine for mixing, blending, compounding, reacting, devolatilizing, and pyrolytically combusting comprising:

• a. an elongate barrel having walls forming an elongate continuous processing chamber of the configuration of a plurality of intersecting cylinders, and having a material entrance at one end of the chamber and a material discharge at the other;
• b. at least a pair of spaced apart, parallel, rotatable chamber shafts extending in said processing chamber axially in each intersecting cylinder and having co-extensive, parallel chamber shaft drive portions outboard of said chamber;
• c. radially interacting, relatively angularly oriented material processing portions on each chamber shaft in co-wiping engagement with like portions on the other chamber shaft, the processing member portions being configured to also wipe the chamber walls;
• d. at least a pair of synchronously driven rotary motors for driving said chamber shafts at the same speed of rotation in the same direction, each motor having an output shaft system;
• e. a separate gear with peripheral teeth for driving each chamber shaft drive shaft portion, the respective gears lying in different radial planes so that the gear teeth of the gear for driving each chamber shaft drive shaft portion are radially offset from the gear teeth for the other chamber shaft drive shaft portion and the respective gear teeth for each said gear are not in mesh;
• and
• f. a pair of separate elongate drive gear mechanisms driven independently by each of the output shaft systems, each said drive gear mechanism being of an axial extent to simultaneously radially overlie the radially offset teeth of said gears for driving said chamber shaft drive shaft portions, each separate drive gear mechanism having teeth in mesh with the gear teeth of both of said gears so that each chamber shaft drive shaft portion and chamber shaft is driven by the output shaft system of both motors.

A method of operating a high horsepower continuous processing system for mixing, blending, compounding, reacting, devolatilizing, and pyrolytically combusting comprising an elongate barrel having walls forming an elongate continuous processing chamber of the configuration of a plurality of intersecting cylinders, and having a material entrance at one end of the chamber and a material discharge at the other, at least a pair of spaced apart, parallel, rotatable chamber shafts extending in the processing chamber axially in each intersecting cylinder and having co-extensive, parallel chamber shaft extensions outboard of the chamber, radially interacting, relatively angularly oriented material processing members on each chamber shaft in co-wiping engagement with like members on the other chamber shaft, the processing members being configured to also wipe the chamber walls, a hydraulic pump system, at least a pair of rotary hydraulic motors driven by the same said hydraulic pump system for driving the chamber shafts at the same speed of rotation and in the same direction of rotation, each motor having an output shaft system driven in the same direction of rotation, a separate gear for driving each chamber shaft extension, the gear for each chamber shaft extension lying in a different radial plane than the gear for the other chamber shaft extension so that the gears are radially offset and not in mesh, at least a pair of separate elongate drive gear mechanisms driven independently by each of the output shaft systems, each drive gear mechanism being of an axial extent to simultaneously radially overlie both of said radially offset gears for the chamber shaft extensions, each separate drive gear mechanism being itself simultaneously in mesh with both of said gears so that each chamber shaft extension and chamber shaft is driven by the output shaft system of both hydraulic motors, the steps of:

• a. pumping hydraulic fluid from the same hydraulic pumping system to each of said rotary hydraulic motors via parallel supply lines to drive the output shaft system of each at substantially the same speed;
• and
• b. mechanically transmitting the drive of each motor output shaft to each of said chamber shafts via said drive gear mechanisms and gears for the chamber shafts and rotating each chamber shaft via the torque exerted by both hydraulic motors at the same speed of rotation and in the same direction of roration regardless of the load imposed individually on the chamber shafts.

A high horsepower continuous processing machine for mixing, blending, compounding, reacting, devolatilizing, and pyrolytically combusting comprising:

• a. an elongate barrel having walls forming an elongate continuous processing chamber of the configuration of a plurality of intersecting cylinders, and having a material entrance at one end of the chamber and a material discharge at the other;
• b. at least a pair of spaced apart, parallel, rotatable chamber shafts extending in said processing chamber axially in each intersecting cylinder and having co-extensive, parallel extensions outboard of said chamber;
• c. radially interacting, relatively angularly oriented, material processing portions on each chamber shaft in co-wiping engagement with like members on the other chamber shaft, the processing members being configured to also wipe the chamber walls;
• d. at least a pair of synchronously driven rotary hydraulic motors for driving said chamber shafts at the same speed and in the same direction of rotation, each motor having an output shaft system;
• e. a gear with peripheral teeth for driving each chamber shaft extension, the gear for driving each chamber shaft extension being in radially lapping disposition with the gear for driving the other shaft extension, but lying in a different radial plane than the gear for driving the other chamber shaft extension so that the teeth of the respective gears are radially offset and not in mesh;
• and
• f. a pair of countershafts, each mounting a separate pair of intermediate drive gears driven by each of the output shaft systems, an intermediate drive gear of each pair being in mesh with said gear for driving each chamber shaft extension so that each chamber shaft extension and chamber shaft is driven by the output shaft system of both hydraulic motors.

A method of operating a high horsepower continuous processing system for mixing, blending, compounding, reacting, devolatilizing, and pyrolytically combusting comprising an elongate barrel having walls forming an elongate continuous processing chamber of the configuration of a plurality of intersecting cylinders, and having a material entrance at one end of the chamber and a material discharge at the other, at least a pair of spaced apart, parallel, rotatable chamber shafts extending in the processing chamber axially in each intersecting cylinder and having co-extensive, parallel extensions outboard of the chamber, radially interacting, relatively angularly oriented material processing members on each chamber shaft in co-wiping engagement with like members on the other chamber shaft, the processing members being configured to also wipe the chamber walls, a hydraulic pump system, at least a pair of rotary hydraulic motors driven by the same said hydraulic pump system for driving the chamber shafts at the same speed of rotation and in the same direction of rotation, each motor having an output shaft system driven in the same direction of rotation, a helical gear with helical peripheral teeth for driving each chamber shaft extension, the teeth of the helical gear for driving each chamber shaft extension being in radially offset lapping disposition with respect to the teeth of the gear for driving the other chamber shaft extension, a separate helical drive gear system driven by each of the output shaft systems, and bearings supporting said drive gear systems and chamber shaft extensions, each drive gear system being in mesh with the gear for driving each chamber shaft extension so that each chamber shaft extension and chamber shaft is driven by the output shaft systems of both hydraulic motors, the steps of:

• a. pumping hydraulic fluid from the same said hydraulic pump system to each of said rotary hydraulic motors via parallel supply lines to drive the output shaft system of each at substantially the same speed;
• and
• b. mechanically transmitting the drive of each output shaft system to each of said chamber shaft extensions via said drive gear systems and gears for driving said extensions, at 180.degree. opposite locations, to balance the loads transmitted to said bearings by said drive gear systems and gears for driving the chamber shaft extensions and chamber shafts, and rotating each chamber shaft extension and chamber shaft, via the torque exerted by the output shaft systems of both hydraulic motors, at the same speed of rotation and in the same direction of rotation.