Mixer with helically extending blades

A mixer, comprising:

• (a) a vessel for receiving materials to be mixed, and having cylindrical inner walls;
• (b) a beater assembly rotatably mounted and centrally disposed within said vessel, and comprising:
• i. an elongate drive shaft including a plurality of radially-extending support arms connected to a base end thereof;
• ii. and a plurality of helically extending mixer blades connected at respective bottom ends thereof to the support arms of said drive shah for rotational movement about an axis defined by the drive shaft, the mixer blades cooperating upon a single rotation of said beater assembly to move materials residing immediately adjacent to the inner walls of the vessel inwardly towards the axis of rotation, and to simultaneously move materials residing near the axis of rotation outwardly towards the inner walls of the vessel, whereby the materials in the vessel are continually transferred during mixing between a center portion of the vessel and an outer portion of the vessel for uniform mixing and cooling of the materials;
• iii. an annular support hoop attached to respective top ends of the mixer blades for controlling the inward and outward deflection of the mixer blades during mixing, and cooperating with said support arms to define an unobstructed area extending radially outwardly from the drive shaft to a circular path defined by said mixer blades during mixing, and axially along the length of said drive shaft between top and bottom ends of said blades;
• iv. said mixer blades being supported entirely by said hoop and said arms;
• (c) a disperser blade rotatably mounted on a second drive shaft received within said hoop, and extending downwardly into the unobstructed area of the beater assembly shearing and mixing relatively fine materials contained in said vessel;
• (d) first and second motor means for rotating the respective first and second drive shafts.