Twin screw extruder with high-speed bearing support
AssigneeWenger Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorBobbie W. Hauck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A twin screw extruder (10) including an elongated barrel (12), a pair of elongated rotatable screws (14) and (16) positioned within the barrel (12) for moving material therethrough, and a high-speed bearing support assembly (18) for supporting the screws (14, 16) against misalignment and wear. The bearing support assembly (18) includes a pair of rotors (42, 44) each operably coupled with corresponding extruder screws (14, 16) for rotation therewith and a stator member (46) coupled with the extruder barrel (12) for receiving the rotors (42, 44). The stator (46) includes a plurality of injection ports (62) for directing an edible lubricant such as liquid fat into the bearing assembly (18) during operation of extruder (10).
Claims5
An extruder comprising:
- an elongated barrel presenting an inlet end, a spaced outlet end, and an elongated internal bore extending between said inlet and outlet ends;
- a pair of elongated, juxtaposed, axially rotatable flighted screws positioned within said bore for moving material therethrough;
- and
- a bearing assembly interposed between said barrel inlet and outlet ends and operably coupled with said screws for maintaining the radial position of said screws within said bore,
- said bearing assembly including a rotor operably coupled with each of said screws for rotation therewith, and a stator operably coupled with said barrel, said stator having structure defining a pair of openings respectively receiving a corresponding one of said rotors to present a rotor/stator bearing interface, and a passageway separate from and spaced from said rotor/stator bearing interface for allowing passage of said material through the bearing assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.