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US 8,360,629 B2Granted
Mixing apparatus having central and planetary mixing elements
AssigneeDePuy Spine, Inc.
InventorsOren Globerman, Mordechay Beyar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mixing apparatus comprising: a) a mixing well characterized by an internal volume not exceeding 100 ml.; b) a drive mechanism including a stationary circumferential gear on an inner surface of the mixing well; and c) a planetary mixing element driven by a mixing element gear which engages the stationary circumferential gear.
Claims22
A mixing apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
- a) a mixing well characterized by an internal volume not exceeding 100 ml.;
- b) a drive mechanism including a stationary circumferential gear on an inner surface of the mixing well;
- c) a planetary mixing element driven by a mixing element gear which engages the stationary circumferential gear;
- d) a central mixing element positioned substantially at a center of the mixing well;
- and
- e) a wiping element adapted to concurrently engage an inner surface of the mixing well and the planetary mixing element
- wherein the planetary mixing element revolves around the central mixing element.
4 more elements
A mixing apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
- a) a mixing well characterized by an internal volume not exceeding 100 ml.;
- b) a central mixing element deployed substantially at a center of the mixing well;
- c) at least one planetary mixing element which revolves around the central mixing element;
- wherein a first distance (d1) between the central mixing element and the planetary mixing element is substantially equivalent to a second distance (d2) between the planetary mixing element and an inner surface of the mixing well.
1 more element
A method of mixing components of a viscous mixture, the method comprising:
- a) placing the components in a mixing well characterized by an inner volume of not more than 100 ml;
- b) deploying a drive mechanism including a stationary circumferential gear on an inner surface of the mixing well, at least one planetary mixing element driven by a mixing element gear which engages the stationary circumferential gear, and a central mixing element in the mixing well;
- and
- c) operating the drive mechanism to cause the planetary mixing element to both rotate about its own axis and revolve around the central mixing element in order to mix the components to form a mixture;
- wherein the drive mechanism is adapted to provide sufficient shear force to mix a mixture characterized by a viscosity of at least 500 Pascal/second.
2 more elements
A method of mixing components of a viscous mixture, the method comprising:
- a) placing the components in a mixing well characterized by an inner volume of not more than 100 ml;
- b) deploying a drive mechanism including a stationary circumferential gear on an inner surface of the mixing well, at least one planetary mixing element driven by a mixing element gear which engages the stationary circumferential gear, and a central mixing element in the mixing well;
- and
- c) operating the drive mechanism to cause the planetary mixing element to both rotate about its own axis and revolve around the central mixing element in order to mix the components to form a mixture;
- wherein the drive mechanism is a manual drive mechanism and the method comprises manually operating the drive mechanism.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.