Vacuum pug mill
OwnerJared Pazinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pug mill having a housing and a cantilevered shaft extending through the housing includes, in seriatim, a vacuum chamber, a wall, a mixing chamber and a reduction cone. A communication port about the shaft is positioned in the wall between the vacuum chamber and the mixing chamber. Vacuum can be maintained within the mixing chamber by air passing through the port. An auger associated with the shaft forces clay toward the reduction cone. This creates a seal for maintaining vacuum within the mixing chamber and extrudes cylindrical blocks of conditioned clay without significant air bubbles. A deflection plate rotating with the shaft and a spiral element about the shaft keep the communication port clear. The shaft is eccentrically mounted. The dividing wall is removable.
Claims9
A pug mill comprising
- a sealable chamber;
- a wall dividing the sealable chamber into a mixing chamber and a vacuum chamber, the wall including a communication port therethrough in communication with the mixing chamber and the vacuum chamber;
- a shaft rotatably mounted about a rotational axis relative to and extending into the mixing chamber through the communication port;
- a deflection plate fixed on the rotatably mounted shaft in the mixing chamber immediately adjacent the wall and extending radially outwardly from the shaft beyond the communication port, the deflection plate having two deflection surfaces, each of the two surfaces extending at an incline away from adjacent the wall and meeting at a common apex extending radially from the shaft, the two surfaces being symmetrical about the apex.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.