Agitator for orbital agitation
US5988869A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 29, 1998 |
| Grant date | Nov 23, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 29, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB01F2035/352
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
An agitator capable of generating complex mixing motions is described. In some embodiments, an agitator in accordance with the present teachings includes a movable assembly that is suspended, via several resilient supports, from a frame. The movable assembly receives a vessel containing a material(s) to be agitated. The movable assembly advantageously includes spaced upper and lower plates having a rotatably-supported member disposed therebetween. The mass of the rotatably-supported member is asymmetrically distributed about its rotational axis. A drive force, such as a directed air flow, which may be used in conjunction with a belt drive mechanism, causes the rotatably-supported member to rotate. Due to the asymmetric mass distribution of the rotatably-supported member, force is non-uniformly applied to resilient supports such that, at any given time, some of such resilient supports are subjected to a compressive force while other resilient supports are placed under tension. The particular resilient supports that are subjected to the compressive force change as a function of the rotation of the rotatably-supported member, thereby placing the movable assembly in orbital motion and …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.