General Signal Corporation

George C McIntosh

Marlin D Schutte

William F Hutchings

Jonathan C Everdyke

Mixer drive apparatus, which provides gear reduction for driving the impeller shaft of the mixer. A drive shaft from an electric motor is parallel to the impeller shaft which extends through a support collar of a housing. The collar has a hole therethrough through which the impeller shaft extends into the housing. A hub is rotatably mounted on the outside of the housing and carries a gear which is coupled to a pinion on the motor drive shaft. A coupling is attached to the hub and bridges the hole in the collar. The end of the impeller shaft is cantilevered and overhung from the coupling. A gap is defined between the impeller shaft and the inside surface of the support collar which is adapted to receive a seal assembly. The seal assembly includes a retainer hub which captures a sleeve containing the seal structure in the gap between the coupling and the retainer. The seal sleeve may readily be removed upon disassembly of the coupling, which has two sections defining a split ring which clamps the upper end of the impeller shaft, and has a thrust plate with a bolt therethrough into the end of the impeller shaft for axially adjusting the location of the shaft so as to bring the seal sleeve into engagement with the coupling for rotation therewith. A support collar on the impeller shaft engages the retaining hub when the coupling releases the shaft for the removal and replacement of the seal sleeve assembly. A seal captured by the collar engages the retainer hub and provides a pressure seal to facilitate replacement of the seal sleeve when the mixer is used with a pressurized vessel.

Mixer drive apparatus

Apparatus for mixing particulate material carried in separable containers or process modules rotated with the longitudinal axis thereof at an angle other than 90.degree. to the axis of rotation thereof so that the container rotates asymmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof. The containers have mixing or process bars rotatably mounted therein and extending also at an angle other than 90.degree. so as to be horizontal when the container is in position for asymmetrical rotation during mixing operations. A docking station of the apparatus has a column connected to the drive shaft at the angle other than 90.degree., an upper arm and a lower arm which is connected to the column and to actuators which tilt the lower arm from a horizontal, container receiving position to a position essentially parallel to the upper arm for clamping the container therebetween. A coupling, between the mixing bar and a shaft which rotates the bar, has a detent which provides for automatic engagement and alignment without manual intervention.

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Dansville, NY, United States of America

George C McIntosh