Fluid Agitator and Pump Assembly

This invention relates to fluid agitators and pumps and in particular to a system which will simultaneously mix a heavy nonsoluble material with a fluid and pump the mixture from the container.

Difficulties are encountered in mixing thin liquids with heavy thick nonsuluble materials because the fast settling time of the nonsoluble materials. If not thoroughly mixed, pumping from the bottom of a container will yield only the thick material only partially mixed with the liquid and this thick mixture will often clog the pumping apparatus. If the mixture is pumped from a location above the bottom of the container, pumping will yield the thin liquid improperly mixed with the heavier material at the bottom.

The invention to be described provides for a thorough mixing of thin liquids with heavy thick materials and the simultaneous pumping of the mixture from the bottom of the container.

Briefly described, the invention includes a vertical cylindrical container having a rotatable tube axially extending therethrough and supporting vertically aligned radial mixing blades that extend to within a fraction of an inch from and floor and side wall of the container. Within this rotatable blade driving tube is a shaft that may either rotate a pump centrally located under the floor of the container, or may drive a reciprocating piston of a pump mechanism axially formed above the interior floor of the container. Thus, fluid is mixed with the rotating tube and blades as the mixture is being pumped from an axial opening in the floor of the container.

In the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevational view of a fluid mixing and piston pump mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a plan view taken along the lines 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view of a portion of the fluid mixing and rotating pump mechanism; and

FIG. 4 is a detailed schematic diagram of the bearing ring and sole plate illustrated in FIG. 3.

Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a vertical cylindrical container 10 which may be steel and have a diameter and height of approximately 18 inches. The container sides are formed with a lip at the top edge so that it may be bolted to a circular steel cover plate 12 that should be provided with a fluid filling opening and cap 14. Bolted to the top surface of the cover plate 12 is a frame 16 having a motor support deck normal to the longitudinal axis of the container 10. The deck supports two motors, a variable speed motor 18 having an output shaft parallel with but offset from the axis of the container, and a second motor 20 having its output shaft on the axis of the container. The output shaft of the second motor 20 of FIG. 1 is linearly driven and rotation of its shaft is not required; therefore the second motor may be an solenoid and is preferably an air piston or pneumatic piston motor 20.

The output shaft of the variable speed motor 18 drives a small gear or sprocket 22 which is coupled to a larger gear or sprocket 24 either by direct gear coupling or by a chain 26. The rotational speed of the motor 18 and the subsequent gear reduction should provide a rotational speed of the larger sprocket 24 of between about 30 to 200 r.p.m. The larger sprocket 24 is connected to the axial tube 28 which enters into the container through bearings or bushings 30 secured to the top and bottom surfaces of the cover plate 12. The tube 28 coaxially extends the the container to a point about two to three inches above the interior floor of the container and is welded at that point to a pair of coplaner vertically aligned blade support plates 32 that extend outward from the tube to a position about half way to the interior wall of the cylindrical container. Welded to the lower edges of the support plates 32 are the agitator blades 34, the lower edges of which extend to within about one quarter inch from the interior floor of the container and the outer edge extends to within about one quarter inch of the container wall so that virtually all heavy nonsoluble material at the bottom of the container will be stirred by the rotating blades. To improve the mixing ability, the agitator blades 34 may have several holes 36, as shown. If desired, the blades may have an angular pitch for drawing heavy materials up from the bottom of the chamber or for forcing fluids down into the heavy material.

Because rotation of the agitator blades 34 in a heavy material may easily force the blades at the end of an 18 inch tube 28 into contact with the wall of the container, it is necessary to provide support for the blades. The agitator blades are coplanar and radially extend outward from the axis of the cylinder, but the blade edges adjacent the cylinder axis are spaced about 21/2 inches from the axis, or spaced about 5 inches from each other. Welded to the adjacent inner edges of the agitator blades 34 is a circular ring bushing 38 the smooth inner surface of which is in bearing contact with the exterior of a circular ring, designated a pump ring 40. The pump ring is bolted to a sole plate 42 which is welded to the interior floor of the container 10. Both the pump ring 40 and sole plate 42 have central holes each coaxial with the axis of the container, as will be later discussed. Thus, the pump ring 40 and hence the ring bushing 38 and agitator blades are secured against radial movement and wobble that could damage the agitator blades.

The second or pneumatic piston motor 20 secured to the cover plate frame 16 is coupled to an axially driven steel shaft 44 which extends through the center of the agitator blade drive tube 28. The lower end of the shaft 44 is connected to an elongated piston 46 which can easily fit within the bore of the tube 28. The diameter of the piston 46 is substantially the same as the diameter of the hole in the previously mentioned pump ring 40 and slightly smaller than the hole in the sole plate 42 so that the piston 46 passing into the pump ring 40 hole operates as a piston pump to drive a mixture in the container through an axial opening and exhaust pipe in the floor of the container. To assist in guiding the piston and to prevent radial movement of the piston off of the container axis, a toroidal Nylon or Teflon centering bushing 48 may be applied between the shaft 44 and bore of the tube 28.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating the lower portion of a chamber 54 adapted for use with a rotary pump 52 centrally attached to exterior floor of the chamber. The agitator drive and blade assembly is identical to that described above except that the previously discussed pump ring 40 and sole plate 42 are different as will be subsequently explained.

In the rotary pump system of FIG. 3, the pump is driven by a rotatable motor and shaft 50 which passes through the floor of the chamber 54 to the pump. If the pump 52 is secured to the external floor of the chamber, it may have input shaft bearings that will prevent wobble of the lower end of the shaft. However, if the shaft 50 is couple directly to the pump rotor, the lower end of the shaft must be braced in a bearing or bushing to prevent radial wobble of the shaft.

To prevent such wobble of shaft 50, the former pump ring 40 has been replaced with a bearing disc 56 having a smooth exterior for engagement with the agitator plate ring bushing 58 and also a smooth inner bushing surface for bearing engagement with the rotatable shaft 50. The bearing disc 56, together with a toroidal sole plate, therefore operate to substantially seal off the chamber from the chamber exit opening. To prevent such a sealing of the chamber exit an open face sole plate 60, shown in detail in FIG. 4 may be used.

FIG. 4 illustrates a sole plate that permits a flow of mixture from within the chamber to enter the pump 52. The circular plate has a plurality of mixture entrance openings in the side wall and a central opening for the passage of the shaft 50 and mixture to the pump 52, as shown in FIG. 3. The entrance openings of the sole plate are cut only through the top surface and sufficient circular material remains on the bottom surface of the sole plate so that it can be welded or otherwise attached to the interior floor of the chamber.