Fluid mixer with rotating baffles

Claim 1

A FLUID MIXING APPARATUS COMPRISING: AN AXIALLY ELONGATED VESSEL ONE END OF WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE OTHER, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE, AXIALLY SPACED, ANNULAR STATOR BAFFLES FIXED WITHIN SAID VESSEL, HAVING OPPOSED FACES AND CENTRAL OPENINGS, AND DEFINING A SERIES OF COMPARTMENTS WHICH ARE IN CONSECUTIVE COMMUNICATION THROUGH SAID OPENINGS, MEANS FOR ADMITTING FLUID TO THE VESSEL AT ONE OF THE SERIES AND FOR DISCHARGING THE FLUID AT THE OTHER END OF THE SERIES, AND A ROTOR INCLUDING A ROTATABLY MOUNTED SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS WITH AMPLE RADICAL CLEARANCES WITH RESPECT TO THE STATOR BAFFLES FOR THE FREE PASSAGE OF FLUID THROUGH THE OPENINGS AND CARRYING FAST FOR ROTATION THEREWITH A PLURALITY OF ROTOR BAFFLES DISTRIBUTED AMONG A PLURALITY OF SAID COMPARTMENTS AND SITUATED IN AXIALLY SPACED RELATION TO THE STATOR BAFFLES, THE SPATIAL RELATIONS OF THE STATOR BAFFLES TO THE RESPECTIVELY ADJACENT ROTOR BAFFLES BEING RECURRENTLY VARYING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE SHAFT SO AS TO PRODUCE A SERIES OF MIXING ZONE OF ALTERNATING INTER-COMPARTMENT FLUID INTERMIXING RATES FOR LIMITING BACK-MIXING.