Controlled continuous mixer

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS INTERNAL MIXER COMPRISING A BARREL FORMING TWO LATERALLY INTERCONNECTING SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL AND MUTUALLY PARALLEL CHAMBERS HAVING AT ONE END A COMMON DISCHARGE ORIFICE, BLADED ROTORS LOCATED IN SAID CHAMBERS, MEANS FOR RECEIVING THE MATERIAL TO BE MIXED AND STUFFING UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID CHAMBERS AT A LOCATION SPACED FROM SAID DISCHARGE ORIFICE, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID ROTORS, EACH OF SAID ROTORS HAVING A BLADE WITH A CROSS SECTION THAT IS SUBSTANTIALLY LIKE THAT OF A BANBURY-TYPE BLADE AND HAVING A PORTION THAT TWISTS AWAY FROM ITS DIRECTION OF ROTATION AND A PORTION THAT TWISTS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, THE LENGTH AND TWIST RATIO BETWEEN SAID OPPOSITELY TWISTING PORTIONS OF SAID BLADE BEING SUCH THAT WHEN SAID CHAMBERS CONTAIN SAID MATERIAL THE AVERAGE OF THE AXIALLY DIRECTED FORCES APPLIED TO THE LATTER BY SAID BLADES IS INSUFFICIENT TO FORCE THE MATERIAL THROUGH SAID ORIFICE, WHEREBY THE OVERALL AXIAL TRAVEL OF SAID MATERIAL THROUGH SAID CHAMBERS IS DEPENDENT ON THE RATE AT WHICH IT IS RECEIVED BY THE FIRST NAMED MEANS, SAID DISCHARGE ORIFICE OPENING TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID CHAMBERS AND HAVING A DEPTH IN THE AXIAL DIRECTION OF SAID CHAMBERS THAT IS RELATIVELY SMALL AS COMPARED TO THE OVERALL LENGTH OF SAID CHAMBERS AND ROTORS, AND HAVING A WIDTH THAT IS SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN ITS DEPTH, SAID ORIFICE BEING LOCATED CENTRALLY ACROSS THE JUNCTIONS OF SAID CHAMBERS AND AT LEAST MAINLY I N OVERLAPPED RELATION WITH RESPECT TO THE PORTIONS OF SAID BLADE ADJACENT THERETO, SAID ORIFICE BEING PROVIDED WITH WALLS WHICH EXTEND TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID ROTORS TO FORM WHAT IS SUBSTANTIALLY A RECTANGULAR TUBE LONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED RESTRAINT TO SAID MATERIAL WHEN DISCHARGING THERETHROUGH; AND MEANS FOR VARYING THE INTERSPACING OF TWO OF SAID WALLS TO VARY SAID RESTRAINT, SAID MEANS FOR VARYING SAID INTERSPACING BEING A CONTROLLABLE POWERED MEANS, AND TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS LOCATED TO MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE HEAT CREATED IN SAID MATERIAL BY SAID ROTORS, AND MEANS AUTOMATICALLY RESPONSIVE TO SAID TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID POWER MEANS FOR VARYING THE INTERSPACING OF SAID TWO WALLS OF SAID ORIFICE.