Mixer

Claim 1

Apparatus for driving an agitator through rolling circles of epicycloid curves and hypocycloid curves, for mixing ingredients within a container which receives the agitator, said apparatus including: a shaft; means for rotating the shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof; a primary pinion and a primary gear secured on the shaft; a sun shaft; a secondary pinion; bearing means mounting the secondary pinion on the sun shaft for rotation with respect thereto, said secondary pinion being in meshing engagement with the primary gear; a support including a supporting sleeve; bearing means journalling the shaft on the support for rotation; a revolving sleeve means received within the supporting sleeve; bearing means journalling the revolving sleeve with respect to the supporting sleeve; a secondary gear secured on the revolving sleeve means in meshing engagement with the primary pinion; bearing means journalling the sun shaft, toward one end thereof, with respect to the support and toward the other end thereof with respect to the revolving sleeve means; bearing means journalling the sun shaft, toward the other end thereof, with respect to the revolving sleeve means; a sun gear secured on said sun shaft; an agitator shaft for mounting said agitator; bearing means journalling the agitator shaft with respect to the revolving sleeve means, said agitator shaft being laterally displaced from said sun shaft; a star gear secured on said agitator shaft and meshing with said sun gear; a clutch member including: a. first clutch plate means fixed with respect to the secondary pinion; b. second clutch plate means fixed with respect to said support; c. a clutch disk mounted on said sun shaft for rotation therewith, said clutch disk having a third clutch plate means for engaging the first clutch plate means and a fourth clutch plate means for alternatively engaging the second clutch means; d. means for shifting the clutch disk between a first position wherein the first and third clutch plate means are engaged, whereupon rotation of said shaft rotates the primary pinion and the secondary gear, thus rotating the revolving sleeve means to move said agitator shaft in a circle about the longitudinal axis of the sun shaft, while said primary gear rotated with said shaft rotates the secondary pinion, thereby rotating the sun gear, star gear and the agitator shaft, so that the agitator shaft rotates about the longitudinal axis thereof in the opposite sense to its rotation about the longitudinal axis of the sun shaft to provide movement of the agitator in rolling circles of hypocycloid curves, and a second position wherein the second and fourth clutch plate means are engaged, whereupon rotation of said shaft rotates the primary gear and the secondary pinion, without rotating the sun shaft on which the secondary pinion is mounted, thereby leaving the sun gear at rest, while said primary pinion rotates the secondary gear and the revolving sleeve means, causing the star gear to rotate enmeshed with the stationary sun gear, thus rotating the agitator shaft about the longitudinal axis of the sun shaft in the same sense to the rotation of the aGitator about its own longitudinal axis to provide movement of the agitator in rolling circles of epicycloid curves.