Coupling structure for twin mixer shafts

Claim 2

A multiple shaft mixer including: a pair of closely spaced, side-by-side longitudinal mixer shafts having mixer elements thereon for forwarding material to be mixed in a forward path of travel; means journaling said mixer shafts for rotation about their axes; mixer housing means for said mixer shafts; a pair of closely spaced side-by-side longitudinal drive shafts axially aligned with said mixer shafts for rotating said mixer shafts about their own axes; and apparatus for coupling said mixer shafts with said drive shafts comprising: a pair of shaft gripping coupling members for coupling said drive shafts with the mixer shafts axially aligned therewith; each of said members including axially spaced sections intermeshed with the axially spaced sections of the other of said members.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each coupling member has axially adjacent sections which are of differing radial extents and the sections of one member are in co-wiping relation with the sections of the other member.

Claim 4

The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said coupling members comprises a pair of confronting, separable, symmetrical half portions for releasably gripping opposite sides of each of said drive and mixer shafts; and means for removably clamping the half portions of each coupling member to opposite sides of each of said drive and mixer shafts; the half portions of each coupling member cooperating to define said axially spaced sections.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the axially spaced sections of each coupling member are equally eccentric, each coupling member having axially adjacent sections which are 180* out-of-phase with each other.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said axially spaced sections of each coupling member are eccentric cylindrical members in wiping engagement with the eccentric cylindrical members of the other of said coupling members.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said axially spaced sections of each coupling member define a screw having flights intermeshed with the flights of the other coupling member.

Claim 8

The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said coupling members includes a pair of longitudinal, symmetric shaft gripping members, for gripping said aligned drive and mixer shafts to be coupled, and means for removably connecting said gripping members and shafts together, each of said shaft gripping members including a plurality of axially spaced eccentrically disposed portions constituting said axially spaced sections.

Claim 9

The apparatus set forth in claim 7 wherein said plurality of eccentric portions on each shaft comprise first and second groups of 180* out-of-phase, equally eccentric members.

Claim 10

The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherei each of said coupling members includes a pair of removably coupled, confronting half portions for gripping and coupling said axially aligned mixer and drive shafts, said half portions of each of said coupling members cooperating to define said axially spaced sections, said axially spaced sections being cylindrical sections of substantially the same diameter, the axially spaced sections of one member being intermeshed with the cylindrical sections of the other coupling member, the distance between the axes of said mixer shafts being substantially equal to the diameter of said cylindrical sections.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the diameters of the axially spaced cylindrical sections of each coupling member are substantially equal.

Claim 12

A multiple shaft mixer including: a pair of closely spaced, parallel mixer shafts having mixer members thereon; means journaling said mixer shafts for rotation about their axes; housing means for said mixer shafts; a pair of closely spaced parallel shafts in axial alignment with said pair of mixer shafts; and a pair of coupling means for coupling said mixer shafts with said last mentioned shafts; each of said coupling means including a plurality of axially spaced eccentrically disposed means intermeshed with the axially spaced eccentrically disposed means of the other of said coupling means.

Claim 13

A multiple shaft mixer including: a pair of closely spaced, parallel mixer shafts having mixer members thereon; means journaling said mixer shafts for rotation about their axes; housing means for said mixer shafts; a pair of closely spaced parallel shafts in axial alignment with said pair of mixer shafts; and a pair of coupling means for coupling said mixer shafts with said last mentioned shafts; each of said coupling means including a plurality of axially spaced eccentrically disposed means intermeshed with the axially spaced eccentrically disposed means of the other of said coupling means.

Claim 14

The apparatus set forth in claim 11 wherein the eccentrically disposed means on said coupling means are in wiping engagement; and each of said coupling means includes first and second, opposed, partible portions, and means for removably clamping said particle portions to said axially aligned shafts.

Claim 15

The apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein said eccentrically disposed means on each shaft comprises a plurality of axially spaced members, all of which are equally eccentric relative to the axes of the shafts which they couple, each eccentric means having adjacent members 180* out-of-phase with each other and rigidly connected together for simultaneous movement.

Claim 16

The apparatus set forth in claim 11 wherein said eccentrically disposed means on each coupling means comprises first and second axially spaced, 180* out-of-phase eccentric portions in radial alignment with the first and second axially spaced 180* out-of-phase eccentric portions, respectively, of the other shaft.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each of said first and second eccentric portions are cylindrical and have substantially equal diameters, the distance between the axes of said shafts being substantially equal to the diameters of said cylindrical portions.

Claim 18

A shaft coupling member for coupling the aligned adjacent ends of an axially aligned pair of shafts, such as mixer shafts and the like, said coupling member comprising: a pair of longitudinally extending, radially confronting, shaft gripping members for gripping the said aligned, adjacent ends of a pair of axially aligned shafts to be coupled; and means for connecting said gripping members and said shafts together, each of said shaft gripping members including a plurality of axially spaced 180* out-of-phase, equally eccentric portions.

Claim 19

A shaft coupling member for coupling the aligned adjacent ends of an axially aligned pair of shafts, such as mixer shafts and the like, said coupling member comprising: a pair of longitudinally extending, radially confronting, shaft gripping members for gripping the said aligned, adjacent ends of a pair of axially aligned shafts to be coupled; and means for connecting said gripping members and said shafts together, each of said shaft gripping members including a plurality of axially spaced 180* out-of-phase, equally eccentric portions.

Claim 20

The coupling member of claim 16 wherein said connecting means comprises a plurality of clamping members engageable with said eccentric portions for clamping said pair of shaft gripping members to said shafts.

Claim 21

Apparatus including a mechanism for coupling the aligned adjacent ends of an axially aligned pair of shafts, such as mixer shafts with a second pair of shafts comprising: a pair of axially parallel, longitudinally extending shafts; a second pair of axially parallel, longitudinally extending shafts in axial alignment therewith; said pairs of shafts having adjacent shaft ends in near abutting relation; a pair of longitudinally extending, radially confronting, shaft uniting, coupling members spanning the axially adjacent ends of said shafts; and means for connecting said coupling members with said shafts to transmit rotational movement from one pair of shafts to the other; said coupling members each comprising axially split portions having a plurality of sections which are eccentric to the axes of the shafts on which they are mounted and intermeshed with like sections on the other coupling member.

Claim 22

Apparatus including a mechanism for coupling the aligned adjacent ends of an axially aligned pair of shafts, such as mixer shafts with a second pair of shafts comprising: a pair of axially parallel, longitudinally extending shafts; a second pair of axially parallel, longitudinally extending shafts in axial alignment therewith; said pairs of shafts having adjacent shaft ends in near abutting relation; a pair of longitudinally extending, radially confronting, shaft uniting, coupling members spanning the axially adjacent ends of said shafts; and means for connecting said coupling members with said shafts to transmit rotational movement from one pair of shafts to the other; said coupling members each comprising axially split portions having a plurality of sections which are eccentric to the axes of the shafts on which they are mounted and intermeshed with like sections on the other coupling member.

Claim 23

The combination defined in claim 18 in which said sections form intermeshed helices.

Claim 24

The combination defined in claim 18 in which said intermeshed coupling members have radially co-wiping sections which are generally oppositely eccentric.