Kneading apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016288370-A1
Application number	US-201615091958-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 6, 2016
Priority date	Apr 6, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Agitating pins employed in a kneading apparatus extend in the horizontal direction and rotate around a rotation axis of an agitator extending in the horizontal direction, so that the kneading apparatus can repeat a process in which a material is kneaded and beaten against an inner wall surface of a kneading vessel and the material adhering to the inner wall surface of the kneading vessel, especially on the upper side from the rotation axis of the agitator, falls under its own weight through the clearance between the agitating pins. As a result, the material hardly adheres to the inner wall surface of the kneading vessel, so that the kneading efficiency can be enhanced.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A kneading apparatus comprising:
a kneading vessel; and an agitator configured to be rotatably supported inside the kneading vessel to knead a material inside the kneading vessel, the agitator having a plurality of agitating pins that rotate around a rotation axis of the agitator extending in a horizontal direction and that extend in parallel to the rotation axis of the agitator inside the kneading vessel.

2 . The kneading apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an injection mold adjacent to the kneading vessel; an injection piston disposed inside the kneading vessel; and a driving device that moves the injection piston along the agitating pins to extrude the material inside the kneading vessel in the horizontal direction toward the injection mold, wherein the agitating pins penetrate the injection piston.

3 . The kneading apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a seal member that is disposed between the injection piston and an inner wall surface of the kneading vessel and fitted in the injection piston, wherein
ends of the seal member facing each other in a circumferential direction are engaged with each other, and the ends of the seal member each have a tapered portion that inclines in the opposite direction from a rotation direction of the injection piston as extending toward a space where the material is kneaded in the kneading vessel.

4 . The kneading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of agitating pins are arrayed in an S-shape or an inverted S-shape to be symmetric with respect to a rotation center as a central point of symmetry in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the agitator.

5 . The kneading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the agitating pins are configured to rotate around rotation axes of the agitating pins that extend in the horizontal direction.

6 . The kneading apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an internal gear provided on an inner wall surface of the kneading vessel; a gear meshed with the internal gear and fixed on a rotation shaft of the agitating pin; and a rotation base on which the gear is fixed and which is configured to be rotatably supported.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kajita Naoya
• Asano Junji
• NAGASHIMA Shota

Classifications

• B29C2045/536

  rotatable injection plungers · CPC title

• B29C45/531 Primary

  Drive means therefor · CPC title

• B29B7/46 Primary

  with more than one shaft · CPC title

• B29B7/44

  with paddles or arms · CPC title

• B29C45/53

  using injection ram or piston · CPC title