FR3074061A1 - AGITATOR FOR THE AGITATION OF THE CONTENT OF MIXERS POTS CLOSED BY A COVER THROUGH WHICH MAKES A TREE WITH AN AGITATOR - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an installation for agitating the contents of mixing pots (30) closed by a cover (31) through which a shaft (32) provided with a stirrer protrudes, said installation comprising a base (2) and at least one cell (3) surmounting said base (2), this cell (3) comprising two uprights (4) and at least one element (6) leading, each element (6) leading being able to cooperate with a led carried element by the portion of the mixing shaft (32) of the mixing pot (30) protruding above the lid (31) of the pot (30). At least one of the cells (3) to at least one driving element (6) comprises a rotary shaft adapted to extend from one of the uprights (4) towards the other upright (4) and a system (8) for rotating the shaft, this shaft carrying each element (6) leading to the cell (3), each element (6) comprising a driving portion (9) endless screw rotatably mounted said rotary shaft, this portion (9) of worm of shorter length to the shaft surrounding the rotary shaft coaxially with said shaft.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an installation, such as a cabinet, for stirring the contents, such as paint, of mixing pots closed by a cover through which protrudes a tree provided with an agitator.

It relates in particular to an installation comprising a base and at least one cell surmounting said base, the or at least one of the cells comprising two uprights and at least one driving element, each driving element being able to cooperate with a driven element carried by the portion of the mixing shaft of the mixing jar protruding above the jar lid.

PRIOR ART

Such an installation in which the driving and driven elements engage in a disengageable manner when positioning the pot in the installation to form an automatic head for driving the movement of the agitator shaft of the mixing pot is known as illustrated in particular Patent EP 1 488 847. However, the solution, as described in patent EP 1 488 847, is complex and expensive, in particular in the case of a large distance between uprights.

There are also installations in which the or each cell has a single driving element formed by a worm screw extending from one upright towards the other upright. The problem with such a solution is the cost of manufacturing the worm which must be custom made, in particular in the case of a large distance between uprights. In addition, in the event of failure or damage to part of the worm, it is necessary to change the entire worm. It is for this reason that the worm solution has not become widespread.

GOALS AND SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to propose an installation whose design makes it possible to avoid the drawbacks of the state of the art.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an installation, such as a cabinet, for agitating the content, such as paint, of mixing pots closed by a cover through which protrudes a tree provided with a agitator, said installation comprising a base and at least one cell surmounting said base, the or at least one of the cells comprising two uprights and at least one driving element, each driving element of the cell being able to cooperate with a carried driven element by the portion of the mixing shaft of the mixing pot projecting above the lid of the pot, characterized in that the or at least one of the cells with at least one driving element comprises a rotary shaft capable of extending from the one of the uprights towards the other upright and a system for driving the shaft in rotation, this shaft carrying each element leading from the cell, each element leading from the cell comprising a section of screws s years end mounted integral in rotation with said rotary shaft, this worm section of length less than the length of the rotary shaft surrounding the rotary shaft coaxially with said shaft.

The production of leading elements in the form of worm sections allows a reduction in cost without detracting from the possibility for each driving element to cooperate with an element driven by engaging in disengageable manner by meshing the driving and driven elements during positioning the pot in the installation to form an automatic drive head for moving the agitator shaft of the mixing pot.

This results in the possibility of adapting the number of sections of worm gear to the length of the shaft and / or to the format of the mixing pots. It is thus possible to have a very long shaft with a reduced number of worm sections, in particular when the pots are large format pots.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the worm sections is threaded onto the shaft.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the worm sections is removably attached to the shaft. Again, in addition to the modularity that this solution offers in terms of number of sections, it is possible to replace a worm section without having to change the other worm sections. This results in a reduced maintenance cost.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the sections of worm comprises a sleeve and a spiral winding arranged around the sleeve, the turns of the spiral winding forming the screw threads of the section of the worm, the turns of the winding and the sleeve being made in one piece.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the sections of worm comprises a sleeve and a spiral winding arranged around the sleeve, the turns of the spiral winding forming the screw threads of the section of the worm, the spiral winding being formed by a helical spring.

Such embodiments make it possible to dispense with any machining so that the cost is reduced.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve is provided with at least one through radial bore for fixing the sleeve to said rotary shaft.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve is provided, at one of its ends, with a shoulder against which one end of the spring bears.

Preferably, the shoulder is an external peripheral shoulder and the bearing surface of the shoulder against which one end of the spring bears is formed by a part of an external radial surface of the shoulder shaped as a portion of helical ramp.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve has, at one of its ends, a flat, against which one end of the spring bears.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the system for driving in rotation the or at least one of the rotary shafts carrying at least one driving element comprises a motor with a motor axis coaxial with the rotary shaft and engaged with said shaft, this motor being disposed at one end of the rotary shaft, in the extension of the rotary shaft.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the installation comprises a plurality of superimposed cells and the amount of each cell is coupled by interlocking with the amount of each contiguous cell.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view taken from the rear of an installation according to the invention in exploded position of at least part of the elements of the installation;

2 shows a partial sectional view of the installation of Figure 1 equipped with mixing pots;

FIG. 3 represents a front view in partial section taken from the front of an installation according to the invention associated with a detail view;

Figure 4 shows in perspective a detail view of the engagement of a leading element of the installation with a driven element;

Figure 5 shows a partial top view of a driving element engaged with a driven element.

Figure 6 shows a partial view of a tree and two drive elements, one of which is mounted on the tree.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The installation 1 for stirring the content of 30 mixing jars, object of the invention, comprises a base 2 and at least one cell 3 surmounting the base 2 to form an open cabinet. In the example shown, the installation 1 comprises several superimposed cells 3 but could have included, in an equivalent manner, a single cell. The base includes two uprights connected by a tray. The or one of the cells 3, in this case each cell 3, comprises two uprights 4 and at least one leading element 6. In the examples shown, each cell 3 comprises several leading elements 6. Alternatively, it could have understood only one leading element. In the case of a plurality of cells 3 superimposed as shown, the amount 4 of each cell is coupled by interlocking with the amount of each adjacent cell 3.

This cell 3 also comprises a cross 5 connecting said uprights 4 to each other. This cross-member takes the form of a tablet forming the ceiling of the cell 3. This tablet is preferably hollow to house therein in particular the leading elements 6 of the cell of which it forms the ceiling. In parallel, the mixing jars 30 which may contain, for example, paint, consist of a generally cylindrical body closed by a lid 31. This lid 31 is equipped, in a manner known per se, with means for distributing the content of the jar, such as 'a spout, and an agitator 33 of the contents of the pot. This agitator 33 is constituted by a shaft 32 housed inside the pot 30 and projecting through the cover 31 of the pot 30. The part of the shaft 32, housed inside the pot, is equipped with at least one blade allowing the contents of the pot 30 to be agitated during a rotation drive of this shaft 32. The other free end of the shaft 32, projecting above the cover 31 of the pot 30, is equipped with a driven element 34 engaging with an element 6 leading when positioning the pot 30 in the installation 1. The driven element 34 is, in the example shown, formed by a pinion coaxial with the shaft 32 provided with an agitator 33 and called the shaft 32 mixer of the pot 30.

The driving element 6 is a section of worm capable of engaging by meshing with the pinion constituting the element 32 led in the positioned state of a mixing pot 30 in a cell 3. Thus, the driving elements 6 and driven 32 engage in a disengageable manner by engagement when positioning the mixing pot 30 in the installation 1 to form an automatic head for driving the movement of the agitator shaft 32 of the mixing pot 30. To facilitate such engagement, the leading elements 6 of a cell 3 are mounted on a shaft 7 which, in the configuration of use of the installation, extends horizontally inside the cell 3 from the one of the uprights 4 in the direction of the other upright 4 of the cell 3. This shaft 7 is a smooth shaft. This shaft 7 can extend in overhang from one of the uprights 4 or connect said uprights 4 together. This shaft 7 is driven in rotation by a rotation drive system 8 which can be an individual rotation drive system as in the example shown or common to several shafts 7. Thus, in the example shown, the system 8 rotational drive comprises a motor 81 per shaft 7. This motor 81 is disposed at one end of the rotary shaft 7 in the extension of the rotary shaft 7 and has an axis 82 motor coaxial with the rotary shaft 7 and in engagement with said shaft 7. Thus, in the example shown, the motor 81 is housed in an upright 4 in the form of a hollow section of the cell and the motor shaft 82 passes through a wall of the upright 4 for engaging by interlocking with the shaft 7 which extends between the uprights 4 inside the cell.

As mentioned above, the rotary shaft 7 fitted to each cell carries each leading element 6, in this case here the plurality of leading elements 6 of said cell. Each leading element 6 comprises a section 9 of endless screw mounted integral in rotation with the rotary shaft 7. This section 9 of worm screw surrounds the rotary shaft 7 coaxially with said shaft 7 and is of length less than the length of the rotary shaft 7.

Each endless screw section is an insert on the rotary shaft 7.

In the examples shown, this section 9 of screw is threaded on the shaft 7 and is removably attached to the shaft 7 using a locking means, of the rivet type.

The number of worm sections can vary from one shaft 7 to another. Thus, this number of screw sections can be adapted to the format of the mixing pots which can be different from one cell to another.

In the examples shown, each section 9 of endless screw is threaded on the shaft 7. In the example of FIG. 6, each section 9 of endless screw comprises a sleeve 10 and a helical spring 11 disposed around the sleeve 10 The turns of the spring 11 form the screw threads of the section 9 of the worm. For fixing the spring 11 on the sleeve 10, the sleeve 10 is provided, at one of its ends, with a shoulder 14 against which one end of the spring 11 bears. This shoulder 14 is an external peripheral shoulder forming a flange around the sleeve. The face of the flange facing the end of the sleeve, other than that equipped with the shoulder, forms a surface from the radial shoulder to the sleeve. A part of this radial surface is shaped as a portion of a helical ramp 15 which forms the bearing surface of one end of the spring 11. The other end of the helical spring 11 is supported on a part of the sleeve adjoining the end of the sleeve opposite to that provided with the shoulder 14.

To this end, the sleeve 10 has, at this end, a flat 16 against which said end of the spring 11 bears. This flat 16 is formed on the outer surface of the wall delimiting the sleeve in the vicinity of one end of the sleeve 10. Thanks to this arrangement, the spring can be easily mounted on the sleeve 10 or removed from the sleeve 10.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the section 9 of worm comprises a sleeve 10 and a spiral winding arranged around the sleeve and produced in one piece with the sleeve 10.

For fixing the sleeve 10 to the shaft 7, the sleeve 10 is provided with a through radial bore 12. This attachment is preferably removable. By way of example, a fixing member 13, such as a rivet, is introduced into the radial through hole of the sleeve and comes to bear on or in the body of the shaft 7.

To allow engagement in good conditions between the driving element and the driven element, each cell 3 is equipped with means for holding the pot 30 in position inside the cell 3, in fixed rotation. These holding means are well known to those versed in this art and can affect a large number of forms. Generally, these holding means are arranged at the level of the shelf forming the cell ceiling. It should be noted that each pot is, in the inserted state in a cell, be placed on the floor forming part of the cell, namely the base of the cell for the lowest cell or the top face of the shelf for the other cells, be maintained in the suspended state in said cell. In the example shown, the first solution was chosen.

The means for holding in position here take the form of a stirrup delimiting a half-collar capable of enclosing the mixing axis of the pot, this stirrup being disposed on the shelf at the plane passing through the axis of the mixing pot and the section of screw with which the pinion of the axis of the mixing pot engages.

The immobilization of the mixing pot in rotation is preferably carried out by means of a yoke or a staple system.

In the example shown and as mentioned above, the shelf forming the ceiling of each cell is hollow to accommodate a shaft 7 carrying the driving elements 6. For this purpose, each shelf is, on its edge, provided with windows at the level of which is disposed a driving element 6 for an engagement of the driving element with the driven element of a mixing pot in the positioned state of the mixing pot between the uprights of the cell with the driven element of the mixing pot extending opposite the driving element.

The operation of such an installation is therefore, with regard to the installation and removal of the pots, similar to what is known in the state of the art. In particular, thanks to such an installation, it is possible to set up or remove a mixing pot without interrupting the rotational drive of the rotary shaft 7.

Claims (10)

1. Installation (1), such as a cabinet, for stirring the contents, such as paint, of pots (30) mixers closed by a cover (31) through which protrudes a tree (32) provided with 'an agitator (33), said installation (1) comprising a base (2) and at least one cell (3) surmounting said base (2), the or at least one of the cells (3) comprising two uprights (4 ) and at least one element (6) leading, each element (6) leading from the cell (3) being able to cooperate with an element (34) driven carried by the portion of the shaft (32) mixing the pot (30 ) mixer projecting above the lid (31) of the pot (30), characterized in that the or at least one of the cells (3) with at least one element (6) leading comprises a rotary shaft (7) capable to extend from one of the uprights (4) towards the other upright (4) and a system (8) for rotating the shaft (7), this shaft (7) carrying each element (6) leading from cell (3), each element (6) leading from the cell (3) comprising a section (9) of endless screw mounted integral in rotation with said rotary shaft (7), this section (9) of endless screw of shorter length to the length of the rotary shaft (7) surrounding the rotary shaft (7) coaxially with said shaft (7). 2. Installation (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the or at least one of the sections (9) of worm is threaded on the shaft (7). 3. Installation (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the or at least one of the sections (9) of worm is removably attached to the shaft (7). 4. Installation (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the or at least one of the sections (9) of worm comprises a sleeve (10) and a spiral winding (11) arranged around the sleeve (10), the turns of the spiral winding (11) forming the screw threads of the section (9) of the worm, the turns of the winding (11) and the sleeve (10) being produced in one piece. 5. Installation (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the or at least one of the sections (9) of worm comprises a sleeve (10) and a spiral winding arranged around the sleeve (10), the turns of the spiral winding (11) forming the screw threads of the section (9) of the worm, the spiral winding being formed by a helical spring (11). 6. Installation (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the sleeve (10) is provided, at one of its ends, with a shoulder (14) against which one end of the spring (11) is supported. 7. Installation (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the shoulder (14) is an external peripheral shoulder and in that the bearing surface of the shoulder (14) against which one end of the spring (11 ) is supported is formed by a part of a radial surface of the shoulder (14) shaped as a portion of a helical ramp (15). 8. Installation (1) according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the sleeve (10) has, at one of its ends, a flat (16), against which one end of the spring (11) is supported. 9. Installation (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the system (8) for driving in rotation the or at least one of the rotary shafts (7) carrying at least a driving element (6) comprises a motor (81) with an axis (82) motor coaxial with the rotary shaft (7) and in engagement with said shaft (7), this motor (81) being disposed at one end of the 'rotary shaft (7), in the extension of the rotary shaft (7). 10. Installation (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of cells (3) superimposed and in that the upright (4) of each cell (3) is coupled by interlocking with the amount (4) of each contiguous cell (3).