US2494118A

US2494118A - Control for tiltable mixing drums

Info

Publication number: US2494118A
Application number: US700274A
Authority: US
Inventors: Essick Bryant
Original assignee: ESSICK Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: ESSICK Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1946-09-30
Filing date: 1946-09-30
Publication date: 1950-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1967-01-10

Description

. Jan. 10, 1950 B. ESSICK CONTROL FOR TILTABLE MIXING DRUMS Filed Sept. 50, 1946 9 7' TOENE Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Essick Manufacturing Company, Los Angeles, Calif a corporation of California Application September 30,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a control'for a tiltable mixing drum and it is a general object of the invention to provide a simple inexpensive and practical control for a tiltable mixing drum such as the drum of a cement or plaster mixer. s 5

Mixers such as are commonly used for mixing cement, plaster, and like materials are commonly constructed with a rotating drum carried in a pivoted yoke and a control is provided to swing or tilt the yoke in order to tilt or vary the angular 10 position of the drum. In-the ordinary construction several parts are employed'betw'een the handle of the control and the point from which the drum is mounted, and these parts'are joined or coupled through ordinary mechanical connections is such as keys, pins, nuts, etc.

Machinery of this character is not precision made and, in practice, it receives very hard usage, with the result that the joints or connections above mentioned soon develop play or looseness go which is highly undesirable. For example, when" play or looseness develops in the control above referred to, or between the control and the drum, the mechanism becomes hazardous sinc-etilting of the drum may change the center of gravity of the i go loaded drum and as the center of gravity changes" the play or looseness is shifted from one direction to the other, allowing the drum to fall, or quickly move an amount allowed by the total play or looseness. Such falling or quick movement of the,. 0 drum may cause spilling of the contents therefrom, which may, under certain circumstances, be dangerous to workmen and which defeats the purpose of the control in that it makes it impossible for the-operator to accurately" control tilting of, the drum.

It is an: object of this: invention to. provide a control for a machine of the character mentioned which involves a single joint or connection between the point at which the drum is mounted go and the handle of the control. The single joint or. connection provided in the-structure; that I have provided is a working joint or connection and is the only possible; point at which play or looseness canoccun By providing a mechanismi gs involving a single point'of possible play orlooseness I minimize the difficulties hereinabove outlined and provide a machine that is safe and dependable in operation. A further object of-the present invention is. to provide a control of the gao 1946, Serial No. 700,274.

in a manner to create appreciable looseness between the handle of the control and the drum.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a control of the general character referred to which involves a geared drive or connection in which one element or gear is integrally joined to the yoke on whichthe drum is mounted, while the other is integrally joined'to the handle of the control.

The various objects and'features of my inventionwill be fully understood from the following detailed descripti'onof a t'ypical'preferred form and. application of the invention, throughout which description reference ismad'e to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typical'mixer embodyingthe present invention: Fig. 2 is an enl'arged view of parts of the control, being a view taken as indicated by line 2-2 on Fig. l, and Fig.

3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken substantially as indicated byline 3--3 on Fig. 2.

The control that'I'have provided'i's applicable to mixers generally. However, since itisparticularly useful as applied to or incorporated in mixers'such'as-are employed to mixcement or plaster; Ihave in the drawings'shown it applied toa typical cementf'mixer'. The particular machine illustrated involves, generally; a frame A, a yoke B; bearings C carried by-the frame and supporting theyoke, a mixing drum D, a pivotal mounting- E for the mixi-ngdrumby which it is pivotally supported from the yoke; drive-means F- for the drum; and controlmeansG for the drum-controlling tilting of the drum through the yoke B:

The-frames A thatl have illustrated isa rigid, fabricatedstructure normally held in the desired position by-supportin wheels W and a legl0. Thebed or base H of I the frameextends substantially horizontally and is supportedfrom the wheels through springs 12. and by the leg I 0 through a direct connection-with the leg. The frame, is characterizedby spaced uprightsv M which carry the bearings- C that in. turn support the yoke. B. A rearwardextension li of the base forms. a. support or carrier for a housing l5. provided around. the, power means. or engine of the. drive. means F.

The-yoke B is a rigid. element involving. 2. .center. sectionorbody l6 and. spacedparallel'sides or arms ll. Inaccordance. with my construction the.yokeincludesltrunnions. l8! at the. outer endsjof the arms IT. The trunnions [8 are integrally iOillQdntQ or. tormedwith thearms. ll

sides of the arms at the outer end portions thereof.

The bearings C provided to support the yoke from the frame preferably involve split bearings one on the upper end of each support I of the frame and each embodying a lower or seat section rigidly joined with or integrally formed on the upper end of the frame support and a removable top or cap section 2i. The bearings C are carried by the supports l4 so that they are spaced apart to accommodate the yoke, as shown in the drawings. The arms of the yoke are confined between the bearings C while the trunnions 18 of the yoke are rotatably supported in the bearings.

The mixing drum D that I have illustrated is of the form or type commonly employed in cement mixers and has a round body enclosed at its lower end by a curved bottom 25 and provided at its upper end witha somewhat contracted or conical neck portion 21, the neck por- -tion being open allowing material to be filled yoke and which intersects the axis of the .trunj nions Ill.

The drive means F for the drum D includes a suitable source ofpower v:or prime mover such as an engine located in the housing l5. I'have 1 not shown the details of the engine in the housing since my present invention is in no way concerned with this detail. The drive to the drum involves a pinion 28 driven by the engine or prime mover which pinion meshes with a ring gear 29 fixed to the exterior of the body 25 of the drum B.

The control G that I have provided governs the tilt of the drum D or forms a means by which the yoke B is tiltable about the axis of the trunnions l8, it being apparent that when the yoke B is swung about the trunnions the drum which is carried by the yoke istilted and can be varied between an upright position such as is shown in Fig. 1 and an angular position where the top of the drum is lowered either to facilitate filling of material into the drum or to allow material to discharge from the drum. The control means G may be applied to or connected with either of the trunnions of the yoke, it bein preferred, ordinarily, to locate the control means at the forward end of the machine so that it is remote from i the drive which is preferably located at the rear end of the machine.

In the form illustrated the control means G includes, generally, a hub 35 rotatably supported on a bearing pin, 3| projecting from an upright M of the frame A, a rim 32 is supported from the hub by spokes 33 and forming a handle to be gripped by the operator, a gear 34 fixed to the outer orprojecting end of the trunnion l8 supported in the bearing C carried by the support I4 which carries the bearing pin 3|, teeth 35 on the hub 3t forming a pinion meshing with the gear 34 and a manually controlled lock means 38. I

The bearin pin 3] which carries the hub 39 issu'pported by the'support M of the frame to project from the outer or forward side thereof, 75' vided the structure is solid or integral from the and in the case illustrated it has a bearing part 40 on which the hub operates and a reduced end part 42 which extends through the support 14 and carries '3, mounting nut 43. The hub 30 is freely turnable or is rotatably supported on the portion 40 of the bearing pin and is retained thereon by a suitable retainer 45.

The hub 30 may have a plain outer end portion 46 which carries the spokes 33 and thus becomes, in effect, the hub of a wheel which includes the spokes and the rim 32. In accordance with my invention the inner ends of the spokes are integrally joined to the outer portion 46 of the hub as by welding 6i) while the outer ends of the spokes are integrally joined to the rim 32 as by welding 6 I. Through this construction the .hub so that the inner end portion of the hub is a pinion that meshes with the gear 34. I

The gear 34 is not merely keyed or bolted to the trunnion l8 through an ordinary connection such as is ordinarily employed in such a situation, but rather it is integrally joined to the trunnion so that the gear 34 is an integral part of the yoke B. In practice I have found it desirable to form the gear 34 separate from the yoke in which case it may be in the nature of a plate integrally joined to the outer end of the trunnion !8, as by welding 49. By providing a split hearing C such as I have described above I am able to initially establish the gear 34 as an integral unit with the yoke B and in assembling the machine the yoke, with the gear as a part thereof,

is placed in the seat 20 of the bearing whereupon the cap of the bearing is arranged in place.

To facilitate ease in operation I prefer to make the gear 34 of substantial diameter relative to the pinion on the inner end of the hub 36 with the result that the operator engaging the rim 32 has a substantial mechanical advantage over the yoke and is able to turn or tilt it with little efiort. The lock means 38 of the control preferably -includes a simple lock dog 50 on a pivot pin 5| supported by a bracket 52 projecting upwardly from the frame or from the cap of the bearing C supported by the frame. The dog 5!! is preferably arranged so that it is normally held in. en-

gagement with the gear 34 by gravity and it is provided with a handle 55 which projects forward so that it can be conveniently operated, enabling the operator to release the lock means when he wishes to operate the control to tilt the drum.

consequently the drum D he disengages the lock means 36 and operates the handle or rim 32 in the desired direction. Turning of the rim 32 rotates the pinion portion of the hub which is integral with the rim 32 being integrally joined thereto by the spokes 33. Rotation of the pinion portion of the hub causes rotation of the gear 34 through engagement of the hub with the teeth of the gear. The gear 34 being integrally joined t.gthe trunnion [8 turns the trunnion and consequently the entire yoke B. It is to be observed that through the construction that I have propoint of the yoke where the drum is rotatably supported to the point where the teeth of the gear mesh with the teeth of the hub 30. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the structure is solid or integral from the teeth 35 through the hub 39, spokes 33 and the rim 32. The result of this construction is that there is only one possible point for looseness or play to develop and this is in the working connection established between the pinion of the hub and the gear 34.

As a result of the construction that I have provided the drum is not only easy to tilt or operate as desired, but it is free of undesirable play or looseness and such play or looseness can never develop even though the machine is subjected to strenuous use, since there are no mechanical joints or connections of a character that can possibly work loose or develop freedom due to wear or strain.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of my invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A mixer including, a frame, a yoke pivotally supported by the frame, a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yoke including, a handle, a gear element integral with the handle, a gear member integral with the yoke and meshed with the first mentioned gear member, and a lock member engageable with the teeth of one of said gear elements, the lock member being pivotally mounted on the frame.

2. A mixer including a frame carrying spaced coaxial bearings, a yoke with integral coaxial trunnions projecting from the sides of the yoke and supported in the bearings, a gear integral with the outer end of one of the trunnions and concentric therewith, a bearing pin rigidly carried by the frame and projecting therefrom, a hub rotatably carried on the pin and having teeth meshing with the gear, an annular handle, spokes integral with the hub and with the handle, and a lock dog pivotally mounted on the frame to engage the teeth of the gear.

3. A mixer including, a frame, a yoke pivotally supported by the frame, a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yoke including, a handle, a gear element operatively connected with the handle, a member operatively connected with the yoke and meshed with the first mentioned gear element, and a gravity actuated lock member carried by the frame and engageable with the teeth of the gear element.

4. A mixer including, a rigid frame with spaced aligned bearings, a yoke with trunnions pivotally supported by the bearings of the frame, a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yoke including, a pin rigid with and projecting outward from the frame, an integral unit including a handle and a gear element rotatably supported on the pin, a gear element larger than the first mentioned gear element and integrally connected with a trunnion of the yoke and meshed with the first mentioned gear element, and a lock member pivoted to the frame and engageable with the teeth of the larger gear element.

5. A mixer including, a frame, a yoke pivotally supported by the frame on a horizontal axis, a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yoke including, a handle, a gear element integral with the handle, a pin rigid with the frame projecting outward therefrom and rotatably supporting said gear element, a gear element larger than the first mentioned gear element and integral with the yoke and meshed with the first mentioned gear element, a bracket rigid with the frame and projecting from the frame to a point adjacent the periphery of the larger gear element, and a lock member pivotally carried by the bracket andengageable with the teeth of the larger gear element.

6. A mixer including, a frame carrying spaced coaxial bearings, a yoke with trunnions carried in the bearings, a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yoke including a gear fixed on one trunnion, a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the frame, a gear fixed to the wheel and meshing with the first mentioned gear, a bracket projecting up from the bearing carrying said trunnion, and a lock member pivotally carried by the bracket and normally held by gravity in engagement with teeth of the first mentioned ear.

BRYANT ESSICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,314,390 French Aug. 26, 1919 1,453,323 Palmeter May 1, 1923 2,299,888 Fesenmaier Oct. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 680,531 France May 1, 1930