US2526367A

US2526367A - Agitator

Info

Publication number: US2526367A
Application number: US151201A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kaltenbach Carl; Schmitt Ludwig
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-03-22
Filing date: 1950-03-22
Publication date: 1950-10-17
Anticipated expiration: 1967-10-17

Description

Patented Oct. 17, 1950 2,526,367 AGITATOR Carl Kaltenbach and Ludwig Schmitt, Bronx, N. Y.

Application March 22, 1950, Serial No. 151,201

4 Claims. (Cl. 259-134) The present invention relates to agitators and, more particularly, relates to an agitator for use in connection with apparatus of the type for continuously lcongealing frozen'confections, such as ice creams, custards, sherbets, and the like, the agitator including blades for scraping the confection from the inner cylindrical Side Wall of the freezing cylinder to which the confection has been caused to adhere, and being an improvement over the agitator disclosed in our prior United States Letters Patent No. 2,188,551 of January 30, 1940.

Apparatus of the foregoing type are subject to rigid inspection by health authorities of many localities and must comply with the health regulations of such localities. InV order to be approved, the apparatus must be adapted for thorough and absolutely reliable cleaning including the blades of the agitator which usually is facilitated by removably mounting the blades on the rotor or shaft of the agitator.

In so mounting the blades, it is essential that the blades be easily detached and yet be reliably connected to prevent accidental detachment or displacement when in use. It is also essential, if not of prime importance, that the means for connecting the blades be adapted for thorough cleaning and also be constructed and arranged as to facilitate inspection thereof.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved agitator of the character described herein wherein the blade connecting means are constructed and arranged to comply with the foregoing requirements.

Another object is to provide such connecting means which are rugged and durable in construction and which can withstand such rough usage to which they may be subjected.

A further object is to provide such connecting means which comprise simple and practical elements adapted to be formed in an economical manner.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the' invention in practice.

In accordance with the invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing an agitator comprising a shaft or rotor, pairs of outwardly extending arms on the shaft each having at its free end a cylindrical bore parallel to the shaft provided with an open side section, a scraper blade for each pair of arms having cylindrical formations pivotally mounted in each bore, and

pin and groove means associated with at least one bore and one formation of each pair of arms for locking the blades against axial movement with respect to the bores and the shaft.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention about to be described in detail, one bore of each pair of arms has an arcuate groove between the ends thereof commencing at one end of the open section and, if desired, being of diminishing depth in a circumferential direction away from the open section; and one formation of each blade has a pin adapted to be disposed in the groove.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description as is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an agitator, the elements embodying the present invention being shown in full lines and the conventional prior art structure being shown in broken lines Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken along the line 2-2 on Fig. l1 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the connecting means in blade lock ing position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating the blades positioned for removal from the arms.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded perspective view illustrating a portion of the blade disconnected from an arm.

Referring to the drawing in detail and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, there is shown apparatus for congealing frozen confections which comprises a cylinder I 0 in which the confection is frozen by applying -a refrigerating or cooling medium to the outer walls of the cylinder by means of a heat exchanger (not shown), a closure II for one end of the cylinder having an inlet I2 through which the mix used in making the confection is introduced, a closure I4 for the other end of the cylinder having an outlet I5 for removing the frozen confection from the cylinder, and a shaft or rotor I6 rotatably mounted between the closures and carrying blades I'I for scraping the congealed or frozen confection from the inner walls of the cylinder and elements I8 for directing the frozen confection towards the outlet.

As shown herein by way of example, the shaft has four pairs of spaced apart radially outwardly extending arms I9 progressively disposed at an angle of ninety degrees to each other, each pair of arms serving to support a blade Il, as about to be described.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3, 4, and 5,

which illustrate the invention in detail, the arms I9 are shown fonmed With a cylindrical through bore 2l) parallel to the shaft i6, which bore is provided with an open or cut-away side section 2| of about ninety degrees. One bore of each pair of arms has an arcuate groove or slot 22 between its ends commencing at one end of the open section and. diminishing in depth in a circumferential direction away from the open section (Fig. 3).

Each blade I'I has a lengthwise extending scraping edge 24 at one side thereof and a pair` of cylindrical formations 25 at the other side thereof adapted to be pivotally mounted in the:

bores 28 in the manner described hereinafter. One formation 25 of each blade hasa radially extending pin 26 thereon disposed at an angle, slightly less than ninety degrees with respect to the blade section proper, which pin is adapted tobe positioned in the groove 22 to loclc the blade vagainst axial movement in the bore but which facilitates assembly and detachment of the blades I1 from the le..

In order to assemble the blades I1' on the arms 1:95, a blade section proper is aligned withits pair vofi arms with its scraping edge facing outwardly of: the free ends of theY arms and itsl formations 25 in axiali alignment with and to the side of the bores 22, as shown in Fig. 5. The. formations are then slid axially into the bores with the pin 2t ,passing through the-open section 2i to a position whereby the pin is in alignment with the groove .22, as shown in Fig. 4. The bladeY formations thereafter are rotated in the bores so that the Vpin enters the groove. 1f desired, slight pressure is applied on the blade to effect frictional engagement. between the end of the pin and a portion -of diminished depth of the groove, whereby accidental separation of the blades from the arms is prevented prior to mounting the shaft in the cylinder i8.

When the shaft is irnountedin the cylinder and isfrotated, centrifugal force andthe mass of confection in the cyiin er swing the blades'outwardlv to position shown in Fig. 3 with edge Z in scraping relation with the inner wall of the cylinder. Removal of the blades is readily effected by following the foregoing procedure in reverse order.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved agitator structure wherein the blades are readily locked in position during operation of the apparatus. It is to be noted also that the pivotal mounting insures a self-sharpening action on the edge 2li of the blade. The locking elements are simple and practical, facilitate easy assembly and detachment of the blades and have surfaces which lend themselves to thorough cleaning in ay convenient manner.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacricing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An agitator for apparatus of the class described comprising a shaft, a pair of outwardly extending arms on said shaft each having at its free end a cylindrical bore parallel to said shaft provided with an open side section, a scraper blade having a cylindrical formation pivotally mounted in each bore, and pin and groove means associated with one of said bores and one of said formations for locking said blade against axial movement with respect to said bores, said groove means being transverse to the longitudinal axis of said shaft.

2. An agitator for apparatus of the class described comprising a shaft, a pair of outwardly extending arms on said shaft each having at its free end a cylindrical bore parallel to said shaft provided with an open side section, one of said bores having an arcuate groove between the ends thereof commencing at one end of the open section, a scraper blade having a cylindrical formation pivotally mounted in each bore, and a pin on one of said formations disposed in said groove for lockingV said blade against axial movement with respect to said bores.

3. An agitator for apparatus of the class describedv comprising a shaft, a pair of outwardly extending arms on said shaft each having at its free end a cylindrical bore parallel to said shaft provided with an open side section, one

of said bores having an arcuate groove between the ends thereof commencing at one end of the open section and diminishing in depth in a circumferential direction away from the open section, a scraper blade having a cylindrical formaion pivotally mounted in each bore, and a pin on one of said formations disposed in said groove for locking said blade against axial movement with respect to said bores.

4. An agitator forvapparatus of the class described' comprising a shaft, a pair vof outwardly extending arms onsaid shaft each having at its free end a cylindrical bore parallel to said shaft providedl with an open side section of about ninety deg-rees, one of said bores having an arcuategroove between the ends thereof com- Vinenting at' one end' of the open section and ldiminishing in depthv in a circumferential direc- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberY y Name Date y 864,632. Fegley Aug. 27, 1907 "2,023,607 Miller Decr 10, 1935 2,085,160 Kaup et alr June 29, 1937 2,159,450 Parcell. May 23, 1939 2,188,551l Kaltenbach et al. Jan. 3Q, i940 2,470,691

Erickson et al Mar. 17, 1949