MIXING IMPELLER, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A FIRST SUBASSEMBLY OF THE MIXING IMPELLER AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE MIXING IMPELLER

Abstract

A mixing impeller has first and second subassemblies. A magnet is accommodated in the first subassembly and is adapted to be magnetically coupled to a drive device to be driven. The second subassembly has at least one impeller blade for mixing components when rotating the mixing impeller. The first and second subassemblies are formed as separate entities which are selectively engageable. A method of manufacturing the first subassembly and a method of assembling the mixing impeller also are provided.

Claims

1. A mixing impeller comprising: a first subassembly in which at least one magnet is accommodated, wherein the magnet is adapted to be magnetically coupled to a drive device to be driven; and a second subassembly comprising at least one impeller blade for mixing components when rotating the mixing impeller; wherein the first and second subassemblies are formed as separate entities which are selectively engageable.

2. The mixing impeller of claim 1, wherein the first and second subassemblies are engageable by means of a snap-fit mechanism.

3. The mixing impeller of claim 1, wherein the first subassembly comprises at least one recess, which extends substantially along a rotation axis of the mixing impeller, wherein the recess has at least one protrusion.

4. The mixing impeller of claim 3, wherein the second subassembly comprises at least one engagement member extending from a lower surface of the second subassembly, which faces the first subassembly in a mounted state, wherein the engagement member has an enlarged end portion at its free end which is engageable with the protrusion in a respective recess in the first subassembly when inserting the engagement member of the second subassembly into the recess of the first subassembly.

5. The mixing impeller of claim 3, wherein the recess of the first subassembly is arranged at a center of the first subassembly.

6. The mixing impeller of claim 5, wherein the magnet is substantially ring-shaped and substantially surrounds the recess of the first subassembly.

7. A method of manufacturing a first subassembly of a mixing impeller that is connectable to a second subassembly comprising at least one impeller blade, the method including: molding a first encapsulation part having at least one accommodation space, wherein the at least one accommodation space has an open side; at least partly inserting at least one magnet into the at least one accommodation space; and molding a second encapsulation part and closing the open side of the at least one accommodation space of the first encapsulation part.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second encapsulation parts are formed by injection molding.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of molding the second encapsulation part comprises inserting the first encapsulation part with the inserted magnet into an injection molding device and forming the second encapsulation part in the injection molding device.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the first encapsulation part comprises at least one recess which extends at least partly along a rotation axis of the mixing impeller.

11. A method of assembling a mixing impeller, comprising: providing a first subassembly in which at least one magnet is encapsulated, wherein the magnet is adapted to be magnetically coupled to a drive device to be driven; providing a second subassembly comprising at least one impeller blade for mixing components; and engaging the first subassembly with the second subassembly.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of engaging comprises inserting at least one engagement member, which extends from a lower surface of the second subassembly, into a respective recess in the first subassembly, which extends at least partly along a rotation axis of the mixing impeller, wherein an enlarged end portion at a free end of the engagement member engages with a protrusion in a respective recess in the first subassembly.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of engaging the first subassembly with the second subassembly comprises selecting one specific second subassembly from a set of second subassemblies, wherein second subassemblies in the set of subassemblies differ regarding at least one of their geometry and size.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of the first and second subassemblies before being engaged.

[0055] FIG. 1b is a cross-sectional view of the first and second subassemblies in the engaged state.

[0056] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a first subassembly of a mixing impeller and a variety of second subassemblies that could be connected/engaged with the first subassembly;

[0057] FIG. 3a is a top view of the first encapsulation part of the first subassembly.

[0058] FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view of the first encapsulation part and the magnet before the magnet is inserted into the first encapsulation part.

[0059] FIG. 4a is a cross-section view of the first encapsulation part when the magnet is inserted.

[0060] FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view showing the magnet fully encapsulated by the first and second encapsulation parts.

[0061] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mixing impeller inserted in a mixing vessel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of a mixing impeller 1 for mixing components in a mixing vessel. The mixing impeller 1 comprises a first subassembly 3 and a second subassembly 5 that are separately formed, but that are connectable by means of an engagement mechanism. FIG. 1a) shows a state before the first subassembly 3 and the second subassembly 5 are connected. FIG. 1b), however, shows a mounted state of the mixing impeller 1, in which the first and second subassemblies 3, 5 are connected/engaged.

[0063] The first subassembly 3 comprises a housing 7 that preferably has a circular shape and/or is made of plastic. At least one accommodation space 9 is provided inside of said housing 7 for accommodating a magnet 11. If more than one accommodation space 9 is formed in the first subassembly 3, preferably each of the accommodation spaces 9 is filled with a magnet 11. In the case of FIG. 1, one accommodation space 9 is formed in the housing 7 and has a ring-shape. A ring-shaped magnet 11 is inserted into said accommodation space 9. The size of the accommodation space 9 preferably corresponds to the size of the magnet 11 so that the magnet 11 is not able to shift inside of the accommodation space 9 when rotating the mixing impeller 1. The number, size, shape and arrangement of the at least one magnet depends of the drive device with which the magnet 11 is magnetically coupleable to be driven. For example, the magnet 11 of FIG. 1 could work as a follower magnet. A motor outside of the mixing vessel could comprise a drive magnet. If the drive magnet driven by the motor rotates, the follower magnet 11 being magnetically coupled with the drive magnet also rotates. The drive magnet, however, might also consist of a plurality of drive magnets which are arranged in a circle. In this case, the follower magnet 11 in the first subassembly 3 would have to comprise the same number of magnets, which are arranged similarly.

[0064] Further, at least one recess is provided in an upper side 13 of the housing 7, which faces the second subassembly 5 in the mounted state. The at least one recess penetrates the housing 7 substantially along a rotation axis RA of the mixing impeller 1. In the case of FIG. 1, the recess is formed as a through hole 15 that extends from the upper side 13 towards a lower side 17 of the first subassembly 3 along the rotation axis RA. The ring-shaped magnet 11 surrounds the through hole 15.

[0065] In the following, the through hole 15 is further described. It is pointed out, however, that the following information also applies for a recess.

[0066] At least one protrusion 19 is provided in the through hole 15, and at least partly extends along the circumferential wall 21 of the through hole 15. The protrusion 19 may be formed as a bulge or, as in the case of FIG. 1, as a step. As shown in FIG. 1, the through hole 15 is separated into an upper portion 23 and a lower portion 25 separated by the protrusion 19. Preferably, the upper portion 23, which is closer to the second subassembly 5 in the mounted state, has a smaller cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis RA, while the lower portion 25 has a wider cross-section.

[0067] The second subassembly 5 may comprise of a central basis 27 that preferably has a circular shape and/or disk-shape. At least one mixing blade 29 is attached to the central basis 27. Preferably, the second subassembly is formed of plastic and/or all elements of the second subassembly 5 are formed unitarily. The mixing blade 29 may extend radially or, as shown in FIG. 1, axially from the central basis 27. The mixing blade 29 may be arranged vertically (parallel to the rotation axis RA), as shown in FIG. 1. It is, however, also possible that the at least one mixing blade 29 is arranged diagonally with respect to the rotation axis RA. In particular, the mixing blade 29 may have a variety of shapes, sizes and/or arrangement. Some of them have already been described above. In particular, the configuration of the second subassembly 5 is chosen selectively according to the mixing application, i.e. with respect to the components to be mixed. This can be done e.g. by a person who assembles e.g. a single-use mixing vessel or by the user which has extending skills regarding this matter when using a reusable mixing vessel.

[0068] At least one engagement member 33 is arranged at a lower side 31 of the second subassembly 5, which faces the first subassembly 3 in the mounted state. In the case of FIG. 1, the engagement member 33 is formed as a rod. An enlarged end portion 37 is provided at its free end and preferably has the shape of a mushroom head. Furthermore, the engagement member 33 may taper toward the free end 35 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0069] The at least one engagement member 33 is insertable into the through hole 15 of the first subassembly 3 to connect the first and second subassemblies 3 and 5. Preferably, the through hole 15 has a size and shape such that at least partly a force fit and/or tight fit appears between the first and second subassemblies. Thereby, the first and second subassemblies 3 and 5 are connected/engaged such that a reliable connection is provided.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 1b), the engagement member 33 is inserted into the through hole 15 such that the enlarged end portion 37 of the engagement member 33 engages the protrusion 19. Preferably, the enlarged end portion 37 tapers toward its free end so that the enlarged end portion 37 is able to easily pass the narrow upper portion 23 of the through hole 15 when being inserted. In particular, the enlarged end portion 37 of the engagement member 33 may be compressible so that the enlarged end portion 37 is able to pass the upper portion 23 of the through hole 15. As soon as the enlarged end portion 37 has passed the upper portion 23, the enlarged end portion 37 may expand again.

[0071] Thus, a snap-fit mechanism is provided that allows an easy connection between the first and second subassemblies 3 and 5, which can be done manually by the user or a person when assembling the mixing vessel. Moreover, this connection may be releasable (if the mixing vessel is reusable) so that the second subassembly 5 can be removed and exchanged by another second subassembly 5. In other words, the user can selectively chose the second subassembly 5 having the perfect geometry (especially with respect to the mixing blades) for the relevant mixing application to be carried out by the mixing impeller 1. The first subassembly 3, which contains the expensive magnet 11, however, remains in the mixing vessel. In this respect, FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a first subassembly 3 and a variety of second subassembly 5 that differ regarding their size and shape. The user just has to select which one of the second subassemblies 5 is the best for the relevant mixing application and/or the used mixing vessel.

[0072] In the following a manufacturing method of the first subassembly 3 is described.

[0073] FIG. 3a) shows a top view of a first encapsulation part 39 of the first subassembly 3. The first encapsulation part 39 may have a bowl-shape that corresponds to the shape and size of the first subassembly 3. The above described at least one accommodation space 9 is provided inside of the first encapsulation part 39. Further, the through-hole 15, as described above, is formed in the first encapsulation part 39. Preferably, the first encapsulation part 39 is formed by injection molding.

[0074] A bottom plate 41 of the first encapsulation part 39 may correspond to the upper side 13 (see FIG. 3b)) or lower side 17 of the first subassembly 3.

[0075] At least one mounting member 43 may project from the bottom plate 41 into the at least one accommodation space 9, as shown in FIG. 3a). The mounting member 43 is adapted to engage with a respective receiving recess 45 in the respective magnet 11 to be inserted into the accommodation space 9, as shown in FIG. 3b). In particular, the mounting member 43 may be formed as a split post having a step at its free end. The receiving recess 45 in the magnet 11 has a corresponding shape and size so that the mounting member 43 is insertable into the receiving recess 45 by means of a snap-fit. When inserting the mounting member 43 into the receiving recess 45, the spit post may be compressed and afterwards expanded when having passed the step. Thus, the magnet 11 and the first encapsulation part 39 are engaged fully when being inserted into the first encapsulation part 39. The magnet 11 can no longer shift or fall out of the first encapsulation part 39 without any tool.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 3b), the first encapsulation part 39 may further have a second subassembly mounting member 47 at an outer side of the bottom plate 41. The second subassembly mounting member 47 may extend around the through hole 15 in a ring-shape. Provided that the bottom plate 41 corresponds to the upper side 13 of the first subassembly 3, the second subassembly mounting member 47 is adapted to surround a portion of the engagement member 33 that extends beyond the through hole 15, as shown in FIG. 5, in order to hold the second subassembly 5 reliably in place.

[0077] FIG. 4a) shows the state when the magnet 11 is inserted into the first encapsulation part 39.

[0078] FIG. 4b) shows the state when the open side of accommodation space 9 of the first encapsulation part 39 is closed by a second encapsulation part 49. The second encapsulation part 39 also preferably is made of plastic and/or formed by injection molding. Preferably, the first encapsulation part 39 is inserted together with the magnet 11 into an injection molding machine, in which the second encapsulation part 49 is molded. In this case, the second encapsulation part 49 is attached fixedly to the first encapsulation part 39 and the magnet 11 is encapsulated fully in the first subassembly 3. Any contact of the magnet 11 to the components to be mixed can be thereby prevented.

[0079] FIG. 5 shows a state in which the mixing impeller 1 in its mounted state is inserted into a mixing vessel 100, which is partly shown. In particular, the first subassembly 3 may be inserted into a mounting recess 102 of the mixing vessel 100, which is preferably a bottom surface of the mounting vessel 100. Provided that the mixing vessel 100 is made as a single-use mixing vessel 100 that is formed as a flexible bag, the portion of the mixing vessel 100, in which the mounting recess 102 is located, may formed as a rigid portion.

[0080] A mounting projection 104 may be provided in the mounting recess 102 and may be configured such that it is insertable into the through hole 15 of the first subassembly 3 in order to mount the mixing impeller 1 reliably in the mixing vessel.

[0081] Further, as it can be seen in FIG. 5, the engagement member 33 also may be formed as a split pin so that the engagement member 33 can be compressed easily when being inserted into the through hole 15.