Abstract
A device for mixing liquids and solids in liquids using vibration includes an electromagnetic drive, a drive shaft arranged coaxially with the electromagnetic drive, with drive shaft having a mixing member and either a permanent magnet or a magnetisable element excited by the electromagnetic drive to cause vibration for transmission to the mixing member, and a system of flat spring elements including a first spring element arranged parallel to the drive shaft and a second spring element arranged perpendicularly to the drive shaft and connected to the permanent magnet or the magnetisable element.
Claims
1.-8. (canceled)
9. A device for mixing liquids and solids in liquids, said device comprising: an electromagnetic drive; a drive shaft arranged coaxially with the electromagnetic drive, said drive shaft having a mixing member and either a permanent magnet or a magnetisable element excitable by the electromagnetic drive to cause vibration for transmission to the mixing member; and a system of flat spring elements comprising a first spring element arranged parallel to the drive shaft and a second spring element arranged perpendicularly to the drive shaft and connected to the permanent magnet or the magnetisable element.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein the flat spring elements are connected to each other.
11. The device of claim 9, wherein one of the flat spring elements is curved.
12. The device of claim 9, wherein one of the flat springs has a U-shaped configuration shaped to define the first spring element and the second spring element.
13. The device of claim 9, wherein the spring elements are made of resilient, elastic material.
14. The device of claim 9, wherein the spring elements are made of spring steel or fibre-reinforced plastic.
15. The device of claim 9, further comprising a housing and clamping jaws, said first spring element being attached and mounted on a wall of the housing by the clamping jaws.
16. The device of claim 9, further comprising clamping jaws configured to attach and mount the second spring element on the permanent magnet or the magnetisable element.
17. The device of claim 9, further comprising a housing, first clamping jaws configured to attach and mount the first spring element on a wall of the housing, and second clamping jaws configured to attach and mount the second spring element on the permanent magnet or the magnetisable element, said first and second clamping jaws being configured to enable adjustment of a clamped length and a clamped width of the first and second spring elements when being clamped in the first and second clamping jaws.
18. The device of claim 9, wherein a distance of the spring elements from the electromagnetic drive is adjustable.
19. The device of claim 9, further comprising a housing, said first spring element being formed by a damping block, which is directly attached to an inner wall of the housing.
Description
[0020] The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the figures.
[0021] In the figures:
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of the drive element of a vibration mixer according to the prior art,
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the device according to the invention with simple L-profile spring elements,
[0024] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the device according to the invention with a plurality of flat spring elements and their clamping mechanism,
[0025] FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the device according to the invention with a plurality of flat spring elements and their clamping mechanism in a double design.
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a drive for a prior-art liquid-mixing device in simplified form. Here, the electromagnetic drive 1 is firmly connected to a rigid frame, a chassis 3. A rigid plate 5 is thus connected and supported by one or more coil springs 4 to ensure optimum support, and the springs 4 can be arranged either in parallel or in series. A permanent magnet or magnetisable element 2 is connected to the plate 5 and is excited by the magnetic coupling by the electromagnet 1, so that the springs 4 start to vibrate. The plate 5 is supported by the springs 4 so that it can vibrate freely in the main direction. The main direction along line 11 is defined by the force effect of the electromagnet 1 on the permanent magnet or the magnetisable element 2 on the steel plate 5. A shaft 6 connected to the steel plate thus resonates in the main direction 11 and can transfer the oscillation to a mixing member attached to the shaft 6 outside the chassis 3, ideally to a mixer plate inside the medium to be mixed.
[0027] FIGS. 2 to 4 show an exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention for generating vibratory movements by means of a system consisting of one or more flat spring elements.
[0028] FIG. 2 shows the device according to the invention with an electromagnetic drive 1 attached to a housing 3, a drive shaft 6, to which a mixing member (not shown) is attached outside the housing 3, and a permanent magnet or magnetisable element 2. Two individual curved, here L-profile-shaped, flat spring elements 8 are connected to the permanent magnet or magnetisable element 2 by means of two clamping jaws 9, 9′, with the L-shaped spring elements 8 having an element 8″ running parallel to the shaft 6 and an element 8′ running perpendicularly to the shaft 6. Instead of the two L-profile-shaped spring elements 8, a single spring element in the form of a U-profile can also be used. An alternating magnetic field generated by the electromagnetic drive 1 excites the permanent magnet or the magnetisable element 2. The two spring elements 8 are in turn each supported by clamping jaws 7′, 7″ and fixed to the inner side wall of the housing 3. Due to the geometric dimensions of the flat springs 8, 8′, 8″, their material properties, their clamped lengths and the weight of the system, the springs 8 vibrate excited by the drive 1 in the main direction 11. A shaft 6 connected to the springs 8 transmits the vibrating movement to a mixing member outside the housing 3. The arrangement allows the loads to be distributed among the spring elements 8. In this case, the element 8′ of the spring element 8 running perpendicularly to the shaft can absorb the loads in the main direction 11 by bending the spring element 8′, and transverse forces are transmitted to the elements 8″ of the spring element 8 parallel to the main direction and the shaft. This allows an optimal distribution of the mechanical loads and thus an efficient use of the material properties of the springs 8.
[0029] FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the device according to the invention. Instead of L-shaped, curved, flat spring elements 8, a plurality of flat spring elements 8′, 8″ are used, with the spring elements 8′ again being oriented horizontally and perpendicularly to the main direction 11 and the spring elements 8″ being parallel to the main direction 11. The spring elements 8′, 8″ are connected to each other by clamping jaws 10′, 10″, 10′″, with the spring elements 8′ being connected to the permanent magnet or magnetisable dement 2 by means of clamping jaws 9′, 9″. The spring elements 8″ are in turn attached to and supported on the lateral inner wall of the housing 3 by means of clamping jaws 7, 7″. A distinction is also made here between the spring elements 8′ parallel to the main direction 11 and the spring elements 8″ perpendicular to the main direction 11, which, depending on the load state, absorb the mechanical forces accordingly and thus optimally.
[0030] In an alternative embodiment with damping blocks (silent blocks) for the first spring elements 8″ running parallel to the main direction 11, the first spring elements 8″ together with the clamping jaws 7′, 7″, 10′, 10″ are replaced by damping blocks. One of the two metal plates of the damping blocks is attached here directly to the inner side walls of the housing 3 on one side of the damping material, and the other metal plate is attached to the clamping jaw 10′″ on the opposite side of the damping material.
[0031] FIG. 4 also shows another embodiment of the device. Here, the spring system has two spring elements 8′ arranged perpendicularly to the main direction 11, which are arranged one above the other. One of the spring elements 8′ is attached to the permanent magnet or magnetisable element 2 by means of clamping jaws 9′, 9″, and the second spring element 8′ is attached to the drive shaft 2 by means of clamping jaws 9′, 9″. The two spring elements 8′ arranged one above the other and running perpendicularly to the drive shaft 2 are connected to each other by means of clamping jaws 10′″ and 10″″ and fixed to each other. Two spring elements 8″ running parallel to the main direction 11 are attached to the inner side wall of the housing by means of clamping jaws 7′, 7″. The spring elements 8″ running parallel to the drive shaft are fixed to each other with one spring element 8′ running perpendicularly to the drive shaft 2 by means of clamping jaws 10′, 10″. This clamping of the spring elements 8′, 8″ supports the vibration in the main direction 11 and the loads are optimally absorbed by it. This parallel arrangement of a plurality of spring elements 8′, 8″ enables the drive shaft 6 to be better supported with respect to external forces.
[0032] The clamped lengths of the spring elements 8′, 8″ and 9′, 9″ and the position of the permanent magnet or magnetisable element 2 in relation to the electromagnetic drive 1 are important operating parameters and influence the vibration behaviour and thus the mixing capacity of the mixing member. The clamping jaws 10′, 10″, 10′″ and 10″″ are each designed in such a way that, preferably, they may be fixed flexibly, since the spring elements 8′, 8″ and 9′, 9″ can be attached in adjustable clamped lengths, widths and thicknesses as well as in different positions.
[0033] Here too, an alternative embodiment is possible, the same as described in conjunction with FIG. 3. Here, the first spring elements 8″ and the clamping jaws 7′, 7″, 10′ and 10″ are each replaced by a damping block, which is directly attached to the inner side wall of the housing 3.
