A continuous stirrer

Abstract

A continuous mixer includes a sleeve with a material inlet and a material outlet, and a mixer component rotatably mounted inside the sleeve by a power source. The material inlet includes a solid material inlet and a liquid material inlet. The mixer component comprises a shaft, a spiral body disposed at the front section of the shaft, and a plurality of curved steel wires disposed at the rear section of the shaft, with both ends of the curved steel wires fixed to the outer surface of the rear section of the shaft. Compared with existing technologies, this invention has the advantages of continuously mixing flour and liquid while preventing gluten development.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of stirring technology, and in particular to a stirrer. Background Technology

[0002] Existing flour mixing processes, regardless of the amount of other materials present, are all completed in a single mixing tank. The mixing paddles used are either composed of several 180-degree bent steel wires or several inverted U-shaped frames evenly distributed around the axis. The technical principle is to use the thin steel wires to agitate the mixture, ensuring thorough mixing of various materials in a short time. The mixing time is controlled to determine whether the flour mixture develops gluten; a longer mixing time is needed for gluten development, and a shorter time for gluten control. This mixing process, due to its technical limitations, cannot continuously mix flour; it can only be completed intermittently, one tank at a time. This technology cannot meet the requirements of continuous, high-efficiency production. Existing continuous mixers, such as screw mixers, are limited by their structure. The threads on the screw primarily function to propel the materials. For materials that interact with each other… Materials with good fluidity (such as liquid-liquid mixtures) can be mixed by applying pressure during the pushing process, causing them to flow between each other. However, this method is ineffective for materials with poor fluidity, such as liquids and flour. While the technology described in patent CN201010273843.0 uses a stirring rod at the rear of the mixer to mix liquids and flour, this technique, due to the nature of the stirring rod, has a large stirring surface area. During mixing, it causes the material on the front and surrounding areas to rotate, similar to kneading dough. This can lead to severe gluten development in the flour mixture. For some products, such as cakes and cookies, it's crucial to prevent gluten development in the flour mixture to achieve a soft or crisp texture. Existing technologies cannot achieve the simultaneous effect of continuously mixing flour and liquids while preventing gluten development. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a continuous mixer that can overcome one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages, and can continuously mix flour and liquid while preventing gluten development.

[0004] The present invention is implemented as follows: it includes a sleeve with a material inlet and a material outlet, and a stirrer component that is driven to rotate inside the sleeve. The material inlet includes a solid material inlet and a liquid material inlet. The stirrer component includes a shaft, a spiral body disposed in the front section of the shaft, and several curved steel wires disposed in the rear section of the shaft. The two ends of the curved steel wires are fixed to the outer surface of the rear section of the shaft.

[0005] During operation, flour and liquid are introduced into the sleeve through different material inlets. Pushed by the spiral at the front of the shaft, they reach the rear section and enter the working area of ​​the steel wire. Due to the small frontal area of ​​the steel wire, it cuts into the material, only moving the material at the frontal area and not the material around it. It does not cause the entire material to rotate, but allows the materials to flow and permeate each other. Thus, under the stirring of the steel wire, the flour and liquid are quickly and evenly mixed, preventing the formation of gluten caused by prolonged stirring.

[0006] Preferably, the surface formed by the bent steel wire is inclined towards the axis, and the inclination direction matches the helical direction of the spiral.

[0007] In this way, when the steel wire acts on the liquid and solid materials of the flour that are being squeezed along the axial direction, it gradually acts on the material that is moving along the axial direction along the direction of the steel wire. Firstly, it avoids the material on the front surface and its surroundings from being driven to rotate due to the large front surface area. At the same time, it allows the material to be continuously agitated by the steel wire along the direction of the steel wire, so that the material is fully mixed in a short time.

[0008] Preferably, two adjacent curved steel wires are interlaced, so that the liquid-solid material squeezed along the axial direction can be continuously subjected to the continuous action of the steel wires, thereby further ensuring that the material is fully stirred in a short time, so as to ensure that the mixing of the material is completed in a short time.

[0009] Preferably, several curved steel wires are distributed along a spiral direction. In this way, while the curved steel wires are stirring the material, they also apply a forward thrust to the material, accelerating the forward movement of the material and preventing the material from remaining in the mixer for a long time and becoming tough due to prolonged stirring.

[0010] Compared with existing technologies, this invention has the advantage of being able to continuously mix flour and liquid while preventing gluten development. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the continuous stirrer of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the agitator components.

[0013] Figure numbers: 1. Material inlet; 101. Solid material inlet; 102. Liquid material inlet; 2. Material outlet; 3. Sleeve; 4. Power source; 5. Agitator component; 501. Shaft; 502. Spiral; 503. Bent steel wire; A. Screw-type metering device. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0015] As shown in the figure, the continuous mixer of the present invention is implemented as follows: it includes a sleeve 3 with a material inlet 1 and a material outlet 2, and a mixer component 5 driven by a power source 4 and arranged inside the sleeve 3. The material inlet 1 includes a solid material inlet 101 located above the front end of the sleeve 3 (such as a solid material inlet 101 for introducing flour through a screw meter A) and a liquid material inlet 102 located below the front end of the sleeve 3. The mixer component 5 is characterized by including a shaft 501 driven by a power source 4, a spiral body 502 arranged in the front section of the shaft 501, and several bent steel wires 503 arranged in the rear section of the shaft 501. The two ends of the bent steel wires 503 are fixed to the outer surface of the rear section of the shaft 501.

[0016] Preferably, two adjacent bent steel wires 503 are interlaced.

[0017] Preferably, several curved steel wires 503 are distributed along the spiral direction.

[0018] Preferably, several curved steel wires 503 distributed along the spiral direction constitute a group of curved steel wires, and there are two or more groups of curved steel wires, which are evenly distributed along the circumference of the shaft 501 (three groups in the embodiment).

[0019] During operation, flour and liquid are introduced into the sleeve 3 through the solid material inlet 101 and liquid material inlet 102, respectively. Pushed by the spiral body 501 at the front of the shaft 502, they reach the rear of the shaft 502 and enter the working area of ​​the curved steel wire 503. Due to the small facing area of ​​the curved steel wire 503, it cuts into the material, only moving the material at its facing area and not moving the surrounding material. It prevents the entire material from rotating while allowing the materials to flow and permeate each other. Thus, under the stirring of the curved steel wire 503, the flour and liquid are quickly and evenly mixed, preventing gluten development caused by prolonged stirring. The inclined surface formed by the curved steel wire 503... Facing the axis and with its inclination matching the spiral direction of the spiral body 502, the curved steel wire 503 acts on the liquid-solid material of flour being squeezed along the axial direction, gradually acting on the material moving axially along the direction of the curved steel wire 503; adjacent curved steel wires 503 intersect each other, so that the liquid-solid material being squeezed axially can be continuously subjected to the action of the steel wire; several curved steel wires are distributed along the spiral direction, and while the curved steel wires 503 are stirring the material, they also apply a forward thrust to the material, accelerating the forward speed of the material; in this way, it is ensured that the flour and liquid are continuously and evenly stirred in a short time while preventing the formation of gluten.

Claims

1. A continuous mixer, comprising a sleeve with a material inlet and a material outlet, and a mixer component rotatably disposed within the sleeve by a power mechanism, wherein the material inlet includes a solid material inlet and a liquid material inlet, the solid material inlet being a solid material inlet for introducing flour via a screw-type metering device, characterized in that, The agitator component includes a shaft, a spiral body disposed at the front section of the shaft, and several curved steel wires disposed at the rear section of the shaft. The two ends of the curved steel wires are fixed to the outer surface of the rear section of the shaft. The surface formed by the curved steel wires is inclined towards the axis of the shaft of the agitator component, and the inclination direction matches the spiral direction of the spiral body. Adjacent curved steel wires are interlaced with each other, and several curved steel wires are distributed along the spiral direction. Flour and liquid are introduced into the sleeve through the solid material inlet and liquid material inlet, respectively. They are pushed by the spiral body at the front of the shaft to the rear of the shaft and enter the working area of ​​the steel wire. Because the frontal area of ​​the steel wire is small, it cuts into the material and only moves the material at the frontal area, without moving the material around the frontal area or moving the entire material together. At the same time, it allows the materials to flow and penetrate each other. Thus, under the stirring of the steel wire, the flour and liquid are quickly and evenly mixed, preventing the occurrence of gluten development caused by prolonged stirring. When the steel wire acts on the liquid and solid material of flour that is being squeezed along the axial direction, it acts on the material moving along the axial direction gradually along the direction of the steel wire. This avoids the material around the frontal area from being rotated due to the large frontal area. At the same time, it allows the material to be continuously agitated by the steel wire along the direction of the steel wire, so that the material is fully mixed in a short time. The liquid-solid material squeezed along the axial direction can be continuously subjected to the continuous action of the steel wire, thereby further ensuring that the material is fully mixed in a short time, so as to ensure that the mixing of the material is completed in a short time. The curved steel wire stirs the material while applying a forward thrust, accelerating the material's movement and preventing it from becoming stiff due to prolonged stirring inside the mixer.

2. The continuous stirrer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The solid material inlet is located above the front end of the sleeve, and the liquid material inlet is located below the front end of the sleeve.

3. The continuous stirrer according to claim 2, characterized in that, Several curved steel wires distributed along the spiral direction constitute a curved steel wire group. There are two or more curved steel wire groups, which are evenly distributed along the circumference of the axis.

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