Clay Mixing Apparatus with Pressure Reduction and Air Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clay mixing apparatuses face challenges in efficiently removing air from the mixing chamber, leading to potential crack or breakage during the biscuit firing step, and often result in distorted clay extrusion due to complex mechanisms and large size, making it difficult to remove air and maintain shape integrity.
Innovation Solution
A clay mixing apparatus with a mixing chamber, rotor, drive unit, ejecting unit, pressure reducing unit, and exhaust flow path, featuring a conical inner surface and blades with through-holes, which reduces internal pressure, efficiently removes air, and minimizes clay distortion by rotating the rotor with a screw and blades to extrude the clay without adhering to the chamber walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If the mixing chamber is formed into an upwardly enlarged shape to prevent clay adhesion, then clay adhesion is reduced, but the apparatus size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a specific region with different properties - the exhaust opening is positioned at a location where clay adhesion is problematic, and a localized exhaust flow is generated to remove adhesion only in that critical area, rather than redesigning the entire chamber shape
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful effect of clay adhesion is extracted and removed by introducing a separate exhaust flow path that specifically targets and removes adhering clay particles from the critical region near the exhaust opening, separating the adhesion removal function from the overall chamber geometry
2Productivity
If large blades are used to stir the clay, then mixing capacity increases, but air removal efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The blade structure is segmented by introducing through-holes that divide the blade into multiple sections, allowing air to pass through and be removed while maintaining the overall mixing capacity of the large blade structure
Solution Approach 2:
The blades are designed with through-holes creating a porous structure that allows air to pass through during mixing, enabling simultaneous high-capacity mixing and efficient air removal through the blade structure itself
3Productivity
If a helical screw is used to extrude the clay, then extrusion capability increases, but clay distortion occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a traditional helical screw that rotates and twists the clay causing distortion, the patent inverts the approach by using a linear plunger mechanism that pushes the clay straight forward without rotation, eliminating the distorting rotational force while maintaining extrusion capability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively reduces internal pressure, efficiently removes air from the clay, and minimizes distortion during extrusion, allowing for smoother operation and easier maintenance while maintaining the shape integrity of the extruded clay.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure reducing unit (27) arranged within the base (11) for reducing the internal pressure of the mixing chamber (13)
Implementation Method 2
an exhaust flow path (260) arranged to connect the pressure reducing unit (27) to an exhaust opening (523) opened into the mixing chamber (13)
Data Source
AI summary
A clay mixing apparatus includes a mixing chamber, a rotor arranged within the mixing chamber, a drive unit arranged to rotate the rotor, an ejecting unit, a pressure reducing unit; and an exhaust flow path. The rotor includes a shaft rotated by the drive unit, an extruding member and a mixing member. The mixing member includes a plurality of arms and a plurality of blades arranged at tip ends of the arms. The exhaust opening is opposed, in a radial direction about the center axis, to a portion of the mixing member lying near the extruding member and/or a portion of the extruding member lying near the mixing member.