초록 ▼

Novel and improved methods and apparatus for processing liquid or viscous materials. Essentially, the methods and apparatus involve feeding liquid materials to an annular processing passage for controlled processing. The annular processing passage is provided by two elements. One is a rotatable elem

Novel and improved methods and apparatus for processing liquid or viscous materials. Essentially, the methods and apparatus involve feeding liquid materials to an annular processing passage for controlled processing. The annular processing passage is provided by two elements. One is a rotatable element carrying at least one processing channel. The other element is stationary and provides a complementary coaxial surface arranged with the channel to provide the enclosed processing passage. Also associated with the stationary element are an inlet for feeding material to the passage, an outlet for discharging material from the passage, an element near the outlet providing a material collecting end wall surface and an element positioned between the inlet and outlet providing a liquid material spreading surface. Rotation of the rotatable element toward the spreading surface provides a coaction between the rotatable element and the spreading surface so that relative movement is established between the rotating inner channel walls and liquid material between the inlet and the spreader surface. Because of the relative movement, the liquid material is spread toward the walls and dragged by the walls through a clearance between the sides of the spreading surface providing member and the side walls as thin layers providing central spaces of the passage downstream of the spreader surface which are free of liquid material. Means are arranged for communicating with the free central spaces to add materials to or withdraw materials from the free central space.

대표청구항 ▼

Apparatus for processing plastic and polymeric material comprising: (a) a rotatable element carrying a plurality of adjacent annular processing channels including opposed side walls; (b) a stationary element providing a coaxial surface cooperatively arranged with said adjacent annular processing cha

Apparatus for processing plastic and polymeric material comprising: (a) a rotatable element carrying a plurality of adjacent annular processing channels including opposed side walls; (b) a stationary element providing a coaxial surface cooperatively arranged with said adjacent annular processing channels to provide enclosed processing passages; (c) inlets in said stationary element for introducing material to said processing channels; (d) outlets in said stationary element for discharging material from said processing channels; (e) means interconnecting said adjacent annular processing passages so that material discharged from the outlet of one of said adjacent processing channels is fed to the inlet of the next adjacent processing channel; (f) blocking members associated with said stationary element in proximity to said outlets and extending into said adjacent processing channels and substantially blocking said channels, said blocking members having a cross-sectional configuration complementary to the cross-sectional configuration of said processing channels and being positioned therein to impede further advance of material in said processing channels and to cooperate with the outlets of said processing passages to discharge said material and, (g) spreader members associated with said stationary element and extending into said adjacent processing channels over substantially the full depth of said processing channels at a location proximate to, but offset in the direction of rotation of said processing channels from said inlets whereby said spreader members are spaced a substantially major portion of the circumferential distance of said passage from said blocking members of said adjacent processing channels, said spreader members having cross-sectional configurations complementary to the cross-sectional configurations of said adjacent processing channels and being of lesser width in cross-section than said processing channels to provide a relatively narrow clearance between each of said opposed side walls of said processing channels and said spreader members thereby to block advance of material in a central portion of said adjacent processing channels and to spread liquid material on the rotating side walls and permit said spread material to be carried past said spreader members toward said blocking members as a thin layer on the side walls whereby a free central space is provided in each of said adjacent processing channels in advance of said spreader members in the direction of rotation of said processing channels; and (h) ports in said stationary element in advance of said spreader members in the direction of rotation of said adjacent processing channels and providing access to said free central spaces formed by said spreader members during operation of the apparatus.