초록 ▼

A mixing agitator for use in a kettle wherein food is mixed either with or without cooking of the food, the invention allows gentle mixing of substantially liquid mixtures to suspend solids uniformly therein without damage to the solids. The agitator preferably takes the form of a rotary shaft horiz

A mixing agitator for use in a kettle wherein food is mixed either with or without cooking of the food, the invention allows gentle mixing of substantially liquid mixtures to suspend solids uniformly therein without damage to the solids. The agitator preferably takes the form of a rotary shaft horizontally disposed within a kettle having a substantially hemispherical bottom portion, the shaft having contoured blade-like elements attached thereto which act on rotation of the shaft to lift material from the bottom of the kettle to the top of the body of the food and thus produce a uniform dispersion of liquid and solid materials during a cooking/mixing processing phase, a mixing only phase, or a subsequent phase of dispensing the uniformly mixed material from the kettle. The blade-like elements can be provided at free ends thereof with contoured scrapers which are arcuately shaped to conform to localized portions of the bottom portion of the kettle and which in combination act to uniformly scrape the food-contacting walls of the kettle to prevent “burn-on”of certain food materials during a mixing/cooking processing phase.

대표청구항 ▼

In a mixing apparatus including a kettle within which materials are mixed by the action of an agitator, the improvement comprising: a rotary shaft disposed within the kettle at an angle to the vertical; blade means carried by the shaft for displacing and lifting the materials to mix material in port

In a mixing apparatus including a kettle within which materials are mixed by the action of an agitator, the improvement comprising: a rotary shaft disposed within the kettle at an angle to the vertical; blade means carried by the shaft for displacing and lifting the materials to mix material in portions of the kettle with material in other portions thereof; scraper means carried by the blade means for scraping inner walls of the kettle to prevent binding of the material to said inner walls and to facilitate heat transfer through said walls; and, means carried by the blade means for constantly adjusting the position of the scraper means to accommodate surface irregularities in the inner walls of the kettle and surface wear of the scraper means to maintain the scraper means in scraping relation to the inner walls of the kettle, the adjusting means comprising a pin carried by the blade means and having a portion which is spaced from the surface of the blade means and is substantially parallel thereto, the scraper means being received for pivotal movement on said portion of the pin, and, spring means carried on the portion of the pin and having a first portion which biases against the blade means and a second portion which biases against the scraper means for holding the scraper means under tension.