Claims
- 1. A planetary mill for grinding and/or mixing material comprising:
- a support frame;
- a first motor mounted to said support frame;
- a second motor mounted to said support frame;
- a gyration arm mounted to said support frame;
- a first container, which holds material for grinding and/or mixing, rotatably mounted at a first end of said gyration arm such that said first container is rotatable by said second motor about a first axis;
- a second container, which holds material for grinding and/or mixing, rotatably mounted at a second end of said gyration arm such that said second container is rotatable by said second motor about a second axis different from said first axis; and
- a split shaft transmission device having a first shaft coupled to said second motor for driving said first and second containers and a second shaft coupled to said first motor for driving said gyration arm, wherein said split shaft transmission device provides a third axis different from said first axis and different from said second axis.
- 2. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said first axis, said second axis, and said third axis are all substantially parallel to each other.
- 3. The planetary mill as defined in claim 2 wherein said first axis and said second axis are substantially equidistant from said third axis.
- 4. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said first motor is coupled to said second shaft by a belt and a pulley.
- 5. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said first motor is a fixed speed motor.
- 6. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said second motor is a variable speed motor.
- 7. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said second motor is coupled to a first pulley by a first belt, said first pulley being rotatable about said first shaft, said first pulley being coupled to a second pulley rotatable about said first axis, and said first pulley also being coupled to a third pulley rotatable about said second axis.
- 8. The planetary mill as defined in claim 7 wherein said second pulley is coupled to said first container such that rotating said second pulley causes said first container to rotate about said first axis.
- 9. The planetary mill as defined in claim 7 wherein said third pulley is coupled to said second container such that rotating said third pulley causes said second container to rotate about said second axis.
- 10. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said split shaft transmission device further comprises:
- a first pulley rotatable about said second shaft and capable of driving said gyration arm;
- a first belt coupling said first motor to said first pulley;
- a second pulley rotatable about said first shaft;
- a second belt coupling said second motor to said second pulley;
- a third pulley rotatable about said first axis and coupled to said second pulley; and
- a fourth pulley rotatable about said second axis and coupled to said second pulley.
- 11. The planetary mill as defined in claim 10 wherein said third pulley is coupled to said first container such that rotating said third pulley causes said first container to rotate about said first axis.
- 12. The planetary mill as defined in claim 10 wherein said fourth pulley is coupled to said second container such that rotating said fourth pulley causes said second container to rotate about said second axis.
- 13. The planetary mill as defined in claim 10 further comprising a fifth pulley rotatable about said third axis, said fifth pulley being coupled to said second pulley and coupled to said third pulley thereby coupling said third pulley to said second pulley.
- 14. The planetary mill as defined in claim 13 further comprising a sixth pulley rotatable about said third axis, said sixth pulley being coupled to said second pulley and coupled to said fourth pulley thereby coupling said fourth pulley to said second pulley.
- 15. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said first shaft and said second shaft are independently rotatable.
- 16. The planetary mill as defined in claim 15 further comprising a bearing which serves to align said first shaft and said second shaft.
- 17. The planetary mill as defined in claim 1 wherein said first container further comprises a first inlet, and wherein said second container further comprises a second inlet.
- 18. The planetary mill as defined in claim 17 further comprising a supply of the material in fluid communication with said first inlet and said second inlet.
- 19. The mill as defined in claim 18 further comprising:
- a first rotary joint axial with said first axis facilitating fluid communication between said supply and said first inlet; and
- a second rotary joint axial with said second axis facilitating fluid communication between said supply and said second inlet.
- 20. The mill as defined in claim 19 further comprising a third rotary joint axial with said third axis facilitating fluid communication between said supply and said first and second rotary joints.
- 21. The mill as defined in claim 20 further comprising:
- a first conduit providing fluid communication between said third rotary joint and said first rotary joint; and
- a second conduit providing fluid communication between said third rotary joint and said second rotary joint.
- 22. The planetary mill as defined in claim 21 wherein said first container further comprises a first outlet, and wherein said second container further comprises a second outlet, said first and second outlets allowing ground and/or mixed material to exit said containers.
- 23. The planetary mill as defined in claim 22 further comprising means for receiving the ground and/or mixed material as the ground and/or mixed material exits said outlets.
- 24. The planetary mill as defined in claim 23 wherein said means for receiving the ground and/or mixed material comprises a collection ring capable of continuously receiving the ground and/or mixed material.
- 25. The planetary mill as defined in claim 24 further comprising:
- a first protruding tube in fluid communication with said first outlet facilitating fluid flow therethrough; and
- a second protruding tube in fluid communication with said second outlet facilitating fluid flow therethrough.
- 26. The planetary mill as defined in claim 18 wherein said supply contains a slurry comprising the material to be mixed and/or ground mixed with a liquid.
- 27. A planetary mill for grinding and/or mixing material, comprising:
- a support frame;
- a first motor mounted to said support frame;
- a second motor mounted to said support frame;
- a first gyration arm mounted to said support frame;
- a first container rotatably mounted at a first end of said first gyration arm such that said first container is rotatable by said second motor about a first axis; and
- a second container rotatably mounted at a second end of said first gyration arm such that said second container is rotatable by said second motor about a second axis different from said first axis; and
- a split shaft drive having a first shaft and a second shaft defining a third axis, said first shaft coupled to said second motor to drive said first and second containers and said second shaft coupled to said first motor for rotating said first gyration arm about said third axis, which is different from said first axis and different from said second axis.
- 28. The planetary mill as defined in claim 27 further comprising:
- a second gyration arm mounted to said support frame substantially perpendicular with said first gyration arm, said second gyration arm being rotatable by said first motor about said third axis.
- 29. The planetary mill as defined in claim 27 further comprising:
- a second gyration arm mounted to said support frame such that a first angle formed between said second gyration arm and said first gyration arm is approximately sixty degrees, said second gyration arm being rotatable by said first motor about said third axis; and
- a third gyration arm mounted to said support frame such that a second angle formed between said third gyration arm and said first gyration arm is approximately sixty degrees and such that a third angle formed between said third gyration arm and said second gyration arm is approximately sixty degrees, said third gyration arm being rotatable by said first motor about said third axis.
- 30. The planetary mill as defined in claim 27 further comprising:
- a second gyration arm mounted to said support frame such that a first angle formed between said second gyration arm and said first gyration arm is approximately forty-five degrees, said second gyration arm being rotatable by said first motor about said third axis;
- a third gyration arm mounted to said support frame such that a second angle formed between said third gyration arm and said first gyration arm is approximately ninety degrees and such that a third angle formed between said third gyration arm and said second gyration arm is approximately forty-five degrees, said third gyration arm being rotatable by said first motor about said third axis; and
- a fourth gyration arm mounted to said support frame such that a fourth angle formed between said fourth gyration arm and said first gyration arm is approximately forty-five degrees and such that a fifth angle formed between said fourth gyration arm and said third gyration arm is approximately forty-five degrees, said fourth gyration arm being rotatable by said first motor about said third axis.
- 31. A method for grinding and/or mixing a material comprising the steps of:
- placing a material to be ground and/or mixed in a first container rotatably mounted about a first axis at a first end of a gyration arm, said first container further containing a grinding and/or mixing substance;
- rotating a split shaft having first and second shafts defining a second axis different from said first axis;
- rotating said gyration arm about said second shaft; and
- rotating said container about said first axis via said first shaft with a rotation direction and speed independent of said gyration arm.
- 32. The method as defined in claim 31 further comprising the steps of:
- placing the material to be ground and/or mixed in a second container rotatably mounted about a third axis, different from said first axis and said second axis, at a second end of said gyration arm, said second container further containing the grinding and/or mixing substance; and
- rotating said second container about said third axis via said first shaft with a rotation direction and speed independent of said gyration arm.
- 33. The method as defined in claim 32 further comprising the steps of:
- mixing the material to be ground and/or mixed with a liquid to create a slurry;
- feeding said slurry into said first container and into said second container; and
- collecting slurry including material that has been ground and/or mixed from said first container and from said second container.
- 34. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein said steps of feeding and collecting are accomplished continuously.
- 35. The method as defined in claim 32 wherein said step of rotating of said gyration arm is accomplished at a fixed rotational speed.
- 36. The method as defined in claim 32 wherein said first container and said second container are both rotatable at variable speeds.
- 37. The method as defined in claim 31 further comprising the steps of:
- mixing the material to be ground and/or mixed with a liquid to create a slurry;
- feeding said slurry into said first container; and
- collecting slurry including material that has been ground and/or mixed from said first container.
- 38. The method as defined in claim 37 wherein said steps of feeding and collecting are accomplished continuously.
- 39. The method as defined in claim 31 wherein said step of rotating of said gyration arm is accomplished at a fixed rotational speed.
- 40. The method as defined in claim 31 wherein said container is rotatable at variable speeds.
1. RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of provisional application application Ser. No. 60/076,246, filed on Feb. 27, 1998 for "DUAL DRIVE PLANETARY MILL," the content of which is incorporated herein by reference and the priority of which is claimed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e).
US Referenced Citations (37)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
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Ludovic Milin and Rej. K. Rajamani, "Kinetics of Alumina Ultrafine Grinding in a Planetary Ball Mill," Materials and Manufacturing Process, vol. 12, No. 2, 241-260, 1997. |
Peihong Ding, thesis entitled: "Ultrafine Grinding of Silicon Carbide in a Batch Planetary Mill.", Mar. 1996. |