Continuous compartmented mixer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is an object of the invention to overcome the disadvantages described above and provide a mixing method and apparatus which will have the mixing efficiency of a batch mixer while at the same time enabling the ingredients of the product to be added continuously and the fully mixed product to be discharged continuously.
In the broadest aspect of the invention a continuous mixer is provided, the mixer having an elongated tub with at least two end-to-end compartments, each compartment having two elongated rotatable agitators therein arranged for batch mixing within the compartment, means for continuously transferring a portion of the product in the first of two adjacent compartments to the next at a controlled rate of transfer, and means for continuously discharging a portion of the product in the last compartment from that compartment at a controlled rate substantially the same as the rate of transfer from one adjacent compartment to the next.
A further aspect of the invention is that at least one screw is provided to transfer the product from one adjacent compartment to the next, the screw being rotatable with one of the agitators so that transfer is made during the batch mixing in the compartments.
A still further aspect of the invention is that the rate of rotation of the agitators and screw is chosen for optimal mixing and that the direction of rotation of the agitators and screw are repeatedly reversed for better mixing and at a ratio of forward to reverse rotation to product incremental transfer of the product at an optimal rate from one compartment to the next.
Yet another aspect of the invention is that the compartments are separately heated so that they may be kept at different temperatures for optimal even cooking of a product.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.