AU648118B2

AU648118B2 - Portable mortar mixer

Info

Publication number: AU648118B2
Application number: AU86705/91A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Maxwell Aubrey Carter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-10-25
Filing date: 1991-10-24
Publication date: 1994-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-24
Also published as: AU8670591A

Description

P/00/0O11 28/&1 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 -r

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIRiCATION STANDARD PATENT Invention T itle: 9 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:goo* .1 .I *:Do* .I .I .I 1 1. 2 PORTABLE MORTAR MIXER The present invention relates to a portable mixer and relates particularly but not exclusively to a portable mixer for mixing mortar, concrete and the like.

Presently, in the case of laying bricks, for example, mortar or concrete is mixed in a concrete mixer, transferred to a wheelbarrow for transport to the point of use and then transferred to a mortar board. The mortar is then transferred by trowel portion by portion to the actual place where a brick is to be laid. The repetitive transfer of mortar from the mortar board trowel-full by trowel-full can result in strain or injury due to the weight of mortar transferred. Injury or strain is also.possible in the wheeling of heavy barrow loads of mortar on perhaps uneven or slippery building sites.

Similarly, presently known mixers are cumbersome and similarly liable to produce strain or other injury when used to produce concrete for or to repair a drain, culvert oxr the like in remote areas where it is uneconomic to utilise a "ready-mix" concrete truck or vehicle or where it 00 is just not possible to gain access to a desired site by such a vehicle. Typical pours or mixes in such circumstances range from about 1 to 4m 3 (35 140m 3 a It is an object of this invention to provide a mixer which overcomes or alleviates problems and disadvantages of known concrete mixing devices.

The present invention therefore provides a concrete mixer for mixing and pumping a cementitious mixture or slurry to a desired site remote from the mixer which comprises a mixing tank having mixing means disposed therein 3 for mixing the cementitious mixture or slurry, a pump for pumping the mixture or slurry, a conduit for delivery of the cementitious mixture or slurry to the desired site, a dispensing nozzle for dispensing the cementitious mixture or slurry at the site, and a motor operatively connected to said mixing means and said pump for driving said mixing means and said pump.

3 The invention also provides a concrete mixer for mixing and pumping a cementitious mixture or slurry to a desired site which comprises, at least two mixing tanks, each tank having mixing means disposed therein for mixing the cementitious mixture or slurry, each tank having a pump for pumping the mixture or slurry, manifold means to connect each pump to an outlet, a conduit for deli-tecy of the cementitious mixture or slurry to the desired site, and a motor operatively connected to said mixing means and said pump for driving said mixing means and pump. referably the manifold includes valve means to direct the flow of cementitious mixture from any one or more of the at least two mixing tanks. In a further preferred form the mixer has 2, 3 or 4 mixing tanks.

Preferably the mixing means comprises a shaft having a plurality of replaceable paddle arms each having a replaceable paddle attached to the end thereof. Preferably the dispensing nozzle incluaes means to interrupt the flow of the cementitious mixture or slurry from the dispenser.

Preferably the means to interrupt the flow of the cementitious mixture or slurry comprises a clutch between said motor and pump operatively connected to a clutch lever on said dispensing means. Preferably, the dispensing nozzle includes means to assist in the application of the S*2. 25 cementitious mixture or slurry to or at the desired site.

Preferably the mixer additionally includes a wheel or wheels mounted to enable movement of the mixer from one place to another.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 represents a side view of a mixer constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 represents a partial plan view of the 35 mixer of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial side-view of an alternative mixer which shows the pumn means in more.detail.

Figure 4 is an ea- view of the mixer of Figure 3.

g 4 Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of the pump means of the mixer.

Figure 6 is a view of a dispensing tool for the mixer.

Figure 7 is a view of an alternative dispensing tool for the mixer.

Referring generally to Figures 1 to 4, there is shown a mixer 11 including a housing or mixing tank 12 having mounted therein driver shaft 13 having paddles 14 10 mounted thereon by means of paddle shafts 15. The paddles i0 14 and paddle shafts 15 are preferably releasably mounted to enable ready replacement of worn or otherwise damaged paddle shafts and paddles.

The drive shaft 13 is driven by motor 16 geared as 15 required by belt 42 and pulley 43 or otner means to rotate the shaft at a speed suitable for mixing of mortar. The motor 16 also drives pump meaps 17 as will be described later. The drive shaft is mounted by means of suitable bearings and seals 13a to permit the paddle shafts and 20 paddles to freely rotate within tank 12. The tank or tak.Lf best mixing results and for best dispensing of mortar has a semi-cylindrical cross section to conform to the radius of the mixing paddles on rotation and to provide clearance as S desired. The paddles 14 are preferably rectangular steel 25 plates including rubber seals which abut against the cylindrical section of the tank 12 to provide complete mixing of the mortar mix. The paddles preferably are staggered axially and radially to provide adequate mixing of the mortar mix. The paddles may be set at an angle to the 30 axis of the drive shaft to assist in mixing of the mortar mix in the axial direction as compared to mixing merely in a radial or circumferential direction. The paddle shaft may include additional paddles attached or mounted intermediate Sbetween the drive shaft and the paddles 14 mounted on the ends thereof remote from the drive shaft. The mixer preferably includes a steel mesh cover 12a fixed over the open top of the tank 12 to guard against injury but to permit addition of mortar mix ingredients to the tank 12.

o o •ooo 5 The pump 17 which is mounted towards the deepest portion of the tank 12 has pump pick up cavity 18 in the tank 12 which enables the pump 17 to pump material from within the tank 12 to pump outlet 32 which may be connected by hose means 18 to dispenser 20 as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Referring to Figure 5, there is shown a pump means 17 which comprises a single or double screw conveyor 21 mounted within pump housing 22 and driven by pump drive shaft 23 connected by suitable means to mortar 16. The pump outlet 32 is connected by suitable connector means 25 to hose means 19 Referring to Figure 6, there is shown a dispenser in the form of a trowel device 26 having handle 27 and trowel blade 28. The delivery hose means 19 may be attached to or pass through handle 27 to deliver mortar mix to the trowel blade 28. The-pump means 17 may include clutch means o*"29 operated by clutch lever 30 and pump clutch 31 to permit intermittent delivery of mortar mix via hose 19 to the *o dispenser 26.

Referring to Figure 7, there is shown an S* alternative dispenser 33 which is in the form of a gun configuration with handle 34 and barrel section 35 with dispenser nozzle 36. The end 37 of the barrel 35 remote from the nozzle is connected by hose 19 to the pump (not shown) as in Figure 6. The dispenser includes lever means 38 pivoted by pivot means 39. The end 40 of lever 38 projects across the barrel 35 through slot 41 with the lever biassed by bias means (such as a spring not shown) towards end 40 abutting against the inside of the barrel section to halt flow of mortar mix from nozzle 36.

30 The dispenser 33 also 'may include a blade as in Figure 6 to assist with the placement of the cementitious mixture or slurry or the like.

It will be seen from Figures 6 and 7 that the dispenser device can provide intermittent flow of mortar mix to the nozzle.

The mixer as shown in Figure 1 may include a wheel or wheels and handles in order that it may be transported or 6 moved in the manner of a wheelbarrow. Such a mixer which may hold from 2 to 4 3 of mortar mix (0.06-1.12m 3 is suitable for use by a single bricklayer and avoids repetitive stooping and lifting of mortar mix on a hand trowel as is currently the practice amongst bricklayers.

The mixer as shown in Figures 3 and 4 may be mounted on a truck tray or trailer and may be of a size to conveniently hold from 35 to 140p 3 of mortar mix (1 to 4m 3 Preferred tank size is about (2m 2 The mixer may be constructed of any suitable material such as mild steel, stainless steel or aluminium in a manner known in the metal working art.

Whilst I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be readily understood that many modifications may be made to the device described without departing from the scope of the invention described herein.

For example, the drive mechanism between the mortar and the mixing means and/or pump may be any convenient drive mechanism such as direct geared drive, belt and pulley drive or chain and sprocket drive or any convenient combination thereof. Where the mixer includes two or more.mixing tanks these may be aligned so that the drive shafts of the mixing means are coaxial to enable them to.be simply driven by a single motor drive means. The motoriy petrol k vo r.

The mixer preferably includes recirculation means interposed between the pump and the delivery conduit to c e M en- -o enable the emrne-i -otij mixture or slurry to be recycled through the pump and mixing tank whilst the delivery of cementitious mixture or slurry is interrupted.

DATED THIS 19TH DAY OF MARCH, 1991 MAXWELL AUBREY CARTER WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS THE ATRIUM 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN, VICTORIA 3122

AUSTRALIA

IAS:JC (17.10)

Claims

1. An apparatus (for mixing and dispensing a cementitious mixture having flow properties, the apparatus) having a mixing tank into which cementitious precursors can be addei, mixing means in the tank for mixing the precursors to form the cementitious mixture having flc; properties, a pump having an inlet adjacent the bottom of the tank, and an outlet a hose connected to the outlet of the pump and through which the cementitious mixture can be pumped by the pump, a dispensing nozzle attached to the hose and through which the mixture can pass, and a motor to drive the mixing means and the pump.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mixing means comprises a horizontal rotatable shaft having a plurality of replaceable radically extending paddle arms each having a replaceable paddle attached to the end thereof.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the dispensing nozzle includes means to interrupt the flow of the cementitious mixture or slurry from the nozzle.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the means to interrupt the flow of the cementitious mixture or slurry comprises a clutch between said motor and pump operatively connected to a hand operable lever on said dispensing means.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the dispensing nozzle includes means to assist in the application of the cementitious mixture or slurry to or at the desired site.

6. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to which additionally includes a wheel or wheels mounted to enable movement of the mixer from place to place.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein a single front wheel is provided extending in front of the tank and 8 rearwardly extending lifting handles are provided such that the apparatus can be lifted and manoeuvred like a wheel barrow.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the paddles are substantially planar and extend along a plane in line with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the inlet of the pump is positioned in the tank such that downward rotation of the paddles caused the mixture to be pushed through the inlet. An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this second day of February 1994. MAXWELL AUBREY CARTER By His Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO *i *oO