Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION: “AN AGITATOR HAVING A PLUG-IN IMPELLER ASSEMBLY AND A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME”
2. APPLICANTS:
1.
(a) Name : Advantage Plus
(b) Nationality : INDIAN
(c) Address : Plot 1113, Road B23, Phase IV, GIDC, Vitthal Udyognagar, Anand– 388 121,Gujarat, India.

PROVISIONAL

The following specification describes the invention. ? COMPLETE

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an agitator for glass lined equipment and more particularly it relating to the agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly for use in stirring, agitating, mixing, and so forth materials such as reactants and reaction products within a vessel.
Background of Invention
An agitator is a device or mechanism to put something into motion by stirring or oscillating. There are several types of agitation machines, including washing machine agitators (which rotate back and forth) and magnetic agitators (which contain a magnetic bar rotating in a magnetic field). Agitators can come in many sizes and varieties, depending on the application. In general, agitators usually consist of an impeller and a shaft.
Modern industrial agitators incorporate process control to maintain better control over the mixing process. The agitators are used to increase heat transfer, mixing and to maintain particles in suspension.
In the context of glass-lined equipment, an agitator refers to a mechanical device used to mix or blend the contents of a vessel. Glass-lined equipment is widely used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries due to its corrosion resistance and durability.
Agitators are an essential component of glass-lined vessels, as they help to ensure that the contents are thoroughly mixed and homogenized. The design and configuration of an agitator depend on several factors, including the type of vessel, the properties of the materials being mixed, and the desired mixing intensity.
The history of agitators in glass-lined equipment dates back to the early 20th century, when glass-lined vessels first became popular in industrial applications. Early agitator designs were relatively simple, consisting of a single impeller mounted on a vertical shaft. However, as the demand for more efficient mixing increased, more sophisticated designs were developed, including double and triple stage impeller configurations, as well as helical, anchor-shaped blades and many more.
Today, agitators are an integral part of glass-lined equipment, with a wide variety of designs and configurations available to meet the specific needs of different applications. The use of computer-aided design (CAD) software has enabled manufacturers to optimize agitator design and performance, resulting in more efficient mixing and reduced maintenance requirements.
Overall, the development and evolution of agitators in glass-lined equipment have played a crucial role in the advancement of industrial processes, enabling the efficient mixing and blending of a wide variety of materials.
The Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, illustrate the conventional impeller agitator comprises a connecting head (1’) having through hole to let the hot air pass, a shaft pipe (2’), an air vent holes (7’) provided at the end of the shaft pipe (2’), a cap (3’, 5’) and a hollow blades (4’) welded on the end of the shaft pipe (2’) through maintain the gap between the air vent holes (7’). In this conventional impeller agitator, the manufacturing method comprising following steps:
a. In the first step the design of agitator is done by including the dimensions and shapes of impeller blades, shaft pipe (2’) and overall assembly.
b. Since, the agitators in question here is glass lined agitators, material selection is of the utmost importance. Special grades of pipes are to be selected which are suitable for glass lining process, similarly the material for end caps (3’) is also of special grade low carbon steel, which allows the glassing on steel.
c. Fabrication:
Fabrication steps are mentioned below for conventional impeller agitator.
? Welding of a connecting head (1’) to theagitator shaft pipe (2’);
? Machining of shaft;
? Welding of cap on impeller shaft pipe (2’) and drilling (for air vent of agitator blades) at the bottom end of agitator shaft;
? Welding of the cap (5’) on the blades;
? Heat treatment of blades and pressing the blades on hydraulic press;
? The blades are heat treated and then pressed to get the desired shape by using die and punch on appropriate hydraulic press;
? Cutting of the hydraulic pressed blades and forming a “V” groove at the edges of the blades preparation in profile shape suitable to shaft pipe;
? Setup of blades on agitator shaft pipe (2’);
? The blades are setup for welding on the agitator shaft pipe (2’)by ensuring that the air vent holes (7’) on the shaft are placed inside the hollow portion of the blade for hot air to release;
? After completing the welding process of the shaft pipe (2’) and the cap (5’) along with blades, the agitator is welded as per the weld design plan and then grounding is done;
? The NDT (Non Destructive Testing) testing is carried out to ensure that there are no defects in welding.
For manufacturing of glass lined conventional impeller agitators as described above, fabrication process is very lengthy and has numerous sub-processes which are highly time consuming and requires special skills and machineries. Also it is difficult to repair after failure of agitator during processing of corrosive chemicals because of its construction design.
Further, the agitator is a moving part, the majority of glass lining failures occur on the agitator blade. In the event of failure of glass lining, the vent holes (7’) are developed on the agitator due to highly corrosive process chemicalsand the highly corrosive medium enters inside of blades and agitator shaft pipe (2’). Thus, pipe of the agitator and the all blades of agitator is corroded from inside and is damaged, thus it cannot be repaired/re-glass-liningand the whole assembly has to be replaced.
Moreover, in the process of manufacturing the conventional agitators, there are several weld joints required to anchor the agitator’s parts i.e. connecting head (1’) anchored with pipe, pipe with end cap (3’), no. of hollow blades with pipe and no. of hollow blades (4’) with end cap (3’).
Hence, it was needed to design a plug-in agitator with solid bladefor glass lined process equipment and process of manufacturing the same to overcome the problems associated with the conventional agitators.
Object of Invention
The main object of the present invention is to overcome the problem associated with conventional agitators by providing an agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly with solid bladefor glass lined process equipment and a method for manufacturing the same.
Another object of the present invention is toreplace the conventional agitators that are manufactured using the numerous fabrication processes.
Another object of the present invention is to make the process of manufacturing agitator more efficient, fast and economical and also prevent the damage during the usage of agitator in process industry from complete failure of solid bladesand extended hollow shaft pipe.
Another object of the present invention is to developing process of manufacturing an agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly with solid bladeswhich replaces the conventional method of manufacturing the agitators for original equipment manufacturer.
Another object of the present invention is to making a solid blade from the titanium stabilized steel for better adhesion of glass with all side of glass lining to metal.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved design of the solid blade hub to eliminate the requirements of the vent holes for hot air release during the process.
Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce the welding joints to fix a plug-in agitator with the agitator assembly.
Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce the cost of manufacturing the agitators for original equipment manufacturers.
Yet another object of the present invention is to eliminate the risk of damage to the inside of the shaft pipe.
These and other objects will be apparent based on the disclosure herein.
Summary of Invention
The present invention relates to an agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly in particular to manufacturing of glass lined agitators and fabrication process of the same. The present invention has been designed in a way that it replaces the need of air vent holes at the end of the extended hollow shaft pipe and the need of the end caps to cover the extended hollow shaft pipe in the conventional agitators by providing a plug-in agitator.
The plug-in agitator according to the present invention comprises a connecting head being connected at the top end of an extended hollow shaft pipe and a plug-in impeller assembly being anchored with the extended hollow shaft pipe at the bottom end thereof. The connecting head & the plug-in impeller assembly may be welded with the top end of the extended hollow shaft pipe.
Brief Description of Drawings
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1a illustrates the sectional view of the conventional agitator assembly parts of the conventional impeller agitators.
Fig. 1b illustrates the solid view of the connecting head (1’) and pipe of the conventional impeller agitators.
Fig. 2a illustrates a cross sectional view of hollow pipe shaft of conventional agitator.
Fig. 2b illustrates the solid view of theconventional agitator assembly.
Fig. 3 illustrates the sectional view of the agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly with solid blade (4) for glass lined process equipment according to present invention.
Fig. 4 illustrates the perspective view of the plug-in impeller assembly according to present invention.
Fig. 4a illustrates the cross sectional view of the solid blades (4) of the plug-in impeller assembly according to present invention.
Fig. 5 illustrates the sectional view of the solid blade hub of the plug-in impeller assembly according to present invention.
Fig. 5a illustrates the cross sectional view of thesolid blade hub of the plug-in impeller assembly according to present invention.
Detailed Description of Invention
Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompany drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiment, as depicted in different figures as described above and of being practiced or carried out in a variety of ways. It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
It is to be also understood that the term "comprises" and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article "comprising" (or "which comprises") components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also contain one or more other components.
The present invention discloses an agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly with solid blade for glass lined process equipment which is more efficient, fast and economical than the conventional manufactured agitators and it prevents the damage during usage of agitator in process industry from complete failure of agitator blades and shaft pipe. Further, the present invention discloses the manufacturing process of the agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly with solid bladewhich is more efficient, fast and economical than the conventional manufacturing process of the agitators.
It is to be noted that an agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly according to the present invention is assembled inside the vessel (not shown) which may be a reactor of the type used in the chemical industry or any other process industry. These vessels oftentimes are quite large, and during processing of material it is not an uncommon occurrence that high pressures or vacuum develop within the confines of the vessel itself. Vessels of the type described above may be formed generally by a base, a wall which extends from the base toward a top which encloses the vessel.
Now as shown in Fig.3, it illustrates an agitator assembly with plug-in impeller assembly (3) according to the present invention. The agitator assembly comprises a connecting head (1) being connected at the top end of an extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and a plug-in impeller assembly (3) being anchored with the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) at the bottom end thereof. The connecting head (1) and the plug-in impeller assembly (3) may be welded at the respective end of the extend hollow shaft pipe (2). The free end of the connecting head (1) is operationally connected with the motor (not shown) fixed on the top of the vessel. The mixing operation in the vessel is done when the connecting head (1) starts the rotation along with the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and the impeller assembly operated through the motor.
Now as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 4a, the plug-in impeller assembly (3) according to the present invention comprises solid blades (4) and a solid blade hub (5). Said solid blades (4) are radially extended with respect to the solid blade hub (5). The solid blades (4) are preferably but not limited to, made from the material of titanium stabilized steel plate. These solid blades (4) are cut from the special grade i.e. SA562 steel plate as per design and shape requirements of the agitator. It is to be noted that the solid blades (4) are machined as per the stringent requirements of glass lining. All edges of the solid blades (4) are machined as per the radius requirements of glass lining process.
Now in continuation with Fig. 4, 5 and Fig. 5a, the solid blade hub (5) is formed with a guide step (6) that is to be inserted within the extended hollow shaft pipe (2). Further, V shaped grooves (7) are formed on the outer periphery of the solid blade hub (5) to accommodate the solid blades (4) through welding.
It is to be noted that, the plug-in impeller assembly (3) of the agitator according to the present invention is used in any type of agitators. The use ofimpeller assembly is not is not limited to only one type of agitator.
The manufacturing method of the agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) according to the present invention comprising following steps:
a. In the first step, the design of agitator is done by including the dimensions and shapes of solid blades (4), extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and solid blade hub (5);
b. Second, selecting the material for the solid blades (4) i.e. titanium stabilized steel grade SA562 and for solid blade hub (5) i.e. carbon steel grade SA836.
c. The solid blades (4) of the plug-in impeller assembly (3) are machined as per the stringent requirements of glass lining. All edges of the solid blades (4) are machined as per the radius requirements of glass lining process;
d. After the machining process, these solid blades (4) are pressed on a hydraulic press as per design requirement;
e. Preparing the solid blade hub (5) by the forging process in which the solid blade hub (5) having a guide step (6) to accommodate the solid blade hub (5) inside the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and V shaped grooves (7) to accommodate the solid blades (4) on the outer periphery of the solid blade hub (5);
f. After the forging process of the solid blade hub (5), the solid blades (4) are welded on the outer periphery of the solid blade hub (5) as per the requirements;
g. Once the solid blades (4) are welded on the solid blade hub (5), the plug-in impeller assembly (3) is ready for final setup;
h. Insert the plug-in impeller assembly(3) through the guide step (6) of the solid blade hub (5) inside bottom end of the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and weld the plug-in impeller assembly (3) through a single weld joint (8) by the glass lined equipment manufacturers.
It is to be noted that the present invention has been designed in a way that it replaces the need of air vent holes (7’) at the end of the hollow shaft pipe (2’) and the need of the end caps (3’) to cover the hollow shaft pipe (2’) by providing a plug-in agitator [as shown in Fig 1 and 2].
Also, since these solid blades (4) are made from the special grade of steel plate, there are no chances of corrosive material entering in the agitator extended hollow shaft pipe (2) in the event of glass lining failure from blade (4). If, there is a glass lining failure by any chance, a single blade (4) can be removed or portion of damaged agitator blade/wing and replace by new blade/wing of new portion of agitator blade/wing, there is no need to change the whole assembly of the plug-in agitator.
The invention has been explained in relation to specific embodiment. It is inferred that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the present invention and it is not intended that the invention be limited or restrictive thereto. Many other specific embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure.
All substitution, alterations and modification of the present invention which come within the scope of the following claims are to which the present invention is readily susceptible without departing from the invention. The scope of the invention should therefore be determined not with reference to the above description but should be determined with reference to appended claims along with full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
List of Reference Numerals
1, 1’. Connecting Head
2, 2’. Hollow Shaft Pipe
3. Plug-in Impeller Assembly
3’. Pipe End Cape
4. Solid Blade
4’. Hollow Pipe Blade
5. Solid Blade Hub
5’. Blade End Cape
6. Guide Step
7. V-Shaped Grooves
7’. Air Went Hole
8, 6’. Weld Joint

, Claims:We Claim:
1. An agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) comprises:
a vertically oriented hollow shaft pipe (2) having a top end and a bottom end; said extended hollow shaft pipe (2) is suspended within a vessel, a connecting head (1) being connected at the top end of the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and a plug-in impeller assembly (3) being anchored with the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) at the bottom end thereof;
a plug-in impeller assembly (3) comprises a solid blades (4) and a solid blade hub (5);
said solid blades (4) are radially extended with respect to the solid blade hub (5);
characterized in that,
said solid blade hub (5) is formed with a guide step (6)adapted to be inserted within the extended hollow shaft pipe (2);
“v” grooves (7) are formed on an outer periphery of the said solid blade hub (5) to accommodate the solid blades (4) through welding.
2. The agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting head (1) and the plug-in impeller assembly (3) are anchored with the respective ends of the hollow shaft pipe (2) through welding.
3. The agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the free end of the connecting head (1) is operationally connected with a motor fixed on a top of the vessel.
4. The agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solid blades (4) are preferably made from the material of titanium stabilized steel plate.
5. The agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the solid blades (4) are cut from the special grade i.e. SA562 steel plate as per design and shape requirements of the agitator.
6. The agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solid blade hub (5) is preferably made from the material of carbon steel grade SA836.
7. A method for manufacturing an agitator having a plug-in impeller assembly (3) comprising following steps:
a. designing the agitator including the dimensions and shapes of a plug-in impeller assembly (3);
b. selecting the titanium stabilized steel grade SA562 material for the solid blades (4) and carbon steel grade SA836 for the solid blade hub (5);
c. cutting the solid blades (4)of the plug-in impeller assembly (3) from the titanium stabilized steel plate grade SA562 as per design and shape requirements;
d. machining the solid blades (4) of the plug-in impeller assembly (3) as per the stringent and radius requirements of glass lining;
e. pressing the solid blades (4) for desired profile in a hydraulic press as per design requirement;
f. preparing the solid blade hub (5) by the forging process in which the solid blade hub (5) having a guide step (6) to accommodate the solid blade hub (5) inside the bottom end of the extended hollow shaft pipe (2) and a V shaped grooves (7) to accommodate the solid blades (4) on the outer periphery of the solid blade hub (5);
g. welding the solid blades (4) on the outer periphery of the solid blade hub (5) as per the design requirements;
h. inserting the plug-in impeller assembly (3) through the guide step (6) of the solid blade hub (5) inside bottom end of the hollow shaft pipe (2) and weld the plug-in impeller assembly (3) through a single weld joint (8).
Dated this on 22nd Day of November, 2023.