Patents Assigned to Inoue Mfg., Inc.
  • Patent number: 9675951
    Abstract: A slurry treatment material containing solid particles mixed in liquid is finely pulverized, without using dispersion media, by flowing the treatment material into a vessel and through an annular fine gap formed between an inner wall of the vessel and an outer periphery face of a rotatable body mounted within the vessel. Rotation of the rotatable body subjects the treatment material to compression, expansion and shearing treatments. After passing through the annular fine gap, the treatment material flows into an ultrasonic chamber where it is irradiated with ultrasonic waves that break up and disintegrate agglomerated clumps of solid particles that may be present in the treatment material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: INOUE MFG., INC.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Inoue, Junichi Nagashima
  • Patent number: 9358510
    Abstract: A planetary mixer includes frame-shaped blades configured to undergo planetary motion within a tank having a generally cylindrical inner surface and a plate-shaped bottom surface including corners formed with a curved face throughout an entire circumference of the bottom surface. Each of the blades has a vertical side portion extending along the inner surface of the tank and a bottom side portion extending along the bottom surface of the tank and connected at generally right angles to lower ends of the vertical side portion to form blade corners each formed with a curved face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: INOUE MFG., INC.
    Inventors: Masakazu Inoue, Seiji Nagai, Tomoharu Kawahara
  • Patent number: 9346027
    Abstract: A planetary mixer has stirring blades that undergo planetary motion within a tank in close proximity to an inner wall of the tank for stirring solid/liquid type treatment materials received by the tank. Each of the stirring blades includes a vertical side portion having two slope faces slanting toward the inner wall of the tank, an edge face connecting outward front ends of the slope faces, and an inner face connecting inward front ends of the slope faces. The outward front ends are disposed closer to the tank inner wall than are the inward front ends, with a distance between the inward front ends being greater than a distance between the outward front ends. The inner face is formed in the shape of an arc having a center located at an intersection of a line interconnecting the inward front ends and centerline running through a center of the edge face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: INOUE MFG., INC.
    Inventors: Masakazu Inoue, Seiji Nagai, Tomoharu Kawahara
  • Publication number: 20150231579
    Abstract: A planetary mixer which is used for production steps of various products in chemistry, medical treatment, electronics, ceramics, medicines, foods, feed and the like, and in which flame-shaped stirring blades are allowed to perform planetary motion in a tank, by which solid/liquid type treatment materials are subjected to stirring, blending, mixing/kneading, kneading or the like and it is intended to prevent adhesion of materials to a vertical side portion of the flame-shaped stirring blades. The vertical side portion 22 of the frame-shaped stirring blades 20 is constituted to have a cross-sectional configuration which has two slope faces 25, 26 slanting toward an inner wall of the tank, an edge face 29 connecting outward front ends 28 of the slope faces, and an arcuate inner face 30 connecting inward front ends 27 of the slope faces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2012
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Applicant: INOUE MFG., INC.
    Inventors: Masakazu Inoue, Seiji Nagai, Tomoharu Kawahara
  • Publication number: 20140010041
    Abstract: A planetary mixer includes frame-shaped blades configured to undergo planetary motion within a tank having a generally cylindrical inner surface and a plate-shaped bottom surface including corners formed with a curved face throughout an entire circumference of the bottom surface. Each of the blades has a vertical side portion extending along the inner surface of the tank and a bottom side portion extending along the bottom surface of the tank and connected at generally right angles to lower ends of the vertical side portion to form blade corners each formed with a curved face.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventors: Masakazu INOUE, Seiji NAGAI, Tomoharu KAWAHARA
  • Patent number: 8172166
    Abstract: A roll mill for a milling-dispersing treatment has a fixed roll fixed to a frame, and a transfer roll displaceable into and out of contact with the fixed roll in a direction perpendicular to the fixed roll by a servomotor and a ball screw. A laser sensor disposed between the fixed roll and the transfer roll measures the distance between the rolls, and a load sensor measures a pressing force between the rolls. An electronic automatic control device maintains a constant distance and a constant pressing force between the fixed roll and the transfer roll by feedback of detection signals sent from the respective sensors, wherein the servomotor is driven by the electronic automatic control device to adjust the position of the transfer roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Inoue, Choji Hatsugai
  • Patent number: 7896267
    Abstract: A material to be treated containing solid particles in a liquid is stirred together with milling media, and irradiated with ultrasonic waves during stirring to finely mill the solid particles to nanometer size and disperse the solid particles in the liquid. The ultrasonic waves create cavitation in the liquid and upon decay of the cavitation, shock waves are produced that cause the solid particles to vigorously collide with one another and with the milling media and these collisions, together with the shearing forces created by collision of the milling media, can produce on a commercial scale nano particles having an average particle size of at most 100 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: National Institute for Materials Science & Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventors: Takamasa Ishigaki, Ji-Guang Li, Kimitoshi Sato, Hidehiro Kamiya, Yoshitaka Inoue, Choji Hatsugai, Takashi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6585180
    Abstract: A pipeline beads mill has a dispersion chamber, a first feeding port for feeding a material to be treated into the dispersion chamber, a second feeding port for feeding a dispersion media into the dispersion chamber, a tubular outer stator disposed in the dispersion chamber, and a tubular inner stator disposed in the outer stator in spaced-apart relation thereto to form a treatment gap therebetween for receiving the dispersion media and the material to be treated. The inner stator has an outflow port in communication with the treatment gap. A tubular rotor is disposed in the dispersion chamber and partitions the treatment gap into an outer gap portion and an inner gap portion. A rotationally driven shaft rotates the rotor to displace the dispersion media so as to disperse the material to be treated. The rotor has a circulation port for permitting circulation of dispersion media between the outer gap portion and the inner gap portion of the treatment gap during rotation of the drive rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventor: Masakazu Inoue
  • Patent number: 6325310
    Abstract: An immersion-type dispersing apparatus comprises a body, a tubular outer stator connected to the body, and a tubular inner stator disposed in the tubular outer stator and forming with the tubular outer stator an annular treatment gap for containing a dispersion medium. A rotor extends into the annular treatment gap and separates the annular treatment gap into an outer gap portion and an inner gap portion. A drive shaft is mounted for rotation to rotate the rotor. An axial flow shaft extends into the inner stator for rotation therein. Axial flow blades are mounted on the axial flow shaft for rotation therewith to generate a circulation flow for circulating a material to be treated into and out of the treatment gap. A circulation port is formed in the rotor and communicates the inner gap portion and the outer gap portion of the treatment gap to permit the material to be treated and the dispersing medium to flow to and from the inner and outer gap portions of the treatment gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventor: Masakazu Inoue
  • Patent number: 6056153
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for extruding a highly viscous fluid from a tank. A pressing member having an air flow path is disposed in the tank containing the highly viscous fluid and having a discharge outlet for discharging the highly viscous fluid. Air in the tank which is present between the pressing member and the highly viscous fluid is removed through the air flow path of the pressing member by moving the pressing member into the tank until the pressing member contacts the highly viscous fluid. The highly viscous fluid is then extruded from the outlet of the tank by pressing the pressing member against the highly viscous fluid. Thereafter, air is introduced through the air flow path of the pressing member into a region of the tank between the pressing member and the discharge outlet of the tank, and the air is then pressurized and ejected through the discharge outlet of the tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventor: Masakazu Inoue
  • Patent number: 6029853
    Abstract: A dispersing system comprises a dispersing apparatus, a storage tank for storing a dispersing medium and a liquid containing a material to be treated, and conduits for connecting the dispersing apparatus in fluid communication with the storage tank. The dispersing apparatus comprises a dispersing chamber, at least one rotationally driven disc, a suction inlet through which the liquid containing the material to be treated and the dispersing medium are drawn from the storage tank into the dispersing chamber by the suction created by rotation of the disc, a discharge outlet, and a medium-separating device for separating the dispersing medium from the liquid containing the dispersed material and selectively discharging the liquid containing the dispersed material but not the dispersing medium from the discharge outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 29, 2000
    Assignees: Nippon Paint Co., Ltd., Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventors: Nobuaki Kubo, Mitsuaki Ito, Masakazu Inoue
  • Patent number: 6029915
    Abstract: A grinding and dispersing apparatus comprises a tank for storing a liquid containing a material to be treated and a container disposed in the tank for containing grinding media. The container has an inlet for receiving the liquid containing the material and a discharge outlet for discharging the liquid containing the material. A feeding mechanism is disposed at the inlet of the container for feeding the liquid containing the material into the container. A stirring mechanism extends into the container for stirring the grinding media and the liquid containing the material fed into the container to disperse the material in the liquid. A separating device is disposed at the discharge outlet of the container for separating the grinding media from the liquid containing the dispersed material and permitting the liquid containing the dispersed material but not the grinding media to be discharged from the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 29, 2000
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventor: Masakazu Inoue
  • Patent number: 5921478
    Abstract: A dispersion method for uniformly dispersing solid or liquid fine particles in a solvent utilizes a supercritical fluid. A dispersoid of a solid, a liquid or the like is mixed with a solvent, and the resulting mixture is fed to a supercritical vessel. A supercritical solvent is then fed to the supercritical vessel and heated and compressed to a level higher than the critical temperature and critical pressure thereof to convert it to a supercritical fluid. The supercritical fluid and mixture of dispersoid and solvent are mixed together to form a supercritical mixture, which is released to atmospheric pressure in an explosion-crashing tank and subjected to collision within the explosion-crashing tank to efficiently disperse the dispersoid in the solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1999
    Assignee: Inoue MFG., Inc.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Kamiwano, Kazuhiko Nishi, Yoshitaka Inoue
  • Patent number: 5346145
    Abstract: An apparatus for dispersing and grinding a material by means of a grinding medium, such as balls or beads, comprises a grinding vessel, and a rotor rotatably disposed in the grinding vessel to define a narrow annular flow path between the rotor and the inner wall of the grinding vessel. On the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, a set of guiding protrusions is disposed for guiding, in the circumferential direction, the flow of a mixture of the grinding medium and material flowing within the annular flow path. Inside the rotor, an inside flow path extends in the axial direction and a backward screw is disposed for returning the grinding medium in the inside flow path to the upstream side of the grinding vessel. The grinding medium gathering at the downstream side of the grinding vessel efficiently enters the inside flow path through inflow conduits provided on the rotor, the grinding medium and is urged backwards toward the upstream side by the backward screw.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg., Inc.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Kamiwano, Yoshitaka Inoue
  • Patent number: 5289981
    Abstract: A continuous dispersing and grinding apparatus comprises a vessel having an inlet for feeding a material to be processed at one end and an outlet for discharging the processed material at the other end. A rotor is disposed rotatably within the vessel, and the material flows between the vessel and rotor from the inlet towards the outlet. The outer surface of the rotor is provided continuously with an undulations having alternate crests and troughs. The undulations define a repeating succession of distinct sections, namely, a compressing section for gradually compressing the material, a shearing section for applying shearing forces to the material, and an expanding section for releasing the compression of the material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 1, 1994
    Assignee: Inoue Mfg. Inc.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Kamiwano, Yoshitaka Inoue