Powder feed control system and method
First Claim
1. A powder feed rate control system comprising:
- a hopper adapted to contain a powder and to maintain a hopper pressure;
a carrier conduit delivering a carrier gas flow and having an orifice, said carrier gas flow conveying powder entering through the orifice at a powder feed rate;
a differential pressure transducer comprising;
a first pressure input indicative of the hopper pressure; and
a second pressure input indicative of the carrier gas flow downstream of the hopper;
said differential pressure transducer (PT) outputting a signal related to a differential pressure between the first pressure input and the second pressure input; and
an electro-pneumatic regulator (EP) directly coupled to the differential pressure transducer (PT) and receiving the signal related to the differential pressure and adapted to communicate with a control,wherein the system is configured to maintain the differential pressure in real-time regardless of process pressure changes and without any input from the control.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Powder feed rate control system that includes a hopper adapted to contain a powder and to maintain a hopper pressure. A carrier conduit delivers a carrier gas flow and having an orifice. The carrier gas flow conveys powder entering through the orifice at a powder feed rate. A differential pressure transducer includes a first pressure input associated with the hopper pressure and a second pressure input associated with the carrier gas flow downstream of the hopper. The differential pressure transducer (PT) outputs a signal related to a differential pressure between the first pressure input and the second pressure input. An electro pneumatic regulator (EP) is adapted to communicate with a control and receiving the signal related to the differential pressure.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A powder feed rate control system comprising:
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a hopper adapted to contain a powder and to maintain a hopper pressure; a carrier conduit delivering a carrier gas flow and having an orifice, said carrier gas flow conveying powder entering through the orifice at a powder feed rate; a differential pressure transducer comprising; a first pressure input indicative of the hopper pressure; and a second pressure input indicative of the carrier gas flow downstream of the hopper; said differential pressure transducer (PT) outputting a signal related to a differential pressure between the first pressure input and the second pressure input; and an electro-pneumatic regulator (EP) directly coupled to the differential pressure transducer (PT) and receiving the signal related to the differential pressure and adapted to communicate with a control, wherein the system is configured to maintain the differential pressure in real-time regardless of process pressure changes and without any input from the control. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A powder feed rate control system comprising:
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a control; a hopper adapted to contain a powder and to maintain a hopper pressure; a carrier conduit delivering a carrier gas flow and having an orifice, said carrier gas flow conveying powder entering through the orifice at a powder feed rate; a differential pressure transducer comprising; a first pressure input coupled to a hopper pressure line; and a second pressure input coupled to a process pressure line; said differential pressure transducer outputting a signal related to a differential pressure between a hopper pressure and a process pressure; and an electro pneumatic regulator directly coupled to the differential pressure transducer and receiving command voltage signals from the control and receiving the signal related to the differential pressure, wherein the differential pressure is proportional to the powder feed rate and is maintained at a pressure of between 0 and 1 bar, and wherein at least one of; the electro pneumatic regulator (EP) receives command signals from the control;
orthe system is configured to maintain the differential pressure in real-time regardless of process pressure changes and without any input from the control.
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14. A powder feed rate control system comprising:
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a hopper adapted to contain a powder and to maintain a hopper pressure; a carrier conduit delivering a carrier gas flow and having an orifice, said carrier gas flow conveying powder entering through the orifice at a powder feed rate; a differential pressure transducer comprising; a first pressure input indicative of the hopper pressure; and a second pressure input indicative of the carrier gas flow downstream of the hopper; said differential pressure transducer (PT) outputting a signal related to a differential pressure between the first pressure input and the second pressure input; an electro-pneumatic regulator (EP) coupled to the differential pressure transducer (PT) receiving command signals from the control, and receiving the signal related to the differential pressure; and a control communicating directly with the electro-pneumatic regulator (EP), wherein the differential pressure transducer (PT) communicates directly with the electro-pneumatic regulator (EP), and wherein the system is configured to maintain the differential pressure in real-time regardless of process pressure changes and without any input from the control.
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Specification