Blender

• US 10,646,842 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2018
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vervant Limited
• Original Assignee: Vervant Limited
• Inventors: O'Callaghan, James Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Soohoo, Tony G
• Application Number:
  US15/869,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20180133671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 2035/99 Heating
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 2101/2805 Mixing plastics, polymer material ingredients, monomers or oligomers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/50 Mixing liquids with solids displacing one liquid by another in dispersions of solids in liquids B01D12/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/64 using rotatable mixing elements at the lower end of discharge hoppers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/85 wherein the particles fall onto a film that flows along the inner wall of a mixer
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/1143 screw-shaped, e.g. worms
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/2122 Hollow shafts
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/726 with two helices with opposite pitch on the same shaft; with two helices on the same axis, driven in opposite directions or at different speeds
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/8051 with several silos arranged in a row or around a central delivery point, e.g. provided with proportioning means
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/10 Maintenance of mixers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/11 using fluids
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/145 Washing or cleaning mixers not provided for in other groups in this subclass; Inhibiting build-up of material on machine parts using other means
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/1452 using fluids
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/1453 by means of jets of fluid, e.g. air
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/20 Measuring; Control or regulation
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/21 Measuring
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/2112 Level of material in a container or the position or shape of the upper surface of the material
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/2117 Weight
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/213 of the properties of the mixtures, e.g. temperature, density or colour
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/2135 Humidity, e.g. moisture content
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/71731 : using a hopper
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/751 : Discharging by opening a gate, e.g. using discharge paddles
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7543 : using pneumatic pressure, overpressure or gas pressure in a closed receptacle or circuit system
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7545 : using slides
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7547 : using valves, gates, orifices or openings
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/881 : by weighing, e.g. with automatic discharge
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/892 : for solid materials, e.g. using belts, vibrations, hoppers with variable outlets or hoppers with rotating elements, e.g. screws, at their outlet B01F35/82 - B01F35/88 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/93 : arranged inside the receptacle
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/94 : using radiation, e.g. microwaves or electromagnetic radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 13/065 : of powder or pellets
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 7/14 : with screw or helix
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 7/22 : Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 7/88 : Adding charges , i.e. additives
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 65/46 : using screw conveyors
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 2200/00 : Drying processes and machines for solid materials characterised by the specific requirements of the drying good
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 2200/08 : Granular materials
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 2200/14 : Sand
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 25/22 : Controlling the drying process in dependence on liquid content of solid materials or objects
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 3/06 : the gas or vapour flowing through the materials or objects to be dried F26B3/14 takes precedence

Abstract

A blender has a mixing chamber for reception of materials to be blended. A mixing screw is mounted at a bottom of the mixing chamber for mixing materials within the mixing chamber and delivering mixed materials to an outlet feeding a processing line. The blender has a plurality of material handling compartments. One or more cleaning air jets are provided in each material handling compartment. The cleaning air jets are operable to direct material towards an outlet of the compartment. Each cleaning air jet is connected to a pressurised air supply through a valve which controls delivery of pressurised air to the cleaning air jet.

Claims

1. A blender, including;

a mixing chamber for reception of blend materials,

the mixing chamber having a material outlet,

a mixer mounted in the mixing chamber,

said mixer being operable for mixing blend materials in the mixing chamber,

the blender having a plurality of material handling compartments, one or more cleaning air jets being provided at each compartment, said cleaning air jets being operable to direct material towards an outlet of the compartment,

the material handling compartments being arranged in separate sections,

the one or more cleaning air jets in each section connected to a pressurised air supply via a separate air supply valve associated with each section,

a separate actuator for switching each air supply valve between an open position and a closed position,

each actuator being connected to a controller which is operable either manually or automatically to control switching of the air supply valves,

the controller being operable to switch the valves between open and closed positions in a preset desired sequence during a cleaning cycle for sequential cleaning of the sections of the blender.

2. The blender as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air jets are complemented by ultrasonic actuators or vibrating actuators.

3. The blender as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to pulse the cleaning air jets.

4. The blender as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material handling compartments are arranged in three main sections, namely an upper section, a central section and a lower section, said upper section comprising a number of raw material storage bins, said central section comprising a central portion of the blender between a weigher which is mounted below the raw material storage bins and the mixing chamber which is mounted below the weigher, and the lower section comprising the mixing chamber.

5. The blender as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cleaning air jets are operable to direct material within each storage bin towards an outlet of the storage bin.

6. The blender as claimed in claim 4, wherein a raw material bypass line is connected between at least one of the raw material storage bins and an outlet of the mixing chamber, a valve mounted in the raw material bypass line which is operable to control material flow through the raw material bypass line.

7. The blender as claimed in claim 6, wherein a blender discharge stop valve is mounted at the mixing chamber outlet upstream of the outlet of the raw material bypass line to control discharge of blended material from the blender mixing chamber.

8. The blender as claimed in claim 4, wherein each raw material storage bin has a drain chute with a ram operated slide valve at an inlet to the drain chute.

9. The blender as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cleaning air jets are connected to the pressurised air supply via a purge actuator which acts as a valve to switch on and off the pressurised air supply to the cleaning air jets.

10. The blender as claimed in claim 1, including a material feeder for delivering blend materials from the mixing chamber to the material outlet, the material feeder comprising a feed screw, the feed screw having a pair of opposed screws which are operable to direct material inwardly from each end of the feed screw to a central portion of the feed screw, said central portion being located at the material outlet.

11. The blender as claimed in claim 10, including a baffle mounted in the mixing chamber at the material outlet, adjacent the material outlet but spaced-apart from the material outlet, the material feeder having a discharge portion which is mounted between the baffle and the material outlet.

12. The blender as claimed in claim 10, wherein said material feeder is operable to direct portion of the material towards the outlet and portion of the material away from the outlet for re-mixing in the mixing chamber, an upright tubular feed controller mounted above the outlet for directing material away from the outlet, said tubular feed controller being of double walled construction and having openings in a side wall thereof to form a manifold for injecting air or gas.

13. The blender as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radiant heater is mounted within the mixing chamber which is operable for regulating the moisture content of blend materials in the mixing chamber.

14. The blender as claimed in claim 1, having a weigh hopper above the mixing chamber for weighing a batch of raw material and delivering said batch to the mixing chamber, a material level sensor being located above the material in the mixing chamber below the weigh hopper, the level sensor being operable to provide a continuous reading of the material level in the mixing chamber.

15. The blender as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided a gas transfer manifold mounted within the mixing chamber for injecting gas into the mixing chamber or extracting gas from the mixing chamber for regulating the moisture content within the mixing chamber.

16. The blender as claimed in claim 15, wherein the gas transfer manifold has a number of openings communicating with the mixing chamber, said gas transfer manifold being connected to a pump for injection or extraction of gas to or from the mixing chamber through the gas transfer manifold.

17. A blender, including;

a mixing chamber for reception of blend materials,

the mixing chamber having a material outlet,

a mixer mounted in the mixing chamber,

said mixer being operable for mixing blend materials in the mixing chamber,

the blender having a plurality of material handling compartments, one or more cleaning air jets being provided at each compartment, said cleaning air jets being operable to direct material towards an outlet of the compartment, means for connecting said cleaning air jets to a pressurised air supply, and a valve to control delivery of pressurised air to each cleaning air jet,

wherein the material handling compartments are arranged in three main sections, namely an upper section, a central section and a lower section, said upper section comprising a number of raw material storage bins, said central section comprising a central portion of the blender between a weigher which is mounted below the raw material storage bins and the mixing chamber which is mounted below the weigher, and the lower section comprising the mixing chamber,

wherein a raw material bypass line is connected between at least one of the raw material storage bins and an outlet of the mixing chamber, a valve mounted in the raw material bypass line which is operable to control material flow through the raw material bypass line.

18. The blender as claimed in claim 17, wherein a blender discharge stop valve is mounted at the mixing chamber outlet upstream of the outlet of the raw material bypass line to control discharge of blended material from the blender mixing chamber.

19. A blender, including;

a mixing chamber for reception of blend materials,

the mixing chamber having a material outlet,

a mixer mounted in the mixing chamber,

said mixer being operable for mixing blend materials in the mixing chamber,

the blender having a plurality of material handling compartments, one or more cleaning air jets being provided at each compartment, said cleaning air jets being operable to direct material towards an outlet of the compartment, means for connecting said cleaning air jets to a pressurised air supply, and a valve to control delivery of pressurised air to each cleaning air jet,

a material feeder for delivering blend materials from the mixing chamber to the material outlet, the material feeder comprising a feed screw, the feed screw having a pair of opposed screws which are operable to direct material inwardly from each end of the feed screw to a central portion of the feed screw, said central portion being located at the material outlet,

wherein said material feeder is operable to direct portion of the material towards the outlet and portion of the material away from the outlet for re-mixing in the mixing chamber, an upright tubular feed controller mounted above the outlet for directing material away from the outlet, said tubular feed controller being of double walled construction and having openings in a side wall thereof to form a manifold for injecting air or gas.