MECHANICAL EXFOLIATION APPARATUS

• US 20130260152A1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Published: 10/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: XG Sciences, Inc.
• Original Assignee: XG Sciences, Inc.
• Inventors: Murray, Scott L., Peyton, Jim L., Morris, Korey
• Granted Patent: US 9,206,051 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/403
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 31/201 Holders therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 31/25 the containers being submitted to a combination of movements other than within a horizontal plane, e.g. rectilinear and pivoting movement with a receptacle submitted to a combination of movements, i.e. at least one movement being vibratory or oscillatory B01F31/50
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 31/70 Drives therefor, e.g. crank mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 17/14 Mills in which the charge to be ground is turned over by movements of the container other than by rotating, e.g. by swinging, vibrating, tilting mills provided with vibrators in general B02C19/16
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 17/186 Adding fluid, other than for crushing by fluid energy
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 17/24 Driving mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2204/02 Single layer graphene
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2204/04 Specific amount of layers or specific thickness
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2204/32 Size or surface area
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/182 Graphene
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/19 by exfoliation
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/225 Expansion; Exfoliation
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2006/12 Surface area
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 3/02 Shafts; Axles
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 1/20 involving more than two intermeshing members
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 1/22 with a plurality of driving or driven shafts; with arrangements for dividing torque between two or more intermediate shafts
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2055/176 Ring gears with inner teeth
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 37/065 with a plurality of driving or driven shafts F16H37/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 53/00 : Cams ; Non-rotary cams; or cam-followers, e.g. rollers for gearing mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 53/02 : Single-track cams for single-revolution cycles; Camshafts with such cams
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 55/17 : Toothed wheels worm wheels F16H55/22; chain wheels F16H55/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2991 : Coated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19051 : Single driven plural drives
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/1987 : Rotary bodies
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19949 : Teeth
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2101 : Cams

Abstract

Apparatus to deliver predetermined forces, containers to hold particulate material and media, media, and the associated parameters for operating such equipment along with methods and compositions provided by the apparatus and methods.

Claims

1. An apparatus for mechanically exfoliating particulate material with a basil plane, said apparatus comprising in combination:

i. a support frame;

ii. a motor mount;

iii. a motor mounted on said motor mount, said motor having a drive shaft, said drive shaft having a driven flywheel mounted thereon;

iv. said support frame having a non-stationary plate surmounted thereon by mounted shock absorbers, said non-stationary plate having a front end and a back end, said non-stationary plate having rigidly surmounted thereon

v. a processor assembly comprising;

a main drive shaft having two ends extending through drive shaft mounts, said main drive shaft comprising a flywheel between said ends of said main drive shaft;

one or more cams on said main drive shaft, and a fastening means on each end of said main drive shaft to maintain said main drive shaft in said drive shaft mounts;

vi. a canister carrier mounted on each cam, said canister carrier comprising;

a hub, wherein said hub has an external surface mounted cradle and an internal flat surface supporting bearings;

vii. a stabilizer drive mechanism, said stabilizer drive mechanism comprising;

a ring gear driven by a pinion gear,

a secondary drive shaft surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate, said secondary drive shaft being mounted in secondary drive shaft mounts, surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate;

said secondary drive shaft having at least three first drive wheels;

viii. a drive link connecting each said first drive wheel with an aligned second drive wheel.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is under vacuum.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is charged with an inert gas.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is charged with a mixture of an inert gas and helium.

22. A method of exfoliating a particulate matter, said process comprising:

i. providing an apparatus as claimed in claim 1;

ii. providing a particulate material and placing said particulate material in a canister of said apparatus;

iii. providing an exfoliating media and placing said particulate material in said canister of said apparatus;

iv. sealing said canister;

v. operating said apparatus for according to a set of predetermined operating parameters;

vi. removing said particulate material from said canister after said set of predetermined operating parameters has been met.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein the ratio of mass of media to mass of particulate is 1:

6 to 1;

15.

24. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein the height of media to height of canister is 60 to 90%.

25. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein the free space to canister displacement is less than 40%.

26. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein the specific gravity of the media is from 1.05 to 1.38.

27. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein said media is plastic material.

28. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein the operating time is in the range of 45 minutes to about 1200 minutes.

29. A composition of matter that is a product provided by the process of claim 22.

30. A composition of matter as claimed in claim 29 wherein at least one incipient particulate material is graphene.

31. A composition of matter as claimed in claim 29 wherein said product is high-surface graphene nanoplatelets comprising particles ranging in size from 1 nanometer to 5 microns in lateral dimension and consisting of at least one layer of graphene, with a z-dimension ranging from 0.3 nanometers to 10 nanometers and having surface area ranging from 30 to 1200 m²/g.

32. A method of exfoliating a particulate matter, said process comprising:

i. providing an apparatus as claimed in claim 1;

ii. providing a particulate material and placing said particulate material in a canister of said apparatus;

iii. providing an exfoliating media and placing said particulate material in said canister of said apparatus;

iv. sealing said canister;

v. operating said apparatus according to a set of predetermined operating parameters;

vi. removing said particulate material from said canister after said set of predetermined operating parameters has been met.

33. A composition of matter that is a product provided by the process of claim 32.

34. A method of exfoliating a particulate matter, said process comprising:

i. providing an apparatus as claimed in claim 1;

ii. providing a particulate material and placing said particulate material in a canister of said apparatus;

iii. providing an exfoliating media and placing said particulate material in said canister of said apparatus;

iv. sealing said canister;

v. operating said apparatus according to a set of predetermined operating parameters;

vi. removing said particulate material from said canister after said set of predetermined operating parameters has been met.

35. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the ratio of mass of media to mass of particulate is 1:

6 to 1;

15.

36. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the height of media to height of canister is 60 to 90%.

37. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the free space to canister displacement is less than 40%.

38. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the specific gravity of said media is from 1.05 to 1.38.

39. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein said media is plastic material.

40. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the operating time is in the range of 45 minutes to about 1200 minutes.

41. A composition of matter that is a product provided by the process of claim 34.

42. A composition of matter as claimed in claim 41 wherein at least one of said incipient particulate materials is graphite.

43. A composition of matter as claimed in claim 41 wherein said product is high-surface graphene nanoplatelets comprising particles ranging in size from 1 nanometer to 5 microns in lateral dimension and consisting of at least one layer of graphene, with a z-dimension ranging from 0.3 nanometers to 10 nanometers and having surface area ranging from 200 to 1200 m²/g.

5. An apparatus for mechanically exfoliating particulate material with a basil plane, said apparatus comprising in combination:

i. a support frame;

ii. a motor mount;

iii. a motor mounted on said motor mount, said motor having a drive shaft, said drive shaft having a driven flywheel mounted thereon;

iv. said support frame having a non-stationary plate surmounted thereon by mounted shock absorbers, said non-stationary plate having a front end and a back end, said non-stationary plate having rigidly surmounted thereon;

v. a processor assembly comprising;

a main drive shaft having two ends extending through drive shaft mounts, said main drive shaft comprising a flywheel between said ends of said main drive shaft;

one or more cams on said main drive shaft, and a fastening means on each end of said main drive shaft to maintain said main drive shaft in said drive shaft mounts;

vi. a canister carrier mounted on each cam, said canister carrier comprising;

a hub, wherein said hub has an external surface mounted cradle and an internal flat surface supporting bearings;

vii. a stabilizer drive mechanism, said stabilizer drive mechanism comprising;

at least one synchronous drive mechanism;

a secondary drive shaft surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate, said secondary drive shaft being mounted in secondary drive shaft mounts, surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate;

said secondary drive shaft having at least three first drive wheels;

viii. a drive link connecting each said first drive wheel with an aligned second drive wheel.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is under vacuum.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is charged with an inert gas.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is charged with an inert gas mixed with helium.

9. An apparatus for mechanically exfoliating particulate material, said apparatus comprising in combination:

i. a support frame, said support frame comprised of an upper bar frame and a lower bar frame, said upper bar frame and lower bar frame supported by vertical legs, wherein said upper bar frame and lower bar frame are parallel and spaced apart from each other;

ii. a motor mount mounted on and supported by said lower bar frame;

iii. a motor mounted on said motor mount, said motor having a drive shaft, said drive shaft having a driven flywheel mounted thereon;

iv. said upper bar frame having a non-stationary plate surmounted thereon by at least four corner mounted shock absorbing mounts, said non-stationary plate having a front end and a back end, said non-stationary plate having rigidly surmounted thereon, drive shaft mounts, said non-stationary plate having two large openings on either side of a smaller centered opening, wherein said drive shaft mounts are located on outside edges of said large openings;

v. a processor assembly comprising;

a main drive shaft having two ends extending through all drive shaft mounts, said main drive shaft comprising a flywheel centered between said ends of said main drive shaft;

two cams, each centered between said flywheel and an end of said main drive shaft, and a fastening means on each end of said main drive shaft to maintain said main drive shaft in said drive shaft mounts;

vi. a canister carrier mounted on each cam, said canister carrier comprising;

a hub, wherein said hub has an external surface mounted cradle and an internal flat surface supporting bearings, there being mounted on an outside hub, a stabilizer ring gear;

vii. there being rotatably mounted on said main drive shaft, adjacent to said stabilizer ring gear, a stabilizer housing, said stabilizer housing containing internal bearings adjacent to said main drive shaft, there being a stabilizer pinion gear surrounding said stabilizer housing and meshing with said stabilizer ring gear;

viii. a stabilizer drive mechanism, said stabilizer drive mechanism comprising;

a secondary drive shaft surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate near said backend thereof, said secondary drive shaft being mounted in secondary drive shaft mounts, surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate;

said secondary drive shaft having at least three first drive wheels, one each near an end of said secondary drive shaft and one centered on said secondary drive shaft;

said main drive shaft having at least 3 second drive wheels, each being aligned with second end first drive wheels on said secondary drive shaft, said centered first drive wheel being aligned with a third drive wheel mounted on a gear reducer, said gear reducer surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate between said flywheel and said secondary shaft;

said gear reducer having a fourth drive wheel mechanically connected to a third drive wheel by reducing gears, said fourth drive wheel and centered first drive wheel being connected by a drive link;

ix. a drive link connecting each said first drive wheel with an aligned second drive wheel.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is under vacuum.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is charged with an inert gas.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said canister carrier has at least one canister mounted in it and said canister is charged with an inert gas mixed with helium.

13. A drive shaft, said drive shaft being integral and comprising:

a linear shaft having two terminal ends and a center point;

said linear shaft having fixedly mounted at said center point, a flywheel;

two cams, each cam having a near end and a distal end;

each said cam having an opening therethrough whereby said opening begins at said near end near a bottom edge of said cam, and terminates through said distal end near a top edge;

said linear shaft extending through said opening in said cam and extending beyond said distal end of said cam;

said drive shaft having mounted thereon a wheel drive adjacent to said flywheel.

14. A ring gear, said ring gear comprising:

an inside surface and an outside surface, said inside surface comprised of a plurality of gear teeth, the number and shape of gear teeth being matched to mesh with a corresponding gear on an adjacent pinion gear.

15. A cam assembly comprising:

a cylindrical housing, said cylindrical housing having a near end and a distal end and an opening extending from said near end through said distal end;

said opening beginning at said near end of said cam and near a bottom edge and terminating through said distal end near a top edge, said distal end having an off round at least one said end cap having a valve inserted therein.

16. A carrier assembly for canisters, said carrier assembly comprising:

a hubbed housing having an open center therethrough with an internal surface;

said hub having at least two bearings mounted on said internal surface of said housing and internal to each hub;

said hubs supporting an integral canister cradle attached to said hubs;

one said hub having a stabilizer ring gear fixedly attached thereto such that said gear the face of said gear facing away from said hub.

17. In combination:

a carrier assembly as claimed in claim 16, and at least one canister.

18. A canister, said canister comprising:

a hollow cylinder having two terminal ends, one terminal end being sealed, the opposite terminal end having a valve inserted therein.

19. An apparatus for mechanically exfoliating particulate material,

said apparatus comprising in combination:

i. a support frame, said support frame comprised of an upper bar frame and a lower bar frame, said upper bar frame and lower bar frame supported by vertical legs, wherein said upper bar frame and lower bar frame are parallel and spaced apart from each other;

ii. a motor mount mounted on and supported by said lower bar frame;

iii. a motor mounted on said motor mount, said motor having a drive shaft, said drive shaft having a driven flywheel mounted thereon;

iv. said upper bar frame having a non-stationary plate surmounted thereon by at least four corner mounted shock absorbing mounts, said non-stationary plate having a front end and a back end, said non-stationary plate having rigidly surmounted thereon, drive shaft mounts, said non-stationary plate having two large openings on either side of a smaller centered opening, wherein said drive shaft mounts are located on outside edges of said large openings;

v. a processor assembly comprising;

a main drive shaft having two ends extending through all drive shaft mounts, said main drive shaft comprising a flywheel centered between said ends of said main drive shaft;

two cams, each centered between said flywheel and an end of said main drive shaft, and a fastening means on each end of said main drive shaft to maintain said main drive shaft in said drive shaft mounts;

vi. a canister carrier mounted on each cam, said canister carrier comprising;

a hub, wherein said hub has an external surface mounted cradle and an internal flat surface supporting bearings, there being mounted on an outside hub, a stabilizer ring;

vii. there being rotatably mounted on said main drive shaft, adjacent to said stabilizer ring, a stabilizer housing, said stabilizer housing containing internal bearings adjacent to said main drive shaft, there being a stabilizer wheel surrounding said stabilizer housing and impacting said stabilizer wheel;

viii. a stabilizer drive mechanism, said stabilizer drive mechanism comprising;

a secondary drive shaft surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate near said backend thereof, said secondary drive shaft being mounted in secondary drive shaft mounts, surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate;

said secondary drive shaft having at least three first drive wheels, one each near an end of said secondary drive shaft and one centered on said secondary drive shaft;

said main drive shaft having at least 3 second drive wheels, each being aligned with second end first drive wheels on said secondary drive shaft, said centered first drive wheel being aligned with a third drive wheel mounted on a gear reducer, said gear reducer surmounted on said non-stationary flat plate between said flywheel and said secondary shaft;

said gear reducer having a fourth drive wheel mechanically connected to a third drive wheel by reducing gears, said fourth drive wheel and centered first drive wheel being connected by a drive link;

a drive link connecting each said first drive wheel with an aligned second drive wheel.

20. The apparatus for mechanically exfoliating particulate material as claimed in claim 19 wherein said first stabilizer wheel and said second stabilizer wheel are engageable using torque.

21. The apparatus for mechanically exfoliating particulate material as claimed in claim 19 wherein said first stabilizer wheel and said second stabilizer wheel are mechanically engageable.