Automatic mixing and cloth bleaching control
First Claim
1. Apparatus for providing a mix of two or more liquids in predetermined volumetric proportions comprising a mixing tank, supply lines leading to the mixing tank from respective sources of the two or more liquids, valve means on each supply line for controlling the flow of the respective liquid, an ultrasonic level sensor positioned above the tank for monitoring the level of liquid in the tank, control means supplied by electrical signals from the ultrasonic sensor which electrical signals have a variable parameter indicative of the level of liquid in the tank, means in the control means for setting two or more desired levels corresponding respectively to the desired volumetric proportions and for comparing the level monitored by the ultrasonic sensor with the set levels to obtain control signals and means responsive to the control signals to open and close each valve in sequence to obtain the desired mix.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic chemical mixing system using a single level sensor, preferably an ultrasonic sensor, for monitoring the contents of a mixing tank. The level sensor provides an analog signal to a controller indicative of the level of liquid in the tank. Supply pipes from several sources of different chemicals lead to the tank through respective controllable valves. The required percentage of each chemical can be entered manually into the controller and each valve is opened in turn by the controller until the various percentages are reached. Provision is also made for adding small quantities of a further chemical which is supplied by a metering pump. The controller ensures that this is done after the other chemicals have been added. A mixer, also under control of the controller, starts running when all the chemicals have been added and stops when a predetermined low level is reached. A supply line from the tank to a process stage includes a controllable valve which is opened by the controller at the end of a fill cycle and closed when the tank is empty. The system incorporates alarms indicating "slow fill" and other problems. The mixture obtained is of repeatable accuracy and can be used as feedstock to a cloth processing stage in which chemicals are fed to a saturator at a known percentage of the weight of the cloth being processed per minute.
67 Citations
28 Claims
- 1. Apparatus for providing a mix of two or more liquids in predetermined volumetric proportions comprising a mixing tank, supply lines leading to the mixing tank from respective sources of the two or more liquids, valve means on each supply line for controlling the flow of the respective liquid, an ultrasonic level sensor positioned above the tank for monitoring the level of liquid in the tank, control means supplied by electrical signals from the ultrasonic sensor which electrical signals have a variable parameter indicative of the level of liquid in the tank, means in the control means for setting two or more desired levels corresponding respectively to the desired volumetric proportions and for comparing the level monitored by the ultrasonic sensor with the set levels to obtain control signals and means responsive to the control signals to open and close each valve in sequence to obtain the desired mix.
- 7. Apparatus for controlling the flow of at least one chemical to a cloth saturator bath through which cloth to be processed is continuously passed comprising means for measuring the speed of the cloth and for thereby deriving signals representative of the speed of the cloth, circuit means for selectively entering a value corresponding to the density of the cloth and for thereby weighting these signals according to the density of the cloth whereby signals corresponding to the weight of cloth per minute are obtained, means responsive to the last mentioned signals to pump into the saturator bath a quantity of said at least one chemical whereby the quantity of said at least one chemical pumped to the saturator bath corresponds to the measured weight of cloth per minute.
- 13. Apparatus for providing a mix of two or more liquids in predetermined volumetric proportions comprising a mixing tank, supply lines leading to the mixing tank from respective sources of the two or more liquids, valve means on each supply line for controlling the flow of the respective liquid, a single level sensor positioned above the tank for monitoring the level of liquid in the tank, control means supplied by electrical signals from the level sensor which electrical signals have a variable parameter indicative of the level of liquid in the tank, means in the control means for setting two or more desired levels corresponding respectively to the desired volumetric proportions and for comparing the level monitored by the level sensor with the set levels to obtain control signals and means responsive to the control signals to open and close each valve in sequence to obtain the desired mix.
- 24. In a continuous cloth bleaching system in which cloth from a wash section is passed through a saturator to pick up a chemical for bleaching the cloth, apparatus for controlling the flow of the chemical to the saturator comprising means for measuring the speed of the cloth and for thereby deriving signals representative of the speed of the cloth, circuit means for selectively entering a value corresponding to the density of the cloth and for thereby weighting these signals according to the density of the cloth whereby signals corresponding to the weight of cloth per minute are obtained, means responsive to the last mentioned signals to pump into the saturator bath a quantity of said at least one chemical whereby the quantity of said at least one chemical pumped to the saturator bath corresponds to the measured weight of cloth per minute.
Specification