Patent Application
20230134537
This disclosure relates generally to material processing systems and methods, and more particularly to a system having a barrel line and a barrel assembly.
In some material processing operations, a processing fluid chemically reacts with the material to chemically alter the material. For example, corroded parts may be inserted into a cleaning fluid to remove corrosion from the parts. In some cases, the material to be processed is inserted into a chamber and the chamber is lowered into the processing fluid. The chamber walls are perforated in such a way as to allow processing fluid to reach the material without allowing any egress of the material through the chamber walls. The chamber may be rotated to agitate the material to thereby encourage uniform processing of the material.
The chamber may be configured to accommodate processing materials of varying weights. For example, a chamber formed from a polymer material may have a wall thickness of one or more inches to accommodate processing of materials weighing in the hundreds of pounds. In these cases, the perforations formed in the walls are more aptly considered as channels that extend through the chamber walls. These channels can, however, tend to clog when the particles of the material are small (e.g., in the sub-millimeter range). This problem is exacerbated with heavier materials that exert increased forces on the particles of material, further urging the particles into the channels.
Various examples of material processing systems and methods that ameliorate these and other issues are described herein.
The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope.
In one aspect, a material processing system is disclosed. The material processing system includes a barrel line comprising one or more processing stations, wherein each processing station comprises a reservoir configured to hold a processing fluid, and a barrel assembly arranged within a first station of the barrel line, wherein the barrel assembly comprises a cylinder configured to receive material to be processed. The cylinder includes a first end surface, a second end surface, and a sidewall that extends therebetween, wherein the sidewall defines an opening therein configured to receive the material, and wherein at least one of the first end surface and the second end surface is perforated, and an inner wall configured to maintain the material within the cylinder when the cylinder rotates along a central axis in a first direction and to allow the material to exit the opening when the cylinder rotates along the central axis in an opposite direction.
In another aspect, a cylinder that facilitates processing a material is disclosed. The cylinder includes a first end surface, a second end surface, and a sidewall that extends therebetween, wherein the sidewall defines an opening therein configured to receive the material and wherein at least one of the first end surface and the second end surface is perforated, and an inner wall configured to maintain the material within the cylinder when the cylinder rotates along a central axis in a first direction and to allow the material to exit the opening when the cylinder rotates along the central axis in an opposite direction.
In yet another aspect, a method for processing material is disclosed. The method includes inserting a material into an opening in a sidewall of a cylinder of a barrel assembly. The cylinder includes a first end surface and a second end surface at respective ends of the sidewall, wherein at least one of the first end surface and the second end surface is perforated, and an inner wall configured to maintain the material within the cylinder when the cylinder rotates along a central axis in a first direction, and to allow the material to exit the opening when the cylinder rotates along the central axis in an opposite direction. The method also includes lowering the barrel assembly into a reservoir of a station of a barrel line, wherein the reservoir comprises a processing fluid, and rotating the cylinder in the first direction to process the material, wherein during rotation, processing fluid enters the opening in the sidewall and exits the at least one of the first end surface and the second end surface that is perforated.
The accompanying drawings and the drawings in the Appendix submitted herewith are included to provide a further understanding of the claims, are incorporated in, and constitute a part of this specification. The detailed description and illustrated examples described serve to explain the principles defined by the claims.
Various examples of systems, devices, and/or methods are described herein. Words such as “example” and “exemplary” that may be used herein are understood to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment, implementation, and/or feature described herein as being an “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over any other embodiment, implementation, and/or feature unless stated as such. Thus, other embodiments, implementations, and/or features may be utilized, and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the subject matter presented herein.
Accordingly, the examples described herein are not meant to be limiting. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.
Further, unless the context suggests otherwise, the features illustrated in each of the figures may be used in combination with one another. Thus, the figures should be generally viewed as component aspects of one or more overall embodiments, with the understanding that not all illustrated features are necessary for each embodiment.
Additionally, any enumeration of elements, blocks, or steps in this specification or the claims is for purposes of clarity. Thus, such enumeration should not be interpreted to require or imply that these elements, blocks, or steps adhere to a particular arrangement or are carried out in a particular order.
Moreover, terms such as “substantially,” or “about” that may be used herein, are meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including, for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.
An example of a material processing system comprises a barrel line and a barrel assembly. Some examples of the barrel line comprise one or more processing stations. Each processing station comprises a reservoir for holding a processing fluid. The barrel assembly is configured to be arranged within a first station of the barrel line. Some examples of the barrel assembly comprise a cylinder for receiving material to be processed. The cylinder comprises a first end surface, a second end surface, and a sidewall that extends therebetween. The sidewall defines an opening therein for receiving the material. At least one of the first end surface and the second end surface is perforated. The cylinder further comprises an inner wall configured to maintain the material within the cylinder when the cylinder rotates along a central axis in a first direction and to allow the material to exit the opening when the cylinder rotates along the central axis in the opposite direction.
During rotation of the material within the cylinder, the weight of the material is against the sidewall and the inner wall rather than the perforated end surfaces. This, in turn, keeps the perforations particle free.
Some examples of the barrel line 105 include one or more processing stations 110. For example, the illustrated example includes four processing stations (110A-D). Each processing station 110 includes a reservoir configured to hold a processing fluid 130. Some examples of the reservoir define a square or rectangular volume (e.g., have four vertical sidewalls and a bottom/horizontal sidewall). Some examples of the reservoir define a cylindrical volume. In some examples of the reservoir, channels or slots are defined in a pair of opposing sidewalls or opposing sidewall regions. As described further below, the channels are configured to receive a shaft of the barrel assembly 115. Some examples of the reservoir do not include channels. In some of these examples, the shaft of the barrel assembly 115 is supported above or by a top edge of the reservoir. In other examples, the shaft is suspended within the reservoir (e.g., below the top edge of the reservoir).
Some examples of the barrel assembly 115 include a handle 215 configured to facilitate lifting the barrel assembly 115 out of a first station 110A and lowering the barrel assembly 115 into a second station 110B Other examples of the barrel assembly 115 include hoist lift brackets that facilitate lifting the barrel assembly 115 via an automatic hoist.
Some examples of the barrel assembly 115 include a motor 210 configured to rotate the cylinder 205. Some examples of the barrel assembly 115 include a gear assembly 220 that rotationally couples a shaft of the motor 210 to the shaft 225 of the cylinder 205. For instance, in an example, a gear on a shaft of the motor 210 meshes either directly or via one or more intermediary gears with a gear on the shaft 225 of the cylinder 205. In some examples, the motor 210 drives the shaft 225 or the cylinder 205 via, for example, a belt, a chain, etc.
In some examples, the motor is part of the barrel line 105 rather than the barrel assembly 115. In some of these examples, the barrel assembly 115 comprises a gear assembly 220 configured to mesh with a corresponding gear of the motor. In some examples, the drive portion, e.g., one or more of the motor, gears, belt, etc., are on the inside of the barrel line 105 (e.g., within one or more of the reservoirs). In other examples, the drive portion, or a portion thereof, is on the outside of the barrel line 105.
In some examples, at least one of the end surfaces 305 is perforated. For instance, in an example, the end surfaces 305 are solid structures having openings (e.g., perforations) formed therein. In another example, one or both end surfaces 305 define an opening 320 and screen 325 is arranged over the opening.
Some examples of the openings in the screen are sized to be a margin smaller than the size of the material to be processed to prevent the material from passing through the screen during processing operations. For instance, an example of the material to be processed has a particle size of about 1 mm and the openings in the screen have a diameter of about 0.9 mm. Other dimensions are contemplated. An example of the screen 325 is removably coupled to the end surface 305 to facilitate replacing the screen 325 with a screen having perforations of a different size.
Referring to
In some examples, the sidewall 310 of the cylinder 205 is a first radial distance R1 from the central axis of the cylinder 205. In some examples, the inner wall 330 of the cylinder 205 defines a curved end region 335 that is a second radial distance R2 from the central axis of the cylinder 205. An example of the curved end region 335 is configured so that the distance of the curved end region 335 to the sidewall 310 is relatively constant along the length of the curved end region 335. In some examples, the perforations in the end surface 305 are centrally arranged on the end surface 305 within a region defined by the second radial distance R2. As described further below, when examples of these cylinders 205 are inserted in a station 110, the processing fluid 130 within the station 110 is set to a level that is between the first radial distance R1 and the second radial distance R2.
The operations at block 410 involve inserting the barrel assembly 115 (if not already inserted) into a reservoir of a station 110 of the barrel line 105 and rotating the cylinder 205 in a material processing direction. In some examples, the processing fluid 130 within the reservoir of the station 110 is set to a level 125 that is between the first radial distance R1 associated with the sidewall 310 of the cylinder 205 and the second radial distance R2 associated with the curved end region 335 of the inner wall 330 of the cylinder 205. This aspect is illustrated in the second rotational state in the rotational state diagram 500.
The material processing direction in this example is clockwise. As the cylinder 205 rotates, the material 505 follows the sidewall of the cylinder 205 and eventually hits the inner wall 330 when the cylinder 205 is in the fifth rotational state. Continued rotation causes the material 505 to pile against the curved section of the inner wall 330 (states seven and eight). Further rotation causes the material 505 to spill over the curved end region 335 of the inner wall 330 and onto the sidewall 310 of the cylinder 205. However, the opening 315 in the cylinder 205 at this stage of rotation is above the region where the material falls, and, therefore, the material is maintained within cylinder 205.
Rotation through states five through nine causes processing fluid 130 to be captured within the opening 315 of the cylinder 205. Continued rotation causes the processing fluid 130 to mix with the material 505 to thereby process the material 505 with the processing fluid 130. As the cylinder 205 continues to rotate, the processing fluid 130 within the mixture eventually drains/spills through perforations centrally arranged on the end surface 305 of the cylinder 205 and falls into the reservoir of the station 110.
If at block 415, further processing of the material 505 is required (e.g., processing by a different liquid), then at block 420, the barrel assembly 115 is lifted from the station 110 and moved to a different station 110. The operations at block 410 are then performed. In some examples, the lifting and the lowering of the barrel assembly 115 from one station 110 to the next station 110 is performed automatically. For instance, a computer system determines that processing of the material 505 is complete (e.g., the cylinder 205 has been rotated for a pre-determined amount of time) and then controls a hoist to lift/lower the barrel assembly 115 from one station 110 to the other station 110. In some examples, one or more of these aspects is performed manually.
If at block 415, processing of the material 505 is complete, then at block 425, the barrel assembly 115 is removed from the station 110, and the cylinder 205 is rotated in a direction that causes the material 505 to fall out of the opening 315 of the cylinder 205. Continuing with the example above, rotating the cylinder 205 in the counterclockwise direction causes the material 505 to fall out of the opening 315 of the cylinder 205.
The operations at block 610 involve lowering the barrel assembly 115 into a reservoir of a station 110 of a barrel line 105. The reservoir comprises a processing fluid 130.
The operations at block 615 involve rotating the cylinder 205 in the first direction to process the material 505. During rotation, processing fluid 130 enters the opening 315 in the sidewall 310 of the cylinder 205 and exits the at least one of the first end surface 305A and the second end surface 305B that is perforated.
In some examples, the sidewall 310 of the cylinder 205 is a first radial distance from the central axis of the cylinder 205, and the inner wall 330 of the cylinder 205 defines a curved end region 335 that is a second radial distance from the central axis of the cylinder 205. In these examples, the operations further involve filling the processing fluid 130 to a level that is between the first radial distance and the second radial distance from the central axis of the cylinder 205.
In some examples, each reservoir comprises a pair of opposing sidewalls having formed therein a channel 120 configured to receive a shaft 225 of the barrel assembly 115 about which the cylinder 205 rotates. In these examples, lowering the barrel assembly 115 into the reservoir of the station 110 of the barrel line 105 further involves lowering the shaft 225 into the channel.
Some examples of the operations further involve, after rotating the cylinder 205 in the first direction to process the material 505, inserting the barrel assembly 115 into a reservoir of a second station 110B of the barrel assembly 115 that comprises a second processing fluid 130, and rotating the cylinder 205 in the first direction in the reservoir of the second station 110B to perform a second processing operation on the material 505.
In some examples, the at least one of the first end surface 305A and the second end surface 305B that is perforated comprises a removable screen 325. In these examples, the openings in the screen 325 are a margin smaller than the material 505 to prevent the material 505 from passing through the screen 325.
In some examples, the particle size of the material 505 is about 1 mm.
In some examples, the barrel assembly 115 comprises a motor 210 configured to rotate the cylinder 205. In these examples, rotating the cylinder 205 in the first direction to process the material 205 involves actuating the motor 210.
In some examples, the barrel line 105 comprises a motor and the barrel assembly 115 comprises a gear assembly 220 configured to mesh with the motor. In these examples, rotating the cylinder 205 in the first direction to process the material 505 involves actuating the motor.
While the systems and methods of operation have been described with reference to certain examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made and equivalents can be substituted without departing from the scope of the claims. Therefore, it is intended that the present methods and systems not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but that the disclosed methods and systems include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
The claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/272,724 filed Oct. 28, 2021. The entire disclosure contents of these applications are herewith incorporated by reference into the present application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63272724 | Oct 2021 | US |
