Claims
- 1. A particulate irradiating system comprising:a radiation source; a conveying system adjacent said radiation source for transporting loose particulate material past the radiation source; and a pneumatic delivery system adjacent said conveying system for fluidly conveying said particulate material to said conveying system, the delivery system including a first inlet manifold having a plurality of pneumatic tubes in a spaced relation through which the particulate material is conveyed; and, a first discharge manifold connected with the plurality of pneumatic tubes for separating said particulate material from fluid and delivering the particulate material to the conveying system.
- 2. The particulate irradiating system of claim 1, further comprising a dump hopper which dumps said particulate material into said delivery system.
- 3. The particulate irradiating system of claim 1, wherein the discharge manifold includes:a feed hopper positioned above said conveying system for discharging said particulate material onto said conveying system.
- 4. The particulate irradiating system of claim 3, wherein said feed hopper further comprises a metering gate at a base of said feed hopper, said metering gate controls a layer of particulate material deposited onto said conveying system.
- 5. The particulate irradiating system of claim 3, wherein the discharge manifold includes:a first and second cyclone hopper positioned adjacent each other and above said feed hopper.
- 6. The particulate irradiating system of claim 5, wherein said cyclone hoppers further comprise sensors located adjacent a top portion and bottom portion of said hoppers, said sensors being used to monitor a level of particulate material within said hoppers.
- 7. The particulate irradiating system of claim 6, wherein said pneumatic delivery system further comprises:a metering valve to open and close the hopper in response to the sensors.
- 8. The particulate irradiating system of claim 1, further comprising a receiving hopper for receiving said particulate material from said conveying system, said receiving hopper being located below said conveying system.
- 9. The particulate irradiating system of claim 8, wherein said receiving hopper comprises a hopper and a metering device positioned below said hopper.
- 10. The particulate irradiating system of claim 9, wherein said metering device comprises:a plurality of veins to control the amount of particulate material flowing through the hopper and reduce noise from air flow.
- 11. The particulate irradiating system of claim 1 wherein said radiation source provides an electron beam to irradiate said particulate material.
- 12. The particulate irradiating system of claim 1, wherein said particulate material comprises polymer pellets.
- 13. A particulate irradiating system comprising:a radiation source which generates a beam of radiation; a conveyor for transporting loose particulate material through the beam of radiation; a pneumatic delivery system for fluidly transporting said particulate material entrained in fluid; a separator connected with the pneumatic delivery system to separate the particulate material from the fluid and deposit the particulate material on the conveyor upstream of the radiation beam; a receiver which receives the particulate material from said conveyor downstream from the radiation beam; and, an inlet manifold adjacent said receiver and at least one pneumatic tube extending from said inlet manifold for entraining said particulate material in fluid.
- 14. The particulate irradiating system of claim 13, further comprising a discharge manifold extending from said at least one pneumatic tube for separating said particulate material from the fluid.
- 15. The particulate irradiating system of claim 14 further comprising a receiving station which receives said particulate material from said discharge manifold.
- 16. The particulate irradiating system of claim 15, wherein said receiving station further comprises a pair of cyclone hoppers which deposit said particulate material into packaging.
- 17. A particulate irradiating system comprising:a particle accelerator for generating a beam of accelerated electrons; a belt conveyor for transporting loose particulate material through the accelerated electron beam; a pneumatic conveying system for providing air through which the particulate material is fluidly conveyed; a feed device which receives the particulate material and air from the pneumatic conveying system and deposits a layer of the particulate material on a conveyor belt of the belt conveyor, the feed device including: a level control which controls a thickness of the particulate material layer on the conveyor belt; and a receiving device for receiving said particulate material from said conveyor belt, said receiving system being located below said conveyor belt.
- 18. The particulate irradiating system of claim 17, wherein said pneumatic system further comprises a first discharge manifold extending from said at least one tube for separating said particulate material from air.
- 19. The particulate irradiating system of claim 18, further comprising a second inlet manifold adjacent said receiving device and at least one tube for entraining said particulate material received in the receiving device in an air flow.
- 20. The particulate irradiating system of claim 19, further comprising a second discharge manifold extending from said at least one tube for separating said particulate material from air.
- 21. The particulate irradiating system of claim 20 further comprising a receiving station which receives said particulate material from said second discharge manifold.
- 22. A method of irradiating particulates comprising:accelerating electrons; forming the accelerated electrons into an electron beam; entraining a particulate material in air and pneumatically conveying the particulate material adjacent the electron beam; depositing the particulate material on a moving belt; conveying the particulate material through the electron beam on the moving belt; and pneumatically re-entraining said particulate material in air from the moving belt.
- 23. The method as set forth in claim 22 further including:controlling a thickness in a direction of the electron beam of a layer of the particulate material on the moving belt.
- 24. The method as set forth in claim 22 further including:pneumatically conveying the material to a location remote from the electron beam; and at the remote location depositing the particulate material in packaging.
- 25. A particulate irradiating system comprising:a means for generating a beam of radiation; a conveyor belt which passes through the beam of radiation; a means for conveying particulates entrained in air onto said conveyor belt; a means for de-entraining the particulates from the air and depositing a layer of the particulates on the conveyor belt upstream of the radiation beam; a means for controlling a thickness of the deposited particulate layer; and, a means for receiving said particulates from said conveyor belt downstream of the radiation beam and, entraining the particulates in a fluid flow.
- 26. A method of irradiating particulates comprising:pneumatically conveying particulate material entrained in fluid through pneumatic tubes; de-entraining and depositing the particulate material onto a conveyor belt; conveying the deposited particulate material on the conveyor belt through an electron beam; and, re-entraining and pneumatically conveying the particulate material from the conveyor belt through pneumatic tubes.
Parent Case Info
This application claims priority from Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/122,678, filed on Mar. 3, 1999.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
J. Williams, “Weighing the Choices in Radiation Sterilization: Electron-Beam and Gamma,” Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry, Mar. 1995. |
Corporate Profile Advertisement, “Electron Beam Sterilization Comes to the Midwest,” Canon Communications, Inc., 1995. |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/122678 |
Mar 1999 |
US |