Patent Application
20140209703
Plural component systems provide a number of different liquid materials that are combined or mixed at a particular ratio to generate a composition that is delivered for coating a surface, for example. Some plural component applications include, but are not limited to, building construction and various applications within automotive, agricultural, marine, and industrial environments. More specifically, some particular applications include, but are not limited to, spraying foam insulation and spraying protective coatings on pipes and tanks, structural steel, and marine vessels, to name a few.
In many instances, plural component coatings can deliver benefits over single component coatings in particular applications, such as improved durability, better chemical resistance, increased flexibility, etc. Typically, when two or more components are combined in a plural component system a reaction is created between the components which can be both time and temperature dependent. Maintaining accurate temperatures of the plural components can be important.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.
In one embodiment, a plural component heater assembly includes a plurality of heater modules each having a plurality of bores forming at least a first component path and a second component path, and at least one heating element receptacle configured to receive a heating element for heating the first and second component paths.
In one example, each of the heater modules comprises at least two bores forming a portion of the first component path and at least two bores forming a portion of the second component path.
In one example, the plurality of bores are substantially parallel.
In one example, bores of adjacent heater modules are fluidically coupled.
In one example, the plurality of heater modules comprises at least two heater modules in a stacked configuration. In one example, the stacked configuration is extensible by adding additional heater modules to the stack.
In one example, each heater module comprises a heating element receptacle that is centrally located between the plurality of bores formed in the heater module.
In one example, the assembly includes a heater assembly housing having a pair of opposed sidewalls configured to support the heater assembly.
In one embodiment, a plural component system includes a heater assembly comprising a first component heating path formed by at least three substantially parallel bores, a second component heating path formed by at least three substantially parallel bores, and at least one heating element receptacle configured to receive a heating element for heating the first and second component heating paths.
In one example, the first and second component heating paths are formed through a plurality of heater modules.
In one example, the system includes a first pump assembly configured to pump a first component from a source to the first component heating path, and a second pump assembly configured to pump a second component from a source to the second component heating path. In one example, at least one controller is configured to control a speed of the first and second pump assemblies.
In one example, the system includes a first motor configured to operate the first pump assembly and a second motor configured to operate the second pump assembly. The controller is configured to control a speed of the second motor relate to a speed of the first motor.
In one example, the system includes a spray gun configured to receive the first and second components heated by the heater assembly.
In one example, each heater module comprises a heating element receptacle.
In one embodiment, a method of forming a heater module having first and second bores separated by a material includes inserting a cutting tool into an end of the first bore and creating a passageway between the first and second bores by moving the cutting tool toward the second bore to remove at least a portion of the material.
In one example, the first and second bores are substantially parallel.
In one example, moving the cutting tool toward the second bore removes a first portion of the material, and creating the passageway further comprises inserting the cutting tool into an end of the second bore and moving the cutting tool toward the first bore to remove a second portion of the material.
In one example, the heater module comprises a block formed by an extrusion process. In one example, the cutting tool comprises a woodruff or key cutter.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the claimed subject matter, and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Many other novel advantages, features, and relationships will become apparent as this description proceeds. The figures and the description that follow more particularly exemplify illustrative embodiments.
While the above-identified figures set forth one or more embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, other embodiments are also contemplated, as noted in the disclosure. In all cases, this disclosure presents the disclosed subject matter by way of representation and not limitation. It should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art which fall within the scope and spirit of the principles of this disclosure.
In the illustrated embodiment, system 100 includes a first pump unit 102 and a second pump unit 104 each configured to pump a respective component. Pump unit 102 includes a first piston pump assembly 106 and pump unit 104 includes a second piston pump assembly 108. Piston pump assembly 106 receives a component from a first container 110 via a tube or hose 112 and piston pump assembly 108 receives a component from a second container 114 via a tube or hose 116. Examples of containers 110 and 114 include, but are not limited to, fifty-five gallon barrels. The pressurized components are delivered to a spray gun (not shown in
System 100 includes one or more controllers. In the illustrated embodiment, system 100 includes a heater controller 122 configured to controller operation of a heater assembly. Further, each pump unit 102 and 104 includes a controller 103 and 105 configured to control the respective pump unit to deliver the components at a desired ratio and/or pressure. For example, the components can be sprayed at pressures up to or exceeding 3,200 pounds per square inch (PSI) and in ratios of 1:1, 1.25:1, 1.5:1, 1.75:1, 2:1, 5:1 or any other desired ratio. In one embodiment, a single controller can be provide for controlling operation of the pump units and heater assembly.
The pressurized fluid from each piston pump assembly 106 and 108 is provided through a tube to a prime/spray valve. As illustrated in
Housing 124 comprises an enclosure housing a heater assembly that receives the first and second liquid components via tubes 115 and 119, respectively. Tube 119 provides a path from prime/spray valve 107 associated with first piston pump assembly 106.
Heated liquid components exit housing 124 into a secondary housing 121. Housing 121 provides a sealed gateway for the electrical heating wires of heating elements 133 and 135, discussed in further detail below. Housing 121 also provides an attachment of pressure gauges and recirculating valve assemblies 129 and 131 for each component. Recirculating valve assembles 129 and 131 are operable to selectively direct the liquid components to return paths to the containers. Illustratively, assembly 131 is operable to supply the first component to either hose 120 or through a recirculating hose attached to port 123. Assembly 129 is operable to supply the second component to either hose 118 or through a recirculating hose attached to port 125. In this manner, the recirculating valve assemblies 129 and 131 allow the components to be circulated through the heater assembly for preheating prior to spraying.
Housing 124 includes an electrical connection 126 to provide power to the heater assembly, pump units, and/or controller(s). In one embodiment, a second electrical connection 127 can also be provided for providing a separate power source for the pump units and/or controller(s).
Inlet connections 130 and 132 are provided for receiving the pressurized components from tubes 117 and 119 (shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, secondary heaters 138 and 140 are provided having heating elements disposed within hoses 118 and 120 for further heating of the components. Electrical connectors 142 and 144 provide power to heating elements 133 and 135. In one embodiment, the heating elements 133 and 135 are controlled by heater controller 122.
In one embodiment, housing 124 includes a plurality of apertures 146 that enable fasteners to be inserted for securing the heater assembly within housing 124.
Each heating path is formed by a plurality of bores. Illustratively, more than two bores for each path are oriented in parallel to each other. The liquid components are heated as they flow through each of the parallel bores. While the bores are illustrated herein as being substantially cylindrical, it is noted that in other embodiments one or more of the bores can have non-cylindrical shapes.
In the illustrated embodiment, heater assembly 200 illustratively comprises a plurality of stacked heater modules each having a plurality of bores. The bores of each module form a portion of the heating paths between inlet connectors 130 and 132 and outlet connectors 134 and 136.
The configuration of heater assembly 200 is extensible and enables the number of heater modules to be selected based on heating requirements for the plural component system. In this manner, for example, a manufacturer or an end user can add additional heater modules to increase the overall length of the heating paths and thus the amount of heat added to the components, without significantly increasing the overall size of the heater assembly or requiring the length of the individual modules to be increased. Further, the stacked configuration can reduce the heating requirements of the heating elements. That is, for a given flow rate, as the length of the flow paths increases the amount of time the components remain in the heater assembly increases and the required temperature of the heating elements decreases.
Exemplary heater assembly 200 illustratively includes a first heater module 206, a second heater module 208, and a third heater module 210. While three heater modules 206, 208, and 210 are illustrated, in other examples less than or more than three heater modules are utilized.
Each heater module 206, 208, and 210 includes a respective heating element receptacle configured to receive a heating element to heat the module. In the illustrated example, each heater module includes a cartridge heater disposed within a centrally located receptacle. Each cartridge heater has electrical leads 212, 214, and 216 supplying electrical power to the cartridge heater. The cartridge heaters heat the modules 206, 208, and 210 which transfer the heat to the plural components flowing through assembly 200. The heating elements are illustratively controlled by heater controller 122 (shown in
Heater modules 206, 208, and 210 can comprise blocks formed of any suitable material. In one embodiment, the blocks are formed of metal, such as but not limited to, aluminum, using an extrusion process.
The heater modules 206, 208, and 210 have a first end 218, a second end 220, and a plurality of bores formed between ends 218 and 220.
A plurality of plugs 222 are positioned at ends of selected ones of the bores depending on the desired configuration of the heater assembly 200. In one example, the plugs 222 are threadably engaged to ends of the bores. In other examples, the plugs 222 are fixedly positioned to ends of the bores, such as by welding or otherwise securing the plugs to the heater module blocks.
In one embodiment, a heater module has a length between ends 218 and 220 of less than 24 inches. In one embodiment, the length is less than 18 inches. In one particular example, the length is approximately 16.5 inches.
As illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, a static mixing element 232 is provided within each bore 224, 226, 228, and 230 to encourage even distribution of heat in the component flow. The static mixing elements 232 have been omitted from
Bores 228 and 230 are connected by an opening 234 that forms a transverse passageway therebetween. The plugs 222 positioned at bore ends 236 and 238 cause component flow as generally illustrated by arrows 240. In the illustrated embodiment, bores 224 and 226 include an opening similar to opening 234 and are a mirror image of bores 228 and 230.
The plugs 222 positioned at end 242 of bore 230 and end 243 of bore 226 cause the respective components to flow in a direction generally illustrated by arrows 233 and 235 into the adjacent heater module (i.e., module 208). As shown in
Heater module 208 is illustrated in
As illustrated in
A port 246 is aligned with port 244 of module 206 and a port 248 is aligned with port 245 of module 206. The respective component flows enter bores 254 and 258 as generally represented by arrows 250 and 252. Bore 254 is fluidically coupled to bore 256 and bore 258 is fluidically coupled to bore 260.
Bores 254 and 256 are connected by an opening 262 that forms a transverse passageway therebetween. The component flow is generally illustrated by arrows 264. In the illustrated embodiment, bores 258 and 260 include an opening similar to opening 262 and are a minor image of bores 254 and 256.
The respective components flow (generally illustrated by arrows 270 and 272) from bores 256 and 260 into the adjacent heater module (i.e., module 210). As shown in
In one embodiment, heater modules 206 and 210 at the top and bottom of the stack are substantially identical and oriented one-hundred eighty degrees with respect to each other. In one embodiment, the block of heater module 208 is similar to the blocks of heater modules 206 and 210, and includes the additional ports 266 and 268. To further expand the heating capabilities of heater assembly 200, additional heater modules similar to module 208 can be added in the stacked configuration between modules 206 and 210.
Additionally, it is noted that in one embodiment one heater block can be utilized having more than two bores for each component flow path. For example, a single piece of extruded aluminum can have bores similar to bores 224, 226, 228, 230, 254, 256, 258, 260, 276, 278, 280, and 288.
As illustrated in
Module 304 has a first bore 334 coupled to a second bore 336 by a transverse passageway 338. A third bore 340 is coupled to a fourth bore 342 by a transverse passageway 344.
Module 306 includes a first bore 346 coupled to a second bore 348 by a transverse passageway 350. A third bore 352 is coupled to a fourth bore 354 by a transverse passageway 356.
Bores of adjacent modules are connected together by ports 360.
At step 402, the heater module 414 is formed, for example using an extrusion process. The module 414 has parallel bores 420 and 422 separated by a material 421 having a thickness 423.
At step 404, a cutting tool is inserted into a first one of the bores. For example, as illustrated in
At step 406, the cutting tool 424 is moved laterally (represented by arrow 427) into a surface 428 to cut at least a portion of a passageway between bores 420 and 422. In one example, step 406 can comprise cutting the entire passageway through material 421. In the illustrated example, step 406 comprises cutting a first portion 430 of the passageway between bores 420 and 422.
Then the cutting tool 424 is removed from the first bore 420 and, at step 408, the cutting tool 424 is inserted into the second bore 422. As illustrated in
At step 410, the cutting tool 424 is moved laterally (represented by arrow 429) into a surface 432 to cut a second portion 434 of the passageway. The first and second passageway portions 430 and 434 connect to form the passageway between bores 420 and 422. Steps 404, 406, 408, and 410 can be repeated for additional bores that are to be connected for fluid transfer.
At step 412, the ends 426 and 436 of bores 420 and 422 are closed using, for example, plugs 388 illustrated in
Although elements have been shown or described as separate embodiments above, portions of each embodiment may be combined with all or part of other embodiments described above.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
The present application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/756,783, filed Jan. 25, 2013, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61756783 | Jan 2013 | US |
