US 10,201,915 B2Granted

Gravimetric blender with power hopper cover

OwnerStephen B. Maguireinventor

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Abstract

A gravimetric blender has a frame, at least one material storage hopper at the top of the frame including a hopper cover, a weigh bin located within the frame, below the hopper, for receipt of material from the hopper to be weighed and being adapted for downward discharge of the material in the bin after the material received from the hopper has been weighed, at least one load cell connecting the weigh bin to the frame for sensing the weight of contents of the weigh bin, a mixer within the frame below the hopper, for mixing material weighed in the weigh bin after that material falls downwardly from the weigh bin to the mixer, and a guide adapted for vertical movement of the hopper cover therealong between positions which the cover contacts and thereby closes the hopper and at which the cover is spaced vertically but maintained in a horizontal plane above the hopper so that the hopper is open at the top.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A gravimetric blender for receiving separate resin-related material components, weighing them according to a predefined recipe, and mixing the weighed components to produce a blend of resin material for molding or extruding plastic products, comprising:

a) a frame including upstanding side panels with outwardly flared guide flaps defining upper extremities of the side panels;
b) a plurality of resin material storage hoppers supported by the frame, the hoppers having open tops, all of the tops being co-planar one with another, the hoppers being laterally spaced from one another;
c) a cover overlaying all of the open hopper tops;
d) at least one load cell connecting the frame and a weigh bin, for sensing weight of the weigh bin;
e) the frame further including
i) a single tubular guide aligned with the center of the cover, oriented perpendicularly thereto, and positioned equidistant from each of the hoppers of the plurality for movement of the hopper cover vertically therealong;
ii) a longitudinally elongated brace connected to the tubular guide at the midpoint of the brace;
and
iii) a pair of separation plates connected to the guide flaps and extending upwardly therefrom, the separation plates being connected to the tubular guide and extending therefrom in vertical alignment with the brace;
and
iv) a horizontal hopper support box connected to the separation plates and extending longitudinally therealong below the brace;
v) a pair of upstanding straps connected to the same guide flaps as those to which the separation plates are attached;
f) piston-cylinder combination having extremities of the piston rods of the piston-cylinder combinations connected to the frame and the cylinders of the piston-cylinder combination connected to the upper surface of the hopper cover for moving the hopper cover upwardly and downwardly along the guide;
g) outboard extremities of the brace supporting receptacles receiving ends of piston rods of the piston-cylinder combinations and being connected to the upstanding straps;
h) the guide slideably receiving a rod fixedly connected to the hopper cover at the center thereof, the piston-cylinder combinations being horizontally aligned with the rod.

12 more elements

A method for moving a gravimetric blender horizontal, flat hopper cover, the blender being used for receiving separate resin-related material components, weighing them according to a predefined recipe, and mixing the weighed components to produce a blend of resin material for molding or extruding plastic products, the gravimetric blender further including a frame, a plurality of resin material storage hoppers supported by the frame, a bin for receiving resin material from the hoppers, a load cell for sensing weight of the bin and any contents therein, a mixer for mixing contents of the bin, the hopper cover supporting a vacuum loader for feeding resin material into the hopper for blender cleaning, and material changeover, the method comprising:

a) applying pneumatic pressure to a vertically oriented piston-cylinder combination the cylinder of the piston-cylinder combination being mounted on the upper surface of the hopper cover and exterior ends of piston rods of the piston-cylinder combination being connected to the frame thereby advancing the hopper cover vertically away from the hopper along a tubular guide vertically aligned with the center of the hopper cover and vertically aligned with the piston rod of the piston-cylinder combination, the tubular guide being below the hopper cover and affixed to the frame, to a position at which the cover is remote from the hopper so that requisite blender cleaning and material changeover can be performed, while maintaining the hopper cover in a horizontal orientation by supporting the hopper cover with the piston-cylinder combination, so that the flat horizontal hopper cover continues supporting the vacuum loader for feeding resin material into the hopper.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/707,094Filed 8 May 2015 · continuation in part
Priority: 17 Jun 2006
Published: US 2015/0197037 A127 Aug 2015
Granted: 12 Feb 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

B29B 7/24
Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations: for feeding
B29C 48/288
Feeding the extrusion material to the extruder: in solid form, e.g. powder or granules
B01F 23/64
Mixing solids with solids: using rotatable mixing elements at the lower end of discharge hoppers
B01F 25/90
Falling particle mixers, e.g. with repeated agitation along a vertical axis: with moving or vibrating means, e.g. stirrers, for enhancing the mixing

Family

Application11/454,291Parent of this division · filed 17 Jun 2006
Application13/345,856Parent of this division · filed 9 Jan 2012
US 8,092,070 B2Parent of this division · filed 10 Jan 2012
Application14/666,599Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 24 Mar 2015
US 2015/0239150 A1Pre-grant publication · published 27 Aug 2015
US 9,010,988 B2Parent of this division
Application14/666,599Parent of this division
US 10,166,699 B2Related patent
US 2007/0291578 A1Published application
US 2012/0195154 A1Published application
US 2015/0197037 A1Published application
US 10,201,915 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.