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US 11,794,193 B2Granted
System to control parameters of a mill
OwnerSheldon Dean Shumwayinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system to measure and control real-time parameters of a mill for grinding particulate without using auxiliary energy is disclosed. Sensors connected to the mill produce signals. A signal transmitting and receiving module is connected to the sensors and receives and transmits the mill process signals to a network. A modular power generator unit powers the system. A radio antenna receives and transmits signals from and to the signal transmitting and receiving module. A master controller connects to the network and to a distributed control system to receive and use process variables and the signals to compute and transmit setpoints to the distributed control system. The system alarms for upsets conditions, alters mill control variables, or both.
Claims20
A system to control in real time a charge volume of a mill for grinding particulate, without using auxiliary energy, the system comprising:
- at least one accelerometer connected to a rotatable mill shell of the mill or to liner bolts of the rotatable mill shell, the at least one accelerometer producing acceleration over time signals;
- a signal transmitting and receiving module electrically connected to the at least one accelerometer and mounted to the rotatable mill shell for receiving and transmitting the acceleration over time signals to a network;
- a modular power generator unit comprising:
- a non-rotating bracket mounted adjacent the rotatable mill shell;
- a stationary coil, comprising a resonant inductive coupling coil or a static electromagnetic coil, generating an electromagnetic field and mounted to the non-rotating bracket;
- at least one rotating electromagnetic coil mounted to the rotatable mill shell, the at least one rotating electromagnetic coil aligned to be energized with the stationary coil, the at least one rotating electromagnetic coil generating an AC current when energized by the electromagnetic field;
- and
- a power conditioning unit mounted to the rotatable mill shell, the power conditioning unit receiving and transforming the AC current to a DC current which supplies power to the one or more sensors and the signal transmitting and receiving module;
- a radio antenna for receiving signals from and transmitting signals to the signal transmitting and receiving module;
- a master controller with a master control processor and a master control data storage connected to the network and to a distributed control system to receive and use process variables from the distributed control system and the acceleration over time signals to compute and transmit a plurality of setpoints to the distributed control system of the mill, the master control data storage comprising:
- preset charge limits to prevent overfill of the particulate into the mill;
- computer instructions to instruct the master control processor to receive the acceleration over time signals and compare the acceleration over time signals to the preset charge limits;
- and
- computer instructions to instruct the master control processor to provide commands to the distributed control system for the mill to automatically alter at least one of:
- a speed of the rotatable mill shell rate, a particulate feed rate, and a water feed rate when compared acceleration over time signals exceed or fall below the preset charge limits.
12 more elements
A system to determine a real time value of liner thickness of a mill for grinding particulate without using auxiliary energy, the system comprising:
- one or more sensors comprising at least one accelerometer connected to a rotatable mill shell of the mill, to liner bolts of the rotatable mill shell, or both producing acceleration over time signals, at least one strain gauge connected to the rotatable mill shell producing strain gauge signals, or both;
- a signal transmitting and receiving module electrically connected to the one or more sensors and mounted to the rotatable mill shell for receiving and transmitting the acceleration over time signals, the strain gauge signals, or both to a network;
- a modular power generator unit comprising:
- a non-rotating bracket mounted adjacent the rotatable mill shell;
- a stationary coil, comprising a resonant inductive coupling coil or a static electromagnetic coil, generating an electromagnetic field and mounted to the non-rotating bracket;
- at least one rotating electromagnetic coil mounted to the rotatable mill shell, the at least one rotating electromagnetic coil aligned to be energized with the stationary coil, the at least one rotating electromagnetic coil generating an AC current when energized by the electromagnetic field;
- and
- a power conditioning unit mounted to the rotatable mill shell, the power conditioning unit receiving and transforming the AC current to a DC current which supplies power to the one or more sensors and the signal transmitting and receiving module;
- a radio antenna for receiving signals from and transmitting signals to the signal transmitting and receiving module;
- a master controller with a master control processor and a master control data storage connected to the network and to a distributed control system to receive and use process variables from the distributed control system and the acceleration over time signals, the strain gauge signals, or both, to compute and transmit a plurality of setpoints to the distributed control system of the mill, the master control data storage comprising:
- stationary liner thicknesses;
- computer instructions to instruct the master control processor to receive the acceleration over time signals, the strain gauge signals, or both and compare the acceleration over time signals, the strain gauge signals, or both to the stationary liner thicknesses and the process variables to calculate a real time liner thickness;
- and
- computer instructions to instruct the master control processor to provide commands to the distributed control system for the mill to automatically alert the distributed control system, operators, or both, when the real time liner thickness falls below a preset level.
11 more elements
A system to measure and control real-time parameters of a mill for grinding particulate without using auxiliary energy, the system comprising:
- one or more sensors connected to a rotatable mill shell of the mill, to liner bolts of the rotatable mill shell, or both and configured to produce mill process signals;
- a signal transmitting and receiving module electrically connected to the one or more sensors and mounted to the rotatable mill shell for receiving and transmitting the mill process signals to a network;
- a modular power generator unit comprising:
- a non-rotating bracket mounted adjacent the rotatable mill shell;
- a stationary coil, comprising a resonant inductive coupling coil or a static electromagnetic coil, generating an electromagnetic field and mounted to the non-rotating bracket;
- at least one rotating electromagnetic coil mounted to the rotatable mill shell, the at least one rotating electromagnetic coil aligned to be energized with the stationary coil, the at least one rotating electromagnetic coil generating an AC current when energized by the electromagnetic field;
- and
- a power conditioning unit mounted to the rotatable mill shell, the power conditioning unit receiving and transforming the AC current to a DC current which supplies power to the one or more sensors and the signal transmitting and receiving module;
- a radio antenna for receiving signals from and transmitting signals to the signal transmitting and receiving module;
- and
- a master controller with a master control processor and a master control data storage connected to the network and to a distributed control system to receive and use process variables from the distributed control system and the mill process signals to compute and transmit a plurality of setpoints to the distributed control system of the mill, the master control data storage comprising:
- one or more offline mill parameters measured while the mill is stationary;
- computer instructions to instruct the master control processor to receive the mill process signals and compare the mill process signals to the one or more offline mill parameters, the process variables, or both;
- and
- computer instructions to instruct the master control processor to provide commands to the distributed control system to alarm for upset conditions, to alter mill control variables, or both when the comparison to the mill process signals is above or below a set limit.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.