Portable concrete plant dispensing system
AssigneePort-A-Pour, Inc.
InventorsNeil G. Oberg, Jerome J. Doherty
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A computer controlled pumping and measuring system is used to dispense chemicals into a concrete mix. The redundant use of positive displacement pumps and flow meters ensure that any problems with the chemical dispensing are immediately caught. The computerized control system may be operable to control exact batch configurations of concrete and aggregate in conjunction with the chemical dispensing, as well as provide precise mixture control and recording of the various components.
Claims4
A system for mixing concrete comprising:
- a concrete hopper adapted to dispense concrete under computer control;
- at least one aggregate hopper adapted to dispense aggregate under computer control;
- a dry mixer that mixes said dry concrete and said aggregate to generate a mixture of concrete and aggregate;
- a conveyor that conveys said mixture of concrete and aggregate to a dispensing head;
- a water dispensing system adapted to dispense water under computer control at said dispensing head;
- a chemical dispensing system adapted to dispense chemicals under computer control at said dispensing head;
- and
- a computer control system adapted to control said concrete hopper, said aggregate hopper, said dry mixer, said water dispensing system, said chemical dispensing system, and said dispensing head to dispense said mixture said water and said chemicals in selected proportions.
A method for computer control of a concrete mixing plant comprising:
- pumping chemicals to a dispensing head in response to a chemical control signal;
- pumping chemicals to said dispensing head in response to a chemical control signal;
- dispensing aggregate from an aggregate hopper into a dry mixer in response to an aggregate control signal;
- dispensing concrete from a concrete hopper into said dry mixer in response to an aggregate control signal;
- dry mixing said aggregate and said concrete in said dry mixer to create a mixture of aggregate and concrete;
- conveying said mixture of aggregate and concrete to said dispensing head;
- causing said mixture aggregate and concrete, said water and said chemical to be dispensed from said dispensing head;
- and
- generating said water control signal, said chemical control signal, said aggregate control signal and said concrete control signal using a computer control system.
A chemical dispensing system for a concrete mixing plant comprising:
- a first pump adapted to receive a first control signal from a computer and further adapted to dispense water;
- a second pump adapted to receive a second control signal from a computer and further adapted to dispense chemicals;
- a first flow meter mounted downstream from said first pump and adapted to send a first measurement signal proportional to the amount of water dispensed;
- a second flow meter mounted downstream from said second pump and adapted to send a second measurement signal proportional to the amount of chemical dispensed;
- and
- a computer adapted to send said first control signal to said first pump and said second control signal to said second pump, and adapted to receive said first measurement signal and said second measurement signal, said computer further adapted to compare said second control signal with said second measurement signal to determine if a pumping fault has occurred, and said computer further adapted to record the amount of water and the amount of chemical dispensed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.