Hydraulic Closure Unit and Retrofit System for a Plate Heat Exchanger
OwnerDerek Ian Finch, Jonathan Graham Shaw +1inventors
InventorsDerek Ian Finch, Jonathan Graham Shaw, Neil Edwin Jarman
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Abstract
A plate heat exchanger includes a frame, a set of plates disposed in the frame between a head and a follower, and a closure unit. The closure unit includes a drive mechanism and a power unit. The drive mechanism is configured to urge the follower to move towards the head to compress the set of plates and configured to urge the follower to move away from the head to release the set of plates. The power unit is configured to selectably connect to and disconnect from the drive mechanism and to provide power to the drive mechanism. The power unit is configured to compress the set of plates in response to a controller receiving a close command.
Claims23
A plate heat exchanger comprising:
- a frame;
- a set of plates disposed in the frame between a head and a follower;
- and
- a modular closure unit including:
- a drive mechanism operable to be added onto the frame while the plate heat exchanger is idle and while the plate heat exchanger is working, the drive mechanism is operable to be sanitarily housed and the drive mechanism is configured to urge the follower to move towards the head to compress the set of plates and configured to urge the follower to move away from the head to release the set of plates;
- and
- a power unit configured to be selectably connected to and disconnected from the drive mechanism and provide power to the drive mechanism, wherein the power unit is configured to control the drive mechanism to compress the set of plates between the follower and the head in response to a controller receiving a close command and wherein the power unit is configured to control the drive mechanism to move the follower away from the head in response to a controller receiving an open command.
A plate heat exchanger system comprising:
- a plurality of plate heat exchangers, each plate heat exchanger including:
- a frame;
- and
- a set of plates disposed in the frame between a head and a follower;
- and
- a modular closure unit including:
- a plurality of drive mechanisms, each drive mechanism being operable to be added onto the respective frame of the plurality of plate heat exchangers, the drive mechanism is operable to be sanitarily housed and the drive mechanism is configured to urge the follower to move towards the head to compress the set of plates and configured to urge the follower to move away from the head to release the set of plates, wherein each drive mechanism is operable to be coupled to a respective plate heat exchanger while the plate heat exchanger is idle and each drive mechanism is operable to be coupled to the respective plate heat exchanger while the plate heat exchanger is operational;
- and
- a disconnectable power unit configured to provide power to the plurality of drive mechanisms, wherein the disconnectable power unit is configured to be disconnected from one of the plurality of drive mechanisms and connected to another to control the respective drive mechanism to compress the set of plates between the follower and the head in response to a controller receiving a close command and wherein the disconnectable power unit is configured to control the drive mechanism to move the follower away from the head in response to a controller receiving an open command.
An aftermarket modular closure unit for an existing plate heat exchanger having a frame and a set of plates disposed in the frame between a head and a follower, the aftermarket modular closure unit comprising:
- a drive mechanism operable to be added onto the frame without disruption of the operation of the existing plate heat exchanger, the drive mechanism is operable to be sanitarily housed and the drive mechanism is configured to urge the follower to move towards the head to compress the set of plates and is configured to urge the follower to move away from the head to release the set of plates;
- and
- a power unit configured to be connected to and disconnected from the drive mechanism without disruption of the operation of the existing plate heat exchanger, the power unit being configured to provide power to the drive mechanism, wherein the power unit is configured to control the drive mechanism to compress the set of plates between the follower and the head in response to a controller receiving a close command and wherein the power unit is configured to control the drive mechanism to move the follower away from the head in response to a controller receiving an open command.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.