Valve assembly and automatic control system for material handling and storage bin
AssigneeVincent C. Bonerb
InventorTimothy C. Bonerb
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flowable granular, powder or flake material storage bin of the type having an inflatable generally cup-shaped bag with a blower for inflating and a blower for deflating the bag has a valve assembly of unique construction for controlling high-volume low-pressure flow for inflation and deflation cycles. The cycles themselves may be automatically controlled from sensing units which sense when the bag is fully emptied and fully deflated. The valve assembly may be adapted for the sequential discharge of a plurality of bins which may, for example, be located on a freight vehicle.
Claims36
In a system for handling, storing and discharging flowable granular, powder or flake material, the system being of the type having a generally cup-shaped inflatable bag for storing and discharging the material, said bag including a flexible, inflatable inner primary membrane for assisting in gravity discharge of the material, the material discharging through a discharge opening in the bag, a flexible, inflatable supplemental membrane for discharging material remaining in the bag after inflation of the primary membrane, a first blower means for inflating the bag and a second blower means for deflating the bag, an improved valve and control assembly comprising;
- (a) a first outlet conduit connected to the outlet of the first blower means and connected to inflate the bag, the intake of the first blower means in communication with the atmosphere;
- (b) an inlet conduit connected to the intake of the second blower means and connected to deflate the bag;
- (c) a second outlet conduit connected to the outlet of the second blower means and connected to allow inflation of the supplemental flexible membrane, said second outlet conduit including means for venting to the atmosphere, during or after inflation of the supplemental membrane, excess fluid pressure generated by said second blower means;
- (d) a valve assembly including check valve means permitting unidirectional flow of high-volume low-pressure fluid from the first blower means through the first outlet conduit to the bag, second valve means controlling high-volume low-pressure flow of fluid from the bag through the inlet conduit to the second blower means, and passage means allowing flow of fluid from the second blower means through the second outlet conduit to the supplemental membrane.
In a system for discharging granular, powder or flake material from a plurality of cup-shaped inflatable bags for storing and discharging the material, each bag including a flexible, inflatable inner primary membrane for assisting in gravity discharge of the material, the material discharging through a discharge opening in each bag, each bag including a flexible, inflatable supplemental membrane for discharging material remaining in the bag after inflation of the primary membrane, a first blower means for inflating the bags and a second blower means for deflating the bags, an improved valve and control assembly for sequentially discharging the bags, comprising;
- (a) a plurality of conduits arranged in a plurality of arrays, the arrays of conduits being arranged in linear sequence, each array of conduits controlling inflation and deflation of a single bag, and each array including:
- (i) a first inflation conduit having one end connected to inflate a bag,
- (ii) a deflation conduit having one end connected to deflate a bag,
- (iii) a second inflation conduit having one end connected to allow fluid passage to and from a supplemental membrane;
- (b) a valve assembly positionable to cooperate with each array of conduits, the valve assembly including:
- (i) check valve means permitting unidirectional flow of fluid to a bag through a first inflation conduit to inflate the bag,
- (ii) deflation valve means having open and closed positions, the deflation valve means selectively controlling flow of fluid from a bag through a deflation conduit to deflate the bag,
- (iii) supplemental passage means permitting flow of fluid to or from a supplemental membrane through a second inflation conduit;
- (c) a first outlet line connected to the outlet of the first blower means and connected to inflate a bag through said check valve means when the deflation valve means is in the closed position, the intake of the first blower means in communication with the atmosphere;
- (d) an inlet line connected to the intake of the second blower means and connected to deflate a bag through said deflation valve means when the deflation valve means is in the open position;
- (e) a second outlet line connected to the outlet of the second blower means and connected to allow inflation of a supplemental membrane through said supplemental passage means, the second outlet line including means for venting to the atmosphere, during or after inflation of the supplemental membrane, excess fluid pressure generated by said second blower means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.