System and method for controlling continuous mixer with melt pump
AssigneeQuantum Chemical Corporation
InventorJames M. Edge
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved system and method for effectively controlling the operation of a continuous mixer/melter having an adjustable exit opening and connected to a melt pump is provided. The melt pump, which is preferably a gear pump, is operatively connected to an extruder/pelletizer. Operation of the gear pump is controlled in proportional relation to the energy requirements of the mixer/melter motor, the energy applied to adjust and maintain the exit opening of the mixer/melter, and the suction pressure measured at the interface between the mixer/melter and the gear pump. A microprocessor unit which receives and processes the input signals, calculates the energy requirements of the gear pump motor and compares these requirements with the actual torque, makes the necessary adjustments to the gear pump.
Claims5
In the continuous in-line operation of a mixer/melter having an adjustable size exit opening for feeding a thermoplastic resin melt directly and positively to a melt pump which pumps the melt through an extruder/pelletizer for pelletization, to reduce pressure surges and obtain more uniformly sized pellets, the improvement which comprises:
- generating a first input signal representing the amount of energy used by the mixer/melter to feed the thermoplastic resin therethrough;
- generating a second input signal representing the amount of energy used to adjust the size of the adjustable exit opening;
- generating a third input signal representing the pressure of the resin melt at the interface between the mixer/melter and the melt pump;
- transmitting the first, second, and third input signals to a processor;
- the processor processing the first, second, and third input signals to determine a desired energy level for the melt pump;
- and
- the processor generating an output signal and transmitting the output signal to the melt pump to adjust the energy used by the melt pump to said desired level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.