Die lube recovery system and method
AssigneeHonda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorMichael R. Steiner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A die lube recovery and recycling system includes a weir tank, a filtration assembly, and a holding tank. The weir tank receives used, dirty die lube and filters large particles therefrom. Preliminarily filtered die lube is pumped through the filtration assembly and reconditioned die lube is delivered to the holding tank. A level of reconditioned die lube in the holding tank is monitored and, the die lube is replenished with fresh die lube from a fresh die lube source when the level falls below a predetermined level. A die lube pressure booster is used to withdraw die lube from the holding tank, pressurize the withdrawn die lube, and spray the pressurized die lube on a die in a casting machine.
Claims18
A die lube recovery system, comprising:
- a weir tank that receives used die lube, said weir tank having means to filter large particles from said used die lube;
- an oil skimmer associated with said weir tank and operable to remove waste oil from said used die lube;
- a filtration assembly for removing particulates from used die lube output from said weir tank and for supplying reconditioned die lube to a holding tank;
- a recovery pump for pumping fluid from an outlet of said weir tank to an input of said filtration assembly;
- said holding tank containing a quantity of reconditioned die lube and having a first sensor for monitoring a liquid level in said holding tank, wherein, when a sensed level of reconditioned die lube in said holding tank falls below a first predetermined level, fresh die lube is added to said holding tank.
A die lube system, comprising a fresh die lube source, a pressure booster that is operable to receive, pressurize, and deliver die lube to a lube spray device, and a used die lube collection pan that receives die lube after the die lube has been sprayed from the lube spraying device, the improvement comprising:
- a weir tank that receives used die lube from said collection pan, said weir tank having means to filter large particles from said used die lube;
- an oil skimmer associated with said weir tank and operable to remove waste oil from said used die lube;
- a filtration assembly for removing particulates from used die lube output from said weir tank and for supplying reconditioned die lube to a holding tank;
- a recovery pump for pumping fluid from an outlet of said weir tank to an input of said filtration assembly;
- said holding tank containing a quantity of reconditioned die lube and having a first sensor for monitoring a liquid level in said holding tank, wherein, when a sensed level of reconditioned die lube in said holding tank falls below a first predetermined level, fresh die lube liquid is added to said holding tank from said fresh die lube source;
- and,
- wherein said holding tank is fluidly connected to said pressure booster and supplies reconditioned die lube thereto.
A method for recovering and recycling used die lube, comprising the steps of:
- directing used die lube and entrained particles to a weir tank,
- filtering large particles from the used die lube in the weir tank;
- pumping filtered die lube from said weir tank, through a filter assembly, and delivering reconditioned die lube into a holding tank;
- monitoring a level of the reconditioned die lube in said holding tank and, when the level is below a first predetermined level, adding further fresh lube to said holding tank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.