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US 7,344,298 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for blending process materials
AssigneeCelerity, Inc.
InventorsJeffrey A. Wilmer, Brian Alan McAllister, Daniel A. Swan, David E. Sitterud
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for blending and supplying process materials. The method and apparatus are particularly applicable to the blending of ultra-high purity chemicals, the blending of abrasive slurries with other chemicals for the polishing of semiconductor wafers, and high-accuracy blending of chemicals.
Claims23
A system for blending at least two materials, comprising:
- a blend chamber that includes
- a first inlet to receive a first material, the first inlet being connected to a first valve to control an amount of the first material received at the first inlet;
- and
- a second inlet to receive a second material, the second inlet being connected to a second valve to control an amount of the second material received at the second inlet;
- a recirculation line connected to the blend chamber to receive a mixture of the first material and the second material and provide the mixture of the first material and the second material back to the blend chamber;
- a sensor, disposed in the recirculation line, to detect an amount of the second material mixed in the mixture of the first material and the second material;
- a drain port fluidly connected to the blend chamber;
- an outlet fluidly connected to the blend chamber to dispense the mixture having a desired concentration of the second material in the mixture;
- and
- a controller, connected to the sensor, the first valve, the second valve, the drain port, and the outlet, configured to provide:
- a control signal to the first valve to fill the blend chamber to a predetermined volume with the first material at the first inlet,
- a control signal to the second valve, responsive to the blend chamber achieving the predetermined volume, to control the amount of the second material received at the second inlet to achieve the desired concentration of the second material in the mixture,
- a control signal, responsive to the detected amount of the second material in the mixture being greater than the desired concentration, to dispense a portion of the mixture out the drain port, and
- a control signal, responsive to the detected amount of the second material in the mixture being the desired concentration, to dispense a bulk of the mixture at the desired concentration of the second material in the mixture from the blend chamber through the outlet.
11 more elements
A method of blending at least two materials to a desired concentration, comprising acts of:
- providing a first material in bulk to a blend chamber;
- providing, subsequent to the act of providing the first material in bulk, a flow of a second material to the blend chamber through a second inlet;
- mixing the flow of the second material into the first material in the blend chamber to create a mixture;
- recirculating the mixture in the blend chamber;
- measuring a characteristic of the mixture during the act of recirculating;
- adjusting the flow of the second material to the blend chamber to attain the desired concentration;
- and
- dispensing a bulk of the mixture at the desired concentration.
5 more elements
A system for blending at least two components, comprising:
- a blend chamber having:
- a first inlet for receiving a first component, and
- a second inlet for receiving a second component;
- a recirculation line having an inlet and an outlet fluidly coupled to the blend chamber;
- means for detecting a concentration of the second component in a mixture of the first and second components in the recirculation line;
- means for adjusting the rate at which the second component is added to the blend chamber;
- means for draining a portion of an out of specification mixture from the blend chamber upon a determination that the detected concentration of the second component is out of specification;
- means for correcting a remaining portion of the out of specification mixture in the blend chamber;
- and
- means for dispensing a batch of the mixture at a final blend value from the blend chamber.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.