Inline evenflow material distributor for pneumatic material feed systems
View Patent ↗An apparatus for reducing clogs in a pneumatic material feed line, such as employed in abrasive waterjet machining systems, by providing an evenflow feed of material therethrough. The apparatus preferably includes a hollow housing defining a housing volume and having an inlet capable of connecting to an upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, an outlet capable of connecting to a downstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, and an air vent located between the inlet and outlet for venting excess air pressure out from the housing volume. A diverter, i.e. an impingement object, is located at the inlet and in a path of incoming material from the upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, to break up clumps of ambient moisture-ridden material impinging on the diverter. And one or more filter screens is also preferably located in the housing volume to further break up clumps and provide filtering.
1. An apparatus for reducing clogs in a pneumatic material feed line, comprising:
a hollow housing defining a housing volume and having an inlet capable of connecting to an upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, an outlet capable of connecting to a downstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, and an air vent located between the inlet and outlet for venting excess air pressure out from the housing volume;
a diverter located at the inlet and in a path of incoming material from the upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, for breaking up clumps of said material impinging upon said diverter; and
a first filter screen having a first pore size and located in the housing volume between the diverter and the outlet, for further breaking up clumps of said material impinging upon said first filter screen and filtering therethrough material sized less than or equal to the first pore size.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the diverter is a pin extending in a transverse direction to the incoming material flow.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
further comprising a second filter screen having a second pore size and located in the housing volume between the first filter screen and the outlet, for further breaking up clumps of said material impinging upon said second filter screen and filtering therethrough material sized less than or equal to the second pore size.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 ,
wherein the first pore size of the first filter screen is larger than the second pore size of the second filter screen.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the inlet and the outlet are located at opposite ends of the housing.
6. An evenflow material distribution apparatus for use in a pneumatic material feed line of an abrasivejet machining system, said pneumatic material feed line connecting a pneumatic source and an abrasive material supply at an upstream location to a hopper at a downstream location, comprising:
a hollow housing defining a housing volume and having an inlet adapted to connect to an upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, an outlet adapted to connect to a downstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, and an air vent located between the inlet and outlet for venting excess air pressure out from the housing volume;
a diverter located at the inlet and in a path of incoming abrasive material from the upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, for breaking up clumps of said abrasive material impinging upon said diverter;
a first filter screen having a first pore size and located in the housing volume between the diverter and the outlet, for further breaking up clumps of said abrasive material impinging upon said first filter screen and filtering therethrough abrasive material sized less than or equal to the first pore size; and
a second filter screen having a second pore size and located in the housing volume between the first filter screen and the outlet, for further breaking up clumps of said abrasive material impinging upon said second filter screen and filtering therethrough abrasive material sized less than or equal to the second pore size,
wherein the diverter, first filter screen, and second filter screen operate to reduce clogs in the pneumatic material feed line due to bridging/clumping of the abrasive material.
7. The evenflow material distribution apparatus of claim 6 ,
wherein the diverter is a pin extending in a transverse direction to the incoming abrasive material flow.
8. The evenflow material distribution apparatus of claim 6 ,
wherein the first pore size of the first filter screen is larger than the second pore size of the second filter screen.
9. The evenflow material distribution apparatus of claim 6 ,
wherein the inlet and the outlet are located at opposite ends of the housing.
10. A pneumatic material feed line comprising:
an upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line;
a downstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line;
a hollow housing defining a housing volume and having an inlet connected to the upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, an outlet connected to the downstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, and an air vent located between the inlet and outlet for venting excess air pressure out from the housing volume;
a diverter located at the inlet and in a path of incoming material from the upstream portion of the pneumatic material feed line, for breaking up clumps of said material impinging upon said diverter to reduce clogs in the pneumatic material feed line; and
a first filter screen having a first pore size and located in the housing volume between the diverter and the outlet, for further breaking up clumps of said material impinging upon said first filter screen and filtering therethrough material sized less than or equal to the first pore size.
11. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 10 ,
wherein the diverter is a pin extending in a transverse direction to the incoming material flow.
12. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 10 ,
further comprising a second filter screen having a second pore size and located in the housing volume between the first filter screen and the outlet, for further breaking up clumps of said material impinging upon said second filter screen and filtering therethrough material sized less than or equal to the second pore size.
13. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 12 ,
wherein the first pore size of the first filter screen is larger than the second pore size of the second filter screen.
14. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 10 ,
wherein the inlet and the outlet are located at opposite ends of the housing.
15. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 10 ,
further comprising an air injector located downstream of the housing for supplying additional pneumatic pressure in a direction of the feed.
16. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 15 ,
wherein the air injector is located at an elbow of the pneumatic material feed line to accelerate material in an orthogonal direction to that of entry into the elbow.
17. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 10 ,
wherein the pneumatic material feed line supplies abrasive material to an abrasive waterjet machining system.
18. The pneumatic material feed line of claim 17 ,
wherein the pneumatic material feed line connects a pneumatic source and an abrasive material supply at an upstream location to a hopper at a downstream location.