Abstract:
An apparatus for conveying granular resin material from one or more supplies to a receptacle adjustably selected from a plurality of receptacles.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This patent application claims the benefit of the priority of provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/089,389 entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Selective Matrix Conveyance of Granular Resin Material” filed on 9 Dec. 2014 in the name of “Paul S. Maguire.” The priority of the &#39;389 application is claimed under 35 USC 119 and 35 USC 120. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to methods and apparatus for conveyance of granular resin material, particularly granular plastic resin material, typically within facilities where plastic molding and/or plastic extrusion is performed. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    In the plastics industry, it is common practice to have many molding machines and/or extruders, and many different granular plastic resins, and to use different granular plastic resins for different molding projects and/or extrusion projects. As a result, there is a need to be able to convey the resins to the correct molding machine or extruder. 
         [0006]    As an example, a molding facility or an extruding facility may have ten material storage silos located outside of the facility with different types of granular plastic resin in each silo. In the molding or extrusion facility, there may be twenty molding machines or extruders. Clearly there is the need for a system to connect any one of the molding machines or extruders to any one of the granular resin material storage silos. 
         [0007]    The most common practice is to fill a large box, conventionally referred to as a “Gaylord”, with resin material from one of the silos and to move the Gaylord by using a forklift truck to the desired molding machine or extruder. This is the crudest, most elementary approach. A slightly more sophisticated approach is to convey the granular resin material directly from the silos to the desired molding machine or extruder, with all of the granular plastic resin material passing through a common area where connections can be altered by hand as required. This is done by manually disconnecting and reconnecting conveying conduits, one conduit for each molding machine or extruder, with that conveying conduit connected to the desired silo so that the proper granular resin material can be delivered to a particular molding machine or extruder. This disconnecting and reconnecting of conveying lines is done by hand, much like an old-time telephone operator connecting one&#39;s call to the proper destination by plugging a cable into a socket corresponding to the recipient of the call. Manually disconnecting and reconnecting granular resin material conveying lines is labor-intensive and subject to error by the laborers making the connections. 
         [0008]    A step up in sophistication from the manual connection of the conveying lines to the molding machines or extruders is to facilitate such connections automatically with computer control. 
         [0009]    One approach using computer control is to employ a rotation material selection device, driven by a stepping motor, allowing a single machine to select from one of several granular resin material supply lines. For every molding machine or extruder, there is one such rotating device driven by a stepping motor. 
         [0010]    Another approach is to use two rotating devices, one that rotates to select a molding machine or extruder while the second rotating device rotates to select the desired material. The two rotating devices are connected at their centers, much like a set of “Siamese twins.” In using this approach, any one of the molding machines or extruders can be selected to receive any of the materials stored in any of the storage silos at the facility. The granular resin material passes into a first one of the rotating devices, which is connected to the selected silo containing the proper granular resin material. This first device transfers the material to the second device as the two devices rotate. The second device has a selected molding machine or extruder destination and parses out the desired material to the correct molding machine or extruder. 
         [0011]    No matter what the approach, whether it be manual or automated, to supplying granular plastic resin material to a molding machine or extruder, with such molding machines and extruders being collectively referred to herein as “process machines”, granular plastic resin material is furnished to the process machines via “material source lines” that run throughout the plant. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    High pressure air or vacuum, depending on the designer&#39;s choice, is available throughout the plant to actuate air cylinders, open gate valves and the like. The high pressure air or vacuum is furnished through “destination lines” that also run throughout the plant. 
         [0013]    In the invention, all of the material source lines run vertically through passages, for example, extending up from the floor. All of the machine destination lines go horizontally through passageways, running left to right. The horizontal passageways are located immediately behind the vertical ones in a manner to form a matrix of crossings that are referred to as “intersections”. 
         [0014]    At each intersection is a device that can connect the horizontal passageway with the vertical passageway behind it. 
         [0015]    For example, there might be ten types of granular resin materials and twenty process machines. This results in  200  intersections of a material source line within a destination line. So there are  200  connection devices, one for each of the intersections, to connect the material source line with the destination line wherever needed at the intersection. The invention provides a very “modular” system, as additional connection devices can be added at any time, to add materials, or to add machine destinations. Each connection device has an air cylinder operated shut off gate, and all of the connection devices are connected to a central computer so that any one or more can be selected and activated at any time. These connection devices are opened in coordination with a vacuum pump and a receiver at a particular process machine, resulting in vacuum therein conveying the material from the correct silo to the correct process machine. 
         [0016]    In one of its aspects, this invention provides apparatus for conveying granular resin material from one or more supplies to a receptacle adjustably selected from a plurality of receptacles where the apparatus includes a plurality of resin material feed lines. A plurality of resin material supply lines are provided, each being connected to one of the supplies. The apparatus further includes connection conduits located at positions of closest approach of a feed line to a supply line, with the connection conduit connecting a selected feed line with the closest supply line for granular resin material flow from the feed line to the supply line at the intersection. The apparatus yet further includes shutoff gates for selectably closing a connection conduit between an associated feed line and an associated supply line at an associated position of closest approach of the respective lines. 
         [0017]    In this aspect of the invention, at least some of the resin material feed lines are preferably parallel one with another and at least some of the resin material supply lines are preferably at least parallel one with another. 
         [0018]    In another aspect of the invention, when the resin material feed lines are parallel with one another, the resin material supply lines are parallel with one another and the resin material feed lines are orthogonal respecting the resin material supply lines. Most desirably the supply lines are vertical and the feed lines are horizontal. 
         [0019]    In another one of its aspects, this invention provides apparatus for conveying granular resin material from one or more supplies to one or more receptacles adjustably selected from among a plurality of receptacles where the apparatus includes a plurality of horizontally extending resin material feed lines. A plurality of vertically extending resin material supply passageways are provided, each being connected to one of the supplies. The resin material supply passageways are in close proximity to the feed lines to define positions of close proximity of each feed line with each passageway. A plurality of mechanisms are provided for selectably connecting a passageway to each of the feed lines at a location of close proximity therebetween, where each of the mechanisms includes a pair of spaced apart plates, a segment of an associated feed line extending between the plates of the spaced apart plates, with the segment having an upwardly facing opening. A first plate-like member contacts the plates of the spaced pair, running along first vertically extending edges of the plates remote from the feed line segment. A first guide contacts and extends between the plates of the spaced apart pair at a position between the first plate-like member and the feed line segment, terminating at the feed line segment. A second guide contacts and extends between the plates of the spaced apart pair at a position below the first guide. The second guide terminates at the feed line segment located between the pair of spaced apart plates. A slide gate is moveable through an opening in the first guide proximate to feed line segment to contact the second guide proximate to feed line segment. A piston cylinder combination is provided for moving the slide gate between a position contacting the second guide and thereby blocking access to the segment interior and a position removed from the second guide to selectably provide access to the segment interior. The mechanisms are desirably vertically stacked in positioned in horizontal rows with mechanisms in each row positioned with their feed line segments aligned to define a feed line at the vertical position of the particular mechanism, with mechanisms at a given horizontal position being vertically aligned and stacked on one another vertically, with their respective pairs of spaced apart plates, first plate-like members, and first guides defining the vertically extending resin material supply passageways. 
         [0020]    In yet another one of its aspects, this invention provides a method for conveying granular resin material from one or more suppliers to a receptacle adjustably selected from among a plurality of receptacles where the method includes providing a plurality of resin material feed lines. The method further includes the step of providing a plurality of resin material supply lines with each supply line being connected to one of the supplies. The method proceeds by interdigitating the feed lines and the supply lines with one another to form a matrix of feed line-supply line intersections. The method concludes with connecting a feed line to an intersecting supply line for granular resin material flow from the feed line to supply line at the intersection therewith by opening of a shutoff gate between the feed line and the supply line. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the front and left side of a resin material distribution matrix in accordance with the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the rear and left side of the resin material distribution matrix illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a vertical section of a valve station portion of the resin material distribution matrix illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is sectional view of a valve station portion of the resin material distribution matrix as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a view of a resin material distribution matrix, as shown in  FIG. 1 , in use, showing two resin hoppers, each with a feed line and a valve in each line, and a microprocessor, with control lines shown connecting to the microprocessor, in accordance with the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    Referring to the drawings and particularly to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a resin material distribution matrix in accordance with the invention is designated generally  10 . Matrix  10  includes a plurality of resin material destination conduits, each of which is designated  18 . Resin material destination conduits  18  are horizontally disposed conduits. Only the discharge ends of resin material destination conduits  18  are visible in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         [0027]    Resin material distribution matrix  10  further includes a plurality of resin material source conduits, each of which is designated  16 . The upper openings to resin material source conduit  16  are visible in  FIG. 2 , but not in  FIG. 1 , and are designated  161  in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0028]    A plurality of valve stations, each of which is designated generally  12 , are provided in resin material distribution matrix  10  with a valve station  12  located at each “intersection” of a resin material source conduit  16  and a resin material destination conduit  18 . Each valve station  12  includes a pneumatically actuated valve, described in greater detail below, that when open connects the resin material source conduit at the particular intersection at which the valve station is located with the resin material destination conduit at the particular intersection at which valve station  12  is located. 
         [0029]    Resin material distribution matrix  10  further includes a frame designated generally  20  in  FIG. 2 . Frame  20  includes a pair of uprights  22  that are connected by a plurality of cross-member  24 . Uprights  22  extend upwardly from two horizontal footers  26  that provide stability for resin material distribution matrix  10 . 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a pneumatic cylinder designated generally  28  includes an air inlet nipple  30  via which compressed air is input via a suitable solenoid valve, not illustrated in  FIG. 3 , to close valve station  12 . Pneumatic cylinder  28  further includes a second air inlet nipple designated  32  via which compressed air is supplied to pneumatic cylinder  28  to open valve  12  by moving piston  34  upwardly and away from a resin material destination conduit  18  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Piston  34  includes a piston rod designated  36  which has a valve closure member  38  mounted on the end of piston rod  36 . A guard  40  is secured to one side of valve station  12 , where the side is designated  42 . Guard  40  is maintained in position by bolts or other suitable attachment means to effectuate rigid connection between guard  40  and the side portion of valve station  12 .