Patent ID: 7344298

Claim:
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.