Material mixing and supplying system

Abstract

A material mixing and supplying system is provided. The material mixing and supplying system includes a feeding module, at least three mixing and supplying barrels, a supply module, and a control unit, wherein the three mixing and supplying barrels are capable of mixing and supplying the mixed material. The supplying time of the mixed material is greater than a sum of the feeding time and the mixing time. A total operation number of the at least three mixing and supplying barrels is determined by a set amount of mixed material to be supplied by the material mixing and supplying system, and a total time to finish supplying the set amount of mixed material is determined by the total operation number.

Claims

1. A material mixing and supplying system, comprising: a feeding module for controlling an input of raw material; a supply module for supplying a mixed material to an external device; at least three mixing and supplying barrels connected in parallel and between the feeding module and the supply module, wherein each of the mixing and supplying barrels comprises a mixing module for stirring and mixing the raw material to obtain the mixed material; and a control unit electrically connected to the feeding module, the mixing and supplying barrels, and the supply module, wherein the control unit determines a feeding time, a mixing time, a supplying time, and a maintenance time of each of the mixing and supplying barrels to control a work sequence of the feeding module, the mixing and supplying barrels, and the supply module; wherein the supplying time is greater than a sum of the feeding time and the mixing time; and wherein a starting time point of the feeding time for the mixing and supplying barrel that is spare among the three mixing and supplying barrels is obtained by subtracting the sum of the feeding time and the mixing time from an end time point of the supplying time of one of the three mixing and supplying barrels; wherein a set amount of mixed material to be supplied by the material mixing and supplying system determines a total operation number of the at least three mixing and supplying barrels and the total operation number of the at least three mixing and supplying barrels determines a total time to supply the set amount of mixed material.

2. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 1, wherein each of the mixing and supplying barrels comprises a cleaning module for cleaning the mixing and supplying barrel after the supplying time.

3. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 1, wherein each of the mixing and supplying barrels comprises a conical bottom with an angle of 60 to 120 degrees.

4. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 1, wherein the feeding module comprises a plurality of control valves, and the number of control valves corresponds to the number of the mixing and supplying barrels, wherein each of the control valves comprises a plurality of valve blocks for controlling the input of different raw material.

5. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 1, further comprising a wet nitrogen device connected to the mixing and supplying barrels for providing nitrogen with atomized water to raise a humidity in the mixing and supplying barrels and to prevent the mixed material from drying and hardening.

6. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 1, wherein each of the mixing and supplying barrels further comprises an exhaust module for isolating and expelling exhaust to maintain the airtightness and pH in the mixing and supplying barrels.

7. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 6, wherein the exhaust module comprises a filter module for controlling a property of the expelled exhaust.

8. The material mixing and supplying system of claim 1, wherein the mixed material is slurry or chemical.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The structure as well as preferred modes of use, further objects, and advantages of this present disclosure will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a material mixing and supplying system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a material mixing and supplying system setup in a predetermined space according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scheduling of a material mixing and supplying system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a first comparative system arranged in a predetermined space.

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scheduling of the first comparative system.

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a second comparative system arranged in a predetermined space.

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scheduling of the second comparative system.

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a third comparative system arranged in a predetermined space.

(10) FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scheduling of the third comparative system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(11) A material mixing and supplying system of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the related figures, and for ease of understanding, the same elements in the following embodiment are marked the same.

(12) FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are respectively a block diagram of a material mixing and supplying system and a schematic diagram of the material mixing and supplying system arranged in a predetermined space according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(13) Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the material mixing and supplying system 100 includes a feeding module 101, three mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3, a supply module 103, and a control unit 104. The feeding module 101 supplies all of the raw materials required to make a mixed material, wherein the mixed material can be slurry or chemical. Take making slurry as an example, the raw materials include polishing material with nanoparticles having high-hardness, such as silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, and cerium oxide, and suitable additive like potassium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, ferric nitrate, potassium iodate, and ammonia. The present disclosure does not limit the composition of the raw materials and liquids. In addition, the material mixing and supplying system 100 includes return pipelines 114, which are showed as dotted process lines in FIG. 2. Similarly, the dotted process lines of FIG. 4 are return pipelines 214, the dotted process lines of FIG. 6 are return pipelines 314, and the dotted process lines of FIG. 8 are return pipelines 414.

(14) The control unit 104 of the material mixing and supplying system 100 is electrically connected to the feeding module 101, the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3, and the supply module 103. The control unit 104 controls, with signals, an input of the feeding module 101, a stirring or mixing time of the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3, and a supply of a mixed material by the supply module 103 to an output 105. In specific, by determining a feeding time, a mixing time, a supplying time, and a maintenance time of each mixing and supplying barrel 102a1, 102a2, 102a3, the control unit 104 is able to control a work sequence of the feeding module 101, the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3, and the supply module 103 to keep the supplying of mixed material continuous and non-stop throughout the process.

(15) The feeding module 101 includes one or a plurality of control valves 111, wherein the number of control valves 111 corresponds to the number of mixing and supplying barrels. Each control valve includes a plurality of valve blocks 112, wherein the number of valve blocks 112 may differ in corresponding to different raw materials. The valve blocks 112 may be of different sizes, wherein a large-size valve block reduces a feeding time, and a small-size valve block precisely adjusts the input.

(16) According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the three mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 are setup in a predetermined space S with the best space utility rate. These three mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 have the same structure and functions; the functions include capabilities to mix, supply and store. Therefore, the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 can supplement each other functional-wise, in other words, they can provide functional redundancy in the material mixing and supplying system 100. Also, since the mixing and supplying barrels of the present disclosure have both the mixing function and the supplying function, the time for transferring the mixed material from a mixing barrel to a supplying barrel is saved. The mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 are designed to have a conical bottom with an angle between 60 to 120 degrees, such that the mixed material does not deposit at the bottom easily and so there is no residue when supplying the mixed material. Each of the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 includes a mixing module 106 for stirring and mixing the raw materials such as slurry, DI water, H2O2 or chemicals fed into the barrel to obtain the mixed material. The mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 include a pressure-regulating and pulsation-absorbing module (not shown in drawings) and a transfer pump set (not shown in drawings), for regulating a supplying flow and a supplying pressure of the mixed material.

(17) In addition, one or more heat exchange modules may be disposed between each mixing and supplying barrel 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 through proper pipeline arrangement to individually control the temperature of the liquid in the barrel. Each mixing and supplying barrel 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 also includes a cleaning module (not shown in drawings) with a 360-degree rotatable spray head for completely cleaning the inside of the barrel after the barrel has finished supplying the mixed material therein to prevent the next mixing from being affected by pipeline blockage or residue of the mixed material.

(18) In order to timely monitor the status and/or a property of the mixed material in each mixing and supplying barrel 102a1, 102a2, 102a3, an analysis module (not shown in drawings) utilizing particle size analyzer like particle counter or zeta potential meter, viscometer, specific gravity meter, pH meter, and conductivity meter to measure the status/property of the mixed material in the barrel may be disposed. After the measurement and analysis, the trace composition in the mixed material may be adjusted by an adjustment module (not shown in drawings) or more raw materials may be added by the feeding module 101 by transmitting a signal to the control unit 104.

(19) Each of the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 may be connected to a wet nitrogen device 113. The wet nitrogen device 113 provides nitrogen having atomized pure water, wherein the wet nitrogen can reduce the metamorphism of the mixed material caused by the oxidation of the mixed material itself and, at the same time, can maintain the high humidity in the barrel through the vapor or water molecules, and thereby preventing the crystallization of the raw materials or the mixed material due to dryness, which would reduce the quality of the mixed material. Further, an exhaust module (not shown in drawings) may be disposed in each mixing and supplying barrel 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 for expelling the exhaust to maintain the pH in the mixing and supplying barrel. The exhaust module includes a filter module (not shown in drawings) that uses high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) to control the property and quality of the expelled exhaust to reduce air pollution in the environment.

(20) Moreover, a pressure-regulating and pulsation-absorbing module may be disposed at places in each pipeline of the material mixing and supplying system 100 for modulating the pulsation and regulating the liquid flow and the pressure in the pipeline. In addition, the mixing and supplying barrels can be blocked from external contact by disposing a choke (not shown in drawings) in the predetermined space S. Further, the material mixing and supplying system 100 can include a nitrogen supply device (not shown in drawings) for providing nitrogen to maintain a condition in the mixing and supplying barrels.

(21) Description of Work Sequence

(22) In the following embodiments and comparative examples, each system is assumed to be implemented in the predetermined space S and the unit time t is 30 minutes, and the set conditions are as such: the predetermined space S is set to be a space that accommodates a total barrel volume of 300 liters (L), and for a volume of 1/12 S, the feeding time is 1 t, the mixing time is 0.5 t, the transfer time between barrels is 1 t, and the supplying time is 4 t.

(23) It is to be noted that slurry will be used as the mixed material in the following descriptions for illustration purpose.

(24) Supplying sequence for the material mixing and supplying system of the present disclosure

(25) Since the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1, 102a2, 102a3 used by the material mixing and supplying system 100 of the present disclosure have both the mixing function and the supplying function, the time for transferring mixed material/slurry from a mixing barrel to a supplying barrel is saved. The volume of the mixing and supplying barrel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is 100 L (⅓ S), and therefore the feeding time is 4 t, the mixing time is 2 t, the supplying time is 16 t, and the cleaning or maintenance time is 24 t. The schedule illustrated in FIG. 3 is for supplying 5 barrels of finished product, in other words, the mixed slurry.

(26) Referring to part (A) of FIG. 3, the mixing and supplying barrel 102a1 starts working at 0 t on the schedule, wherein 0 t is the starting time point for inputting raw materials, and after the feeding time of 4 t, the 4 t on the schedule is the starting time point of the 2 t-mixing time for mixing the raw materials. Then at 6 t, the 16 t-supplying time begins and the supplying time ends at 22 t. To keep the supply of the slurry on-going without any interruption, the end time point of the mixing and supplying barrel 102a1 at 22 t is used to subtract the 4 t-feeding time and the 2 t-mixing time, which is 6 t in total, and the starting time point at 16 t for the mixing and supplying barrel 102a2 to begin receiving the input of raw materials is obtained. As shown in parts (A) to (C) of FIG. 3, even if the mixing and supplying barrel 102a2 begins its cleaning and maintenance operation at 38 t for a length of 24 t and continues to be unavailable for work until 62 t shown in part (C), the supply of the slurry would not be cutoff because the material mixing and supplying system 100 of the present disclosure includes three mixing and supplying barrels that are supplement to one another functional-wise and so when the mixing and supplying barrel 102a2 is undergoing the cleaning and maintenance operation, the mixing and supplying barrels 102a1 and 102a3 can still continue to supply the slurry. Hence, when one of the three mixing and supplying barrels is being cleaned and repaired, the other two mixing and supplying barrels can cooperate together to maintain the supply of the slurry.

(27) Now, presume that a total operation number of each mixing and supplying barrel assembly is k, then the formula for a total time T needed to achieve the set amount of slurry is: T=16 kt+6 t, wherein the number of times the assembly needed to operate to supply the predetermined space S (300 L) is 3 (k=3), then the total time is 16*3 t+6 t=54 t.

(28) Hence, the total operation number of all mixing and supplying barrels is determined by the set amount of mixed material to be supplied by the material mixing and supplying system. Moreover, the total time that the material mixing and supplying system takes to complete or finish supplying the set amount of mixed material is determined by the total operation number of all mixing and supplying barrels.

(29) First comparative system: three-barrel setup with two mixing barrels and one supplying barrel

(30) FIG. 4 illustrates a first comparative system 200 setup in the predetermined space S. The first comparative system 200 includes two mixing barrels 202b1, 202b2 and one supplying barrel 202c1, wherein the amount of slurry that can be mixed by each mixing barrel 202b1, 202b2 at a time is half of the volume of the supplying barrel 202c1. In other words, the volume of each of the mixing barrels 202b1, 202b2 is 75 L (¼ S) and the volume of the supplying barrel 202c1 is 150 L (½ S). Similar to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the first comparative system, the feeding time required for feeding raw materials to the mixing barrel is 3 t, the mixing time required for mixing the raw materials is 1.5 t, the supplying time for supplying all the slurry in the supplying barrel 202c1 is 24 t, the cleaning or maintenance time is 24 t, and the transfer time for transferring the mixed slurry in the mixing barrel is 3 t.

(31) Referring to FIG. 5, which is a work schedule of the first comparative system 200, it takes 7.5 t for the mixing barrel 202b1 to complete the feeding, mixing and transfer operations as shown in part (A) of FIG. 5, and the supplying barrel 202c1 begins supplying the slurry at 7.5 t. After feeding the mixing barrel 202b1, the feeding module immediately starts to feed the mixing barrel 202b2 at 3 t, and the mixing barrel 202b2 transfers the mixed slurry to the supplying barrel 202c1 at 7.5 t and then undergoes the cleaning and maintenance operation at 10.5 t. The mixing barrel 202b1 begins to receive feeding at a starting time point which is obtained by the end time point of the first complete supply at 31.5 t subtracting 7.5 t. The transfer amount should be sufficient for supplying up to 55.5 t while half of the supplying barrel 202c1 is being supplied at 12 t. Since the total time required for feeding, mixing and transfer is less than the supplying time, even if one of the mixing barrels in the first comparative system is broken or needs to be cleaned, the other mixing barrel can still provide sufficient slurry for the supply. When the cleaning or repairing of the mixing barrel 202b2 is done in part (B), the first comparative system returns to normal operation. However, once the supplying barrel 202c1 breaks down or requires cleaning, the supply of the slurry will be cutoff until the issues with the supplying barrel 202c1 are solved, and that is what we want to avoid.

(32) In the first comparative system, presume that the operation number of the mixing barrel is i and the operation number of the supplying barrel is j, then the formula for a total time T needed to achieve the set amount of slurry is: T=24 jt+7.5 t, and 2 j=i; wherein the number of times the supplying barrel assembly needed to operate to supply the predetermined space S (300 L) is 2 (j=2), and the number of times the mixing barrel assembly operates is 4 (i=4). Thus, the total operation number of the mixing barrel assembly and the supplying barrel assembly is j+i=6, and the total time is 24*2 t+7.5 t=55.5 t.

(33) Second comparative system: three-barrel setup with two mixing barrels and one supplying barrel

(34) FIG. 6 illustrates a second comparative system 300 setup in the predetermined space S. The second comparative system 300 includes two mixing barrels 302b1, 302b2 and one supplying barrel 302c1, wherein all three barrels 302b1, 302b2, 302c1 have the same volume, which means the volumes of the mixing barrels 302b1, 302b2 and the supplying barrel 302c1 are each 100 L (⅓ S). In this setup, the feeding time is 4 t, the mixing time is 2 t, the transfer time is 4 t, the supplying time for a complete supplying barrel is 16 t, and the cleaning or maintenance time is 24 t. The work schedule of the second comparative system is as shown in FIG. 7.

(35) In the second comparative system, the supply of the slurry starts when the transfer of the slurry from the mixing barrel to the supplying barrel is half-way through, by which the system start time is moved up and the assembly usage is more frequent to increase efficiency. Referring to part (A) of FIG. 7, after the mixing is complete, the mixing barrel 302b1 starts to transfer the mixed slurry to the supplying barrel 302c1 at 6 t, and the supplying barrel 302c1 begins to supply the slurry at 8 t when the volume of the slurry transferred therein reached half of its barrel volume. The mixing barrel 302b2 then begins to receive feeding at 16 t and completes transfer at 26 t. At 26 t in part (B), the mixing barrel 302b2 undergoes the cleaning and maintenance operation, and since the time required for feeding, mixing and transfer is less than the supplying time, the second comparative system can also maintain the supply of the slurry when one of the mixing barrels is being cleaned or repaired. However, just the first comparative system, the supply of the slurry will be cutoff if the supplying barrel 302c1 needs cleaning or breaks down.

(36) Presume that in the second comparative system, the operation number of the mixing barrel is i and the operation number of the supplying barrel is j, then the formula for a total time T needed to achieve the set amount of slurry is: T=16 jt+8 t, and j=i, wherein the number of times the supplying barrel assembly needed to operate to supply the predetermined space S (300 L) is 3 (j=3), and the number of times the mixing barrel assembly operates is 3 (i=3). Hence, the total operation number of the mixing barrel assembly and the supplying barrel assembly is j+i=6, and the total time is 16*3 t+8 t=56 t.

(37) Third comparative system: four-barrel setup with two mixing barrels and two supplying barrels

(38) FIG. 8 illustrates a third comparative system 400 setup in the predetermined space S. The third comparative system 400 includes two mixing barrels 402b1, 402b2 and two supplying barrels 402c1, 402c2, wherein all the barrels, mixing and supplying, have the same volume of 75 L (¼ S) per barrel. In this setup, the feeding time is 3 t, the mixing time is 1.5 t, the transfer time is 3 t, the time it takes to completely supply an entire supplying barrel is 12 t, and the cleaning or maintenance time is 24 t. The work schedule of the third comparative system is as shown in FIG. 9.

(39) In the four-barrel setup of two mixing barrels and two supplying barrels, the supply of the slurry also starts when the transfer of the slurry from the mixing barrel to the supplying barrels is half-way through. As shown in part (A) of FIG. 9, the mixing barrel 402b1 completes the transfer of the slurry to the supplying barrel 402c1 at 7.5 t, but the supplying barrel 402c1 started supplying the slurry early at 6 t. The mixing barrel 402b2 then begins to receive feeding at 12 t and completes transferring the slurry to the supplying barrel 402c2 at 19.5 t, and the supplying barrel 402c2 starts supplying the slurry at 18 t. When the mixing barrel 402b undergoes the cleaning and maintenance operation at 19.5 t, for the next 24 t-timeframe, the mixing barrel 402b1 would mix the raw materials and transfer the mixed slurry to the supplying barrels 402c1, 402c2. If one of the supplying barrels 402c1, 402c2 undergoes the cleaning and maintenance operation, then the mixing barrels would alternately and continuously transfer the slurry to the working supplying barrel.

(40) In the third comparative system, presume that the operation number of the mixing barrel is i and the operation number of the supplying barrel is j, then the formula for a total time T needed to achieve the set amount of slurry is: T=12 jt+6 t, and j=i, wherein the number of times the supplying barrel assembly needed to operate to supply the predetermined space S (300 L) is 4 (j=4), and the number of times the mixing barrel assembly operates is 4 (i=4). Therefore, the total operation number of the mixing barrel assembly and the supplying barrel assembly is j+i=8 and the total time is 12*4 t+6 t=54 t.

(41) Although the four-barrel setup of two mixing barrels and two supplying barrels is relatively stable, where even if one of the mixing barrels and one of the supplying barrels undergoes the cleaning and maintenance operation, the supply of the slurry can still be kept continuous and on-going, the smaller volume of each barrel would increase the operation number of each assembly. Table 1 below illustrates the number of times the assembly operates in different setups while providing the same amount of supply, wherein i is the operation number of the mixing barrel, j is the operation of the supplying barrel, and k is the operation number of the mixing and supplying barrel of the present disclosure.

(42) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Operation Number Supply (L) (i + j) or k 300 9000 18000 36000 108000 324000 The Present 3 90 180 360 1080 3240 Disclosure First Comparative 6 180 360 720 2160 6480 System Second Comparative 6 180 360 720 2160 6480 System Third Comparative 8 240 480 960 2880 8640 System

(43) From table 1, it can be seen that, when supplying the same amount of slurry/mixed material, the present disclosure has the lowest number of assembly operations, whereas the number of assembly operations in the three-barrel setups used by the first and the second comparative systems is twice of that of the present disclosure, and that number is even 2.67 times more than the present disclosure for the four-barrel setup used by the third comparative system.

(44) Table 2 compares the supplying time of each setup to the amount of supply and it can be observed that because the supply rate is set to be fixed, the difference between the supplying time of each setup is less significant as the amount of supply increases.

(45) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Supplying Supply (L) Time (unit: t) 300 9000 18000 36000 72000 324000 The Present 54 1446 2886 5766 11526 51846 Disclosure First Comparative 55.5 1447.5 2887.5 5767.5 11527.5 51847.5 System Second Comparative 56 1448 2888 5768 11528 51848 System Third Comparative 54 1446 2886 5766 11526 81846 System

(46) The material mixing and supplying system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has the best setup in a limited space, and when each assembly needs cleaning or repair, the other assembly is able to supplement one another functional-wise and to provide functional redundancy, so that the supply of the mixed material is not cutoff. In addition, the number of operations by the assembly as a whole is reduced and in turn prolongs the lifecycle of the assemblies. Thus, the operation cost of the entire assembly is reduced, which increases a lifetime of the material mixing and supplying system. Furthermore, the reduced number of operations by the assembly as a whole and without transfer time between mixing and supplying barrels also reflects on a shortened total time to finish supplying a set amount of mixed material, and therefore the supplying efficiency is enhanced.

(47) The above disclosure is only the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, and not used for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. All equivalent variations and modifications on the basis of shapes, structures, features and spirits described in claims of the present disclosure should be included in the claims of the present disclosure.