Method for mixing gas into high-viscosity material and apparatus for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10710034-B2
Application number	US-201615534760-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2016
Priority date	Feb 5, 2015
Publication date	Jul 14, 2020
Grant date	Jul 14, 2020

Abstract

A gas mixing apparatus includes: a discharge port of gas provided near conduit space through which the high-viscosity material can flow; a piston pump including a cylinder that can communicate with the conduit space through the discharge port, a piston arranged inside the cylinder, and a drive device for moving the piston between a top dead center and a bottom dead center inside the cylinder; a discharge valve that opens and closes the discharge port; and a suction valve that opens and closes a suction port of the gas into a cylinder space, in which the cylinder forms the cylinder space having a predetermined volume when the piston is located at the top dead center, and in which a tip of the piston approaches the discharge port when the piston is moved toward the bottom dead center.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A gas mixing apparatus for mixing gas into a high viscosity material, the gas mixing apparatus comprising:
a piston pump including a cylinder, a discharge port for gas formed at an end of the cylinder so as to make the cylinder communicate with a conduit through which a high-viscosity material can flow, a suction port formed in the cylinder so as to fill the cylinder with gas, and a piston slidable between a first position and a second position inside the cylinder;
a discharge valve that opens and closes the discharge port,
wherein the cylinder forms a cylinder space having a predetermined volume for filled gas when the piston is located at the first position; and
a controller,
the controller being configured to control the apparatus to execute each of the steps of:
closing the discharge valve;
moving the piston to the first position to form the cylinder space having the predetermined volume;
filling the cylinder space with the gas having the predetermined pressure from the suction port;
moving the piston toward the second position to compress the gas; and
opening the discharge valve to mix the compressed gas into the high-viscosity material that flows through the conduit.

2. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the series of steps from closing the discharge valve to opening the discharge valve is repeated each time when a predetermined amount of the high-viscosity material flows.

3. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein a foam ratio of the high-viscosity material is controlled by adjusting at least any one of the predetermined amount of the high-viscosity material, the predetermined volume of the cylinder space, and the predetermined pressure of the gas.

4. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the piston is located at the second position, a tip of the piston fits to an inside of the end of the cylinder.

5. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the tip of the piston has a shape complementary to the inside of the end of the cylinder in which the discharge port has been formed.

6. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the discharge port is provided so as to face a flow of the high-viscosity material in a side wall of the conduit, and wherein
the discharge valve includes a valve body that can extend from a position of the side wall of the conduit, and can seat at the discharge port, the position being opposed to the discharge port.

7. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the valve body is a needle.

8. The gas mixing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a suction valve that opens and closes the suction port, wherein
the suction port is provided in a side wall of the cylinder that forms the cylinder space, and wherein
the suction valve includes a valve body that can extend from an outside of the cylinder space, and can seat at the suction port.

Assignees

• Sunstar Engineering Inc

Inventors

• Nakanishi Takayoshi
• Yamashita Toshifumi
• Omachi Takuro
• Nagata Hiroyuki

Classifications

• B05B7/0025 Primary

  with a compressed gas supply · CPC title

• B01F25/3143 Primary

  characterised by the specific design of the injector · CPC title

• B01F35/8822

  using measuring chambers of the piston or plunger type (B01F35/8823 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B01F35/7174

  using pistons, plungers or syringes · CPC title

• B01F35/715

  Feeding the components in several steps, e.g. successive steps · CPC title