Coolant recapture and recirculation in material removal systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025073837-A1
Application number	US-202418950517-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 18, 2024
Priority date	Aug 7, 2018
Publication date	Mar 6, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and/or methods for filtering, recapture, and/or recirculation of coolant are disclosed. In some examples, coolant (e.g., coolant fluid) is used to cool and/or clean a machine, such as a material removal machine, for example. In some examples, a recirculation tank may be in fluid communication with an inlet and/or outlet of a cabinet (and/or housing) of the machine. The recirculation tank may include a recapture reservoir having a filtering surface configured to prevent particulates, debris, and/or swarf from being recirculated with the coolant. A vibration device (e.g., a vibration motor and/or vibrating actuator), may be in contact with and/or configured to vibrate (and/or shake, rattle, oscillate, etc.) the filtering surface, recapture reservoir, and/or recirculation tank so as to keep the filter free from obstruction and/or help settle and/or compact filtered particulates in a bottom of the recapture reservoir and/or recirculation tank.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of recirculating a coolant, comprising:
routing the coolant from a material removal cabinet to a recapture reservoir of a recirculation system, the recapture reservoir comprising a liquid container having:
a liquid impermeable bottom wall,
at least one liquid impermeable sidewall connected to the liquid impermeable bottom wall, and
a liquid permeable sidewall connected to the liquid impermeable bottom wall and the at least one liquid impermeable sidewall;
vibrating at least a portion of the recirculation system; and routing the coolant from the recirculation system to the material removal cabinet, the material removal cabinet housing a material removal machine.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the recirculation system further comprises a recirculation tank in fluid communication with the recapture reservoir.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the coolant is routed from a cabinet outlet of the material removal cabinet to the recapture reservoir, or is routed from the recirculation tank to a cabinet inlet of the material removal cabinet.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the recapture reservoir is positioned at least partly within the recirculation tank.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the liquid permeable sidewall comprises a filtering surface having openings sized to filter fluid communicated between the recapture reservoir and the recirculation tank, and to prohibit passage of particulates between the recapture reservoir and the recirculation tank.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the recirculation system comprises the recirculation reservoir.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the material removal machine includes a saw, a polisher, or a grinder.

8 . A method of recirculating a coolant, comprising:
routing the coolant from a cabinet outlet of a material removal cabinet to a recapture reservoir of a recirculation system, the recapture reservoir comprising a liquid container having:
a liquid impermeable bottom wall,
at least one liquid impermeable sidewall connected to the liquid impermeable bottom wall, and
a liquid permeable sidewall connected to the liquid impermeable bottom wall and the at least one liquid impermeable sidewall;
vibrating at least a portion of the recirculation system via a vibration device; and routing the coolant from the recirculation system to a cabinet inlet of the material removal cabinet, the material removal cabinet housing a material removal machine.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the recirculation system further comprises a recirculation tank in fluid communication with the recapture reservoir.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the coolant is routed from the recirculation tank to the cabinet inlet of the material removal cabinet.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the recapture reservoir is positioned at least partly within the recirculation tank.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the liquid permeable sidewall comprises a filtering surface having openings sized to filter fluid communicated between the recapture reservoir and the recirculation tank, and to prohibit passage of particulates between the recapture reservoir and the recirculation tank.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least a portion of the recirculation system comprises the recirculation reservoir.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the material removal machine includes a saw, a polisher, or a grinder.

15 . A method of recirculating a coolant, comprising:
routing the coolant from a cabinet outlet of a material removal cabinet to a recapture reservoir of a recirculation system, the recapture reservoir comprising a liquid container having:
a liquid impermeable bottom wall,
at least one liquid impermeable sidewall connected to the liquid impermeable bottom wall, and
a liquid permeable sidewall connected to the liquid impermeable bottom wall and the at least one liquid impermeable sidewall;
vibrating the recirculation reservoir via a vibration device; and routing the coolant from the recirculation system to a cabinet inlet of the material removal cabinet, the material removal cabinet housing a material removal machine.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the recirculation system further comprises a recirculation tank in fluid communication with the recapture reservoir.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the coolant is routed from the recirculation tank to the cabinet inlet of the material removal cabinet.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the recapture reservoir is positioned at least partly within the recirculation tank.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the liquid permeable sidewall comprises a filtering surface having openings sized to filter fluid communicated between the recapture reservoir and the recirculation tank, and to prohibit passage of particulates between the recapture reservoir and the recirculation tank.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the material removal machine includes a saw, a polisher, or a grinder.

Assignees

• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• Strombach Tony Emil
• Schaefer Roland
• Kordus Bryan John
• Weber Timothy Patrick

Classifications

• B24B55/03

  designed as a complete equipment for feeding or clarifying coolant · CPC title

• B23Q11/1069 Primary

  Filtration systems specially adapted for cutting liquids (filtration in general B01D24/00 - B01D41/00) · CPC title

• B01D35/20

  Vibrating the filters (regenerating filter material by vibrations in filters with stationary filtering elements B01D29/72; discharging the filter cake by vibrations in filters with moving filtering elements B01D33/54, B01D33/76) · CPC title

• B01D29/72

  involving vibrations · CPC title

• B01D29/03

  self-supporting · CPC title