U.S. patent application number 10/692096 was filed with the patent office on 2005-10-13 for filter extraction mechanism.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Titanium Powder, LLC. Invention is credited to Anderson, Richard Paul, Armstrong, Donn Reynolds, Jacobsen, Lance.
Application Number | 20050225014 10/692096 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34549892 |
Filed Date | 2005-10-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050225014 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Armstrong, Donn Reynolds ;
et al. |
October 13, 2005 |
Filter extraction mechanism
Abstract
A transfer mechanism between a first vessel containing a slurry
of liquid and solids and a second vessel with at least one of said
first and second vessels being under a protective atmosphere and/or
vacuum. There is a housing in communication with the first and
second vessels with a screw having at least one helical thread
along the longitudinal shank within the housing for transferring
material between vessels. The slurry entering the housing from the
first vessel has the solids therein concentrated as the slurry is
transported toward the second vessel while liquid is expressed from
the slurry until the concentrated solids form a plug isolating the
two second vessels as solids discharge into the second vessel.
Inventors: |
Armstrong, Donn Reynolds;
(St. Charles, IL) ; Anderson, Richard Paul;
(Clarendon Hills, IL) ; Jacobsen, Lance; (Minooka,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JAMES J. HILL
EMRICH & DITHMAR, LLC
125 SOUTH WACKER DRIVE, SUITE 2080
CHICAGO
IL
60606-4401
US
|
Assignee: |
International Titanium Powder,
LLC
Lockport
IL
|
Family ID: |
34549892 |
Appl. No.: |
10/692096 |
Filed: |
October 22, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10692096 |
Oct 22, 2003 |
|
|
|
PCT/US03/27647 |
Sep 3, 2003 |
|
|
|
60408919 |
Sep 7, 2002 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
266/45 ;
266/236 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C22B 7/006 20130101;
B30B 9/121 20130101; C22B 3/22 20130101; Y02P 10/234 20151101; Y02P
10/20 20151101; C22B 34/1268 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
266/045 ;
266/236 |
International
Class: |
C21B 007/12; C21C
005/42 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A transfer mechanism between a first vessel containing a slurry
of liquid and solids and a second vessel with at least one of said
first and second vessels being under a protective atmosphere and/or
vacuum, comprising a housing in communication with said first and
said second vessels, a screw having at least one helical thread
along a longitudinal shank within said housing for transferring
material from said first vessel to said second vessel, said screw
and said housing cooperating to compress the slurry, whereby slurry
entering said housing from said first vessel has the solids therein
concentrated as the slurry is transported by said screw toward said
second vessel while liquid is expressed from the slurry as the
solids are concentrated until the concentrated solids form a plug
isolating said second vessel from said first vessel while solids
discharge into said second vessel.
2. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein the volume between
adjacent screw threads and said housing diminishes between said
first and said second vessels.
3. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said screw is a
variable pitch screw.
4. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said screw is a
progressive pitch screw with the smallest pitch being nearest said
second vessel.
5. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing is
generally cylindrical.
6. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing is
conical with the smallest end being nearest said second vessel.
7. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing has an
inlet with a first diameter and an outlet with a second diameter
near said second vessel, said outlet being smaller than said
inlet.
8. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing is
cylindrical having the end in communication with said second vessel
restricting flow of concentrated solids from said housing to said
second vessel.
9. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing near
said second vessel has a restriction therein.
10. The transfer mechanism of claim 9, wherein the restriction in
said housing is an apertured plate in the end of said housing in
communication with said second vessel.
11. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing is
cylindrical and said screw is a progressive pitch screw with the
smallest pitch being nearest said second vessel.
12. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing is
conical with the smallest end being nearest said second vessel and
said screw has threads of constant pitch.
13. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein said shank has an
increasing diameter toward said second vessel.
14. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein at least a part of
said housing in communication with said first vessel has a
plurality of apertures therein.
15. The transfer mechanism of claim 14, wherein the plurality of
apertures is a mesh.
16. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, and further comprising an
outlet in said housing for separating liquid expressed from the
slurry from the concentrated solids.
17. A transfer mechanism between a first vessel containing a slurry
of liquid alkali or alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof and
metal or alloy or ceramic particles and halide salt particles and a
second vessel with at least one of said first and second vessels
having a protective atmosphere and/or vacuum therein, comprising a
housing in communication with said first and said second vessels, a
screw having at least one helical thread along a longitudinal shank
within said housing for transferring material from said first
vessel to said second vessel, said screw and said housing
cooperating to increase the concentration of solids in the slurry
between said first and said second vessels until the concentrated
particles form a plug isolating said second vessel and the
protective atmosphere or vacuum therein from said first vessel and
the protective atmosphere or vacuum therein while solids discharge
into said second vessel.
18. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said screw is a
progressive pitch screw with the smallest pitch being nearest said
second vessel.
19. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said housing is
generally cylindrical.
20. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said housing is
conical with the smallest end being nearest said second vessel.
21. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said housing is
cylindrical and said screw is a progressive pitch screw with the
smallest pitch being nearest said second vessel.
22. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said housing is
conical with the smallest end being nearest said second vessel and
said screw has threads of constant pitch.
23. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said shank has an
increasing diameter toward said second vessel.
24. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein at least a part of
said housing in liquid communication with said first vessel has a
plurality of apertures therein.
25. The transfer mechanism of claim 24, wherein the plurality of
apertures is a mesh.
26. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, and further comprising an
outlet in said housing for separating liquid from the solids in the
slurry.
27. The transfer mechanism of claim 26, wherein a double wall
housing is provided wherein the inner wall has a portion thereof
apertured and a portion thereof solid and the outer wall has said
outlet therein, said screw being positioned within said
innerwall.
28. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said housing is
cylindrical having the end in communication with said second vessel
restricting flow of concentrated solids from said housing to said
second vessel.
29. The transfer mechanism of claim 17, wherein said housing near
said second vessel has a restriction therein.
30. The transfer mechanism of claim 29, wherein the restriction in
said housing is an apertured plate at or near the end of said
housing in communication with said second vessel.
31. A method of concentrating and transferring a slurry of a liquid
and solids from one container to another while isolating the
environments within said containers from each other, comprising
providing communication between the containers, transporting slurry
from one container toward another container while expressing liquid
from the slurry thereby increasing the solids concentration thereof
until a plug is formed between two containers isolating the
containers while solids from the plug are transferred to the
another container.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein at least one container is
operated under an inert atmosphere.
33. The method of claim 31, wherein at least one container is
operated under vacuum.
34. The method of claim 31, wherein the slurry contains liquid
metal and metal particles.
35. The method of claim 34, wherein the slurry contains liquid
alkali or alkaline earth metal.
36. The method of claim 34, wherein slurry contains liquid sodium
metal and particles of Ti or an alloy thereof.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application according to 35 U.S.C. .sctn.365(c), is a
continuation-in-part of PCT application serial no. PCT/US03/27647,
filed Sep. 3, 2003, which pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(e), claims the
priority based on Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/408,919 Filed
Sep. 7, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to the Armstrong process as described
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,779,761, 5,958,106 and 6,409,797, the
disclosures of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In the practice of the invention disclosed in the above referenced
patents, there is produced in the reaction chamber a slurry
consisting of excess reductant metal, salt particles produced and
elemental material or alloy particles or powder produced. This
slurry is thereafter treated by a variety of methods. However, all
of the methods have in common the separation of excess liquid metal
from the slurry and thereafter separating the remaining liquid
metal and the produced salt from the desired product which is the
elemental material or alloy. In the particular example disclosed in
the three referenced patents, liquid sodium is used as a reductant
for titanium tetrachloride to produce titanium powder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a transfer mechanism and method for transferring a slurry
of liquid and particles between two vessels or containers, at least
one of which is under vacuum or inert atmosphere.
[0004] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
transfer mechanism of the type set forth for the Armstrong Process
in order to transfer slurry from an inerted vessel or container to
a vacuum or inerted chamber for further processing wherein a plug
established in the transfer mechanism isolating the vessels or
containers.
[0005] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
transfer mechanism between a first vessel containing a slurry of
liquid and solids and a second vessel with at least one of the
first and second vessels being under a protective atmosphere and/or
vacuum, comprising a housing in communication with the first and
the second vessels, a screw having at least one helical thread
along a longitudinal shank within the housing for transferring
material from the first vessel to the second vessel, the screw and
the housing cooperating to compress the slurry, whereby slurry
entering the housing from the first vessel has the solids therein
concentrated as the slurry is transported by the screw toward the
second vessel while liquid is expressed from the slurry as the
solids are concentrated until the concentrated solids form a plug
isolating the second vessel from the first vessel while solids
discharge into the second vessel.
[0006] A further object of the invention is to provide a transfer
mechanism between a first vessel containing a slurry of liquid
alkali or alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof and metal or
alloy or ceramic particles and halide salt particles and a second
vessel with at least one of the first and second vessels having a
protective atmosphere and/or vacuum therein, comprising a housing
in communication with the first and the second vessels, a screw
having at least one helical thread along a longitudinal shank
within the housing for transferring material from the first vessel
to the second vessel, the screw and the housing cooperating to
increase the concentration of solids in the slurry between the
first and the second vessels until the concentrated particles form
a plug isolating the second vessel and the protective atmosphere or
vacuum therein from the first vessel and the protective atmosphere
or vacuum therein while solids discharge into the second
vessel.
[0007] A final object of the present invention is to provide a
method of concentrating and transferring a slurry of a liquid and
solids from one container to another while isolating the
environments within the containers from each other, comprising
providing communication between the containers, transporting slurry
from one container toward another container while expressing liquid
from the slurry thereby increasing the solids concentration thereof
until a plug is formed between two containers isolating same while
solids from the plug are transferred to the another container.
[0008] The invention consists of certain novel features and a
combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in
the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the
appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the
details may be made without departing from the spirit, or
sacrificing any of the advantage of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the
invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a
preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when
considered in connection with the following description, the
invention, its construction and operation, and many of its
advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing the two vessels
and an embodiment of the transfer mechanism therebetween;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an alternate
embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of yet another embodiment
of the present invention; and
[0013] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a further embodiment
of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a
transfer mechanism 10 which includes a double walled conduit
including an outer conduit wall 11 having a liquid outlet 12 and
end walls 13, the wall 11 being preferably but not necessarily
cylindrical. Interior of the cylindrical wall 11 is an inner tube
or conduit 15 having a portion 16 which is solid and a portion 17
which is apertured and may be a mesh of any suitable size. The
inner tube or conduit 15 may either be cylindrical as illustrated
in FIG. 1 or conical as will be explained, the inner conduit 15 has
a discharge end 18 thereof which opens into a vacuum chamber 25 and
has an inlet end 19 thereof which opens into a container or vessel
20 in communication with the reactor as illustrated in the
Armstrong patents previously referenced and incorporated
herein.
[0015] A feed screw 30 is positioned within the inner conduit 15
and includes a rotatable shank 31 having a helical thread 32
positioned on the shank 31 as is well known in the art. The thread
32 may have a constant or a variable pitch. The pitch is the
distance between adjacent threads and the variable pitch may
preferably be a progressive pitch in which the pitch decreases from
the vessel 20 toward the container or vessel 25, for a purpose
hereinafter described.
[0016] In the preferred but not limiting embodiment of the present
invention, the transfer mechanism 10 is used in conjunction with a
material made by the Armstrong Process. More particularly, for
purposes of illustration only, the slurry discussed herein will be
a combination of liquid sodium, sodium chloride particles and
particles of titanium and/or a titanium alloy. As set forth in the
Armstrong patents, a variety of metal and non-metal products may be
made thereby and it is intended that the present invention not be
limited to any particular product made by the Armstrong Process and
certainly not limited to the preferred product described
herein.
[0017] In any event, the vessel or container 20 preferably operated
under an inert atmosphere or under vacuum has therein a slurry of
the particles previously described and as the slurry enters the
portion 19 of the inner conduit or tube 15 and the feed screw 30 is
rotated as illustrated in the drawings by rotation of the shank 31,
the slurry is moved along the feed screw from left to right as
illustrated in FIG. 1. Because of the progressive pitch of the feed
screw 30 in FIG. 1, that is the threads 32 thereof are closer
together so that the pitch decreases from left to right, the solid
material is concentrated as it is moved from the container or
vessel 20 to the container or vessel 25. Moreover, because the
portion 17 of the conduit or tube 15 is apertured or porous, liquid
sodium drains therethrough and passes out of the outlet 12 for
further processing. Therefore, the slurry as it is transported from
container or vessel 20 to container or vessel 25 becomes more
concentrated as liquid is drained therefrom and the density
increases as the pitch between the adjacent threads diminishes.
[0018] Another way to express what occurs is that the volume
between adjacent threads and the wall of the cylinder or tube 16
diminishes as material is moved by the feed screw 30 from container
or vessel 20 to container or vessel 25. By the time the slurry is
concentrated and reaches the portion 16, the solid portion 16 of
the inner tube or conduit 15, a seal or plug is established between
the vessel 25 and the vessel 20 which houses the slurry from the
reactor thereby isolating the two vessels and the respective
environments therein, one from the other. By isolating, we mean
nearly complete separation of the two environments, not necessarily
perfect separation, although perfect is desirable. The formation of
a seal by the transfer mechanism 10 is a critical aspect of the
present invention because separation of liquid sodium and salt from
the desired particles of the ceramic or metal alloy, as described
in the Armstrong patents may include distillation in a vacuum
chamber or a vessel 25 or removal of the liquid metal by
vaporization with a hot inert sweep gas and the Armstrong reactor
itself may be an inerted vessel such as with argon. Accordingly, it
is important for a seal or plug to be formed between the two
containers or vessels in order to permit continuous operation
between the two vessels without the necessity of shutting down one
of the vessels during transfer or destroying the protective
atmosphere in the vessel 20 or the vacuum or protective atmosphere
in vessel 25.
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there are disclosed alternate
embodiments of the invention. Again with the principle feature that
the volume between adjacent screw threads and the container or
housing in which the feed screw is positioned diminishes from
vessel 20A to vessel 25A. As seen in FIG. 2, the transfer mechanism
10A has a housing 15A conical in shape and the screw 30 therein may
or may not be a progressive pitch screw. The screw threads in the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 may not need to be closer
together, that is the pitch need not be diminished in order to
reduce the volume of the material between adjacent threads and the
housing wall as the material is moved from left to right or from
vessel 20A to vessel 25A. However, it may be advantageous to use
both the conical shaped inner housing 15A with or without a
progressive screw 30A depending on engineering considerations.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown another embodiment of
the present invention in which the shank 31 B of the screw 30B is
conical in shape with the larger end of the cone being adjacent the
vessel 25B and with the pitch between adjacent threads 32B being
constant or diminishing. In either case, the volume of the area
between adjacent threads and the inner container 15B diminishes as
the material is moved from the vessel 20B to the vessel 25B.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a further embodiment 10C
of the present invention in which a cylinder 15C interconnects
vessels 20C and 25C and transports slurry while concentrating same
between the two vessels. Slurry entering the inlet 19C of the
cylinder 15C is concentrated upon rotation of screw 30C due to
movement of the helical thread 32C upon rotation of the shaft 31C.
The outlet end 18C of cylinder 15C is an apertured plate having an
effective diameter smaller than the inlet 19C thereby restricting
flow of the slurry causing in cooperation with the screw 30C and
housing or cylinder 15C the solids in the slurry to concentrate
while liquid is expressed from the slurry and is separated
therefrom through outlet or drain 12C. As solids concentrate at the
outlet end 18C, a plug is formed which isolates, as hereinbefore
explained, vessel 20 from vessel 25, thereby permitting the
continuous production of slurry in vessel 20, or a vessel or
container in communication therewith, and continuous separation of
solids, even if wet with liquid, by the transfer mechanism 10C in
vessel 25 or a vessel in communication therewith for further
treatment in the same or different environment as vessel 20.
[0022] By way of example only, in the production of Ti or a Ti
alloy by the reduction of TiCl.sub.4 with Na in an inert atmosphere
as taught in the incorporated Armstrong patents, separation of Na
and/or NaCl from Ti or Ti alloy powder in vessel 25 may be
accomplished by distillation and/or by a hot inert sweep gas
followed by passivation and/or washing the water. By effectively
separating the environments in vessels 20 and 25, continuous
operation of production and separation is accomplished, an
important commercial feature. In one example of the invention,
liquid Na may be present at about 60% by weight of the slurry
leaving vessel 20, while the wet solids discharged into vessel 25
may have Na present only in the range of from about 20 to about 50%
by weight.
[0023] Although the invention has been described with respect to an
inerted vessel and a vacuum vessel, the invention includes movement
and concentration of material from one container to another without
compromising the environment of either container. The containers
may be connected pipes or vessels, and the environments may be
vacuums, inerted atmospheres or otherwise. Central to the invention
is concentration of solids in a slurry to transport solids from one
environment to another while forming a seal or plug therebetween so
as to isolate the environments from each other.
[0024] While there has been disclosed what is considered to be the
preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is understood
that various changes in the details may be made without departing
from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the
present invention.
* * * * *