Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/172,550, filed 8 June 2015, and entitled "Modular Mixing Plant," which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Background of the Invention

Efficiency is the enemy of waste. Efficiency, however, is not simply limited to improving acts during the production of an intended result, it is also important when disposing of or repurposing any remaining byproducts of that production. This is never more important than in the usage of our limited natural resources, be it mined or used in one form and generally wasted in another. Pozzolanic and mineral based materials have been used in cementitious mixtures, which may be used in concrete, but prior methods of combining such materials were costly due to inefficient transportation and imprecise combination of raw materials.

Accordingly, the art of cementitious composition manufacture would benefit from a system that provides streamlined processing and accurate measuring of raw materials to be combined into a cementitious mixture. Summary of the Invention

The present invention relates to a modular mixing plant that could be assembled near a raw material source. More particularly, the modular mixing plant may be easily configured for various sized operations and readily increase or decrease the output based on demand or other factors . A modular mixing plant according to the present invention may include at least one raw material silo coupled to an input side of a planetary mixer and at least one finished product silo coupled to an output side of the planetary mixer. Each raw material silo contains a material selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, glass, slag, fly-ash, Portland cement, and other mineral and pozzolanic material. The finished product silo(s) are configured to receive mixed material from the mixer (s) . A bagging system may be coupled to the output side of the planetary mixer, the bagging system being configured to fill valve-type bags with product output from the planetary mixer. A batch control programmable logic controller is preferably operatively connected to control the flow of raw material from each raw material silo into the planetary mixer and to control a mixing operation of the planetary mixer to form a mixed material. The batch control programmable logic controller may also be operatively connected to control the flow of mixed material from the output side of the planetary mixer to one or more of the at least one finished product silo. The batch control PLC may be programmed locally and/or through a remote access module, which is preferably connected to a communications network, such as the internet. Accordingly, operations of the plant may be monitored and/or controlled on-site or remotely.

A mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention may include a plurality of planetary mixers substantially aligned along a first direction. A first plurality of raw material silos may be substantially aligned along a second direction, each of the first plurality of raw material silos being coupled through a respective screw conveyor to an input side of a first one of the plurality of planetary mixers. A second plurality of raw material silos may be substantially aligned along a third direction, each of the second plurality of raw material silos being coupled through a respective screw conveyor to an input side of a second one of the plurality of planetary mixers. A plurality of finished product silos may be substantially aligned along a fourth direction, the plurality of finished product silos being coupled through a pneumatic line to an output side of each planetary mixer.

According to an aspect of a mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention, the first direction and the second direction may be parallel.

According to an aspect of a mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention, the third direction may be parallel or identical to the second direction .

According to an aspect of a mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention, the fourth direction may be parallel to the second direction.

According to an aspect of a mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention, the first direction may be perpendicular to the second direction.

According to an aspect of a mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention, all of the planetary mixers may be situated within a warehouse, while all of the silos may be situated outside of such warehouse .

According to an aspect of a mixing plant arrangement according to the present invention, each finished product silo may be elevated above ground level, thereby establishing a drive-through alley under each finished product silo, each drive-through alley extending in a fifth direction, which may be substantially

perpendicular to the fourth direction.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a modular mixing plant according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation view of the modular mixing plant shown in Figure 1.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structures. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims .

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment 10 of a modular mixing plant according to the present invention. The modular mixing plant 10 preferably comprises at least one planetary mixer 20; a plurality of raw material silos 30; and at least one finished product silo 40. The at least one planetary mixer 20 is preferably housed within a warehouse 12.

The warehouse 12 may have a substantially rectilinear layout, including a first side 14, a second side 16, and a third side 18, whereby the first side 14 is substantially perpendicular with the second side 16 and substantially parallel with the third side 18. Preferably, the raw material silos 30 are located outside of the warehouse along the first side 14 and/or the third side 18 of the warehouse 12, and the at least one finished product silo 40 is located outside of the warehouse 12 at or near the second side 16. Each planetary mixer 20 preferably comprises a spiral blade mixer 22, a dust shroud 24, and a screw conveyor 26 powered by an electric motor (not shown) . The screw conveyor 26 is preferably capable of being driven in both forward and reverse screwing directions .

Each mixer 20 is configured to be assembled, erected, and/or placed into operation at the plant site after being shipped to the plant site within a standard- size shipping container, such as an intermodal container. A standard-size shipping container has an interior width of approximately 7' 8 19/32" and an interior height of approximately 7' 9 57/64" and a door aperture sized approximately 7' 8 1/8" x 7' 5 3/4". However, it is contemplated that mixers 20 having dimensions commensurate with or smaller than those of a standard-size shipping container may be shipped pre-assembled . Additionally or alternatively, though each mixer 20 is preferably sized to be capable of being shipped in such container, it need not be. For instance, it may be desirable to relocate such mixer 20 by merely placing it on a flat-bed semi trailer, or into a covered semi trailer.

A bagging system 60 is also preferably provided with, and coupled to the output side of, each mixer 20. The bagging system 60 is configured to fill valve-type bags with granular or powdered product output from each mixer 20. The bagging system 60 has a screw conveyor 62 to transport mixed material to a feed screw 64 and through a spout 66 to the valve-type bag.

Additionally or alternatively, a dust collector system is contemplated. The dust collector system may collect dust from certain areas of the plant 10, such as at or near the dust shrouds 24 and/or at or near the truck areas 100 by the finished product silo 40.

A blower system 70 is preferably included to convey the mixed material from the mixer (s) 20 to the at least one finish product silo 40. The blower system 70 comprises pneumatic lines 80 in which the material is conveyed and is preferably capable of moving the mixed material at least 70 feet vertically.

A multi-motor starter panel 50 is provided to house a plurality of motor starters, including a mixer motor starter (hidden) , a screw conveyor motor starter (hidden) , and a vibratory feeder motor starter (hidden) .

A batch control programmable logic controller (PLC) 90 is preferably employed to control the equipment in the modular mixing plant 10. The batch control PLC 90 is operatively connected to at least the planetary mixer 20, the mixer screw conveyor 26, the raw material silos 30, the bagging system screw conveyor 62 and feed screw 64, the dust collector system, the mixer motor starter, the screw conveyor motor starter, the vibratory feeder motor starter, the pneumatic lines 80 and blower system 70, and/or the at least one finished product silo 40, whereby the batch control PLC 90 is configured to be programmable to provide predetermined mixtures and/or provide manual control of the mixing operations .

Additionally or alternatively, the batch control PLC 90 is configured to be accessed remotely through a remote access module 92 or other remote access technology now known or later developed. A closed circuit television (CCTV) system may comprise video cameras located at predetermined locations around the modular mixing plant 10 which transmit images of equipment and surrounding areas to provide a visual of mixing operations, which can be accessed remotely.

Non-limiting examples of remote technology employed by the remote access module 92, the batch control PLC 90, and/or the CCTV system include relaying data and/or communications with the internet in a virtual private network (VPN), a wide area network (WAN), and/or utilizing remote desktop software; wireless local area network (WLAN) communication categorized under the IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol), and/or BLUETOOTH® wireless communication.

The remote access functionality of the present invention permits an operator to control mixture ingredient percentages, output rates, etc. from any location ranging from inside the plant 10 itself to across the planet on another continent.

The at least one finished product silo 40 preferably has a drive-through alley 42 (see also Figure 2) and may be positioned over a truck scale 102. The drive- through alley 42 is preferably oriented substantially parallel with the second side 16 of the warehouse 12.

Bulk tank trucks 104 are utilized to feed the plurality of raw material silos 30 and also to receive finished mixed product from the at least one finished product silo 40.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the modular mixing plant 10 includes a plurality of the planetary mixers 20 placed side-by-side and across from each other, preferably in a desired grid pattern. The mixers 20 are fed by a plurality of the raw material silos 30, each along a conveyor 26. The mixers 20 output a predetermined mixture to one or more of the plurality of the finished product silos 40 through the pneumatic lines 80.

Preferably, each (but at least one) of the plurality of raw material silos 30 contains one of at least calcium carbonate, glass, slag, and fly-ash, or some other mineral based or pozzolanic material. Additionally or alternatively, each of the plurality of raw material silos 30 may contain one of at least calcium carbonate, glass or slag, fly-ash, and Portland cement, or some other mineral based or pozzolanic material.

The design of the modular mixing plant 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is configured in a substantially linear fashion. The bulk tank trucks 104 provide material to the raw material silos 30 and preferably flow through the plant in the direction of arrow B, substantially parallel with the first and third sides 14,18 of the warehouse 12 and away from the at least one finished product silo 40. The plurality of mixers 20 output their mixtures through respective tributary lines 82 of pneumatic lines 80 into a main stem river 84 of pneumatic lines 80. The pneumatic lines 80 extend through the warehouse 12 and transfer the mixtures in the direction of arrow A, substantially parallel to the first and third sides 14,18 of the warehouse 12 and toward the at least one finished product silo 40. The pneumatic lines 80 exit the warehouse 12 at approximately the same location (e.g., the same side of the warehouse 12, here the second side 16) and continue to the at least one finished product silo 40.

The bulk tank trucks 104 enter the drive-through alley 42 of the at least one finished product silo 40 to receive the mixture and travel in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of arrows A and B, here illustrated by arrow C. Additional finished product silos 40 may be added preferably along a center line 44 and additional mixers 20 may be added along the main stem river 84 of pneumatic lines 80 with their respective pneumatic line tributaries 82 merging therewith. Therefore, expansion of the modular mixing plant 10 is preferably accomplished by extending outward linearly, with additional mixers 20 added in the direction away from the finished product silos 40 (generally in the direction of arrow B) and additional finished product silos 40 added in the direction away from the mixers 20 (generally in the direction of arrow A) .

Preferably, each mixer 20 is capable of outputting in the range of about 250,000 tons through about 300,000 tons of mixture annually. In the plant 10 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 the preferable output is in the range of about 1.25 million tons through about 1.5 million tons of mixture annually, though plants of smaller output capacity are certainly contemplated (e.g. 100,000 tons ) .

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention. For instance, while the present invention disclosure is provided utilizing certain preferred mixing ingredients, this should not be viewed as a limitation on the reach of the present invention. It is contemplated that the modular mixing plant 10 may be utilized in other mixing operations comprising fine and course aggregate and other ingredients .