Vacuum Conveyor System with Sensor-Based Air Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum conveyor systems face challenges in optimizing capacity and reliability due to complex interdependent settings and sensitivity to environmental factors, leading to manual tuning difficulties, downtime, and potential blockages.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a controller with material level sensors to automatically adjust air/material mixture and pipe emptying functions, using software-based tuning to optimize charge and discharge times and prevent blockages, and employing an algorithm to predict optimal pipe emptying unit activation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual tuning of vacuum conveyor system settings is performed to optimize capacity and reliability, then the system can be adjusted for different materials and conditions, but the process becomes complicated and time-consuming requiring skilled operators
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-tuning by automatically adjusting the air inlet valve based on material level sensor feedback, eliminating the need for manual operator intervention. The controller monitors material flow and autonomously optimizes the air/material mixture ratio, charge time, and discharge parameters to maintain reliable operation across different materials and environmental conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements closed-loop feedback control where material level sensors continuously monitor the conveyor device fill status and transmit signals to the controller. The controller processes this feedback and automatically adjusts the air inlet valve position and timing parameters to optimize material flow, preventing blockages and maintaining reliable operation without manual intervention.
2Productivity
If the system is tuned for high capacity with dense phase conveying, then more material can be transported, but the risk of material blockage in the pipeline increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the air inlet valve position and air/material mixture ratio based on real-time material level sensor feedback. This dynamic control allows the system to optimize between dense phase conveying for high capacity and sufficiently aerated flow for blockage prevention, adapting continuously to maintain both productivity and reliability without fixed manual settings.
3Ease of operation
If fixed charge time is used in the vacuum conveyor system, then the operation is simple, but the system cannot adapt to environmental changes and material variations causing under-fill or over-fill
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces fixed charge time with dynamic, real-time control based on material level sensor feedback. The controller continuously monitors material accumulation and automatically adjusts the charge duration and air inlet valve positioning to achieve optimal fill levels regardless of environmental conditions or material properties, maintaining both simplicity and adaptability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different materials are conveyed on the same production line, then production versatility is improved, but manual adjustment of settings between materials increases downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-tuning when switching between different materials by automatically adjusting air inlet valve positioning, charge time, and discharge parameters based on material level sensor feedback for each specific material being conveyed. This eliminates manual reconfiguration downtime while maintaining versatility to handle diverse materials including powders with different flow characteristics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces manual intervention, ensures stable production by adapting to environmental changes, and prevents blockages, thereby increasing capacity and reliability while minimizing downtime.
Implementation Method 1
conveyor device in fluid connection to one of said first or said second pneumatic system portions operative to provide negative air pressure or vacuum through said conveying line
Implementation Method 2
transport of the transportable material by means of a fluid under negative pressure such as vacuum in a continuous conveying line
Data Source
AI summary
A conveyor system (10) for transporting a transportable material (M) by means of a fluid for transporting the transportable material (M) between a first conveying line portion (11) and a second conveying line portion (12), said conveying line portions (11, 12) comprising a plurality of pipes forming a continuous conveying line (13), said system (10) comprising: a conveyor device (1) in fluid connection to one of said first or said conveying line portions (11, 12) operative to provide negative air pressure or vacuum through said conveying line (13);a material feeder device (2); wherein the conveyor device (1) comprises at least one material level sensor (1a, 1b),wherein the at least one material level sensor (1a, 1b) is used to monitor one or more material level(s) inside the conveyor device (1) and via one or more material level sensor lines (3) giving at least one material level signal (1aa, 1bb) to a controller (4) and from the controller (4) via a control signal line (5) transmit a control signal (5a) to the material feeder device (2) having a valve (6) adapted to control the amount of air injected into the system, typically the into the conveying line (13), wherein the controller (4) is adapted to control the valve (6) and/or a mass-flow (M), respectively, of the material feeder device (2) in dependence of output from the at least one material level sensor (1a, 1b) to control amount of air injected into the conveying line (13) at the feeder device (2).