WO1999001199A1

WO1999001199A1 - Automatic vibration system

Info

Publication number: WO1999001199A1
Application number: PCT/KR1998/000192
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young Dae Kim; Seong Woo Hong; Ki Bae Moon
Original assignee: Sk Corporation
Priority date: 1997-07-03
Filing date: 1998-07-02
Publication date: 1999-01-14
Also published as: KR100437357B1; KR19990008778A

Abstract

An automatic vibration system, used for automatically hammering the filter housings of a filter system and forming a physical impact wave in back washing fluid inside the filter housings during a back washing process, is disclosed. In the vibration system, an air knocker is provided outside each filter housing and selectively knocks the filter housing, thus forming the impact wave in the back washing fluid. A solenoid valve selectively operates the air knocker in response to a back washing signal from a control panel, thus allowing the air knocker to be started synchronous with the beginning of a back washing process. A timer presets the knocking time interval of the air knocker during the back washing process. The vibration system thus improves the filter cleaning effect and effectively protects the drive parts for service valves of the filter system from frictional abrasion. The vibration systems operate completely automatically (remote control from main control room), they require almost no labor.

Description

AUTOMATIC VIBRATION SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system for automatically hammering the filter housings of a filter system during a back washing process, thus improving the filter cleaning effect during such a back washing process and effectively protecting the drive parts for service valves of the filter system from frictional abrasion.

Description of the Prior Art

Back washing systems, used for automatically cleaning the filters of filter systems during an operation of the filter systems, are well known to those skilled in the art. However, typical back washing systems may fail to effectively clean such filters. That is, since the filter systems are used for removing microscopic impurities in various industrial fields, the filters have to be extremely reduced in the size of filtering pores, thus being more frequently plugged with impurities. Therefore, it is necessary to repeatedly clean the filters by removing the impurities from the filters through a back washing process. During a filtering process, two filtering service valves are opened, while two back washing service valves are closed. However, every back washing process has to be started with the two filtering service valves being closed and the tw o back w ashing service valves being opened, so that repeated back washing processes force the drive parts for the four service valves to be repeatedly operated . The drive parts are thus frictionally abraded and this results in fluid leakage through the drive parts. Another problem experienced in the typical back w ashing system is that the back washing system fails to effectively rem ove microscopic impurities from filters.

In an effort to improve the filter cleaning effect d uring such a back washing process, it is somew hat preferable to form an impact wave in back washing fluid inside the filter housings by impacting the housings using a m otored tool, an impact roll or a hammer during a back w ashing process. Such an impact wave is for allowing the back washing fluid to violently pass through the filters so as to improve the filter cleaning effect. H ow ever, such a typical method of impacting the filter housings with a m otored tool, an impact roll or a hamm er m ay unexpectedly deform the filter housings. The above m ethod also may untimely impact the filter housings, so that it is alm ost impossible to form an effective im pact wave in the back w ashing fluid.

SU M M ARY O F THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an autom atic vibration system, which au tom atically hammers the filter housings of a filter system and forms a physical im pact wave in back w ashing fluid inside the filter housings during a back w ashing process, thus allowing impurities to be more easily rem oved from the filters and improving the filter cleaning effect, and which m ore effectively reduces the back w ashing processes and effectively protects the drive parts for service valves from frictional abrasion, thus alm ost completely preventing fluid leakage through the d rive parts.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an autom atic vibration system for autom atically hammering filter housings of a filter system d u ring a back washing process, comprising: a control panel normally outputting a filtering signal and selectively outputting a back washing signal upon sensing an excessive pressure drop between the inlet of filter system and the outlet of filter system when the filters are plugged with impurities; first and second filtering service valves exclusively opened in response to the filtering signal from the control panel, thus allowing the filter system to perform a filtering process; first and second back washing service valves exclusively opened in response to the back washing signal from the control panel, thus allowing back washing fluid to flow through the filters so as to perform a back washing process of rem oving impurities from the filters; an air knocker provided outside each of the filter housings for selectively knocking the filter housing, thus forming an impact wave in the back w ashing fluid; a clamp provided outside each of the filter housings with the air knocker being welded to the clam p, the clamp being adapted for distributing an im pact energy on the housing w hen the air knocker knocks the filter housing; a solenoid valve selectively operating the air knocker in response to the back washing signal, thus allowing the air knocker to be started synchronous with the beginning of the back washing process; and a timer used for presetting a knocking time interval of the air knocker during the back washing process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a flow circuit diagram showing the operation of an automatic vibration system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention during a filtering process of a filter system; and

Fig. 2 is a flow circuit diagram showing the operation of the above vibration system during a back washing process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing the operation of an automatic vibration system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention during a filtering process of a filter system. As shown in the drawing, the filter system, with a back washing system, comprises four ball valves 1, 2, 11 and 12. Of the four valves, two valves 1 and 2 are positioned above two filter ho u sings 7, w hile the other tw o valves 11 and 12 are positioned under the tw o housings 7. The tw o valves 1 and 11 are exclusively opened during a filtering process, so that they may be called filtering service valves. M eanw hile, the other tw o valves 2 and 12 are exclusively opened during a back washing process, so that they may be called back washing service valves. The tw o filter hou sings 7 form the main body of the filter system with a filter 8 being set in each of the housings 7. During a filtering process of the filter system, the tw o, or first and second filtering service valves 1 and 11 , are opened, w hile the other two, or first and second back washing service valves 2 and 12, are closed as show n in Fig. 1. In such a case, pressurized processing flu id, w hich is to be filtered, flow s into the tw o housings 7 through the second filtering service valve 11 and passes inw ard ly through the filters 8 of the housings 7 prior to being discharged from the filter system through the first filtering service valve 1. During such a filtering process, the processing fluid is filtered by the two filters 8, so that im purities are rem oved from the fluid and are exteriorly deposited on the filters 8.

Fig. 2 is a flow circuit diagram showing the operation of the above vibration system during a back w ashing process, where the first and second back washing service valves 2 and 12 are opened, while the first and second filtering service valves 1 and 11 are closed . In such a back washing process, pressurized back washing fluid is introduced into the two filters 8 through the first back w ashing service valve 2 and passes outwardly through the tw o filters 8. Thereafter, the back washing flu id is discharged from the filter system through the second back washing service valve 12. During such a back w ashing process, the impurities are forcibly rem oved from the external surface of the filters 8 by the pressu rized back w ashing fluid and are drained into a tank (not shown).

Each of the tw o filtering service valves 1 and 11 is selectively opened or closed by pressurized air under the control of a first solenoid valved actuator. The solenoid _Q valve of the first actuator is operated in response to a filtering signal from a control panel 10.

In the same manner as described for the filtering service valves 1 and 11, each of the tw o back washing service valves 2 and 12 is operated by pressurized air 5 under the control of a second solenoid valved actuator. The solenoid valve of the second actuator is operated in response to a back washing signal from the control panel 10. The pressurized air for the valves 1, 2, 11 and 12 passes through both a regulator 9 and a lubricator 13 0 prior to reaching the valves 1, 2, 11 and 12.

The autom atic vibration system of this invention com prises one air knocker 3, one solenoid valve 5 and one timer 6, which are provided at the outside of each of the tw o filter housings 7. That is, the air knocker 3 is provided outside each filter housing 7 and selectively knocks the housing 7, thus forming an impact w ave in the back washing fluid inside the housing 7 and im p roving the filter cleaning effect during a back w ashing process. The solenoid valve 5 selectively operates 0 the air knocker 3 in response to a back washing signal output from the control panel 10, so that the air knocker 3 is started synchronous with the beginning of every back w ashing process. The timer 6 is for presetting a knocking tim e interval of the air knocker 3 during each back w ashing process. In the above hamm ering system , the im p u lsive force of each air knocker 3 has to be preset in accordance with the size of both the filter housing 7 and the filter 8. In addition, the timer 6 is an adjustable tim e capable of freely changing the knocking time interval during a back washing process. The air knocker 3 is an automatic hamm er, so that the knocker 3 may be effectively usable within an explosion-proof area.

The above tim er 6 is also designed for allowing the solenoid valve 5 for the air knocker 3 to be repeatedly opened and closed at preset times in response to a back w ashing signal from the control panel 10.

The back washing signal for the solenoid valve 5 is o u tpu t from the control panel 10 and allow s the air knocker 3 to be started synchronous with the beginning of a back w ashing process.

In the present invention, it is possible to design the solenoid valves 5 for the air knockers 3 to be operated in conjunction with the solenoid valves for the back washing service valves 2 and 12 without separately receiving any signal from the control panel 10. However, the solenoid valves 5, designed for being operated in conjunction with the back w ashing service valves 2 and 12, are problematic in that they may unexpectedly fail to be precisely operated w hen the amount of pressurized air for the solenoid valves 5 is less than a predetermined level. In add ition, such solenoid valves 5 may badly affect the operation of the back washing service valves 2 and 12, so that it is m ore preferable to design the solenoid valves 5 to be operated in response to a signal from the control panel 10. W hen each of the filter housings 7 is directly im pacted by the air knocker 3, the housing 7 may be seriou sly damaged or deform ed . In order to protect the hou sing 7 from the air knocker 3, a clamp 4 is provided ou tside the housing 7 with the air knocker 3 being w elded to the clam p 4. Such a clamp 4 effectively distributes the impact energy on the housing 7, thus protecting the housing 7 w hen the air knocker 3 is operated .

As described above, the solenoid valve 5 is 5 selectively operated in response to a back washing signal ou tpu t from the control panel 10, thus allowing the air knocker 3 to be started synchronous with the beginning of a back w ashing process.

That is, the vibration system of this invention is o designed for automatically starting its operation synchronous with the beginning of a back washing process and this object is accomplished by the solenoid valves 5, w hich are operated in response to a back w ashing signal output from the control panel 10. 5 In the above vibration system, the air knockers 3 are au tom atically operated during a preset tim e interval, so that it is possible to almost completely standardize both the im pulsive force and the hammering time interval in com parison with typical manual hamm ering system s. _Q The tim er 6 is capable of selectively changing the knocking tim e interval of the air knocker 3 when necessary, thus maintaining a desired knocking tim e interva l of the air knocker 3. Therefore, the vibration system of this invention continuously generates impact w ave and continuously vibrates the filter 8. In addition, in order to effectively distribute the hammering impact energy on the filter housing 7 and protect the housing 7 from such impact energy, the filter housing 7 is protected by a clam p 4 with the air knocker 3 being w elded to the clam p 4. Pressurized air for the air knockers 3 is _Q su pp lied from a separate air supply header, while pressu rized air for the valves 1, 2, 11, and 12 is supplied from another source. Therefore, the vibration system of this invention is alm ost free from any unexpected shortage of pressu rized air. 5 The operational effect of the above vibration system w ill be described hereinbelow .

During a filtering process, the first and second filtering service valves 1 and 11 are opened, while the first and second back washing service valves 2 and 12 0 are closed as show n in Fig. 1. In such a case, pressurized processing fluid passes through the two filters 8 with impurities being filtered off. During such a filtering process, impurities are exteriorly deposited on the filters 8, so that the open area of the pores of the 5 filters 8 is reduced and this increases the pressure drop ( Δ P) between the inlet of filter system and the outlet of filter system .

Upon sensing such an excessive pressure drop ( ^j P) betw een the inlet of filter system and the outlet of filter 0 system , the control panel 10 outputs a back w ashing signal, thus closing the filtering service valves 1 and 11 while opening the back washing service valves 2 and 12. Therefore, pressurized back washing fluid passes outwardly through the two filters 8 while forcibly removing impurities from the filters 8. The impurities are drained into a tank along with the back washing fluid.

During such a back washing process, the back washing signal from the control panel 10 is also applied to the solenoid valves 5, so that the air knockers 3 repeatedly knock the filter housings 7 during a preset time interval. The filters 8 are thus finely vibrated and this generates an impact wave in the back washing fluid, thereby improving the filter cleaning effect. The vibration system of this invention allows the drive parts for the valves 1, 2, 11 and 12 to be rarely stopped and started, thus improving the durability of the drive parts while rendering processing fluid to smoothly pass through the filters 8.

In order to protect the housing 7 from a hammering impact during the operation of the vibration system, a clamp 4 is provided outside each filter housing 7 with an air knocker 3 being welded to the clamp 4. Such a clamp 4 effectively distributes the hammering impact energy on the housing 7, thus protecting the housing 7 from the impact energy. The automatic vibration system of this invention has an air knocker 3, a solenoid valve 5 and a timer 6, which are provided at the outside of each filter housing 7. The air knocker 3 is welded to the clamp 4, which is provided outside the housing 7 and effectively distributes the hammering impact energy on the housing 7. Due to the clamp 4, the housing 7 is effectively protected from im pact energy. The solenoid valve 5 selectively operates the air knocker 3 in response to a back w ashing signal from the control panel 10, thus allowing the air knocker 3 to be started synchronous with the beginning of a back w ashing process. The timer 6 is for presetting a knocking time interval of the air knocker 3 during a back w ashing process. The vibration system of this invention thus improves the filter cleaning effect during a back w ashing process and renders processing fluid to sm o othly pass through the filters. The vibration system also allow s the drive parts for the service valves to be rarely stopped and started, thus reducing a frictional abrasion of the drive parts. Therefore, the filter system, w ith the vibration system of this invention, is alm ost com pletely free from leakage of fluid and can be used for an extended period of time.

The operational effect of the above automatic ham m ering system was experimentally measured as follow s. The hammering system of this invention was u sed w ith 16 pairs of RHDS processing feed filters (filtering size of 25 of the FCC plant of SK Corp . of Korea. In such a case, the flow rate of the filters is increased by about 10 % , while the required back w ashing processes per every hour are reduced by 2 or 3 times. In accord ance w ith such preferable measuring results, SK

Corp . decided to use the vibration system of this invention with 96 pairs of RHDS processing feed filters.

O f co urse, it is noted that the hammering system m ay be u sed w ith VRDS feed filters at a HOU plant. A s described above, the present invention provides an autom atic vibration system, which automatically ham m ers the filter housings of a filter system and form s a physical im pact w ave on the housing during a back w ashing process, thus eliminating any charge-up bottle neck due to impurities plugging-up the filter. The vibration system automatically hammers the filter housing, thereby saving labor. The vibration system also reduces the num ber of back w ashing processes and allow s the drive parts for the service valves to be rarely stopped and started, so that the frictional abrasion of the drive parts is remarkably reduced. Another advantage experienced in the vibration system is that the vibration system effectively distributes ham mering impact energy on the filter housing, thus preventing the filter housing from being deform ed by such impact energy. Although the preferred embodim ents of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various m odifications, additions and substitutions are possible, w ithou t departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

W H AT IS CLAIM ED IS :

1. An automatic vibration system for automatically ham m ering filter housings of a filter system during a back w ashing process, comprising: a control panel norm ally outputting a filtering signa l and selectively outputting a back washing signal u pon sensing an excessive pressure drop between the inlet of filter system and the outlet of filter system when the filters are plugged with impurities; first and second filtering service valves exclusively opened in response to the filtering signal from the control pa nel, thus allowing the filter system to perform a filtering process; first and second back washing service valves exclu sively opened in response to the back washing signal from the control panel, thus allowing back washing fluid to flow through the filters so as to perform a back w ashing process of removing impurities from the filters; an air knocker provided outside each of said filter housings for selectively knocking the filter housing, thus form ing an impact wave in the back washing fluid; a clam p provided outside each of said filter housings with the air knocker being w elded to said clamp, said clamp being adapted for distributing an im pact energy on the housing when the air knocker knocks the filter housing; a solenoid valve selectively operating said air knocker in response to the back washing signal, thus allow ing the air knocker to be started synchronous with the beginning of the back washing process; and a tim er used for presetting a knocking time interval of said air knocker during the back w ashing process.

2. The autom atic vibration system according to claim 1 , w herein said timer is an adjustable timer capable of changing the knocking time interval during every back w ashing process.

3. The automatic vibration system according to claim 1, wherein each of said service valves is pneumatically operated under the control of a solenoid valved actuator.