BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a homogenizer with a back flushing structure, in
particular with a structure to prevent a raw material from being blocked by making
the raw material flow in a reverse direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002] A homogenizing process for dispersing a solute or a dispersoid within a solvent or
a dispersive medium may be utilized in a food or beverage industry, a pharmaceutical
manufacturing industry, a cosmetic industry, an ink industry or an electronic industry.
A high pressure may be applied to a solution or a raw material for homogenizing the
solution or the raw material, and the solution or the raw material may be homogenized
in a course of flowing along a homogenizing means to generate a shear force, an impact,
a cavitation phenomenon or the like. Hereby, the solution or the raw material for
an ink or a cosmetic may be made into an emulsion where particles below 1 micrometer
size are dispersed, or a cell wall of a cultured microorganism may be disrupted.
US 9,656,222 discloses a method for reducing a cavitation in an interactive chamber. The homogenizing
process may be performed in a homogenizing chamber, and a portion of the solute or
the dispersoid may be accumulated in the homogenizing block or the homogenizing chamber
to make a pressure for homogenizing be reduced significantly if the raw material flows
continuously in one direction. Due to this, the homogenizing process may not proceed
effectively. Therefore, it is necessary for a means to prevent such passage blocking
phenomenon to be developed. But the prior art doesn't disclose such means.
[0003] The present invention has the following purpose for solving the problem of the prior
art.
PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide with a homogenizer with a back flushing
structure to solve a passage blocking phenomenon by making the raw material flow in
a reverse direction if a relatively larger pressure is required in a course of homogenizing
resulting from the passage blocking phenomenon.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] According to one embodiment of the present invention. a homogenizer for homogenizing
a raw material comprises a first guiding block for guiding the raw material to flow
with an operation of a plunger; a first flow controlling valve connected to the first
guiding block; an inflow regulating unit connected to the first flow controlling valve;
at least one nano cell block for homogenizing the raw material being inputted through
the inflow regulating unit ; a discharge regulating unit for regulating a discharge
of the homogenized raw material discharged from the nano cell block; a second guiding
block installed between the plunger and the first guiding block; a second flow controlling
valve for connecting the second guiding block to the discharge regulating unit; and
a heat exchanger connected to the discharge regulating unit.
[0006] According to other embodiment of the present invention, the homogenizer further comprises
a detecting unit for detecting a pressure of the nano cell block, and the raw material
flows through the second flow controlling valve based on a pressure information detected
by the detecting unit.
[0007] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the homogenizer further
comprises a pressure variation calculating module for calculating a pressure variation
of the nano cell block; and a back flushing controlling module for switching a flowing
direction of the raw material.
[0008] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, an operation of the
plunger becomes a proportional control.
[0009] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, each at least one
nano cell block comprises at least two nano cells.
[0010] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the homogenizer further
comprises an ultrasonic unit installed at the heat exchanger.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011]
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a homogenizer with a back flushing structure according
to the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an operation structure of the homogenizer according
to the present invention.
FIG.3 shows an embodiment of a controlling way of the homogenizer according to the
present invention.
FIG.4 shows an embodiment of a nano cell block for the homogenizer according to the
present invention.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a heat exchanger for the homogenizer according to the
present invention.
FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of an operating process of the homogenizer according to
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0012] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0013] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a homogenizer with a back flushing structure according
to the present invention.
[0014] Referring FIG. 1, a homogenizer for homogenizing a raw material comprises a first
guiding block 13 a for guiding the raw material to flow with an operation of a plunger
12; a first flow controlling valve 14a connected to the first guiding block 14a; an
inflow regulating unit 15a connected to the first flow controlling valve 14a; at least
one nano cell block 16a, 16b for homogenizing the raw material inputted through the
inflow regulating unit 15a; a discharge regulating unit 15b for regulating a discharge
of the homogenized raw material discharged from the nano cell block 16a, 16b; a second
guiding block 13b installed between the plunger 12 and the first guiding block 13a;
a second flow controlling valve 14b for connecting the second guiding block 13b to
the discharge regulating unit 15b; and a heat exchanger 18 connected to the discharge
regulating unit 15b.
[0015] The raw material may consist of a solute and a solvent or a dispersoid and a dispersive
medium, and the raw material may be inputted through an inputting unit. When the raw
material is inputted within the homogenizer, the plunger 12 may be operated by a pressuring
means such as a motor or a pump to deliver the raw material to the homogenizer through
a delivering pipe. The raw material can be delivered along the delivering pipe to
the first guiding block 13a by the operation of the plunger 12. The first guiding
block 13a may have a function to guide a flow of the raw material properly and to
check a flow condition of the raw material. The raw material may flow from the first
guiding block 13a to the first flow controlling valve 14a, and an amount of the flowing
material may be controlled by the first flow controlling valve 14a. Thereby, the amount
of the raw material delivered to the input controlling unit 15a may be controlled.
[0016] The raw material may flow from the input controlling unit 15a to the nano cell block
16a, 16b, and a homogenizing process of the raw material may be performed at the nano
cell block 16a, 16b. At least one nano cell block 16a, 16b may be arranged, and the
raw material may be homogenized at the nano cell block 16a, 16b by a sheer force to
be applied to the raw material, an impact to a wall of the nano cell block 16a, 16b,
an occurrence of a vortex and a cavitation phenomenon. For example, two nano cell
blocks 16a, 16b may be connected in parallel, thereby when one nano cell block is
in a condition of being inoperative, the other nano cell block can be utilized for
homogenizing. The raw material homogenized in the nano cell block 16a, 16b may flow
to the discharge controlling unit 15b, and the discharge controlling unit 15b may
control a flow amount of the raw material homogenized in the nano cell block 16a,
16b, and maintain a temperature of the homogenized raw material. Such raw material
may flow from the discharge controlling unit to the heat exchanger 18 for stabilizing.
[0017] The heat exchanger 18 may comprise a staying block 181 for controlling the temperature
of the raw material and for delivering the raw material to the heat exchanger 18.
The dispersoid included in the raw material may be adhered within the nano cell block
16a, 16b in a course of homogenizing, and a clogging phenomenon in the flowing passage
formed within the nano cell block 16a, 16b may occur due to this. When the clogging
phenomenon occurs, the flowing pressure may be lowered significantly compared with
the applied pressure. Due to this, it is difficult to homogenize the raw material
efficiently in the nano cell block 16a, 16b.
[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the second guiding block 13b
and the second flow controlling valve 14b may be installed in order to prevent the
clogging phenomenon. The second guiding block 13b may be installed between the plunger
12 and the flow controlling valve 13a, and the second flow controlling valve 14b may
be installed at a flowing passage connecting the second guiding block 13b to the discharge
controlling unit 15b. The second guiding block 13b may have a function to switch the
flowing passage of the raw material, and for example, the raw material is blocked
from flowing to the first guiding block 13a by being pressurized by the plunger 12,
and the raw material may flow to the discharge controlling unit 15b through the second
flow controlling valve 14b. The input controlling unit 15a and the discharge controlling
unit 15b may have a function to switch the flowing passage of the raw material. The
raw material flowing to the discharge controlling unit 15b through the second guiding
block 13b and through the second flow controlling valve 14b may flow to the input
controlling unit 15a through the nano cell block 16a, 16b. And then, the raw material
may be discharged to the outside through the reverse flow block 19.
[0019] The clogging phenomenon of the nano cell block 16a, 16b may be solved by generating
a reverse flow. A pressure of the nano cell block 16a, 16b may be detected by a pressure
detecting unit 17 in order to check whether or not a clogging phenomenon occurs, and
the pressure information may be transmitted to the controlling module 11. The controlling
module 11 may compare the detected pressure with the applied pressure to determine
whether or not the clogging phenomenon at the nano cell block 16a, 16b occurs. When
a clogging phenomenon occurs at the nano cell block 16a, 16b, the flow to the first
guiding block 13a may be blocked and the first flow controlling valve 14b may be closed.
And the second flow controlling valve 14b may be opened as the flow passage may be
switched, and the raw material may flow to the reverse flow block 19 for discharging
as the flow direction changes. The induction of the reverse flow may be performed
in various ways, not limited to.
[0020] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an operation structure of the homogenizer according
to the present invention.
[0021] Referring to FIG.2, the flow pressure of the raw material may be set by an operating
pressure setting module 21, and the plunger 12 may be operated according to a condition
set by the operating pressure setting module 21. When the operation of the plunger
12 starts, the raw material may be inputted within the flow passage by an input controlling
module 22. The raw material may flow to the nano cell block 16 to be homogenized,
and the homogenized raw material may flow to the heat exchanger 18 for stabilizing.
The pressure of the nano cell block 16 may be measured to be transmitted to a proportional
control module 24 and a pressure variation calculating module 25. The proportional
control module 24 may determine the pressure in a proportional way based on the pressure
transmitted from the pressure detecting module 23 to transmit the pressure to the
operational pressure setting module 21, and thus the pressure of the plunger 12 may
be controlled according to the proportional method.
[0022] The pressure variation of the nano cell block 16 over time may be calculated by the
pressure variation calculating module 25, and if the pressure variation is out of
a predetermined range, it may be determined whether the clogging phenomenon has occurred.
The measured pressure is out of the predetermined range compared with the applied
pressure and a drop pressure condition continues for a predetermined period of time,
then it may be determined that the clogging phenomenon has occurred. When it is determined
that the clogging phenomenon has occurred, a back flushing process may be initiated
by the back flushing controlling module. And the clogging state may be solved by the
back flushing process. The back flushing process may be performed in various ways,
not limited to.
[0023] FIG.3 shows an embodiment of a controlling way of the homogenizer according to the
present invention.
[0024] Referring to FIG.3, if the pressure applied to the plunger by a pressure setting
module 31 is determined, then the pressure may be converted to a current or a voltage
by a voltage/current converting module 32. The converted voltage or current may be
amplified by an amplifier 33, and an operation of a valve controlling module 34 may
be controlled by the amplified current or voltage. The plunger may be operated according
to an operation of the valve controlling module 34, and the raw material may flow
at a predetermined pressure. The pressure of the nano cell block may be measured by
a pressure measuring module 35, and the measured pressure may be transmitted to a
difference calculating module 36. A difference between the applied pressure and the
measured pressure may occur due to various reasons, and the difference value may be
calculated by a difference value calculating module 36. The calculated difference
value may be transmitted to an offset calculating module 37 for calculating an offset
value. And the calculated offset value may be transmitted to the pressure setting
module 31 so that the applied pressure value can be offset to fit the predetermined
flow pressure value.
[0025] The pressure of the nano cell block may be measured in real time by the pressure
measuring module 35, and if the measured pressure value may be different from the
predetermined pressure value, then the offset value may be calculated by the offset
calculating module 37 for adjusting the pressure value to the predetermined pressure
value. The offset process of the pressure setting module 31 according to the offset
value calculation may be performed in various ways, not limited to.
[0026] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a nano cell block for the homogenizer according to
the present invention.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 4, each at least one nano cell block 16a, 16b may comprise at least
two nano cells 40a, 40b. An inflowing passage 41 for a flow of the raw material may
be formed within a base frame B. The raw material flowing along the inflowing passage
41 may enter the first nano cell 40a. The first and second nano cell 40a, 40b may
have a cylindrical shape in general and have a similar or identical shape each other.
A first and second guiding passage 43a, 43b may be formed at the first nano cell 40a,
and the raw material flowing along the inflowing passage 41 may flow to the first
and second guiding passage 43a, 43b via a first and second flowing gap 42a, 42b. The
first and second guiding passage 43a, 43b may have a similar or identical shape and
a structure of penetrating the first nano cell 40a. The raw material flowing along
the first and second guiding passage 43a, 43b may flow in a direction toward a center
of a second surface of the first nano cell 40a at an end part of the first nano cell
40a after flowing along the third and fourth flowing gap 44a, 44b. And the raw material
may be flow along a third flowing passage 45 formed at the second nano cell 40b.
[0028] The third flowing passage 45 may extend along a longitudinal centering line of the
second nano cell 40b, and the raw material flowing the third flowing passage 45 may
flow to a discharging block 47. A discharge guiding passage 46 connected to the third
flowing passage 45 may be formed at the discharging block 47, and a cross sectional
size of the discharge guiding passage 46 may increase along an extending direction.
The discharge guiding passage 46 may be connected to a discharging passage 48. A width
and depth of each flowing gap 42a, 42b, 44a, 44b may become 50 to 150
µm, preferably 60 to 85
µm, not limited to. A cross sectional size of each flowing gap 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d may
increase gradually along the extending direction, and may have a curved shape, not
limited to.
[0029] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a heat exchanger for the homogenizer according to the
present invention.
[0030] Referring to FIG. 5, the heat exchanger 18 may comprise a housing 51; a heat exchanging
tube 52 formed within the housing 51 and with a coil shape; an entering tube 53 for
transferring the homogeneous solution to the heat exchanging tube 52; and a discharging
tube 54 for discharging the homogeneous solution from the heat exchanging tube 52
to a storing tank for storing the homogeneous solution. A coolant tube for guiding
a coolant within the heat exchanger 18 may be arranged. The ultrasonic wave units
55a, 55b, 55c may be installed at various places of the housing 51. The ultrasonic
wave units 55a, 55b, 55c may be installed at a round surface of the housing 51, may
be installed at a cover of the housing 51, or may be installed at a lower surface
of the housing.
[0031] When the ultrasonic wave unit 55a is installed at the cover of the housing 51, an
ultrasonic wave transferring member 551 may be coupled to the ultrasonic wave unit
55a for applying the ultrasonic wave to the homogenous solution flowing within the
housing 51. When the ultrasonic wave unit 55c is placed under the housing 51, an ultrasonic
wave transferring plate 511 may be installed under the housing 51. A plurality of
vibrating elements may be placed at the transferring plate 511, and the ultrasonic
wave may be guided in a predetermined direction by the vibrating elements. The ultrasonic
wave unit 55a, 55b, 55c may be arranged at various places of the heat exchanger 18
to apply the ultrasonic wave to the homogeneous solution flowing along the heat exchanging
tube 52. And the ultrasonic wave unit 55a, 55b, 55c may have a proper structure to
apply the ultrasonic wave to the homogeneous solution.
[0032] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of an operating process of the homogenizer according to
the present invention.
[0033] Referring to FIG.6, the operating process of the homogenizer may comprise setting
a flowing pressure of the raw material and inputting the set pressure P61; pressurizing
the raw material by controlling a controlling valve P62; measuring the pressure of
the nano cell block where the raw material flows P63; determining whether the measured
pressure has a difference compared with the applied pressure P64; determining whether
the difference of the pressure is within a compensable range P65; if the difference
of the pressure is out of the range, then operating the back flushing valve P67; and
initiating the back flushing process according to the operation of the back flushing
valve P68.
[0034] At step P64, in case of no difference of the pressure between the measured pressure
and the applied pressure, the pressure of nano cell block may be measured. On the
contrary, if the difference of pressure occurs, then it is determined that the difference
may be offset. At step P65, if the difference is within the compensable range, then
the offset may be calculated to input into the controlling valve P66. On the contrary,
if the difference is out of the compensable range, the back flushing process may be
initiated P68. The process of back flushing P68 may be performed automatically by
setting a back flushing initiating condition. For example, an applying pressure or
a setting pressure may be determined, and a back flushing initiating pressure may
be set. The determined pressure for homogenizing process may be determined and applied
to the nano cell block, and the pressure of the nano cell block may be measured in
the course of homogenizing by a pressure gauge. A pressure difference calculating
module may be installed for calculating the difference between the applied pressure
and the measured pressure. If the pressure difference is greater than the back flushing
initiating pressure, then the back flushing process may be initiated automatically.
And the back flushing process may be performed for a determined time. The homogenizer
may be operated in various ways, not limited to.
1. A homogenizer for homogenizing a raw material, comprising:
a first guiding block 13a for guiding the raw material to flow with an operation of
a plunger 12;
a first flow controlling valve 14a connected to the first guiding block 14a;
an inflow regulating unit 15a connected to the first flow controlling valve 14a;
at least one nano cell block 16a, 16b for homogenizing the raw material being inputted
through the inflow regulating unit 15a;
a discharge regulating unit 15b for regulating a discharge of the homogenized raw
material discharged from the nano cell block 16a, 16b;
a second guiding block 13b installed between the plunger 12 and the first guiding
block 13a;
a second flow controlling valve 14b for connecting the second guiding block 13b to
the discharge regulating unit 15b; and
a heat exchanger 18 connected to the discharge regulating unit 15b.
2. The homogenizer according to the claim 1, wherein the homogenizer further comprises
a detecting unit 17 for detecting a pressure of the nano cell block 16a, 16b, and
the raw material flows through the second flow controlling valve 14b based on a pressure
information detected by the detecting unit 17.
3. The homogenizer according to the claim 1, wherein the homogenizer further comprises
a pressure variation calculating module 25 for calculating a pressure variation of
the nano cell block 16a, 16b; and a back flushing controlling module 26 for switching
a flowing direction of the raw material.
4. The homogenizer according to claim 1, wherein an operation of the plunger 12 becomes
a proportional control.
5. The homogenizer according to claim 1, each at least one nano cell block 16a, 16b comprises
at least two nano cells 40a, 40b.
6. The homogenizer according to claim 1, the homogenizer further comprises an ultrasonic
unit 45a, 45b, 45c installed at the heat exchanger 18.