Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
243 words
A method of refining fibrous material under predetermined operational conditions utilizing relatively rotating refining means which are driven by a driving motor, the material being introduced by a metering means and forced to pass through a gap between discs of the refining means and thereby being exposed to bending forces and axial forces with the flow of material being regulated by a positioning device for regulating the rate of feed of the metering means and a separate positioning device for regulating the gap between the discs of the refining means, comprising the steps of: (a) monitoring at least two operational variables including the power to the driving motor and the gap distance between the discs of the refining means to determine a measured value for each operational variable; (b) comparing said measured value of said at least two operational variables with each other and a predetermined set point value for each operational variable which are indicative of the setting for each operational variable when applied to refining conditions to determine if a disturbance exists relative to the predetermined operational conditions; (c) determining based upon the comparisons which operational variable requires adjustment to eliminate the noted disturbance; (d) emitting a control signal to independently operate one of said positioning devices so as to adjust either the rate of feed of the metering means or the gap distance between the discs to thereby reduce the disturbance and maintain the refining process within the predetermined conditions.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
243 words
A method of refining fibrous material under predetermined operational conditions utilizing relatively rotating refining means which are driven by a driving motor, the material being introduced by a metering means and forced to pass through a gap between discs of the refining means and thereby being exposed to bending forces and axial forces with the flow of material being regulated by a positioning device for regulating the rate of feed of the metering means and a separate positioning device for regulating the gap between the discs of the refining means, comprising the steps of: (a) monitoring at least two operational variables including the power to the driving motor and the gap distance between the discs of the refining means to determine a measured value for each operational variable; (b) comparing said measured value of said at least two operational variables with each other and a predetermined set point value for each operational variable which are indicative of the setting for each operational variable when applied to refining conditions to determine if a disturbance exists relative to the predetermined operational conditions; (c) determining based upon the comparisons which operational variable requires adjustment to eliminate the noted disturbance; (d) emitting a control signal to independently operate one of said positioning devices so as to adjust either the rate of feed of the metering means or the gap distance between the discs to thereby reduce the disturbance and maintain the refining process within the predetermined conditions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 including the additional step of selectively adding deluting water to the fibrous material when a disturbance in the refining process has been determined.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 including the additional step of selectively changing the pressure in the refining means when a disturbance in the refining process has been determined.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 including the additional step of selectively changing the inlet pressure to the refining means when a disturbance in the refining process has been determined.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 including the additional step of selectively adding chemicals to the fibrous material when a disturbance in the refining process has been determined.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
87 words
The method of claim 1, wherein when the measured value of the operational variables of the power to the driving motor and gap distance are both greater than their respective set point values, the positioning device for regulating the feed rate of the metering means is operated to reduce the flow of fibrous material to the refining means to the extent that the measured value of the operational variables of the power to the driving motor and gap distance are returned to equal their set point values.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
89 words
The method of claim 1, wherein when the measured value of the operational variables of the power to the driving motor and the gap distance are both smaller than their respective set point values, the positioning device for regulating the feed rate of the metering means is operated to increase the flow of fibrous material to the refining means to the extent that the measured value of the operational variables of the power to the driving motor and the gap distance are returned to equal their set point values.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
99 words
The method according to claim 1, wherein when the measured value of the operational variable of the power to the driving motor is greater than its respective set point value and the measured value of the operational variable of the gap distance is smaller than its respective set point value, the positioning device for regulating the gap distance is operated to increase the gap distance to the extent that the measured value of the operational variables of the power to the driving motor or the operational variable of the gap distance is returned to its respective set point value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
102 words
The method according to claim 1, wherein the measured value of the operational variable of the power to the driving motor is smaller than its respective set point value and the measured value of the operational variable of the gap distance is greater than its respective set point value, said positioning device for regulating the gap distance is operated to decrease the gap distance to the extent that the measured value of the operational variable of the power to the driving motor or the measured value of the operational variable of the gap distance is returned to its respective set point value.