EP-4739426-A1 - MAGNETIC FIXING MECHANISM AND METHOD FOR SYSTEM FOR STORING, MIXING, AND DELIVERING SLURRIES

Abstract

A slurry dispensing system (900) for removing a slurry from an enclosure includes a hub manifold assembly (910) configured to be placed in the enclosure, a fluidizer (924) fluidly connected to the hub manifold assembly (910), where the fluidizer (924) is configured to receive a fluid (980) from the hub manifold assembly (910), eject the fluid (980) into the enclosure, outside the fluidizer (924), absorb an ambient slurry (982) from the enclosure, and dispose of the slurry (982) at the hub manifold assembly (910), and a fixing mechanism (1410) configured to fixedly hold the fluidizer (924) at a certain position away from a wall of the enclosure. The fixing mechanism (1410) includes a magnet (1422) configured to attach to the wall of the enclosure.

Inventors

• WOLF, MARK ERNEST
• BROCK, Harvey

Assignees

• Wolf Process Technology, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240627

Claims (1)

1. Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A slurry dispensing system (900) for removing a slurry from an enclosure, the slurry dispensing system (900) comprising: a hub manifold assembly (910) configured to be placed in the enclosure; a fluidizer (924) fluidly connected to the hub manifold assembly (910), wherein the fluidizer (924) is configured to receive a fluid (980) from the hub manifold assembly (910), eject the fluid (980) into the enclosure, outside the fluidizer (924), absorb an ambient slurry (982) from the enclosure, and dispose of the slurry (982) at the hub manifold assembly (910); and a fixing mechanism (1410) configured to fixedly hold the fluidizer (924) at a certain position away from a wall of the enclosure, wherein the fixing mechanism (1410) includes a magnet (1422) configured to attach to the wall of the enclosure. 2. The system of Claim 1, wherein the fixing mechanism has three legs. 3. The system of Claim 2, wherein the magnet is attached to one leg of the three legs. 4. The system of Claim 3, wherein the magnet is an integral part of the one leg of the three legs. Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO 5. The system of Claim 2, wherein each leg of the three legs includes a corresponding magnet. 6. The system of Claim 1, wherein the fixing mechanism is directly attached to the fluidizer. 7. The system of Claim 1, further comprising: a hub manifold assembly fixing mechanism (2010) configured to directly couple with one end to the hub manifold assembly, and having a plate at a second end, the plate having one or more magnets, so that the hub manifold assembly fixing mechanism fixedly couples the hub manifold assembly to the wall of the enclosure. 8. The system of Claim 1, further comprising: a magnet equipped support (1430) configured to directly couple with one end to a line attached to the hub manifold assembly, and having a plate at a second end, the plate having one or more magnets, so that the magnet equipped support fixedly supports the line relative to the wall of the enclosure. 9. The system of Claim 1, wherein the fixing mechanism has two legs formed as a first unit and a third leg formed as a second unit, and each of the first and second units mechanically connects to the fluidizer to hold the fluidizer at a certain distance Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO away from the wall of the enclosure. 10. The system of Claim 1, further comprising: a weir (1800) having a profile that fits an internal surface of the wall of the enclosure, and configured to act as a dam; plural brackets attached to a rim of the weir; and one or more magnets attached to each bracket of the plural brackets to hold the weir fixed relative to the wall of the enclosure. 11. The system of Claim 1, further comprising: an anode material (2110); a bracket attached to the anode material; and an additional magnet attached to the bracket to hold the anode material fixed relative to the wall of the enclosure. 12. A fixing mechanism (1410, 1430, 2010) configured to fixedly attach an element (924, 906, 908, 910) of a slurry dispensing system (900), to a wall of an enclosure, the fixing mechanism (1410, 1430, 2010) comprising: a body (1411, 1432, 2011) having opposite first and second ends; and a magnet (1422) attached to the first end of the body (1141, 1432, 2011), wherein the second end of the body (1411, 1432, 2011) is attached to the element (924, 906, 908, 910) of the slurry dispending system (900), and Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO wherein a size of the magnet (1422) is selected to fix the element (924, 906, 908, 910) relative to the wall of the enclosure. 13. The fixing mechanism of Claim 12, wherein the body includes three legs and two brackets, two of the three legs being attached to one bracket of the two brackets and a third leg of the three legs being attached to another bracket of the two brackets. 14. The fixing mechanism of Claim 13, wherein the first and second brackets are configured to directly attach to a fluidizer of the slurry dispensing system and the three legs are configured to hold the fluidizer away from the wall of the enclosure. 15. The fixing mechanism of Claim 13, wherein the magnet is attached to an end of one leg of the three legs. 16. The fixing mechanism of Claim 12, further comprising: a plate attached to the second end of the body, wherein the magnet is attached to the plate and the first end of the fixing mechanism is configured to support a line of the slurry dispensing system. 17. The fixing mechanism of Claim 12, further comprising: a plate attached to the second end of the body, wherein the magnet is attached to the plate and the second end of the fixing Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO mechanism is fixedly attached to a hub manifold assembly of the slurry dispending system. 18. An element (1800, 2110) configured to be placed in a tank together with a slurry dispensing system, the element (1800, 2110) comprising: a body (1801, 2111) having a side that mates an interior surface of a tank; a bracket (1802) attached with one end to the body (1801, 2111); and a magnet (1422) attached to a second end of the bracket (1802). 19. The element of Claim 18, wherein the body is a weir. 20. The element of Claim 18, wherein the body is an anode.

Description

Attorney docket no.0333-002-WO MAGNETIC FIXING MECHANISM AND METHOD FOR SYSTEM FOR STORING, MIXING, AND DELIVERING SLURRIES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to a system and method for fixing a slurry dispensing system to an interior of an enclosure, and more particularly, to a fixing mechanism that uses magnetic elements for fixing the system or any component of the system to the interior of the enclosure. DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND [0002] In the chemical field, for example, oil and gas refineries, there are many operations that require storing one or more fluids for certain amounts of time, and then providing the fluid to another component of the refinery for processing. These fluids are sometimes not pure fluids, i.e., they include one or more other particulates, which tend to sediment in time. Thus, in time, the tanks or reservoirs where these fluids are customarily stored, start to accumulate these particulates as residue. Over enough time, the amount of residue may negatively interfere with the processing operations of the refinery. While this specific example refers to oil and gas processing, most chemical processing industries experience the same problems. In fact, even industries like food processing or pharmaceuticals and others are facing the same problems. [0003] To remove these residues, the assignee of this patent application has developed a specialized slurry dispensing system that can be placed inside the tank for Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO removing the residue with minimum disruption to the processing of the fluid. This system, called herein the Octopus, is described in International Patent Publication Application no. PCT/US2023/010320, filed on January 6, 2023, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent application discloses that the Octopus system is attached to the interior of the tank by using various mechanical means. [0004] However, such an attachment mechanism may be slow and require additional effort as the various parts of the Octopus system need to be tied down to various brackets inside the tank. In one scenario, the brackets need first to be fixed to the tank and then the Octopus system parts are mechanically attached to the brackets. [0005] Thus, there is a need for a new attachment system that requires less effort and less time for fixing the slurry dispensing system to the inside of the tank. Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] According to an embodiment, there is a slurry dispensing system for removing a slurry from an enclosure. The slurry dispensing system includes a hub manifold assembly configured to be placed in the enclosure, a fluidizer fluidly connected to the hub manifold assembly, wherein the fluidizer is configured to receive a fluid from the hub manifold assembly, eject the fluid into the enclosure, outside the fluidizer, absorb an ambient slurry from the enclosure, and dispose of the slurry at the hub manifold assembly, and a fixing mechanism configured to fixedly hold the fluidizer at a certain position away from a wall of the enclosure. The fixing mechanism includes a magnet configured to attach to the wall of the enclosure. [0007] According to another embodiment, there is a fixing mechanism configured to fixedly attach an element of a slurry dispensing system, to a wall of an enclosure. The fixing mechanism includes a body having opposite first and second ends, and a magnet attached to the first end of the body. The second end of the body is attached to the element of the slurry dispending system, and a size of the magnet is selected to fix the element relative to the wall of the enclosure. [0008] According to yet another embodiment, there is an element configured to be placed in a tank together with a slurry dispensing system, and the element includes a body having a side that mates an interior surface of a tank, a bracket attached with one end to the body, and a magnet attached to a second end of the bracket. Attorney Docket: 0333-002-WO BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] For a detailed description of the disclosed, representative embodiments, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which include the following figures, wherein: [0010] FIG.1 shows a schematic top view of an embodiment of a slurry system that includes a plurality of slurry dispensing systems in accordance with principles described herein; [0011] FIG.2 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of another slurry system that includes a slurry dispensing system in accordance with principles described herein; [0012] FIG.3 shows a perspective view of the slurry intake assembly of FIG.1 and of FIG.2 in accordance with principles described herein and the slurry intake assembly includes a plurality of fluidizers; [0013] FIG.4 shows a sectional side view of a fluidizer; [0014] FIG.5 shows a front perspective view of an e