High purity and highly corrosive liquids are often utilized in industries such as semiconductor processing and chemical manufacturing. Due to quality and safety concerns, these liquids generally must be contained in high integrity fluid containment drums and dispensed using highly reliable dispensing systems. Such dispensing systems can include drum inserts insertable into the fluid containment drums and dispense heads for dispensing the contents thereof.
The containers for handling these liquids are conventionally containment drums formed of high purity polyethylene, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,000. Examples of dispense heads suitable for use with fluid containment drums are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,699,298, 5,108,015, 5,957,328, and 5,526,956. Examples of drum inserts suitable for use with fluid containment drums are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,000 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0010387.
The connections, tubing, and fittings between the fluid containment drums and equipment are often formed from inert materials, such as various fluoropolymers. For example, the tubing can be formed of perfluoroalkoxy resin (PFA), while the fittings and valve components can be formed of components such as PFA, Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE), and other various fluoropolymers.
When dealing with the liquids, precaution generally must be taken not to connect equipment requiring a certain type of chemical or fluid to a fluid containment drum containing an incompatible type of chemical or fluid.
One mechanism that has been used to inhibit this are coded rings included on dispense heads and drum inserts, wherein each type of chemical or fluid has a unique code keying. In the event that the codes of the code rings on the drum insert and dispense head do not match, the dispense head will not be connectable to the drum insert, thus inhibiting the mixing or dispensing of improper chemicals or fluids.
However, while the coded rings can represent a first-level of safety for inhibiting the coupling of an incompatible containment drum and equipment, it can be anticipated some users will attempt to bypass this safety feature by using one type of coded ring with multiple chemicals and multiple pieces of equipment, regardless of whether the chemicals and equipment are compatible.
High purity, highly corrosive, and highly caustic liquid handling also can require identification ability with respect to containment drums, drum inserts, dispense heads, and the contents of the containment drums for maintenance and tracking purposes. Presently, bar code labels are adhered to the top or side of the containment drum. However, a scanner must generally be used when using bar codes, which can require a visual line of sight to scan/read the bar code label on the drum and know what material is contained in the drum. This can present a problem in situations where the containment drum is hard to reach or surrounded by other equipment and containment drums. Also, bar coding does not enable the writing of data to the label and thus the ability to change the sequencing and particular of the information contained on the label or to determine statistics and information about containment drums, drum inserts, dispense heads, and the contents of the containment drums from the label itself. Rather, any information must be stored, accessed, and processed elsewhere.
Also, some users simply tether a label or tag having a bar code to a containment drum cap. When using labels tethered to the containment drum cap, the containment drum can lose its identification when the cap is removed to use the containment drum, such as for running the containment drum through a wash station or assembling the containment drums. Once the containment drum and insert lose their identity, a user can lose all history and tracking on the containment drums, drum inserts, dispense heads, components, and drum contents.
Because the general problems discussed above have not been addressed, there is a need for an improved fluid containment and dispensing system addressing the deficiencies inherent with conventional designs.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds