JP2000052342A - Spheroidizing treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the subject apparatus capable of simply cleaning the inner peripheries of a granulation tower and a raw material supply head. SOLUTION: A stand 3 having earth wheels 4 is provided under a fixed support frame 2 and a granulation tower 5 is supported in a freely liftable manner by the stand 3. The connection means attaching the upper lid 7 covering the upper opening of the granulation tower 5 to the lower end of the support frame 2 and connecting the same to the granulation tower 5 is provided. A hot air jet nozzle 13 and a raw material supply head 12 are provided above the inflow port formed to the upper lid 7. A solid-gas mixed fluid of thermoplastic particles and compressed air is ejected into the hot air ejected from the nozzle 13 to spheroidize the thermoplastic particles. At a time of the cleaning of the spheroidizing treatment apparatus, a connection means is released and the granulation tower 5 is lowered to be allowed to retreat from the part under the upper lid 7 by the movement of the stand 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spheroidizing apparatus for spheroidizing thermoplastic particles such as a developing toner used in a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, thermoplastic particles are injected into hot air injected from a hot-air injection nozzle, and the surface of the thermoplastic particles is melted and spheroidized by contact with the hot air. .

[0003] The above-mentioned spheronization processing apparatus is generally known
As described in Japanese Patent No. 40169, an annular raw material supply head is provided on an inlet formed in a top plate of a granulation tower, and a tip of a hot air injection nozzle is inserted into the raw material supply head. The solid-gas mixed fluid of the thermoplastic particles and compressed air supplied into the raw material supply head is injected from a raw material injection nozzle provided on the inner periphery of the raw material supply head, and is brought into contact with hot air injected from the hot air injection nozzle, and The surface of the thermoplastic particles is melted and spherical by contact with hot air.

[0004] In the above sphering processing apparatus,
Cooling air is introduced from a gap formed between the inner periphery of the raw material supply head and the outer periphery of the hot air injection nozzle or an inlet formed on the outer periphery of the top plate to prevent fusion of thermoplastic particles. However, the fusion cannot be completely prevented, and may adhere and remain on the inner periphery of the raw material supply head or the inner periphery of the granulation tower.

In addition, when the operation of the spheroidizing apparatus is stopped, the introduction of cooling air is also stopped, so that it takes time to cool the granulating tower and the hot air injection nozzle, and the residual heat of the hot air injection nozzle causes the raw material supply head to be cooled. In many cases, the thermoplastic particles adhering to the inner periphery or in the granulation tower are melted and fixed and remain.

For this reason, it is necessary to clean the inner periphery of the raw material supply head or the inner periphery of the granulation tower as necessary or periodically.

[0007]

In the spheroidizing apparatus described in the above publication, no consideration is given to cleaning and maintenance, and a raw material supply head and a hot air jet are provided above the granulation tower. Since the nozzle is simply provided, cleaning and maintenance are extremely difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide an easily maintainable spheroidizing apparatus which can easily clean the inner periphery of a raw material supply head and the inner periphery of a granulation tower.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a gantry movable along a floor surface is provided below a fixed support frame, and the gantry is provided by the gantry. A hot air injection nozzle for injecting hot air into the granulation tower, above the inflow port formed in the upper lid, mounting an upper lid covering the upper opening of the granulation tower on the support frame, An annular raw material supply head for injecting a solid-gas mixed fluid of thermoplastic particles and compressed air into the hot air, raising and lowering means for raising and lowering the granulation tower, A configuration in which connection means for detachably connecting are provided.

Here, as the elevating means, it is possible to employ a means in which a support piece is provided at a position facing the outer periphery of the granulation tower, and an eccentric cam supporting each support piece is rotated by operating a handle.

As connecting means, one end of each of a plurality of bolts is rotatably connected to the upper part of the outer periphery of the granulating tower, and a connecting piece is attached to the outer peripheral part of the upper lid at a position facing each of the bolts. The other end of the bolt may be inserted into a cutout formed in the connecting piece, and a nut may be screwed into the other end of the bolt projecting above the connecting piece and tightened.

According to the above construction, after the connection between the granulating tower and the top lid is released by operating the connecting means, the granulating tower is lowered by operating the lifting / lowering means. Can be formed between them. Therefore, by moving the gantry, the granulation tower can be retracted from below the upper lid. This eliminates the labor-intensive work of disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling the components such as the top plate and the material supply head after removing a large number of connecting bolts as in the conventional method. The supply head can be easily cleaned with a small amount of labor, and maintenance can be facilitated.

[0013] Here, if the hot air injection nozzle is supported so as to be able to move up and down freely, and elevating means for moving the hot air injection nozzle up and down is provided, the hot air injection nozzle is pulled up from the inner periphery of the raw material supply head by raising the hot air injection nozzle. Therefore, the inner circumference of the raw material supply head can be more easily cleaned.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
A gantry 3 is provided below a support frame 2 fixed and supported by beams 1 of the building.

The gantry 3 is provided with a grounding wheel 4 such as a caster attached to a lower portion thereof and is movable. The gantry 3 supports a granulation tower 5.

The granulation tower 5 has a tapered shape in which the lower portion has a small diameter, and a discharge tube 6 is connected to the lower end thereof. As shown in FIG. 4, the granulating tower 5 has an upper opening, an upper lid 7 covering the opening is attached to the lower end of the support frame 2, and a packing 8 attached to the lower surface of the upper lid 7 is granulated. It can be in close contact with a flange 5 a provided on the outer periphery of the upper end of the tower 5.

The packing 8 may be attached to the flange 5a.

The upper lid 7 is provided with an inlet 9 and a cooling air inlet 10 around the inlet 9. A head support plate 11 is mounted on the upper lid 7 at a predetermined interval, and the head support plate 11 has an annular material supply head 12.
Is supported.

The raw material supply head 12 is arranged coaxially with the inlet 9, and the tip of a hot air injection nozzle 13 is inserted into the raw material supply head 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear end of the hot air jet nozzle 13 has a hot air inlet cylinder 1 supported by the support frame 2.
4 is slidably fitted to the distal end portion. The hot-air injection nozzle 13 is supported so as to be able to move up and down along a guide shaft 14 a supported by the support frame 2, and is moved up and down by a rodless cylinder 15.

As shown in FIG. 4, a tapered surface 16 is formed at the lower portion of the inner periphery of the material supply head 12, and the tapered surface 16 is formed.
6, a plurality of raw material injection nozzles 17 are attached at equal intervals. The raw material injection nozzle 17 is configured to inject the solid-gas mixed fluid of the thermoplastic particles and the compressed air supplied into the raw material supply head 12 into the hot air injected from the hot air injection nozzle 13.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a drive shaft 18 and two cam shafts 19 intersecting the drive shaft 18 are provided on the gantry 3 and are rotatably supported, respectively.
When the drive shaft 18 is rotated by operating a handle 20 attached to its end, the rotation is transmitted to each of the cam shafts 19 via a gear mechanism (not shown) provided in a gear case 21. I have.

An eccentric cam 22 is fixed to each of the camshafts 19, and the eccentric cam 22 supports a support piece 23 attached to a position facing the upper part of the outer periphery of the granulation tower 5.

Here, a guide hole 24 penetrating vertically is provided in each of the support pieces 23, and a guide shaft 25 provided on the upper surface of the gantry 3 is inserted into the guide hole 24. For this reason, the granulation tower 5 is supported so as to be able to move up and down along the guide shaft 25, and is moved up and down by rotating the eccentric cam 22.

The granulation tower 5 has an upper lid 7 at the raised position.
The flange 5a is in close contact with the packing 8 attached to the lower surface of the packing. This close contact state is maintained by the connection mechanism 26.

The connecting mechanism 26 has a plurality of support pieces 27 attached to the upper part of the outer periphery of the granulation tower 5 and bolts 28 attached to the support pieces 27.
Is rotatably connected, and a connecting piece 29 is attached to the upper surface of the upper lid 7 so as to face the bolt 28, and the other end of the bolt 28 is inserted into a cutout 30 formed in the connecting piece 29. Is inserted, and the upper lid 7 and the granulation tower 5 are connected by tightening the nut 31 screwed to the other end of the bolt 28.

The sphering apparatus shown in the embodiment has the above-mentioned structure.
In a state where hot air is injected into the granulation tower 5 from the tip of the hot air injection nozzle 13, a solid-gas mixed fluid of thermoplastic particles and compressed air is supplied into the raw material supply head 12, and the solid-gas mixed fluid is injected into the raw material supply head 12. Injection is made into hot air from the nozzle 17, and the surface of the thermoplastic particles is melted and spherical by contact with the hot air.

In the sphering treatment as described above, the thermoplastic particles may float in the raw material supply head 12 or in the granulation tower 5 and adhere to the respective inner peripheral surfaces thereof, and may be subjected to the sphering treatment. Most of the thermoplastic particles are discharged into the discharge tube 6, but may be welded to the inner peripheral surface of the granulation tower 5.

For this reason, after the operation of the spheroidizing apparatus is stopped,
It is necessary to clean the inner peripheral surface of the raw material supply head 12 or the inner peripheral surface of the granulation tower 5 to remove the deposit.

In cleaning the sphering apparatus, the nut 31 of the connecting mechanism 26 shown in FIG.
After disengaging the nut 31 from the handle 2, the handle 2
By rotating 0, each of the camshafts 19 is rotated,
The granulation tower 5 is lowered.

FIG. 5 shows a state where the granulation tower 5 is lowered,
As the granulation tower 5 descends, the packing 8 and the flange 5
Since the gap is formed between the granulation tower 5 and the top 3, the granulation tower 5 can be retracted from below the upper lid 7 by moving the gantry 3.
Etc. can be easily cleaned.

The rodless cylinder 15 shown in FIG.
By raising the hot air injection nozzle 13 by the operation of the above and pulling out the hot air injection nozzle 13 from the inside of the raw material supply head 12, the inner periphery of the raw material supply head 12 can also be easily cleaned.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the granulating tower can be retracted from below the upper lid by moving the gantry by moving down the granulating tower after disconnecting the connecting means. The inner circumference of the granulation tower or the inner circumference of the raw material supply head can be easily cleaned, and maintenance of the spheroidizing apparatus can be facilitated.

Further, in cleaning, the disassembly and assembly, which have conventionally required much labor and labor, can be performed extremely easily only by operating the connecting means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a sphering apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the above.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of the above.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a combined state of the granulating tower and the upper lid according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view showing a decoupled state of the granulating tower according to the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 support frame 3 gantry 4 grounding wheel 5 granulation tower 7 top lid 9 inflow port 12 raw material supply head 13 hot air injection nozzle 15 rodless cylinder 22 eccentric cam 23 support piece 26 connection mechanism 28 bolt 29 connection piece 30 notch 31 nut

Claims (4)

[Claims] A pedestal is provided below the fixed support frame so as to be movable along the floor, and the gantry supports the granulating tower so as to be able to move up and down, and has an upper lid covering an upper opening of the granulating tower. Attached to the support frame, above the inflow port formed in the upper lid, a hot air injection nozzle that injects hot air into the granulation tower,
An annular raw material supply head for injecting a solid-gas mixed fluid of thermoplastic particles and compressed air into the hot air, elevating means for elevating and lowering the granulation tower, and attaching and detaching the granulation tower to and from the upper lid at an ascending position A sphering processing apparatus provided with connecting means for freely connecting. 2. The spheroidizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lifting means supports a support piece provided at a position facing the outer periphery of the granulation tower, and comprises an eccentric cam which is rotated by rotating a handle. 3. A connecting means comprising: a bolt having one end rotatably connected to an upper part of an outer periphery of a granulating tower; and a notch portion attached to the upper lid, and the other end of the bolt being removably inserted. The spheroidizing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a connecting piece having: and a nut screw-engaged with the other end of the bolt protruding on the connecting piece. 4. The sphering treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said hot-air jet nozzle is supported so as to be able to move up and down, and elevating means for raising and lowering the hot-air jet nozzle is provided.