JP2001145853A - Classifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a classifier which can obtain high classification precision by classifying a raw material after being dispersed enough. SOLUTION: In the classifier having a classification part 1 in which a raw material M containing particles different in size is introduced from a raw material introduction port 8a and classified by the size of the particles and discharged and a raw material conveying part 2 for conveying the raw material M to the port 8a, ultrasonic vibrators 9a, 9b are fitted to the part 2 or the raw material conveying part of the part 1, and ultrasonic vibration is applied to the raw material by the vibrators 9a, 9b. The aggregate of the particles contained in the raw material M is disintegrated/dispersed into individual particles to be classified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a classifier for classifying raw materials containing a plurality of powder particles having different sizes for each size of the powder particles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of classifiers have been conventionally known. For example, an airflow classifier that classifies using an airflow, and various classifiers that use other principles are known.

A powder raw material that has been pulverized by a pulverization process usually contains particles having various particle sizes from coarse particles to fine particles in a mixed state. These particles are separated from each other by external force or adhere to other particles or objects. In addition, aggregates of particles, that is, powders aggregate or deform. In the aggregate, a plurality of particles are bonded to each other by an adhesive force, a frictional force, or the like.

In the classifying operation using a classifier, the above-mentioned aggregates are recognized as one particle. Therefore, the individual powder particles constituting the aggregates must be classified accurately based on the actual particle diameter. Was difficult. In other words, no matter how good the classifier is, if the agglomerate of the powder raw material is broken into individual powder particles and divided into individual powder particles, that is, if the dispersion is insufficient, High classification accuracy cannot be obtained.

Conventionally, there has been known a classification apparatus in which raw materials to be classified are subjected to dispersion treatment by a dispersion apparatus and then supplied to a classification processing section. Various structures are known as a dispersing device used in this case, such as a device that disintegrates aggregates using an air flow, and a device that disintegrates aggregates by colliding them with obstacles.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional dispersing apparatus cannot exert a sufficient dispersing effect when applied to a classifying apparatus, and therefore has high classification accuracy in the classifying process by the classifying apparatus. There was a problem that it could not be obtained.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a classification apparatus capable of obtaining high classification accuracy by sufficiently classifying a raw material and then performing classification. Aim.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems (1) In order to achieve the above object, a classification device according to the present invention takes a raw material including a plurality of powder particles having different sizes from a raw material intake port to obtain the powder. In a classification device having a classification processing unit that classifies and discharges each particle size and a raw material transport unit that transports the raw material to the raw material intake port, the raw material transport unit or the raw material transport unit of the classification processing unit Provide ultrasonic vibration means,
The ultrasonic vibration means applies ultrasonic vibration to the raw material.

According to this classification apparatus, the raw material to be classified is subjected to the dispersion treatment by the ultrasonic vibration means before being supplied to the classification processing area of the classification processing section. If the aggregate is included in the raw material,
The aggregate is disintegrated into fine powder raw materials by a dispersion treatment. In this way, the raw material is supplied to the classification processing section after being subjected to the dispersion processing and subjected to the classification processing, so that high classification accuracy can be obtained. In addition, dispersion processing using ultrasonic vibration means can disintegrate aggregates more reliably than air-flow or collision-type dispersion processing, so classification accuracy is much higher than those using conventional methods. Can be obtained.

(2) In the classification device according to the above item (1), the classification processing section injects a raw material containing a plurality of powder particles having different sizes toward a classification air stream to thereby reduce the raw material. It can be constituted by an airflow type classification processing section for classifying each particle size. As the classifier, various types of devices based on principles other than the airflow method are known. When an airflow type classification processing unit is used, a raw material supplied to the classification processing unit is preliminarily dispersed. If performed, the classification operation using the airflow can be performed more accurately.

(3) In the classification device according to the above item (1) or (2), the raw material transport section includes: a raw material transport pipe connected to a raw material intake port of the classification processing section; And a chute for discharging the water. When the structure is used, the ultrasonic vibration means can be provided in the raw material transport pipe.

(4) In the classification device according to the above item (3), that is, the classification device having a structure in which the ultrasonic vibrating means is provided on the raw material conveying pipe, the ultrasonic vibrating means is provided immediately before the classification processing section in the raw material conveying pipe. It is desirable to provide it in a part. In this way, it is possible to prevent the fine powder material once crushed from solidifying again into aggregates before entering the classification processing section.

(5) In the classification device according to the above item (1) or (2), the raw material transport section includes a raw material transport pipe connected to a raw material intake port of the classification processing section and a raw material transport pipe. And a chute for discharging the water. In that case, the ultrasonic vibration means can be provided on the chute. In general, a chute is a part for collecting raw materials, so it is a part where aggregates of powder particles are easily formed,
If an ultrasonic vibration means is provided in this portion, formation of an aggregate can be reliably prevented.

(6) In the classification device according to any one of the above items (1) to (5), it is preferable to provide a vibration damper in the vicinity of a portion where the ultrasonic vibration means is provided in the raw material transporting unit. . The vibration damping part is a part that prevents the vibration by the ultrasonic vibration means from being transmitted to another part. For example, two members are connected so as to be able to freely move relative to each other, so-called flexible connection. Can be achieved by: It can also be achieved by interposing an elastic member such as rubber between the two members.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to an example in which an airflow classifier is used as a classifier. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the airflow classifier. This airflow classifier has a classifier main body 1 as a classification processing section, a raw material transport section 2, and a raw material supply apparatus 3. The classifier body 1 has an air feeding device 4,
Cyclones 6s, 6m, 6g as a powder collecting means and an air suction device 7 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the raw material transfer section 2 includes a first raw material transfer pipe 2a connected to a raw material intake port of the classifier main body 1, that is, a raw material intake port 8a of a raw material supply nozzle 8.
A second raw material transport pipe 2b connected to the raw material transport pipe 2a and provided with a nozzle 13, a chute 12 for feeding raw material to the second raw material transport pipe 2b, and an air feed for feeding air to the nozzle 13 Device 14.

An ultrasonic vibrator 9a as an ultrasonic vibrating means is mounted at an appropriate position of the chute 12, and an ultrasonic vibrator 9b as an ultrasonic vibrating means is mounted at an appropriate position of the first raw material transport pipe 2a. In addition, the first raw material transport pipe 2a and the raw material supply nozzle 8 are connected to each other via a vibration buffer 11, while the first raw material transport pipe 2a and the second raw material transport pipe 2b are also connected to each other via the vibration buffer 11. Is done. That is, the vibration damper 11 is provided near the ultrasonic vibrator 9b. A vibration buffer 11 is also provided on the chute 12 near the ultrasonic vibrator 9a.

The vibration damper 11 prevents the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator 9a from being transmitted to the outside of the first raw material conveying pipe 2a, and the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator 9b prevents the vibration of the chute 12 from transmitting.
For example, a so-called flexible connection structure that connects the first raw material transport pipe 2a and the raw material supply nozzle 8 so as to be able to move relative to each other freely, or a vibration damper such as rubber is used. It can be formed by a structure in which members are interposed.

The raw material supply device 3 has a hopper 16 for accommodating the powder raw material M to be classified, and a feeder 17 for supplying the powder raw material M in the hopper 16 to the chute 12.
In this embodiment, as the powder raw material M, for example, a soft toner for an electrostatic transfer type image forming apparatus is considered.

From the air feeding device 14 to the second raw material conveying pipe 2
b is uniformly dispersed in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 by the nozzle 13 so that the next first raw material transport pipe 2a
And then into the raw material supply nozzle 8. The powder raw material sent into the second raw material transport pipe 2b through the chute 12 is transported to the raw material supply nozzle 8 along with the air flow.

As shown in FIG. 3, the classifier body 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a raw material supply nozzle 8, a Coanda block 18 for realizing the Coanda effect, an edge block 19, and a first block.
By sandwiching each element member such as the classification edge 21a, the edge block 22, the second classification edge 21b, the coarse powder side block 23, the airflow inflow side block 24, and the raw material supply side block 26 between a pair of side plates 27a and 27b. It is formed. The classification edges 21a and 21b are formed of, for example, stainless steel.

The Coanda effect means that, when a jet of gas or fluid and a wall which is curved by approaching or contacting the jet exist, even if the direction of the jet and the curved direction of the curved wall are distant from each other, A phenomenon in which gas or fluid tries to flow near the direction along the curved surface of the wall. In the airflow classifier of the present embodiment, the classification of the powder particles is performed by utilizing the Coanda effect.

In the above-described clamping operation on the pair of side plates 27a and 27b, for example, a plurality of male screws 28 projecting from one side plate 27b, in this embodiment, four male screws 28 are formed at corresponding locations on the other side plate 27a. After passing through hole 29,
This can be achieved by tightening with a nut 31. A window 32 formed in the side plate 27a on the nut 31 side is formed of a transparent member such as glass, plastic, or the like, and the inside of the classifier main body 1 can be observed through the window 32.

Inside the classifier body 1 mounted on the side plate 27b such that the side plate 27a is in close contact with each element member on the other side plate 37b, a Coanda block 18,
Each element member such as the edge block 19, the classified edges 21a and 21b, and the edge block 22 and the both side plates 2
7a and 27b form a space which is partitioned.

Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the Coanda block 18, the first classification edge 21a and the Coanda block 1
The space formed by 8 and the edge block 19 is referred to as fine powder passage 33s. A space formed by the first classification edge 21a and the second classification edge 21b and the edge block 19 and the edge block 22 is referred to as a medium-grain powder passage 33m.
Then, the second classification edge 21b and the coarse powder side block 23
A space formed by the edge block 22 and the coarse powder side block 23 is referred to as a coarse powder passage 33g. A space formed above each of these passages is referred to as a classifying chamber 34.
A pair of openings 36 defined by the airflow inflow side block 24 are formed in the upper part of the classifying chamber 34, and these openings 36 are connected to the air feeding device 4.

The fine-grain powder passage 33s, the medium-grain powder passage 33m, and the coarse-grain powder passage 33g respectively include a fine-grain powder tube 37s,
It communicates with the medium grain tube 37m and the coarse grain tube 37g. These pipes 37s, 37m, 37g are connected to the air suction device 7 via cyclones 6s, 6m, 6g in FIG. 1, respectively. The air suction device 7 is operated, and if necessary, the air feeding device 4
When air is operated, air is sucked through the pipes 37s, 37m, and 37g. As a result, in the classifier body 1 shown in FIG.
An airflow flowing through s, 33m, and 33g, that is, a classification airflow F0 is formed.

In FIG. 1, when the air suction device 7 is operated and, if necessary, the air feeding device 14 on the side of the raw material conveying section 2 is operated, in FIG. An airflow that merges with the airflow F0, that is, a raw material supply airflow F1 is formed.

The operation of the airflow classifier having the above configuration will be described below. In FIG. 1, when the air suction device 7 is operated, the air feeding device 4 on the classification processing unit side is operated as necessary, and the air feeding device 14 on the raw material transporting unit is operated as necessary, In step 2, a classification airflow F0 and a raw material supply airflow F1 are formed. Thereafter, when the raw material replenishing device 3 is operated and the raw material M is replenished into the chute 12 of the raw material transport unit 2, the raw material M is uniformly dispersed by the air flow dispersed by the nozzle 13. While being conveyed, it is conveyed to the raw material supply nozzle 8 and thus to the classifier main body 1 through the second raw material conveying pipe 2b and the first raw material conveying pipe 2a.

The powdery raw material M is subjected to ultrasonic vibration by the operation of the ultrasonic vibrators 9a and 9b while being conveyed by the raw material conveying section 2. Specifically, the powder material M is a chute 12
Ultrasonic vibration is received by the ultrasonic vibrator 9a while flowing through the inside, and further, ultrasonic vibration is received by the ultrasonic vibrator 9b while flowing through the first raw material transport pipe 2a.

The powder material M aggregates when stored in the chute 12 to easily form a large lump, that is, an aggregate, but the ultrasonic vibrator 9a is provided here to apply ultrasonic vibration. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the formation of aggregates in the powder raw material M. Of course, when the powder raw material M supplied from the hopper 16 contains an aggregate, the aggregate can be broken into fine particles by ultrasonic vibration by the ultrasonic vibrator 9a.

The powder raw material M may agglomerate while flowing through the inside of the raw material transport section 2, but in this embodiment, since the first raw material transport pipe 2a is provided with the ultrasonic oscillator 9b. That is, the ultrasonic vibrator 9 is placed near the raw material intake port 8a of the raw material supply nozzle 8 and thus the raw material intake port of the classifier body 1.
Since b is provided, the agglomerates formed during transportation can be broken up into individual fine powder particles before entering the classification operation.

When the powder raw material M is sent to the raw material supply nozzle 8, the raw material supply nozzle 8 in FIG. 4 injects the powder raw material M into the classifying chamber 34 according to the raw material supply air flow F1, and Supply from the lateral direction of F0. At this time, the coarse powder having a large mass in the powder raw material M jumps away from the nozzle 8 and then gets on the airflow F0 for classification.
The fine powder having a small mass rides on the classification airflow F0 at a position close to the nozzle 8.

In FIG. 4, the fine powder passage 33s, the medium powder passage 33m, and the coarse powder passage 33g are arranged in this order as viewed from the raw material supply nozzle 8, so that they ride on the classification airflow F0. The powder material M flowing down is fine powder, medium powder,
Then, the powder is divided into three stages of coarse powder and flows along the passages 33s, 33m, and 33g, and is collected in the cyclones 6s, 6m, and 6g in FIG. In FIG. 4, a portion of the Coanda block 18 facing the classifying chamber 34 has a nearly circular curved surface. Particularly fine powder of the fine powder flows along this curved surface according to the so-called Cander effect.

The classification criteria of fine powder, medium powder and coarse powder are as follows:
Various settings are made as necessary. For example, in the case of a soft toner, the specific range varies depending on the specific gravity, but is often set in the following range. Fine-grained powder: 8 μm (max) or less Medium-grained powder: 3 to 25 μm Coarse-grained powder: 15 μm (min) or more Is returned to the original powder raw material and reprocessed to have an appropriate particle size.

In setting the classification boundary values as described above, the classification edges 21a and 21a in FIG.
By rotating b by an appropriate angle about the center axes Xa and Xb, respectively, the ends thereof are adjusted so as to be at an appropriate position with respect to the Coanda block 18. The rotation of each of the classification edges 21a and 21b at this time can be automatically performed using an angle-measuring rotation driving element such as a servomotor, or can be performed manually.

As described above, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic vibrations 9a and 9b are used to apply ultrasonic vibration to the powder raw material M flowing inside the raw material transport section 2. Therefore, if an agglomerate is contained in the powder raw material M, the agglomerate is very reliably crushed by ultrasonic vibration to become powder particles dispersed in a single particle. Therefore, when the powder particles M are subsequently injected into the classification airflow F0, very accurate classification can be performed.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic vibrator 9a
And the vicinity of the ultrasonic vibrator 9b, the vibration dampers 11 are provided, so that the ultrasonic waves can be intensively applied to the powder raw material M flowing through the vibrators 9b. Can be demonstrated.

(Other Embodiments) The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims. Can be modified.

For example, in the above embodiment, a case where an airflow classifier is used as a classifier has been exemplified. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a classifier having a structure based on a principle other than the airflow type. is there.

Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic vibrators are arranged at two places in the raw material conveying section 2, but the ultrasonic vibrators can be arranged on only one of them. , Or even more.

In the above-described embodiment, the ultrasonic vibrators 9a and 9b are arranged at appropriate positions in the raw material transporting section 2. However, the ultrasonic vibrator is arranged in the raw material transporting section in the classifier body 1, for example, the raw material supply nozzle 8. It can also be placed in the right place.

Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the case where three classifications are performed by using two classification edges is exemplified. However, the number of classification edges to be used is one or three or more. You can also.

Further, the method for forming the flow path of the classifying air flow F0 in FIG. 4 is not limited to the method in which a plurality of block members are joined together as in the above embodiment, but may be one or a small number. Block F0 for classification airflow
It is also possible to adopt a method of forming a shape conforming to the above.

In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the so-called injector-type material transfer system in which the powder material M is placed on the material supply airflow F1 using the nozzle 13 as the material transfer unit 2 is used. Although the method was adopted, an ejector-type material transfer method as shown in FIG. 5 may be adopted instead. This ejector system is the same as the above-described injector system with respect to forming the raw material supply air flow F1 and transporting the raw material M. However, when forming the raw material supply air flow F1, the nozzle 13 as shown in FIG. It differs from the injection method in that it is not used.

Further, instead of using the injector system or the ejector system, a raw material conveying system as shown in FIG. 6 can be adopted. In this method, a raw material supply air flow F1 is formed by an air suction device 7 for forming a classification air flow F0 and an air ventilation opening 10 provided in the raw material transport unit 2.

[0046]

According to the classification apparatus of the present invention, the raw material to be classified is subjected to dispersion processing by an ultrasonic vibration means such as an ultrasonic vibrator before being supplied to a classification processing section such as a classifier body. Therefore, when the raw material contains an aggregate of fine powder particles, the aggregate is broken up into a fine powder raw material by a dispersion treatment. In this way, the raw material is supplied to the classification processing section after being subjected to the dispersion processing and subjected to the classification processing, so that high classification accuracy can be obtained. In addition, dispersion processing using ultrasonic vibration means can disintegrate aggregates more reliably than air-flow or collision-type dispersion processing, so classification accuracy is much higher than those using conventional methods. Can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a classification device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a raw material transporting unit which is a main part of the classification device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a classification processing section, which is another main part of the classification apparatus shown in FIG. 1, in an exploded state.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation of a classification processing unit in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment of the raw material transport section.

FIG. 6 is a view showing still another embodiment of the raw material transport section.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 Classifier main body (classification processing section) 2 Raw material transport section 2a, 2b Raw material transport pipe 3 Raw material replenishing device 4 Air feeding device 6s, 6m, 6g Cyclone 7 Air suction device 8 Raw material supply nozzle 9a, 9b Ultrasonic vibrator ( Ultrasonic vibration means 10 Air vent 11 Vibration buffer 12 Chute 13 Nozzle 14 Air feeder 18 Coanda block 19 Edge block 21a, 21b Classification edge 23 Coarse powder side block 24 Air flow inflow side block 26 Raw material supply side block 27a , 27b Side plate 33s, 33m, 33g Passage 34 Classification chamber 37s, 37m, 37g Tube F0 Classification air flow F1 Raw material supply air flow M Powder raw material

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Ichihara 922-2, Nogi-cho, Nogi-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Nippon Mining Co., Ltd. No. F-term in Nippon Steel Mining Co., Ltd. (reference) 4D021 FA12 FA24 GA02 GA03 GA08 GA13 GA18 GA22 GA23 HA10

Claims (6)

[Claims] A classification processing unit that takes in a raw material including a plurality of powder particles having different sizes from a raw material intake port, classifies the raw material particles by size of the powder particles, and discharges the raw material; A classifying apparatus having a raw material conveying section for conveying the raw material, wherein an ultrasonic vibration means is provided in the raw material conveying section or the raw material conveying portion of the classification processing section, and the ultrasonic vibration means applies ultrasonic vibration to the raw material. Classification device characterized by the above. 2. The classification processing unit according to claim 1, wherein
A classifier characterized in that the classifier is a pneumatic classifier that classifies the raw material for each size of powder particles by injecting a raw material containing a plurality of powder particles having different sizes toward a classification airflow. apparatus. 3. The raw material transport section according to claim 1, wherein the raw material transport section has a raw material transport pipe connected to a raw material intake port of the classification processing section, and a chute for discharging the raw material to the raw material transport pipe. A classifying device, wherein the ultrasonic vibrating means is provided in the raw material conveying pipe. 4. The classification device according to claim 3, wherein the ultrasonic vibration means is provided in a portion of the raw material transport pipe immediately before the classification processing section. 5. The raw material transport section according to claim 1, wherein the raw material transport section has a raw material transport pipe connected to a raw material intake port of the classification processing section, and a chute for discharging the raw material to the raw material transport pipe. A classifier, wherein the ultrasonic vibration means is provided on the chute. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a vibration damping section is provided near a portion of the raw material transport section where the ultrasonic vibration unit is provided. Classifier.