JP2004307194A - Discharging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent fracture of a material, and to smoothly discharge the material while avoiding compaction of the dropped material. <P>SOLUTION: The discharging device freely drops the material into a container (6) disposed on a lower part from a discharging hopper (5) disposed on an upper part, and fills the material in the container. The discharging device comprises a rigid cylindrical guide pipe (2), a flexible tube (1) in which a cylindrical flexible sheet is folded back in the middle thereof to form a two-layered sheet layer, and a base end thereof is fitted to inner and outer circumferences of the guide pipe, air supply/discharge mechanisms (7, 9, 18 and 20) to supply/discharge air into an internal space (12) held by the sheet layers of the flexible tube, and pull-up mechanisms (25 and 26) to pull up the flexible tube to adjust the height of an opening part of a discharge passage formed by the flexible tube. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a discharge device for slowing down the gravitational drop of a material.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In a production process of a chemical or the like, there is a discharge device that supplies a material by gravity drop through a discharge chute. However, if the falling speed of the material cannot be controlled, when supplying tablets or capsules, especially when dropping for the first time, cracking or chipping occurs due to the impact of the drop, and when supplying prepared powder or granule material However, there is a problem that material separation occurs during the falling process.
[0003]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, there is a discharge device that reduces the falling speed of the material. This discharge device connects a discharge hopper located at an upper portion and a receiving container located at a lower portion, forms a passage having a double wall made of a flexible sheet member, and pressurizes the space between the walls. By squeezing the passage, the speed of the material falling inside the passage is regulated.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in this case, as the material is filled in the receiving container, the opening of the passage outlet is closed, and the material is compacted, so that the material may not be smoothly discharged from the passage outlet.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a discharge device capable of smoothly discharging a material while preventing the material from being damaged while avoiding compaction of the falling material.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a discharge device according to the present invention is a discharge device for free-falling a material from a discharge hopper arranged at an upper part to a container arranged at a lower part, and filling the container with the material. Guide pipe, a tubular flexible sheet material is folded in the middle to form two sheet layers, and a flexible tube whose base end is fitted to the inner and outer circumferences of the guide pipe; An air supply / discharge mechanism for feeding / discharging air to / from an internal space sandwiched between sheet layers, and a lifting mechanism for lifting the flexible tube and adjusting a height of an opening of a discharge passage formed by the flexible tube are provided. .
[0007]
【The invention's effect】
By adjusting the height of the opening of the flexible tube according to the filling state of the material, even when filling a tall container, the material is smoothly filled to the top of the container without damaging the material. be able to.
[0008]
By forming the expansion hose from a flexible sheet material, replacement of the expansion hose at the time of material replacement becomes easy, labor and time required for replacement can be reduced, and the equipment operation rate can be improved. In addition, the labor and cost required for cleaning the expansion hose can be saved, which is economical.
[0009]
When the expansion hose has flexibility, the expansion hose can be bent, and the degree of freedom in equipment layout is improved.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the discharge device according to the present invention will be described.
[0011]
The base 3 of the discharge device is attached to a base (not shown). The discharge hopper 5 provided on the upper part of the base 3 temporarily stores the material input for supplying to the container 6 arranged on the lower part. The discharge hopper 5 has a discharge valve 8, and when the discharge valve 8 opens, the supply of the material is started. A rigid and cylindrical guide pipe 2 having a flange portion 2a is arranged below the base portion 3. The flange portion 2a of the guide pipe 2 is sandwiched between the flange portion 3a of the base portion 3 and the coupling member 25, and is tightened by the fixture 4 from the outside.
[0012]
A tubular flexible tube 1 extending vertically covers the guide pipe 2 and is disposed so as to hang down. The flexible tube 1 is made of a single tubular flexible sheet material. An annular weight 3 having a predetermined weight is disposed at a predetermined length of the flexible sheet material, and a flexible portion is provided at the portion. By folding the sheet material, the flexible tube 1 having the double sheet layers of the inner sheet 10 and the outer sheet 11 is formed. The flexible sheet forming the flexible tube 1 is, for example, polyethylene. The annular weight 3 gives the flexible tube 1 an appropriate tension by its weight.
[0013]
The flexible tube 1 is detachably mounted on the guide pipe 2. The front end of the inner sheet 10 is sandwiched by the joining surface between the flange 3a of the base 3 and the flange 2a of the guide pipe 2, and the tip of the outer sheet 10 is sandwiched by the joining surface between the flange 3a of the base 3 and the joining member 25. Is done. Thereby, a passage through which the material falls is formed inside the flexible tube 1.
[0014]
The discharge device is provided with an air supply / discharge mechanism. The guide pipe 2 is provided with a supply port 7 for supplying air to an internal space 12 between the inner sheet 10 and the outer sheet 11 of the flexible tube 1. The supply port 7 is connected to an air supply device 9, and the air supply device 9 supplies air to the internal space 12 through the supply port 7, whereby the internal space 12 expands, and the inner sheet 10 moves inward. Swell.
[0015]
An exhaust port 18 is provided in the guide pipe 2, and an air exhaust device 20 is connected to the exhaust port 18. The air discharging device 20 includes a vacuum pump or an ejector, and discharges air from the internal space 12 of the flexible tube 1.
[0016]
The discharge device includes a mechanism for lifting the flexible tube 1. In the present embodiment, the lifting mechanism includes an air cylinder 25 that is a moving device and a motor roller 26 that is a rotating device provided at the tip of the air cylinder 25. The air cylinder 25 is provided at a position substantially at the same height as the lower portion 2b of the guide pipe 2, and is fixed to a base. The air cylinder 25 expands and contracts in a direction substantially perpendicular to the guide pipe 2, and presses the motor roller 26 against the guide pipe 2 to make contact with the flexible tube 1, or separates the motor roller 26 from the flexible tube 1 to make it not contact.
[0017]
The motor roller 26 is formed in a drum shape along the outer circumference of the guide pipe 2, and the surface thereof is formed of a member that generates an appropriate amount of friction, and presses the guide pipe 2 to form the outer sheet 11 of the flexible tube 1. When making contact, the outer tube 11 of the flexible tube 1 is rotated so as to be pulled up by friction. As a result, the outer sheet 11 is pulled up from above to the upper portion of the motor roller 26, the length of the flexible tube 1 hanging down from the motor roller 26 is reduced, and the position of the opening 1a at the lower end of the flexible tube 1 is raised. .
[0018]
Thus, in the present discharge device, the length of the flexible tube 1 and the height of the opening 1a can be adjusted.
[0019]
Next, the operation of the discharge device will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0020]
First, as shown in FIG. 2, as a pre-stage for arranging the container 6, the air cylinder 25 is extended to press the motor roller 26 against the guide pipe 2, and the motor roller 26 is rotated to pull up the flexible tube 1.
[0021]
Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the container 6 is arranged below the guide pipe 2.
[0022]
Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the air cylinder 25 is contracted, and the contact of the motor roller 26 with the outer sheet 11 of the flexible tube 1 is released. Since the flexible tube 1 is released from the constraint of the motor roller 26, the flexible tube 1 extends downward in the container 6 due to the weight of the annular ring 3. The length of the flexible tube 1 is set in advance so that a predetermined gap is maintained between the lower end of the flexible tube 1 and the bottom of the container 6. After the flexible tube 1 is extended, air is supplied to the internal space 12 of the flexible tube 1 by the air supply device 9 to inflate the inner sheet 10 inward and completely close the flexible tube 1.
[0023]
Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge valve 8 is opened. At this point, the material cannot pass through the flexible tube 1 because the inner sheet 10 is swollen, and the material does not fall.
[0024]
Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the air in the internal space 12 of the flexible tube 1 is gradually discharged by the air discharge device 20, the expansion volume of the internal space 12 is gradually reduced, and the material is gradually dropped. In this way, by gradually discharging the air little by little, the material is prevented from dropping abruptly, and the material is prevented from being damaged.
[0025]
However, as shown in FIG. 7, the material eventually reaches the bottom of the container 6 and closes the opening 1a of the flexible tube 1. When the material closes the opening 1a, the material is in a compacted state, the material stops falling, and the container 6 is no longer filled with the material.
[0026]
In order to fill the container 6 with the material, the air cylinder 25 is extended and the motor roller 26 is pressed against the guide pipe 2 to rotate the motor roller 25 as shown in FIG. The outer sheet 11 of the flexible tube 1 in contact with the motor roller 26 is lifted with the rotation of the motor roller 26. As a result, the length of the flexible tube 1 decreases, the height of the opening 1a increases, and the material drops continuously. The rotation of the motor roller 26 is controlled in accordance with the filling state of the material, and an appropriate speed is determined so as to avoid a sudden flow of the material.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 9, when the filling of the material is completed, the flexible tube 1 is pulled up to a predetermined position, and the container 6 is carried out.
[0028]
When changing the material to be supplied, the fixture 4 is loosened, and the flexible tube 1 is removed from the guide pipe 2. Then, the flexible tube 1 is formed using a new flexible sheet material, the front end of the inner sheet 10 is sandwiched between the flange 3a of the base 3 and the flange 2a of the guide pipe 2, and the front end of the outer sheet 11 is It is sandwiched between the flange portion 3 a and the joining member 25, and is tightened with the fixture 4.
[0029]
According to this discharge device, by changing the height of the opening 1a of the flexible tube 1 according to the filling state of the container 6, even when filling the container 6 having a height with the material, the material is not damaged. The material can be filled up to the upper part of the container 6 without causing consolidation.
[0030]
Further, since the flexible tube 1 is made of an inexpensive flexible sheet material such as polyethylene, a new flexible sheet material can be used every time the material is replaced. Further, since the flexible flexible tube 1 can be folded and made compact, the transportability and workability are good, and the replacement of the flexible tube 1 can be performed promptly. Therefore, the operation rate of the production line can be improved. The removed flexible tube 1 can be washed and reused later. In this case, since the sheet can be washed, the washing property is improved. Since the flexible sheet material used for the flexible tube 1 is inexpensive, it can be disposable.
[0031]
Further, since the flexible tube 1 and the discharge chute 2 are flexible, the flexible tube 1 can be rolled and used within a predetermined range. This eliminates the need to install the container 6 substantially below the discharge hopper 5, and improves the degree of freedom in the layout of the production line.
[0032]
Although the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural and methodical features, the means disclosed herein are intended to include preferred forms of practicing the invention, and the invention is not limited to those illustrated and described. Is not limited to any particular feature. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers any forms or modifications within the scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a discharge device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view of a discharge device before a container is installed.
FIG. 3 is a view of a discharge device provided with a container.
FIG. 4 is a view of a discharge device in which a flexible tube is extended in a container.
FIG. 5 is a view of a discharge device in which supply of a material is started by opening a discharge valve.
FIG. 6 is a view of a discharge device for gradually dropping a material.
FIG. 7 is a view of the discharge device showing a state where the material reaches the bottom of the container and closes the opening of the flexible tube.
FIG. 8 is a view of a discharge device for pulling up a flexible tube and continuously dropping a material.
FIG. 9 is a view of the discharge device showing a state where the filling of the material of the container is completed.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible tube 2 Guide pipe 3 Annular weight 4 Fixture 6 Container 7 Supply port 8 Discharge valve 9 Air supply device 10 Inner seat 11 Outer seat 12 Inner space 18 Exhaust port 20 Air exhaust device 25 Air cylinder 26 Motor roller

Claims (3)

In a discharge device for free-falling the material from the discharge hopper arranged at the upper part to the container arranged at the lower part and filling the container with the material,
A cylindrical guide pipe made of a rigid body,
A flexible tube in which a tubular flexible sheet material is folded in the middle to form two sheet layers, and a base end of which is fitted to the inner and outer circumferences of the guide pipe;
An air supply / discharge mechanism that sends and discharges air to an internal space sandwiched between sheet layers of the flexible tube,
A lifting mechanism that raises the flexible tube and adjusts the height of an opening of a discharge passage formed by the flexible tube;
A discharge device comprising: The lifting mechanism,
A rotating device that contacts the flexible tube at a predetermined position of the guide pipe from an outer peripheral side of the flexible tube, and adjusts the height of the opening of the flexible tube by pulling up the flexible tube by friction of a rotating roller;
A moving device that moves the rotating device, and causes the rotating roller to contact or not contact the flexible tube,
A discharge device comprising: The discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible tube has an annular weight, and the flexible sheet material is formed by folding the flexible sheet material at the weight portion.

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