JP2005074351A - Kneader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a kneader in which raw materials charged into a vessel repeatedly are allowed to pass through a kneading part during the kneading and are uniformly mixed, and which is suitably used for the preparation of foods, medicines and cosmetics. <P>SOLUTION: This kneader for kneading the raw materials for foods, medicines and cosmetics is provided with: a kneading chamber for kneading the raw materials; and a screw arranged inside the kneading chamber and feeding the raw materials from the rear to the front while kneading the raw materials by rotation. The kneading chamber is equipped with: a charge port into which the raw materials are charged; and a discharge port provided in front of the tip of the screw and from which the kneaded materials are discharged. A hollow part for circulating the raw materials is provided around the screw. A control plate of regulating the raw materials fed by the screw so as to be fed back toward the rear of the screw is provided in the vicinity of the top end of the screw in the hollow part. The angle of the control plate is set so that the raw materials to be fed back are descended toward the rear of the screw in an arc shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a kneading apparatus used for preparing raw materials for foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

  For the preparation of food raw materials, a raw material charged in a kneading container is kneaded with a kneading device (for example, see Patent Document 1) or a twin screw extruder (for example, Patent Document 1). 2) is known. In addition, devices similar to these are used for the preparation of pharmaceutical raw materials (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  The method of stirring the raw material charged in the kneading vessel with a kneading stirrer is preferable in terms of uniform mixing of the raw materials. After kneading, the apparatus must be stopped, the lid of the container must be opened, and the material to be kneaded must be dispensed, and the operation is complicated, and at this time there is a risk of foreign matter being mixed.

In the method of kneading with a twin screw extruder, the material to be kneaded is automatically pushed out from the cylinder part after kneading, so the above-mentioned problems are few in the operation of taking out the material to be kneaded. In some cases, the raw materials may not be uniformly mixed.
JP 2003-135950 A (Claims) JP-A-5-76334 (Claims) JP 2000-128775 A (Claims)

  In view of these problems, the present invention provides a raw material for foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics in which the raw material charged in the container is repeatedly passed through the kneading part during kneading and is uniformly mixed and automatically extruded out of the container. An object of the present invention is to provide a kneading apparatus suitably used for the preparation of the above.

The gist of the present invention is a kneading apparatus for kneading raw materials for foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and kneading while feeding the raw materials in a certain direction by rotating the input port and a screw. In a kneading apparatus comprising a kneading chamber and a discharge port for discharging the kneaded raw material,
The kneading apparatus is provided with a hollow part for circulating the raw material around the screw of the kneading chamber, and a plate for regulating the raw material fed in a fixed direction by the screw to be fed back in the opposite direction to the hollow part. There is.

  The plate may be provided so as to be close to and away from the screw.

  In the kneading apparatus, the kneading chamber is provided with a pair of inner wall surfaces that are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw with the screw therebetween, and facing each other, and the inner wall surfaces extend inwardly. The raw material to be fed back along the inner wall surface of the raw material to be fed back is bent inward by the width restricting protrusion, so that the chamber capacity of the kneading chamber is substantially changed. Can be made.

  In the kneading apparatus, the distance between the front end of the width regulating projection and the inner wall surface and / or the angle of the passage surface of the width regulating projection through which the raw material passes may be adjustable.

  The angle of the plate may be adjustable.

  The kneading apparatus may include a lid that seals the charging port.

  The kneading device may include a suction device that sucks air from the kneading chamber.

  According to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, there is no need for the operator to manually circulate the raw material and the operator does not need to manually remove the kneaded raw material from the apparatus. The kneading operation can be performed in a small state. Further, the raw materials can be circulated efficiently, and the raw materials can be efficiently kneaded throughout.

  Further, according to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, which is provided with a lid for sealing the inlet and a vacuum suction device for sucking air from substantially the entire kneading chamber, the raw material is circulated in the kneading chamber. , You can degas from the raw material. Therefore, the raw material can be efficiently kneaded without causing the raw material to accumulate in the vacuum chamber and causing the operation of the vacuum chamber to be stopped unlike the conventional vacuum kneading apparatus. Further, since the raw material can be degassed while kneading the raw material, the entire raw material can be uniformly degassed.

  Further, according to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, since the raw material is deaerated while being circulated through the hollow portion by the plate, the raw material is uniformly deaerated while being efficiently kneaded throughout the raw material. I can do it. That is, by providing both the feature point of the present invention that the plate is provided and the feature point of the present invention that substantially the whole of the kneading chamber is a vacuum chamber, the synergistic effect makes the degassing more efficient. Can be done well.

  Further, according to the kneading apparatus of the present invention, kneading can be performed more effectively by adjusting the height position and angle of the plate according to the amount of raw material in the kneading chamber and the properties of the raw material.

  According to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently circulate the raw material by providing the width regulating protrusion, and to efficiently knead the whole raw material.

  According to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, uniform mixing can be performed regardless of the amount of the raw material charged, and the raw material can be efficiently circulated, and the raw material can be efficiently kneaded throughout. I can do it.

  The aspect which concerns on this invention is demonstrated in detail based on drawing. In addition, in this specification, the same code | symbol written over each figure shows the same or similar member and thing. FIG. 1 shows a kneading apparatus 10 according to the present invention for kneading raw materials for foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. This kneading apparatus 10 is a kneading chamber for producing a kneaded material by kneading while sequentially feeding the raw material in a fixed direction by rotating a screw 14 and an input port 12 for introducing a raw material for foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. 16 and a discharge port 18 for discharging the manufactured kneaded material and a shutter 51 for closing the discharge port 18. The screw 14 may have any shape as long as it has a function of extruding and kneading the material to be kneaded.

  The kneading chamber 16 includes a hollow portion 20 at the upper portion of the screw 14 so that the raw material fed by the screw 14 can be circulated in the hollow portion 20. In addition, an obliquely upward plate 24 is provided on the inner wall 22a in the front of the raw material feed direction so that the raw material being kneaded can be pushed back to the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b. The material of the plate 24 is not particularly limited, such as metal or resin.

  The lid 26 of the inlet 12 is provided with a suction pipe (vacuum suction device) 28 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown), and circulates in the hollow portion 20 by sucking air from the hollow portion 20. It can be degassed from raw materials. That is, the entire hollow portion 20 can be used as a vacuum chamber, and substantially the entire kneading chamber 16 can be used as a vacuum chamber.

  In the kneading apparatus 10, the lid 26 is first opened, and the raw material is charged into the charging port 12. Next, the lid 26 is closed, and an electric motor (drive means) (not shown) is operated to rotate the screw 14. When the screw 14 is rotated, the charged raw material is fed toward the discharge port 18 while being kneaded. Further, the vacuum pump is operated, and the air in the hollow portion 20 is sucked from the suction pipe (vacuum suction means) 28.

  Here, among the raw materials fed by the screw 14, the raw material in the vicinity 30 of the inner wall 22a rises while being prevented from moving forward. The raw material that has risen in the vicinity of the inner wall 22a is sent along the plate 24 toward the rear inner wall 22b and descends to the vicinity 32 of the inner wall 22b. On the other hand, the raw material of the separation part 34 at a position separated from the inner wall 22a is sent as the raw material of the vicinity part 30 is fed toward the inner wall 22b, and is supplied to the separation part 36 at a position separated from the inner wall 22b. Descend. It is preferable that the angle of the plate 24 is 30 to 70 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction in order to perform efficient feed back. Further, the optimum length (width) of the raw material to be fed back by the plate 24 varies depending on the capacity of the kneading chamber 16. When the capacity of the kneading chamber 16 is such that 1 to several tens of kg of raw material can be charged at a time, the length (width) of the raw material of the plate 24 in the traveling direction is preferably 2 to 10 cm. When one to several t of raw materials can be charged at a time, the length (width) of the raw material of the plate 24 in the traveling direction is preferably 20 to 70 cm. Further, the plate 24 may be replaceable with a different size depending on the amount of the input raw material and the properties of the raw material.

  Next, the raw material descend | falling to the near part 32 and the separation part 36 is again sent toward the inner wall 22a with the screw 14. FIG. The raw material sent by the screw 14 from the separation part 36 rises in the vicinity of the inner wall 22 a and is sent along the plate 24 to the vicinity part 32. In addition, in this way, as the raw material sent from the separation part 36 is sent to the vicinity part 32, the raw material sent from the vicinity part 32 by the screw is sent to the separation part 36. That is, the raw material initially in the vicinity portion 30 is sent from the separation portion 34 to the separation portion 36 through the vicinity portion 32, and the raw material initially in the separation portion 34 is passed through the separation portion 36 to the vicinity portion 30. To the vicinity part 32, and the position of the raw material first in the vicinity part 30 and the raw material first in the separation part 34 are switched.

  Note that when the raw material is kneaded while being circulated through the hollow portion 20 in this way, the air in the entire hollow portion 20 is sucked from the vacuum pipe 28 because the vacuum pump is operated. When the air in the entire hollow portion 20 is sucked from the vacuum pipe 28, the air is sucked and degassed from the raw material being circulated in the hollow portion 20.

  According to the kneading apparatus 10 according to the present invention, the raw material that is fed in the hollow portion 20 by the screw 14 and rises in the vicinity of the inner wall 22a is placed along the plate 24, thereby the vicinity of the front inner wall 22a. To the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b. For this reason, the raw material rising in the vicinity of the inner side wall 22a does not rise along the inner side wall 22a and descend to substantially the same position, and the raw material can be sequentially sent to the vicinity of the rear inner side wall 22b. Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to manually feed the raw materials to the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b, and kneading can be performed safely. Moreover, it can knead | mix efficiently over the whole raw material.

  In addition, the raw material initially in the vicinity portion 30 is sent from the separation portion 34 to the separation portion 36 through the vicinity portion 32, and the raw material initially in the separation portion 34 is sent from the vicinity portion 30 through the separation portion 36. It can feed to the near part 32, and the position of the raw material which initially existed in the vicinity part 30 and the raw material which initially existed in the separation part 34 can be switched. For this reason, the raw material in the hollow part 20 can be circulated uniformly. The kneaded material is discharged from the discharge port 18 when the shutter 51 is opened.

  Moreover, according to the kneading apparatus 10 according to the present invention, the lid 26 is closed and kneading is performed, so that it is possible to prevent the raw materials from being dried during the kneading. Or the whole hollow part 20 of the kneading | mixing chamber 16 can be made into a vacuum chamber by operating a vacuum pump. For this reason, it is possible to degas from the raw material while circulating the raw material in the hollow portion 20. Therefore, unlike the conventional kneading apparatus, the raw material is not accumulated in the vacuum chamber and the operation of the vacuum chamber is not stopped, and the kneaded product can be manufactured efficiently. Further, since the raw material can be degassed while being circulated and kneaded in the hollow portion 20, it can be uniformly degassed from the entire raw material.

  Furthermore, according to the kneading apparatus 10 according to the present invention, the raw material hitting the inner wall 22a is deaerated while being fed along the plate 24 from the vicinity of the front inner wall 22a to the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b. I can do it. For this reason, it is possible to uniformly deaerate the entire raw material while efficiently kneading the entire raw material. That is, by providing both of the feature point of the present invention that the plate 24 is provided and the feature point of the present invention that the entire hollow portion 20 is a vacuum chamber, the synergistic effect makes the deaeration more efficient. Can be done well.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, the kneading apparatus based on this invention can be implemented also in another aspect. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a kneading apparatus 10a according to another aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the AA direction of FIG. 2 and 3, a kneading apparatus 10a is a kneading apparatus for kneading raw materials for foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The kneading apparatus 10a is disposed in the kneading chamber 16 for kneading the raw materials and the kneading chamber 16, and kneads the raw materials by rotation. While having a pair of screws 14 and 14 (biaxial extrusion screw 8) to be fed forward from the rear (right side in the drawing). Moreover, the lid | cover 26 opened when supplying a raw material is provided. The kneading chamber 16 includes an input port 12 a for introducing raw materials, a discharge port 18 provided in front of the tips of the screws 14, 14 for discharging the kneaded material to be mixed, and a shutter 51 for closing the discharge port 18.

  The kneading chamber 16a includes a pair of inner wall surfaces 22 and 22 disposed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the screws 14 and 14 with the screws 14 and 14 therebetween. A pair of inner wall surfaces 22, 22 is provided with a gradually decreasing portion 25 in which the distance between the inner wall surfaces 22, 22 gradually decreases forward in the vicinity of the tips of the screws 14, 14, and a front end of the gradually decreasing portion 25 from the end 27 of the flange to the discharge port 18. A narrow portion 29 is formed in which the distance between the inner wall surfaces 22 and 22 does not increase.

  Further, a hollow portion 20 for circulating the raw material sandwiched between the inner wall surfaces 22, 22 is provided around the screws 14, 14, and the front of the screws 14, 14 in the hollow portion 20 is moved forward by the screws 14, 14. A plate 24 is provided for restricting the raw material to be fed back to the rear of the screws 14 and 14.

  The plate 24 is fixed to the slider base 21 so that the longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal to the axial direction of the screws 14 and 14 and the surface of the plate 24 forms an acute angle with the axial direction of the screws 14 and 14. The slider base 21 is disposed in a narrow portion 29 with its longitudinal direction horizontal and perpendicular to the axial direction of the screws 14 and 14, and both side ends thereof engage with the inner wall surfaces 22 and 22 so as to be vertically movable. Yes. The slider base 21 is attached to the inner wall surfaces 22 and 22 through a dovetail portion 31 including a dovetail groove 49 so as to be movable up and down.

  A sliding bar 33 protruding upward is fixed to the upper end of the slider base 21. The sliding rod 33 passes through the ceiling wall 35 of the kneading chamber 16 a and is inserted into a hollow portion (guide hole) 39 of the guide cylinder 37 fixed on the outer surface of the ceiling wall 35. The slider bar 21 is fixed at a predetermined position by moving the slide bar 33 up and down and fixed to the guide cylinder 37 by a set screw 41 at a predetermined position. Accordingly, the plate 24 is fixed at a predetermined position in the vertical direction. The

  The screws 14 and 14 are transmitted with rotational force via power transmission gears 43 and 43. One power transmission gear 43 is connected to and driven by a power gear connected to a motor (not shown).

  Here, among the raw materials fed by the screw 14, the raw material in the vicinity 30 of the inner wall 22 a near the tips of the screws 14, 14 in the kneading chamber 16 rises while being prevented from moving forward. The raised raw material is sent along the plate 24 toward the rear inner wall 22b and descends to the vicinity 32 of the inner wall 22b. On the other hand, the raw material of the separation part 34 at a position separated from the inner wall 22a is sent as the raw material of the vicinity part 30 is fed toward the inner wall 22b, and is supplied to the separation part 36 at a position separated from the inner wall 22b. Descend. It is preferable that the angle of the plate 24 is 30 to 70 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction in order to perform efficient feed back.

  Next, the raw material descend | falling to the near part 32 and the separation part 36 is again sent toward the inner wall 22a with the screw 14. FIG. The raw material sent by the screw 14 from the separation part 36 is prevented from advancing in the vicinity of the inner wall 22 a and rises, and is sent along the plate 24 to the vicinity part 32. In addition, in this way, as the raw material sent from the separation part 36 is sent to the vicinity part 32, the raw material sent from the vicinity part 32 by the screw is sent to the separation part 36. That is, the raw material initially in the vicinity portion 30 is sent from the separation portion 34 to the separation portion 36 through the vicinity portion 32, and the raw material initially in the separation portion 34 is passed through the separation portion 36 to the vicinity portion 30. To the vicinity part 32, and the position of the raw material first in the vicinity part 30 and the raw material first in the separation part 34 are switched.

  When the raw materials are kneaded while being circulated in the hollow portion 20 in this way, a vacuum pump (not shown) is operated, so that the air in the entire hollow portion 20 is discharged from the vacuum pipe (suction device) 28. Is sucked. When the air in the entire hollow portion 20 is sucked from the vacuum pipe 28, the air is sucked and degassed from the raw material being circulated in the hollow portion 20.

  According to the kneading apparatus 10a according to the present invention, the raw material that has been fed through the hollow portion 20 by the screw 14 and that rises while being prevented from moving forward in the vicinity of the inner wall 22a is placed along the plate 24, so that It can be sent from the vicinity of the inner wall 22a to the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b. For this reason, the raw material that is prevented from moving forward in the vicinity of the inner wall 22a does not rise along the inner wall 22a and descend to substantially the same position, and the raw material can be sequentially fed to the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b. . Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to manually feed the raw materials to the vicinity of the rear inner wall 22b, and kneading can be performed safely. Moreover, it can knead | mix efficiently over the whole raw material.

  In addition, the raw material initially in the vicinity portion 30 is sent from the separation portion 34 to the separation portion 36 through the vicinity portion 32, and the raw material initially in the separation portion 34 is sent from the vicinity portion 30 through the separation portion 36. It can feed to the near part 32, and the position of the raw material which initially existed in the vicinity part 30 and the raw material which initially existed in the separation part 34 can be switched. For this reason, the raw material in the hollow part 20 can be circulated uniformly. The kneaded material is discharged from the discharge port 18 when the shutter 51 is opened.

  In the kneading apparatus 10a, when the raw material is put into the kneading chamber 16 and a large amount of the raw material stays in the kneading chamber 16, the plate 24 is positioned above the movable range. That is, it is positioned at the same height as the substantially middle point between the level position of the upper surface of the raw material and the highest point position in the circumferential direction of the screws 14 and 14. As a result, the raw material is reversed by the plate 24 and sent back further in the direction of the roots of the screws 14 and 14. When kneading is performed, the shutter 51 is opened and a part of the raw material is discharged from the discharge port 18. When the amount of the raw material staying in the kneading chamber 16a is small and the height of the upper surface of the raw material is close to the height of the plate 24, the plate 24 is positioned below the movable range from the initial position. Thereby, the height of the upper surface of the raw material becomes sufficiently higher than the height of the plate 24, and at this time, the amount of the raw material staying in the kneading chamber 16 is large, compared to the original state where the plate 24 was positioned above, Although the distance to which the raw material is fed back becomes small, reliable feeding back is performed. As described above, in the kneading apparatus 10a, reliable feed back is performed regardless of the amount of the remaining raw material by changing the height position of the plate 24 in accordance with the amount of the raw material remaining in the kneading chamber 16. Sufficient kneading is performed. Further, the height position of the plate 24 is adjusted in accordance with the properties such as the viscosity of the raw material, so that reliable feed back is performed.

  Further, when the kneading operation proceeds so that most of the raw material is kneaded and discharged from the discharge port 18, the amount of the raw material staying in the kneading chamber 16 is reduced, and the kneading of the reduced raw material is finished, the plate 24 By lowering the lower end of the slider and / or the lower surface of the slider base 21 to a limit position where it does not hit the feed blade of the screw 14, the raw material can be efficiently bitten by the feed blade at the tip of the screw 14. Thereby, most of the reduced raw material can be smoothly discharged from the discharge port 18 without staying in the kneading chamber 16.

  The height position of the plate 24 may be adjusted manually by the mechanism shown in FIG. 2, but the plate 24 is biased by the spring 160 in the direction of the screw 14 via the slider base 21a as shown in FIG. It may be an embodiment. When the amount of raw material in the kneading chamber 16 is large, the force of the raw material to be pushed back pushes the plate 24 upward as viewed in the drawing is large, and the plate 24 is pushed upward against the urging force. When there is little, the plate 24 is pushed down by the urging force and is located at a position approaching the screw 14. In this way, the position of the plate 24 is automatically set by the displacement of the spring 160 in accordance with the force with which the raw material pushes up the plate 24. Reference numeral 162 denotes a stopper of the slider base 21a.

  Alternatively, the height position of the plate 24 may be automatically adjusted by being connected to an appropriate driving means (not shown). Furthermore, a detecting means (not shown) for detecting the kneading time or the amount or height of the raw material in the kneading chamber 16 is provided, and the height position is automatically adjusted by the driving means based on the data detected by the detecting means. It may be done manually.

  Further, the raw material sent toward the distal ends of the screws 14, 14 is squeezed and intensively collides with the plate 24 at the narrow portion 29 (FIG. 3), so that reliable feed back is performed. The angle formed between the surface of the gradually decreasing portion 25 and the inner wall surface 22 is preferably 30 to 60 degrees in order to effectively narrow down the raw materials. Further, the width between the inner wall surfaces 22 and 22 is preferably 1.5 to 2.5 times the width of the narrow portion 29 in order to effectively narrow down the raw materials.

  Further, in the vacuum kneading apparatus 10a, a rotatable plate 46 shown in FIG. The plate 46 is configured so as to be able to change its angle by being pivotally mounted on the slider base 21x via a bearing element 55 and rotated around a rotation shaft 48. By providing such a plate 46, the angle can be changed and the direction in which the raw material is fed back can be changed. For this reason, it can adjust so that a raw material may circulate through the hollow part 20 most efficiently. Thus, the aspect which adjusts the angle of the plate 24 is applied suitably also to the vacuum kneading apparatus 10, and can adjust so that a raw material may circulate through the hollow part 20 most efficiently.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of angle changing means for changing the angle of the plate 46. In FIG. 6, the angle changing means 100 includes a slider base 21aa, a bearing bracket 130 for attaching the plate 46 to the slider base 21aa via the rotary shaft 132, and a worm fixed coaxially to the rotary shaft 132. 134 and a worm wheel 136 that meshes with the worm 134. The worm wheel 136 is coaxially fixed to the worm wheel drive shaft 138, and the lower end of the worm wheel drive shaft 138 is axially attached to the thrust bearing 140. The upper end portion of the worm wheel drive shaft 138 passes through the canopy portion 142 of the kneading chamber 16a, and the upper end protrudes outside the kneading chamber 16a. A handle 144 for rotating the worm wheel drive shaft 138 is attached to the upper end of the worm wheel drive shaft 138. The thrust bearing 140 is provided on a thrust bearing bracket 148 protruding from the slider base 21aa. When the worm wheel drive shaft 138 is rotated via the handle 144, the plate 46 rotates around the axis of the rotation shaft 132 via the worm gear 135 and the rotation shaft 132, and the angle of the plate 46 changes.

  The worm wheel drive shaft 138 passes through the through hole 150 of the canopy 142 and can slide up and down, and can be moved up and down as the slider base 21aa moves up and down.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a width regulating protrusion 90 may be provided on the inner wall surface 22 as in the kneading apparatus 10b shown in FIG. 8 which is a cross-sectional view in the BB direction of FIGS. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view in the CC direction of FIG. In the kneading apparatus 10b, the raw material that is fed by the screw 14 and is prevented from advancing at the vicinity 30 of the inner wall 22a is regulated by the width regulating projections 90 at both end portions, as indicated by arrows K. The direction is bent inward. The width regulating protrusion 90 is provided in the vicinity of the tip of the screw 14 so as to protrude inward from the inner wall surface 22. As a result, the edge 92 of the raw material to be fed back is separated from the inner wall surface 22 and the edge 92 of the raw material to be fed back and the inner wall surface 22 do not come into contact with each other. The friction resistance is eliminated and smooth feed back is realized.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the width restricting protrusion 90 is preferably a width restricting protrusion 92 that makes the distance H between the tip 92 and the inner wall surface 22 variable. This configuration is provided through the width regulating slider 94 and the wall 94 forming the inner wall surface 22, and is fixed to the wall 94 at the outlet of the insertion hole 96 through which the width regulating slider 94 is inserted. A fixing cylinder 98 that is provided and through which the width regulating slider 94 is inserted, a screw hole 99 that penetrates the side wall of the fixing cylinder 98, and a screw hole 99 are screwed in to temporarily fix the width regulating slider 94. And a set screw 200. The distance H between the distal end portion 93 and the inner wall surface 22 can be changed by adjusting the length by which the distal end portion 93 of the width regulating slider 94 inserted through the insertion hole 96 is projected from the inner wall surface 22.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of width regulating protrusions 92 may be provided in the height direction of the inner wall surface 22. By selecting one of them and projecting it from the inner wall surface 22, the position in the height direction of the width regulating projection can be changed according to the amount and property of the raw material, and the optimum feed back state can be realized.

  An example of another mode for changing H is shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, the width restricting projection 92a is composed of a plate member 202 having a variable angle, and is pivotally attached to the bracket 204 at one end. The bracket 204 is fixed to the inner wall surface 22. The plate member 202 includes a shaft attachment portion 208 on a surface opposite to the material contact surface 206, and the shaft attachment portion 208 is attached to one end portion of the rod 210. The rod 210 penetrates the wall 94 substantially horizontally, and the other end protrudes outside the wall 94. The other end of the rod 210 is inserted into the rod fixing cylinder 212, and the rod fixing cylinder 212 is fixed to the outer surface of the wall 94. The rod 210 is temporarily fixed by a screw hole 299 penetrating the side wall of the rod fixing cylinder 212 and a set screw 222 screwed into the screw hole 299. The rod 210 can be slid to adjust H and the angle α of the contact surface 206 to realize an optimum feed back state.

  Further, since the kneading apparatus performs kneading by closing the lid 26, it is possible to prevent the raw material from being dried during kneading. Alternatively, the entire hollow portion 20 of the kneading chamber 16 can be made a vacuum chamber by closing the lid 26 and operating a vacuum pump (not shown) to suck the air of the entire hollow portion 20 from the vacuum pipe 28. For this reason, it is possible to degas from the raw material while circulating the raw material in the hollow portion 20. Therefore, unlike the conventional kneading apparatus, the raw material is not accumulated in the vacuum chamber and the operation of the vacuum chamber is not stopped, and the kneaded product can be manufactured efficiently. Further, since the raw material can be degassed while being circulated and kneaded in the hollow portion 20, it can be uniformly degassed from the entire raw material.

  Next, in the kneading apparatus of the present invention, the mode of means for making substantially the entire kneading chamber a vacuum chamber may be changed. As an example, a vacuum kneading apparatus (kneading apparatus) 50 shown in FIG. 13 may be used. In this vacuum kneading apparatus 50, a suction pipe 52 that sucks air is provided on the lid 54.

  The vacuum kneading apparatus 50 operates a vacuum pump (not shown) to suck air in the hollow portion 56 from the suction pipe 52, whereby the raw material circulating in the hollow portion 56 is degassed and the raw material is A force sucked in the direction of the suction pipe 52 is applied. Since a force for sucking the raw material in the direction of the suction pipe 52 is added, the raw material pushed back in the direction of the inner wall 22b by the plate 24 is applied in the direction in which the raw material is pushed back. Since the raw material pushed back in the direction of the inner wall 22b is applied with a force in the direction of pushing back, the raw material is easily pushed back in the direction of the inner wall 22b. For this reason, a raw material can be efficiently circulated in the hollow part 56 here now.

  Moreover, the vacuum kneading apparatus (kneading apparatus) 60 shown in FIG. 14 may be used. This vacuum kneading apparatus 60 is provided with two suction pipes 62, one suction pipe 62 a is provided on the top of the lid 64, and the other suction pipe 62 a is provided on the rear side wall 66. In such a vacuum kneading device 60, a vacuum pump (not shown) is operated, and air in the hollow portion 68 is sucked from both suction pipes 62. By sucking air from both suction pipes 62, the raw material pushed back by the plate 24 is once sucked in the direction of the suction pipe 62a and then sucked in the direction of the suction pipe 62b.

  According to the vacuum kneading apparatus 60, the raw material pushed back by the plate 24 can be once sucked in the direction of the suction pipe 62a, and further sucked in the direction of the suction pipe 62b. For this reason, a force can be applied in the direction in which the raw material is pushed back by the plate 24, and the raw material can be efficiently pushed back in the direction of the inner wall 22b. In the vacuum kneading apparatus 60, the suction pressure of the suction pipe 62a and the suction pipe 62b can be adjusted separately so that the direction and speed of pushing back the raw material can be adjusted.

  Next, in the kneading apparatus of the present invention, the mode of the inlet and the like may be changed. For example, a vacuum kneading apparatus (kneading apparatus) 70 shown in FIG. 15 may be used. This vacuum kneading apparatus 70 is configured to include an inlet 72 near the rear side wall 74. The input port 72 is configured such that when the raw material is input, the raw material slides down along the slope of the inner surface and falls through the hole 76 and near the side wall 74 of the hollow portion 78. By providing such a charging port 72, the raw material to be charged can be reliably dropped near the side wall 74 of the hollow portion 78. Note that, by sucking air from the suction pipe 28, the raw material in the charging port 72 can be sucked out from the hole 76, so that the raw material does not accumulate in the charging port 72.

  The embodiment shown in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 can be applied to the kneading apparatus 10, the kneading apparatus 10a, and the kneading apparatus 10b.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of the kneading apparatus concerning this invention was variously demonstrated based on drawing, the kneading apparatus concerning this invention is not limited to what was illustrated. For example, the shape and structure of the inlet are not limited to those described above, as long as the raw material can be sent into the kneading chamber. Further, the shape and structure of the discharge port are not limited to those described above, and it is sufficient that the manufactured kneaded material can be discharged.

  According to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, the raw material that has entered the hollow portion can be applied to the plate, pushed back in the direction opposite to the feed direction by the screw, and sequentially circulated to a position separated in the direction opposite to the feed direction. For this reason, it is not necessary for the operator to circulate the raw material by hand, and kneading can be performed safely. In addition, since the raw materials can be circulated efficiently, it is possible to efficiently knead the whole raw materials.

  Further, according to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, which is provided with a lid for sealing the inlet and a vacuum suction device for sucking air from substantially the entire kneading chamber, the raw material is circulated in the kneading chamber. , You can degas from the raw material. Therefore, the raw material can be efficiently kneaded without causing the raw material to accumulate in the vacuum chamber and causing the operation of the vacuum chamber to be stopped unlike the conventional vacuum kneading apparatus. Further, since the raw material can be degassed while kneading the raw material, the entire raw material can be uniformly degassed.

  In addition, a hollow part for circulating the raw material is provided around the screw in the kneading chamber, and a plate is provided in the hollow part for regulating the raw material sent in a certain direction by the screw to be sent back in the opposite direction, and the inlet is sealed. According to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, which is provided with a lid and a vacuum suction device for sucking air from substantially the entire kneading chamber, the raw material is deaerated while being circulated through the hollow portion by the plate. Therefore, it is possible to uniformly deaerate the entire raw material while efficiently kneading the entire raw material. That is, by providing both the feature point of the present invention that the plate is provided and the feature point of the present invention that substantially the whole of the kneading chamber is a vacuum chamber, the synergistic effect makes the degassing more efficient. Can be done well.

  In addition, a hollow part for circulating the raw material is provided around the screw in the kneading chamber, and a plate is provided in the hollow part for regulating the raw material sent in a certain direction by the screw to be sent back in the opposite direction, and the inlet is sealed. According to the kneading apparatus according to the present invention, characterized in that the kneading apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a lid and a vacuum suction device that sucks air from substantially the entire kneading chamber, and further, the plate is provided so as to be able to approach and disengage from the screw. Kneading can be performed more effectively by adjusting the height position of the plate according to the amount of raw material in the kneading chamber and the properties of the raw material.

  Although the embodiment of the kneading apparatus of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be carried out in various modifications, modifications, and variations based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. All of these embodiments belong to the scope of the present invention.

  The kneading apparatus of the present invention is a viscous food or food material, for example, a viscous food such as butter, margarine or chocolate, a confectionery derived from rice grains, a dough for preserved food, a dough for paste such as rice cake or chikuwa, a raw material for tofu It is preferably used as a kneading apparatus for use in the manufacture of chemicals such as tablets. Furthermore, it can be applied to the use of kneading raw materials such as cosmetics, inks, agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, detergents, abrasives, pigments and explosives.

It is sectional drawing which shows the Example of the kneading apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the other Example of the kneading apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the AA direction of the kneading apparatus of FIG. It is a cross-sectional principal part schematic diagram which shows an example of the aspect of adjustment of the height position of the plate used for the kneading apparatus of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional schematic diagram which shows an example of the aspect of adjustment of the angle of the plate used for the kneading apparatus of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional schematic diagram which shows an example of the aspect of adjustment of the angle of the plate used for the kneading apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the Example of the kneading apparatus of the other aspect which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the BB direction of the kneading apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing of CC direction of the kneading apparatus of FIG. It is a principal part expanded sectional schematic diagram which shows an example of the aspect of adjustment of the protrusion length of the width control protrusion used for the kneading apparatus of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional schematic diagram which shows another example of the aspect of adjustment of the protrusion length of the width control protrusion used for the kneading apparatus of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional schematic diagram which shows another example of the aspect of adjustment of the protrusion length of the width control protrusion used for the kneading apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the further another Example of the kneading apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the further another Example of the kneading apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows another Example of the kneading apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10a, 10b, 50, 60, 70; kneading device (vacuum kneading device)
12, 72; input port 14; screw 16; kneading chamber 18; discharge port 20, 56, 68, 78; hollow portion 24, 38, 40, 42; plate 26; lid 28; suction pipe (vacuum suction device)

Claims (7)

A kneading apparatus for kneading raw materials for foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, an inlet for charging the raw materials, a kneading chamber for kneading the raw materials while feeding them in a fixed direction by rotating a screw, and the kneaded raw materials In a kneading apparatus equipped with a discharge port for discharging
A kneading apparatus comprising a hollow part for circulating the raw material around a screw in the kneading chamber, and a plate for regulating the raw material fed in a fixed direction by the screw to be fed back in the opposite direction in the hollow part. The kneading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plate is provided so as to be close to and away from the screw. The kneading chamber is provided with a pair of inner wall surfaces that are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw with the screw in between and opposed to each other, the inner wall surface is provided with a width regulation protrusion that extends inward, and is fed back. 2. The raw material fed back along the inner wall surface of the raw material is bent inward by the width restricting protrusion and proceeds so that the volume of the kneading chamber is substantially changed. Or the kneading apparatus of 2. The kneading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a distance between a tip of the width regulating protrusion and the inner wall surface and / or an angle of a passage surface of the width regulating protrusion through which the raw material passes can be adjusted. The kneading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an angle of the plate is adjustable. The kneading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a lid for sealing the charging port. The kneading apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a suction device that sucks air from the kneading chamber.

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