JP2007084203A - Powder carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder carrying device smoothly and securely carrying/supplying powder even in the situation where carried powder is easily affected by external factors including steam, such as the situations where a large quantity of steam is generated from a mixing/reaction vessel and where a long carrying path is provided. <P>SOLUTION: In this powder carrying device, a powder carrying path having one end to which a powder input part is connected is provided, and powder input from the powder input part is carried along the powder carrying path. A gas transmission member is provided on the powder carrying path, and an air flow is formed inside the powder carrying path by gas transmitted through the gas transmission member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder conveyance device.

  In a mixing container or a reaction container for mixing or reacting a liquid and powder, a powder conveying device for introducing and conveying powder from a hopper provided outside is usually provided. Such a powder conveyance device is disposed above the mixing container and the reaction container, and supplies the powder to the inside of the container by reducing the pressure inside the container and sucking it or by utilizing the natural fall due to gravity. ing.

  By the way, since it is necessary for the powder conveying device to accurately and quickly supply the powder into the container, a countermeasure is required to prevent the powder from adhering to the inner wall of the conveying path or clogging in the path. . In addition, the powder to be supplied may be changed, and it is required to take measures such that cleaning can be easily performed so that the powder before the change does not remain in the conveyance path. As described above, the powder conveying device is required to supply the powder accurately and quickly under any use conditions.

In addition, there are cases where smooth powder supply is hindered by the influence of water vapor from the mixing vessel or reaction vessel. That is, water droplets from the cooled water vapor adhere to the conveyance path, and powder adheres to the wet conveyance path, thereby hindering stable powder supply. To solve this problem, a technique has been proposed in which gas is blown into the conveyance path so that the powder does not contact the wall surface of the conveyance path (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-7342

  However, when the transport path between the hopper and the mixing and reaction vessel is long, or when the amount of water vapor generated from the vessel is large, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above can smoothly carry the powder. There wasn't.

  The present invention is suitable for mixing and reacting a powder even under a situation in which a large amount of water vapor is generated from a reaction vessel or when it is susceptible to external factors such as water vapor on the powder being transported, such as when having a long transport path. An object of the present invention is to provide a powder conveying apparatus that smoothly and reliably conveys and supplies.

  The present invention is achieved by adopting the following configuration.

(1)
In a powder conveyance device having a powder conveyance path to which a powder charging unit is connected at one end, and conveying the powder charged from the powder charging unit along the powder conveyance path,
A powder conveying apparatus comprising a gas permeable member in the powder conveying path, and an air flow formed by the gas that has passed through the gas permeable member in the powder conveying path.

(2)
Expected blowing means above the powder conveyance path,
The expected blowing means blows gas from an oblique direction with respect to the powder conveyance path provided above the powder conveyance path, and the gas blown by the gas blowing means is provided above. The powder conveying apparatus according to (1), wherein the powder conveying apparatus moves along the wall surface of the powder conveying path.

(3)
The powder conveying apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the powder conveying apparatus conveys powder to a toner manufacturing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, mixing, when a large amount of water vapor is generated from the reaction vessel, or even under conveying conditions where the influence of external factors such as water vapor is likely to affect the powder being conveyed, such as when having a long conveying path, The powder can be transported and supplied smoothly and reliably.

  That is, the gas transmitted through the gas permeable member and supplied to the transport path forms a barrier along the wall surface, and water droplets from cooled water vapor are prevented from adhering to the transport path wall surface. As a result, there is no problem that the powder is welded to the wall of the transport path or the transport path is blocked by the welded material, and the powder supplied from the hopper is mixed and accurately distributed in the reaction vessel. Can be supplied to.

  The present inventors have provided a gas blowing means in the powder conveying device, and formed a barrier by the air flow between the powder and the inner wall of the powder conveying path by the air flow blown from the gas blowing means, and the powder conveying It has been found that the above problem can be solved by preventing the inner wall of the path from contacting the powder.

  The powder conveying device of the present invention does not adhere or adhere the weighed powder to the inner wall of the powder conveying path, so that the entire amount can be accurately input, and when switching the type of powder, cleaning is easy and powder mixing ( It was found that contamination can be prevented.

  In addition, the powder conveying device of the present invention is preferably used for powders that are easily denatured, for example, hygroscopic, deliquescent, swelling salts, pharmaceuticals, and powders with poor fluidity and transportability. it can.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of the powder conveying apparatus of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 2 is a powder conveying device, 8 is a powder conveying path, 13 is a gas permeable member, and 16 is an air flow.

  The powder conveying device 2 is a device that provides a gas permeable member 13 in the powder conveying path 8 and gushes out gas from the gas permeable member to form an air flow 16.

  By supplying gas to the gas permeable member, an airflow barrier is formed between the powder conveyance path and the powder by the gas.

  The gas permeable member is not particularly limited as long as it has a permeable hole, and specific examples include a screen, a punching metal, a ceramic having a permeable hole, a nonwoven fabric, paper, and a sintered metal.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a line for introducing powder from a powder supply hopper into a container using the powder conveyance device of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, 1 is a powder supply hopper, 2 is a powder transfer device, 4 is a container, 5 is a gas generator, 6 is a gate of a powder supply unit, 7 is a gate of a container unit, and 8 is a powder transfer path. , 9 is a powder inlet, 10 is a volatile discharge and recovery port, 11 is powder, 12 is liquid, 13 is vapor, and 14 is a volatile recovery device.

  The powder 11 in the powder supply hopper 1 is introduced into the powder transfer path 8 by opening the powder supply unit gate 6 connected to the powder transfer device 2 and the gate 7 of the container unit.

  In the powder conveyance path 8, a gas flow is formed between the inner wall of the powder conveyance path 8 and the powder by the gas supplied from the gas generator 5 to the gas permeable member 21.

  The powder 11 is put into the container 4 without coming into contact with the inner wall of the powder conveyance path 8 by the airflow barrier.

  When the powder 11 in the powder storage hopper 1 runs out, the powder supply part gate 6 and the container part gate 7 are closed, and the conveyance is finished.

  The liquid 12 in the container may be heated by an external heating device and stirred by a stirring device in order to dissolve the charged powder satisfactorily.

  The vapor 13 generated by heating and stirring is recovered by the volatile content recovery device 14 and returned to the container 4.

  In the present invention, only the powder conveyance device of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 may be used, but a multistage type in which the powder conveyance device (a) or (b) shown in FIG. 4 is installed on the upper stage of the powder conveyance device of the present invention. The powder transfer device is more preferable because it can transfer a powder that is prone to clogging and powder adhesion, even if the powder transfer distance is long.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of a line for putting powder into a container from a powder supply hopper using a multistage powder conveying apparatus.

  In FIG. 3, 1 is a powder supply hopper, 2 is a powder transfer device, 3 is a powder transfer device (a), 4 is a container, 5 is a gas generator, 6 is a gate of a powder supply unit, and 7 is a container. 8 is a powder conveyance path, 9 is a powder inlet, 10 is a volatile discharge and recovery port, 11 is powder, 12 is liquid, 13 is vapor, and 14 is a volatile content recovery device.

  The powder 11 in the powder supply hopper 1 is introduced into the powder transfer path by opening the powder supply unit gate 6 connected to the powder transfer device and the gate 7 of the container unit.

  In the powder conveyance path 8, gas is blown into the gas permeable member 21 of the powder conveyance device 2 and the inner cylinder 14 of the powder conveyance device (a) 3 from each of the gas generation devices 5, and the powder conveyance device (a) 3. Then, a barrier of the air flow 16 is formed along the powder conveyance direction of the powder conveyance path 8, and the powder conveyance device 2 uses the gas supplied to the gas permeable member 21 to cause the inner wall and the powder of the powder conveyance path 8 to be separated from each other. In the meantime, a barrier is formed by the air flow 16.

  The powder 11 is put into the container 4 without coming into contact with the inner wall of the powder conveyance path 8 by the airflow barrier.

  When the powder 11 in the powder storage hopper 1 runs out, the powder supply part gate 6 and the container part gate 7 are closed, and the conveyance is finished.

  The liquid 12 in the container may be heated by an external heating device and stirred by a stirring device in order to dissolve the charged powder satisfactorily.

  The vapor 13 generated by heating and stirring is recovered by the volatile content recovery device 14 and returned to the container 4.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of a powder conveying apparatus used in the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, (a) 3 is a powder conveying device (a) using an inner cylinder as gas blowing means, and (b) is a powder conveying device (b) using a branch pipe as gas blowing means. 22 indicates an inner cylinder, 23 indicates a branch pipe, and 16 indicates an air flow.

  The powder conveyance device (a) is provided with an inner cylinder 22 at the upper part of the conveyance path, and blows gas in the powder conveyance direction of the powder conveyance path from between the inner cylinder and the powder conveyance path, and the wall surface of the powder conveyance path And a barrier for the air flow 16 along the powder conveyance direction in the conveyance path.

  The powder conveyance device (b) is provided with a branch pipe 23 at the upper part of the conveyance path, blows gas from the branch pipe in the powder conveyance direction of the powder conveyance path, along the wall surface of the powder conveyance path, This is an apparatus for forming a barrier for the airflow 16 along the powder conveying direction.

  In the present invention, the type of gas to be blown is not particularly limited, and specifically, air or nitrogen gas can be used.

  In the present invention, an amount of gas and wind speed that can form a barrier by airflow in the powder conveyance path are required. The thickness of the airflow barrier to be formed is not particularly limited, and depends on the specific gravity, particle size, amount, fluidity, and the like of the powder to be conveyed, and may be adjusted by the powder to be conveyed.

Specifically, when the inner diameter of the powder conveying apparatus is 150 mm, the air amount is preferably 1 m ³ / min and the gas flow rate is preferably 1 to 2 m / sec. The present invention is not limited to this as long as a barrier by airflow can be formed in the powder conveyance path.

  The powder conveying apparatus of the present invention can be preferably used when conveying powder to a toner manufacturing apparatus.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the powder conveying apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of the line which throws in a powder from a powder supply hopper using the powder conveyance apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of the line which throws in a powder from the powder supply hopper using a multistage type powder conveying apparatus. It is the schematic which shows an example of the powder conveying apparatus used for this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Powder supply hopper 2 Powder conveying apparatus 3 (a) Powder conveying apparatus (a),
(B) Powder conveying device (b)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Container 5 Gas generator 6 Powder supply part gate 7 Container part gate 8 Powder conveyance path 9 Powder input part 10 Volatile discharge / recovery port 11 Powder 12 Liquid 13 Vapor 14 Volatile recovery unit 16 Airflow 21 Gas permeable member 22 Inner cylinder 23 Branch pipe

Claims (3)

In a powder conveyance device having a powder conveyance path to which a powder charging unit is connected at one end, and conveying the powder charged from the powder charging unit along the powder conveyance path,
A powder conveying apparatus comprising a gas permeable member in the powder conveying path, and an air flow formed by the gas that has passed through the gas permeable member in the powder conveying path. Expected blowing means above the powder conveyance path,
The expected blowing means blows gas from an oblique direction with respect to the powder conveyance path provided above the powder conveyance path, and the gas blown by the gas blowing means is provided above. 2. The powder conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the powder conveying apparatus moves along a wall surface of the powder conveying path. The powder conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the powder conveying apparatus conveys powder to a toner manufacturing apparatus.

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