JP2013193104A - Extracting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an extracting device from which raw material after component extraction can be easily taken out.SOLUTION: An extracting device 100 heats raw material to extract and collect a volatile component from the raw material, and includes: a cylinder 10 having an input port 11 for inputting the raw material, a collecting port 12 for collecting the volatile component extracted from the raw material, and a take-out port 13 for taking out the raw material after component extraction; a pair of partitioning parts 20 which define a raw material housing area A in the cylinder 10 and are arranged slidably along a cylinder axis direction; a drive part 30 which drives the partitioning parts 20 in the cylinder axis direction; and a control part 50 which controls the drive part 30 and moves the partitioning parts 20 so as to be located in an input position where the raw material housing area A communicates with the input port 11, in a collection position for communicating with the collecting port 12, or in a taking-out position for communicating with the taking-out port 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to an extraction apparatus that extracts and recovers volatile components from raw materials.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are widely known apparatuses that heat raw materials derived from animals and plants (plant leaves and branches, citrus fruits and skins, etc.) and extract and recover volatile components contained in the raw materials.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an extraction device that heats citrus fruits and skin, evaporates and extracts aromatic volatile oil (essential oil) contained in the fruits, and condenses and recovers the extracted essential oil. ing.

JP 2006-291007 A

  In the extraction apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the raw material after extraction of essential oil is taken out from an outlet provided in a side portion of the sealed container. However, since the raw material after extraction of the essential oil is accommodated not only in the vicinity of the outlet but also in the entire sealed container, there is a problem that it is difficult to take out the raw material from the outlet and the extraction workability is poor.

  Then, this invention is made | formed in view of said problem, and it aims at providing the extraction apparatus which can take out the raw material after component extraction easily.

  The present invention is an extraction device for extracting and recovering volatile components from a raw material by heating the raw material, an input port for charging the raw material, a recovery port for recovering the volatile component extracted from the raw material, And a cylinder having an outlet for taking out the raw material after component extraction, a pair of partition portions that define a raw material accommodation region in the cylinder and are slidably disposed along the cylinder axial direction, and the partition A drive unit that drives the portion in the cylinder axial direction, and a control unit that controls the drive unit so that the raw material storage area communicates with the input port, a recovery position that communicates with the recovery port, or an extraction port that communicates with the outlet And a controller that moves the partition so as to be positioned.

  According to the present invention, the partition part is moved based on the driving force of the drive part, and the position of the raw material storage area is changed to the input position, the recovery position, or the extraction position, so that the raw material stored in the raw material storage area is removed. The outlet can be moved to a certain position, and the raw material after component extraction can be easily taken out.

It is a schematic block diagram of the extraction device by embodiment of this invention. (A) is a schematic diagram showing the extraction device when the raw material storage area is in the loading position, (B) is a schematic diagram showing the extraction device when the raw material storage area is in the recovery position, and (C) is It is a schematic diagram which shows an extraction apparatus when a raw material accommodation area | region exists in an extraction position.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the extraction apparatus 100 by embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  The extraction apparatus 100 is an apparatus that uses, as a raw material, finely pulverized leaves or branches of a plant, extracts the volatile component (essential oil) contained in the leaves or branches, and recovers the raw material by microwaves. .

  The extraction device 100 includes a cylinder 10, a pair of partitioning portions 20 that define a raw material accommodation area A in the cylinder 10, a drive unit 30 that drives the partitioning portion 20, and a microwave oscillation unit that heats the raw material by microwaves. 40 and a controller 50 that controls the operation of the drive unit 30 and the microwave oscillation unit 40.

  The cylinder 10 is a container formed in a cylindrical shape, and is arranged so that the axis is horizontal. On the side wall of the cylinder 10, there are formed an inlet 11 for introducing the raw material, a recovery port 12 for recovering the essential oil extracted from the raw material, and an outlet 13 for taking out the raw material after extraction of the essential oil. .

  The inlet 11 is provided in the upper part of the cylinder 10 near the left end, and the outlet 13 is provided in the lower part of the cylinder 10 near the right end. Further, the recovery port 12 is provided at the upper part of the cylinder 10 at the substantially center in the axial direction. The input port 11, the recovery port 12, and the outlet port 13 are provided along the axial direction of the cylinder 10, and are arranged in order of the input port 11, the recovery port 12, and the outlet port 13 from the left end side of the cylinder 10.

  A supply portion 14 for introducing the raw material into the cylinder 10 is provided on the side wall of the cylinder 10 where the inlet 11 is located, and the raw material is supplied from the outlet 13 to the side wall of the cylinder 10 where the outlet 13 is located. A discharge portion 15 is provided to guide the flow. An opening / closing valve 16 is provided at the upper end of the discharge unit 15 to prevent the raw material after extraction of essential oil from dropping at a timing other than at the time of extraction. The opening / closing operation of the opening / closing valve 16 is controlled by a controller 50 described later.

  The partition 20 includes a piston 21 that slides along the inner peripheral surface of the side wall of the cylinder 10, and a piston rod 22 that is connected to the end of the piston 21 and protrudes to the outside of the cylinder 10. A pair of partition portions 20 are provided, and the two partition portions 20 are arranged so that the piston surfaces on the side where the piston rod 22 is not formed face each other. A space portion between the pistons 21 of the partition portion 20 is a raw material accommodation region A.

  An O-ring is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the piston 21, and a gap between the inner peripheral surface of the side wall of the cylinder 10 and the outer peripheral surface of the piston 21 is sealed via the O-ring. Since the cylinder 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape, the seal between the cylinder 10 and the piston 21 is easy.

  A drive unit 30 for moving the piston 21 is provided at an end portion of each piston rod 22 located outside the cylinder 10.

  The drive unit 30 (drive unit) includes a drive motor as a power source and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the drive force of the drive motor to the piston rod 22. The piston 21 of the partition unit 20 moves in the cylinder 10 in the axial direction based on the driving force of the driving motor of the driving unit 30. The drive unit 30 is provided in each partition part 20, and it is comprised so that each partition part 20 can be driven separately.

  As the piston 21 moves in the cylinder 10, the raw material storage area A has an input position that communicates with the input port 11 (see FIG. 2A) and a recovery position that communicates with the recovery port 12 (see FIG. 2B). ), And moves to three positions of an extraction position (see FIG. 2C) communicating with the extraction port 13.

  The microwave oscillating unit 40 is provided in the cylinder 10 in the vicinity of the recovery port 12 so as to oscillate microwaves with respect to the raw material stored in the raw material storage region A at the recovery position. In the present embodiment, two microwave oscillating units 40 are provided on the side wall of the cylinder 10, but the number of the microwave oscillating units 40 is not limited to two, and can be arbitrarily set according to the volume of the raw material storage area A or the like. Is set. The microwave oscillation unit 40 oscillates a microwave with respect to the raw material and heats the raw material. The heating temperature of the raw material is detected by a temperature sensor 51 provided in the cylinder 10, and a detection signal from the temperature sensor 51 is transmitted to the controller 50.

  A recovery passage 61 for recovering the essential oil vaporized from the heated raw material is connected to the recovery port 12 of the cylinder 10. A cooler 62 for condensing gaseous essential oil is installed in the middle of the recovery passage 61, and a vacuum pump 64 is installed in the recovery passage 61 downstream of the cooler 62 via a branch path 63. .

  The vacuum pump 64 is a pump for reducing the pressure in the raw material storage area A at the recovery position to a predetermined pressure. By reducing the pressure inside the raw material storage area A by the vacuum pump 64, the boiling point of the essential oil can be lowered than usual, and the energy required for heating the raw material can be suppressed. The pressure in the raw material storage area A at the recovery position is detected by a pressure sensor 52 provided in the cylinder 10, and a detection signal of the pressure sensor 52 is transmitted to the controller 50.

  The downstream end of the collection passage 61 is formed as an open end that opens to the outside. A storage tank 65 for storing liquid essential oil condensed by the cooler 62 is provided below the opening end of the recovery passage 61.

  The controller 50 (control unit) is a computer having a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and an input / output interface (I / O interface). The controller 50 is connected to the drive unit 30, the microwave oscillation unit 40, the vacuum pump 64, and the like.

  The controller 50 controls the operation of the drive unit 30 and moves the piston 21 to change the position of the raw material accommodation area A. Further, the controller 50 controls the operation of the microwave oscillation unit 40 and the vacuum pump 64 based on the detection signals of the temperature sensor 51 and the pressure sensor 52, and the pressure in the raw material storage area A at the recovery position and the heating temperature of the raw material. Adjust.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2 (A) to FIG. 2 (C), a series of operations relating to the essential oil extraction of the extraction device 100 will be described.

  FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing the extraction device 100 when the raw material storage area A is in the charging position. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing the extraction device 100 when the raw material storage area A is at the collection position. FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram showing the extraction device 100 when the raw material storage area A is at the extraction position.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (A), when the raw material storage area A is located at the input position, the raw material consisting of crushed branches, leaves, and the like is supplied into the raw material storage area A through the supply unit 14 and the input port 11. It is thrown into. At the closing position, the two pistons 21 are stopped at a position where the piston interval is larger than the opening diameter of the closing port 11.

  After the raw material is charged, the drive unit 30 (see FIG. 1) is controlled, and each piston 21 moves to the right while maintaining a predetermined piston interval, so that the raw material storage area A reaches the collection position shown in FIG. Moving. When the raw material storage area A is located at the recovery position, the vacuum pump 64 and the microwave oscillation unit 40 are driven to reduce the pressure in the raw material storage area A to a predetermined pressure and heat the raw material.

  By heating the raw material in this way, the essential oil contained in the raw material is vaporized and extracted. The vaporized essential oil flows into the recovery passage 61 through the recovery port 12, and is condensed by the cooler 62 to become a liquid. The liquid essential oil is dropped from the opening end of the collection passage 61 and stored in the storage tank 65.

  In the extraction device 100, when the raw material storage area A is at the recovery position, the piston interval between the two pistons 21 is narrowed so that the raw material storage area volume is smaller than when the raw material storage area A is at the input position. The raw material storage area volume is a volume of an area defined by the two pistons 21 and the side wall inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 10.

  By reducing the volume of the raw material storage area, increasing the ratio of the raw material in the raw material storage area A, and heating the raw material with microwaves, the essential oil extraction efficiency can be increased. Further, by reducing the volume of the raw material storage area, it is possible to shorten the time for reducing the pressure in the raw material storage area A by the vacuum pump 64. Normally, the pressure reduction time is shortened by increasing the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump, but in this embodiment, the pressure reduction time is shortened by reducing the volume of the raw material accommodation area.

  When the extraction of the essential oil is finished, the vacuum pump 64 and the microwave oscillation unit 40 are stopped. Note that the pressure in the raw material storage area A may be controlled by, for example, an opening / closing valve provided in the branch path 63, and instead of stopping the vacuum pump 64 after the extraction of the essential oil, the opening / closing valve may be closed. .

  Thereafter, the drive unit 30 is controlled, and each piston 21 moves to the right while maintaining a predetermined piston interval, and the raw material storage area A moves to the take-out position shown in FIG.

  When the raw material storage area A is at the take-out position, the on-off valve 16 is opened, and the raw material after extraction of the essential oil is taken out via the take-out port 13 and the discharge unit 15. In addition, after taking out the raw material, each piston 21 moves leftward, and the raw material accommodation area A returns to the charging position.

  In the extraction device 100, when the raw material storage area A is at the extraction position, the piston interval between the two pistons 21 is narrowed so that the raw material storage area volume is smaller than when the raw material storage area A is at the recovery position.

  For example, by narrowing the piston interval to be smaller than the opening diameter of the outlet 13, the raw material after extraction of essential oil can easily pass through the outlet 13 and the discharge portion 15, and the raw material can be easily taken out.

  Further, by further narrowing the piston interval and pressing and solidifying the raw material in the raw material storage area A at the take-out position, it becomes easier to take out the raw material after extracting the essential oil, and the pressed raw material is used as a solid fuel or the like It is also possible.

  According to the extraction device 100 of the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be achieved.

  In the extraction device 100, the piston 21 of the partition part 20 is moved based on the driving force of the drive unit 30, and the position of the raw material storage area A is changed to the input position, the recovery position, or the extraction position. The stored raw material can be moved to a position where the outlet 13 is located, and the raw material after extraction of the essential oil can be easily taken out from the outlet 13.

  Further, since the inlet 11, the recovery port 12, and the outlet 13 are sequentially arranged from the left end side of the cylinder 10, the raw material storage area A is not moved unnecessarily.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is obvious that various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

  In the extraction apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the essential oil contained in the raw material is extracted using plant branches and leaves as raw materials. However, the raw material contains fruit pulp, skin, meat, and other volatile components. Volatile components contained may be extracted.

  The extraction apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to an apparatus for extracting and recovering volatile components contained in a raw material.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Extraction device 10 Cylinder 11 Input port 12 Recovery port 13 Outlet 20 Partition part 21 Piston 22 Piston rod 30 Drive unit (drive part)
40 Microwave Oscillation Unit 50 Controller (Control Unit)
61 Recovery passage 62 Cooler 64 Vacuum pump 65 Storage tank

Claims (6)

An extraction device that extracts and recovers volatile components from a raw material by heating the raw material,
A cylinder having an inlet for charging the raw material, a recovery port for recovering the volatile components extracted from the raw material, and an outlet for taking out the raw material after component extraction;
A pair of partition portions that define a raw material storage area in the cylinder and are slidably disposed along the cylinder axial direction;
A drive section for driving the partition section in the cylinder axial direction;
The drive unit is controlled to move the partition so that the raw material storage area is located at an input position that communicates with the input port, a recovery position that communicates with the recovery port, or an extraction position that communicates with the extraction port And a control unit.   The extraction device according to claim 1, wherein the inlet, the recovery port, and the outlet are sequentially arranged along a cylinder axial direction.   The control unit controls the drive unit so that the volume of the raw material storage area is reduced by narrowing the interval between the partition portions when the raw material storage area is in the recovery position than when the raw material storage area is in the loading position. The extraction device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The controller controls the drive so that the volume of the raw material storage area is reduced by narrowing the interval of the partition when the raw material storage area is at the take-out position than when the raw material storage area is at the loading position and the recovery position. The extraction device according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit is controlled.   The extraction device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit so as to narrow the interval between the partitioning units and to compress the raw material after component extraction. The cylinder is formed in a cylindrical shape,
The partition includes a piston slidably provided in the cylinder, and a piston rod connected to the end of the piston and projecting to the outside of the cylinder.
The extraction device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the drive unit is configured to advance and retract the piston rod in a cylinder axial direction.

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