JP2017000955A - Dry granulating machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dry granulating machine capable of easily determining the possibility of consolidation by dry granulation even in the small amount of a material without preparing special incidental facilities or exchanging instruments.SOLUTION: A dry granulating machine 1 is used for consolidation-molding a powdery material fed to a material biting part 4 by a pair of material compression rolls 2. Side seals 8 are provided on both sides of the compression rolls 2 to cover the material biting part 4, and a pressure-sensitive element 12 detecting the filling condition of the powdery material in the biting part 4 is installed to the side seal 8. The output signal of the pressure-sensitive element 12 is sent to a controller 14. The controller 14 has a confirmation test mode for consolidation of the small-amount material in addition to a normal continuous operation mode. In the confirmation test mode for consolidation of the small-amount material, consolidation molding is carried out by actuating the material compression roll 2 when detecting by the pressure-sensitive element 12 that the pressure of the powdery material in the biting part 4 becomes a prescribed value or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder processing apparatus used in a manufacturing process for pharmaceuticals, foods, chemical raw materials, synthetic resins and the like, and in particular, a dry granulator for compacting a powder raw material between raw material compression rolls and its control technology. About.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for compacting powder, a dry granulator that compresses dry powder raw material with a pair of raw material compression rolls (hereinafter, the raw material compression roll is abbreviated as a roll as appropriate) is known. ing. Compared to wet granulators that use water, alcohol, or a solvent as a binder, the compacting method in dry granulators eliminates the need for humidification and drying processes and shortens the processing time. There is. In addition, since dry granulators do not use additives as binders, they are used in a wide range of industrial fields, whether inorganic or organic.

  For example, in the pharmaceutical field, it is heavily used for the final product process such as raising the raw material before the tableting process, the intermediate process for improving the filling rate, fine granules and granulation. In the food field, wet devices are particularly preferred and used as target raw materials that impair the aroma and taste. Furthermore, in the industrial field, it is used for various types of materials and purposes such as metal powders, inorganic materials, chemical raw materials, facial dyes, electronic component materials, synthetic resins, and new materials, most of which are added as binders. This is the case where you don't like things.

  5 and 6 are explanatory views showing the configuration of a conventional dry granulator, FIG. 5 is a dry granulator in which the rotation axis of the roll is horizontally arranged, and FIG. 6 is the rotation axis of the roll. An example of the dry granulator of the form arrange | positioned at the up-down direction is each shown. 5 includes a conical hopper 51 in which a powder raw material (not shown) is stored, a conveying screw 52 (hereinafter abbreviated as a screw 52) extending downward from the hopper 51, and a screw. A pair of raw material compression rolls 53 (53 a, 53 b) disposed below 52 are provided. In the dry granulator 50, the rotating shafts 54 (54a, 54b) of the roll 53 are juxtaposed in the horizontal direction.

  The hopper 51 is provided with a level meter (not shown) for detecting the height of the stored raw material, and an upper limit and a lower limit of the raw material height are set. When the raw material decreases and the lower limit is detected by the level meter, the powder raw material is continuously added to the hopper 51, and when the upper limit is detected, the raw material charging is stopped. The powder raw material is charged into the hopper 51 by a separately provided feeder (not shown), thereby stabilizing the powder pressure of the staying raw material in the hopper 51.

  The screw 52 is inserted into a cylindrical screw case portion 55 formed at the lower portion of the hopper 51. A scraper 56 is attached to the screw 52 to prevent the raw material from adhering to the rat hole and the hopper 51. The scraper 56 is fixed coaxially with the screw 52, and the screw 52 and the scraper 56 are rotated by a screw electric motor (electric motor) 57. The rotation of the screw motor 57 is controlled by a control device (not shown).

  A raw material biting portion 58 is formed below the screw 52 and between the rolls 53a and 53b disposed at a predetermined interval. A side seal 59 is attached to the lower end of the screw case portion 55 so as to cover the raw material biting portion 58 in order to prevent the raw material from leaking from the side of the roll 53. The side seal 59 is formed of a material having high lubricity (for example, a fluorine-based synthetic resin) and is disposed so as to sandwich the roll 53 from both sides (only one on the front side is shown in FIG. 5). .

  The rolls 53a and 53b are synchronously rotated in opposite directions by a dedicated roll driving motor (not shown). Of the rolls 53a and 53b, one rotating shaft 54 is fixed, and the other is supported in a floating manner. Pressure (hydraulic pressure) is applied to the rotating shaft 54 that is floatably supported in a direction that prevents the roll interval from spreading when the raw material is caught, so that a predetermined distance between the rolls is maintained.

  In such a dry granulator 50, a powder raw material (not shown) charged and stored in the hopper 51 is conveyed to a raw material biting portion 58 by a screw 52 and compacted between rolls 53a and 53b. The In this case, the powder raw material in the hopper 51 is degassed upward while the air contained between the powder particles is stored by the powder pressure due to its own weight. The powder raw material in the hopper 51 is conveyed and supplied to the raw material biting portion 58 by the rotation of the screw 52. At this time, the powder raw material is further pressurized and degassed simultaneously with the conveyance and continuously supplied to the raw material biting portion 58. Pressurized transport and filling. In the normal operation state, the roll 53 rotates at a constant speed in a direction in which the powder raw material is caught and discharged downward. The raw material biting portion 58 is continuously pressurized and filled with powder raw materials, which are bitten by the roll 53 and compacted. The flakes formed by compacting the powder raw material are continuously generated and discharged below the roll 53.

  In the dry granulator 60 of FIG. 6, the rotating shafts 54 (54a, 54b) of the roll 53 are juxtaposed in the vertical direction. In addition, in the following dry granulators, the same code | symbol as the dry granulator 50 is attached | subjected suitably to the member similar to the dry granulator 50 of FIG. 5, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. In the dry granulator 60, a scraper 62 having a rotating shaft 61 extending in the horizontal direction is provided in the hopper 51. The scraper 62 is rotationally driven by a scraper electric motor 63 provided outside the hopper 51. The scraper 62 guides the powder raw material stored in the hopper 51 to the screw 52 below without any delay. Below the hopper 51, a screw 52 extends in the horizontal direction. The screw 52 is rotated by a screw motor 57.

  Also in the dry granulator 60, the air between the particles of the powder raw material in the hopper 51 is degassed upward by the powder pressure due to its own weight. The powder raw material guided to the lower screw 52 while being stirred by the scraper 62 is conveyed in the right direction in the drawing as the screw 52 rotates. Similar to the dry granulator 50, the powder raw material is degassed and pressurized during conveyance, and the raw material biting portion 58 is pressurized and filled. The pressure-filled powder raw material is bitten by the roll 53, and is formed into a compacted flake and continuously generated and discharged to the right of the roll 53. At that time, in the dry granulator 60, the upper roll 53a is a floating roll, and the expansion of the roll interval due to the raw material biting is suppressed and a predetermined distance between the rolls is maintained.

  As described above, in a general continuous operation of the dry granulator, the powder raw material is degassed in the hopper and when the screw is conveyed, and is pressurized and filled in the raw material biting portion 58 immediately before the roll 53. At that time, the electric motors of the mechanisms are generally started to operate sequentially from the downstream side to the upstream side of the apparatus. That is, the dry granulators 50 and 60 are controlled and driven in the order of a roll drive motor (not shown), a screw motor 57, and a scraper motor 63. This is to ensure that the powder material is sufficiently deaerated and pressure-filled into the biting portion 58 with respect to the roll 53 during operation rotation. It is appropriately controlled by the number. As a result, the powder raw material is fed in a stable state to the raw material biting portion 58, and a uniform and stable compact can be generated. In addition, when the bulk density of the powder raw material is very low and the air contained in the hopper or screw conveyance cannot be removed, it is supplemented by a vacuum pump or the like through a filter provided in the vicinity of the screw tip. There may be forced deaeration.

  In the dry granulators 50 and 60, the powder raw material bitten in the roll 53 is compressed by both rolls through the above-described process, and is formed into a compacted product such as a strip shape or a ribbon shape called flakes. Become. The formed compacted product is physically crushed and sized as necessary to obtain a granulated product having a desired size. In order to perform this crushing and sizing, a crushing mechanism is appropriately disposed downstream of the roll 53.

JP-A-8-28196 JP 2001-99139 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-87896 JP 2001-87897 A

  As described above, in the dry granulator, during normal continuous operation, the powder raw material is deaerated in the hopper and during screw conveyance, and is in a state where it is conveyed and pressurized by the screw, but deaeration is insufficient. When the raw material is supplied to the roll in a state, the apparent density of the raw material becomes unstable. Then, the frictional resistance between the roll and the powder raw material fluctuates, so that stable biting cannot be performed, and uniform compacting cannot be performed. For this reason, first, in the hopper, it is necessary to keep the raw material storage level at or above the minimum amount at which the powder pressure effect occurs. Further, when the screw is conveyed, it is necessary that the powder raw material is in an appropriate pressure filling state at the raw material biting portion, and excessive pressurization may cause the raw material to be consolidated.

  On the other hand, when trying dry granulation with an unknown powder raw material, there are many cases where it is desired to confirm whether the material to be consolidated is suitable for dry granulation with a relatively small amount of raw material. In this case, although the operating condition for continuous operation is not necessary, a state where the raw material biting portion is uniformly filled with the powder raw material is required even temporarily. However, when the amount of the raw material is small, there is a possibility that the powder pressure in the hopper and the conveying and deaeration with the screw cannot be sufficiently performed. When the raw material storage level in the hopper is low, a sufficient powder pressure effect cannot be obtained. Further, when there is not enough raw material in the screw case portion, the raw material itself is conveyed, but the air and the raw material in the unfilled space in the screw case portion are agitated, and the raw material cannot be sufficiently degassed and pressurized. In a normal operation state, the roll has already been rotated, and if raw material that has not been degassed and pressurized is supplied thereto, the raw material is sequentially discharged from the roll in a powder state, making it difficult to perform desired compaction molding. .

  This tendency becomes more prominent in the dry granulator in which rolls are arranged up and down than in the dry granulator in which rolls are arranged horizontally. That is, in the apparatus in which the roll 53 is arranged in the vertical direction as in the dry granulator 60, the screw 52 and the screw case portion 55 tend to be structurally long. Opportunities for agitation are increased and operation of a small amount of raw material becomes more difficult. For this reason, it is necessary to operate by adding a powder raw material in an amount that can satisfy the screw case portion 55 at a minimum, and there is a quantitative limitation in the small amount raw material operation. As for degassing, a forced method using a vacuum pump or the like as described above is also conceivable, but this is only an auxiliary degassing in the raw material filling state, so that the air in the unfilled space and the powder raw material are agitated. In the case of the transport state as described above, an effect to compensate for it cannot be obtained.

  On the other hand, for a small amount of raw material, a small amount of raw material is sealed in a small plastic bag, leveled flat, or placed in a small concave tray, and then vise A simple method called “Vise Test” is known in which the compression state of the powder particles is used to see the bonding state of the powder particles. However, such a test is not an actual roll compression ratio even with a small dry granulator and a linear pressure as high as about 1.0 ton / cm, but it is only a guide for a powder material with good compaction.

  In addition to this, the hopper and conveying screw are replaced with dedicated parts, as in the roller compactor Pharma (trade name) of Alexanderwerk, and a small amount of rail-shaped conveying plate called “feed bar” is used. A method corresponding to the raw material has also been proposed. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dedicated option for confirming the compactibility of a small amount of raw material in the Alexander type dry granulator of Alexanderwerk. The dry granulator 70 of FIG. 7 has the configuration of the upper and lower roll system shown in FIG. 6 during normal use. However, in the case of a small amount of raw material, first, the roll is a small amount exclusive roll 71 for confirming the small amount of raw material. Replace with. Further, bar guides 73 and 74 that serve as guides for the feed bar 72 are attached before and after the roll 71. Then, the feed bar 72 on which a minute amount of the powder raw material 75 to be compressed (hereinafter abbreviated as powder raw material 75) is placed is bitten into a small amount exclusive roll 71 for confirming a small amount of raw material.

  In such a dry granulator 70, the right end of the feed bar 72 placed on the bar guide 73 is bitten into a small amount exclusive roll 71. The feed bar 72 is moved in the direction of the arrow X with the powder raw material 75 placed thereon by the rotation of the small amount exclusive roll 71 and is fed onto the bar guide 74. At that time, the powder raw material 75 on the feed bar 72 is compressed by the upper roll 71 and discharged to the right of the roll 71 together with the feed bar 72.

  However, in the dry granulator 70, the powder raw material 75 placed on the feed bar 72 can move freely, so that it easily escapes backward when biting into the roll 71. In addition, since the feed bar 72 is used, the biting angle (nip angle) of the small amount exclusive roll 71 is ½ or less of the original, and in the case of a raw material with good fluidity, only the feed bar 72 is bitten, May escape. For this reason, it can be said that it is a simple purpose of confirming compaction, and there is a large difference in conditions from the actual compaction process, and it has been difficult to confirm compaction formability so as to be in a flake state.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a dry granulator that can easily determine whether compaction by dry granulation can be easily performed without preparing special incidental equipment or exchanging equipment. An object of the present invention is to provide a dry granulator capable of confirming the compactness of raw materials in a situation close to actual operation even with a small amount of raw materials.

  The dry granulator of the present invention includes a hopper for storing and supplying a powder raw material, a pair of raw material compressing rolls arranged at a predetermined interval from the hopper, the hopper and the raw material compressing roll A feed screw that feeds the powder raw material stored in the hopper to the raw material compression roll, an end portion of the feed screw on the raw material compression roll side, and a pair of the feed screw A raw material biting portion formed between the raw material compression rolls, and supplying the powder raw material to the raw material biting portion by the conveying screw and rotating between the raw material compression rolls A dry granulator for compacting and granulating a powder raw material, wherein the dry granulator is disposed in the raw material biting portion and detects the filling state of the powder raw material in the raw material biting portion. Elements and the feeling A control device for controlling the rotation of the raw material compression roll based on an output signal of the element, and the control device is configured to engage the raw material by the pressure sensitive element in a state where the conveying screw is operated. When detecting that the pressure of the powder raw material in the section has become a predetermined value or more, a small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode for operating the raw material compression roll is provided.

  In the present invention, a pressure sensitive element is disposed in the raw material biting portion, and a control device is provided that controls the rotation of the raw material compression roll based on the output signal of the pressure sensitive element. When the control device detects that the powder raw material in the raw material biting portion has exceeded a predetermined amount by the pressure-sensitive element while the conveying screw is operated, a small amount of raw material compaction confirmation is performed to operate the raw material compression roll. A test mode is provided, and the raw material compression roll is operated in a state where the powder filling pressure in the raw material biting portion is sufficiently high. The powder raw material in the raw material biting portion is bitten into a raw material compression roll and compacted in a state close to actual operation. Therefore, even with a small amount of raw material, it is possible to confirm the compactness of the raw material in a situation close to actual operation.

  In the dry granulator, a side seal for preventing powder leakage provided on both side surfaces of the raw material compression roll and disposed so as to cover the raw material biting portion is further provided, and the pressure sensitive element is arranged on each side. You may make it attach to a seal | sticker, respectively. Further, in the small amount raw material compactness confirmation test mode, the control device may operate the raw material compression roll when a predetermined target pressure value set in advance by both of the pressure sensitive elements is detected. . Further, the control device is configured to stop the rotation of the raw material compression roll when any one of the detection values by the pressure sensitive element falls below a lower limit threshold in the small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode. In that case, the rotation of the conveying screw may be stopped together with the raw material compression roll.

  Further, apart from the small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode, a normal continuous operation in which the raw material compressing roll and the conveying screw are operated in the order of the raw material compressing roll and the conveying screw to compact the granulated powder raw material. A mode may be provided in the control device. In this case, the normal continuous operation mode may be executed without using the output signal of the pressure sensitive element.

  According to the dry granulator of the present invention, a pressure sensitive element is disposed in the raw material biting portion, and a control device is provided for controlling the rotation of the raw material compression roll based on the output signal of the pressure sensitive element. A small amount of raw material compaction confirmation test that activates the raw material compression roll when the pressure sensitive element detects that the powder raw material in the raw material biting portion has exceeded a predetermined amount with the conveying screw activated in the device. Since the mode is provided, even when the amount of the powder raw material is small, the raw material compression roll can be operated in a state where the powder filling pressure in the raw material biting portion is sufficiently high. For this reason, the powder raw material can be compacted in a state close to actual operation, and the compactness can be confirmed in a state close to actual operation even with a small amount of raw material.

  Further, in the dry granulator of the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether or not compaction by dry granulation is possible by preparing raw materials without preparing special incidental equipment or replacing equipment. It becomes possible.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the principal part of the dry granulator which is one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows a structure at the time of seeing the principal part of the dry granulator of FIG. 1 from the side surface direction. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement order of the dry granulator at the time of normal continuous operation mode. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement order of the dry granulator at the time of a small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional dry granulator, and has shown schematic structure of the apparatus which has arrange | positioned the roll for compression horizontally. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional dry granulator, and has shown schematic structure of the apparatus which has arrange | positioned the roll for compression up and down. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the compactness confirmation test of the small amount raw material in the conventional dry granulator, and has shown schematic structure of the apparatus by Alexanderwerk.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the main part of a dry granulator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the configuration when the main part of the dry granulator 1 is viewed from the side. It is explanatory drawing shown. The dry granulator 1 has a configuration in which the rotation shafts 3 (3a, 3b) of the raw material compression rolls 2 (2a, 2b) are arranged in the vertical direction, similarly to the dry granulator 60 of FIG. . In the dry granulator 1, the configuration other than the vicinity of the raw material biting portion 4 immediately before the roll 2 is the same as that of the dry granulator 60 of FIG. 1 and 2 is the same as that of FIG. 6, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the dry granulator 1, the leading end of the conveying screw 5 (hereinafter abbreviated as the screw 5) extends to the immediate vicinity of the raw material biting portion 4. An upper and lower seal 7 and side seals 8 (8a, 8b) are attached to the tip 6a of the screw case 6 (only 8a on the back side of the drawing is shown in FIG. 2). The upper and lower seals 7 and the side seals 8 are formed of a highly slippery material such as a fluorine-based synthetic resin. A closed space surrounding the raw material biting portion 4 is formed by the upper and lower seals 7 and the side seals 8. As shown in FIG. 1, the side seal 8 has a two-layer structure, and a side seal sliding plate 9 is disposed on the contact side with the side surface of the roll 2, and a side seal support plate 11 is disposed on the outer side. The side seal 8 is fixed to the front end portion 6a of the screw case 6 by cantilever support, and is configured to sandwich the roll 2 from both sides.

  Pressure sensitive elements (sensors) 12 are provided on both sides of the raw material biting portion 4. The pressure sensitive element 12 is for quantifying and detecting the filling state of the powder raw material, and is arranged with the pressure sensitive part facing the space (inside) of the raw material biting part 4 (in FIG. 1). Only listed on the front side). A lead wire 13 for signal extraction (as described above, only one of them is shown in FIG. 1) is attached to the pressure sensitive element 12 and is connected to a control device (interface) 14. The pressure sensitive element 12 can detect a pressing force as low as about 20 gf (0.2 N) to 300 gf (2.9 N), and is preferably as sensitive as possible. In addition, environmental resistance and durability are also required. For example, “Inastomer” (trade name) manufactured by Inaba Rubber Co., Ltd., which has a sense portion using a pressure-sensitive conductive rubber obtained by directly mixing and molding a conductive material into a rubber material, is available. Good sensitivity and detection characteristics were shown.

  The pressure sensitive element 12 used in the present embodiment outputs the pressure to the control device 14 as a logarithmic resistance value change. The control device 14 is provided with means for preventing detection malfunction due to sensitivity correction, quantitative conversion by proportional output, measurement value averaging, and detection sampling time setting. On the control device 14 side, the operation sensitivity of the device can be adjusted according to the characteristics of the pressure-sensitive element 12 to be used and the powder raw material to be processed. In this case, the control device 14 may be a controller that outputs a signal by voltage output, relay, or the like at a preset sensitivity (sensitivity threshold) or higher, and is a sequencer that is normally provided in an existing dry granulator. It can be easily used simply by connecting.

  Such a dry granulator 1 is operated in the following manner. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the operation sequence of the dry granulator 1. FIG. 3 shows the operation in the normal continuous operation mode (normal mode), and FIG. 4 shows the operation in the small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode (small amount test mode). As shown in FIG. 3, in the normal mode, after the raw materials are charged (S1), when the apparatus is started (S2), the motor of each mechanism of the dry granulator 1 is roll 2 → screw 5 → scraper (62: FIG. 6), the operation is sequentially started from the downstream side to the upstream side (S3 to S5), and the continuous operation state (S6) is entered.

  When a predetermined amount of processing is completed and the raw material is reduced by performing continuous operation (S7), the sequence control is performed so that the motor is sequentially stopped from the upstream side to the downstream side through a time interval, contrary to when the operation is started ( The operation is stopped (S11). Thus, in the normal mode, flakes are generated by compacting the powder raw material while preventing overload of each electric motor, local aggregation and consolidation of the powder raw material, and residual in the machine.

  On the other hand, in the small amount test mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the roll 2 is not initially operated and the rotation is stopped. Therefore, unlike the normal mode, the screw 5 is actuated first. The scraper is not operated because the amount of the raw material is small, but it may be operated after the screw 5 depending on the amount of the powder raw material. Therefore, in the small amount test mode, first, a small amount of powder raw material is charged into the hopper 51 (S21), and when the apparatus is started (S22), the screw 5 is rotated at a low speed of about 20 to 30 rpm while the roll 2 is stopped. (S23). At that time, a predetermined compression hydraulic pressure is applied to the roll 2 and the distance between the rolls is set to a predetermined dimension (here, a predetermined gap of 1 mm or less is provided to prevent contact).

  Thereafter, when the screw 5 is continuously operated (S24), the powder raw material gradually moves in the screw case 6 from directly below the hopper 51 toward the raw material biting portion 4 in the right direction. At this time, since the roll 2 is stopped, by this conveyance, the powder raw material is shaped as if traveling toward the dead end wall, stays in front of the roll 2, and is concentrated and filled in the raw material biting portion 4. The A hatched portion 15 in FIG. 2 indicates a powder concentration state on the raw material biting portion 4 of a small amount of raw material. As described above, there is a gap of 1 mm or less between the rolls 2, and even if an air pocket that does not escape from the raw material biting portion 4 is formed, it is easily discharged from the gap between the front rolls.

  Next, the pressure in the raw material biting portion 4 is detected by the pressure sensitive element 12 in order to grasp the filling state of the powder raw material while concentrating the powder raw material in the raw material biting portion 4 (S25). The pressure sensitive elements 12 are arranged on both sides of the raw material biting portion 4 and operate the roll 2 when the pressure detected by both pressure sensitive elements 12 reaches a preset target pressure value (S26, S27). ). In this case, the control device 14 performs AND gate processing on the detected values of the two pressure sensitive elements 12, and the roll 2 operates only when both detected values exceed a predetermined value. Thereby, the powder pressure in the width direction of the roll 2 is maintained at a predetermined value or more, and the consolidation process is performed in a state where the powder filling state in the roll width direction is stabilized. When the powder filling pressure of the raw material biting portion 4 is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold, the operation of the roll 2 is continued (S28 → S27).

  When the roll 2 rotates in this way, the compacting process is performed and the powder raw material is compacted and discharged, the powder filling pressure of the raw material biting portion 4 is lowered. Therefore, when any one of the pressure sensitive elements 12 falls below the lower limit threshold value, the rotation operation of the roll 2 and the screw 5 is stopped (S28 → S29, S30), and the operation is ended (S31). That is, when the powder filling pressure of the raw material biting portion 4 cannot be secured above a predetermined value, the processing is stopped. Thus, in the small amount test mode, the powder raw material is supplied from the raw material biting portion 4 to the roll 2 only in the stable state region, and it is possible to reliably obtain a desired consolidated sample even with a small amount of raw material. Thus, in the dry granulator 1 according to the present invention, the powder raw material filling state in the raw material biting portion 4 immediately before compaction is set to a width so that flakes with good compaction uniformity can be obtained even with a small amount of raw material. The three-dimensional and direct understanding of the direction, including the direction, helps to stabilize the flakes.

  Note that the operation of the screw 5 may be continued in S28. In this case, when the powder raw material still remains, the powder raw material is collected again in the raw material biting portion 4 when the roll 2 is stopped. start. Then, when both detected pressures of the pressure sensitive elements 12 exceed a predetermined value, the roll 2 may be actuated again to perform the consolidation process. That is, in the dry granulator 1, the powder raw material can be intermittently consolidated under the optimum processing conditions even in the small amount test mode.

  As described above, it is relatively difficult to confirm compaction formability with a small amount of raw material in an up-and-down roll type dry granulator. However, in the mounting experiment using the dry granulator 1 according to the present invention, in the apparatus using the screw 5 having a diameter of about 40 mm and a feed length of about 400 mm, the material to be consolidated is a small amount of about 200 cc. In the test mode, the pressure-sensitive element 12 can accurately detect and check the material compaction.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the dry granulator 1 in which the raw material compression rolls are arranged up and down has been described as an example, but the dry granulator in which the rolls are horizontally arranged as shown in FIG. The present invention can also be applied to a dry granulator arranged in the above. Therefore, in these dry granulators, it is possible to confirm the compactness of a small amount of the material to be consolidated by the same method as described above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the pressure sensitive element 12 that outputs the pressure to the control device 14 as a logarithmic resistance value change is used. However, the pressure pressure in the raw material biting portion 4 can be detected in real time. If so, the type of sensor is not particularly limited.

  The present invention can be widely applied not only to pharmaceuticals but also to the production of granulated materials as raw materials for foods, fertilizers, chemical raw materials, synthetic resins and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dry granulator 2 Raw material compression roll 2a, 2b Raw material compression roll 3 Rotating shaft 3a, 3b Rotating shaft 4 Raw material biting part 5 Conveying screw 6 Screw case 6a Tip part 7 Vertical seal 8 Side seal 8a, 8b Side seal 9 Side seal sliding plate 11 Side seal support plate 12 Pressure sensitive element 13 Lead wiring 14 Controller 15 Shaded portion 50 Dry granulator 51 Hopper 52 Conveying screw 53 Raw material compression rolls 53a, 53b Raw material compression roll 54 Rotating shaft 54a , 54b Rotating shaft 55 Screw case portion 56 Scraper 57 Screw motor 58 Raw material biting portion 59 Side seal 60 Dry granulator 61 Rotating shaft 62 Scraper 63 Scraper motor 70 Dry granulator 71 Small amount dedicated roll 72 Feed bar 73 Bar Guide 74 Bar Ga De 75 powder raw materials X feed bar advancing direction

Claims (7)

A hopper for storing and supplying powder raw materials;
A pair of raw material compression rolls arranged at a predetermined interval from the hopper;
A conveying screw that is disposed between the hopper and the raw material compression roll and conveys the powder raw material stored in the hopper to the raw material compression roll;
A raw material biting portion formed between an end portion of the conveying screw on the raw material compression roll side and a pair of the raw material compression rolls,
A dry granulator for supplying the powder raw material to the raw material biting portion by the conveying screw and compacting and granulating the powder raw material between rotating raw material compression rolls,
The dry granulator
A pressure-sensitive element that is disposed in the raw material biting portion and detects a filling state of the powder raw material in the raw material biting portion;
A control device that performs rotation control of the raw material compression roll based on an output signal of the pressure-sensitive element;
When the control device detects that the pressure of the powder raw material in the raw material biting portion is equal to or higher than a predetermined value by the pressure-sensitive element in a state where the conveying screw is operated, A dry granulator having a small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode for operating a roll. In the dry granulator according to claim 1,
The dry granulator further has a side seal for preventing powder leakage provided on both side surfaces of the raw material compression roll and disposed so as to cover the raw material biting portion.
The pressure-sensitive element is attached to each of the side seals. In the dry granulator according to claim 2,
The control device operates the raw material compression roll when detecting a predetermined target pressure value preset in both of the pressure sensitive elements in the small amount raw material compactness confirmation test mode. Granulator. In the dry granulator according to claim 2 or 3,
The control device stops rotation of the raw material compression roll when any one of detection values by the pressure sensitive element falls below a lower limit threshold in the small amount raw material compaction confirmation test mode. Dry granulator. In the dry granulator according to claim 4,
The said control apparatus stops the rotation of the said conveyance screw with the said roll for raw material compression, when either one of the detected values by the said pressure sensitive element falls below a minimum threshold value, The dry granulator characterized by the above-mentioned. A dry granulator according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control device operates the raw material compressing roll and the conveying screw in the order of the raw material compressing roll and the conveying screw separately from the small amount raw material compactness confirmation test mode, and compacts and granulates the powder raw material. A dry granulator characterized by having a normal continuous operation mode. The dry granulator according to claim 6, wherein
The dry granulator is characterized in that the normal continuous operation mode is executed without using an output signal of the pressure sensitive element.

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