JP2023017226A - Dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a simple structure by integrating a shielding structure of snowy dry ice and a cutting structure of compressed dry ice.SOLUTION: A nozzle part 120 is provided with a plurality of molding holes 121. A cutting plate 140 is arranged outside a cylinder 110 so as to be capable of reciprocating in a direction orthogonal to an axial direction of the cylinder 110, and opens/closes the plurality of molding holes 121 while sliding with the nozzle part 120. A piston 130 moves toward a nozzle part 150 in the state that the plurality of molding holes 121 are closed by the cutting plate 140, whereby snowy dry ice 2 is compressed. The piston 130 further moves toward the nozzle part 120 in the state that the cutting plate 140 has moved and the plurality of molding holes 121 are opened, whereby compressed snowy dry ice 3 is extruded from the plurality of molding holes 121. The cutting plate 140 moves in a direction in which the plurality of molding holes 121 are closed, whereby a portion extruded from the compressed snowy dry ice 3 is cut.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus.

JP-A-2006-52113 (Patent Document 1) is a prior art document that discloses a method for producing dry ice pellets and a configuration of an apparatus. The dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a molding chamber, a molding plate, extrusion means, shielding means, and cutting means. The forming plate is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the forming chamber and has a large number of holes formed therein. The pushing means are capable of compressing snow-like dry ice in the forming chamber toward the forming plate. The shielding means prevents leakage of snowy dry ice from the molding chamber. The cutting means cuts the rod-shaped dry ice extruded from the hole of the forming plate.

JP 2006-52113 A

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a member for shielding the snow-like dry ice in the cylinder and a member for cutting the compressed dry ice are separately provided, so that the constituent members of the device are number, and the structure of the device becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus has a simple structure in which the snow-like dry ice shielding structure and the compressed dry ice cutting structure are integrated. intended to provide

A dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a cylinder, a nozzle section, a piston and a cutting plate. The cylinder extends axially and contains snow-like dry ice. The nozzle portion is arranged at one end portion of the cylinder in the axial direction, and is provided with a plurality of forming holes. The piston is arranged inside the cylinder so as to be able to reciprocate in the axial direction. The cutting plate is arranged outside the cylinder so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction, and opens and closes the plurality of forming holes while sliding on the nozzle portion. The snow-like dry ice is compressed by moving the piston toward the nozzle portion in a state in which the plurality of forming holes are closed by the cutting plate. In a state in which the cutting plate is moved to open a plurality of forming holes, the compressed snow-like dry ice is pushed out from the plurality of forming holes by further moving the piston toward the nozzle portion. The portion extruded from the compacted snow-like dry ice is cut by moving the cutting plate in the direction of closing the plurality of forming holes.

In one aspect of the present invention, the movement of the piston in the direction toward the nozzle portion and the opening and closing of the plurality of forming holes by the cutting plate are alternately and continuously performed, so that the compressed snow-like dry ice is constant. It is cut every time it is extruded.

In one form of the present invention, the cutting plate includes a sliding surface portion and an inclined surface portion. The sliding surface portion slides on the nozzle portion. The inclined surface portion intersects with the sliding surface portion at an acute angle. At the ridge where the sliding surface and the inclined surface intersect, the portion extruded from the compressed snow-like dry ice is cut.

In one aspect of the present invention, the cutting plate is made of resin.

In one form of the present invention, the sliding surface portion is polished.

According to the present invention, the shielding structure for snow-like dry ice and the cutting structure for compressed dry ice can be integrated into a simple structure.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a dry ice pellet manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which snow-like dry ice is compressed in the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is extruded from a molding hole in the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is cut in the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a graph showing the operational relationship of the constituent members of the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is extruded from a forming hole in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is cut in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example; 4 is a graph showing the standard error of length of dry ice pellets according to an embodiment and a comparative example.

Hereinafter, a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the embodiments, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a dry ice pellet manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a dry ice pellet manufacturing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a liquefied carbon dioxide gas supply system 10 and a dry ice pellet manufacturing device 20 .

The liquefied carbon dioxide gas supply system 10 includes a liquefied carbon dioxide storage container 100 , a carbon dioxide pipe 101 , a first opening/closing portion 102 , and a throttle portion 103 . The liquefied carbon dioxide gas supply system 10 further includes a pressure gauge that measures the pressure inside the carbon dioxide pipe 101 .

The liquefied carbon dioxide storage container 100 stores liquefied carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide pipe 101 is connected to the liquefied carbon dioxide storage container 100 to form a flow path for liquefied carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide.

The first opening/closing part 102 is provided in the middle of the carbon dioxide gas pipe 101 . The first opening/closing part 102 is composed of a manually openable/closable valve. Note that the first opening/closing unit 102 may be composed of a valve that can be automatically opened and closed.

The throttle portion 103 is provided downstream of the first opening/closing portion 102 in the liquefied carbon dioxide gas supply system 10 . The throttle portion 103 is configured by an orifice plate in one embodiment of the present invention. The flow rate of the liquefied carbon dioxide gas is adjusted by the throttle section 103 . The temperature of the liquefied carbon dioxide gas decreases due to adiabatic expansion at the constricted portion 103 . Snow-like dry ice is formed by lowering the temperature of the liquefied carbon dioxide.

The dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 is provided downstream of the throttle section 103 . Snow-like dry ice is supplied to the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 .

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to this embodiment includes a cylinder 110, a nozzle section 120, a piston 130, a cutting plate 140, and a base 150.

Cylinder 110 is a hollow cylindrical member. Cylinder 110 extends in the axial direction and accommodates snow-like dry ice 2 . Cylinder 110 is made of, for example, iron or aluminum.

The cylinder 110 has a supply portion 111 and a discharge portion 112 in a part of the circumferential direction. The supply unit 111 supplies the snow-like dry ice 2 supplied from the liquefied carbon dioxide gas supply system 10 to the inside of the cylinder 110 . The discharge part 112 discharges the gas existing inside the cylinder 110 to the outside when the snow-like dry ice 2 is compressed, which will be described later.

The nozzle part 120 is a plate-like member arranged at one axial end of the cylinder 110 . Nozzle portion 120 includes an inner surface portion 122 located on the cylinder 110 side and an outer surface portion 123 located on the opposite side of cylinder 110 . Nozzle portion 120 is made of, for example, iron or aluminum.

A plurality of forming holes 121 are provided in the nozzle portion 120 . The plurality of molding holes 121 in this embodiment are provided in parallel in the axial direction of the cylinder 110 . Each of the plurality of molding holes 121 connects and penetrates the inner surface portion 122 and the outer surface portion 123 . Each diameter of the plurality of forming holes 121 is, for example, 10 mm.

The piston 130 is a columnar member arranged inside the cylinder. Piston 130 can reciprocate in the axial direction of cylinder 110 . Piston 130 is made of, for example, iron or aluminum.

The cutting plate 140 is a plate-like member arranged outside the cylinder 110 . The cutting plate 140 can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylinder 110 . The cutting plate 140 can be reciprocated by a driving mechanism (not shown). The cutting plate 140 opens and closes the plurality of forming holes 121 while sliding on the nozzle portion 120 .

The cutting plate 140 is made of resin. Cutting plate 140 is made of polyacetal, for example. The material of the cutting plate 140 is not limited to resin, and may be metal such as iron or aluminum.

The cutting plate 140 has a sliding surface portion 141 , an inclined surface portion 142 and a ridge portion 143 .

The sliding surface portion 141 is positioned on the nozzle portion 120 side of the cutting plate 140 . The sliding surface portion 141 slides on the nozzle portion 120 when the cutting plate 140 opens and closes the plurality of molding holes 121 . Specifically, the sliding surface portion 141 slides on the outer surface portion 123 .

The sliding surface portion 141 is polished. The surface roughness (Ra) of the sliding surface portion is, for example, 0.8 μm or less. The sliding surface portion 141 is buffed, for example.

The inclined surface portion 142 is located on the opposite side of the cutting plate 140 to the nozzle portion 120 . The inclined surface portion 142 intersects with the sliding surface portion 141 at an acute angle.

The ridge portion 143 is a portion where the sliding surface portion 141 and the inclined surface portion 142 of the cutting plate 140 intersect. At the ridge 143, the portion extruded from the compressed snow-like dry ice, which will be described later, is cut. The ridge portion 143 has a curved surface shape when viewed from the cross-sectional direction of the cutting plate 140 and connects the sliding surface portion 141 and the inclined surface portion 142 . In addition, the shape of the ridge portion 143 is not limited to a curved surface shape, and may be a linear shape connecting the sliding surface portion 141 and the inclined surface portion 142 .

The pedestal 150 is a member that supports the constituent members of the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 . The pedestal 150 is provided at the bottom of the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 . The mount 150 is fixed to the cylinder 110 by a fixing member (not shown). The pedestal 150 is positioned on an extension line in the axial direction of the cylinder 110 . The mount 150 is arranged below the cutting plate 140 . The cradle 150 is slidable with the cutting plate 140 such that no dry ice pellets formed remain between the cutting plate 140 and the cradle 150 . Note that the pedestal 150 may have a configuration in which a minute gap is provided between the pedestal 150 and the cutting plate 140 .

A hopper 151 is provided on the platform 150 . Hopper 151 is a container that contains the formed dry ice pellets.

The operation of the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which snowy dry ice is compressed in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is extruded from a molding hole in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is cut in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the snow-like dry ice 2 is supplied from the supply section 111 into the cylinder 110 . Snow-like dry ice 2 accumulates inside the cylinder 110 . When the snow-like dry ice 2 is supplied inside the cylinder 110 , the cutting plate 140 closes the plurality of forming holes 121 . This prevents the snow-like dry ice 2 from leaking out from the plurality of molding holes 121 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, with the plurality of forming holes 121 closed by the cutting plate 140, the snow-like dry ice 2 is supplied to the inside of the cylinder 110, and the piston 130 moves toward the nozzle portion 120. As a result, the snow-like dry ice 2 is compressed while suppressing leakage of the snow-like dry ice 2 . The compressed snow-like dry ice 3 in this embodiment is shaped to have a desired density by adjusting the time for the piston 130 to move at a constant speed and compress the snow-like dry ice 2 .

The compressive stress of piston 130 is, for example, 20 MPa. At the same time when the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 is formed, the gas remaining in the cylinder 110 is discharged to the outside from the discharge portion 112 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 4 , in a state in which the cutting plate 140 is moved to open the plurality of forming holes 121 , the piston 130 moves further toward the nozzle portion 120 to compress the plurality of forming holes 121 . The dried snow-like dry ice 3 is extruded. By adjusting the time for pushing out the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 by the piston 130, the length in the axial direction of the cylinder 110 of the pushed-out portion 3p of the compressed snow-like dry ice is adjusted. The compressed snow-like dry ice 3 is pushed out by 100 mm by setting the pushing time of the piston 130 to 50 msec, for example.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the cutting plate 140 moves in the direction to close the plurality of forming holes 121, thereby cutting the portion 3p pushed out from the compressed snow-like dry ice 3. As shown in FIG. Dry ice pellets 4 are obtained by cutting the portion 3p extruded from the compressed snow-like dry ice. Dry ice pellets 4 are accommodated in hopper 151 .

The dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 in one embodiment of the present invention extrudes the dry ice pellets 4 downward, but is not limited to downward extrusion, and has a structure in which the dry ice pellets 4 are extruded upward. good too.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the operational relationship of the components of the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the movement of the piston 130 in the direction toward the nozzle portion 120 and the opening and closing of the plurality of forming holes 121 by the cutting plate 140 are alternately and continuously performed, thereby compressing. Each time the snow-like dry ice 3 is pushed out by a certain amount, it is cut.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the piston 130 descending from the raised position stops at time t1 when the snow-like dry ice 2 is compressed, and the cutting plate 140 opens a plurality of forming holes 121. start moving in the direction At time t2, the movement of the cutting plate 140 in the direction of opening the plurality of molding holes 121 is completed, and the piston 130 starts to descend. As a result, the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 is pushed out from the plurality of molding holes 121 . At time t3, the piston 130 stops descending and the cutting plate 140 starts moving in the direction of closing the plurality of forming holes 121 . At time t4, the movement of the cutting plate 140 in the direction of closing the plurality of forming holes 121 is completed. As a result, the portion 3p extruded from the compressed snow-like dry ice is cut by the cutting plate 140 to form the dry ice pellets 4. As shown in FIG. This cycle from time t1 to time t4 is repeated until the piston 130 descends to the lowered position and the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 inside the cylinder 110 is discharged from inside the cylinder 110 .

Here, a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example of one embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to the comparative example of one embodiment of the present invention differs from the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention in the configuration of the cutting plate and the operation of the piston and the cutting plate, the present invention The description of the configuration that is the same as that of the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment will not be repeated.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example. As shown in FIG. 7, the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 90 according to the comparative example includes a cylinder 110, a nozzle section 120, a piston 130, a cutting plate 940, and a base 150.

A cutting plate 940 according to this comparative example includes a sliding surface portion 941 , a pressing surface portion 942 , and a ridge portion 943 .

The sliding surface portion 941 is positioned on the nozzle portion 120 side of the cutting plate 940 . The sliding surface portion 941 slides on the nozzle portion 120 when the cutting plate 940 opens and closes the plurality of forming holes 121 .

The pressing surface portion 942 is a surface perpendicular to the sliding surface portion 941 . The ridge portion 943 is a portion where the sliding surface portion 941 and the pressing surface portion 942 of the cutting plate 940 intersect.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is extruded from a forming hole in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which compressed dry ice is cut in a dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to a comparative example.

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 90 according to the comparative example, the piston 130 continues to move until it reaches the nozzle portion 120 without stopping.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 is pushed out, comes into contact with the pedestal 150, and breaks. The portion 3 p that has been pushed out from the compressed snow-like dry ice remains unfolded from the plurality of molding holes 121 .

As shown in FIG. 9 , after the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 in the cylinder 110 is pushed out, the cutting plate 940 moves in the direction to close the plurality of forming holes 121 . Either the ridge portion 943 or the pressing surface portion 942 contacts the portion 3p pushed out from the compressed snow-like dry ice. As a result, the unfolded part of the part 3p pushed out from the compressed snow-like dry ice is cut off.

In the comparative example, the portion 3p that is pushed out from the compressed snow-like dry ice and remains unfolded is not necessarily cut off at the ridge portion 943. As shown in FIG. The dry ice pellet 4A according to the comparative example includes a portion 3p extruded from the compressed snow-like dry ice that abuts against the pedestal 150 and is broken, and a portion that is cut by the cutting plate 940.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the standard error of length of dry ice pellets according to an embodiment and a comparative example. FIG. 10 shows the standard error of the length of the dry ice pellets in the axial direction of the cylinder 110 when 27 dry ice pellets were measured in each of the embodiment and the comparative example.

As shown in FIG. 10, the standard error of the length of the dry ice pellets of this embodiment is smaller than that of the comparative example. Specifically, the standard error of the length of the dry ice pellets was about 1.4 mm in the comparative example and about 0.8 mm in the present embodiment. The distribution range of the length of the dry ice pellets was 5 mm or more and 30 mm or less in the comparative example, and 5 mm or more and 12 mm or less in the present embodiment.

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention, when the cutting plate 140 compresses the snow-like dry ice 2, the plurality of molding holes 121 are closed, and the plurality of molding holes 121 are opened. Since the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 can be cut by closing it, the structure for shielding the snow-like dry ice and the structure for cutting the compressed dry ice can be integrated into a simple structure. .

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the movement of the piston 130 in the direction toward the nozzle portion 120 and the opening and closing of the plurality of forming holes 121 by the cutting plate 140 are alternately and continuously performed. As a result, the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 is cut every time a certain amount of the dry ice is extruded, so variations in the length of the formed dry ice pellets 4 can be suppressed.

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the compressed snow-like dry ice 3 can be cut at the ridge 143 where the sliding surface 141 and the inclined surface 142 intersect. By improving the sharpness of the cutting plate 140, variations in the length of the dry ice pellets 4 can be suppressed.

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the cutting plate 140 is made of resin, so that the thermal conductivity of the cutting plate 140 is reduced and the cooling of the cutting plate 140 by the dry ice pellets 4 is suppressed. It is possible to suppress the generation of ice blocks on the surface of the cutting plate 140 .

In the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the sliding surface portion 141 of the cutting plate 140 is polished, so that dry ice, which can be agglomerated dry ice, adheres to the surface of the sliding surface portion 141. Since it can be made difficult, it is possible to suppress the generation of ice blocks on the surface of the cutting plate 140 .

In addition, the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention is downsized by integrating the snow-like dry ice shielding structure and the compressed dry ice cutting structure into a simple structure. As a result, it is possible to increase the options for where to install the equipment, so it is possible to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for example, "7. Affordable and clean energy." can.

In addition, the dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention can obtain only the required dry ice pellets by suppressing variations in the length of the formed dry ice pellets. , for example, it is possible to contribute to the achievement of the goal of “12.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiment disclosed this time is an example in all respects and does not serve as a basis for restrictive interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted only by the above-described embodiments. In addition, all changes within the meaning and range of equivalents to the scope of claims are included. In the description of the above embodiments, combinable configurations may be combined with each other.

1 dry ice pellet production system, 2 snow-like dry ice, 3 compressed snow-like dry ice, 3p portion extruded from compressed snow-like dry ice, 4, 4A dry ice pellets, 10 liquefied carbon dioxide gas supply system, 20, 90 dry ice pellet manufacturing device, 100 liquefied carbon dioxide gas storage container, 101 carbon dioxide gas pipe, 102 first opening and closing part, 103 throttle part, 110 cylinder, 111 supply part, 112 discharge part, 120 nozzle part, 121 molding hole, 122 inner surface portion, 123 outer surface portion, 130 piston, 140,940 cutting plate, 141,941 sliding surface portion, 142 inclined surface portion, 143,943 ridge portion, 150 base, 151 hopper, 942 pressing surface portion.

Claims (5)

an axially extending cylinder containing dry ice snow;
a nozzle portion disposed at one end of the cylinder in the axial direction and provided with a plurality of molding holes;
a piston arranged inside the cylinder so as to be able to reciprocate in the axial direction;
a cutting plate disposed outside the cylinder so as to be reciprocatable in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction, and sliding with the nozzle portion to open and close the plurality of forming holes;
In a state in which the plurality of forming holes are closed by the cutting plate, the snow-like dry ice is compressed by moving the piston toward the nozzle,
In a state in which the plurality of forming holes are opened by moving the cutting plate, the compressed snow-like dry ice is pushed out from the plurality of forming holes by further moving the piston toward the nozzle portion. ,
The apparatus for manufacturing dry ice pellets, wherein the portion extruded from the compressed snow-like dry ice is cut by moving the cutting plate in a direction to close the plurality of forming holes. The movement of the piston in the direction toward the nozzle portion and the opening and closing of the plurality of forming holes by the cutting plate are alternately and continuously performed to push out a certain amount of the compressed snow-like dry ice. 2. The dry ice pellet making apparatus of claim 1, wherein the dry ice pellets are cut into pieces. The cutting plate includes a sliding surface portion that slides on the nozzle portion,
and an inclined surface section that intersects with the sliding surface section at an acute angle,
3. The apparatus for producing dry ice pellets according to claim 1, wherein the extruded portion is cut from the compressed snow-like dry ice at a ridge where the sliding surface portion and the inclined surface portion intersect. The dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cutting plate is made of resin. 5. The dry ice pellet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said sliding surface portion is polished.

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