JP2023021641A - In-line dispersion apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an in-line dispersion apparatus which includes a homogenizer capable of increasing a controlling width of a shear force to an object to be treated during a process.SOLUTION: An in-line dispersion apparatus includes a homogenizer having a stator 7 and a rotor 8 having a coaxially-arranged axial line and a movement mechanism which relatively moves the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axial line. A stator opposite surface 9 of a stator tooth part 7b of the stator 7 and a rotor opposite surface 10 of a rotor tooth part 8b of the rotor 8 which are relatively opposite to each other via radial direction clearance C are formed in such a shape that a radial direction clearance C is changed in accordance with the relative movement in a direction of the axial line of the stator 7 and the rotor 8 and the radial direction clearance C can be variably adjusted by movement mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an in-line dispersing device used for mixing, emulsifying, dispersing, defoaming, etc. of viscous liquids, powders, etc. in the manufacturing processes of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fine chemicals, batteries, foods, and the like.

In the manufacturing process of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fine chemicals, batteries, food, etc., dispersing devices used for mixing, emulsifying, dispersing, defoaming, etc. of viscous liquids and powders are installed in the middle of piping. type (hereinafter referred to as an in-line dispersing device). As this in-line dispersing device, there is known a homogenizer which has a stator and a rotor whose axes are arranged coaxially, and which sucks, disperses, and pushes out the material to be processed by the turbulence effect accompanying the rotation of the rotor. (See Patent Document 1, for example).

Japanese Patent No. 6685066

By the way, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, in this type of in-line dispersing device, the stator is formed along a stator base and along the circumferential direction of the stator base, and extends in the axial direction from the stator base. It has stator teeth extending to one side. Further, the rotor includes a rotor base portion and a rotor formed along the circumferential direction of the rotor base portion, extending from the rotor base portion to the other side in the axial direction, and combined with the stator tooth portion via a clearance in the radial direction. It has teeth.

The workpiece is subjected to a shearing force by the stator toothing and the rotor toothing. controlled.

However, when changing the clearance between the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion, it is necessary to temporarily stop the in-line dispersing device and perform disassembly and assembly. Therefore, during the process, the shear force is controlled only by the rotational speed of the rotor, and the control width is small. Therefore, there is a situation in which it is not possible to adequately respond to changes in shear force during the process.

In view of the above circumstances, it is a technical object of the present invention to provide an in-line dispersing apparatus equipped with a homogenizer capable of increasing the control range of the shearing force applied to the material to be processed during the process.

An in-line dispersing device according to the present invention, which has been devised to solve the above problems, has a casing, a stator and a rotor arranged inside the casing and having their axes coaxial, and rotates the rotor. A homogenizer that sucks, disperses, and pushes out the material to be processed by the accompanying turbulence effect, a supply unit for supplying the material to be processed from the outside of the casing to the inside, and discharging the material to be processed from the inside of the casing to the outside. The material to be treated supplied to the inside of the casing via the supply part is sucked by the homogenizer, dispersed, and pushed out to the outside of the casing via the discharge part. In an in-line dispersing device that discharges and has a stator tooth extending from the stator base to one side in the axial direction, and the rotor includes a rotor base and a rotor formed along the circumferential direction of the rotor base and extending from the rotor base in the axial direction. and has a rotor tooth portion that is combined with the stator tooth portion via a radial clearance, and the facing surfaces of the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion that face each other via the radial clearance are , the radial clearance is formed in a shape that changes according to the relative movement of the stator and the rotor in the axial direction, and the radial clearance is variable and adjustable by the movement mechanism. .

According to this configuration, the radial clearance between the stator teeth and the rotor teeth can be variably adjusted by relatively moving the stator and the rotor in the axial direction. Relative axial movement of the stator and rotor is possible even during the process. The radial clearance between the stator toothing and the rotor toothing is thus variable and adjustable, even during the process. Therefore, even during the process, the shear force on the workpiece can be variably adjusted. As a result, the shear force during the process can also be controlled by the radial clearance between the stator teeth and the rotor teeth, allowing a greater control range than in the conventional case where it is controlled only by the rotational speed of the rotor. It is possible. That is, according to the in-line dispersing device of the present invention, it is possible to provide an in-line dispersing device equipped with a homogenizer capable of increasing the control range of the shearing force applied to the object to be processed during the process.

In addition, by variably adjusting the radial clearance between the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion, it is possible to variably adjust the resistance when the material to be processed enters the homogenizer. can be variably adjusted. Therefore, the processing flow rate of the workpiece can be variably adjusted during the process.

Further, in the cleaning step, the cleaning performance of the stator and rotor can be improved by increasing the radial clearance between the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion, and washing the stator and rotor by allowing the washing liquid to pass therethrough as the rotor rotates. . This makes it possible to eliminate the need for disassembly and cleaning of the stator and rotor.

In addition, it is possible to always adjust the radial clearance between the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion according to the degree of wear of the stator and rotor.

In the above configuration, the stator may be arranged slidably in the axial direction with respect to the inner circumference of the casing.

With this configuration, it is possible to easily obtain a structure for relatively moving the stator and the rotor in the axial direction.

Said structure WHEREIN: The said supply part may have a supply path which penetrates the said stator along the said axis.

With this configuration, it is possible to smoothly supply the material to be processed into the homogenizer through the supply path penetrating the stator.

In the above configuration, the facing surfaces of at least one of the stator toothed portion and the rotor toothed portion extend toward the distal end side of the toothed portion in a cross section including the axis line. It may be formed on an inclined surface so as to be gradually displaced toward the side surface opposite to the surface.

With this configuration, it is possible to easily obtain a facing surface having a shape in which the radial clearance between the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion changes according to the relative movement of the stator and rotor in the axial direction.

In the above configuration, the facing surfaces of both the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion may be formed on the inclined surface.

Said structure WHEREIN: In the cross section containing the said axis, the said inclined surface may be linear.

In the above configuration, in a cross section including the axis, the stator teeth and the rotor teeth may each have a symmetrical shape with a straight line parallel to the axis as an axis of symmetry.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the in-line dispersing apparatus provided with the homogenizer which can control the shearing force to the to-be-processed object in a process widely can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic partial cross section (cross section containing an axis line) top view of the in-line dispersing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the X section of FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a Y portion of FIG. 2; FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of one side in the axial direction of the periphery of the stator teeth of the stator; FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view including an axis line) around a stator tooth portion of a stator; It is the schematic which looked at the stator tooth|gear part of the stator tooth|gear part from the one side of the axial direction. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the periphery of the stator teeth of the stator as seen from the outer peripheral side; It is a schematic perspective view of the other side of the rotor in the axial direction. It is the schematic which looked at the rotor from the other side of the axial direction. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional (cross-sectional view including an axis line) view of a rotor; FIG. It is the schematic which looked at the rotor from the outer peripheral side. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 2 which shows the modification of an in-line dispersing apparatus. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional (cross-sectional view including an axis line) showing a modification of the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion;

An in-line dispersing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the in-line dispersing device 1 includes a casing 2, a homogenizer 3, a supply section 4, a discharge section 5, and a moving mechanism 6 as main components.

The homogenizer 3 is arranged inside the casing 2 and has a stator 7 and a rotor 8 arranged so that their axes are the same as the axis A. As shown in FIG. Further, the homogenizer 3 sucks, disperses, and pushes out the material to be processed by the turbulence effect associated with the rotation of the rotor 8 .

The supply part 4 is a part for supplying the material to be processed from the outside to the inside of the casing 2 , and the discharge part 5 is a part for discharging the material to be processed from the inside to the outside of the casing 2 . The moving mechanism 6 relatively moves the stator 7 and the rotor 8 of the homogenizer 3 in the direction of the axis A. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the direction of the axis A is along the lateral direction (horizontal direction), but the direction of the axis A may be along the vertical direction without being limited to this. In the following description, one side in the direction of the axis A is the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the other side in the direction of the axis A is the left side in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, a supply pipe P1 is connected to the supply portion 4 of the inline dispersing device 1, and a discharge pipe P2 is connected to the discharge portion 5 of the inline dispersing device 1. As shown in FIG.

As indicated by white arrows in FIG. It is discharged to the outside of the casing 2 through.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the stator 7 includes a cylindrical stator base portion 7a and stator teeth formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the stator base portion 7a. It has two parts 7b. The stator tooth portion 7b has stator side surfaces 7c on the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side. Stator through holes 7d penetrating in the radial direction are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction in the stator tooth portion 7b. The stator through-hole 7d has an elongated hole shape that is inclined with respect to the axis A direction when viewed along the through-hole direction. The two stator tooth portions 7b have the same shape, size, number, and circumferential position of the stator through holes 7d.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stator base 7a of the stator 7 is arranged inside the casing 2 at one side in the direction of the axis A, and inside the casing 2 at the other side in the direction of the axis A. located outside. The supply unit 4 is provided on the stator base 7a of the stator 7 and has a supply path R for the workpiece passing through the stator 7 along the axis A. As shown in FIG. The supply path R is constituted by an internal space of a through hole formed along the axis A in the stator base 7a of the stator 7. As shown in FIG.

A stator base portion 7a of the stator 7 is arranged slidably in the direction of the axis A with respect to the inner circumference of the casing 2. As shown in FIG. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a seal member S1 is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the peripheral wall portion 2a on the other side of the casing 2 in the direction of the axis A, and the outer peripheral surface of the stator base portion 7a is a seal member. It slides in contact with the member S1.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the rotor 8 includes a disk-shaped rotor base portion 8a and a rotor base portion 8a formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the rotor base portion 8a and extending from the rotor base portion 8a to the other side in the direction of the axis A. It has one tooth portion 8b. The rotor tooth portion 8b has rotor side surfaces 8c on the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side. 8 d of rotor through-holes penetrated radially are formed in the rotor tooth part 8b at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The rotor through-hole 8d has an elongated hole shape extending along the axis A direction when viewed along the through-hole direction. The number of rotor through-holes 8d is the same as the number of stator through-holes 7d of one stator tooth portion 7b.

Further, a plurality of blade portions 8e are formed on the inner peripheral side of the rotor tooth portion 8b of the rotor 8 and extend from the rotor base portion 8a to the other side in the axis A direction. As shown in FIG. 9, when viewed from the other side in the direction of the axis A, the blade portion 8e has a shape that gradually displaces toward the outer peripheral side toward one side in the circumferential direction of the rotor base portion 8a. A boss portion 8f extending in the other direction of the axis A is formed in the center of the rotor base portion 8a. The inner peripheral end of the blade portion 8e is radially separated from the boss portion 8f by a predetermined distance. A shaft portion 8g extending in the direction of the axis A is formed at the center of the rotor base portion 8a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotor teeth 8b of the rotor 8 are combined with the stator teeth 7b of the stator 7 with a clearance C in the radial direction. The stator side surface 7c of the stator tooth portion 7b (hereinafter referred to as the stator facing surface 9) and the rotor side surface 8c of the rotor tooth portion 8b (hereinafter referred to as the rotor facing surface 10) facing each other via the radial clearance C A directional clearance C is formed in a shape that changes according to the relative movement of the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A. As shown in FIG. Therefore, by relatively moving the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A by the moving mechanism 6, the radial clearance C between the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor tooth portion 8b can be variably adjusted.

The inner stator side surface 7c of the inner stator tooth portion 7b and the outer peripheral end surface 8h of the blade portion 8e of the rotor 8 also face each other with a predetermined radial clearance.

The stator facing surface 9 of the stator tooth portion 7b is gradually displaced toward the distal end side of the stator tooth portion 7b toward the stator side surface 7c on the side opposite to the stator facing surface 9 of the stator tooth portion 7b in the cross section including the axis A. It is formed on an inclined surface that is inclined so as to In a cross section including the axis A, this inclined surface is linear.

Further, in a cross section including the axis A, the stator tooth portion 7b has a symmetrical shape with a straight line L parallel to the axis A as an axis of symmetry.

In this embodiment, both of the rotor side surfaces 8c of the rotor teeth 8b are the rotor facing surfaces 10. As shown in FIG. One of the rotor-facing surfaces 10 of the rotor teeth 8b extends toward the tip side of the rotor teeth 8b in the cross section including the axis A, toward the rotor side 8c on the opposite side of the rotor-facing surface 10 of the rotor teeth 8b (the other side of the rotor teeth 8b). It is formed on an inclined surface that is gradually displaced toward the rotor facing surface 10). In a cross section including the axis A, this inclined surface is linear.

Further, in a cross section including the axis A, the rotor tooth portion 8b has a symmetrical shape with a straight line L parallel to the axis A as an axis of symmetry.

In a cross section including the axis A, the inclined surface of the rotor facing surface 10 and the inclined surface of the stator facing surface 9 are parallel. In other words, in a cross section including the axis A, the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the rotor facing surface 10 with respect to the axis A is the same as the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the stator facing surface 9 with respect to the axis A. Therefore, the radial clearance C between the rotor facing surface 10 and the stator facing surface 9 is uniform in the direction of the axis A. As shown in FIG. This does not change even if the stator 7 and the rotor 8 are moved in the direction of the axis A relatively.

In this embodiment, the position of the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A is fixed, and the moving mechanism 6 moves the stator 7 in the direction of the axis A with respect to the rotor 8 . As shown in FIG. 1, the moving mechanism 6 has a feed screw mechanism 6a and a moving motor 6b. A flange portion 7e is provided on the other side of the outer peripheral surface of the stator base portion 7a of the stator 7 in the direction of the axis A, and a mounting portion 7f extending to the outer peripheral side is provided on a part of the flange portion 7e in the circumferential direction. , the nut portion of the feed screw mechanism 6a is attached to the attachment portion 7f. The rotation axis of the screw shaft of the feed screw mechanism 6a is parallel to the axis A. The rotational driving force of the moving motor 6b is converted into a driving force for moving the stator 7 along the axis A direction by the feed screw mechanism 6a. The movement of the stator 7 along the direction of the axis A is performed, for example, in units of 0.1 mm.

The supply pipe P1 connected to the supply unit 4 is bendable, and as the stator 7 is moved by the moving mechanism 6, the degree of bending of the supply pipe P1 changes. 7 moves are allowed.

The rotor 8 is fixed to the rotary drive shaft 11 with the shaft portion 8 g of the rotor 8 inserted into the end of the rotary drive shaft 11 . The rotor 8 rotates integrally with the rotary drive shaft 11 . A rotary driving force is input to the rotary drive shaft 11 from a rotary drive motor 12 arranged on one side in the axis A direction.

The rotary drive shaft 11 is arranged coaxially with the rotor 8 . The rotary drive shaft 11 is arranged inside the casing 2 and rotatably supported by the casing 2 via a bearing 11a. The internal space of the casing 2 in which the rotor 8 is arranged is separated from the internal space of the casing 2 in which most of the rotary drive shaft 11 is arranged by the seal portion S2.

Further, the casing 2 is fixed to a rotation drive motor 12, and the rotation drive motor 12 is fixed to a support stand (not shown). Further, the movement motor 6b is also fixed to the support base to which the rotation drive motor 12 is fixed.

During the operation of the in-line dispersing device 1, the material to be treated supplied from the supply pipe P1 through the supply unit 4 is sucked into the homogenizer 3 by the turbulence effect accompanying the rotation of the rotor 8 of the homogenizer 3, and is further centrifuged. Due to the force, it is pushed out from the stator through hole 7d of the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor through hole 8d of the rotor tooth portion 8b. . Thereafter, the dispersed material to be processed is discharged to the discharge pipe P2 via the discharge section 5 .

The in-line dispersing device 1 configured as described above can enjoy the following effects.

By relatively moving the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A, the radial clearance C between the stator teeth 7b and the rotor teeth 8b can be variably adjusted. A relative movement of the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A is possible even during the process. Thus, even during the process, the radial clearance C between the stator toothing 7b and the rotor toothing 8b is variable and adjustable. Therefore, even during the process, the shear force on the workpiece can be variably adjusted. As a result, the shear force during the process can also be controlled by the radial clearance C between the stator teeth 7b and the rotor teeth 8b. It is possible to make it larger. That is, according to the in-line dispersing device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an in-line dispersing device equipped with a homogenizer capable of increasing the control range of the shearing force applied to the object to be processed during the process. .

Further, by variably adjusting the radial clearance C between the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor tooth portion 8b, it is possible to variably adjust the resistance when the material to be processed enters the homogenizer 3, thereby increasing the flow rate of the material to be processed per unit time. (processing flow rate) can be variably adjusted. Therefore, the processing flow rate of the workpiece can be variably adjusted during the process.

In the cleaning step, the radial clearance C between the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor tooth portion 8b is increased, and the stator 7 and the rotor 8 are washed by passing the washing liquid as the rotor 8 rotates. can improve the washability of This makes it possible to eliminate the need for disassembling and cleaning the stator 7 and the rotor 8 .

Further, it is possible to always adjust the radial clearance C between the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor tooth portion 8b according to the degree of wear of the stator 7 and the rotor 8. FIG.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the supply section 4 is provided on the stator 7, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , the entire annular stator 7 may be arranged inside the casing 2 and the supply section 4 may be provided on the end wall section 2 b of the casing 2 . In this case, one end of a rod-like member 6c slidably inserted through the end wall portion 2b of the casing 2 is fixed to the stator base portion 7a of the stator 7, and the other end is fixed to the annular connecting portion 6d. A mounting portion 6e extending outward is provided at a portion of the connecting portion 6d in the circumferential direction, and a nut portion (not shown) of the feed screw mechanism 6a is fixed to the mounting portion 6e.

In the above-described embodiment, both the stator-facing surface 9 of the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor-facing surface 10 of the rotor tooth portion 8b are formed as inclined surfaces with respect to the axis A in the cross section including the axis A. However, the stator facing surface 9 of the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor facing surface 10 of the rotor tooth portion 8b are shaped so that the radial clearance C changes according to the relative movement of the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A. It is sufficient if it is formed. For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, one side (the rotor facing surface 10 in the illustrated example) may be formed parallel to the axis A in a cross section including the axis A. Further, as shown in FIG. 13B, both the stator-facing surface 9 of the stator tooth portion 7b and the rotor-facing surface 10 of the rotor tooth portion 8b are straight surfaces parallel to the axis A in a cross section including the axis A. Annular grooves 9b and 10b having a U-shaped cross section including the axis A may be formed in 9a and 10a.

Further, in the above embodiment, the feed screw mechanism 6a is used as the moving mechanism 6, but a mechanism for relatively moving the stator 7 and the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A may be used, such as a cylinder mechanism. may be used.

In the above embodiment, the moving mechanism 6 does not move the stator 7 relative to the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A based on specific information. The stator 7 may be moved in the direction of the axis A with respect to . For example, based on the torque value of the rotor 8, the moving mechanism 6 may move the stator 7 relative to the rotor 8 in the direction of the axis A to variably adjust the radial clearance C.

In the above-described embodiment, the stator through hole 7d of the stator 7 has an oblong hole shape that is inclined with respect to the direction of the axis A when viewed along the through direction. Alternatively, it may have an elongated hole shape extending along the axis A direction. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rotor through hole 8d of the rotor 8 has an elongated hole shape extending along the direction of the axis A when viewed along the through direction. , an elongated hole shape inclined with respect to the axis A direction.

Further, in the above embodiment, the stator tooth portion 7b is formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the stator base portion 7a, but the stator tooth portion 7b is intermittently formed along the circumferential direction of the stator base portion 7a. may be Further, in the above embodiment, the rotor tooth portion 8b is also formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the rotor base portion 8a, but the rotor tooth portion 8b is also formed intermittently along the circumferential direction of the rotor base portion 8a. may have been

Reference Signs List 1 Inline dispersing device 2 Casing 3 Homogenizer 4 Supply unit 5 Discharge unit 6 Moving mechanism 7 Stator 7a Stator base 7b Stator tooth 7c Stator side 8 Rotor 8a Rotor base 8b Rotor tooth 8c Rotor side 9 Stator facing surface 10 Rotor facing surface A Axis C Radial Clearance L Straight Line Parallel to Axis R Supply Path

Claims (7)

A homogenizer that has a casing, a stator and a rotor that are arranged inside the casing and whose axes are coaxial, and that sucks, disperses, and pushes out the material to be processed by the turbulence effect accompanying the rotation of the rotor; a supply section for supplying the material to be processed from the outside to the inside of the casing; and a discharge section for discharging the material to be processed from the inside of the casing to the outside, and the inside of the casing via the supply section. An in-line dispersing device that sucks, disperses, and pushes out the material to be processed supplied to the homogenizer, and discharges it to the outside of the casing through the discharge unit,
A moving mechanism is provided for relatively moving the stator and the rotor of the homogenizer in the direction of the axis,
The stator has a stator base and stator teeth formed along the circumferential direction of the stator base and extending from the stator base to one side in the axial direction. The rotor includes the rotor base and the rotor base. having a rotor tooth formed along the circumferential direction of the rotor base, extending from the rotor base to the other side in the axial direction, and combined with the stator tooth through a radial clearance,
The facing surfaces of the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion facing each other across the radial clearance are formed in a shape such that the radial clearance changes according to the relative movement of the stator and the rotor in the axial direction. and wherein said radial clearance is variable and adjustable by said moving mechanism. 2. The in-line dispersing device according to claim 1, wherein the stator is arranged slidably in the axial direction with respect to the inner circumference of the casing. 3. The in-line dispersing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the feed section has a feed passage passing through the stator along the axis. The facing surface of at least one of the stator tooth portion and the rotor tooth portion is located on the opposite side of the tooth portion toward the tip side of the tooth portion in a cross section including the axis line. 4. The in-line dispersing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the in-line dispersing device is formed on an inclined surface that is gradually displaced toward the side surface. 5. The in-line dispersing device according to claim 4, wherein said facing surfaces of both said stator teeth and said rotor teeth are formed on said inclined surfaces. 6. The in-line dispersing device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the inclined surface is linear in a cross section including the axis. The in-line according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein in a cross section including the axis, the stator teeth and the rotor teeth are symmetrical with respect to a straight line parallel to the axis. dispersing device.

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