JP3634186B2 - Vertical sealless agitator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an agitator that is used to agitate raw materials such as pharmaceuticals and foods under conditions where even a very small amount of foreign matter is not allowed to be mixed and can be easily cleaned and sterilized.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a stirrer used for the said use, there exists a thing of the structure shown, for example in FIG. 3, and it is used in the clean room. In the figure, a is stirred vessel, b is the drive shaft, c is stirred instrument, d comprises a sealing portion e ₁ with respect to the axis b in the lid of the bearing of the drive shaft b, e are stirred vessel a. The bearing d motors g is connected via block f, the drive shaft b and the motor shaft are connected by the joint g _1. In this apparatus, the lid e and the bearing d are fixed to the frame h, the motor g is also fixed to the frame h via the block f and the bearing d, and only the stirring vessel a is movable. It is placed at the solid line position, and after completion of stirring, it is lowered to the virtual line position and taken out in the direction of the arrow.
[0003]
In this conventional apparatus, fine powder of the sealing material generated by friction between the drive shaft b and the seal e ₁ may fall into the stirring vessel f, and if the seal is incomplete, oil may flow from the bearing d. There is. Further, when changing the treatment liquid, the drive shaft b and the lid e cannot be removed even if the agitating portion is to be cleaned and disinfected, so that the cleaning and disinfection operations are difficult.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention provides a configuration in which the foreign matter cannot enter the stirring unit, a configuration in which the stirring unit can be easily decomposed, cleaned, and the like, and an apparatus that can use several stirring units alternately. Let it be an issue.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
One means for solving the above problems, as described in claim 1, to a stirred vessel, stirring unit was formed by arranging a stirred instrument attached to the vertical drive shaft and said drive shaft concentric therewith In the vertical axis stirrer that stirs the processing liquid in a hollow cylinder by rotating the drive shaft at a high speed, the support frame is provided with a receiving portion of the stirring vessel and an upward thrust bearing with respect to the driving shaft, and the stirring vessel An upper inner cylinder through which the drive shaft is loosely fitted and penetrated is provided on the upper surface of the center of the bottom portion, and the drive shaft is provided with a tapered portion at the lower end and a joint portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the drive source at the upper end. A stirrer that reaches near the upper surface of the bottom of the stirring vessel is fixed to the middle portion, the lower portion of the drive shaft passes through the upward inner cylinder, and the upper surface of the drive shaft is covered with a lid that covers the upper surface of the stirring vessel. To the support frame to thrust the taper of the drive shaft Is supported on the receiving, by the gyroscopic action and high speed rotation of the drive shaft, characterized in that for self stirring tool with the drive shaft on the thrust bearing.
[0006]
According to this means, when the stirring vessel is placed on the frame, the drive shaft is supported by the thrust bearing at the lower end tapered portion, and is rotated at high speed via the joint at the upper end, the drive shaft and the stirring tool are moved by the gyro action. Although it rotates independently and continues the stirring action, there are no seals or bearings at the top of the stirring vessel, so that foreign matter generated in the future does not fall into the stirring vessel. In addition, since the entire agitation unit that comes into contact with the processing liquid can be easily separated from the frame unit and the drive source, cleaning and disinfection can be easily performed.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, as described in the second aspect, in the first aspect, a downward inner cylinder through which the drive shaft is loosely fitted and penetrated is continuously provided on the lower surface of the lid.
[0008]
According to this means, even if the processing liquid in the stirring vessel swells and scatters, it is blocked by the downward cylindrical body on the lower surface of the lid and does not leak outside.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a sealless stirrer of the present invention, 2 is a U-shaped fixed frame, and includes a motor base 2a and a base 2b. Reference numeral 3 denotes a stirring unit, and 4 denotes a support frame that directly supports the stirring unit 3. The support frame 4 is supported by the fixed frame 2 through a guide 5 so as to be movable up and down, and is moved up and down by an appropriate lifting device 6. . The support frame 4 is L-shaped, and an upward locking portion 7 is formed on the vertical portion 4a, and an upward thrust bearing 8 is provided on the horizontal portion 4b. The thrust bearing 8 includes an angular contact bearing 8a and a receiving member 8b supported by the angular contact bearing 8a, and supports a drive shaft 17 described later through a tapered hole on the upper surface of the receiving member 8b. The drive shaft 17 is driven by an electric motor 9 attached to the motor base 2a. The stirring unit 3 includes a container unit 3a and a rotating body 3b. The container unit 3a is formed by stacking a stirring container 10, a dam plate 11, a discharge container 12, and a lid body 13 and connecting them with fastening rings 14 and 14. The locked portion 15 provided on the arm 15a protruding from the side surface of the stirring vessel 10 is locked to the locking portion 7 from above. The rotating body 3b is formed by a stirring tool 16 and a drive shaft 17 to which the stirring tool 16 is fixed.
[0010]
An upward inner cylinder 18 projecting through a central hole 18a is projected from the center of the bottom of the stirring vessel 10, and a downward inner cylinder 19 projecting through a central hole 19a is projected from the lid body 13. The center holes 18 a and 19 a have an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the drive shaft 17 that penetrates the center holes 18 a and 19 a, and have a gap between them.
[0011]
The stirrer 16 is formed by connecting a cylindrical portion 16a penetrating a large number of small holes 16c to a drive shaft 17 by an arm 16b. A taper portion 17 a is provided at the lower end of the drive shaft 17 and is supported by the thrust bearing 8. Further, a spline 20a is cut off at the upper end of the drive shaft 17 to form a joint 20 together with an inner spline 20b integrated with the motor shaft 9a. When the support frame 4 is lowered to a position in contact with the base portion 2b together with the stirring portion 3. The joint 20 is separated. Then, when the stirring unit 3 is lifted manually or by a robot, the locked portion 15a can be removed from the locking portion 7 while removing the tapered portion 17a from the thrust bearing 8 as shown by the phantom line on the left side of FIG. The stirring unit 3 can be separated from the support frame 4 and the fixed frame 2 laterally.
[0012]
Further, raw material supply pipes 21 and 22 are connected to the bottom of the stirring vessel 10, and a discharge pipe 23 and a gas pipe 24 for keeping the inside of the stirring unit 3 inactive as necessary are connected to the discharge chamber 12. For example, N ₂ gas is supplied. The inert gas enters the container portion 3, and then flows out little by little through the gap between the center holes 18 a and 19 a and the drive shaft 17.
[0013]
With the above configuration, when the motor 9 is operated and the drive shaft 17 is rotated at high speed via the joint 20, the rotating body 3 b, that is, the drive shaft 17 and the stirring tool 16 are self-supported on the thrust bearing 8 by the gyro effect. And rotate without contacting the upward inner cylinder 18 and the downward inner cylinder 19. And the raw material which enters from the supply pipes 21 and 22 is stirred while rotating by receiving the rotational force of the stirring tool 16 in an inert atmosphere, and is formed into a substantially thin cylindrical shape along the inner surface of the stirring container 10 by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation. The amount that rises and exceeds the inner circumference of the barrier plate 11 enters the discharge container 12, continues to rotate, and is taken out from the discharge pipe 23. In addition, the supply pipes 21 and 22, the discharge pipe 23, and the gas pipe 24 are detachably connected to pipelines not shown.
[0014]
In addition, the stirrer 1 can be operated for batch processing. In this case, raw materials not exceeding the weir plate 11 are fed and taken out from one of the supply pipes 21 and 22 after stirring.
[0015]
After processing a certain raw material, when processing another raw material, it is necessary to disassemble and clean the container part 3a and the rotating body 3b in contact with the processing liquid and to disinfect and sterilize as necessary. In this case, the elevating device 6 is actuated to lower the stirring unit 3 to remove it from the support frame 4 and disassemble for cleaning and other treatments as described above, but a plurality of types or a plurality of stirring units 3 are prepared. If so, the device can be operated without taking a rest.
[0016]
Next, what is shown in FIG. 2 shows a stirrer 30 having a configuration partially different from that of FIG. 1, and parts common to FIG. In the figure, 31 fixed frames have two or more support columns 31a, and a thrust bearing 8 is provided on the base 31b. The rotating body 3b in the stirring unit 3 has the same structure as the rotating body 3b in FIG. In contrast, in the container portion 3a, the side walls of the stirring container 32 and the discharge container 33 are double walls, and the heat medium chambers 34 and 35 are formed inside. The heat medium chambers 34 and 35 are supplied with a low-temperature or high-temperature heat medium from a conduit (not shown) so as to process the raw material at a desired temperature.
[0017]
In order to detachably hold the container portion 3a on the fixed frame 31, a bracket 36 extending from the stirring container 32 is engaged with the support column 31a. The inner surface of the post 31a is provided longitudinal grooves 31a _1, the bracket 36 and ridges 36a which is guided in said longitudinal groove 31a _1, flange 36b is provided to be seated on the posts. Further, the upward inner cylinder 18 continuous with the center hole 18a is fixed to the center of the bottom of the discharge container 32, and the downward inner cylinder 19 continuous with the center hole 19a is fixed to the top plate of the discharge container 32. A barrier plate 11 is sandwiched between 33. Further, raw material supply pipes 21 and 22, a discharge pipe 23, and a gas pipe 24 are installed in the same manner as in FIG. In the figure, reference numerals 21a and 22a denote stop valves. The joint 20 is provided such that the inner spline 20b side on the driving side can freely move back and forth.
[0018]
The stirrer 16 has a cylindrical portion 16a continuously provided on an arm 16b extending from a boss, and a plurality of small holes 16c formed in the arm 16b. Apply force and stir while creating a flow due to a partial pressure difference.
[0019]
When the driving shaft 17 is rotated at a high speed through the joint 20 while the processing liquid L having a height of level L ₁ or less is fed from the supply pipes 21 and 22, the driving shaft 17 is supported by the thrust bearing 8 and rotated. Even if the upper part is not supported by the bearing, it rotates independently while maintaining its vertical posture by the gyro effect. In the joint 20, even if the axes of the drive side 20 b and the driven side 20 a are misaligned, there is no hindrance to the transmission of rotation due to the play of these meshing portions, and the drive shaft 17 is kept vertical.
[0020]
By this rotation, the treatment liquid L is agitated by the agitator 16 and, after a short period of time while being adjusted by the heat medium passing through the heat medium chambers 34 and 35, an emulsified liquid containing extremely fine and uniform particles is formed. . Then, the stirred processing liquid that has passed over the weir plate 11 is taken out from the discharge pipe 23. Meanwhile, the upward inner cylinder 18 prevents liquid leakage from the stirring vessel 32 through the center hole 18a, and the downward inner cylinder 19 prevents the treatment liquid from splashing from the central hole 19a.
[0021]
Also in this stirrer 30, since there is no bearing and shaft seal member on the upper side of the drive shaft 17, there is no source of foreign matter on the upper side, and foreign matter does not enter the processing liquid. As described above, the usage method for continuously treating the treatment liquid has been described, but it can also be used for batch treatment as in the case of FIG. When changing the processing liquid, the inner spline 20b is withdrawn, the stirring unit 3 is lifted, the bracket 36 is removed from the support 31a, the container is cleaned, the processing liquid is filled and discharged at another position, and again as shown in the figure. set.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the drive shaft for rotating the stirring tool is supported by the thrust bearing at the lower end and does not include the bearing at the upper portion, foreign matter such as oil leaked from the bearing or fine pieces of the sealing material is not present. There is no risk of falling into the stirring vessel, and there is an effect that treatment without impurities can be performed.
[0023]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the center hole through which the upper portion of the drive shaft passes is surrounded by the downward inner cylinder, there is an advantage that splashing of the processing liquid can be prevented from jumping out.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a conventional example.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Fixed frame 3 Stirring part 3a Container part 3b Rotating body 4 Support frame 6 Elevator 8 Thrust bearing 10 Stirrer container 16 Stirrer 17 Drive shaft 18 Upward inner cylinder 19 Downward inner cylinder 18a, 19a Center hole 20 Joint

Claims (2)

In the stirring vessel, a vertical driving shaft and a stirring tool attached to the driving shaft are arranged concentrically with this to form a stirring portion, and while rotating the processing shaft into a hollow cylinder by rotating the driving shaft at a high speed In a vertical stirrer for stirring, an upward inner cylinder in which a support frame is provided with a receiving portion of a stirring vessel and an upward thrust bearing with respect to the drive shaft, and the drive shaft is loosely fitted and passed through the upper surface of the bottom center of the stirring vessel The drive shaft is provided with a tapered portion at the lower end, a joint portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the drive source is provided at the upper end, and a stirring tool that reaches the upper surface of the bottom of the stirring vessel is fixed at the intermediate portion, The lower part of the drive shaft penetrates the upward inner cylinder , the upper part of the drive shaft covers the upper surface of the stirring vessel with a cover, the stirring vessel is locked to the support frame, and the tapered portion of the drive shaft is supported by the thrust bearing. Rotate the drive shaft at high speed, The vertical axis type sealless agitator, characterized in that for self stirring tool with the drive shaft on the bearing. 2. The vertical axis sealless stirrer according to claim 1, wherein a downwardly facing inner cylinder through which a drive shaft is loosely fitted is provided on the lower surface of the lid.

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