JP4702676B2 - Granulator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a granulating apparatus for producing a granular material by cooling and solidifying a highly viscous material in a molten state.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, when manufacturing a granular material that is melted by heating to become a highly viscous liquid, the liquid material in a molten state is cooled and solidified by a double belt cooler or the like, and then scraped with a scraper or the like to flake. A solid or plate-like solidified product is produced, and the solidified product is crushed using a crusher or the like to produce a granular product.
[0003]
If the liquid material in the molten state has a low viscosity, a large number of droplets are continuously dropped on a circulating endless cooling belt, and these droplets are cooled on the cooling belt and solidified. Thereafter, the granular material can be easily produced by removing the solidified material from the cooling belt. However, when the liquid material in the molten state has a high viscosity, it is difficult to continuously form a large number of droplets, and thus it is impossible to produce a granular material by such a simple method.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in order to install a double belt cooler, there is a problem that a very large space is required. In addition, when manufacturing multiple types of granular materials, it is necessary to clean the double belt cooler every time the type of product to be manufactured changes in order to prevent mixing of different types of products (contamination). There is a problem that it takes a considerable amount of time. For example, in the case of toner-related granular materials such as color copiers, for which demand has been increasing rapidly in recent years, four types of granular materials must be manufactured in small quantities, so a granulating device that is small and easy to clean is required. To do.
[0005]
Therefore, in recent years, a high-viscosity liquid material in a molten state is supplied between a cooling drum and an endless cooling belt, and the liquid material is cooled and solidified by a cooling drum or a cooling belt, and then scraped by a scraper or the like. Drum flakers that produce flaky or plate-like solidified products and produce the granular products by crushing the solidified products using a crusher or the like are becoming widespread.
[0006]
However, the drum flaker is smaller than the double belt cooler and easy to clean, but the crusher is bulky, so it is not thoroughly downsized. There is a problem that it takes. Further, since the crusher generates dust, there is a problem that the working environment is lowered. Furthermore, the crusher consumes a lot of mechanical energy, and there is a problem from the viewpoint of energy saving.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and a granular material of the material is produced by cooling and solidifying a high-viscosity material in a molten state, with low energy consumption. An object to be solved is to provide a granulating apparatus that is easy to clean and compact.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A granulating apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, is (i) a granulating apparatus for producing a granular material of a material by cooling and solidifying a highly viscous material in a molten state. (Ii) formed into a substantially cylindrical shape (that is, a substantially cylindrical shape having a hollow portion), and a large number of recesses (or depressions) having a shape corresponding to the shape of the granular material on the outer peripheral portion, And a cooling drum that rotates around the drum rotation axis, and (iii) is wound between a drive pulley and a tension pulley (or press pulley), and cools in a part of the cooling drum as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum. An endless cooling belt (for example, a metal belt such as a steel belt) that is arranged so as to contact the outer periphery of the drum and circulates so as to travel in the rotation direction of the cooling drum at a portion that contacts the cooling drum. And (iv) a high-viscosity material supply means for supplying a melted material to the concave portion of the cooling drum in the vicinity of the material inlet side end of the contact portion between the cooling drum and the cooling belt as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum And (v) a cooling means for cooling and solidifying the molten material in the recess to generate a granular material, and (vi) the granular material in the recess in the vicinity of the material outlet side end of the abutting portion. A particulate matter taking-out means for taking out is provided.
Examples of the material include a thermoplastic resin (more specifically, a toner containing a thermoplastic resin, a powder coating material, a compound resin, and the like).
[0009]
According to this granulation apparatus, the material in a molten state supplied to the granulation apparatus is solidified in the recesses of the cooling drum to become a granular material and is taken out by the granular material taking-out means. Therefore, the crusher etc. which crush a solidified material like the conventional drum flaker are not required. For this reason, energy consumption is reduced, cleaning becomes easy, and a compact configuration is obtained.
[0010]
In the granulation apparatus, the cooling means has a cooling liquid (for example, cooling water) on the surface of the cooling belt that is not in contact with the cooling drum (that is, the back surface of the cooling belt) at a position corresponding to the contact portion. ) Is preferably used to cool the molten material. More preferably, the cooling means promotes the cooling of the material in the molten state by supplying a cooling liquid (for example, cooling water) to the hollow portion of the cooling drum. If it does in this way, the material in the molten state in a crevice can be cooled quickly.
[0011]
In the granulation apparatus, the shape of the opening of the recess may be circular, oval or elliptical because it is easy to process, but is preferably a quadrangle (for example, a square, a rectangle, etc.). . In this way, compared to, for example, the shape of the opening of the recess is circular, oval or elliptical, a large number of recesses can be formed densely on the outer peripheral surface of the cooling drum, and dead space can be reduced. Can be reduced.
Moreover, it is preferable that the recessed part is formed in the substantially bowl shape. If it does in this way, the release property of the granular material from a recessed part will become favorable, and taking out or peeling of this granular material will become easy.
[0012]
In the granulation apparatus, the outer peripheral portion of the cooling drum is formed of a curved plate formed separately from the cooling drum main body, and the plate has a jacket into which a cooling liquid (for example, cooling water) is introduced. It is preferable that the double structure is provided and is replaceable. In this case, if a plurality of plates having different shapes or dimensions of the recesses are prepared in advance, a plurality of types of granular materials can be produced with one granulator or cooling drum. Further, the cooling efficiency is further enhanced by cooling from the jacket.
[0013]
In the above granulator, it is preferable that the outer peripheral surface of the cooling drum is subjected to mold release processing. In this way, the releasability of the granular material from the concave portion becomes better, and it becomes easier to take out or peel off the granular material.
[0014]
In the granulation apparatus, it is preferable that the particulate matter taking-out means is adapted to take out the particulate matter in the recess by suction under reduced pressure (pneumatic suction). If it does in this way, the taking-out of the granular material from a recessed part will become easy, and the productivity of this granulation apparatus will be improved.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a granulating apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a high-viscosity resin material (for example, toner, powder) in a molten state extruded from an extruder 2 (high-viscosity material supply means). The granular material is manufactured by cooling and solidifying a paint, a compound resin, and the like. The granulating apparatus 1 is provided with a main drum 4 (cooling drum) that is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and can rotate around the drum rotation shaft 3 in a direction indicated by an arrow X. A large number of recesses 5 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the granular material are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the main drum 4. Each of these recesses 5 is formed in a substantially bowl shape (see FIGS. 3 and 4) in which the shape of the opening is a square.
[0016]
A drive pulley 6 and a press pulley 7 (tension pulley) are disposed above and to the left of the main drum 4 so as to be close to the main drum 4. Here, as indicated by a double arrow Y, the press pulley 7 can move in the left-right direction. An endless steel belt 8 is wound between the drive pulley 6 and the press pulley 7. The steel belt 8 is disposed so as to contact the outer peripheral portion of the main drum in a region from the vicinity of the press pulley 7 to the vicinity of the drive pulley 6 when viewed in the circumferential direction (rotation direction) of the main drum. The steel belt 8 is positioned by a number of idle pulleys 9.
[0017]
The steel belt 8 is circulated while being driven by the drive pulley 6, and travels at the same speed in the rotation direction of the main drum 8 at a portion where the steel belt 8 contacts the main drum 8. The steel belt 8 can be pressed (pressed) on the outer periphery of the main drum 4 by moving the press pulley 7 in the right direction, and the pressure can be reduced or released by moving in the left direction. it can.
[0018]
Further, the granulating apparatus 1 is provided with a cooling spray 10 for spraying (spraying) cooling water on the back surface of the steel belt 8 at a position corresponding to a contact portion between the main drum 4 and the steel belt 8. . Note that cooling water is supplied to or held in the hollow portion of the main drum 4.
[0019]
Further, a granular material in which the granular material in the recess 5 is taken out by vacuum suction (or pneumatic suction) at a position slightly ahead of the driving pulley 6 in the circumferential direction or rotational direction of the main drum 4. A blotting device 11 is provided. Here, the tip of the suction pipe of the granular material sucking device 11 has the same shape as the tip of a generally used vacuum cleaner or electric vacuum cleaner. Further, the tip of the suction pipe is disposed so as to be as close to or close as possible to the outer peripheral portion of the main drum 4. Instead of the particulate matter sucking device 11, a particulate matter scraping device for scraping and taking out the particulate matter in the recess 4 may be provided.
[0020]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a large number of recesses 5 having a square opening shape and a substantially bowl shape are spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the main drum 4 (left and right in FIG. 3). Direction) and the circumferential direction, and arranged in a grid or grid pattern. Here, the length of one side of the opening (square) of each recess 5 is set to 5 mm, for example, and the interval between the recesses is set to about 0.1 to 0.2 mm. Moreover, the maximum depth (depth of the center part of a recessed part) of the substantially bowl-shaped recessed part 5 is set, for example to 2-3 mm.
[0021]
As described above, since the shape of the openings of the recesses 5 is square and arranged at a narrow interval, a large number of recesses 5 can be formed densely on the outer peripheral surface of the main drum 4, and dead space can be formed. Can be reduced. Moreover, since the recessed part 5 is substantially bowl-shaped, the release property of the granular material in the recessed part 5 becomes favorable, and taking out or peeling of a granular material becomes easy.
[0022]
Although not shown in detail, the outer peripheral portion of the main drum 4 is formed of a curved plate separate from the main body portion of the main drum 4, and this plate can be replaced. In order to increase the cooling efficiency, the plate may have a double structure with a jacket, and the cooling water may flow through the jacket. Then, a plurality of plates having different shapes or dimensions of the recesses 5 are prepared in advance, so that the single granulator 1 or the main drum 4 can produce a plurality of types of granular materials. ing.
Furthermore, the outer peripheral surface of the main drum 4 (plate) is subjected to release processing (for example, baking of a release agent). Thereby, the releasability of the granular material from the recessed part 5 becomes better, and it becomes easier to take out or peel off the granular material.
[0023]
Hereinafter, the production process of the granular material of the resin material in the granulating apparatus 1 will be described.
When producing a granular material with the granulator 1, the main drum 4 rotates at a predetermined rotational speed in the direction indicated by the arrow X. On the other hand, the steel belt 8 is driven by the drive pulley 6 and circulates. At this time, the steel belt 8 travels in the rotational direction of the main drum 4 at the same speed as the main drum 4 at a portion where the steel belt 8 contacts the main drum 4. That is, the main drum 4 and the steel belt 8 do not move relative to each other at these contact portions.
[0024]
In such a state, the high-viscosity resin material in a molten state extruded from the extruder 2 is the material inlet side end portion of the contact portion between the main drum 4 and the steel belt 8 in the circumferential direction of the main drum. In the vicinity, it is supplied to the recess 5 of the main drum 4 and filled. Thus, the resin material filled in the recess 5 rotates and moves in the direction indicated by the arrow X as the main drum 4 rotates while being sealed by the steel belt 8.
[0025]
At that time, the resin material in the recess 5 is cooled and solidified by the cooling water sprayed from the cooling spray 10 to the back surface of the steel belt and the cooling water held in the hollow portion of the main drum 4. Thus, since the resin material in the recessed part 5 is cooled from both the steel belt side and the main drum side, it is quickly cooled and solidified. For this reason, the rotational speed of the main drum 4 can be made relatively high, and the productivity of the granulating apparatus 1 is increased.
[0026]
In this way, a granular material of the resin material having a shape corresponding to the recess 5 is generated. The particulate matter is taken out from the recess 5 by the particulate matter sucking device 11. According to this granulating apparatus 1, the resin material in a molten state is granulated while being cooled by the cooperation of the main drum 4 and the steel belt 8, and is solidified in the concave portion 5 of the main drum 4 to form a granular material. Become. Therefore, the crusher etc. which crush a solidified material like the conventional drum flaker are not required. For this reason, energy consumption is reduced, cleaning becomes easy, and a compact configuration is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a granulation apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of a main drum constituting the granulation apparatus shown in FIG.
3 is an enlarged view of a concave portion of the main drum shown in FIG. 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a contact portion between a main drum and a steel belt.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Granulation apparatus, 2 ... Extruder, 3 ... Drum rotating shaft, 4 ... Main drum, 5 ... Recessed part, 6 ... Drive pulley, 7 ... Press pulley, 8 ... Steel belt, 9 ... Idle pulley, 10 ... Cooling spray , 11 ... Granular material suction device.

Claims (7)

A granulating apparatus for producing a granular material of a material by cooling and solidifying a high-viscosity material in a molten state,
A cooling drum that is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, has a plurality of recesses having a shape corresponding to the shape of the granular material on the outer periphery, and rotates around a drum rotation axis;
The cooling drum is wound between the drive pulley and the tension pulley, arranged so as to contact the outer periphery of the cooling drum in a part of the cooling drum as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum, and the cooling drum at a portion contacting the cooling drum An endless cooling belt that circulates to travel in the direction of rotation;
A high-viscosity material supply means for supplying a material in a molten state to the recess of the cooling drum in the vicinity of the material inlet side end of the contact portion between the cooling drum and the cooling belt as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum;
A cooling means for cooling and solidifying the material in a molten state in the recess to produce a granular material;
In the vicinity of the end portion on the material outlet side of the contact portion, there is provided a particulate matter taking-out means for taking out the particulate matter in the recess ,
A shape of the opening is a square of the recess, granulating apparatus, wherein Rukoto said recess is formed substantially Kamabokogata.   The cooling means cools the molten material by supplying a cooling liquid to the surface of the cooling belt that is not in contact with the cooling drum at a position corresponding to the contact portion. The granulating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   The granulation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cooling means promotes cooling of the material in a molten state by supplying a cooling liquid to the hollow portion of the cooling drum. A granulating apparatus for producing a granular material of a material by cooling and solidifying a high-viscosity material in a molten state,
A cooling drum that is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, has a plurality of recesses having a shape corresponding to the shape of the granular material on the outer periphery, and rotates around a drum rotation axis;
The cooling drum is wound between the drive pulley and the tension pulley, arranged so as to contact the outer periphery of the cooling drum in a part of the cooling drum as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum, and the cooling drum at a portion contacting the cooling drum An endless cooling belt that circulates to travel in the direction of rotation;
A high-viscosity material supply means for supplying a material in a molten state to the recess of the cooling drum in the vicinity of the material inlet side end of the contact portion between the cooling drum and the cooling belt as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum;
A cooling means for cooling and solidifying the material in a molten state in the recess to produce a granular material;
In the vicinity of the end portion on the material outlet side of the contact portion, there is provided a particulate matter taking-out means for taking out the particulate matter in the recess,
The outer periphery of the cooling drum is formed of a curved plate formed separately from the cooling drum body, and the plate has a double structure including a jacket into which a cooling liquid is introduced, and can be replaced. that is to granulator you said. The granulation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a mold release process is applied to an outer peripheral surface or a plate surface of the cooling drum. A granulating apparatus for producing a granular material of a material by cooling and solidifying a high-viscosity material in a molten state,
A cooling drum that is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, has a plurality of recesses having a shape corresponding to the shape of the granular material on the outer periphery, and rotates around a drum rotation axis;
The cooling drum is wound between the drive pulley and the tension pulley, arranged so as to contact the outer periphery of the cooling drum in a part of the cooling drum as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum, and the cooling drum at a portion contacting the cooling drum An endless cooling belt that circulates to travel in the direction of rotation;
A high-viscosity material supply means for supplying a material in a molten state to the recess of the cooling drum in the vicinity of the material inlet side end of the contact portion between the cooling drum and the cooling belt as viewed in the circumferential direction of the cooling drum;
A cooling means for cooling and solidifying the material in a molten state in the recess to produce a granular material;
In the vicinity of the end portion on the material outlet side of the contact portion, there is provided a particulate matter taking-out means for taking out the particulate matter in the recess,
The granules extraction means, the granules in the recess, granulator characterized in that it is adapted to take out by vacuum suction. The granulator according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the material is a thermoplastic resin.

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