JP6215026B2 - Airflow dryer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airflow-type drying apparatus that continuously dries powder particles, and more particularly, to an installation structure of the processing tube in a drying apparatus having a processing tube installed in a spiral shape.

  In the field of pharmaceuticals and the like, many are used that are obtained by drying a granulated wet granulated product produced by an extrusion granulator or a high-speed agitation granulator, or by tableting it. ing. Conventionally, a fluidized bed drying apparatus has been used for drying wet granulated materials, and the granulated products produced by the granulator are appropriately dried in a batch (batch) manner to produce desired granules. ing. However, since such a batch-type drying apparatus cannot perform continuous processing, an apparatus that continuously performs drying processing using a rotary feeder or the like as in Patent Documents 1 and 2 has also been proposed.

  Moreover, the spray dryer (spray drying apparatus) like patent document 3 is also used for manufacture of a granule. In a spray dryer, a slurry composed of a raw material powder, a solvent, a binder, and the like is sprayed by a spraying unit such as a nozzle or a rotating disk, and dried instantly with hot air to generate granules. On the other hand, for drying waste such as sludge and toner particles, a loop type airflow dryer as described in Patent Documents 4 to 6 is also used. In the airflow dryer, a granulated product is fed into a vertical loop tube together with a large amount of hot air, and the granulated product is circulated in the loop tube to be dried.

  However, the continuous fluidized bed drying apparatus as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 can be continuously processed but has a long drying time and it is difficult to obtain a constant drying state. Further, the apparatus configuration becomes large, and a large equipment cost is required. On the other hand, spray dryers are suitable for drying liquids that have fluidity as liquids, but are not suitable for drying solids and semisolids that have a low water content. Furthermore, since the loop type airflow dryer has a vertical arrangement with the loop tube in a vertical configuration, the workpieces accumulate on the lower part of the vertical part, and it is necessary to increase the air volume or increase the wind pressure. There was a problem that the granulated material was pulverized (returned to the original powder).

  Therefore, the present applicant has devised a newly-developed drying apparatus that suppresses the crushing ability and prevents the granulated material from being pulverized while maintaining high drying ability by the loop dryer (Patent Document 6). In the apparatus of Patent Document 4, an annular processing tube (loop tube) horizontally disposed in the horizontal direction is used. The loop tubes are usually arranged in a spiral manner in the vertical direction of about 2 to 4 stages. The object to be processed flowing in the loop tube is dried with hot air while receiving a centrifugal force without being subjected to a large impact due to a large air volume or a gravity drop. Thereby, a to-be-processed object is dried with a granular form, without grind | pulverizing and pulverizing.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-72868 JP 61-3986 A JP 2011-33269 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-173809 JP 2001-132712 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-141534

  On the other hand, in a drying apparatus such as Patent Document 6, each stage of the loop tube is divided into two or more for cleaning the inside of the loop tube and visual confirmation of the internal state. For this reason, for example, when three stages of loop tubes divided and formed in a semicircular shape are stacked, seven joint portions are generated in the processing tube (including the inlet and outlet of the loop tube). While this joined portion needs to be in a sealed state so as not to leak airflow, it needs to be easily disassembled for cleaning or the like. That is, it is necessary to satisfy the two requirements that the joined portion of the loop tube is easily detachable but is firmly sealed when joined.

  In addition, in a drying apparatus using a loop tube, when a plurality of loop tubes are stacked, it is necessary that the upper and lower loop tubes are firmly fixed without being displaced. Also in this case, there has been a demand for a structure capable of reliably supporting the upper and lower loop tubes in a stable state while allowing the loop tubes to be easily installed and disassembled, including attachment / detachment of the joint portion.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a processing tube installation structure capable of easily and reliably installing and dismantling the processing tube in a drying apparatus having an annular processing tube horizontally disposed in the horizontal direction.

The drying device of the present invention is an airflow type drying device that includes a processing tube that is formed in an annular shape and is installed horizontally along a horizontal direction, and the processing tube is spirally arranged in the vertical direction in a communicating state. The drying apparatus is provided between the processing tubes arranged above and below, and has a joint portion that supports the processing tube arranged on the upper side and supports the lower processing tube above, The joint portion includes a first joint member provided at an upper portion of the processing tube, a second joint member provided at a lower portion of the processing tube and attachable to and detachable from the first joint member, and the first and second members . The first and second joint members are uneven in the up-and-down direction while the joint member includes a fitting joint in which the protrusions and recesses are engaged in the up-and-down direction and the first and second joint members are relatively movable in the horizontal direction. Fitable guy And having a joint, a.

  In addition, the fitting joint is provided in one of the first or second joint member, and the fitting provided in the other of the first or second joint member is inserted into the fitting joint. A hole, and a joint protrusion provided on one of the first or second joint member on the guide joint, and a fitting hole provided on the other of the first or second joint member, A guide groove formed in communication with the fitting hole and extending in a radial direction may be provided. In this case, the joint protrusion of the guide joint is guided in the horizontal direction by the guide groove while the fitting is performed. It may be possible to insert into the joint hole.

  On the other hand, in the airflow drying apparatus, the processing tube unit formed in a semicircular shape is joined to form the processing tube, and the processing tube unit is sealed with the other processing tube units in the processing tube unit. And a second seal in which a seal member that is pressed in the radial direction and a seal member that is pressed in the axial direction are provided. May be provided. At this time, when the first joint member and the second joint member are connected, the joint portion may be disposed at a position where the second seal portion is pressed in the axial direction to be in an airtight state.

  According to the airflow type drying apparatus of the present invention, the first joint member provided in the upper part of the processing tube and the second joint member provided in the lower part of the processing tube and attachable to and detachable from the first joint member are provided. Since the joint portion is provided and the upper and lower processing tubes arranged in a spiral shape are positioned and supported by the joint portion, the processing tube can be installed and disassembled easily and reliably.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the continuous granule manufacturing system in which the drying apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention is used. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the drying apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a loop pipe | tube. It is a perspective view which shows the said drying apparatus structure which piled up the loop pipe | tube in two steps. It is explanatory drawing which showed the formation process of a loop pipe lower stage. It is explanatory drawing which showed the formation process of the loop pipe | tube upper stage. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a joint part, (a) is a fitting joint, (b) has each shown the structure of the guide joint.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a continuous granule manufacturing system in which a drying apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the continuous granule manufacturing system in which the drying apparatus 1 according to the present invention is used includes a wet granulation process and a drying process. Granules produced by the system are passed through a sieving and sizing process, then commercialized as granules, or tableted by a tableting machine and coated as appropriate by a coating machine, and then manufactured as tablets. It becomes.

  Various known wet granulators can be used in the wet granulation process. For example, the wet granulation process includes a high-speed agitation granulator 2 and an extrusion granulator 3, and a granulated product made in the wet granulation process. Is quantitatively supplied to the drying device 1 by the wet granulated material continuous supply device 4. The high-speed agitation granulator 2 has a specification that doubles as a powder mixing device and a powder kneading device. The raw material is put into a container, and the agitator and chopper are rotated at high speed to agitate the raw material. Knead. The extrusion granulator 3 is a wet granulator equipped with a screw shaft (for example, a two-axis parallel configuration), and compresses and kneads the raw material with a screw, and appropriately adds water to make the raw material into a columnar wet granulator. Grain.

  The above-described configurations of the high-speed stirring granulator 2 and the extrusion granulator 3 are merely examples, and these apparatuses are apparatuses other than the above as long as they have the functions of stirring, granulation, and sizing. However, it can be widely applied regardless of its configuration and operation mode. Furthermore, it is possible to add a granulator (not shown) according to the state of the granulated product and the product specifications, or to omit the wet granulated product continuous supply device 4.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the drying apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the drying apparatus 1 is roughly composed of a granulated material input unit 11, a drying processing unit 12, and a product discharge unit 13. The drying device 1 is an airflow type continuous drying device, and conventionally has a configuration in which a loop pipe that has been vertically placed along the vertical direction is horizontally placed along the horizontal direction (in FIG. 1, drying is performed). The drying processing unit 12 of the apparatus 1 is shown as seen from above). Thus, while taking advantage of the high drying capacity of the conventional loop-type airflow dryer, the granulation capacity, which has been a major problem for granule production, is suppressed, and wet granulation is performed without using a large-scale apparatus. Realizes continuous drying of products.

  The granule input part 11 is formed of a stainless steel pipe 21 having an outer diameter of 50 mm and a wall thickness of about 2 to 3 mm. The stainless steel pipe 21 is provided with a granule inlet 22 into which a wet granulated material to be processed of the drying apparatus 1 is charged and a hot air inlet 23 to which high-pressure hot air (process gas) is supplied. Yes. A hopper 24 is attached to the granule inlet 22, and the wet granule is supplied from the wet granule continuous supply device 4 described above. The hot air blowing port 23 is arranged in front of the granule input port 22 and is connected to the hot air supply device 14.

  The drying processing unit 12 is arranged downstream of the granulated material input unit 11 and has a structure in which a metal (for example, stainless steel) loop tube (processing tube) 25 is arranged in a spiral shape. The loop tube 25 is a tubular member having an outer diameter of 75 mm and a wall thickness of about 2 to 3 mm with a circular cross section. One end side of the loop pipe 25 is connected to the stainless steel pipe 21 via a straight pipe part 35a. A straight pipe part 35 b is connected to the other end side of the loop pipe 25, and the straight pipe part 35 b is connected to the product discharge unit 13 via the connection pipe 27. The diameter of the loop tube 25 is larger than that of the stainless steel tube 21 of the granule input part 11.

  The loop tube 25 is wound along the horizontal direction, and the winding diameter R (diameter of a circle passing through the loop tube center O) is about 700 mm. In the drying apparatus 1, the loop tube 25 is arranged in a form in which two stages (two windings) are horizontally placed (side down). The first stage 25a of the loop pipe 25 (hereinafter referred to as the loop pipe upper stage 25a) communicates with the second stage 25b of the loop pipe 25 (hereinafter referred to as the loop pipe lower stage 25b) and is arranged so as to be wound up and down so as to wind a coil spring. Is done. The loop pipe lower stage 25b is supported on the housing 42 by the support legs 41, and the loop pipe upper stage 25a is placed on the loop pipe lower stage 25b by the joint portion 40 (fitting joint 43, guide joint 44). When the loop pipes 25 are arranged in a plurality of stages, a gradient always occurs in the loop pipe 25, but the “horizontal arrangement” of the loop pipe 25 in the present invention excludes such a gradient in the loop pipe. is not.

  The product discharge unit 13 is disposed downstream of the drying processing unit 12 and includes a cyclone collector (powder body collection device) 26. The cyclone collector 26 is connected to the end of the loop tube 25 via a connection tube 27. The granulated product dried in the drying processing unit 12 is collected in the product collection tube of the cyclone collector 26. A sizing device (not shown) for performing a sieving / sizing process is connected to the subsequent stage of the cyclone collector 26.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the loop tube 25. As shown in FIG. 3A, the loop tube 25 has a two-part structure for each stage, and has a configuration in which a semicircular loop tube unit (processing tube unit) 31 is joined. The loop tube unit 31 includes a semicircular bent tube portion 45 and a linear joint portion 46. Stainless steel connectors 32 a and 32 b are attached to the joint 46. The connector 32a, 32b is formed with spigot joints 33a, 33b, and the loop tube units 31 are joined in an airtight state via packings 34a, 34b.

  FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the connectors 32a and 32b. As shown in FIG. 3B, the connector 32b is provided with an outer cylinder portion 47 and an inner cylinder portion 48. The outer cylinder part 47 and the inner cylinder part 48 are provided concentrically with respect to the central axis O (loop pipe center), and the inner cylinder part 48 is provided in the center of the outer cylinder part 47 along the axial direction. Yes. A fitting groove 51 into which the distal end portion 49 of the connector 32a is inserted is formed between the inner cylinder portion 48 and the outer cylinder portion 47. A ring-shaped packing 34 a is externally provided on the outer periphery of the inner cylinder portion 48. A ring-shaped packing 34 b is also attached to the innermost part of the fitting groove 51.

  FIG.3 (c) is explanatory drawing which shows the joining state of connector 32a, 32b. As shown in FIG. 3C, the connectors 32a and 32b are joined in such a manner that the distal end portion 49 of the connector 32a is inserted into the fitting groove 51 of the connector 32b. At this time, the packing 34 a is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 49 a of the connector tip 49 to form the first seal portion 52. In addition, the packing 34 b is pressed against the tip surface 49 b of the connector tip 49 to form a second seal portion 53. Thus, in the said drying apparatus 1, the loop pipe unit 31 is joined to an airtight state via the double seal structure by packing 34a, 34b. The loop tube 25 is rotatable around the central axis O in a state where the connectors 32a and 32b are joined. That is, the connectors 32a and 32b are joined so as to be rotatable with respect to each other along the circumferential direction.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the drying apparatus 1 in which the loop pipes 25 are stacked in two stages. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of forming the loop pipe lower stage 25b, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of forming the loop pipe upper stage 25a. In the drying apparatus 1, the loop pipe 25 is assembled in order from the bottom. Here, first, the loop pipe unit 31p in the lower half of the lower stage is connected to the straight pipe part 35b in order to form the loop pipe lower stage 25b (FIG. 5A). . In the drying apparatus 1, one end side of the straight pipe part 35b is fixedly supported on the housing 42 by fitting joints 54a and 54b, and a connector 32b is provided on the other end side. The straight pipe part 35b and the loop pipe unit 31p are joined by the connector 32b and a connector 32a on one end (31a) side of the loop pipe unit 31. The loop pipe unit 31p connected to the straight pipe part 35b is supported by the support legs 41a to 41c and placed on the housing 42. The support legs 41a to 41c are gradually increased in that order, and the loop pipe unit 31p is appropriately rotated at the joint portion with the straight pipe part 35b and installed on the support legs 41a to 41c.

  When the loop pipe unit 31p is attached to the support leg 41b, the connector tip surface 49b of the connector 32a on the loop pipe unit 31p side is pressed against the packing 34b attached to the connector 32b on the straight pipe part 35b side. That is, the support leg 41b is disposed at a dimensional position such that the distal end surface 49b and the packing 34b are pressed against each other. Further, the packing 34a of the connector 32b is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 49a of the distal end portion of the connector 32a by the fitting of the spigot joint portions 33a and 33b. Thereby, the straight pipe part 35b and the loop pipe unit 31 (31p) are joined in an airtight state, and a half circumference portion of the loop pipe lower stage 25b is formed. Since the inside of the loop pipe 25 is in a negative pressure state in the drying apparatus 1, the close state of the connectors 32a and 32b is a problem in practice due to the double seal structure of the packings 34a and 34b without using fasteners or the like. It is held without.

  After the loop pipe unit 31p in the lower half of the lower stage is attached to the straight pipe part 35b, the next loop pipe unit 31 (31q) is connected to the other end (31b) of the loop pipe unit 31, and the remaining half circumference portion of the loop pipe lower stage 25b is connected. It forms (FIG.5 (b)). That is, the loop pipe unit 31 is reversed from the front half of the lower half, and the end (31b) of the loop pipe unit 31 (31p) is connected to one end (31a) of the loop pipe unit 31 (31q) via the connectors 32b and 32a. ). Similarly to the previous loop tube unit 31p, the loop tube unit 31q is supported by the support legs 41d to 41f. The support legs 41d to 41f are also gradually higher in that order, and the loop pipe unit 31q in the lower half of the lower stage is also appropriately rotated at the joint portion with the loop pipe unit 31p in the lower half of the lower stage to be above the support legs 41d to 41f. Installed. Note that the support leg 41d and the support leg 41c are configured to support the joint portion on both sides, and both have the same height.

  Also in this case, when the loop pipe unit 31 is attached to the support leg 41e, the connector front end surface 49b on the loop pipe unit 31q side in the lower half is pressed against the packing 34b of the connector 32b on the loop pipe unit 31p side in the lower half. . That is, the support leg 41e is also arranged at a dimensional position where the front end surface 49b and the packing 34b are pressed. Further, the packing 34a of the connector 32b is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 49a of the distal end portion of the connector 32a by the fitting of the spigot joint portions 33a and 33b. As a result, the loop pipe unit 31p in the lower first half and the loop pipe unit 31q in the lower second half are joined in an airtight state to form the loop pipe lower stage 25b. At this time, the end (31b) of the lower-half loop tube unit 31q is supported by the support leg 41f, and is arranged above the joint between the straight pipe part 35b and the lower-half loop tube unit 31p.

  After the loop pipe lower stage 25b is formed, two loop pipe units 31 are further connected while appropriately twisting the joint portions of the connectors 32a and 32b to form the loop pipe upper stage 25a. At that time, in the loop pipe upper stage 25a, connection and positioning with the loop pipe lower stage 25b are performed using the joint portion 40. In the drying apparatus 1, as the joint portion 40, one fitting joint 43 and two guide joints 44 are provided. The fitting joint 43 is provided at the center of the loop tube unit 31. The guide joint 44 is provided in the vicinity of the connectors 32a and 32b, and the three joints 43 and 44 are arranged at equal intervals.

  7A shows the configuration of the fitting joint 43, and FIG. 7B shows the configuration of the guide joint 44, respectively. As shown to Fig.7 (a), the fitting joint 43 is comprised from the convex joint 43a and the concave joint 43b. The convex joint 43 a includes a convex joint main body 55 and a joint projection 56 that protrudes from the tip of the convex joint main body 55. The concave joint 43 b is composed of a concave joint main body 57 and a fitting hole 58 that is recessed at the tip of the concave joint main body 57. The fitting hole 58 has a slightly larger diameter than the joint protrusion 56, and the joint protrusion 56 can be inserted and fitted into the fitting hole 58. The fitting joints 54a and 54b of the straight pipe part 35b have the same structure.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the guide joint 44 is also composed of a convex joint 44a and a concave joint 44b. In this case as well, the convex joint 44 a is composed of a convex joint main body 59 and a joint projection 61 protruding from the tip of the convex joint main body 59. On the other hand, the concave joint 44b has a concave joint main body 62 and a fitting hole 63 provided in the tip of the concave joint main body 62 has the same configuration as the fitting joint 43. In contrast, a guide groove 64 connected to the fitting hole 63 is provided in the distal end surface 62a of the concave joint main body 62 along the radial direction. The guide groove 64 is formed in a band shape from the outer peripheral side of the distal end surface 62a toward the fitting hole 63, and becomes deeper as it approaches the fitting hole 63 side. The guide groove 64 is wider than the outer diameter of the joint protrusion 61, and the joint protrusion 61 can be inserted and fitted into the fitting hole 63 in a form guided by the inclined surface 64 a of the guide groove 64. .

  In forming the loop pipe upper stage 25a, the loop pipe unit 31 is joined to the loop pipe unit 31q in the latter half of the loop pipe lower stage 25b. That is, one end (31a) of the loop pipe unit 31 (31r) is connected to the end part (31b) of the lower-half loop pipe unit 31q that is currently open (FIG. 6 (a)). At that time, in the loop pipe upper stage 25a, the connector 32b is fitted into the connector 32a while the joint protrusion 61 of the guide joint 44 is inserted into the guide groove 64. At this time, the loop pipe unit 31r is joined to the loop pipe unit 31q obliquely from above so that the joint protrusion 61 is slid into the guide groove 64. When the joint protrusion 61 is inserted into the fitting hole 63, the joint protrusion 56 of the fitting joint 43 is also fitted into the fitting hole 58.

  When the joint projection 56 and the fitting hole 58 of the guide joint 44 are fitted and the joint projection 56 and the fitting hole 58 are also fitted on the fitting joint 43 side, the connector front end surface 49b on the loop pipe unit 31r side in the upper first half is formed. The lower half of the loop tube unit 31q is pressed against the packing 34b of the connector 32b. That is, the joint projection 56 and the fitting hole 58 of the fitting joint 43 are arranged at a dimensional position such that the distal end surface 49b and the packing 34b are pressed against each other. Further, the packing 34a of the connector 32b is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 49a of the distal end portion of the connector 32a by the fitting of the spigot joint portions 33a and 33b. As a result, the loop pipe unit 31q in the lower half of the lower stage and the loop pipe unit 31r in the upper half of the upper stage are joined in an airtight state, and a half circumference portion of the loop pipe upper stage 25a is formed.

  Next, in order to form the remaining half-circumferential portion of the loop pipe upper stage 25a, one end (31a of the upper-stage loop pipe unit 31s is connected to the end (31b) of the upper-stage loop pipe unit 31r via the connectors 32b and 32a. ). At that time, the other end (31b) of the loop pipe unit 31s in the upper half is also joined to the straight pipe part 35a of the granulated material input part 11. Also in this case, the connector 32b is fitted into the connector 32a while the joint protrusion 61 of the guide joint 44 is inserted into the guide groove 64. As described above, the upper-half loop tube unit 31 s is joined to the upper-half loop tube unit 31 r from obliquely upward so that the joint protrusion 61 is slid into the guide groove 64. When the joint protrusion 61 is inserted into the fitting hole 63, the joint protrusion 56 of the fitting joint 43 is also fitted into the fitting hole 58.

  When the joint projection 56 is fitted into the fitting hole 58, the connector front end surface 49b on the loop pipe unit 31s side in the upper half is pressed against the packing 34b of the connector 32b on the loop pipe unit 31r in the upper half. That is, also in this case, the joint projection 56 and the fitting hole 58 of the fitting joint 43 are arranged at a dimensional position such that the distal end surface 49b and the packing 34b are pressed against each other. Further, as described above, the packing 34a of the connector 32b is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 49a of the distal end portion of the connector 32a. Thereby, the loop pipe unit 31r of the upper first half and the loop pipe unit 31s of the upper second half are joined in an airtight state to form the loop pipe upper stage 25a.

  Further, a connector 32a is also provided at the end of the straight pipe part 35a on the side of the granule input part 11, and when the joint projection 56 is fitted into the fitting hole 58, the connector of the loop pipe unit 31s in the upper half of the upper stage is provided. The packing 34b of 32b is pressed against the connector front end surface 49b on the straight pipe part 35a side. Further, the packing 34a of the connector 32b is also pressed against the inner peripheral surface 49a of the distal end portion of the connector 32a, and the loop pipe unit 31s and the straight pipe part 35a in the upper and rear half are joined in an airtight state. Unit 11 is connected.

  On the other hand, after the drying process is completed, the loop tube 25 is disassembled in the reverse procedure to that described above. That is, the loop pipe unit 31 is lifted at the fitting joint 43, the joint projection 56 is removed from the fitting hole 58, and is pulled up obliquely upward. As a result, the joint protrusion 61 is detached from the fitting hole 63 and pulled up along the guide groove 64, and the loop pipe unit 31 is removed from the other party. In the drying apparatus 1, the loop pipe units 31 are disassembled in order from the top, and the loop pipe units 31 are removed in the order of the loop pipe upper stage 25 a and the loop pipe lower stage 25 b.

  Thus, in the drying apparatus 1 using the processing tube installation structure according to the present invention, the next loop tube unit 31 can be connected while rotating the joint portions of the connectors 32a and 32b. Further, the fitting joint 43 and the guide joint 44 can join adjacent loop pipe units 31 in an airtight state with a simple procedure without using a special fastener. Therefore, the loop pipe unit 31 can be easily joined in an airtight state without twisting the main body 36, and the loop pipe 25 can be easily stacked in a plurality of stages without using a special tool or fastener. Furthermore, the loop tube 25 can be disassembled without using a special tool. Therefore, the loop tube 25 can be easily attached and detached, the number of man-hours required for assembling / disassembling the apparatus can be reduced, and cleaning can be easily performed.

  In addition, in the drying apparatus 1, the loop tube unit 31 itself forms a spiral structure in the form of a next-stage support, and therefore the portion that supports the loop tube 25 can be made small. As a result, the structure of the apparatus becomes simple, the apparatus can be miniaturized, and a drying apparatus excellent in aesthetics can be provided.

  In such a drying apparatus 1, the granulated product is dried as follows. In the drying device 1, first, the wet granulated material is supplied from the wet granulated material continuous supply device 4 to the granulated material inlet 22. At that time, the inside of the stainless steel pipe 21 of the granule-feeding part 11 has a negative pressure due to the suction force of the cyclone collector 26, and the granulation put into the hopper 24 from the wet granule continuous supply device 4. The product is introduced into the granule input 22 without blowing up. On the other hand, high-pressure hot air (for example, 90 ° C · 6 to 7 m / s) is supplied from the hot-air supply device 14 to the hot-air blowing port 23, and the granulated material supplied into the stainless steel pipe 21 is It is conveyed to the drying processing unit 12 side by hot air.

  As described above, the diameter of the loop pipe 25 is larger than that of the stainless steel pipe 21 of the granule input part 11. For this reason, the hot air supplied from the hot air blowing port 23 has a higher wind speed in the vicinity of the granule inlet 22 than in the loop tube 25. Therefore, in the granule input part 11, the granulated material supplied from the granule input port 22 does not stay near the granule input port 22 and smoothly enters the loop tube 25 from the stainless steel pipe 21. be introduced.

  The granulated material conveyed to the drying processing unit 12 side is circulated on the hot air in the loop tube 25 and dried. In the drying apparatus 1, the granulated product passes through the loop tube 25 in about 1 to 2 seconds. Then, the dried granulated product is discharged from the loop pipe 25 on hot air, and collected by the cyclone collector 26 via the connection pipe 27.

  Here, since the granulated product supplied to the drying apparatus 1 is in a sized state, it is not preferable to be pulverized in the drying apparatus 1. As described above, in the conventional loop-type airflow dryer, since the loop tube is vertically placed, it is necessary to lift the granulated material against gravity, and a large amount of air is required for the processing. In addition, the dried and lightened product is discharged out of the device, and the undried product is removed by gravity. The granulated product is circulated many times in the loop pipe under a large air volume. There was a tendency for the granulated material to be crushed repeatedly by dropping. This is due to the fact that conventional loop type airflow dryers are intended for granulated materials such as sludge and toner particles that allow or require crushing during drying, and avoid crushing during drying. The application to the desired granule was unexpected.

  On the other hand, in the drying apparatus 1, the granulated material flowing in the loop tube 25 is dried with hot air while receiving centrifugal force, but the amount of air supplied to the loop tube 25 is that the granulated material stays in the tube. It is suppressed to the last minute limit. For this reason, unlike conventional vertical loop tubes, the granulated product is not subjected to a large impact due to a large air volume or gravity drop, and the wet granulated product is dried in a granular form without being crushed or powdered. Is done. According to the inventors' experiments, it was confirmed that the granulated material recovered after the treatment contained almost no fine powder, and the crushing ability was effectively reduced.

  Thus, according to the drying apparatus 1, it becomes possible to suppress the crushing capability, maintaining the high drying capability by a loop dryer. Therefore, it is possible to obtain high-quality dry granules with respect to particle size distribution, yield, etc. while realizing high-speed and efficient drying treatment. Moreover, since the drying apparatus 1 has a configuration in which the loop tube 25 is wound, a space efficiency is high, and a compact and highly efficient drying apparatus can be provided. According to the inventors' experiment, when the loop tube 25 was straightened and dried with the same air volume, the granulated material stayed in the tube, and a large space was required. It turns out that the processing efficiency is not good.

  In addition, by combining the drying apparatus 1 with a continuous granulating apparatus, a tableting machine, a coating machine, etc., it is possible to construct a continuous granule manufacturing system including a drying step as shown in FIG. In addition, as mentioned above, the apparatus combined with the drying apparatus 1 such as a granulator, a tableting machine, and a coating machine in the sieving / sizing process, including the wet granulation process, depends on the processing mode of the granular material. The continuous granule production system in FIG. 1 can be selected and changed as appropriate, and is not limited to the combination of the above devices.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the diameter, winding diameter, number of steps, and the like of the loop tube 25 in the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and various dimensions and specifications can be changed as appropriate, and the present invention is not limited to the dimensions and specifications. Further, the number of divisions of the loop tube 25 is not limited to 2, and for example, a four-division structure is possible. By increasing the number of divisions, cleaning and visual confirmation are further facilitated. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which one fitting joint 43 and two guide joints 44 are provided is shown, but the number of joints is arbitrary and is not limited to the above number. Moreover, any of the convex joint 43a and the concave joint 43b may be arranged on the upper side or the lower side, and the installation position thereof is not limited to the above-described form.

  The present invention is applicable not only to the drying treatment of wet granulated materials used in pharmaceuticals but also to the drying treatment of hydrous granulated materials used as raw materials for foods and fertilizers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drying apparatus 2 High speed stirring granulator 3 Extrusion granulator 4 Wet granulated material continuous supply apparatus 11 Granulated material input part 12 Drying process part 13 Product discharge part 14 Hot-air supply apparatus 21 Stainless steel pipe 22 Granule input 23 Hot air inlet 24 Hopper 25 Loop pipe (processing pipe)
25a Loop pipe upper stage (first stage)
25b Lower level of loop pipe (second stage)
26 Cyclone collector (powder collector)
27 Connecting pipe 31 Loop pipe unit (processing pipe unit)
31p Lower first half loop pipe unit 31q Lower second half loop pipe unit 31r Upper first half loop pipe unit 31s Upper second half loop pipe unit 32a, 32b Connector 33a, 33b Inner joint 34a, 34b Packing 35a, 35b Straight pipe part 36 Main body Part 40 Joint part 41 Support leg 41a-41f Support leg 42 Case 43 Fitting joint 43a Convex joint 43b Concave joint 44 Guide joint 44a Convex joint 44b Concave joint 45 Curved pipe part 46 Joint part 47 Outer cylinder part 48 Inner cylinder part 49 Tip portion 49a Tip portion inner peripheral surface 49b Tip surface 51 Fitting groove 52 First seal portion 53 Second seal portions 54a, 54b Fitting joint 55 Convex joint body 56 Joint projection 57 Concave joint body 58 Fitting hole 59 Convex joint body 61 Yointo projection 62 recessed joint body 62a distal end face 63 engaging hole 64 guide groove 64a slopes O loop tube center R winding diameter

Claims (4)

An airflow type drying apparatus comprising a processing tube formed in an annular shape and installed horizontally along the horizontal direction, the processing tube being arranged spirally in the vertical direction in a communicating state,
The drying apparatus is provided between the processing tubes arranged above and below, and has a joint portion that supports the processing tube arranged on the upper side and supports the lower processing tube above,
The joint is
A first joint member provided at an upper portion of the processing tube;
A second joint member provided at a lower portion of the processing tube and attachable to and detachable from the first joint member;
A fitting joint in which the first and second joint members are unevenly fitted in the vertical direction;
The first and second joint members include a guide portion that can be relatively moved in the horizontal direction, and the first and second joint members include a guide joint that can be unevenly fitted in the vertical direction. Airflow dryer. In the airflow type drying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The fitting joint includes a joint protrusion provided on one of the first and second joint members, and a fitting hole provided on the other of the first or second joint member and into which the joint protrusion is inserted. Have
The guide joint communicates with a joint protrusion provided on one of the first or second joint member, a fitting hole provided on the other of the first or second joint member, and the fitting hole. A guide groove formed along the radial direction, and the joint projection can be inserted into the fitting hole while being guided in the horizontal direction by the guide groove. apparatus. In the airflow type drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The processing tube is configured by joining processing tube units formed in a semicircular shape,
The processing tube unit includes a joint that can connect the processing tube unit to another processing tube unit in an airtight state,
The joining portion includes a first seal portion provided with a seal member pressed in the radial direction and a second seal portion provided with a seal member pressed in the axial direction. Drying equipment. In the airflow type drying apparatus according to claim 3 ,
The drying device is characterized in that, when the first joint member and the second joint member are connected, the joint portion is disposed at a position where the second seal portion is pressed in an axial direction to be in an airtight state. .

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