JP7422399B2 - Pan coating equipment and coating method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pan-shaped coating device (pan coating device) that performs a coating process by spraying a coating liquid onto tablets and granules.

Coating processing for objects to be processed such as tablets (hereinafter, tablets will be described as an example of the object to be processed) performed using a pan coating device can be roughly divided into two types: film coating, which coats tablets with a water-soluble coating agent; It can be divided into sugar coating, which covers the surface of the tablet with a sugar coating such as white sugar. Among these, film coating involves spraying a coating agent while rolling the tablet in a pan coating device, and simultaneously performing a drying process (drying). On the other hand, in sugar coating, after spraying, a pause process is performed to spread the sugar coating liquid on the tablet surface, and then drying is performed, and the coating process is repeated by repeating this cycle.

Patent No. 6017197 Patent No. 5202778 Patent No. 4009464

In such a coating process, the film coating is sprayed and dried at the same time, so the tablet surface has low tackiness and the tablet rolls without being lifted to the top of the pan. However, in sugar coating, the concentration of the sugar coating liquid increases due to spreading and drying, and the tablet surface becomes sticky. Because of this stickiness, tablets being rolled in the device are lifted up to the top of the pan and fall, and some of the tablets may be lifted above the spray gun. This poses a problem in that the tablets that have fallen from the top of the pan may get caught on the spray gun and remain there, which may also be a cause of poor coating.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pan coating device and a coating method in which tablets are less likely to get caught and stay on a spray gun during sugar coating.

The pan coating apparatus of the present invention includes a rotating drum that is rotatably provided around a rotational axis and in which a workpiece to be coated is housed; A pan coating device comprising: a spray gun that sprays a coating liquid onto a layer of the workpiece formed by rolling of the workpiece as the workpiece rotates, the spray gun spraying a cross section of the rotating drum; It is characterized in that it is movable to a retreat position set in an area on the opposite side to the area where the main part of the object layer is formed, of the area created when the area is divided into two equal parts in the vertical direction. do.

In the present invention, the main part of the layer of the object to be treated is formed in the area created when the cross section of the rotating drum is equally divided into two in the vertical direction using a spray gun used in a pan coating device. By making it possible to move to a retreat position set in the opposite area, the surface of the workpiece becomes sticky during the coating process, and as the rotating drum rotates, the workpiece is lifted to the top of the drum. Even when the spray gun is in use, the workpiece is less likely to fall onto the spray gun. This can prevent the object to be treated from getting on the spray gun and staying there during the coating process.

In the pan coating apparatus, the retracted position is defined by a center line Mv that equally divides the cross section of the rotating drum into two in the vertical direction and a center line Mh that equally divides the cross section of the rotary drum into two in the horizontal direction. It may be set in the first quadrant among the four divided quadrants. Further, the spray gun may be moved up and down in a direction inclined by 45 degrees from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. In this case, the spray gun may be moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the object layer. Furthermore, the spray gun may be attached to a gun holder that can be inserted into and taken out from the rotating drum, and the gun holder may be formed into a crank shape with a bent portion. Additionally, the coating liquid may be a sugar coating liquid.

On the other hand, the coating method of the present invention includes a rotating drum that is rotatably provided around a rotational axis and in which a workpiece to be coated is housed; A pan coating device having a spray gun that sprays a coating liquid onto a layer of the processed material formed by the rolling of the processed material as the drum rotates, coats the processed material in the rotating drum. The coating method includes a spraying step of spraying the coating liquid onto the object to be treated while rotating the rotary drum without supplying or discharging the rotary drum; A pause 1 step in which the rotary drum is rotated without performing the above operations, and a dry step in which the rotary drum is rotated while supplying and exhausting the rotary drum are performed, and in the pause 1 step and the dry step, the spray gun is , move to a retreat position set in an area opposite to the area where the main part of the object layer is formed, among the areas created when the cross section of the rotating drum is equally divided into two in the vertical direction. It is characterized by causing

In the present invention, in the pause 1 step and drying step of the coating process performed in the pan coating device, the spray gun is used to divide the cross section of the rotating drum into two equal parts in the vertical direction. By moving the workpiece to a retreat position set in the area opposite to the area where the main part of the workpiece layer is formed, the surface of the workpiece becomes sticky during the coating process, and as the rotating drum rotates. Even if the object to be treated is lifted to the top of the drum, it is difficult for the object to fall onto the spray gun. This can prevent the object to be treated from getting on the spray gun and staying there during the coating process.

In the coating method, the retracted position is divided by a center line Mv that equally divides the cross section of the rotating drum into two in the vertical direction and a center line Mh that equally divides the cross section of the rotary drum into two in the horizontal direction. It may be set in the first quadrant among the four quadrants. Further, the spray gun may be moved up and down in a direction inclined by 45 degrees from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. In this case, the spray gun may be moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the object layer. Furthermore, the coating liquid may be a sugar coating liquid.

According to the pan coating apparatus of the present invention, the main part of the layer of the object to be treated is divided into two parts in the vertical direction by dividing the cross section of the rotating drum into two equal parts using the spray gun used in the pan coating apparatus. Since it is possible to move to the retreat position set in the area opposite to the area where it is formed, the surface of the processed object becomes sticky during the coating process, and as the rotating drum rotates, the processed object reaches the top of the drum. Even if the object is lifted, it is difficult for the object to fall onto the spray gun. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the object to be processed from getting on the spray gun and staying there during the coating process, suppressing the occurrence of defects, and making it possible to improve the coating quality.

Further, according to the coating method of the present invention, in the pause 1 step and drying step of the coating process performed in the pan coating device, when the spray gun is used to divide the cross section of the rotating drum into two equal parts in the vertical direction, By moving the workpiece to a retreat position set on the opposite side of the area from the area where the main part of the workpiece layer is formed, the surface of the workpiece becomes sticky during the coating process, and the rotating drum Even if the object to be treated is lifted to the top of the drum as it rotates, it will be difficult for the object to fall onto the spray gun. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the object to be processed from getting on the spray gun and staying there during the coating process, suppressing the occurrence of defects, and making it possible to improve the coating quality.

1 is a side view of a pan coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the pan coating apparatus of FIG. 1; It is an explanatory view showing the composition of a spray gun elevating mechanism. It is an explanatory view showing a moving position of a spray gun. It is a side view of the pan coating apparatus which is Embodiment 2 of this invention.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. 1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams showing the overall configuration of a pan coating device 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as coating device 1) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. It is a diagram. The coating apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a jacketless type structure using a so-called full-surface punching type rotating drum (coating pan, hereinafter abbreviated as drum) 2. Tablets (objects to be treated) 3 to be coated are housed in the drum 2, and the tablets 3 are coated by spraying a coating liquid thereon.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coating apparatus 1 has a structure in which a drum 2 is rotatably installed in the center of a housing 4. The drum 2 rotates around a substantially horizontal axis of rotation O, and tablets 3 are placed inside the drum 2. The drum 2 includes a cylindrical body 5 and truncated conical conical parts 6 formed at both ends of the body 5. The body 5 is formed of a perforated plate (punching plate) made of stainless steel, and the outer periphery of the body 5 is configured to be ventilated through a large number of ventilation holes 7. The conical portion 6 is made of a stainless steel plate without holes, and a front opening 8 is formed at one end of the conical portion 6 (left side in FIG. 1: one end side of the drum 2). The end of the other conical portion 6 (the right side in FIG. 1: the other end of the drum 2) is closed with an end plate 9, and a rotating shaft 11 is attached thereto.

On the right side of the drum 2 in FIG. 1, a drum rotation mechanism (not shown) using an electric drum drive motor is arranged. As described above, the rotating shaft 11 is fixed to the right end side (other end side) of the drum 2, and a sprocket (not shown) is attached to this rotating shaft 11. The sprocket is connected to a motor-side sprocket installed in the housing 4 via a chain. When the motor is rotated, the drum 2 is driven by a chain as the motor rotates, and rotates around the rotation axis O. The left end side of the drum 2 in FIG. 1 is supported by a roller (not shown).

The front surface (left side in FIG. 1) of the housing 4 has a three-part structure. A chamber door 12 is provided at the center of the front of the housing, and unit covers 13a and 13b are provided on both sides of the chamber door 12. The chamber door 12 is a rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped member, is rotatably supported by one unit cover 13a, and is provided to be openable and closable with respect to the housing 4. The unit covers 13a and 13b are also provided to be openable and closable with respect to the housing 4. The chamber door 12 has a box shape with an open surface on the front wall 4a side of the housing 4, and an air supply chamber 14 is formed inside. The air supply chamber 14 is arranged upstream of the front opening 8 of the drum 2 . An inspection door 15 having a monitoring window in the center is attached to the front of the chamber door 12. A product discharge port 16 is attached to the lower part of the chamber door 12 for taking out the product after processing is completed.

An air supply hole 17 is provided on the upper side of the front wall 4a of the housing. The coating apparatus 1 employs an internal air supply structure, and the air supply hole 17 communicates with an air supply port 19 provided on the upper surface 4b of the housing via an air supply duct 18 arranged inside the housing 4. ing. An external air supply duct (not shown) is connected to the air supply port 19 . In the coating apparatus 1, when the chamber door 12 is closed, the front opening 8 of the drum 2 faces and communicates with the air supply chamber 14. The air supplied to the air supply port 19 flows into the air supply chamber 14 through the air supply duct 18 and from there is supplied into the drum 2 via the front opening 8 .

An exhaust port 21 for discharging the air supplied to the drum 2 is also provided on the top surface 4b of the casing. An external air supply duct (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port 21 . As shown in FIG. 2, an internal exhaust duct 22 is installed in the casing 4, one end of which is in sliding contact with the body 5 of the drum 2, and the other end of which is directed toward the exhaust port 21. Air supplied from the chamber door 12 passes through the drum 2, and is discharged from the internal exhaust duct 22 through the exhaust port 21 to the outside of the apparatus.

A spray gun 23 for spraying the coating liquid is further arranged inside the drum 2. The spray gun 23 is attached to a gun holder 24, is inserted into the drum from the front opening 8 of the drum 2, and is provided so as to be able to be taken in and out of the drum from the front side of the device. Coating liquid and atomizing air are supplied to the spray gun 23 through a hose (not shown) housed in a gun holder 24 . The spray gun 23 moves in the vertical direction within the drum 2, and coats the tablets 3 within the drum 2 by appropriately spraying a coating liquid or the like from a predetermined spray position at a desired timing.

The spray gun 23 is arranged so as to be movable up and down in an oblique direction (approximately perpendicular to the tablet flow surface) inclined at 45° from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, and the position of the spray gun 23 in the drum can be changed as appropriate. It is now possible to The gun holder 24 to which the spray gun 23 is attached is supported by a holder arm 25, and is operated in the vertical direction by a spray gun elevating mechanism 26 housed within the unit cover 13b. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the spray gun elevating mechanism 26. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper end of the holder arm 25 is connected to a jack cylinder 28 with a bracket 27. The jack cylinder 28 is driven by a motor 29, and when the motor 29 operates, the rod 31 of the jack cylinder 28 expands and contracts, thereby operating the holder arm 25 in the direction of the arrow X. As the holder arm 25 moves up and down, the spray gun 23 moves up and down inside the drum 2. In this case, the vertical speed of the spray gun 23 is preferably set to 400 mm/min or more.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the moving position of the spray gun 23, and shows a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, in the coating apparatus 1, the spray gun 23 is moved and stopped between an upper limit position U and a lower limit position L set in the drum 2 by appropriately controlling the rotation angle of the motor 29. It is free. The spray gun 23 moves up and down along a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface 32a of the tablet layer 32 formed by the tablets 3 that roll when the drum rotates. The upper limit position U of the spray gun 23 is located outside the center (rotation axis) O with respect to the tablet layer 32 .

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, assuming that areas A and B are created when the cross section of the drum 2 is equally divided into two by the vertical center line Mv, the spray gun 23 will cover half of the tablet layer 32. It is set above the region B on the opposite side from the main portion 32b where the above components exist. That is, in FIG. 4, of the four quadrants divided by the centerline Mv and the horizontal centerline Mh of the drum 2, the tablet layer 32 is mainly formed in the third quadrant (3), and the tablet layer 32 is formed at the upper limit position U. is arranged in the first quadrant (1) at a point symmetrical with respect to the center O with respect to the tablet layer 32.

In the coating apparatus 1, the spray gun 23 is moved to the upper limit position U as a retracted position during a "pause" step (here, a "pause 1" step to be described later) and a "dry" step during the coating process. As a result, even if the tablet surface becomes sticky during sugar coating and the tablet 3 is lifted up to the top of the drum as the drum 2 rotates, the tablet 3 will not remain on the spray gun 23 like the tablet 3p in FIG. Fall without falling. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tablet 3 from getting caught on the spray gun and staying there during the coating process, suppressing the occurrence of defects, and improving the coating quality.

Next, a coating process using the coating apparatus 1 as described above will be explained, taking the production of sugar-coated tablets as an example. Here, first, tablets such as lactose tablets (for example, diameter 8 mm, 200 mg/T) are put into the drum 2 as the tablets 3 to be coated. In the coating apparatus 1, the tablets 3 are introduced through the front opening 8 with the chamber door 12 open. When inserting tablets, the spray gun 23 is retracted outside the drum 2. After putting in a predetermined amount of tablets 3, the spray gun 23 is set in the drum 2. Thereafter, the chamber door 12 is closed and the drum drive motor is activated to rotate the drum 2.

A coating liquid (sugar coating liquid) is sprayed onto the tablets 3 in the drum from a spray gun 23 while rotating the drum 2. The coating liquid contains a coating substance, a binder, a solvent, etc., and is sprayed from the spray gun 23 at a predetermined pressure. In the sugar coating process, the process of "pause 0" → "spray" → "pause 1" → "dry" (→ return to "pause 0") is usually repeated about 20 to 50 cycles, and the coating is applied little by little onto the tablet 3. Forms a glycocalyx layer. Furthermore, after the "Pause 1" process, depending on the coating liquid and other conditions, a "Pause 2" process is provided in which the drum 2 is rotated while only exhausting, and the humidity inside the drum is reduced before the drying process. Also good.

In this case, "pause 0" is a preparation period for starting the coating process and entering the next process cycle after completing one cycle, and the drum 2 is rotated without supplying air or spraying the coating liquid (1 to (about 2 minutes). "Spraying" is a process in which the coating liquid is sprayed (for about 1 to 2 minutes) while rotating the drum 2 (for example, at about 8 rpm) without performing air supply or exhaust. "Pause 1" is a kneading process in which the drum 2 is rotated without supplying air or spraying the coating liquid to spread the coating liquid on the tablets (about 2 to 4 minutes). "Drying" is a process in which hot air is supplied to the drum 2 (for example, 70°C, 12 m ³ /min) without spraying the coating liquid, and the coating liquid on the tablets is dried and solidified (4 to 6 minutes).

In such a sugar coating process, in the coating apparatus 1, the spray gun 23 moves to the upper limit position U and retreats during the "pause 1" process and the "dry" process. This prevents the tablet 3 from falling onto the spray gun 23 and staying there during the "pause 1" process or the "dry" process. In addition, when performing the above-mentioned "pause 2" process, the spray gun 23 is placed at the upper limit position U during the "pause 2" process. Furthermore, in the "spray" step, the position of the spray gun 23 is automatically changed in accordance with the progress of the number of sugar coating cycles. That is, in the spraying process, as the thickness of the tablet layer 32 increases, the spray position of the spray gun 23 is controlled to achieve an optimal spray distance, and the spray gun 23 automatically moves (raises) from the lower limit position L. . By such gun operation, the spray gun 23 is appropriately moved between the upper limit position U and the lower limit position L during the coating process, and is moved and fixed at the appropriate position only during the spray process.

On the other hand, when "spraying", the spray gun 23 needs to be moved to an appropriate position and left still before the process is started. Therefore, in the "pause 0" process, the spray gun 23, which was located at the upper limit position U in the "dry" process, is lowered and moved to a predetermined spray position. In this case, the vertical speed of the spray gun 23 is set to 400 mm/min or more to enable the desired movement, but the time for the "pause 0" process is very short, and during the "pause 0" process, It is also assumed that the spray gun 23 cannot be moved from the upper limit position U to the spray position.

Therefore, in such a case, the spray gun 23 is lowered during the "dry" process before the "pause 0" process to prepare for the "spray" process. Furthermore, if the "dry" process is also very short, start moving during the "pause 1" process, lower the spray gun 23 while performing "dry", and then start the "spray" after the "pause 0" process is completed. The spray gun 23 may be left stationary at an appropriate position before the start of the process. In this way, if the "pause 0" or "dry" time is extremely short, by moving the spray gun 23 from the previous process, you can ensure that the spray gun 23 is placed in the correct position when the "spray" process starts. The operation of the spray gun 23 is controlled so that the

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a pan coating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a spray gun used in a pan coating device 41 (hereinafter abbreviated as coating device 41) according to the second embodiment. In addition, in this embodiment, the same parts and members as those in the coating apparatus 1 of Embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the coating device 41, the gun holder 42 to which the spray gun 23 is attached is bent into a crank shape. Here, the gun holder 42 includes a first horizontal part 43a that extends horizontally from the front opening 8 side, an ascending part 45 that bends at a right angle from the first horizontal part 43a at a first bent part 44a, and extends upward. The crank structure includes a second horizontal portion 43b that is bent at a right angle at a second bent portion 44b and extends horizontally toward the back of the drum 2. The spray gun 23 is attached to the second horizontal portion 43b on the inner side.

As mentioned above, before and after the coating process, the spray gun 23 is retracted from the drum 2, but at that time, the gun holder 42 and the spray gun 23 interfere with the periphery of the front opening 8 (mouth ring part). There is a risk of Further, since the gun holder 42 cannot move up and down beyond the diameter of the front opening 8, the upper limit position U of the spray gun 23 is also limited thereto. Therefore, in the coating device 41, by forming the gun holder 42 into a bent shape, the upper limit position U is set higher while preventing interference between the gun holder 42 and the mouth ring portion when the spray gun is retracted. For example, it is also possible to set the upper limit position U of the spray gun 23 to the outer diameter side of 1/2 of the radius R of the drum 2. This makes it possible to avoid interference between members and to retract the spray gun upward.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, in the above embodiment, the upper limit position U is the retracted position of the spray gun 23, but the position where the spray gun 23 is retracted does not necessarily have to be the upper limit position U, and as long as the tablet 3 does not fall on the upper limit position, the upper limit position A position lower than U may be set as the retracted position. Further, the various numerical values described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and each numerical value can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the number of installed spray guns 23 is not limited to three as shown in the figure.

On the other hand, in the embodiment described above, the spray gun 23 is arranged based on the center position in the depth direction of the drum 2, but the installation position of the spray gun 23 is not limited to the center of the drum, for example, the front opening 8 It is also possible to adopt a method in which the spray is sprayed toward the back of the drum from a position close to the drum. Further, in the second embodiment, the spray gun 23 is retracted by moving the crank-shaped gun holder 42 in the vertical direction, but the spray gun 23 is retracted upward by rotating the gun holder 42 and inverting it vertically. It can also be used as a configuration. Furthermore, sugar coating liquids of various specifications can be used, such as syrups in which sugar is dissolved in water, as well as those to which various medicinal ingredients, flavors, pigments, etc. are added.

The present invention is applicable not only to tablets of medicines and health foods, but also to coating of confectionery such as gum and chocolate, and other foods.

1 Pan coating device 2 Rotating drum 3 Tablet (material to be processed)
3p Tablet 4 Housing 4a Front wall 4b Top surface 5 Body 6 Conical part 7 Vent hole 8 Front opening 9 End plate 11 Rotating shaft 12 Chamber door 13a Unit cover 13b Unit cover 14 Air supply chamber 15 Inspection door 16 Product discharge port 17 Air supply hole 18 Air supply duct 19 Air supply port 21 Exhaust port 22 Internal exhaust duct 23 Spray gun 24 Gun holder 25 Holder arm 26 Spray gun lifting mechanism 27 Bracket 28 Jack cylinder 29 Motor 31 Rod 32 Tablet layer (processed material layer)
32a Upper surface 32b Main part 41 Pan coating device 42 Gun holder 43a First horizontal part 43b Second horizontal part 44a First bent part 44b Second bent part 45 Ascending part A Area B Area U Upper limit position (retracted position in this embodiment)
L Lower limit position Mv Vertical center line Mh Horizontal center line O Rotating axis R Rotating drum radius

Claims (10)

a rotating drum that is rotatably provided around a rotational axis and that accommodates a workpiece to be coated therein;
A pan coating device comprising: a spray gun disposed within the rotating drum and spraying a coating liquid onto a layer of the processed material formed by rolling of the processed material as the rotating drum rotates;
The spray gun is set in an area opposite to an area where the main part of the object layer is formed, of the area created when the cross section of the rotating drum is equally divided into two in the vertical direction. A pan coating device characterized by being movable to a retreat position. The pan coating device according to claim 1,
The retracted position is divided into four quadrants defined by a center line Mv that equally divides the cross section of the rotating drum into two in the vertical direction and a center line Mh that equally divides the cross section of the rotary drum into two in the horizontal direction. A pan coating device characterized in that it is set in the first quadrant. The pan coating device according to claim 1 or 2,
The pan coating apparatus is characterized in that the spray gun moves up and down in an inclined direction from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction. In the pan coating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The spray gun is attached to a gun holder that can be inserted into and taken out of the rotating drum,
The pan coating device is characterized in that the gun holder is formed in the shape of a crank with a bent portion. In the pan coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A pan coating device characterized in that the coating liquid is a sugar coating liquid. A rotating drum that is rotatably provided around a rotational axis and houses a workpiece to be coated therein, and a workpiece that is placed inside the rotary drum and rotates as the rotary drum rotates. A coating method for coating a workpiece in the rotating drum using a pan coating device having a spray gun that sprays a coating liquid onto a workpiece layer formed by rolling of the rotary drum.
a spraying step of spraying the coating liquid onto the object to be treated while rotating the rotary drum without supplying or exhausting air to the rotary drum;
a pause step of rotating the rotary drum without supplying or exhausting air to the rotary drum;
a drying step of rotating the rotary drum while supplying and exhausting the rotary drum;
In the pause 1 step and the drying step, the area where the main part of the object layer is formed is formed when the spray gun divides the cross section of the rotating drum into two equal parts in the vertical direction. A coating method characterized in that the coating method is moved to a retracted position set in an area opposite to the area. The coating method according to claim 6,
The retracted position is divided into four quadrants defined by a center line Mv that equally divides the cross section of the rotating drum into two in the vertical direction and a center line Mh that equally divides the cross section of the rotary drum into two in the horizontal direction. A coating method characterized in that the coating method is set in the first quadrant. The coating method according to claim 6 or 7,
Before the spraying step, a pause 0 step is provided in which the rotating drum is rotated without supplying or exhausting air to the rotating drum,
Carrying out multiple cycles of a process including the pause 0 process , the spray process, the pause 1 process, and the dry process,
A coating method characterized in that, in the pause 0 step, the spray gun is moved from the retreat position to a spray position where the spray step is performed. In the coating method according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The coating method is characterized in that the spray gun moves up and down in an inclined direction from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction. In the coating method according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
A coating method characterized in that the coating liquid is a sugar coating liquid.

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