KR101905101B1 - Manufacturing method and apparatus for seamless capsule - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a seamless capsule manufacturing method and a seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus using the same and, more specifically, to a seamless capsule manufacturing method and a seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus using the same which properly adjust the thickness and strength of a film enclosing liquid to uniformly maintain strength of a seamless capsule, allow the film to be easily destroyed under a proper pressure or a prescribed condition only to facilitate manufacture and use of the capsule, and form the seamless capsule in a perfectly spherical shape to increase the degree of completion. The seamless capsule manufacturing method comprises: a) a film manufacturing step; b) a liquid manufacturing step; c) a capsule forming step of enclosing the liquid of the step b) with the film of the step a) to form a capsule; and d) a capsule postprocessing step of hardening and drying the formed capsule. The film manufactured in the step a) is prepared by mixing 1-6 wt% of agar or carrageenan, 0.5-4 wt% of a plasticizer, 1-5 wt% of modified starch, and the remainder of water.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a seamless capsule manufacturing method and a seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus using the same,

The present invention relates to a seamless capsule manufacturing method and an apparatus for manufacturing seamless capsule using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a seamless capsule manufacturing method, The capsule is easily broken only under a pressure or a certain condition so that the capsule can be easily manufactured and used and the seamless capsule can be formed into a perfect spherical shape to enhance the completeness of the capsule. b) a liquid phase manufacturing step; c) a capsule forming step of wrapping the liquid of step b) in a spherical shape with the film of step a); d) a capsule post-treatment step of curing and drying the molded capsules, wherein the coating prepared in step a) comprises 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight plasticizer, 5.0 wt% of the modified starch and the remaining amount of water are mixed to form a seamless capsule, and an apparatus for producing seamless capsule using the same.

Capsules containing various fragrances, medicines, foods, pics, cosmetics and the like are widely used in various fields because they are easy to ingest while safely protecting the inside liquid.

Recently, seamless capsules, which are easy to break down and have high productivity, are widely used among various capsules.

A seamless capsule is a seamless capsule that does not form a joint in the capsule surrounding the liquid material inside the capsule and protects the liquid material.

The seamless capsule discharges the liquid material from the center nozzle while discharging the liquid material from the circular nozzle surrounding the center nozzle and transports the liquid material through the cooling fluid in a state of being broken by vibration or the like, These seamless capsules are sphericalized and stabilized into spherical shapes as the coating gels to a semi-dry state.

Such seamless capsules may be embedded in various types of products (such as filters or perfumes of cigarettes) or used as seamless capsules alone (such as medicines or cosmetics) and may be destroyed directly by applying a force to the capsules coating, The liquid will flow out while the coating melts.

Therefore, the seamless capsule can not easily break the capsule when the capsule is not used, so that the liquid inside the capsule can be protected, and the user can easily break the capsule by applying an external force with an appropriate pressure or melt the capsule quickly under certain conditions. It is necessary to maintain the strength of the film itself properly.

Further, in the conventional sphere forming method for seamless capsule molding, various conditions are applied to a conveyance pipe through which a fluid flows so that the seamless capsule can be formed into a perfect sphere and perfection can be improved. Typically, The capsule is conveyed along the inner wall of the conveyance pipe to generate a rotational rolling motion which rubs against the inner wall of the conveyance pipe, thereby molding the capsule close to a perfect sphere.

However, in the conventional sphere forming method, static electricity is likely to be generated on the inner wall due to friction between the inner wall of the transfer tube and the capsule, as well as external factors such as contact with an operator, ), Static electricity is easily generated on the outer wall of the conveyance pipe, and generation of static electricity due to such internal and external factors acts as a resistance factor for interfering with the rotation of the capsule, and the shape of the capsule is not formed into a perfect sphere There is a problem that productivity is low.

For reference, as prior art related to such seamless capsules, there are Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 10-2017-0072609, Registered Utility Model No. 20-0252848, and Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0045309.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems,

It is possible to maintain the strength of the capsule itself of the seamless capsule formed into a spherical shape appropriately so that the capsule is easily broken during the capsule unused to prevent the liquid material from flowing out and the capsule is easily broken or melted when using the capsule, The composition is prepared by mixing 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan with 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch and water of residual amount, and a seamless capsule preparation And an object thereof is to provide a manufacturing apparatus.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a seamless capsule manufacturing method and a seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus using the same, which can increase productivity by improving the efficiency of a seamless capsule manufacturing process such as manufacturing of a film and a liquid, cooling, drying and curing after molding a capsule, The purpose is to provide.

The present invention also provides a method of rotating a fluid to form a spiral vortex so as to prevent the capsules (spherical shape) from being degraded due to collision between the capsules or collision between the capsules and the transfer tube when the capsules are formed into a spherical shape, And a static electricity preventive means for preventing the generation of electrification on the outer wall of the transfer tube, and to provide a seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus using the seamless capsule manufacturing method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a seamless capsule,

In the seamless capsule manufacturing method,

a) a film forming step;

b) a liquid phase manufacturing step;

c) a capsule forming step of wrapping the liquid of step b) in a spherical shape with the film of step a);

d) a capsule post-treatment step of curing and drying the molded capsule,

The coating film prepared in the step a) is prepared by mixing 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch and the remaining amount of water.

In the seamless capsule manufacturing method according to the present invention,

The modified starch is characterized in that it contains at least one natural starch selected from corn, tapioca, potato, waxy corn, and potato.

Furthermore, in the seamless capsule preparation method according to the present invention,

In the step c), the transfer tube for sequentially transferring the plurality of capsules by flowing the fluid includes:

Vortex forming means for rotating the flowing fluid in one direction to form a spiral vortex; And

An antistatic means made of a conductive metal material surrounding the outer wall of the transfer pipe to prevent static electricity from being generated in the transfer pipe; , ≪ / RTI >

The capsule to be conveyed is conveyed while rotating along the central part of the spiral vortex, so that the capsules are molded and cooled.

The apparatus for manufacturing a seamless capsule according to the present invention comprises:

In the seamless capsule production apparatus,

A film-making section for producing a film;

A liquid water producing unit for producing a liquid water;

A capsule forming unit connected to the film-making unit and the liquid-material-producing unit through respective supply pipes, the capsule discharging the liquid in a form of spherical wrapping to form a capsule; And

And a capsule finishing unit for curing and drying the capsules discharged from the capsule forming unit,

The film produced in the film-making section is composed of 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of a plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch, and a residual amount of water.

The method for manufacturing seamless capsules according to the present invention and the apparatus for manufacturing seamless capsules using the same,

When the capsules are formed into a spherical shape, the strength of the coating for wrapping the liquid material is appropriately maintained to prevent the capsule from being easily broken during the capsule unuse to prevent the liquid material from flowing out unintentionally, It is possible to melt or coat the capsule quickly, making the seamless capsule easy to make and use,

In addition to improving the efficiency of the process associated with capsule manufacture, productivity is improved,

The capsules are prevented from colliding with each other during the capsule cooling or collision between the capsules and the transfer tube, thereby improving the perfection of the capsules and improving the quality of the capsules and reducing the defective rate, thereby enabling the production of high-quality seamless capsules.

1 is a block diagram of a method for manufacturing seamless capsules according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for producing seamless capsules according to the present invention.
3 is a schematic view of a capsule manufacturing unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view and a principal part enlarged perspective view and a plan view schematically showing a conveyance pipe according to the present invention. FIG.

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments, it is obvious that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same reference numerals, and in particular, the numerals of the tens and the digits of the digits, the digits of the tens, the digits of the digits and the alphabets are the same, Members referred to by reference numerals can be identified as members corresponding to these standards.

In the drawings, the components are expressed by exaggeratingly larger (or thicker) or smaller (or thinner) in size or thickness in consideration of the convenience of understanding, etc. However, It should not be.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

 In the present application, the term " comprising " or " consisting of ", or the like, refers to the presence of a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and are to be interpreted as either ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present application Do not.

It is to be understood that the first to second aspects described in the present specification are merely referred to in order to distinguish between different components and are not limited to the order in which they are manufactured, It may not match.

In describing the seamless capsule manufacturing method according to the present invention and the apparatus for manufacturing a seamless capsule using the same, it is possible to specify an unambiguous approximate direction reference with reference to FIG. 3, The directions are specified in accordance with these standards unless otherwise specified in the description of the invention and claims in connection with other drawings.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing seamless capsules according to the present invention and an apparatus for manufacturing seamless capsules using the same will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to a seamless capsule manufacturing method and a seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus using the same,

As shown in Fig. 1, the capsule 1 produced by the present invention refers to a seamless capsule in which a coating for protecting the liquid inside is formed, and in particular, a seamless capsule having no seam on the outer circumferential surface of the capsule.

Such a seamless capsule prevents the capsule 1 from being broken due to breakage of the capsule 1 during manufacture and circulation of the capsule 1, and at the same time, when the capsule is used, the capsule 1 is easily broken The thickness and strength of the capsule should be maintained to a sufficient degree so that the capsule can dissolve quickly, and at this time, the capsule 1 can be maintained in high quality by increasing the completeness so that the capsule has a perfect spherical shape.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to increase the efficiency of a series of processes related to capsule production, and to form the capsule 1 into a complete sphere while maintaining the strength of the capsule at an appropriate level.

As shown in Fig. 1, in the seamless capsule manufacturing method,

a) a film forming step (S10);

b) a liquid phase manufacturing step (S20);

c) a capsule forming step (S30) of shaping the liquid material of step b) in a spherical shape by the coating of step a);

d) a capsule post-treatment step (S40) of curing and drying the molded capsule (1)

The film formed in step a) is composed of 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch, and remaining water .

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, in the seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention,

A film-making section 10 for producing a film;

A liquid material manufacturing section (20) for producing a liquid material;

And is connected to the film forming unit 10 and the liquid material manufacturing unit 20 through respective supply pipes 13 and 23. The capsule is discharged in the form of a spherical wrapping of the liquid material, A capsule forming part 30 for forming a capsule; And

And a capsule post-processing unit (40) for curing and drying the capsule (1) discharged from the capsule forming unit (30)

The film produced in the film-making unit 10 is composed of 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch, .

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, and a method for manufacturing seamless capsules will be described.

First, the film-making unit 10 performs step a) (S10) of manufacturing a coating film for wrapping a liquid material. The constituent materials constituting the film are dissolved in purified water after measurement with an appropriate weight and the viscosity of the film is measured A measurement process is performed.

The film forming unit 10 includes a film tank 11 in which purified water and constituent materials of the film are stored, a stirring member 12 arranged to rotate inside the film tank 11 to mix the purified water and the constituent materials of the film, So that the film in a dissolved state can be uniformly maintained.

The coating tank 11 is connected to the nozzle 31 of the capsule forming unit 30 through the coating supply pipe 13 and is connected to the coating tank 11 by means of a pump 13a provided in the coating supply pipe 13. [ Is supplied to the nozzle (31).

Meanwhile, as one of the key points of the present invention, the coating film produced by the film-making unit 10 in step a) of step a) includes agar, carrageenan, plasticizer, modified starch and residual water (purified water, pure water) .

Specifically, the film is formed by mixing 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch, and a residual amount of water.

The agar or carrageenan solidifies or hardens the liquid film in a film form according to the temperature so that the capsule has a spherical shape when the capsule is formed.

The plasticizer is made of glycerin and imparts elasticity to the film to impart moldability to the film. As the content of glycerin increases, the capsule (1) has an effect of increasing the elasticity of the capsule (1), but the glycamine itself is highly hygroscopic and thus has poor hygroscopicity stability in the long term. On the contrary, when the content of glycerin is decreased, So that the capsule 1 can be easily broken by an external force.

The modified starch serves as an intermediate modifier for the curing action of agar or carrageenan. It regulates the degree of curing of agar or carrageenan to form an initial shape of the spherical shape when the film is discharged from the nozzle 31, So that a thin film can be formed.

Such modified starches are obtained by treating natural starches chemically, physically, or enzymatically, and the natural starches used herein may be composed of one or more selected from corn, tapioca, potato, corn, and potato.

In the present invention, by coating the components of the above-mentioned function with water in the above-mentioned composition ratio to form a film, it is possible to maintain the strength of the capsule 1 at a proper level to easily break the capsule 1 It is possible to easily prevent the liquid from being absorbed by the filter F when the capsule 1 is used.

On the other hand, in step a), the coating film stored in the coating tank 11 must be maintained at an appropriate viscosity in order to form the capsule 1 and to maintain the shape after curing.

Therefore, the coating stored in the coating tank 11 maintains a viscosity in the range of 400 to 700 pcs, more preferably 500 to 650 pcs. To this end, the coating tank 11 or the coating supply pipe 13, or both, Temperature holding means (not shown) for keeping the temperature of the coating film constant is provided for maintaining the viscosity.

At this time, when the film is formed through mixing of the raw material components in the film tank 11, the gelation temperature of the film should be maintained at 40 to 90 ° C., and the capsule is formed while maintaining the above viscosity, .

Next, the liquid material manufacturing section 20 performs the above-mentioned step b) (S20) of producing a liquid material to be contained in the coating film, and the liquid material diffuses a unique taste and aroma (for example, menthol) Various kinds of components that can be mixed are mixed and stored in the liquid water tank 21.

For example, the liquid product can be prepared by dissolving drugs such as medicines, fragrances, spices, and fragrances in a solution such as animal or vegetable oils such as medium-chain fatty acid triglycerides, soybean oil, olive oil, and lard, liquid paraffin, There is no limitation on the type and composition ratio of the liquid material which does not dissolve the film formed into the spherical shape.

This liquid water tank 21 is connected to the nozzle 31 of the capsule forming unit 30 through the liquid water supply pipe 23 and is connected to the liquid water tank 23 using the pump 23a provided in the liquid water supply pipe 23. [ (21) is supplied to the nozzle (31).

Although not shown in the drawings, the liquid tank 21 may further include a temperature holding means or a stirring member, depending on the type and composition of the liquid material, and the like.

Next, the capsule forming unit 30 is moved to the film produced by the film producing unit 10 in step a), and the capsule forming unit 30 is operated by the liquid water producing unit 20 in step b) (S20) (C) step (S30) of shaping the formed liquid material into a spherical shape,

A transfer tube 32 for cooling while transferring the capsules 1 connected to the nozzles 31 and for discharging the fluid L discharged from the transfer tube 32, A capsule storage unit 37 for separately storing and storing the separated capsules 1 and a fluid storage unit 38 for circulating and supplying the fluid L, .

First, the nozzle 31 is connected to the film-forming unit 10 and the liquid-material-manufacturing unit 20 through respective supply pipes 13 and 23, and the coating is discharged in a form of spherically wrapping the liquid- Thereby forming the initial shape of the capsule 1,

An annular nozzle portion 31A connected to the coating supply pipe 13 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 31 connected to the liquid water supply pipe 23 so that the discharge portion of the nozzle 31 has a double- So as to be immersed in the upper end portion of the pipe (32).

The nozzle 31 is provided with a pressing portion 31a which is operated by a piston 31b by a vibrator 31b so that when the liquid material and the coating film are discharged to the central discharge portion and the annular nozzle portion 31A of the nozzle 31, (31a) operates to apply a vibration of a predetermined period and amplitude to the inside of the nozzle to generate a pulsating wave in the liquid material and the coating liquid discharged to the fluid (L) of the transfer pipe (32).

Therefore, when the coating liquid and the liquid material supplied to the nozzle 31 are discharged at the same time, the coating is discharged in the form of wrapping the liquid material. At this time, when the pressing portion 31a is operated using the vibrator 31b at an appropriate timing, The discharged liquid material and the coating film are cut off and the coating film is covered in the form of wrapping the liquid material so that the capsule 1 of the initial sphere shape is formed and discharged.

The thickness of the film discharged in the form of wrapping the liquid material through the nozzle 31 is preferably 0.2 to 0.8 mm.

The transfer tube 32 is formed by cooling the capsules 1 formed by the nozzles 31 into a spherical shape and cooling the capsules 1 using the fluid L to form the capsules 1 in the capsule- By sequentially transferring,

The fluid L flows in one direction in the state where the cooling fluid L is filled in the transfer pipe 32 and the fluid L of the transfer pipe 32 flows into the fluid supply line 39 and the fluid discharge line 36 in one direction.

The transfer tube 32 is installed vertically between the nozzle 31 and the capsule separator 35 for the downward rotational movement of the capsule 1 using vortex formation of a fluid L to be described later, And the capsule 1 is transported while the fluid L flows.

The transfer tube 32 is made of a synthetic resin such as a transparent plastic so that the shape and the conveying state of the capsule 1 can be visually recognized by the operator.

As another aspect of the present invention, the transfer pipe (32) includes vortex forming means (33) for forming a spiral vortex by rotating the flowing fluid (L) in one direction,

And an antistatic means 34 made of a conductive metal material surrounding the outer wall of the transfer pipe 32 to prevent static electricity from being generated in the transfer pipe 32,

The capsule 1 to be conveyed is moved downward (2) while being rotated (3) along the center portion LC of the helical vortex (1) to perform sphere molding and cooling of the capsule 1.

The transfer tube 32 has a length equal to or longer than a predetermined length in order to secure sufficient cooling and rotational movement time of the capsule 1 so that the vortex can be uniformly generated and maintained at the same intensity throughout the transfer tube 32 ,

The vortex forming means 33 is provided at a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the transfer pipe 32 and protrudes from the inner wall of the transfer pipe 32 toward the center of the transfer pipe 32 to a predetermined position, And a plurality of blade plates 33A that are bent and connected to form a vortex.

More specifically, in order to keep the flow rate (pressure) of the fluid L at a predetermined level or higher while minimizing the flow disturbance of the fluid L, the blade plate 33A is arranged at the same height in the circumferential direction of the transfer tube 32 And the blade plates 33A having the same height are arranged vertically spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the transfer pipe 32. [

That is, the blades 33A of the same height are radially arranged in the circumferential direction of the conveyance pipe 32 so as to have the same shape as the blades of the blind fan, and these blades 33A are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the conveyance pipe 32 As shown in FIG.

The wing plates 33A of the respective layers adjacent to each other in the upper and lower directions are arranged so as to intersect with each other in the circumferential direction of the transfer pipe 32 (i.e., the wing plates 33A of the upper layer F1 and the wing plates The fluid L that flows downward while forming a vortex flows smoothly through the wing plate 33A of the upper layer F1 to the wing plate 33A of the lower layer F2 (Pressure) difference or unbalance of the fluid L due to overlapping of the upper and lower layers F1 and F2 blade plates 33A.

Here, the wing plate 33A is bent in one direction, which means that one end of each wing plate 33A is inclined at the same angle toward the lower side.

The vane plate 33A includes a vortex inducing portion 33a protruding from the inner wall of the transfer pipe 32 and an exposed portion 33b protruding from the outer wall of the transfer pipe 32. That is, each blade 33A is fitted in the wall of the transfer tube 32 so that the portion projecting into the transfer tube 32 functions as the vortex inducing portion 33a, 32 function as an exposed portion 33b.

It is possible to prevent breakage such as breaking of the blade 33A due to the pressure of the fluid L flowing through the blade 33A coupled with the structure.

Particularly, the wing plate 33A is made of a metal material so as to ensure a certain strength or more. By using the conductivity of the metal material, static electricity can be prevented from being generated on the wing plate 33A.

The static electricity prevention means 34 is made of a metal material and is configured to surround the outer wall of the transfer pipe 32 and includes a mesh member 34 having a passage 34a of a predetermined size.

That is, the anti-static unit 34 is installed in a form that the metal wire 34b having a thin thickness such as a wire is woven in a net shape and closely attached to the outer wall of the transfer pipe 32. [

The metal wire 34b of the mesh member 34 is coupled to the outer wall of the feed pipe 32 so that the metal wire 34b of the mesh member 34 has the same angle as the inclination of the blade 33A. So that the grounding is performed.

That is, the metal wire 34b of the mesh member 34 comes into contact with the exposed portion 33b of the blade 33A via one or both surfaces of the blade 33A, thereby grounding the blade member 33A and the mesh member 34 .

The grounding structure between the wing plate 33A and the wing plate 33A and the metal wire 34b of the metal material is provided with a conductive structure for the inside and outside of the transfer pipe 32, It is possible to prevent static electricity from being generated in both the inner and outer walls.

The fluid L flowing along the transfer pipe 32 forms a spiral vortex that rotates in one direction while resistance is generated by the vortex inducing portion 33a of the blade plate 33A so that the swirl vortex A flow of the same fluid L is generated and this helical vortex lowers the pressure of the fluid center LC so that the capsule 1 transported by the fluid L descends along the fluid center LC, The capsules 1 discharged sequentially from the nozzle 31 are transported at regular intervals without reversing the order of the capsules 1 to prevent collision between the capsules 1.

At this time, the helical vortex gives rotational pressure to the capsule 1 which is transported downward along the fluid center LC, so that the transported capsule 1 is gradually cooled through the transport pipe 32 while performing the downward rotational movement, As a result, the cooled capsule 1 is formed into a perfect sphere shape.

In addition, because of the conductive property of the mesh member 34 itself and the grounding structure of the metal blade 33A and the metal wire 34b, generation of all the static electricity generated inside and outside the transfer pipe 32 is prevented, Static electricity is not generated even when the capsules 1 come into contact with the capillary 32 and the capsules 1 collide with each other due to the static electricity causing the capsule 1 to move in the direction of conveyance, It is possible to prevent the collision of the capsule 1 from deforming the shape of the capsule 1 formed into a spherical shape while increasing the abduction momentum.

The capsule separator 35 includes a first reservoir 35A for temporarily storing the fluid L discharged from the transfer tube 32 and a second reservoir 35A for storing the fluid L, A sorting plate 35B for delivering the capsule 1 discharged from the transfer tube 32 to the capsule storing part 37 and for passing the discharged fluid L to the first storing container 35A, .

The sorting plate 35B is coupled to the capsule storing part 37 provided at one side of the first storing container 35A so as to be inclined downward and has a plurality of through holes smaller than the diameter of the capsule 1, 1 is filtered by the separating plate 35B and falls along the inclination of the separating plate 35B to be stored in the capsule storing portion 37. The fluid L passes through the separating plate 35B, (35A) and stored.

The fluid reservoir 38 includes a second reservoir 38A connected to the inlet of the transfer tube 32 and the first reservoir 35A via a fluid supply line 39 and a fluid discharge line 36, And a cooling means (38B) for cooling the fluid (L) of the second reservoir (38A) to a predetermined temperature or lower, wherein the fluid supply line (39) and the fluid discharge line (36) The amount of the fluid L supplied through the first reservoir 35A may not be satisfied by circulating the fluid L in the first reservoir 35A and the second reservoir 35A through the transfer pipe 32. Therefore, Fluid replenishment from a separate fluid supply line may be achieved using the pump of the fluid discharge line 36.

Specifically, the fluid L stored in the first reservoir 35A is pumped by a pump installed in the fluid discharge line 36 and is transferred to and stored in the second reservoir 38A. In the second reservoir 38A, The fluid L stored in the cooling unit 38B is transferred to the transfer pipe 32 by a pump installed in the fluid supply line 39 in a state of being cooled by the cooling unit 38B, L to circulate and supply the fluid L so that the fluid L can be reused.

In the present invention, step c) (S30) is performed through the capsule forming part 30 having the above-described structure to complete the manufacture of the capsule 1 that has been molded and cooled in a completely spherical shape.

 The capsule post-processing unit 40 then performs the above-described step d) (S40) of curing and drying the molded capsule 1 to produce a seamless product. The capsule post- ).

Specifically, the capsule post-processing unit 40 carries out the above-mentioned step d) (S40) comprising the first curing step (S41), the drying step (S42), and the second curing step (S43).

First, in the primary curing step S41, the molded capsule 1 is immersed in a curing liquid reservoir (not shown) for a predetermined time (approximately 3 to 5 minutes) to cure the capsule 1.

In the drying step S42, the capsule 1 having undergone the primary curing step S41 is placed in a dryer (not shown) for a predetermined time (approximately 1 to 2 minutes), and the set temperature, humidity, The capsule 1 is dried. In this case, after completion of drying, the capsules (1) may be classified to perform a further conditioning process.

In the secondary curing step S43, the dried capsule 1 is immersed in a curing liquid storage container (not shown) for a predetermined time (about 3 to 5 minutes) through the drying step S42, The film is further cured to improve the hygroscopicity stability (i.e., the hygroscopicity is lowered so as not to be vulnerable to moisture). In this case, a mixture of distilled water at a certain ratio is used as the hardening liquid, and calcium chloride may be dissolved in distilled water in some cases.

The present invention also relates to a capsule washing unit (50) for performing the step (e) of washing the cured and dried capsule (S50); And

(f) selecting and packaging the washed capsules 1 (S60).

The capsule washing unit 50 performs the step e) (S50) of washing the capsule 1 which has been cured and dried with the washing liquid. The washing liquid used in this case has a property of not hindering the curing state of the capsule Various types of cleaning solutions known in the art may be used.

Finally, the capsule sorting unit 60 selects the capsule 1 suitable for the manufacturing standard from the capsules 1 which have been manufactured through the step e), through a selector (not shown) (F) step (S60) of packaging only capsules (1) of good products by secondly selecting whether or not any other defects (e.g., sphere deformations, dents, film breakage, etc.) At this time, a screening tube or a sorting plate formed so that only the capsule 1 in the manufacturing standard can pass can be used as the sorter.

The manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention prevent the capsule 1 from being unintentionally destroyed during manufacture and distribution of the filter (F) by keeping the produced seamless capsule at a fracture strength of 0.5 to 2.9 kgf level The capsule of the capsule 1 is easily broken due to the external force of the user,

It is possible to improve the productivity and the reliability of the product by improving the efficiency of the manufacturing process and improving the completeness of the product by minimizing the generation of defective products that are not completed in a perfect sphere shape.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Substitutions should be construed as falling within the scope of protection of the present invention.

C: Tobacco F: Filter
L: Fluid 1: Capsule
10: Coating section 11: Coating tank
12: Stirring member 13: Coating supply pipe
20: Liquid material manufacturing part 21: Liquid material tank
23: Liquid water supply piping
30: Capsule forming part 31: Nozzle
31A: annular nozzle part 31a: pressing part
31b: vibrator 32: conveying pipe
33: vortex forming means 33A: wing plate
33a: vortex inducing portion 33b:
34: static electricity prevention means 34a:
34b: metal wire 35: capsule separator
35A: first reservoir 35B:
36: fluid discharge line 37: capsule storage section
38: fluid storage part 38A: second reservoir
38B: cooling means 39: fluid supply line
40: capsule post-processing unit 50: capsule washing unit
60: Capsule selection unit

Claims (4)

In the seamless capsule manufacturing method,
a) a film forming step;
b) a liquid phase manufacturing step;
c) a capsule forming step of wrapping the liquid of step b) in a spherical shape with the film of step a);
d) a capsule post-treatment step of drying and curing the molded capsules,

The film prepared in the step a) is prepared by mixing 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch,

In the step c), the transfer tube for sequentially transferring the plurality of capsules by flowing the fluid includes:
Vortex forming means for rotating the flowing fluid in one direction to form a spiral vortex; And
An antistatic means made of a conductive metal material surrounding the outer wall of the transfer pipe to prevent static electricity from being generated in the transfer pipe; , ≪ / RTI >
The capsule to be conveyed is conveyed while rotating along the center of the spiral vortex, and the capsules are molded and cooled,

Wherein the vortex forming means comprises a vortex inducing vane plate which is provided at a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the conveyance pipe and which is bent in one direction to protrude to a predetermined position from the inner wall of the conveyance pipe toward the center of the conveyance pipe, ≪ / RTI >
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the modified starch comprises at least one modified starch selected from the group consisting of corn, tapioca, potato, corn, and potato.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the static electricity prevention means is constituted by a mesh member having a passage of a predetermined size formed therein,
And an outer end of the vortex inducing vane plate is brought into contact with a part of the mesh member to ground the vortex guiding blade.
In the seamless capsule production apparatus,
A film-making section for producing a film;
A liquid water producing unit for producing a liquid water;
A capsule forming unit connected to the film-making unit and the liquid-material-producing unit through respective supply pipes, the capsule discharging the liquid in a form of spherical wrapping to form a capsule; And
And a capsule finishing unit for drying and curing the capsules discharged from the capsule forming unit,

The film to be produced in the film making section is composed of 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of agar or carrageenan, 0.5 to 4.0% by weight of plasticizer, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of modified starch,

In the capsule forming unit, a conveying pipe for sequentially conveying a plurality of capsules by flowing fluid,
Vortex forming means for rotating the flowing fluid in one direction to form a spiral vortex and
And a static electricity prevention means which is made of a conductive metal material that surrounds the outer wall of the transfer pipe to prevent static electricity from being generated in the transfer pipe,
The capsule to be conveyed is conveyed while rotating along the center of the spiral vortex, and the capsules are molded and cooled,

Wherein the vortex forming means comprises a vortex inducing vane plate which is provided at a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the conveyance pipe and which is bent in one direction to protrude to a predetermined position from the inner wall of the conveyance pipe toward the center of the conveyance pipe, Wherein the capsule endoscope is configured as a capsule endoscope.

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