WO2016106665A1

WO2016106665A1 - Machine for producing granules

Info

Publication number: WO2016106665A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/095860
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wei Jin; Weifeng Shi; Yongfu Wang; Kaiyu WAN
Original assignee: Nestec S.A.
Priority date: 2014-12-31
Filing date: 2014-12-31
Publication date: 2016-07-07
Also published as: MY186873A; CN207899415U

Abstract

A machine for producing granules (1) comprises a driving unit (10) and a granulation unit (20). The granulation unit (20) comprises: a hopper (21); at least one rotary cylinder (22; 22'; 32) disposed in the hopper (21), said rotary cylinder (22; 22'; 32) comprising: a rotating portion (220; 320) including a mounting portion (221; 321) for connecting the rotary cylinder (22; 22'; 32) to the driving unit (10) such that the rotary cylinder (22; 22'; 32) is able to oscillate around its axis; at least one bracket (222; 322) connected to the mounting portion (221; 321) or forming into one piece with the mounting portion (221; 321); and a plurality of scrapers (223; 323) attached on the bracket (222; 322) and spaced in the circumferential direction of the rotary cylinder (22; 22'; 32); and a fixing portion (27; 37), one end of which is extended into the inside of the rotating portion (220; 320) and the other end of which is fixed to the hopper (21) such that the rotating portion (220; 320) rotates surrounding the fixing portion (27; 37) during its rotation.

Description

[Corrected under Rule 26, 04.01.2015] MACHINE FOR PRODUCING GRANULES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a technical field of material agglomeration apparatus, and more particularly to a machine for producing granules such as a granulator (in particular an oscillating type granulator) , a grinder or a breaker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wet granulation technology prevails in the industry of food, pharmaceutical, chemical and etc. at present. Oscillating granulators, which have seen wider application in particular, include single-head oscillating granulators and twin-head oscillating granulators, both primarily intended for forming wet mass or agglomerated dry material into granules of a desired size.

Chinese utility model CN203139976U (hereinafter referred to as “CN’ 976U” ) , for example, discloses a twin-head oscillating granulator, comprising two rotary cylinders arranged in parallel and an inverted U-shaped or an inverted V-shaped guide plate positioned in a region between a supporting rod and opposed peripheral walls of the two rotary cylinders in the hopper, the rotary cylinders having connecting ribs and scraper plates.

Furthermore, especially when a highly sticky material (in which the content of the amorphous compounds is more than 50％by dry weight) is granulated by the twin-head oscillating granulator described in patent CN’ 976U, it may accumulate on a surface of any one of the rotary cylinder easily, and finally covers the entire rotary cylinder, which results in low throughput, material waste and difficulty in cleaning.

In addition, during rotation, the raw material will enter and accumulate inside the rotary cylinder, which leads to the resistance increase of the rotary cylinder and even causes production stoppage. Also, residual wet material on the rotary cylinder will cause gradual temperature raise of the rotary cylinder and the high temperature may transform the material of low Tg (glass transition temperature) from a glass state into a rubber state, which results in properties change of the wet material. A finished product made from the degraded material affects not only solubility, but also the flavor as well as the life time of the mesh in collaboration with the rotary cylinder, the throughput and size of the granules.

Moreover, in the technical field of material granulation apparatus, a grinder or a breaker for grinding process is also provided, which smashes dry pieces of material in the hopper into small fractions by oscillation of the two rotary cylinders in negative and position directions and then extrude the granules from the mesh. However, prior art grinders or breakers suffer from the drawback of low breaking efficiency because large pieces of material is directly broken by a rotating knife in the grinder or breaker and extruded from the mesh but are not subject to a granulation step to extrude out after breaking the pieces of material into small fractions to obtain granules of a desired size.

Therefore, there exists a need for providing an improved granulator to overcome the defects and disadvantages to enhance efficiency and throughout.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is intended to overcome at least one of the above defects in the prior arts.

According to one aspect the invention, a machine for producing granules is provided, comprising a driving unit and a granulation unit, the granulation unit comprising: a hopper, at least one rotary cylinder disposed in the hopper, said rotary cylinder comprising: a rotating portion including a mounting portion for connecting the rotary cylinder to the driving unit such that the rotary cylinder is able to oscillate around its axis； at least one bracket connected to the mounting portion or forming into one piece with the mounting portion； and a plurality of scrapers attached on the bracket and spaced in the circumferential direction of the rotary cylinder； and a fixing portion, one end of which is extended into the inside of the rotating portion and the other end of which is fixed to the hopper such that the rotating portion rotates surrounding the fixing portion during its rotation.

By virtue of the machine for producing granules with the above structure, the material in the rotating portion of the rotary cylinder can be smashed to prevent accumulation of the material that enters inside the rotary cylinder through gaps between the scrapers and to provide sufficient material for granulation and increase throughput.

Preferably, the fixing portion may comprise two stator elements arranged opposite to each other at two ends of the rotating portion.

Preferably, the mounting portion may have a shaft-like form and the bracket is preferably located in the middle position along the axial direction of the rotary cylinder. Thus, support of a middle section of an elongated scraper is reinforced to ensure strength of the scraper and prevent cracks in the scraper.

Preferably, the fixing portion may comprise a coupling plate for fixation with one or more blades extending from the coupling plate along the axial direction. Optionally, the blade has a cross section of a generally rectangular or oblong shape and the blade is preferably arranged with its direction of width at an angle of, for example, about 30°, about 45o (in this disclosure the term “an angle of about 45°” means that the angle is in a range of 40° to 50°) , about 60° or about 90° relative to the radial direction of the rotary cylinder. This arrangement has the benefit of dispersing the material in the rotary cylinder with high efficiency during its rotation.

Besides, as an alternative, the scrapper comprises at its inner radial side a plurality of protuberances projecting towards the axis of rotation, spaced in axial direction； the blade may comprise a plurality of depressions matched with the protuberances in shape. In this way, a staggering cooperation in concave-convex manner is created between the scrapers of the rotating portion and the blades of the fixing portion. This design is adapted for a grinding process in particular and capable of enhancing efficiency of breaking dry pieces of material into small fractions by impaction and cutting with relative movement between the scrapers and the blades.

Preferably, the rotating portion further comprises at least one preferably annular scrapper reinforcement for connecting the scrappers in the circumferential direction. In addition, optionally or additionally, the fixing portion may comprise at least one preferably annular blade reinforcement for connecting the blades in the circumferential direction. The scrapers/blades distributed over the circumference of the rotary cylinder (s) /fixing portion can be connected as a whole by means of the reinforcement.

Preferably, the bracket is disc-shaped with the scrapers being attached to the outer periphery of the bracket. This configuration is simple in structure, easy to be manufactured and ready to be assembled with the scrappers.

Preferably, the number of the scrapers of the rotary cylinder is from 3 to 13, preferably from 5 to 11, more preferably from 7 to 9, most preferably 7. The number of the scrapers can be properly set to extrude the material with high efficiency as the risk of material agglomeration is reduced.

Preferably, the scraper has a cross section of isosceles trapezoid shape or rounded isosceles triangle shape. The term “radial” herein refers to a radial direction of the rotary cylinder unless otherwise specified. By virtue of the scraper of this configuration, it is possible to not only break the agglomerated material efficiently but also apply a proper force thereto upon cooperation with the mesh to improve granulation efficiency. Further, a sharp scraper or a scraper with a working edge of an oversmall width will increase wear of the mesh during the granulation process. On the contrary, the scraper of the present application will minimize the wear and increase life time of the mesh.

Preferably, the mounting portion may comprise two mounting elements each being disposed on one end of the rotary cylinder. By way of arranging the two mounting elements at an outer side of the brackets disposed at both ends of the rotary cylinder (s) , a hollow section is formed in the rotary cylinder (s) so that the risk of agglomerating the material in the rotary cylinder (s) is minimized.

Preferably, an end of the mounting portion connected to the driving unit has a spline structure, preferably an involute spline structure. This configuration has the benefits of bearing greater load and receiving even coupling force and further reducing rigid impacts between coupling components and increasing life time of the components and loading capacity of the machine.

Preferably, an end of the mounting portion connected to the driving unit has a chromed surface, which has the advantage of improving corrosion resistance of the components.

Preferably, the granulation unit may further comprise a mesh which cooperates with the cylinder (s) , preferably a mesh woven by a metal wire (which may be made of Type 316L or Type 304 stainless steel, and the mesh range and wire diameter of which are dependent upon granule products, usually comprising 8-20 meshes) or a plastic wire (which may be e.g. nylon and the mesh range and wire diameter of which are dependent upon granule products, usually comprising 8-20 meshes) . A typical mesh used in grinding process comprises 8-40 meshes.

Preferably, the machine for producing granules is a granulator for granulating process, which may be used, for example, to produce food or pharmaceuticals. The granulator of the present application is capable of enhancing production efficiency and throughout, reducing maintenance cost and ensuring product quality and also capable of producing products containing highly sticky material.

Also, preferably, the machine for producing granules may be a grinder or a breaker for a grinding process. The dry pieces of material thereby are shocked, pressed and/or cut into small fractions by oscillation of the rotating portion of the rotary cylinder and relative movement between the rotating portion and the fixing portion in staggering cooperation, and then finally extruded from the mesh to produce granules of certain size. The grinder or breaker has a simple and compact structure, is easy to be assembled and can be operated with high efficiency.

According to the present invention, the possibility of agglomerating the material at the inner side of the rotary cylinder is reduced considerably, material waste being prevented and throughput and operation efficiency of the machine for producing granules being enhanced significantly. Furthermore, maintenance cost is reduced and product quality is ensured, and also application to highly sticky materials is possible.

According to another aspect of the invention, use of the machine for producing granules described above is proposed for granulating a wet material into granules. The wet material preferably comprises crystalline and/or amorphous compounds. More preferably, the wet material comprises more amorphous compounds than crystalline compounds on a dry weight percent basis, the content of the amorphous compounds is preferably more than 50％.

Preferably, the wet material may be food, which may comprise soup concentrate, sauce concentrate or seasoning concentrate.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method for producing granules is provided, comprising a step of using the machine for producing granules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the examples of the invention will become apparent with reference to the embodiments and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a general view of a machine for producing granules according to an embodiment of the present invention；

FIG. 2 shows a granulation unit of the machine for producing granules shown in FIG. 1, wherein the granulation unit comprises two rotary cylinders；

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rotary cylinder according to a first embodiment of the invention, wherein the rotating portion and the fixing portion are in an unassembled state；

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rotary cylinder according to a second embodiment of the invention, wherein the rotating portion and the fixing portion are in an unassembled state；

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rotary cylinder according to the second embodiment of the invention, wherein the rotating portion and the fixing portion are in an assembled state；

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the rotary cylinder taken along the line A-A in FIG. 5, wherein the rotating portion and the fixing portion are in an assembled state；

FIGS. 7a and 7b schematically show a shape of the cross section of a radial outer side of the scraper according to the present invention；

FIG. 8 is a view of the granulation unit of the machine for producing granules according to another embodiment of the invention, the granulation unit including a rotary cylinder； and

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a blade of the rotary cylinder according to the present invention, wherein the blade is arranged with its direction of width at an angle of about 45° relative to the radial direction of the rotary cylinder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments, which are shown in the drawings. The same reference numbers, if possible, are used throughout the drawings to indicate the same or similar components.

FIG. 1 shows a general view of the machine for producing granules according to the present invention. The machine for producing granules 1 of the invention comprises a driving unit 10 and a granulation unit 20. The driving unit 10 includes a decelerator motor 11 for converting electrical energy into a rotation output having a desired rotation speed and rotation torque by a motor and a decelerator, and a transmission actuator mechanism 12 for converting rotation input from the decelerator motor into an oscillation movement of a gear shaft 121 (i.e. rotation movement in positive and negative directions) .

As shown in FIG. 2, the granulation unit 20 includes a hopper 21, at least one rotary cylinder (two rotary cylinders 22, 22’ are shown herein) disposed in the hopper 21 and a mesh 23 located below the rotary cylinder. The rotary cylinders 22, 22’ each comprise: a mounting portion 221 for connecting the rotary cylinders 22, 22’ to the driving unit 10 (e.g. the gear shaft 121) such that the rotary cylinders are able to oscillate around their axes； at least one brackets 222 connected to the mounting portion 221 or forming into one piece therewith； and a plurality of scrapers 223 attached on the bracket 222 and spaced in the circumferential direction of the rotary cylinder. The bracket 222, 222’ is generally called a scraper bracket. It is possible to envisage providing the hopper 21 with only one rotary cylinder (see FIG. 8) .

The mesh 23 is mounted such that the rotary cylinders 22, 22’ are partially wrapped by the mesh, as shown in FIG. 2. During the mounting process, one end of the mesh 23 is fastened to a mesh fastener 24 and the other end thereof runs under the bottom of the rotary cylinder 22 and across the top of a mesh support shaft 25 and then along the bottom of the other rotary cylinder 22’ until it reaches a mesh fastener 24’ . The mesh fasteners 24, 24’ are configured to fix the mesh 23 and apply a tension force thereto. Wet material enters into the hopper 21 from its top.

Preferably, the mesh 23 is woven by a metal wire (which may be made of Type 316L or Type 304 stainless steel, and the mesh range and wire diameter of which are dependent upon granule products, usually comprising 8-20 meshes) or a plastic wire (which may be e.g. nylon and the mesh range and wire diameter of which are dependent upon granule products, usually comprising 8-20 meshes) . A typical mesh used in grinding process comprises 8-40 meshes.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the rotary cylinder of the machine for producing granules shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the rotary cylinder of the machine for producing granules shown in FIG. 1, wherein the rotating portion and the fixing portion are in an unassembled state. The first and second embodiments exhibit substantially the same structure in part as described below.

Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the

rotary cylinder

22, 32 includes a

rotating portion

220, 320 comprising: a mounting

portion

221, 321 for connecting the rotary cylinder to the driving unit 10 such that the

rotary cylinder

22, 32 is able to oscillate around its axis； at least one

bracket

222, 322 connected to the mounting portions221, 321 or forming into one piece therewith； and a plurality of

scrapers

223, 322 attached on the

bracket

222, 322 and spaced in the circumferential direction of the rotary cylinder (s) .

Since gaps are present between the scrapers, in order to prevent the wet material entering inside the rotary cylinder through these gaps to be accumulated or agglomerated therein, the rotary cylinder 22 preferably further comprises a fixing

portion

27, 37 fixed to the hopper. One end of the fixing

portion

27, 37 is extended into the inside of the

rotating portion

220, 320 and the other end thereof is fixed to the hopper 21 of the machine for producing granules such that the rotating portion rotates around the fixing

portion

27, 37 during its rotation. In this way, the fixing

portion

27, 37 of the

rotary cylinder

22, 32 disperses the material in the

rotating portion

220, 320 during rotation to prevent accumulation of the material in the

rotary cylinder

22, 32, so that it is possible to avoid increase in rotation resistance or even stop of rotation caused by material accumulation, thereby improving production efficiency, and it is also possible to provide sufficient material for granulation to increase throughput.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixing

portion

27, 37 includes two stator elements arranged opposite to each other at two ends of the

rotary cylinder

22, 32. Further, the mounting

portion

221, 321 illustrated has a shaft-like form, and the

brackets

222, 322 are located in the middle position along the axial direction of the

rotary cylinder

22, 32. This configuration ensures the relative movement between the fixing portion and the rotating portion in a range as great as possible to disperse the material in the rotating portion perfectly.

Further referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixing

portion

27, 37 include a

coupling plate

270, 370 for fixation with one or

more blades

271, 371 extending from the coupling plate. Preferably, the plurality of blades are distributed uniformly along the circumferential direction of the fixing

portion

27, 37, so that a dispersing force can be applied to the material inside the rotating portion more evenly.

Although the stator element in FIGS. 3 and 4 is designed to have two parts (in a two-piece form) , those skilled in the art can easily envisage that it may be designed to have other configurations according to the structure and position of the bracket. For example, the fixing portion may have only one stator element which has base plates at both ends of the rotary cylinder and a blade connected between the base plates. In this case, the bracket may be provided with an arc groove through which the blade may extend. Furthermore, although FIGS. 3 and 4 show five

blades

271, 371 of the stator element, those skilled in the art may envisage that the number of the blades may be e.g. one or more than three. The blades may be distributed differently from those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, the

bracket

222, 322 is disc-shaped with the

scrapers

223, 323 being attached to the outer periphery of the bracket. Those skilled in the art may envisage providing at two ends of the rotary cylinder, optionally or additionally, a disc-shaped bracket respectively. In this case, as illustrated similarly, the bracket can be provided with an arc groove through which the blades extend into the internal space of the rotating portion.

The

scraper

223, 323 extends in the axial direction of the

rotary cylinder

22, 32 in this embodiment.

The rotary cylinder may be provided with 3 to 13, preferably 5 to 11, and more preferably 7 to 9, and most preferably 7 scrapers (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) . Apart from this, in a radial direction of the rotary cylinder the scraper has a portion at the outer side, which creates friction between the material and the mesh 23 and allows the powered material to form into granules by pores of the mesh and to extrude from the mesh. The outer side portion of the scraper has a cross section in the shape of e.g. rounded isosceles triangle shape (see FIG. 7a) or isosceles trapezoid shape (see FIG. 7b) with angles being subject to a rounding process. The advantage of this design is that granulation efficiency is improved and life time of the mesh 23 can be increased because a sharp scraper or a scraper with a working edge of an oversmall width will increase wear of the mesh during the granulation process. It is also possible to envisage that the outer side portion of the scraper in the radial direction may be designed to have a cross section in other shapes.

Further referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotary cylinder also comprises an annular scraper reinforcement 26 configured to connect the scrapers of the rotary cylinder in the circumferential direction and designed to increase integral rigidity of the scrapers distributed in the circumferntial direction. In terms of the configuration in which the bracket is located in the middle of the rotary cylinder in the axial direction, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, preferably, the rotary cylinder is provided with an annular reinforcement 26 at two ends respectively. Although the scraper reinforcement illustrated in the drawings is in the form of a closed ring, those skilled in the art may envisage that the scraper reinforcement may have a non-closed elongated shape also. Further, the reinforcement may be arranged at any position of the rotary cylinder but is not limited to the end thereof. For instance, one or more reinforcements may be disposed in an area of the scraper receiving greater force, e.g. a middle section of the scraper in the extending direction. Like the scraper reinforcement, the rotary cylinder, optionally or additionally, may further include at least one preferably

annular blade reinforcement

272, 372 for connecting the blades in the circumferential direction.

The primary difference between the rotary cylinders shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 lies in the structure of the scraper and the blade. The scraper 223, as shown in FIG. 3 is in a straight elongated shape. The blade 271 has a cross section of a generally rectangular or oblong shape and the blade is preferably arranged with its direction of width at an angle of e.g. about 30°, about 45° (i.e., in a range of 40° to 50°) , about 60°or about 90° relative to the radial direction of the rotary cylinder (see FIG. 9) .

As an alternative, the scrapper 323 may comprise at its inner radial side a plurality of protuberances projecting towards the axis of rotation, spaced in axial direction, with reference to FIGS. 4-6. Accordingly, the blade 371, as shown in FIGS. 4-6, may comprise a plurality of depressions 3711 matched with the protuberances in shape. Preferably, a section of the blade 371 without the depression 3231 has a cross section in a generally diamond shape as shown in FIG. 6. Furthermore, optionally or additionally, the blade overlaps in its width direction with the rotary cylinder in its radial direction. The blade of this configuration is preferably in cooperation with the scraper to cut the pieces of material. Of course, it is possible to envisage other shapes of the scraper and blade, as long as there is staggering cooperation in a concave-convex manner between the scraper 323 and the stationary blade 371. By virtue of this configuration, dry pieces of material is shocked, pressed and cut into small fractions with relative movement between the blade 371 and the scraper 323 during positive and negative alternating rotation of the rotary cylinder, and finally the small fractions of material are extruded from the mesh 23 (see FIG. 2) by the scraper 323 to form granules of a certain size.

In addition, preferably, an end of the mounting

portion

221, 321 connected to the gear shaft 121 has a spline structure (not shown) , preferably an involute spline structure. Generally, the connection between a mounting portion and a gear shaft is usually done by means of a flat key binding structure. In the present invention, however, a spline structure is used, which has more teeth and larger total contact area. Therefore, it is able to bear greater load with force being evenly distributed over the contact area, thus reducing rigid impacts between coupled components and increasing life time of the components and loading capacity of the machine. Preferably, an end of the mounting portion connected to the gear shaft has a chromed surface, the benefit of which is to improve corrosion resistance of the components.

FIG. 2 shows two rotary cylinders disposed in the hopper though, only one rotary cylinder may be arranged in the hopper as shown in FIG. 8 as needed, or three or more rotary cylinders may be arranged side by side.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

For facilitating understanding of the present invention, the working principle of the machine for producing granules of the invention will be illustrated in detail below with reference to examples of a granulator and a breaker, wherein the structure of the rotary cylinder used in the granulator is shown in FIG. 4 and the structure of the rotary cylinder used in the breaker is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motor is started and a powdered mixture of certain wetness is fed to the hopper. The power of the motor drives the transmission actuator mechanism 12 by means of the decelerator, which transmission actuator mechanism 12 in turn drives the gear shaft 121 to achieve oscillation. A friction between the material and the mesh 23 is resulted from the scrapers on the peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder (s) of the granulator. The wet material is extruded from the mesh through its pores to produce granule products of a desired size.

The granulator according to the invention is particularly applicable for highly sticky wet material. The wet material preferably contains crystalline compound and/or amorphous compound. The amorphous compound in the wet material may be more than the crystalline compound on a dry weight per cent basis (preferably the content of the amorphous compounds is more than 50％) . The crystalline compound refers to a substance with an ordered molecule arrangement (with a fixed structure) into which no foreign molecules (such as water) can be incorporated, including for example salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate and so on. Generally, a crystalline formula contains more than 50％of crystalline, preferably more than 70％. The amorphous compound refers to a substance without an ordered molecule arrangement into which foreign molecules can be incorporated, including for example starch, maltodextrin, yeast extract powder, tomato powder and so on. Generally, an amorphous formula contains more than 50％of amorphous compound content.

The wet material may be food, such as soup concentrate, sauce concentrate or seasoning concentrate.

In the following, a wet granulation-fluidized bed drying process is illustrated by way of an example of highly sticky wet material for tomato soup concentrate, which process comprising the steps of:

a)breaking the bulk raw materials for producing granules such that 75％of the raw materials have a particle size in the range from 150 to 200 μm (specifically refer to the following table 1 for the formula) , and mixing these raw materials in proportion by a mixing device, and adding a proper amount of water to the mixture such that the water content is about 10 wt％, thus the wet material for tomato soup concentrate is ready for being granulated；

b)forming the wet material obtained in step a) by means of the granulator of the invention to obtain granules of certain size (for example, particle size of 1.4 mm) ；

c)subjecting the granules obtained in step b) to a fluidized bed drying process using a fluidized bed dryer (for example, a vibrating fluidized bed) with the drying temperature range from 75℃ to 105℃, and cooling down to room temperature to obtain granule products having water content of 1.0-3.0 wt％；

d)screening to obtain granules for tomato soup concentrate having desired shape and size； and

e)packaging.

Table 1 formula for granules for tomato soup concentrate

In terms of the breaker for implementing grinding process, after starting the machine and feeding the material, the dry pieces of material are shocked, pressed and/or cut into small fractions by oscillation of the rotating portion of the rotary cylinder as well as relative movement between the rotating portion and the fixing portion in staggering cooperation, and then are finally extruded from the mesh to produce granules of the desired size.

The machine for producing granules of the invention is applicable to food or pharmaceutical processing, and may also be utilized to process beverages, health care products or pet products.

The above is only exemplary embodiments of the machine for producing granules. The machine for producing granules is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but rather, each of the components may be utilized independently and separately from other components herein. The terms “an example” , “another example” , “examples” and so on means that a member/element (e.g. feature, structure and/or feature) related to the example (s) is contained in at least one of the examples herein but may or may not be introduced in other examples. In addition, it should be appreciated that more elements of any examples illustrated can be combined in any manner in multiple different examples, unless specified otherwise.

When introducing elements/components/etc. of the granulator described and/or illustrated herein, the articles “a” , “an” , “the” , and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the element (s) /component (s) /etc. The terms “comprising” , “including” , and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional element (s) /component (s) /etc. other than the listed element (s) /component (s) /etc.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.

List of reference numbers

1—machine for producing granules

10—driving unit

11—decelerator motor

12—transmission actuator mechanism

20—granulation unit

21—hopper

22, 22’ 32—rotary cylinder

220, 320—rotating portion

221, 321—mounting portion

222, 322 —bracket

223, 323 —scrapers

3231—protuberance

23—mesh

24, 24’ —mesh fastener

25—mesh support shaft

26, 36—scraper reinforcement

27, 37—fixing portion

270, 370—coupling plate

271, 371—blade

3711—depression

272, 372—blade reinforcement

Claims

A machine for producing granules (1) , comprising a driving unit (10) and a granulation unit (20) , the granulation unit comprising:

a hopper (21) ；

at least one rotary cylinder (22； 22’ ； 32) disposed in the hopper， said rotary cylinder comprising:

a rotating portion (220； 320) including a mounting portion (221； 321) for connecting the rotary cylinder to the driving unit such that the rotary cylinder is able to oscillate around its axis； at least one bracket (222； 322) connected to the mounting portion or forming into one piece with the mounting portion； and a plurality of scrapers (223； 323) attached on the bracket and spaced in the circumferential direction of the rotary cylinder； and

a fixing portion (27； 37) , one end of which is extended into the inside of the rotating portion and the other end of which is fixed to the hopper such that the rotating portion rotates surrounding the fixing portion during its rotation.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion (27； 37) comprises two stator elements arranged opposite to each other at two ends of the rotating portion (220； 320) .
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion (221； 321) has a shaft-like form.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the brackets (222； 322) is located in the middle position along the axial direction of the rotary cylinder (22； 22’ ； 32).
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion (27； 37) comprises a coupling plate (270； 370) for fixation with one or more, preferably arranged evenly along the circumference, blades (271； 371) extending from the coupling plate.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 5, wherein the blade (271) has a cross section of a generally rectangular or oblong shape.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 6, wherein the blade is arranged with its direction of width at an angle of about 45° relative to the radial direction of the rotary cylinder.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to claim 5, wherein the scrappers (323) comprise at its inner radial side a plurality of protuberances (3231) projecting towards the axis of rotation, spaced in axial direction and matched with a plurality of depressions (3711) formed in the blade (371) .
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the rotating portion (220； 320) further comprises at least one preferably annular scrapper reinforcement (26； 36) for connecting the scrappers (223； 323) in the circumferential direction.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 5-8, wherein the fixing portion (27； 37) further comprises at least one preferably annular blade reinforcement (272； 372) for connecting the blades (271； 371) in the circumferential direction.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the bracket (222； 322) is disc-shaped with the scrapers (223； 323) being attached to the outer periphery of the bracket.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the rotating portion (220； 320) comprises 3 to 13, preferably 5 to 11, more preferably 7 to 9, most preferably 7 scrapers.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the scraper (223； 323) has a cross section of isosceles trapezoid shape or rounded isosceles triangle shape.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein an end of the mounting portion (221； 321) connected to the driving unit (10) has a spline structure, preferably an involute spline structure.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein end (s) of the mounting portion (221； 321) connected to the driving unit (10) having a chromed surface.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the machine for producing granules is a granulator for granulating process.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-5 and 8, wherein the machine for producing granules is a grinder or a breaker for grinding process.
The machine for producing granules (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the granulation unit further comprises a mesh (23) which cooperates with the at least one rotary cylinder (22； 22’ ； 32) .
Use of the machine for producing granules according to any one of the claims 1-18 for granulating a wet mass into granules.
The use according to claim 19, wherein the wet mass is a food product.
The use according to claim 19, wherein the wet mass comprises crystalline and/or amorphous compounds.
The use according to claim 21, wherein the wet mass comprises more amorphous compounds than crystalline compounds on a dry weight per cent basis, preferably the content of the amorphous compounds is more than 50％.
The use according to any one of the claims 20 to 21, wherein the food product is a soup concentrate, asauce concentrate or a condiment product.
A method for producing granules comprising the step of using the machine for producing granules according to any one of the claims 1-18.