WO2021006271A1 - Continuous coating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

This continuous coating apparatus 101 has: troughs 102, 103 that are respectively arranged in a hexagonal configuration; a vibration device 5 for applying vibration to the troughs 102, 103; a plurality of spray guns 3 that are disposed above the troughs 102, 103 and that are for spraying a coating liquid on tablets 4 within the troughs 102, 103; and a housing 107 that has the troughs 102, 103 housed therein. Hot air is fed into the housing 107 through an air supply and exhaust opening 126. The hot air fed into the housing 107 is discharged through another air supply and exhaust opening 128. Further, a far-infrared heater 92 is provided above the troughs 102, 103. A desired coating treatment is performed by spraying, from the spray guns 3, a coating liquid on tablets 4 that are being transferred within the troughs 102, 103 in conjunction with the vibration applied thereto by the vibration device 5 while the hot air is being fed to the tablets.

Description

Continuous coating equipment

The present invention relates to an apparatus for coating powders and granules of tablets, foods and the like (hereinafter referred to as tablets and the like), and more particularly to a continuous coating apparatus capable of continuously coating powders and granules.

Conventionally, as a manufacturing device for pharmaceuticals and foods, a coating device using a rotating drum having a polygonal cross section or a circular cross section (hereinafter, abbreviated as a drum as appropriate) has been known. The rotating drum, also called a coating pan, rotates around the horizontal axis, and a spray device that supplies the coating liquid is installed inside the drum. The tablets and the like put into the drum roll as the drum rotates, and a coating liquid such as a sugar coating liquid is sprayed on the surface thereof from a spray device. Along with the spraying of the coating liquid, hot air or cold air is appropriately supplied and exhausted into the rotating drum, passes through the layer of the tablet or the like, and the coating layer is formed on the surface of the tablet or the like.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-230731 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-129382 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-152441 JP-A-59-108607

However, since the conventional coating device is a batch type device in which a predetermined amount of tablets or the like is put into a rotating drum to perform a coating process, the processing amount is limited, and the device can be disassembled and washed for each batch. There was a problem that the production efficiency was not good because it was necessary.

The continuous coating device of the present invention is a continuous coating device that continuously performs a coating treatment of powder or granular material, and is a powder or granular material transport path in which the powder or granular material is accommodated and the powder or granular material moves in the continuous coating device. A vibration device that applies vibration to the powder or granular material transport path, a plurality of spray guns that are arranged above the powder or granular material transport path and spray a coating liquid on the powder or granular material, and the coating. It has a drying device for heating the powder or granular material sprayed with the liquid and drying the coating liquid, and moves in the powder or granular material transport path according to the vibration applied by the vibration device. It is characterized in that the coating liquid is sprayed on the powder or granular material by the spray gun while heating the powder or granular material by the drying device.

In the present invention, the powder or granular material in the powder or granular material transport path is moved by vibrating the powder or granular material transport path that can accommodate the powder or granular material (object to be treated) such as tablets. Then, the powder or granular material moving in the powder or granular material transport path is coated with a spray gun arranged above the powder or granular material transport path. As a result, the powder or granular material can be coated while moving in the powder or granular material transport path, and the powder or granular material can be continuously coated.

In the continuous coating device, the powder or granular material transport path is composed of a semi-cylindrical trough with an open top, and the trough is arranged in a state of being inclined along the longitudinal direction, and the powder in the trough is arranged. The granules may be moved up the slope in the trough by the vibration applied by the vibration device.

The powder or granular material transport path may be formed into a polygonal angular ring shape by a plurality of the troughs formed in a straight line. In this case, a plurality of rows of the granular material transport paths formed in a square ring are arranged along the radial direction, and between the powder and granular material transport paths of the rows adjacent to each other in the radial direction, one row to the other row. May be provided with a transit portion in which the powder or granular material moves. Further, the powder or granular material transport path may be formed by arranging a plurality of linearly formed troughs in parallel.

The continuous coating device has a housing for accommodating the powder or granular material transport path, an air supply port for supplying a processing gas for heating the powder or granular material into the housing, and discharging the processing gas in the housing. An exhaust port may be further provided.

Further, as the drying device, a far infrared heater that applies far infrared rays to the powder or granular material may be used.

On the other hand, in the continuous coating device, the powder or granular material transport path is composed of flow trays arranged in a spiral shape, the flow tray is attached, and vibration is applied by the vibration exciter. A housing arranged so as to cover the flow tray, an air supply port provided in the housing and supplying a processing gas for heating the powder or granular material in the housing, and the processing gas in the housing. The coating liquid is provided by the spray gun while supplying the processing gas into the housing with respect to the powder or granular material that moves in the flow tray in accordance with the vibration of the skirt by providing an exhaust port for discharging the gas. May be sprayed.

In the continuous coating device, the flow tray may be provided in a plurality of stages in a circular spiral shape (spiral shape having a circular outer shape). In addition, the flow tray may be provided in a plurality of stages in a polygonal spiral shape (a spiral shape having a polygonal outer shape such as a hexagon, an octagon, or a nonagon). In that case, it is preferable that the skirt is also formed in a square tube shape.

Further, the powder or granular material may move upward in the flow tray with the vibration of the skirt. Further, the outer diameter of the skirt is increasing downward, and the flow tray is attached to the outer circumference of the skirt so that the outer diameter of the spiral is increasing toward the lower side. Is also good.

In addition, the spray gun may be attached to the side surface of the skirt or the side surface of the housing. Further, the flow tray may be formed in a substantially L-shaped cross section with an open upper portion, and one end of the bottom surface portion of the flow tray may be fixed to the side surface portion of the skirt.

Further, the powder or granular material transport path may be provided with a ventilation hole through which the processed gas can flow.

According to the continuous coating apparatus of the present invention, the powder or granular material in the powder or granular material transport path is moved by vibrating the powder or granular material transport path for accommodating the powder or granular material, and arranged above the powder or granular material transport path. Since the coating treatment is performed on the powder or granular material moving in the powder or granular material transport path by the spray gun, the powder or granular material can be coated while moving in the powder or granular material transport path. It enables continuous coating treatment of granules. Therefore, unlike the batch type coating apparatus, there is no limitation on the processing amount, and cleaning for each batch is not required, so that efficient coating processing is possible.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the continuous coating apparatus which is Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the main part structure of the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the continuous coating apparatus which is Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the continuous coating apparatus which is 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the main part structure of the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification which sprayed the coating liquid diagonally downward from a spray gun in the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the modification which attached the spray gun to the skirt side in the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the flow tray in the continuous coating apparatus which is Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the continuous coating apparatus which is Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the trough in the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. 11, (a) shows the structure which looked at the trough from above, (b) shows the structure which looked at the trough from the side. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the continuous coating apparatus which is Embodiment 6 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement of the trough in the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the continuous coating apparatus of FIG. 13 from the front direction. In the explanation showing the structure of the trough, (a) shows the cross section of the trough inside and outside, and (b) shows the inclination of the trough in the longitudinal direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the transit part. It is explanatory drawing of the modification about the supply path of the processing gas. It is explanatory drawing of the modified example which used the flow tray of the arc shape of a cross section, and arranged the gun holder spirally along the flow tray.

An object of the following embodiments is to provide a continuous coating apparatus capable of continuously performing a coating treatment for tablets and the like.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. 1 to 3 are explanatory views showing a configuration of a continuous coating device 1 (hereinafter, abbreviated as coating device 1) according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The coating device 1 performs film coating on a powder or granular material (object to be treated) such as a tablet. As shown in FIG. 19, the coating device 1 has a configuration in which a plurality of stages (about 8 to 12 stages) of flow trays (powder and granular material transport paths) 2 formed in a circular spiral shape are arranged in a cylindrical housing 15. It has become. A plurality of spray guns 3 are arranged above the flow tray 2 at predetermined intervals.

In the coating device 1, the object to be treated such as the tablet 4 moves while rolling in the flow tray 2 from the bottom to the top due to the vibration applied to the device. The coating liquid is sprayed on the tablet 4 moving on the flow tray 2 by the spray gun 3. The coating liquid sprayed on the tablet 4 is dried and solidified by the processing gas (dry air) supplied from the upper part of the apparatus, and a coating layer is formed on the surface of the tablet 4.

The flow tray 2 has a substantially L-shaped cross section with an open top, and is spirally provided so as to be stacked in the vertical direction (spiral tray structure). The upper opening width of the flow tray 2 is about 80 to 120 mm, and the height is about 50 to 100 mm. The bottom surface portion 2a of the flow tray 2 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes 11 having a diameter of about 3 mm over the front surface. The air supply from the upper part of the device passes through the flow tray 2 from the top to the bottom through the ventilation holes 11 and flows to the lower stage side. As a result, the treatment gas passes through the tablet layer in the flow tray 2, the coating liquid on the surface of the tablet 4 is dried, and the coating layer is formed on the surface of the tablet 4. The above dimensions and various numerical values described below are merely examples, and can be variously changed depending on the type, specifications, treatment form, etc. of the tablet 4, and the present invention is not limited to these numerical values.

The spiral outer diameter of the flow tray 2 is about 800 to 2000 mm. In the entire apparatus, the length of the flow tray 2 is set to about 25 to 40 m. The height of the entire device is about 1500 to 3000 mm. One end edge 2b of the bottom surface portion 2a of the flow tray 2 is fixed to the side surface portion 12a of the cylindrical skirt 12 by welding or the like. The flow tray 2 is fixedly supported by the side surface portion 12a of the skirt 12. Tablets 4 are continuously supplied to the lowermost stage of the flow tray 2 from a tablet supply device (object to be processed) (not shown) via a supply duct 18.

A baffle plate 13 for preventing blow-by of the processing gas is provided on the side surface portion 12a of the skirt. The baffle plate 13 is above the flow tray 2 so as to block the flow path of the processing gas in order to prevent the processing gas from above from passing through the ventilation holes 11 and blowing downward along the flow tray 2. It is arranged in. In the coating device 1, about 1 to 4 baffle plates 13 are provided on each stage.

The skirt 12 is provided to prevent the air supply from the upper part of the device from contributing to the drying of the coating liquid and bypassing the center of the device and exhausting the air. If the spiral flow tray 2 is arranged in the housing 15 without providing the skirt 12, most of the air supply may pass downward through the center of the spiral and be exhausted, which causes a problem that the thermal efficiency is lowered. Therefore, in the coating device 1 according to the present invention, the skirt 12 is provided in the housing 15 so that the air supply from the upper part of the device flows around the skirt 12. As a result, the air supply from above flows into the flow tray 2 arranged on the side surface portion 12a of the skirt without waste, and the thermal efficiency of the device can be improved.

The skirt 12 is made of thick stainless steel, and the inside of the skirt 12 is hollow. The inside of the skirt 12 may be solid, and the tubular shape in the present invention is a concept including a solid form. However, a hollow skirt is preferable in consideration of the weight of the device and inertia. A vibration exciter 5 is attached to the lower end of the skirt 12. The vibration exciter 5 can apply vibration to the flow tray 2 via the skirt 12. The vibration exciter 5 includes a pair of vibration motors symmetrically provided with the skirt 12 interposed therebetween. The two vibration motors are arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the skirt 12. An oscillator using an eccentric weight or the like is rotatably arranged in the vibration motor. Torsional vibration is applied to the skirt 12 by appropriately rotating both vibration motors. Along with the vibration of the skirt 12, the flow tray 2 also twists and vibrates, and the tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 is conveyed from the lower side to the upper side.

The flow tray 2 and the skirt 12 are housed in a stainless steel housing 15. As mentioned above, the housing 15 also has a cylindrical shape. An opening 16 is provided in the upper part of the housing 15, and an exhaust port 17 is provided in the lower part. A processing gas such as hot air, hot air, or cold air can be appropriately supplied to the opening (air supply port) 16 by an air supply device 6 (drying device) such as a blower. The exhaust port 17 is connected to an exhaust device (not shown). The processing gas supplied from the opening 16 passes between the housing 15 and the skirt 12 and is sucked and exhausted to the outside of the device. The baffle plate 13 described above can also be attached to the housing 15 side. Further, a plurality of exhaust ports 17 may be provided according to the specifications of the device or the product, and they may be opened and closed as appropriate.

A plurality of (for example, 50) spray guns 3 are attached to the side surface portion 12a of the skirt 12. A needle type two-fluid nozzle is used for the spray gun 3. The spray gun 3 is arranged above the flow tray 2 of each stage. As shown in FIG. 3, the spray gun 3 is attached to a gun holder 21 in which a liquid supply pipe and an air pipe are housed. A plurality of gun holders 21 are radially arranged on the side surface portion 12a of the skirt (here, four gun holders 21 are arranged on all sides). The gun holder 21 is connected to a coating liquid supply device (not shown). In the present embodiment, a needle type spray gun 3 is used, but in the continuous coating apparatus of the present invention, other types of spray guns such as a needleless type and a three-fluid type can also be used.

The skirt 12 is further provided with a dry state confirmation sensor 22 that detects the dry state of the tablet. One dry state confirmation sensor 22 is arranged after each spray gun 3. As the dry state confirmation sensor 22, for example, an NIR (near infrared) sensor or the like is used. In the coating device 1, the spray gun 3 can individually control the injection amount for each gun. For example, based on the detection result of each dry state confirmation sensor 22, a control device (not shown) can grasp the water content (dry state) of the tablet 4 and feedback control the spray amount of the next spray gun 3. A vertical movement mechanism (not shown) may be attached to the gun holder 21 and the spray gun 3 may be moved in the vertical direction to adjust the amount of spray for the tablet 4. Further, the operation of the vibration device 5 may be controlled based on the detection result of the dry state confirmation sensor 22, and the moving speed of the tablet 4 may be adjusted.

A film thickness confirmation sensor by weight measurement, Raman spectroscopy, etc. may be provided in each stage after each spray gun 3 to control the end point of the coating process. Further, a temperature measurement sensor may be provided to detect the temperature of the tablet 4. The state of the tablet 4 may be photographed by a camera, the coating state may be controlled by measuring the color tone by image recognition, and the feedback control and the end point management of the spray gun 3 may be performed. The state detection of the tablet 4 by the dry state confirmation sensor 22, the film thickness confirmation sensor, the temperature measurement sensor, the camera, or the like can be performed by any one or in combination of two or more. When the coating completion is confirmed by the film thickness confirmation sensor, etc., the subsequent spraying is canceled, or a discharge port (not shown) is provided for each stage of the flow tray 2, and the coating completion product is taken out from there. Is also good. By appropriately discharging the tablet 4 after the coating treatment from the stage, it is possible to avoid applying extra vibration to the tablet 4, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of abrasion and cracking.

The tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 is sprayed with a coating liquid supplied from a coating liquid supply device (not shown) by the spray gun 3. In the coating device 1, the distance between the spray gun 3 and the tablet 4 is about 30 to 60 mm, and the distance between each step is set to about 80 to 120 mm. The spray gun 3 is not arranged in the uppermost 1st and 2nd stages and the lowermost 1st and 2nd stages of the flow tray 2, and the lowermost part of the flow tray 2 is preheated and the uppermost part is dried. Each will be applied.

In the coating device 1, the coating process is carried out as follows. The flow tray 2 of the coating device 1 vibrates together with the skirt 12 due to the vibration applied from the vibration device 5. The tablets 4 are continuously charged from the supply duct 18 in a state where the flow tray 2 is vibrated. In addition, warm air is supplied from the opening 16 into the housing 15. The warm air supplied from the opening 16 flows downward along the surface of the skirt 12. Then, the warm air hits the flow tray 2, heats the flow tray 2 itself and the tablet 4 in the flow tray 2, and flows further downward from the ventilation hole 11.

The tablet 4 supplied from the supply duct 18 to the lower end of the flow tray 2 moves while rolling upward with the vibration of the skirt 12. Upon movement, the tablet 4 is first preheated in the preheat treatment stage P at the bottom of the flow tray 2, and then rises to the coating treatment stage C in the middle stage. As shown in FIG. 3, the tablet 4 is conveyed from the bottom to the top of the flow tray 2 with almost no gap. In this case, when the tablets 4 are transported from top to bottom, gaps between the tablets tend to open due to rolling due to their own weight and shape, extrusion by the processing gas, and the like, and the coating liquid tends to adhere to the flow tray 2. In that respect, in the coating device 1 that conveys the tablets 4 from the bottom to the top, rolling due to its own weight and shape and extrusion by the processing gas act in the direction of condensing the tablets. As a result, the coating liquid is less likely to be applied to the flow tray 2 itself, and adhesion of the coating liquid to the tray is suppressed.

The coating treatment stage C is provided with 6 to 7 stages (generally, a length of about 20 m). In the coating treatment stage C, the coating liquid is sprayed onto the tablets 4 from a plurality of spray guns 3 provided along the stretching direction of the flow tray 2, and the coating treatment is performed. It is also possible to incline the spraying direction of the spray gun 3 toward the moving direction of the tablet 4 and promote the movement of the tablet 4 by the air of the spray gun 3.

The tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 is tumbled and conveyed while receiving the spray of the coating liquid, is appropriately dried by the warm air supplied from the opening 16, and moves upward. After passing through the coating treatment stage C, the tablet 4 reaches the drying treatment stage D at the uppermost stage and is dried with warm air. In the coating device 1, since the flow tray 2 itself is also heated by the processing gas, the tablet 4 is also dried by the heat of the flow tray 2. Then, the tablet 4 that has been dried in the drying treatment stage D is discharged to the outside of the device from the discharge passage 23 provided in the upper part of the housing 15. In the coating device 1, the processing of the tablet 4 is completed in about 150 minutes from loading to discharging.

As described above, in the coating device 1 of the present invention, the flow tray 2 for coating the tablet 4 is arranged in a spiral shape, and the flow tray 2 is vibrated to convey the tablet 4. Then, the moving tablets 4 are coated with the spray gun 3 arranged along the flow tray 2. As a result, the coating treatment can be performed while transporting the tablet 4 such as a tablet, and the continuous coating treatment of the powder or granular material becomes possible. Therefore, unlike the batch type coating apparatus, there is no limitation on the processing amount, and cleaning for each batch is not required, so that efficient coating processing is possible.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, the continuous coating device 31 (hereinafter, abbreviated as the coating device 31) according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the coating device 31 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the following embodiments, the same parts and members as those of the coating apparatus 1 of the first embodiment are designated by the same names or reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the coating device 31 of FIG. 4, the spray gun 3 is attached to the inner wall 15a of the housing 15. Other configurations. It is the same as the coating apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. Similar to the coating device 1 above, a plurality of spray guns 3 are attached above the flow tray 2 of each stage. The spray gun 3 sprays the coating liquid onto the tablets 4 in the flow tray 2 from the housing inner wall 15a side. In the case of the coating device 31, the gun holder 32 is attached to the outer wall 15b of the housing 15 along the vertical direction. The gun holder 32 supplies a coating liquid or the like to the spray gun 3 in each stage from the outside of the housing 15.

By arranging the spray gun 3 on the inner wall 15a of the housing and providing the gun holder 32 on the outside of the housing 15, the spray gun 3 and the gun holder 32 can be easily arranged in the apparatus, and the layout of the spray gun 3 and the like is improved. As a result, the degree of freedom in device design is improved, the maintenance of the device is facilitated, and the man-hours for design and on-site work can be reduced.
(Embodiment 3)
5 to 7 are explanatory views showing the configuration of the continuous coating device 41 (hereinafter, abbreviated as the coating device 41) according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The coating device 41 of FIG. 5 has a configuration in which a plurality of stages (about 8 to 12 stages) of flow trays 2 formed in a circular spiral shape are arranged in a truncated cone-shaped housing 42. Similar to the previous embodiment, a plurality of spray guns 3 are arranged above the flow tray 2 at predetermined intervals. In the coating device 41, the flow tray 2 is arranged stepwise on the truncated cone-shaped skirt 43. Therefore, it is easy to secure a clearance above the flow tray 2, and the arrangement of the spray gun 3 becomes easier.

Similar to the coating device 1, in the coating device 41, the tablets 4 such as tablets move while rolling in the flow tray 2 from the bottom to the top due to the vibration applied to the device. Therefore, rolling due to its own weight and shape, and extrusion by the processing gas act in the direction of condensing the tablets, and the coating liquid is less likely to adhere to the flow tray 2. The coating liquid is sprayed on the tablet 4 moving on the flow tray 2 by the spray gun 3. The coating liquid sprayed on the tablet 4 is dried and solidified by the processing gas supplied from the upper part of the apparatus, and a coating layer is formed on the surface of the tablet 4.

Similar to the above, the flow tray 2 has a substantially L-shaped cross section with an open top. A large number of ventilation holes 11 having a diameter of about 3 mm are provided on the bottom surface portion 2a of the flow tray 2. The flow tray 2 of the coating device 41 is also provided in a spiral shape, but here, the outer diameter of the spiral is arranged in a state of increasing toward the lower stage side. The uppermost spiral outer diameter of the flow tray 2 is about 600 to 900 mm, and the lowermost spiral outer diameter is about 1800 to 3000 mm. In the entire apparatus, the length of the flow tray 2 is set to about 25 to 40 m. The height of the entire device is about 1500 to 2500 mm.

One end edge 2b of the bottom surface portion 2a of the flow tray 2 is fixed to the side surface portion 43a of the truncated cone-shaped skirt 43 by welding or the like. The flow tray 2 is fixedly supported by the side surface portion 43a of the skirt 43. In the coating device 41, the flow trays 2 are installed in a staircase pattern so that the upper and lower trays do not overlap when the device is viewed from above. This makes it easy to visually check the state of the tablets 4 in each stage of the flow tray with a sensor or visually. Further, by providing the flow tray 2 in a truncated cone shape, the spray gun 3 can be easily arranged directly above the flow tray 2 while suppressing the lift and inclination of the slope. Therefore, the coating liquid can be sprayed directly below the spray gun 3, and the distance between the spray gun 3 and the tablet 4 can be made constant.

The side surface portion 43a of the skirt is provided with a baffle plate 13 for preventing blow-by of the processing gas. Also in the coating device 41, the processing gas flows along the side surface portion 43a of the skirt, and the air supply from above flows into the flow tray 2 without waste. A hollow center pole 14 having a diameter of about 300 mm is provided in the center of the skirt 43. A vibration exciter 5 is attached to the lower end of the center pole 14. By appropriately operating the vibration exciter 5, the center pole 14, the skirt 43, and the flow tray 2 vibrate, and the tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 is conveyed from the lower side to the upper side.

The flow tray 2 and the skirt 43 are housed in a stainless steel housing 42. The housing 42 also has a truncated cone shape. An opening 16 is provided in the upper part of the housing 42, and an exhaust port 17 is provided in the lower part. The opening 16 is connected to the air supply device 6, and the exhaust port 17 is connected to an exhaust device (not shown). The processing gas supplied from the opening 16 passes between the housing 15 and the skirt 43, and is sucked and exhausted to the outside of the device. The baffle plate 13 can also be attached to the housing 42 side.

A plurality of spray guns 3 are attached to the side wall 42a of the housing 42. The spray gun 3 is arranged above the flow tray 2 of each stage. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the spray gun 3 is attached to the gun holder 44 in which the liquid supply pipe and the air pipe are housed. A plurality of gun holders 44 are radially arranged (here, four in a cross shape) on the housing 42. The gun holder 44 is connected to a coating liquid supply device (not shown).

The housing 42 is further provided with a dry state confirmation sensor 22 that detects the dry state of the tablet. One dry state confirmation sensor 22 is arranged after each spray gun 3. The spray gun 3 of the coating device 41 can also control the injection amount individually for each gun. Therefore, it is possible to feedback control the spray amount of each spray gun 3 based on the detection result by each dry state confirmation sensor 22. In this case as well, the feedback control of the spray gun 3 may be performed using a temperature measurement sensor, a camera, or the like. Further, the spray gun 3 may be moved in the vertical direction to adjust the spray amount for the tablet 4. Further, the operation of the vibration device 5 may be controlled based on the detection result of the dry state confirmation sensor 22, and the moving speed of the tablet 4 may be adjusted.

The coating liquid is sprayed onto the tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 by the spray gun 3. In the coating device 41, the distance between the spray gun 3 and the tablet 4 is about 30 to 60 mm. The distance between each stage is set to about 80 to 120 mm. The spray gun 3 is not arranged in the uppermost stage 1 to 2 and the lowermost stage 1 to 2 of the flow tray 2. The bottom of the flow tray 2 is used for preheating and the top is used for drying.

Also in the coating device 41, the coating process is carried out in the same process as the coating device 1 described above. First, the flow tray 2 is vibrated by the vibrating device 5, and the tablets 4 are continuously charged from the supply duct 18. Warm air is supplied from the opening 16 into the housing 42. The warm air supplied from the opening 16 flows downward along the surface of the skirt 43, passes through the flow tray 2, and flows downward. The tablet 4 supplied from the supply duct 18 to the flow tray 2 is first preheated in the preheat treatment stage P at the bottom of the flow tray 2, and then rises to the coating treatment stage C in the middle stage.

The coating treatment stage C is provided with 6 to 7 stages (generally, a length of about 20 m). In the coating treatment stage C, the coating liquid is sprayed from the spray gun 3 onto the tablets 4. The tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 is tumbled and conveyed while receiving the spray of the coating liquid, is appropriately dried by the warm air supplied from the opening 16, and moves upward. After passing through the coating treatment stage C, the tablet 4 reaches the drying treatment stage D at the uppermost stage and is dried with warm air. The tablet 4 after the drying treatment is discharged to the outside of the device from the discharge path 23 provided in the upper part of the housing 42.

The end point management of the coating process is based on the detection values of various sensors (the above-mentioned dry state confirmation sensor 22, film thickness confirmation sensor, etc.) arranged after each spray gun 3 as in the coating device 1 of the first embodiment. It is done based on. Similar to the above, when the coating completion is confirmed, the subsequent spraying is stopped, or a discharge port (not shown) is provided for each stage of the flow tray 2 and the coating completion product is taken out from there. By discharging the coated product from each stage, it is possible to avoid giving extra vibration to the tablet 4, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of abrasion and cracking.

In this way, in the coating device 41, the flow tray 2 is arranged in a spiral shape and vibrated to convey the tablet 4. Then, the moving tablets 4 are coated with the spray gun 3 arranged along the flow tray 2. As a result, coating can be performed while moving the tablet 4 in the same manner as in the coating devices 1 and 31 described above, and continuous coating treatment of the powder or granular material becomes possible. Further, in the coating device 41, since the flow tray 2 is spirally provided so that the lower stage side has an enlarged diameter and is arranged stepwise on the side surface portion 43a of the skirt, the spray gun 3 can be easily arranged and the spray gun 3 can be easily arranged. The layout of the is improved. As a result, the degree of freedom in device design is improved, the maintenance of the device is facilitated, and the man-hours for design and field work can be reduced.

Although the coating device 41 of the third embodiment shows a configuration in which the coating liquid is sprayed directly below the spray gun 3, the coating liquid may be sprayed diagonally. For example, as in the continuous coating device 45 of FIG. 8, the coating liquid may be obliquely sprayed onto the flow tray 2 from the spray gun 3 attached to the gun holder 44. In the continuous coating device 45 of FIG. 8, unlike the previous coating device 41, the upper and lower flow trays 2 are arranged so as to overlap in the radial direction, and the radial dimension of the device is reduced by that amount. ..

Further, in the coating device 41 of the third embodiment, an example in which the spray gun 3 is attached to the housing 42 side is shown, but the spray gun 3 may be attached to the skirt 43 side as in the continuous coating device 46 of FIG. It is possible. In that case, gun holders 47 that also serve as liquid supply passages are projected from the side surface portion 43a of the skirt 43 at predetermined intervals (for example, four are evenly arranged in one stage), and the spray gun 3 is arranged above the flow tray 2. To do. A liquid supply pipe 48 for supplying the coating liquid to each gun holder 47 is provided in the skirt 43.

In the continuous coating device 46 of FIG. 9, the upper and lower flow trays 2 also overlap in the radial direction. However, it is of course possible to attach the spray gun 3 to the skirt 43 side in a configuration such as the coating device 41 in which the upper and lower flow trays 2 do not overlap. In the coating devices 41 and 45 of FIGS. 5 and 8, it is also possible to project the gun holder as shown in FIG. 9 from the gun holder 44 toward the inside of the device and arrange the spray gun 3 there.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a flow tray in the continuous coating device 51 (hereinafter, abbreviated as the coating device 51) according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, in the coating device 51 of the fourth embodiment, unlike the conventional embodiments, the flow tray (powder and granular material transport path) 52 is provided discontinuously at each stage. In the above-mentioned coating devices 1, 31 and 41, the flow tray 2 is integrally formed from the lower end to the upper end (start point to end point), whereas in the coating device 51, the flow tray 52 is divided for each stage and each is formed. A step portion 53 is provided between the steps. Other configurations are the same as those of the previous embodiment, and the configuration of the fourth embodiment can be applied to any of the coating devices 1, 31, and 41.

As shown in FIG. 10, the tablet 4 moving on the flow tray 52 once flows down from the top to the bottom at the step portion 53 provided at the end of each step, moves to the next step, and then rises further. That is, when the tablet 4 is moved to the next stage, the tablet 4 rolls while falling downward at the step portion 53. As a result, in the coating device 51, the inversion and stirring of the tablet 4 are promoted, the coating treatment efficiency is improved, and the treatment time is shortened.

(Embodiment 5)
11 and 12 are explanatory views showing a configuration of a continuous coating device 81 (hereinafter, abbreviated as a coating device 81) according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the coating device 81 has a configuration in which the transport path of the tablet 4 is not a multi-stage spiral but a linear groove-shaped member (trough), and a plurality of them are arranged in parallel. There is. In the coating device 81, two stainless steel troughs 82 and 83 are arranged side by side. The troughs (powder and granular material transport paths) 82 and 83, which serve as the flow paths of the tablets 4, are semi-cylindrical members whose upper surfaces are open, and their cross sections are formed in an inverted trapezoidal shape. The troughs 82 and 83 are held from below by the box-shaped housing 84. A vibration exciter 5 is attached to each of the troughs 82 and 83.

Troughs 82 and 83 are tilted about 2 ° along the longitudinal direction, and both are tilted in opposite directions. That is, the trough 82 is inclined with one end side 82a facing up and the other end side 82b facing down. On the other hand, the trough 83 is inclined with one end side 83a down and the other end side 83b up. The one end side 82a of the trough 82 is arranged above the one end side 83a of the trough 83. The other end side 83b of the trough 83 is arranged above the other end side 82b of the trough 82. Bridges 85a and 85b connecting both troughs 82 and 83 are provided at both ends of the troughs 82 and 83. The spaces in both troughs 82 and 83 are communicated by the bridges 85a and 85b. Further, a tablet discharge port 86 is provided on the other end side of the trough 82. The tablet discharge port 86 is closed during the coating treatment and is opened after the treatment is completed, from which the coated tablet 4 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

A fixed hood 89 is attached above the troughs 82 and 83 via a flexible joint 88. An air supply port 90 is provided in the center of the fixed hood 89. The air supply port 90 is connected to the air supply device 6. The processing gas is supplied from the air supply device 6 into the fixed hood 89 via the air supply port 90. The processing gas supplied into the fixed hood 89 flows into the troughs 82 and 83. The bottom surface 87 of the troughs 82 and 83 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes 11 over the entire length. The processing gas that has passed through the ventilation holes 11 flows into the housing 84 below the troughs 82, 83. The housing 84 is provided with an exhaust port 91. The processing gas that has flowed into the housing 84 is discharged to the outside of the device from the exhaust port 91.

A spray gun 3 (3a, 3b) and a far-infrared heater (drying device) 92 (92a, 92b) are provided above both troughs 82 and 83. The coating liquid is sprayed on the tablets 4 in the troughs 82 and 83 by the spray guns 3a and 3b. In the coating device 81, the processing gas is supplied from the top to the bottom in the same direction as the spray in order to prevent the droplets sprayed from the spray gun 3 from scattering. However, it is also possible to supply the processing gas from bottom to top. The tablet 4 sprayed with the coating liquid is dried by the processing gas supplied from the air supply device 6 and the heat generated by the far-infrared heater 92. Above the troughs 82 and 83, dry state confirmation sensors 22 (22a, 22b) for detecting the dry state of the tablet 4 are further provided. Here, a sensor using electromagnetic waves is used as the dry state confirmation sensor 22.

In the coating device 81, the tablet 4 is supplied to the other end side 82b of the trough 82. The trough 82 is vibrated by the vibrating device 5, and the tablet 4 supplied to the other end side 82b moves in the trough 82 while rolling toward the one end side 82a due to the vibration. A baffle 93 is provided in the troughs 82 and 83 so as to obstruct the path of the tablet 4, and the tablet 4 in the trough 82 moves to one end side 82a while being agitated by the baffle 93. The coating liquid is sprayed on the front and back surfaces of the tablet 4 that rolls in the trough 82 by the spray gun 3a. The tablet 4 sprayed with the coating liquid is dried by the processing gas and the far-infrared heater 92a. In the coating device 81, the tablet 4 moves up an inclination toward one end side 82a located above. As a result, the uncoated tablet 4 does not move ahead of the others, but the tablet 4 moves so as to be pushed from behind, enabling effective coating treatment.

The tablet 4 that has reached the one end side 82a moves to the one end side 83a of the trough 83 through the bridge 85a. Since the one end side 82a of the trough 82 is located above the one end side 83a of the trough 83, the tablet 4 flows down the bridge 85a and moves to the trough 83 side. The trough 83 is also vibrated by the vibrating device 5, and the tablet 4 supplied to the one end side 83a moves in the trough 83 while rolling toward the other end side 83b with the vibration. At that time, the coating liquid is sprayed onto the tablet 4 by the spray gun 3b, and dried by the processing gas and the far-infrared heater 92b. The drying treatment may be performed on either the treated gas or the far infrared rays. The tablet 4 that has reached the other end side 83b flows down to the other end side 83b of the trough 82 through the bridge 85b and moves.

The dry state of the tablets 4 in the troughs 82 and 83 is detected by the dry state confirmation sensor 22. While checking the dry state of the tablet 4, spraying and drying the coating liquid are repeated. Then, a predetermined amount of the coating liquid is sprayed on the tablet 4, and the treatment is terminated when the tablet 4 is sufficiently dried. The tablet 4 for which the coating treatment has been completed is discharged from the tablet discharge port 86 to the outside of the device. As described above, in the coating device 81, by arranging a plurality of linear inclined troughs 82, 83 in parallel, continuous coating treatment of tablets can be performed in a compact configuration.

In the fifth embodiment, two troughs are juxtaposed, but three or more troughs may be juxtaposed. At that time, the tablets may be sequentially sent to the trough in the subsequent stage without returning the tablets to the trough in the previous stage. Further, in the coating treatment, the tablets may be preheated before spraying the coating liquid. When preheating is performed, the tablets 4 are heated with a treatment gas or far infrared rays without operating the spray guns 3a and 3b, and the coating liquid is sprayed when the tablets 4 are warmed to a predetermined temperature.

(Embodiment 6)
Next, as the sixth embodiment, a continuous coating device 101 (hereinafter, abbreviated as the coating device 101) in which linear stainless steel troughs similar to the trough of the fifth embodiment are arranged in a square ring shape will be described. 13 to 15 are explanatory views showing the configuration of the coating device 101 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the coating apparatus 101 has a structure in which troughs 102 and 103 are arranged in two rows inside and outside in a hexagonal shape, and the apparatus is made compact while ensuring the flow path length.

The troughs (powder and granular material transport paths) 102 and 103 that serve as the flow path of the tablet 4 are formed in a semi-cylindrical shape having an inverted trapezoidal cross section. In the coating device 101, the six troughs 102a to 102f are arranged on the inside, and the six troughs 103a to 103f are arranged on the outside. Vibration is applied to the troughs 102 and 103 by a vibration device 5 using a vibration motor. In the coating device 101, the tablet 4 supplied to the inner trough 102a moves counterclockwise in FIG. 13 due to vibration, and moves to the outer trough 103a at the trough 102f. The tablet 4 that has moved to the trough 103a also moves counterclockwise, reaches the trough 103f, and is discharged from the tablet discharge port 104 to the outside of the device. The tablets 4 moving in the troughs 102 and 103 are sprayed with a coating solution and dried.

The coating device 101 includes a tablet transport unit 105 provided with troughs 102 and 103, and a transport drive unit 106 that applies vibration while supporting the tablet transport unit 105. In the tablet transport unit 105, troughs 102a to 102f and troughs 103a to 103g are housed and installed in a steel housing 107. As shown in FIG. 16A, the inner troughs 102a to 102f are provided at positions higher than the outer troughs 103a to 103g. Since the troughs 102 and 103 are subjected to rotational vibration by the vibrating device 5, centrifugal force acts on the tablets 4 in the troughs 102 and 103. Therefore, in the coating device 101, the trough 102 is installed at a position higher than the trough 103 in order to move the tablet from the inner trough 102 to the outer trough 103.

As shown in FIG. 16B, each trough such as troughs 102a and 103a is inclined upward by about 2 ° toward the traveling direction of the tablet 4 so that the downstream side is upward. As shown in FIG. 14, a transit portion 108 is formed between the inner trough 102f and the outer trough 103a, and is connected by a bridge 109. At the transit portion 108, the tablet 4 moves from the inner trough 102f to the inner trough 103a via the bridge 109. That is, the tablet 4 that has reached the trough 102f on the upper side flows down in the bridge 109 and moves to the trough 103a on the lower side.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the transit portion 108. At the transit portion 108, the downstream end of the trough 102f is closed by an end wall 111. The side wall 112 on the outer peripheral side of the trough 102f is notched at an end, and a tablet outlet 113 is formed. A bridge 109 extends from the tablet outlet 113 toward the trough 103a. The bridge 109 has a U-shaped cross section, and one side wall 109a is integrally formed with the end wall 111 of the trough 102f. The other side wall 109b is connected to the side wall 112 at the tablet outlet 113. The bottom surface 114 of the bridge 109 is formed flush with the bottom surface 115 of the trough 102f.

A bridge 109 is inserted from the trough 102f on the trough 103a side of the transit portion 108. The upstream end of the trough 103a is closed by an end wall 116. The end of the side wall 117 on the inner peripheral side of the trough 103a is also cut out, and the tablet inflow port 118 is formed. A bridge 109 is inserted into the tablet inlet 118 from the trough 102f. On the inner peripheral side of the tablet inlet 118, a bridge receiver 119 extends below the bridge 109.

A circular housing cover 121 and a fixed frame 122 are attached above the housing 107. The housing cover 121 is removable from the fixed frame 122. The housing cover 121 is transparently formed of polycarbonate so that the state of the coating treatment can be grasped. The fixed frame 122 is made of steel, and the fixed frame 122 and the housing 107 are airtightly connected by a flexible joint 123 made of silicon. The fixed frame 122 is fixed to the four pedestal columns 125 via the support arm 124.

An air supply / exhaust port (air supply port) 126 is provided in the center of the fixed frame 122, penetrates the housing cover 121, and opens above the device. In the case of upper air supply, the air supply device 6 supplies the processing gas to the air supply / exhaust port 126. Further, in the case of downward air supply, an exhaust pipe (not shown) is connected to the air supply / exhaust port 126. On the bottom surface 127 of the housing 107, supply / exhaust ports (exhaust ports) 128 are provided for each of the outer troughs 103a to 103f. A valve 129 for opening and closing the air supply / exhaust port 128 is attached to the air supply / exhaust port 128.

In the coating device 101, in the case of upper air supply, the processing gas is supplied from the air supply device 6 into the housing 107 via the air supply / exhaust port 126. In the housing 107, the processing gas is supplied to the troughs 102 and 103. In the coating device 101, no ventilation hole is provided on the bottom surface of the trough 102 on the inner peripheral side. In the trough 102, the processing gas hits the trough 102 and the tablet 4 flowing in the trough 102, and is used for heating (preheating) the tablet 4. On the other hand, a ventilation hole 11 is provided on the bottom surface of the trough 103. The processing gas that has entered the trough 103 escapes downward from the vent 11 while drying the tablet 4. The processing gas flows through the stainless steel trough support housing 131 to which the trough 103 is attached, and is discharged from the air supply / exhaust port 128 to the outside of the device.

The fixed frame 122 is provided with a spray gun 3 (3a to 3f) and a far-infrared heater (drying device) 92 (92a to 92e, 92f to 92k). About 1 to 3 spray guns 3a to 3f (1 in this device) are arranged above the troughs 103a to 103f according to the device specifications. One far-infrared heater 92a to 92e and 92f to 92k are arranged above the troughs 102a to 102f and 103a to 103f. The coating liquid is sprayed on the tablet 4 in the trough 103 by the spray gun 3. The tablet 4 sprayed with the coating liquid is dried by the processing gas supplied from the air supply / exhaust port 126 and exiting through the ventilation holes 11 and the heat generated by the far-infrared heater 92. Also in the coating device 101, dry state confirmation sensors 22a to 22f are provided above the troughs 103a to 103f.

The housing 107 is supported by a vibration shaft 132 attached to the bottom. The vibration shaft 132 is attached to the vibration table 133 of the transport drive unit 106. The vibration table 133 is provided with a vibration device 5. A pair (two) of vibration devices (vibration motors) 5 are provided to apply rotational vibration to the housing 107. The vibration table 133 is attached to the support column 135 via the vibration isolation spring 134. When the vibrating device 5 operates, the housing 107 vibrates via the vibrating table 133 and the vibrating shaft 132. As a result, the troughs 102 and 103 attached to the housing 107 vibrate, and the tablet 4 in the trough is conveyed in the downstream direction.

In the coating device 101, the tablet 4 is supplied to the inner trough 102a by the feeder 136. The tablet 4 supplied to the trough 102a moves while rolling counterclockwise from the trough 102a to the trough 102f due to vibration. In each trough 102a to 102f, the tablet 4 moves up the gradient from the upstream side to the downstream side. For example, the tablet 4 supplied to the trough 102a moves up the slope of the trough 102a toward the trough 102b. The tablet 4 that reaches the end of the trough 102a flows down from the trough 102a to the trough 102b. The tablet 4 that has entered the trough 102b moves up the slope in the same manner, and the tablet 4 repeatedly moves to the trough 102f. At that time, in the trough 102, the tablet 4 is preheated by the processing gas and the far-infrared heaters 92a to 92e.

The processing gas is always supplied into the housing 107 during the coating process. On the other hand, when there is a trough in which the tablet 4 does not exist, such as at the beginning or end of the treatment, the valve 129 of the trough 103 is appropriately closed as necessary. For example, the valve 129 is opened in order from the trough 103 into which the tablet 4 has flowed in, or the valve 129 of the trough 103 in which the tablet 4 has disappeared after the coating is completed is closed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the processing gas supplied into the housing 107 from being short-circuited from the air supply / exhaust port 128 and blown through without being subjected to drying of the tablet 4.

The tablet 4 that has reached the trough 102f flows down the bridge 109 of the transit portion 108 and moves to the outer trough 103a. The tablet 4 that has moved to the trough 103a moves counterclockwise to the trough 103 g with vibration as described above. In the trough 103, the coating liquid is sprayed on the tablet 4 by the spray guns 3a to 3f. Further, in the trough 103, the tablet 4 is heated by the processing gas and the far-infrared heater 92 g to 92 k. As a result, the coating liquid on the tablet surface is dried, and a coating layer is formed on the surface of the tablet 4. The drying treatment may be performed on either the treated gas or the far infrared rays. The dry state of the tablet 4 in the trough 103 is inspected by the dry state confirmation sensor 22. The spray amount of each of the spray guns 3a to 3f is adjusted based on the dry state of the tablet 4 detected by the sensors 22a to 22f. The tablet 4 for which the coating treatment has been completed is discharged from the tablet discharge port 104 to the outside of the device.

In this way, in the coating device 101, by arranging a plurality of troughs 102 and 103 in an annular shape, it is possible to continuously coat tablets in a compact configuration while ensuring the flow path length. Further, unlike a batch type coating device, there is no limitation on the processing amount, and cleaning for each batch is not required, so that efficient coating processing is possible. For example, compared with the case where the same amount of coating liquid is sprayed in the drum type coating device, the coating process can be performed in about 1/6 of the time in the coating device 101 (when spraying 43 L: 2 hours → 20 minutes). ). Further, the coating device 101 does not need to be equipped with a vibration device for each trough, and the whole can be vibrated by one vibration device 5. Therefore, the device configuration can be simplified and the device price can be reduced.

In the above example, the spray gun 3 is arranged only on the trough 103 side, but the spray gun 3 may also be arranged on the trough 102 side. Further, the number of the spray gun 3 and the far-infrared heater 92 is not limited to one in each trough, and it is possible to provide two or more of them in one trough. The number of the dry state confirmation sensors 22 is the same, and two or more may be provided in one trough. Furthermore, the number of troughs and the number of rows can be changed as appropriate according to the equipment specifications, and the troughs can be arranged in polygons other than hexagons (triangles, quadrangles, octagons, etc.), or in three or more rows inside and outside. It is also possible to do it. In addition, each trough may be formed in an arc shape, and a plurality of troughs may be arranged in an annular shape.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, in order to effectively perform the preheat treatment in the preheat treatment stage P and the drying treatment in the coating treatment stage C (particularly the lower stage side), as shown in FIG. 18, the treatment gas such as warm air is directly applied to the preheat treatment stage P. And the supply path 61 for supplying to the coating treatment stage C may be provided. At that time, the processing gas is supplied to the flow tray 2 from an air supply port (air supply port) 62 with a louver provided on the surface of the skirt. In this case, an air supply duct 63 may be provided on the inner surfaces of the skirts 12 and 43 as the processing gas supply path 61 (FIG. 18A). Further, the skirts 12 and 43 may have a double structure, and a ventilation portion 66 may be provided between the outer wall 64 and the inner wall 65 to allow the processed gas to flow (FIG. 18 (b)). Further, the air supply tube 67 may be provided from the center pole 14 toward the skirt surface (FIG. 18 (c)), and various configurations can be adopted.

In the example of FIG. 18, the configuration in which the supply path 61 and the like are provided on the tapered skirt 43 as in the third embodiment is shown, but the supply path 61 and the like are also provided for the straight cylindrical skirt such as the skirt 12. It is possible to provide. For example, in the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 18C, a center pole 14 as shown in FIG. 5 may be provided at the center of the skirt 12, and an air supply tube 67 may be provided from there toward the surface of the skirt. In each of the devices of the above-described first and second embodiments, the center pole 14 may be provided in the skirt 12 to give vibration to the center pole 14.

Further, corresponding to the preheat treatment stage P and the coating treatment stage C, a heating device such as a far-infrared heater is arranged in the housings 15 and 42 as a drying device, and the skirts 12,43 and the flow trays 2,52 themselves. A heating device may be provided. In order to improve the thermal efficiency and workability of the housings 15,42, a case may be arranged on the outside of the housings 15,42, and at that time, a heat insulating material may be arranged between the housings 15,42 and the case. ..

In addition, as the vibration method of the flow trays 2,52, not only the vibration of the skirts 12,43 but also the method of directly exciting the flow trays 2,52 itself or the whole device is adopted. obtain. Further, the skirts 12, 43 may be divided into a plurality of skirts 12 and 43 in the vertical direction for each step or a plurality of steps, and a vibration exciting device may be provided so as to individually apply vibration to each divided skirt. Such a divided structure is suitable when the height of the skirt is high, or when there is a difference in the outer diameter of the skirt or the outer diameter of the flow tray between the upper and lower sides like the skirt 43. Even when cleaning the continuous coating device, the vibration application by the vibration device can be used for other than the coating process, such as filling the housing with a cleaning liquid to apply vibration.

On the other hand, the gun holders 21 and 45 may be arranged spirally above the flow trays 2 and 52 along the tray instead of radially, and the spray guns 3 may be attached thereto at predetermined intervals. Further, a baffle for stirring and rolling the tablet 4 in the flow tray 2 may be attached. The baffle can be provided in various forms, such as being provided directly in the flow trays 2,52 or being inserted from the skirts 12,43, housings 15,42 into the tablet layer in the flow trays 2,52. The baffle appropriately obstructs the flow of the tablet 4 moving in the flow trays 2, 52, and promotes stirring and rolling of the tablet 4.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a flow tray 2 having a substantially L-shaped cross section is used, but the flow tray shape is not limited to this, and for example, a tray having an arc-shaped cross section is used. You can also do it. FIG. 19 is an explanatory view showing an example of a configuration in which a flow tray 71 having an arc-shaped cross section is used and the gun holder 72 is spirally arranged along the flow tray 71. In the device of FIG. 19, a baffle 74 extends from the housing 73 into the flow tray 71. The tablet 4 is supplied to the flow tray 71 from the supply tray 75 provided at the bottom of the apparatus. The tablet 4 is supplied to the supply tray 75 from the supply duct 18. In the first to fourth embodiments of the previous day, a supply tray may be provided at the bottom of the device, and tablets may be supplied from the supply tray.

The present invention can be applied not only to the coating of tablets but also to the coating of foods such as confectionery and gum. It can also be used not only for film coating but also for sugar coating of tablets and confectionery. In the case of sugar coating, the flow tray is water-cooled with a refrigerant such as a water stream, or cold air is supplied via a skirt to air-cool the flow tray in order to prevent the sugar coating from adhering to the flow tray.

1 Continuous coating device 2 Flow tray (powder and granular material transport path)
2a Bottom part 2b One end edge 3 Spray gun 3a-3f Spray gun 4 Tablets (powder / granules: object to be treated) 5 Vibration device 6 Air supply device (drying device) 11 Vent hole 12 Skirt 12a Side part 13 Baffle plate 14 Center Pole 15 Housing 15a Inner wall 15b Outer wall 16 Opening (air supply port)
17 Exhaust port 18 Supply duct 21 Gun holder 22 Dry condition confirmation sensor 22a to 22f Dry condition confirmation sensor 23 Discharge path 31 Continuous coating device 32 Gun holder 41 Continuous coating device 42 Housing 42a Side wall 43 Skirt 43a Side surface 44 Gun holder 45 Continuous coating device 46 Continuous Coating device 47 Gun holder 48 Liquid supply pipe 51 Continuous coating device 52 Flow tray (powder and granular material transport path)
53 Stepped part 61 Supply path 62 Air supply port (air supply port) 63 Air supply duct 64 Outer wall 65 Inner wall 66 Ventilation part 67 Air supply pipe 71 Flow tray 72 Gun holder 73 Housing 74 Baffle 75 Supply tray 81 Continuous coating device 82 Trough 82a One end side 82b End side 83 Trough 83a One end side 83b End side 84 Housing 85a Bridge 85b Bridge 86 Tablet outlet 87 Bottom part 88 Flexible joint 89 Fixed hood 90 Air supply port 91 Exhaust port 92 Far infrared heater 92a to 92k Far infrared heater 93 Baffle 101 Continuous coating device 102 Trough 102a-102f Trough (inside)
103 trough 103a-103g trough (outside)
104 Tablet outlet 105 Tablet transport unit 106 Transport drive unit 107 Housing 108 Transit unit 109 Bridge 109a Side wall 109b Side wall 111 End wall 112 Side wall 113 Tablet outlet 114 Bottom surface 115 Bottom surface 116 End wall 117 Side wall 118 Tablet inlet 119 Bridge receiver 121 Housing cover 122 Fixed frame 123 Flexible joint 124 Support arm 125 Mount pillar 126 Air supply / exhaust port 127 Bottom surface 128 Air supply / exhaust port 129 Valve 131 Traf support housing 132 Vibration shaft 133 Vibration table 134 Anti-vibration spring 135 Support column 136 Feeder P Preheat treatment stage C Coating treatment stage D Drying treatment stage

Claims (14)

1. A continuous coating device that continuously coats powders and granules.
   A powder or granular material transport path in which the powder or granular material is housed and the powder or granular material moves in the powder or granular material.
   A vibrating device that applies vibration to the powder or granular material transport path, and
   A plurality of spray guns arranged above the powder or granular material transport path and spraying a coating liquid on the powder or granular material,
   It has a drying device for heating the powder or granular material sprayed with the coating liquid and drying the coating liquid.
   With respect to the powder or granular material moving in the powder or granular material transport path in accordance with the vibration applied by the vibration device, the coating liquid is heated by the spray gun while the powder or granular material is heated by the drying device. A continuous coating device characterized by spraying.
2. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 1,
   The powder or granular material transport path is composed of a semi-cylindrical trough with an open top.
   The trough is arranged so as to be inclined along the longitudinal direction.
   A continuous coating device, characterized in that the powder or granular material in the trough moves up an inclination in the trough due to vibration applied by the vibration device.
3. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 2,
   The continuous coating apparatus, wherein the powder or granular material transport path is formed in a polygonal angular ring shape by a plurality of the troughs formed in a straight line.
4. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 3,
   The powder or granular material transport paths formed in an annular shape are arranged in a plurality of rows along the radial direction.
   A continuous coating apparatus comprising a transit portion in which the powder or granular material moves from one row to the other between the powder or granular material transport paths in adjacent rows in the radial direction.
5. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 2,
   The powder / granular material transport path is a continuous coating apparatus characterized in that a plurality of the troughs formed in a straight line are arranged in parallel.
6. In the continuous coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
   A housing for accommodating the powder or granular material transport path and
   An air supply port that supplies a processing gas that heats the powder or granular material in the housing,
   A continuous coating apparatus further comprising an exhaust port for discharging the treated gas in the housing.
7. In the continuous coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
   As the drying device, a continuous coating device including a far-infrared heater that applies far-infrared rays to the powder or granular material.
8. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 1,
   The powder or granular material transport path is composed of flow trays arranged in a spiral shape.
   A tubular skirt to which the flow tray is attached and vibration is applied by the vibration device.
   A housing arranged so as to cover the flow tray and
   It has an air supply port provided in the housing and supplying a processing gas for heating the powder or granular material in the housing, and an exhaust port for discharging the processing gas in the housing.
   A continuous coating characterized by spraying the coating liquid with the spray gun while supplying the processing gas into the housing with respect to the powder or granular material moving in the flow tray with the vibration of the skirt. apparatus.
9. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 8,
   The flow tray is a continuous coating device characterized in that it is provided in a plurality of stages in a circular spiral shape.
10. In the continuous coating apparatus according to claim 8 or 9.
    A continuous coating device, wherein the powder or granular material moves upward in the flow tray in accordance with vibration of the skirt.
11. In the continuous coating apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10.
    The outer diameter of the skirt is increasing downward.
    The flow tray is a continuous coating device attached to the outer periphery of the skirt, and the outer diameter of the spiral is increased toward the lower stage side.
12. In the continuous coating apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11.
    The spray gun is a continuous coating device that is attached to a side surface portion of the skirt or a side surface portion of the housing.
13. In the continuous coating apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12,
    The flow tray is formed in a substantially L-shaped cross section with an open top.
    A continuous coating device characterized in that one end of a bottom surface portion of the flow tray is fixed to a side surface portion of the skirt.
14. In the continuous coating apparatus according to any one of claims 6, 8 to 13.
    The powder / granular material transport path is a continuous coating device having a vent through which the processed gas can flow.

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