JP3710186B2 - Powder compression molding equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a powder compression molding apparatus (tablet press) for producing tablets or the like by compression molding powder or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A powder compression molding apparatus that has been widely used conventionally will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, in the conventional powder compression molding apparatus, for example, the lower rivet holes 11 provided at regular intervals on the circumference of the horizontally rotating disc 10 are respectively closed with lower punches 20 in this state. Each mortar hole is filled with a predetermined amount of powder 1, an upper punch 30 is inserted from above each mortar hole 11, and the upper punch 30 and the lower punch 20 are pressurized at a predetermined pressure to form the powder 1 into a tablet 2 or the like. To be done. Here, if the powder 1 filled in the mortar 11 contains air, capping and lamination may occur when the molded tablet is discharged after molding, or the upper punch 30 and / or the lower punch 20 There is a possibility that powder may be ejected from the gap between the mortar and the mortar 11. Therefore, conventionally, when the powder is compressed, the pressure is divided into two steps by the inclined preload rollers 40 and 41 and the main pressure rollers 50 and 51, and the powder is previously included in the powder by the preload rollers 40 and 41. The air is exhausted (degassed).
[0003]
However, the preloading by the preloading rollers 40 and 41 is performed by instantaneously pressing the upper rod 30 and the lower rod 20 in the vertical direction. When the flowability of the powder 1 is good, there is no particular problem even with such instantaneous deaeration. However, in the case of a powder containing a large amount of a waxy substance such as vitamin E (tocopherol succinate) or a liquid substance, the powder has poor fluidity and cannot be sufficiently degassed by instantaneous compression. Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-111997, the present applicant lowers the upper eyelid conveying rail 12 from the scraping plate 13 to the preloading roller 40 prior to preloading by the preloading rollers 40 and 41. (See FIG. 3), it is proposed that the powder 1 in the mortar 11 is gradually compressed by the weight of the upper punch 30 and a slow preliminary compression is performed so as to follow the movement of air.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, depending on the type of powder 1 to be compression-molded and the rotational speed of the disk 10, the upper punch 30 may not be sufficiently lowered by the centrifugal force, and the deaeration pressure may not be sufficiently obtained. That is, the dead weight of the upper basket 30 does not necessarily give the optimum degassing pressure, and when the powder 1 has a high viscosity, the upper bowl 30 may not be sufficiently degassed due to insufficient weight. In addition, it is conceivable to prepare an upper punch 30 having its own weight suitable for the type of powder to be compression-molded and replace the upper punch 30 each time. There is a problem that the operating rate decreases due to the replacement of the bag 30.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the conventional powder compression molding apparatus. The precompression pressure by the upper punch can be adjusted according to the properties of the powder to be compression molded, and the upper punch is forced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a powder compression molding apparatus that makes degassing by precompression more complete by pressurizing in an automatic manner.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the powder compression molding apparatus of the present invention is fitted from the upper and lower sides in the vertical direction to the through mortar holes provided at regular intervals on the conveying means conveyed in the horizontal direction and the mortar holes, respectively. An upper arm and a lower arm that are mounted and transported in a predetermined direction together with the mortar hole, and a powder filling means for filling the mortar hole with a predetermined amount of powder in a state where the bottom of the mortar hole is closed with the lower arm, The upper punch and the lower punch are pressed in the vertical direction, and are provided between a pressing means for compressing and molding the powder filled in the mortar, and between the powder filling means and the pressing means. Degassing means for depressurizing the powder filled in the mortar hole by pressurizing vertically under a predetermined pressure.
[0007]
The said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said deaeration means is a guide rail which contact | abuts with the said upper collar, and the height of the perpendicular direction of a contact surface becomes low gradually.
In the above configuration, it is preferable that the guide rail is connected to a vertical driving means, and the position in the vertical direction with respect to the upper eyelid can be adjusted as a whole.
In each of the above configurations, it is preferable that the guide rail can adjust the inclination angle of the contact surface.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The powder compression molding apparatus of the present invention is provided with through mortar holes at regular intervals on a conveying means such as a conveyor that is conveyed in the horizontal direction or a disk that rotates about a vertical axis, and each mortar hole has a vertical direction. Upper and lower punches are fitted from above and below, and powder is filled between the upper and lower punches in the mortar, and the upper and lower punches are momentarily pressurized in the vertical direction, and the powder is tableted. After the powder is filled into the mortar hole, the powder is gradually pre-compressed with an upper punch and deaerated before compression molding. In order to effectively deaerate the air contained in the powder, it is necessary to obtain a slow compression speed that can follow the movement of the air.For example, a deaeration means such as a guide rail is fitted into a plurality of mortar holes and them. It is provided in a range opposite to the upper collar of the guide rail, and is formed so that the height in the vertical direction of the contact surface that contacts the upper collar of the guide rail gradually decreases. Thereby, the pressure which pressurizes the upper eyelid vertically downward can be changed gradually. Since the upper iron is forcibly pushed down vertically by the guide rail, deaeration can be performed regardless of the properties (viscosity, etc.) of the powder.
[0009]
Further, the guide rail is connected to vertical driving means such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder so that the vertical position with respect to the upper rod can be adjusted as a whole. Thereby, the optimal precompression force for performing sufficient deaeration can be obtained according to the property of the powder. Further, by making it possible to adjust the inclination of the abutting surface by rotating the guide rail in a vertical plane, it is possible to obtain a precompression force suitable for the properties of the powder.
[0010]
Next, a preferred embodiment of the powder compression molding apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the disk 10 rotates horizontally around a vertical axis (not shown). A plurality of mortar holes 11 are provided at regular intervals on the circumference in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the disk 10. An upper rod 30 and a lower rod 20 are arranged above and below the disc 10 so as to face each mortar 11, and are conveyed on a circumferential track so as to be synchronized with the rotation of the disc 10 by a conveyance mechanism (not shown). Is done. The vertical height of the lower rod 20 is controlled by the lower rod conveying rail 22 on which the bottom 24 of the lower rod 20 slides. The vertical height of the upper eyelid 30 is controlled mainly by the contact between the upper eyelet conveying roller 31 planted on the upper eyelid 30 and the sliding surface of the upper eyelid conveying rail 12.
[0011]
A scraping plate 13 is provided at a predetermined position of the disk 10, and the powder 1 supplied onto the disk 10 is filled in the mortar hole 11, and the excess powder 1 is removed to remove the powder 1 in the mortar hole 1. Keep the amount of powder constant. A pair of upper and lower main pressure rollers 50 and 51, as well as a pair of upper and lower preloading rollers 40 and 41, are disposed on the downstream side of the scraping plate 13 in the rotation direction of the disk 10 (conveying direction of the mortar 11). 30 and the lower rod 20 are provided in order. Therefore, the head of the upper punch 30 is pushed down vertically by the preload roller 40 and the main pressure roller 50, and at the same time, the bottom of the lower punch 20 is pushed up vertically by the preload roller 41 and the main pressure roller 51. The powder in the hole 11 is compressed into a tablet or the like.
[0012]
Between the scraping plate 13 and the preload rollers 40 and 41, a guide rail 60 is provided above the disk 10 and the upper rod 30 so as to come into contact with the deaeration preload roller 32 planted on the upper rod 30. . The guide rail 60 has a horizontal length that can face a plurality (at least three or more) of the mortar holes 11 and the upper collar 30 fitted thereto. Further, the height of the guide rail 60 in the vertical direction is set so as to gradually decrease toward the conveying direction of the mortar hole 11. The guide rail 60 is connected to a vertical driving mechanism 61 such as an air cylinder and can move up and down in the vertical direction as indicated by an arrow A. Further, as shown by the arrow B, the guide rail 60 may be rotated in the vertical plane.
[0013]
When the upper rod 30 is conveyed on the circumferential track along with the rotation of the disk 10, the deaeration preload roller 32 implanted in the upper rod 30 comes into contact with the contact surface of the guide rail 60, and the guide rail 60 According to the shape, the upper collar 30 is forcibly pushed down vertically. As a result, the powder in the mortar 11 is pre-compressed and deaerated. The pressing force (pressing force) for pressing the upper rod 30 vertically downward is determined by the horizontal conveying force of the upper rod 30 and the inclination angle of the contact surface of the guide rail 60. The smaller the inclination angle, the smaller the pressing force, and the larger the inclination angle, the larger the pressing force. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the contact surface of the guide rail 60 is formed so as to draw a substantially S shape, but is not limited to this shape, and may be formed in a straight line shape. Further, it may be formed to draw an arbitrary curve. Further, the pressing stroke of the upper rod 30 at the time of preliminary compression is determined by the relative height in the vertical direction between the deaeration preload roller 32 and the guide rail 60 planted on the upper rod 30. Furthermore, the slowness of the compression speed that can follow the movement of air in the powder is determined by the inclination angle of the contact surface of the guide rail 60 and the conveying speed of the mortar 11 and the like (the rotational speed of the disk 10).
[0014]
Next, the operation of the powder compression molding apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be described. For the sake of convenience, it is assumed that the mortar hole 11, the upper punch 30 and the lower punch 20 are respectively conveyed sequentially from left to right in FIG. First, at the left end of FIG. 1, the bottom of the mortar hole 11 is closed by the lower punch 20, and the powder 1 supplied onto the disk 10 falls into the mortar hole 11. At this time, the upper rod 30 is held above the disk 10 by the upper rod conveying roller 31 abutting against the upper rod conveying rail 12. Next, when the mortar hole 11 advances in the right direction, the scraping plate 13 removes excess powder on the disk 10, and the mortar hole 11 is filled with a predetermined amount of powder. At the same time, the degassing preload roller 32 of the upper rod 30 contacts the guide rail 60, and the upper rod 30 is lowered in the vertical direction by the weight of the upper rod 30 and the pressing force by the guide rail 60. The lowering operation of the upper collar 30 is determined by the inclination angle of the contact surface of the guide rail 60, the height of the guide rail in the vertical direction, the conveying speed of the mortar hole 11 and the like. When the powder 1 to be compression-molded has poor fluidity, such as vitamin E, and the air movement is slow, the inclination angle of the contact surface of the guide rail 60 is reduced, and the effective portion of the guide rail 60 is long. Increase the length. Thus, by slowly pre-compressing the powder in the mortar 11, a slow compression speed that can follow the movement of air in the powder 1 is obtained, and while passing through the guide rail 60, the powder 1 The air inside can be almost completely degassed.
[0015]
When the mortar 11, the upper punch 30 and the lower punch 20 are further conveyed to the right in the drawing, they reach the preload rollers 40 and 41. The preload rollers 40 and 41 respectively push down the upper rod 30 vertically downward and push the lower rod 20 vertically upward. The compression by the preload rollers 40 and 41 is performed almost instantaneously depending on the rotational speed of the disk 10. According to the powder compression molding apparatus of the present invention, the powder in the mortar hole 11 is almost completely degassed before reaching the preload rollers 40 and 41, so that the preload roller 40 is compared with the conventional apparatus. , 41, there is almost no risk of capping or lamination. Therefore, the compression speed and / or the compression pressure can be increased beyond the level at which capping or the like has occurred in the conventional apparatus. In addition, as a preferable deaeration pressure, the extent to which +5 kg is added to the lower limit of the weight of the upper punch 30 to be used is practical.
[0016]
The mortar hole 11 and the like that have passed through the preloading rollers 40 and 41 reach the main pressure rollers 50 and 51. The main pressure rollers 50 and 51 have substantially the same configuration as the preload rollers 40 and 41, and compress the powder that has been compression-molded in advance into a predetermined shape by the preload rollers 40 and 41 with a higher compression pressure than the preload rollers 40 and 41. To form tablets. According to the present invention, the compression pressure by the preload rollers 40 and 41 can be made higher than that of the conventional device. As a result, the compression pressure by the main pressure rollers 50 and 51 can also be made higher than that of the conventional device. Therefore, it becomes possible to produce tablets (harder) with higher mechanical strength than with conventional devices. In addition, since the compression speed can be increased as compared with the conventional apparatus, the conveying speed of the mortar hole 11 and the like (the rotational speed of the disk 10) can be increased.
[0017]
After passing through the main pressure rollers 50 and 51, the upper eyelet conveying roller 31 of the upper eyelid 30 comes into contact with the upper eyelet conveying rail 12, and the upper eyelid 30 is lifted vertically upward according to the shape of the upper eyelid conveying rail 12. A gap is secured between the surface of 10 and the lower end of the upper collar 30. On the other hand, the lower punch 20 is also lifted vertically upward according to the shape of the lower punch conveying rail 22, and the molded tablet 2 is pushed out of the mortar 11. By recovering the extruded tablet 2 according to a conventional method, the compression molding of the powder is completed.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the powder compression molding apparatus of the present invention is fitted from the top and bottom in the vertical direction to each of the through mortar holes provided at regular intervals on the conveying means conveyed in the horizontal direction, respectively. Upper and lower punches conveyed in a predetermined direction together with the mortar, powder filling means for filling a predetermined amount of powder into the mortar with the bottom of the mortar closed with the lower heel, and the upper and lower ridges vertically Pressurizing means that pressurizes in the direction and compresses the powder filled in the mortar hole, and is provided between the powder filling means and the pressing means, and the upper punch is pressed vertically downward at a predetermined pressure, In addition to the effect of degassing only by the weight of the upper eyelid as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-111997, compression molding is provided. The powder properties are poor in fluidity and stickiness, and it is Even when the degassing can not be performed sufficiently, because the upper punch is pushed down to force the vertical direction, it is possible to perform degassing of the powder in the die hole more reliably. Further, before the mortar hole, the upper punch and the lower punch reach the pressurizing means (for example, the preload rollers 40 and 41 and the main pressure rollers 50 and 51) for compressing the powder, the powder in the mortar is degassed ( For example, since the guide rail 60) is forcibly degassed, even when compression is performed by a pressurizing means, even if compression is performed at a compression pressure or compression level at which capping or lamination occurs in the conventional apparatus, capping is performed. No lamination occurs. As a result, it is possible to increase the compression pressure and compression speed by the pressurizing means, to form a tablet with higher mechanical strength (hard), etc., and to transfer a mortar hole or the like (for example, the disk 10 Rotational speed) can be increased, and the powder compression molding apparatus can be speeded up. In addition, since sufficient deaeration is performed before compression molding, capping and lamination hardly occur even after the apparatus is continuously operated for a long time. Furthermore, even when powder adheres to the tip of the lower eyelid, the upper eyelid is forcibly pushed down in the vertical direction, so that sufficient deaeration can be performed.
[0019]
In addition, by using a guide rail that comes into contact with the upper collar and the vertical height of the contact surface gradually decreases as a deaeration means, a simple modification of adding a guide rail to a conventional device allows The powder compression molding apparatus of the invention can be realized. Moreover, the guide rail is connected to the vertical driving means, and the vertical position relative to the upper eyelid can be adjusted as a whole, whereby the lowering stroke of the upper eyelid during deaeration can be adjusted. As a result, the lowering stroke of the upper eyelid can be optimally adjusted in accordance with the properties of the powder, for example, the ratio of air contained in the powder. Further, by making it possible to adjust the inclination angle of the contact surface of the guide rail, it is possible to adjust the pressure for pressing the powder in the mortar at the time of deaeration in the vertical direction. As a result, an optimum compression pressure can be obtained according to the properties of the powder, such as the fluidity and viscosity of the powder. In this way, by appropriately adjusting the inclination angle of the contact surface of the guide rail and / or the relative position (height in the vertical direction) with respect to the upper arm of the guide rail according to the conveyance speed such as the mortar hole, A slow compression speed that can follow the movement of air in the powder can be obtained depending on the nature of the powder. As a result, the powder can be almost completely degassed before the powder is compressed by the pressurizing means, and capping and lamination can be prevented almost completely during the compression molding by the pressurizing means. Can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of a powder compression molding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of a powder compression molding apparatus widely used in the past. Side sectional view showing the configuration of the powder compression molding apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4-111997
1: Powder 2: Tablet 10: Disk 11: Mortar hole 12: Upper punch conveying rail 13: Slide plate 20: Lower punch 22: Lower punch conveying rail 24: Lower punch bottom 30: Upper punch 31: Upper punch conveying roller 32: Deaeration preload roller 40: Preload roller 41: Preload roller 50: Main pressure roller 51: Main pressure roller 60: Guide rail 61: Vertical drive mechanism

Claims (2)

Through mortar holes provided at regular intervals on the conveying means conveyed in the horizontal direction, and upper and lower ridges fitted in the mortar holes from above and below in the vertical direction and conveyed in a predetermined direction together with the mortar holes And a powder filling means for filling the mortar with a predetermined amount of powder in a state where the bottom of the mortar is closed with the lower punch, and pressurizing the upper and lower punches in the vertical direction to fill the mortar A pressure means for compressing and molding the formed powder; a powder that is provided between the powder filling means and the pressure means and pressurizes the upper punch vertically downward at a predetermined pressure to fill the mortar hole A powder compression molding apparatus comprising a deaeration means for degassing ,
The deaeration means is a guide rail that comes into contact with the upper collar and whose height in the vertical direction of the contact surface gradually decreases.
The powder compression molding apparatus, wherein the guide rail is connected to vertical driving means, and the vertical position relative to the upper collar is generally adjustable . The guide rail is powder compression molding apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inclination angle of the contact surface is adjustable.

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