JP6017197B2 - Coating equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus that performs coating, mixing, drying, and the like of powder particles such as pharmaceuticals, foods, and agricultural chemicals, and more particularly, to a coating apparatus that includes a rotating drum that is driven to rotate about an axis.

  It is equipped with a rotating drum for film coating, sugar coating, etc. on tablets such as pharmaceuticals, foods, agricultural chemicals, soft capsules, pellets, granules, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as powders). Coating equipment is used.

  This type of coating apparatus is disclosed, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a coating apparatus including a ventilating rotary drum that is rotationally driven around a horizontal axis. The peripheral wall portion of the rotating drum is provided with air permeability by a porous portion (venting portion), and a plurality of ventilation channels communicating with the inside of the rotating drum through the porous portion of the peripheral wall portion are provided circumferentially on the outer peripheral side of the peripheral wall portion. Adjacent to each other. A louver made of a plate member is provided at the front end opening or the rear end opening of the rotating drum to guide the processing gas supplied from the air supply duct toward the granular material accumulation layer inside the rotating drum. . The gas introduced into the rotary drum from the opening of the air supply duct is guided (deflected) downward toward the accumulation layer (powder particle layer) by the guide member (louver). As a result, the flow of the air supply guided downward toward the accumulation layer and the suction action by the exhaust duct combine to eliminate the turbulence of the air flow in the coating chamber, and to be applied to the granular material by the liquid spraying means. It is described that the disturbance of the spray pattern of the liquid is prevented.

  In Patent Document 2, the spray nozzle 1 is placed close to the tablet reservoir (powder particle layer) 3 and sprayed from the spray nozzle 1 upward to the tablet reservoir 3. 5 is provided inside the pan, and the blowout port 5 is directed downward of the tablet pool 3 and the dry air is concentrated and blown out.

Japanese Patent No. 3349580 JP 2002-113401 A

  In the method in which the processing gas is supplied to the inside of the rotating drum through the front end opening or the rear end opening of the rotating drum, the spray pattern of the spray liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle is changed to the front end opening or the rear end opening. The phenomenon of being disturbed by the flow of the processing gas flowing into the rotating drum through the through hole tends to occur. This relates to the fact that the flow velocity of the processing gas flowing into the rotary drum is large and that the flow of the processing gas enters the spray zone of the spray liquid.

  In Patent Document 1, the flow of the processing gas flowing into the rotary drum through the front end opening or the rear end opening is deflected downward toward the granular material layer by the guide member, thereby disturbing the spray pattern. Although it can be prevented, in practice, it is difficult to prevent the spray pattern from being disturbed by the configuration of Patent Document 1. That is, the processing gas deflected downward by the guide member and flowing into the rotating drum reaches the surface layer portion of the granular material layer before the flow velocity is sufficiently lowered. Bounce occurs, and the bounce of the processing gas causes the turbulence of the air flow, thereby disturbing the spray pattern. Further, due to the rebound of the processing gas, the solid content in the spray liquid is dried and solidified and scattered as fine dust (dusting), and the phenomenon of adhering to the inner wall surface of the rotating drum and the guide member also occurs. Further, since the flow of the processing gas is deflected downward by the guide member toward the granular material layer, when the axial length of the rotating drum increases, the air is supplied only to the region near the opening of the granular material layer. In other words, a so-called one-flow state occurs.

  Since Patent Document 2 has a configuration in which dry air is concentrated and blown out toward the tablet pool 3 from the dry air outlet 5 provided inside the pan, the flow rate of the dry air reaching the surface layer portion of the tablet pool 3 is patented. It is much larger than Document 1, and the rebound of dry air at the surface layer portion is more likely to occur.

  An object of the present invention is to spray a powder layer from a spray nozzle by a processing gas supplied into an inside of a rotating drum from an opening provided at least one of a front end portion and a rear end portion of the rotating drum. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating apparatus capable of preventing a phenomenon in which the spray pattern of the spray liquid is disturbed and preventing a process gas from rebounding in a surface layer portion of a granular material layer.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is provided in a rotary drum in which a granular material to be processed is housed and is driven to rotate around its axis , a casing housing the rotary drum, and a front end portion of the casing. A spray nozzle unit having one or a plurality of spray nozzles for spraying a spray liquid onto the powder layer inside the rotating drum, and at least a front end portion of a front end portion and a rear end portion in the axial direction of the rotating drum. In a coating apparatus including an air supply unit that supplies processing gas to the inside of the rotating drum through the provided opening, the inside of the rotating drum is processed through the front end opening provided at the front end of the rotating drum. supply unit for supplying a gas, and the air flow guide plate arranged on the chamber, provided in said chamber, guiding the process gas supplied through the air supply duct to the air flow guide plate The airflow guide plate is guided through the passage portion with the upward slope side of the granular material layer inclined at an upward slope by the rotation of the rotating drum as the upward slope side and the opposite side as the downward slope side. The processed gas is directed to the space in the rotary drum that is above the powder layer and on the lower side of the inclination of the powder layer with respect to the spray nozzle unit. A configuration is provided for controlling the flow of process gas to flow.

In the above configuration, the airflow guide plate may be configured to be disposed at a position corresponding to a region on the rear side in the rotation direction with respect to the vertical plane including the axis of the rotating drum in the range of the front end opening. .

In the above configuration, the apparatus further includes an air supply unit that supplies a processing gas to the inside of the rotary drum via a rear end opening provided at the rear end of the rotary drum, and the air supply unit has a rear end opening. An air supply chamber provided on the side of the unit, and an airflow guide plate disposed in the air supply chamber, the airflow guide plate guides the processing gas supplied to the air supply chamber, and the processing gas is A structure for controlling the flow of the processing gas so as to flow toward the space in the rotating drum above the powder layer and on the lower side of the inclination of the powder layer with respect to the spray nozzle unit; can do. Further, where the air flow guide plate is formed of a plate member of semicircular shape having an arc portion and a side portion, the arcuate portion along the inner peripheral surface of the member constituting the air supply chamber, wherein the edge portion, It may be configured to be arranged in a posture inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical plane including the axis of the rotating drum so as to be inclined to the same side as the granular material layer inclined at an upward gradient by the rotation of the rotating drum. it can.

  In the above configuration, the spray nozzle of the spray nozzle unit is sprayed at a position on the outer diameter side of the front end opening of the rotating drum and on the front side in the rotational direction with respect to the vertical plane including the axis of the rotating drum. It can be set as the structure which sprays.

  In the above configuration, the spray nozzle of the spray nozzle unit is configured to spray the spray liquid vertically downward with respect to the surface layer portion of the granular material layer inclined at an upward slope toward the front side in the rotation direction of the rotating drum. be able to.

  According to the present invention, the powder layer is sprayed from the spray nozzle by the processing gas supplied to the inside of the rotating drum from the opening provided in at least one of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the rotating drum. The phenomenon that the spray pattern of the spray liquid is disturbed can be prevented, and the rebound phenomenon of the processing gas in the surface layer portion of the granular material layer can be prevented.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the coating apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the front panel from the front side. FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view {FIG. 3 (a)} and a longitudinal sectional view {FIG. 3 (b)} of the rotating drum. It is a cross-sectional view of a coating apparatus. It is the partial sectional view which looked at the nozzle movement mechanism from the upper part. It is the schematic cross-sectional view which looked at the rotating drum from the front side. It is a figure which shows the air supply part by the side of the front-end part of a rotating drum, Fig.7 (a) is the figure which looked at the front-end part of the casing from the front side, FIG.7 (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the peripheral part of an air supply part It is. It is the schematic cross-sectional view which looked at the rotating drum from the back side. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the air supply part by the side of the front end part of a rotating drum, Fig.9 (a) is the figure which looked at the front end part of the casing from the front side, FIG.9 (b) is the periphery of an air supply part It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows other embodiment of the air supply part by the side of the rear-end part of a rotating drum.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coating apparatus according to this embodiment includes a ventilating rotary drum 1 that is driven to rotate about an axis X that is parallel or substantially parallel to the horizontal line. The rotary drum 1 is rotatably accommodated in the casing 2 and is rotationally driven by a rotational drive mechanism 3 disposed on the rear end side. Further, the rotary drum 1 is accommodated inside the casing 2 inside the internal housing 4, and the space portion of the internal housing 4 is hermetically sealed against the outside. Furthermore, a spray nozzle unit 5 having one or a plurality of spray nozzles 5a for spraying a spray liquid such as a film material liquid toward the granular material layer is disposed inside the rotary drum 1. In this embodiment, the rotary drum 1 has a front end opening 1e at the front end and a rear end opening 1g at the rear end. In addition, air supply portions A1 and A2 are provided on the front end opening portion 1e and the rear end opening portion 1g, respectively.

  The front end of the casing 2 constitutes a chamber 2a, and the front surface of the chamber 2a is closed by a front panel 2b having an inspection window 2b1. The chamber 2a accommodates a vertical movement mechanism 8 and an airflow guide member 20 described later.

  The spray nozzle unit 5 is attached to a distal end portion of an L-shaped support pipe 6 via a connection pipe 7, and a proximal end portion of the support pipe 6 is connected to a vertical movement mechanism 8 attached to the inner surface side of the front panel 2b. Has been. The vertical movement mechanism 8 can adjust the vertical position of the spray nozzle unit 5 manually or automatically (by an actuator mechanism such as an air cylinder or a ball screw). Further, a nozzle moving mechanism 9 described later is connected to the front panel 2b, and the nozzle moving mechanism 9 can move the front panel 2b along with the spray nozzle unit 5 in the axis X direction of the rotary drum 1. In addition, it can be swung between a first position P1 indicated by a one-dot chain line and a second position P2 indicated by a solid line in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the rotary drum 1 includes a peripheral wall portion 1a having a polygonal (for example, a 10-sided or 12-sided) transverse cross-sectional shape, and an end wall portion 1b continuous to the front end of the peripheral wall portion 1a. And an end wall portion 1c continuous to the rear end of the peripheral wall portion 1a. On each side surface of the peripheral wall portion 1a, a ventilation portion formed of a porous portion is provided. In this embodiment, the ventilation portion is formed by attaching a perforated plate to each side surface of the peripheral wall portion 1a. A mouth ring portion 1d is provided at the front end of the end wall portion 1b, and a front end opening portion 1e is provided in the mouth ring portion 1d. Moreover, the connection part 1f is provided in the rear end of the end wall part 1c, and the rear-end opening part 1g is provided in the connection part 1f. An extension portion 1h (see FIG. 1) used for mounting a drive system component that rotationally drives the rotary drum 1 is connected to the connection portion 1f.

  At both ends in the axial direction of the peripheral wall portion 1a of the rotary drum 1, for example, annular seal rings 13 formed of a synthetic resin material such as fluorine resin (PTFE or the like) or a synthetic rubber material such as hard rubber are provided. On the outer periphery of the part 1a, a plurality of partition plates 14 are provided at predetermined intervals in the rotation direction. In this embodiment, the partition plate 14 has a longitudinal dimension that is substantially the same as the axial dimension of the peripheral wall 1 a and is arranged on the outer periphery of the peripheral wall 1 a in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotary drum 1. Further, in this embodiment, the outer diameter portion of the partition plate 14 is constituted by a sealing member formed in a flat plate shape with a synthetic resin material such as a fluororesin (PTFE or the like) or a synthetic rubber material such as hard rubber. The member is attached to the base of the partition plate 14 in a state in which the movement of the peripheral wall portion 1a in the inner and outer peripheral directions is allowed (for example, the base of the partition plate 14 by a long hole in the inner and outer peripheral direction and bolts or pins). Installed).

  As shown in FIG. 4, a duct-shaped exhaust member 10 is provided on the lower outer peripheral side of the rotary drum 1. The exhaust member 10 includes an arcuate sliding contact portion 10a in which the seal ring 13 of the rotating drum 1 and the partition plate 14 are in sliding contact, and an opening 10b provided in a part of the sliding contact portion 10a. In this embodiment, the lower part of the inner housing 4 constitutes a cleaning bucket 4a (see also FIG. 1), and the exhaust member 10 is provided inside the cleaning bucket 4a. The exhaust member 10 communicates with the exhaust duct 12 via an exhaust passage 11 provided in the inner housing 4. Further, when the rotary drum 1 is cleaned, a cleaning liquid L such as cleaning water is supplied to the cleaning bucket 4a. The exhaust member 10 and the cleaning bucket 4a are individually provided with drainage ports 10c and 4b, respectively.

  The cleaning bucket 4a is provided with a bubble flow injection nozzle (a bubbling jet nozzle) (not shown) that injects a cleaning liquid in which bubbles are mixed into the cleaning liquid in the cleaning bucket 4a. Further, cleaning nozzles 10 d and 10 e for injecting the cleaning liquid are arranged inside the exhaust member 10, and a cleaning nozzle 11 a for injecting the cleaning liquid is arranged inside the exhaust passage 11, and the cleaning liquid is injected into the upper space of the internal housing 4. Cleaning nozzles 4c and 4d for spraying are arranged.

  FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the nozzle moving mechanism 9 as viewed from above. In this embodiment, the nozzle moving mechanism 9 includes an axial direction moving mechanism 9A that moves the front panel 2b along with the spray nozzle unit 5 in the direction of the axis X of the rotary drum 1, and a first position indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. A nozzle position adjusting mechanism 9B that pivots between P1 and a second position P2 indicated by a solid line is provided. The axial movement mechanism 9A slide-guides the axial movement along the slide shafts 9a and 9b arranged in parallel to each other and the axes X1 and X2 (parallel to the axis X of the rotary drum 1) of the slide shafts 9a and 9b. The slide bearing portions 9c and 9d and the slide rails 9e and 9f are main components. The nozzle position adjusting mechanism 9B mainly includes rotating bearing portions 9g and 9h that support the rotation of the slide shafts 9a and 9b around the axes X1 and X2, and a rotation driving unit 9i that rotates the slide shaft 9b. This is a component.

  The front end portion of the slide shaft 9a is connected to the box 8a of the vertical movement mechanism 8 attached to the inner surface side of the front panel 2b, and the rear end portion of the slide shaft 9a is a slide provided in the housing of the rotary bearing portion 9g. It is slidably mounted on a slide rail 9e via a pin 9j. A piping pipe 9k is inserted through the slide shaft 9a. Inside the piping pipe 9k, piping tubes for supplying atomized gas (atomized air) or the like to the spray nozzles 5a of the spray nozzle unit 5 are accommodated. Connected to the spray nozzle 5a.

  The front end portion of the slide shaft 9b is connected to the turning shaft portion 9m attached to the inner surface side of the front panel 2b, and the rear end portion of the slide shaft 9b is connected to the slide pin 9n provided in the housing of the rotary bearing portion 9h. And is slidably mounted on the slide rail 9f. The turning shaft portion 9m has an eccentric member 9m1 attached to the front end portion of the slide shaft 9b, an eccentric pin 9m2 fixed to the eccentric member 9m1, and the eccentric pin 9m2 so as to be rotatable with respect to the inner wall of the front panel 2b. And an eccentric bearing portion 9m3 to be supported. The axis X3 of the eccentric pin 9m2 is eccentric by a predetermined amount from the axis X2 of the slide shaft 9b.

  The rotation drive unit 9i includes a drive motor 9i1 and a gear mechanism 9i2 that transmits the rotational force of the drive motor 9i1 to the slide shaft 9b. The drive motor 9i1 is attached to the housing of the rotation bearing portion 9h (and / or the rotation bearing portion 9g), and the rotation drive portion 9i has a shaft along with the slide shaft 9b (and / or the slide shaft 9a). The direction is movable. When the drive motor 9i1 of the rotation drive unit 9i rotates, the turning power is transmitted to the slide shaft 9b via the gear mechanism 9i2, and the slide shaft 9b rotates about the axis X2. When the slide shaft 9b rotates about the axis X2, the eccentric member 9m1 attached to the front end of the slide shaft 9b rotates, and the eccentric pin 9m3 (axis X3) fixed to the eccentric member 9m1 is an eccentric bearing. While being pivotally supported by the portion 9m3, it turns around the axis X2 of the slide shaft 9b. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the front panel 2b has the axis line X1 of the slide shaft 9a parallel to the axis line X of the rotary drum 1 as a turning center (in a plane orthogonal to the axis line X1). And turn between a first position P1 indicated by 2 and a second position P2 indicated by a solid line.

  The first position P1 and the second position P2 of the front panel 2b shown in FIG. 2 correspond to the first position P1 'and the second position P2' of the spray nozzle unit 5 shown in FIG. The first position P1 ′ is the position of the spray nozzle unit 5 where the spray nozzle unit 5 is located on the inner diameter side of the diameter of the front end opening 1e of the rotary drum 1, in other words, the spray nozzle unit 5 is the front end of the rotary drum 1. This is the position of the spray nozzle unit 5 that can move in the axial direction without interfering with the opening 1e. The second position P2 ′ is such that at least the spray nozzle 5a of the spray nozzle unit 5 is on the outer diameter side with respect to the diameter of the front end opening 1e of the rotary drum 1 and the vertical plane V including the axis X of the rotary drum 1 This is the position of the spray nozzle unit 5 located on the front side in the rotational direction A of the rotary drum 1. At the second position P2 ', when the spray nozzle unit 5 moves in the axial direction, it interferes with the front end opening 1e of the rotary drum 1. The second position P2 'may be an installation position of the spray nozzle unit 5 at the time of processing the granular material, or may be a position above or below this set position. In the latter case, the spray nozzle unit 5 is moved from the second position P2 'to the set position by the vertical movement mechanism 8 or from the set position to the second position P2'. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the second position P2 'is an installation position of the spray nozzle unit 5 at the time of processing the granular material. In addition, FIG. 6 shows the installation position P2 ′ (solid line) of the spray nozzle unit 5 when the surface layer portion S1 of the granular material layer S is at a relatively high position (when the processing amount of the granular material is large), The installation position P2 ′ (dotted line) of the spray nozzle unit 5 when the surface layer portion S1 of the granular material layer S is at a relatively low position (when the amount of processing of the granular material is small) is shown. Further, in this embodiment, at the second position P2 ′, the spray nozzle 5a of the spray nozzle unit 5 sprays the spray liquid vertically downward (so that the spray nozzle of the spray nozzle 5a faces vertically downward). The direction of the nozzle 5a is set. The spray position of the spray nozzle 5a can be adjusted in the vertical direction by the vertical movement mechanism 8.

FIG. 7 shows an air supply part A1 provided on the front end opening 1e side of the rotary drum 1. In this embodiment, the air supply unit A1 is a process of hot air or cold air supplied via an air flow guide plate 20 as an air flow control unit disposed in the chamber 2a at the front end of the casing 2 and the air supply duct 21. And a passage member 24 for forming a passage portion 24a that guides the gas to the airflow guide plate 20. The airflow guide plate 20 includes a side portion 20a facing away from the front end opening 1e, and another side portion 20b bent in a direction approaching the front end opening 1e from the one side 20a, and the range of the front end opening 1e. Among these, it arrange | positions in the area | region which becomes a rotation direction back side (right side in the figure) with respect to the vertical surface V containing the axis line X of the rotating drum 1. Further, the airflow guide plate 20 is arranged in an inclined posture in a direction gradually approaching the vertical plane V from below to above. The passage member 24 is attached to the front end wall of the casing 2, and the front side is closed by the front panel 2b, thereby forming a passage portion 24a in the chamber 2a. The upper portion of the passage portion 24 a communicates with the air supply port 21 a of the air supply duct 21. The airflow guide plate 20 is fixed to the front side portion of the lower portion of the passage member 24 or is integrally formed. A cleaning nozzle 22 that ejects cleaning liquid is disposed inside the chamber 2a, and a cleaning nozzle 23 that ejects cleaning liquid is disposed inside the passage portion 24a. The processing gas supplied from the air supply port 21a of the air supply duct 21 is guided to the airflow guide plate 20 through the passage portion 24a, guided by the airflow guide plate 20 having the above-described form, and from the front end opening 1e. It flows into the inside of the rotating drum 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing gas flowing into the rotary drum 1 is located above the powder layer S with respect to the installation position P2 ′ of the spray nozzle unit 5 when processing the powder, In addition, the flow is directed toward the space in the rotary drum 1 on the inclined lower side (hereinafter referred to as “back side”) of the granular material layer S with respect to the spray nozzle unit 5.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an air supply part A2 provided on the side of the rear end opening 1g of the rotary drum 1 includes an internal space of a chamber member 30 having a connection port 30a with an air supply duct (not shown), and rotation. An airflow guide plate 32 is disposed in an air supply chamber 31 configured with an internal space of the extending portion 1f of the drum 1, and processing gas such as hot air and cold air supplied to the air supply chamber 31 through an air supply duct is supplied. The air guide plate 32 guides the air to the inside of the rotary drum 1 from the rear end opening 1g. The chamber member 30 is connected to the rear end portion of the extending portion 1f. In this embodiment, the airflow guide plate 32 is supported by one or a plurality of support members 32a, and is disposed in an inclined manner with a predetermined angle θ1 in the internal space of the extending portion 1f. Further, in this embodiment, the airflow guide plate 32 is formed of a semicircular plate member as shown in FIG. 8, and the arc portion 32a has the same diameter as the inner peripheral surface (the rear end opening portion 1g) of the extending portion 1f. (Or substantially the same diameter), the side portion 32b is disposed in a posture inclined by a predetermined angle θ2 with respect to the vertical surface V including the axis X of the rotary drum 1 so as to face the back side of the spray nozzle unit 5. Therefore, the processing gas supplied to the air supply chamber 31 through the air supply duct is guided by the airflow guide plate 32, so that the installation position P2 ′ of the spray nozzle unit 5 at the time of processing of the granular material is set. The air flows into the inside of the rotating drum 1 from the rear end opening 1g, directed above the powder layer S and toward the space in the rotating drum 1 on the back side with respect to the spray nozzle unit 5. A cleaning nozzle 33 for ejecting the cleaning liquid is provided through the airflow guide plate 32. A cleaning nozzle 34 that ejects cleaning liquid is disposed inside the chamber member 30.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the granular material is processed, the rotary drum 1 rotates in the direction A in FIG. 4, so that the seal ring 13 and the partition plate 14 of the peripheral wall portion 1 a are in sliding contact with the exhaust member 10. Slid in contact. In particular, the seal member (outer diameter portion) of the partition plate 14 is movable in the inner and outer peripheral directions, receives the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the rotary drum 1, moves in the outer peripheral direction, and exhausts with a force commensurate with the centrifugal force. The member 10 is in pressure contact with the sliding contact portion 10a.

  Further, during the processing of the granular material (when the rotary drum 1 is rotated), the surface layer portion S1 of the granular material layer S is inclined upward toward the front side in the rotation direction A, and sprayed from the spray nozzle 5a. While the powder particles of the surface layer portion S1 that has received the spray of the liquid flow from the position (spray zone) that has received the spray of the spray liquid to the inclined downward side (direction B shown in FIG. 4), Subjected to rolling and moderate drying (drying zone). By installing the spray nozzle unit 5 at the second position P2 ′ which is an upper position in the tilt direction with respect to the surface layer portion S1 of the granular material layer S, the surface layer portion S1 which has received the spray of the spray liquid from the spray nozzle 5a. The flow distance when the granular particles flow to the inclined lower side B becomes relatively large, and spreading and drying of the spray liquid are effectively performed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the spray nozzle 5a of the spray nozzle unit 5 sprays the spray liquid vertically downward toward the granular material layer S at the second position P2 ′, the spray liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle 5a. The received granular material particles of the surface layer portion S1 are promoted to flow downwardly by the spraying pressure of the spray liquid.

  In the air supply part A1 on the front end side of the rotary drum 1, it is guided by the airflow guide plate 20, above the powder layer S and on the back side of the spray nozzle unit 5. The processing gas supplied to the inside of the rotary drum 1 in the direction of the space is dried on the lower side of the spray zone as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 4 after the flow velocity is reduced in the space. It enters the granular material layer S from the zone, passes through the granular material layer S, and is exhausted from the opening 10 b of the exhaust member 10. That the processing gas is supplied to the space on the back side of the spray nozzle unit 5 and that the processing gas enters the granular material layer S from the drying zone inclined downward from the spray zone; The phenomenon that the spray pattern of the spray liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 5a is disturbed by the air flow of the processing gas is more effectively prevented in combination with the effect of reducing the flow velocity of the processing gas in the space. The Further, since the flow of the processing gas does not rebound in the surface layer portion S1 of the granular material layer S due to the decrease in the flow velocity of the processing gas, the generation and scattering of dust due to the rebound of the air flow hardly occur. Furthermore, the granular particles in the surface layer portion S1 sprayed with the spray liquid from the spray nozzle 5a at the upper position (spray zone) in the inclination direction of the granular layer S flow to the drying zone on the lower side of the inclination, Since the spray liquid spreads on the surface to some extent and then comes into contact with the airflow of the processing gas, dust generation and scattering are less likely to occur.

  Further, in the air supply portion A2 on the rear end side of the rotary drum 1, guided by the air flow guide plate 32, from the rear end opening portion 1g, above the granular layer S and to the spray nozzle unit 5. The processing gas supplied to the inside of the rotary drum 1 so as to be directed to the space portion in the rotary drum 1 on the rear side is reduced in the flow rate in the space portion, and then the drying zone inclined downward from the spray zone. Enters the granular material layer S, passes through the granular material layer S and is exhausted. That the processing gas is supplied to the space on the back side of the spray nozzle unit 5 and that the processing gas enters the granular material layer S from the drying zone inclined downward from the spray zone; The phenomenon that the spray pattern of the spray liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 5a is disturbed by the air flow of the processing gas is more effectively prevented in combination with the effect of reducing the flow velocity of the processing gas in the space. The Further, since the flow of the processing gas does not rebound in the surface layer portion S1 of the granular material layer S due to the decrease in the flow velocity of the processing gas, the generation and scattering of dust due to the rebound of the air flow hardly occur. Furthermore, the granular particles in the surface layer portion S1 sprayed with the spray liquid from the spray nozzle 5a at the upper position (spray zone) in the inclination direction of the granular layer S flow to the drying zone on the lower side of the inclination, Since the spray liquid spreads on the surface to some extent and then comes into contact with the airflow of the processing gas, dust generation and scattering are less likely to occur.

  As described above, the spray liquid such as the film material liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 5 a of the spray nozzle unit 5 to the granular material layer S is mixed with each of the granular particles by the stirring and mixing action accompanying the rotation of the rotary drum 1. It is spread on the surface and dried by the process gas passing through the granular material layer S. Thereby, a coating film is formed on the surface of each granular material particle.

  When the processing of the powder particles is completed and the spray nozzle unit 5 is pulled out from the inside of the rotary drum 1, first, the drive motor 9i1 of the rotation drive unit 9i of the nozzle position adjusting mechanism 9B in the nozzle moving mechanism 9 ( 5), the slide shaft 9b is rotated about the axis X2, and the eccentric pin 9m3 (axis X3) is pivoted about the axis X2, so that the front panel 2b is moved to the axis X1 of the slide shaft 9a. Is turned from the second position P2 indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the first position P1 indicated by the alternate long and short dash line. As a result, the spray nozzle unit 5 attached to the front panel 2b pivots from the second position P2 ′ shown in FIG. 6 to the first position P1 ′ without interfering with the front end opening 1e of the rotary drum 1. The rotary drum 1 can move in the direction of the axis X. When the spray nozzle unit 5 is set at the second position P2 ′ indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6, the spray nozzle unit 5 is moved to the second position P2 ′ indicated by the dotted line by the vertical movement mechanism 8. , Swivel. Thereafter, the axial movement mechanism 9A in the nozzle movement mechanism 9 is manually operated, or is operated by an appropriate axial driving means such as an air cylinder, so that the spray nozzle unit 5 is moved along with the front panel 2b. By moving in the direction of the axis X, the spray nozzle unit 5 can be pulled out of the rotary drum 1 from the front end opening 1e (see FIG. 1). At that time, the slide shafts 9a and 9b of the axial movement mechanism 9A are slid and guided by the slide bearing portions 9c and 9d and the slide rails 9e and 9f, so that the front panel 2b and the spray nozzle unit 5 are connected to the axis of the rotary drum 1. It can move smoothly in the X direction.

  On the other hand, when the spray nozzle unit 5 is inserted from the outside to the inside of the rotating drum 1, the front panel 2b is first positioned at the first position P1 indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. Then, the spray nozzle unit 5 is moved in the direction of the axis X of the rotary drum 1 together with the front panel 2b, and the spray nozzle unit 5 is inserted into the rotary drum 1 from the front end opening 1e. Thereafter, the drive motor 9i1 of the rotation drive unit 9i of the nozzle position adjusting mechanism 9B of the nozzle moving mechanism 9 is operated, and the front panel 2b is shown in a solid line in FIG. 2 with the axis X1 of the slide shaft 9a as the turning center. Turn to 2 position P2. As a result, the spray nozzle unit 5 attached to the front panel 2b pivots from the first position P1 'shown in FIG. 6 to the second position P2', and is set to the position at the time of processing the granular material. When the spray nozzle unit 5 is set to the second position P2 ′ indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6, the vertical movement mechanism 8 moves the spray nozzle unit 5 from the second position P2 ′ indicated by the dotted line to the second position indicated by the solid line. Move to P2 ′.

  When cleaning the rotary drum 1, as shown in FIG. 4, first, a cleaning liquid L such as cleaning water is supplied to the cleaning bucket 4a. The cleaning liquid L supplied to the cleaning bucket 4 a enters the inside of the rotating drum 1 from the ventilation portion (porous portion) of the peripheral wall portion 1 a of the rotating drum 1 and also enters the inside of the exhaust member from the opening 10 b of the exhaust member 10. . In this way, after the cleaning liquid is stored in the cleaning bucket 4a, the rotating drum 1 is rotated, and cleaning is performed while a bubble flow of the cleaning liquid is ejected into the cleaning liquid from a bubble flow injection nozzle (not shown). Due to the synergistic effect of the rotation of the rotating drum 1 in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning bucket 4a, the jet of cleaning liquid ejected into the cleaning liquid from the bubble flow injection nozzle, and the bubbles, the inner wall of the rotating drum 1 and the ventilation section and the inside of the rotating drum 1 And the inside of the exhaust member 10 can be effectively cleaned.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the fluid plate 14 is provided on the peripheral wall portion 1a of the rotating drum 1, when the rotating drum 1 rotates, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning bucket 4a is caused to flow forward in the rotational direction by the fluid plate 14. Bubbles in the cleaning liquid are held on the front side in the rotational direction of the fluid plate 14 and are circulated into the rotary drum 1 through the ventilation portion (porous portion) of the peripheral wall portion 1a. That is, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid that passes through the ventilation portion of the peripheral wall portion 1a tends to be slow, and bubbles in the cleaning solution are trapped on the hole wall surface of the ventilation portion (venting hole), so that sufficient cleaning power cannot be obtained. However, since the flow rate of the cleaning liquid that passes through the ventilation portion is increased by the fluid plate 14, trapping of bubbles is unlikely to occur, and the flowability of bubbles is improved. Therefore, the ventilation part of the peripheral wall part 1a which is particularly difficult to clean can be effectively cleaned. Further, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning bucket 4a is scooped up from the liquid surface L in the rotational direction by the fluid plate 14 and splashed on the peripheral wall 1a. Due to the effect of such splash cleaning, not only the peripheral wall portion 1a of the rotating drum 1 but also the cleaning of the spray nozzle unit 5 and the baffle inside the rotating drum 1 can be expected. Further, since the fluid plate 14 moves in the rotational direction, a positive pressure is generated in the cleaning liquid on the front side in the rotational direction of the fluid plate 14 and a negative pressure is generated in the cleaning liquid on the rear side in the rotational direction. The cleaning liquid flows into the inside of the rotary drum 1 from the ventilation portion (ventilation hole), and flows out of the rotation drum 1 from the ventilation portion (ventilation hole) on the back side in the rotation direction. The cleaning power is improved by the circulation / vortex of the cleaning liquid. In addition, even if the fluid plate 14 is not provided at each top of the peripheral wall portion 1a, the circulation / vortex of the cleaning liquid is generated to some extent in the peripheral portion, but each side surface of the peripheral wall portion 1a is formed on the fluid plate 14. Without providing, the circulation of the cleaning liquid becomes slow especially in the peripheral part at the center in the rotation direction. Therefore, from the viewpoint of cleanability, it is effective to provide the fluid plate 14 on each side surface of the peripheral wall portion 1a, and preferably promotes circulation of the cleaning liquid in the peripheral portion in the center of each side surface in the rotation direction. As described above, one or a plurality of cleaning plates 14 may be installed on each side surface. Moreover, it is preferable to make the space | interval between the flow plates 14 adjacent to a rotation direction larger than the height of the flow plate 14 which has the largest height.

  After cleaning the rotary drum 1 as described above, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the drain ports 10c and 4b through the drain pipe 4c shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the air supply part A1 provided on the front end opening 1e side of the rotary drum 1. As shown in FIG. The air supply unit A1 of this embodiment is provided with an air supply chamber 40 at the front end of the casing 2 and an air flow swirl unit 43 as an air flow control unit in the air supply chamber 40. The front surface of the air supply chamber 40 is closed by the front panel 2 b, and the rear portion of the air supply chamber 40 communicates with the front end opening 1 e of the rotary drum 1. An air supply duct 41 is connected to the air supply chamber 40, and processing gas such as hot air and cold air supplied through the air supply duct 41 flows into the air supply chamber 40 and then flows from the air supply chamber 40. It flows into the rotary drum 1 through the front end opening 1e.

  As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the air supply duct 41 is viewed from the front side of the rotary drum 1 at a position close to the right side in the drawing with respect to the vertical plane V including the axis X of the rotary drum 1. In addition, the air supply port 41a is provided at a position close to the upper side in the drawing with respect to the horizontal plane including the axis X of the rotary drum 1. Moreover, as shown in FIG.9 (b), the air supply duct 41 supplies process gas from diagonally upward with respect to the air supply port 41a set to said position. Therefore, the flow of the processing gas supplied from the air supply duct 41 to the air supply chamber 40 via the air supply port 41 a turns clockwise in the air supply chamber 40 as viewed from the front side of the rotary drum 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9B, a raised portion 42 that guides the swirling of the processing gas is provided in a predetermined region of the air supply chamber 40, that is, a region centered on the axis X of the rotating drum 1. Provided. In the example shown in the figure, the raised portion 42 has a form in which a part of the front panel 2b is raised in the direction of the front end opening 1e of the rotary drum 1 in the predetermined region. Further, the circumferential surface of the raised portion 42 is formed as a conical taper-shaped guide surface 42a that gradually decreases in diameter toward the front end opening 1e, and an inspection window 42b is attached to the tip of the raised portion 42. Since the swirling of the processing gas generated in the air supply chamber 40 is guided by the conical taper-shaped guide surface 42a of the raised portion 42, the swirling flow is strengthened and stabilized, and at the front end opening 1e of the rotary drum 1 Guided towards.

  The processing gas supplied from the air supply duct 41 to the air supply chamber 40 swirls in the air supply chamber 40, and the granular material with respect to the installation position P2 ′ of the spray nozzle unit 5 when processing the granular material. The air flows into the inside of the rotating drum 1 from the front end opening 1e so as to be directed above the layer S and toward the space in the rotating drum 1 on the back side with respect to the spray nozzle unit 5. Since other matters are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, a duplicate description is omitted.

  FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the air supply unit A2 provided on the rear end opening 1g side of the rotary drum 1. As shown in FIG. In the air supply unit A2 of this embodiment, an air flow swirl unit 51 is provided as an air flow control unit in the internal space (air supply chamber 30a) of the chamber member 30 connected to the extending portion 1f on the rear end side of the rotary drum 1. Is. An air supply duct 52 is connected to the chamber member 30, and a processing gas such as hot air or cold air is supplied from the air supply duct 52 to the air supply chamber 30a in a tangential direction.

  The flow of the processing gas supplied in the tangential direction from the air supply duct 52 to the air supply chamber 30 a turns clockwise in the air supply chamber 30 a when viewed from the rear side of the rotary drum 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a raised portion 53 that guides the swirling of the processing gas is provided in a predetermined region of the air supply chamber 30a, that is, a region centered on the axis X of the rotary drum 1. The peripheral surface of the raised portion 53 is formed as a conical taper-shaped guide surface 53a that gradually decreases in diameter toward the rear end opening 1g (see FIG. 1), and an inspection window 53b is attached to the tip of the raised portion 53a. Has been. Since the swirling of the processing gas generated in the air supply chamber 30a is guided by the conical taper-shaped guide surface 53a of the raised portion 53, the swirling flow is strengthened and stabilized, and the rear end opening 1g of the rotary drum 1 is stabilized. Guided towards.

  The processing gas supplied from the air supply duct 52 to the air supply chamber 30a swirls within the air supply chamber 30a, and the internal space of the extending portion 1f (see FIG. 1) (in this embodiment, the airflow guide shown in FIG. 1). The plate 32 is not disposed.) With respect to the installation position P2 ′ of the spray nozzle unit 5 at the time of processing of the powder particles, above the powder layer S and with respect to the spray nozzle unit 5 The air flows into the inside of the rotating drum 1 from the rear end opening portion 1g with directing to the space in the rotating drum 1 on the back side. Since other matters are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, a duplicate description is omitted.

  In the above embodiment, the air supply unit A1 is provided on the front end side of the rotary drum 1 and the air supply unit A2 is provided on the rear end side. However, only the air supply unit A1 on the front end side or the rear end side It is good also as a structure which provides only this air supply part A2. The air supply unit A1 may have the same configuration as the air supply unit A2, and conversely, the air supply unit A2 may have the same configuration as the air supply unit A1.

  In the above embodiment, the nozzle moving mechanism 9 has a biaxial structure including two slide shafts 9a and 9b, but includes only one slide shaft corresponding to the slide shaft 9a. A uniaxial structure may be adopted. In this case, a slide bearing portion that slides and guides the single slide shaft, a rotation bearing portion that supports rotation around the axis of the slide shaft, and a rotation drive portion that rotates the slide shaft are provided. By rotating the slide shaft by the rotation drive unit, the front panel 2b is pivoted about the axis of the slide shaft as a pivot center.

  The present invention is not limited to a coating apparatus provided with a rotating drum having a polygonal cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion, but also applied to a coating apparatus provided with a rotating drum having a circular, conical or polygonal conical cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion. The same applies. Further, the present invention is not limited to a coating apparatus having a so-called jacketless structure, and is similarly applicable to a coating apparatus having a structure in which a jacket is mounted on the peripheral wall portion of the rotating drum. Further, the present invention is not limited to a coating apparatus in which the rotating drum is driven to rotate about an axis parallel or substantially parallel to the horizontal line, but can be similarly applied to a coating apparatus in which the rotating drum is driven to rotate about an axis inclined with respect to the horizontal line. is there.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating drum 1e Front end opening 1g Rear end opening 5 Spray nozzle unit 5a Spray nozzle 20 Airflow guide plate 30 Chamber member 30a Air supply chamber 32 Airflow guide plate 40 Air supply chamber 43 Airflow swirl 51 Airflow swivel A1 Air supply A2 Air supply part S Granule layer S1 Surface layer part V Vertical plane including axis of rotating drum

Claims (6)

A granular material to be processed is accommodated inside, a rotary drum that is rotationally driven around its axis, a casing that accommodates the rotary drum, a chamber provided at the front end of the casing, and the interior of the rotary drum A spray nozzle unit having one or a plurality of spray nozzles for spraying a spray liquid on the granular layer, and an opening provided in at least the front end portion of the front end portion and the rear end portion in the axial direction of the rotating drum. In a coating apparatus comprising an air supply unit for supplying a processing gas to the inside of the rotating drum via
The air supply unit for supplying a processing gas to the inside of the rotary drum through a front end opening provided at the front end of the rotary drum is provided in an air flow guide plate disposed in the chamber and the chamber. A passage portion for guiding the processing gas supplied through the air supply duct to the airflow guide plate,
Ascending upward side of the granular material layer inclined by an upward gradient by rotation of the rotating drum, the upper side is inclined, and the opposite side is the inclined lower side,
The airflow guide plate guides the processing gas guided through the passage, and the processing gas is above the powder layer and to the spray nozzle unit. The coating apparatus is characterized in that the flow of the processing gas is controlled so as to flow toward the space in the rotating drum on the lower side of the inclination.   The air flow guide plate is disposed at a position corresponding to a region on the rear side in the rotation direction with respect to a vertical plane including an axis of the rotary drum in the range of the front end opening. 2. The coating apparatus according to 1.   An air supply unit is further provided for supplying a processing gas to the inside of the rotary drum via a rear end opening provided at the rear end of the rotary drum, and the air supply unit includes the rear end opening. And an air flow guide plate disposed in the air supply chamber, the air flow guide plate guiding the processing gas supplied to the air supply chamber, and the processing gas Of the processing gas so as to flow toward the space in the rotating drum that is above the powder layer and on the inclined lower side of the powder layer with respect to the spray nozzle unit. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow is controlled. The airflow guide plate provided in the air supply chamber on the rear end opening side is formed of a semicircular plate member having an arc portion and a side portion, and the arc portion is a member constituting the air supply chamber. Along the inner peripheral surface of the rotating drum, the side portion is predetermined with respect to a vertical plane including the axis of the rotating drum so as to be inclined to the same side as the granular material layer inclined with an upward gradient by the rotation of the rotating drum. The coating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the coating apparatus is disposed in a posture inclined at an angle.   The spray nozzle of the spray nozzle unit sprays the spray liquid at a position on the outer diameter side of the diameter of the front end opening and on the front side in the rotation direction with respect to the vertical plane including the axis of the rotating drum. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   6. The coating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the spray nozzle of the spray nozzle unit sprays a spray liquid vertically downward with respect to a surface layer portion of the granular material layer.

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