JP3210360B2 - Seamless capsule manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for manufacturing a seamless capsule, and more particularly to an apparatus for manufacturing a seamless capsule manufactured by droplets formed by ejecting a liquid stream from a nozzle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a technique for manufacturing a spherical seamless capsule by vibrating a liquid flow flowing out of a nozzle into a liquid droplet by vibrating at least the surface of the liquid droplet, a flow rate of a liquid flowing out and a flow rate of a curing liquid are determined. It has been found that it is preferable in terms of the shape of the generated droplets that the difference between them is small and desirably equal to each other.

For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-8875 discloses the control of the flow rate of a curing liquid, which does not use the vibration to form droplets, but rather controls the flow rate of the curing liquid rather than the outflow velocity of the effluent. A method of obtaining droplets by increasing the flow velocity of a liquid and extending and cutting off the effluent flow, and it has been considered that if the formation of the droplets is achieved by vibration, it is unnecessary to adjust the flow velocity of the curing liquid. .

[0004]

By the way, the shape of the droplet becomes defective if there is a difference in flow velocity between the outflow liquid and the curing liquid. In particular, those which cure quickly have a remarkable occurrence of such defects. Therefore, the smaller the flow velocity difference is, the better, and the constant velocity is desirable.

Since the flow rate of the effluent varies depending on the kind and size of the seamless capsule to be obtained, it is necessary to adjust the flow rate of the curing liquid.

The adjusting method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-8 / 1976.
The simplest method is to use an apparatus such as that described in Japanese Patent No. 875, but if the effluent level is raised to reduce the flow rate, the height difference between the separator for separating the capsule and the hardening liquid and the effluent level Have become too large, the seamless capsule may be broken on a receiving surface such as the mesh of the separator, and the inventors have found that the curing liquid and the seamless capsule scatter from the separator.

To prevent this, extending the outflow pipe downward would increase the head difference, and it was also found by the present inventors that it was meaningless.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of arbitrarily adjusting the flow rate of a curing liquid and producing a seamless capsule capable of forming droplets having a desired spherical shape.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of arbitrarily adjusting the flow rate of a curing liquid and producing a seamless capsule capable of forming droplets having a desired spherical shape.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of producing a seamless capsule without breaking or scattering it.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

That is, in one seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, a liquid stream flowing out of a nozzle is formed into droplets by vibration, and at least a surface portion of the droplets is cured to manufacture a spherical seamless capsule. The flow rate of the curing liquid flowing through the flow path is adjusted by the difference in liquid level between the inflow part and the outflow part of the flow path of the curing liquid, and the liquid surface of the outflow part and the seamless capsule are cured. The height difference between the separator and the separator for separating from the working liquid is maintained substantially constant, and the outflow portions are vertically movable relative to each other with respect to the other flow path portions and are fitted so as to be sealable. It is formed by a curved tube formed.

[0014]

[0015]

According to the above-mentioned seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the flow rate of the curing liquid can be adjusted by the difference in liquid level between the inlet and the outlet of the flow path of the curing liquid. Since the difference in height between the liquid level of the outflow portion and the separator is kept substantially constant, the flow rate of the curing liquid can be arbitrarily adjusted, and a desired spherical seamless capsule can be obtained. The capsule can be manufactured, and the breakage and scattering of the seamless capsule can be prevented.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a submerged nozzle type seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus in a state where an outflow portion of a flow path and a separator are lowered. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state in which a flow path and a separator in the apparatus of FIG.

In the apparatus for manufacturing a seamless capsule in a liquid submerged nozzle shown in FIG. 1, a core liquid (inner layer liquid) 1 for forming a seamless capsule is stored in a core liquid tank 2 and covers the core liquid 1. The coating liquid (outer liquid) 3 is stored in a coating liquid tank 4.

The core liquid 1 is pumped from the core liquid tank 2 via the pipe 6 to the multiple nozzle 7 by the pump 5, while the coating liquid 3 is pumped from the coating liquid tank 4 via the pipe 9 by the pump 8. The pressure is sent to the nozzle 7.

The multi-nozzle 7 is inserted into an inlet portion of the flow pipe 11, that is, an inflow portion 11 A of the curing liquid 10, and mixes the core liquid 1 and the coating liquid 3 with the curing liquid 10 in the flow pipe 11. It is configured to squirt in to produce a multilayer droplet.

The curing liquid 10 cools and cures the generated multilayer droplets to form a seamless capsule SC.

The flow tube 11 of this embodiment is formed as a bent cylinder, and has a substantially J-shaped inflow portion 11A and a fitting portion 11A.
C, and is formed by an inverted J-shaped outflow portion 11B which is slidably and sealably nested with the inflow portion 11A. Therefore, as described later, the flow path tube 11 is configured such that the inflow portion 11A and the outflow portion 11B can move relative to each other in the up-down direction in the fitting portion 11C, and in particular, in the present embodiment, the outflow portion 11B moves up and down. Have been.

A substantially funnel-shaped separator 12 is provided below the outlet end of the outflow portion 11B of the flow pipe 11. The separator 12 separates the seamless capsule SC and the curing liquid 10 which have flowed out together from the flow pipe 11 from each other. Inside the separator, the seamless capsule SC is not passed, and only the curing liquid 10 is passed. A mesh 13 to be passed is stretched.

The separator 12 is moved up and down by a driving source 14, for example, a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder, or a motor together with the outflow portion 11B of the flow path pipe 11. That is, a part of the outlet portion 11B of the flow pipe 11 is connected to the connecting rod 11D, while the separator 12 is connected to the connecting rod 12A, and these connecting rods 11D and 12A are connected to each other by the connecting member 15. And
The connecting member 15 is connected to a part of the drive source 14, for example, a piston rod of an air cylinder.

Therefore, when the driving source 14 is driven and, for example, the piston rod of the air cylinder is vertically reciprocated, the outflow portion 11B of the flow pipe 11 and the separator 12 are connected to the connecting member 15 and each connecting rod 11D. , 12A together by an equal distance.

Thus, the height difference Δh between the liquid surface of the inflow portion 11A and the liquid surface of the outflow portion 11B of the flow pipe 11 is variably adjusted, and the flow rate of the curing liquid 10 in the flow pipe 11 is variable. Adjusted.

In addition, the outflow portion 11B of the flow path pipe 11 and the separator 12 move up and down together, so that the liquid level of the hardening liquid 10 at the outflow portion 11B and the separator 12 (particularly, the mesh 13). The height difference is kept constant.

The curing liquid 10 separated from the seamless capsule SC by the separator 12 is collected in a separation tank 16 below.

The small-diameter portion at the lower end of the separator 12 is fitted with the cylindrical portion at the upper end of the separation tank 16.
Is configured so that it does not come off the separation tank 16 even if the vertical movement occurs.

The curing liquid 10 in the separation tank 16 is pumped by a pump 19 to a cooling tank 21 via a pipe 20. The curing liquid 10 in the cooling tank 21 is cooled to a predetermined temperature by a cooler 22,
Is returned into the flow path tube 11.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

Since the apparatus for producing a seamless capsule in this embodiment has a submerged nozzle type structure,
Is inserted into the inlet of a flow path tube 11 that forms a flow path for supplying the curing liquid 10, and ejects the core liquid 1 and the coating liquid 3 into the liquid, and the latter covers the entire periphery of the former. It is configured to be.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the multiple nozzles 7
The core liquid 1 and the coating liquid 3 ejected from the liquid are formed as multilayer droplets in the curing liquid 10 in the flow pipe 11, and are cooled by the action of the curing liquid 10 as they flow through the flow pipe 11. It is cured and formed as a seamless capsule SC.

Then, the seamless capsule SC thus formed flows down together with the curing liquid 10 onto the mesh 13 of the separator 12 from the outlet end of the outflow portion 11B of the flow path tube 11, and flows through the mesh 13 It is separated from the curing liquid 10 and the curing liquid 10 passes through the mesh 13 and is collected in the separation tank 16.

On the other hand, when the seamless capsules SC collected on the mesh 13 reach an appropriate amount later, they are collected in a product collection container (not shown) in a batch manner.

In this embodiment, when adjusting the difference Δh in the liquid level between the inflow portion 11A and the outflow portion 11B of the flow pipe 11, the outflow section 11B of the flow pipe 11 is driven by the drive source 14 to form the inflow section 11h. 11A, the flow rate of the hardening liquid 10 in the flow path tube 11 can be adjusted so that the difference Δh in the liquid level between the lower position in FIG. 1 and the upper position in FIG. By changing it, it is possible to arbitrarily adjust the position.

In this embodiment, the outflow portion 11B of the flow pipe 11 and the separator 12 are moved up and down by the same distance together, so that the surface of the curing liquid 10 at the outflow portion 11B and the separator 12
And the height difference is kept constant.

Therefore, the seamless capsule SC in the present embodiment always has a desired spherical shape, and the seamless capsule SC can be prevented from being broken or scattered.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the outflow portion 11B of the flow path pipe 11 and the separator 12 are formed integrally with each other by connecting rods 11D and 12A and a connecting member 15 to form an integral structure. Drive source 1 such as a fluid pressure cylinder with its structure
4, the outflow portion 11B and the separator 12 are always moved up and down by the same distance, and the structure is simple and inexpensive.

As described above, the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. Needless to say.

For example, the multi-nozzle may be a triple nozzle or the like in addition to the double nozzle, and the vibration method required for generating the multi-layer droplets may be a ring vibration method or a tube vibration method in addition to the nozzle vibration method. Various things such as methods can be used.
Of course, a single nozzle that ejects droplets of only one layer may be used instead of the multiple nozzles.

The components of the inner layer and the outer layer of the multilayer droplet of the seamless capsule are optional.

Further, the structure of the flow passage tube and the structure of the vertical movement mechanism of the flow passage tube and the separator may be other structures. For example, a structure in which the flow pipe and the separator are separately moved up and down synchronously by an equal amount may be used.

The curing of the droplets may be performed by a reactive curing method in addition to cooling and curing.

[0044]

Advantageous effects obtained by typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

(1) An apparatus for producing a spherical seamless capsule by vibrating a liquid stream flowing out of a nozzle into liquid droplets and curing at least a surface portion of the liquid droplets,
Along with adjusting the flow rate of the curing liquid flowing through the flow path by the difference in liquid level between the inflow part and the outflow part of the curing liquid flow path,
The height difference between the liquid level of the outflow portion and the separator that separates the seamless capsule from the curing liquid is configured to be substantially constant, and the outflow portion is vertically moved relative to other flow path portions. Is formed by a curved tube fitted so as to be relatively movable and sealable in the direction, so that the flow rate of the curing liquid in the flow path can be adjusted to an optimal value, and a seamless capsule having a desired spherical shape can be obtained. Can be manufactured.

(2) According to the above (1), since the difference between the level of the curing liquid at the outlet of the flow path and the height of the separator is substantially constant, the liquid flows down onto the separator. The seamless capsule can be prevented from being broken or scattered.

(3) The device of the present invention has advantages such as simple structure and low cost.

[0048]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing one embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a submerged nozzle type seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus in a state where an outlet of a flow channel pipe and a separator are lowered.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a state where an outflow part and a separator are raised.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Core liquid (Inner liquid) 2 Core liquid tank 3 Coating liquid (Outer liquid) 4 Coating liquid tank 5 Pump 6 Pipeline 7 Multiple nozzles 8 Pump 9 Pipeline 10 Curing liquid 11 Flow path pipe (flow path) 11A Inflow section 11B Outflow section 11C Fitting section 11D Connecting rod 12 Separator 12A Connecting rod 13 Mesh 14 Drive source 15 Connecting member 16 Separation tank 19 Pump 20 Pipe 21 Cooling tank 22 Cooler 23 Pump 24 Pipe SC Seamless capsule

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An apparatus for manufacturing a spherical seamless capsule by vibrating a liquid flow that has flowed out of a nozzle into liquid droplets by vibrating at least a surface portion of the liquid droplets, wherein a flow rate of a curing liquid flowing through a flow path is provided. Is adjusted by the difference in liquid level between the inflow part and the outflow part of the flow path of the curing liquid, and the height of the liquid surface of the outflow part and the height of the separator for separating the seamless capsule from the curing liquid are adjusted. The outlet is configured to keep the difference substantially constant, and the outflow portion is vertically
In a curved tube that is fitted to be able to move and seal
An apparatus for manufacturing a seamless capsule, comprising: 2. The liquid flow flowing out of the nozzle is changed by vibration.
Into a droplet, and at least the surface of the droplet is cured
An apparatus for producing spherical seamless capsules.
The flow rate of the curing liquid flowing through the passage is determined by the inflow portion of the curing liquid flow path.
The height difference between the liquid level and
Separate the liquid level at the outlet and the seamless capsule from the curing liquid.
So that the difference in height with the separator to be separated is kept substantially constant
The outflow part of the flow path of the curing liquid is formed in another flow path part.
Curved tubes slidably and sealably fitted to each other
A seamless capsule manufacturing apparatus characterized by being formed by: