Coating apparatus – Immersion or work-confined pool type – Work-confined pool
Patent
1995-05-02
1997-01-14
Alexander, Lyle A.
Coating apparatus
Immersion or work-confined pool type
Work-confined pool
118303, 118423, B01F 522
Patent
active
055935010
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for coating small solid particles with a solidifying layer derived from a liquid, where the solid particles and the liquid are supplied axially from one side into a rotating disk-like turbine that is set into rotation via a drive shaft projecting from the side opposite the supply side.
Devices of this type have been known, for example, from EP 0 048 312 A1. In the case of these arrangements, the liquid content, normally formed by the melt of a material that is solid at room temperature, is fed into the system from above through a pipe extending along the axis of the turbine. The solid particles are fed onto the rotating disk via a hopper surrounding the pipe. As a result of the centrifugal force, a fog formed by the liquid is produced at the outer edge of the disk, and the solid particles are guided through this fog before they are spun off to the outside. During this process, the particles are covered by a layer of the liquid, which is then cooled so as to solidify.
The known device does not provide the possibility to heat the turbine to a controlled temperature. However, as it may be important under certain circumstances to heat the melt to an exactly controlled temperature before it emerges from the draw gap, because its viscosity characteristics can be influenced in this way, it is not always easy with the known devices to adhere to and maintain the desired melt temperature in the turbine.
This situation is aggravated by the fact that in the case of the known device the turbine rotates in a housing which also accommodates the turbine shaft bearings. There exists a gap between the housing and the rotating turbine extends into the bearing space. The packing provided in this gap does not in all cases suffice to prevent any product, especially such of a liquid nature, that may collect at the edge of the housing, radially outside the turbine, from settling down.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to improve a device of the before-mentioned type in such a way that heating of the rotating turbine to an exactly controlled temperature is rendered possible in order to enable the coating process to be effected under defined conditions.
The invention provides, for a device of the before-mentioned type, in which the turbine body can be heated in a controlled way through the drive shaft. Due to this design, it is now possible to obtain the desired controlled temperature at the very point where it is important for the coating process.
According to a further development of the invention, the drive shaft may be designed as a hollow shaft accommodating the supply and return lines for a heating agent which circulates through heating channels that are uniformly distributed in the turbine body. In this case, it is provided according to a further development of the invention that these heating channels run in a star-like pattern from the axis of rotation of the turbine body to the outside and back to the center. A supply pipe for a heating agent, effecting the supply of the heating agent to the turbine body, is guided in the hollow shaft in such a way as to rotate with the hollow shaft. The return of the heating agent takes place through the gap formed in the hollow body surrounding the supply pipe.
This design enables a heating agent to be supplied and carried off in a simple way. However, it also requires that the supply pipe, which rotates together with the hollow shaft, must be sealed relative to the stationary housing. This is achieved in a particularly advantageous way by the fact that the lower end of the supply pipe is guided in a stationary packing sleeve, and is sealed relative to the inside of the sleeve by a labyrinth packing. Further, the supply pipe is guided on its inside on a stationary pipe connection and is sealed relative to the stationary pipe by another labyrinth packing. It has been found that a particularly good sealing effect is achieved in this way when the supply pipe rotates together with the t
REFERENCES:
patent: 2944284 (1957-10-01), Tillotson et al.
patent: 3409712 (1966-07-01), Chisholm
patent: 4326480 (1982-04-01), Glatt
Kleinhans Matthias
Konig Axel
Michelic Janez
Alexander Lyle A.
Santrade Ltd.
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