Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Formation of solid particulate material directly from molten... – Utilizing centrifugal force or rotating forming zone
Patent
1989-12-26
1991-05-07
Thurlow, Jeffery
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Formation of solid particulate material directly from molten...
Utilizing centrifugal force or rotating forming zone
264164, 264 37, 425 6, 425217, 425377, 4253823, 425DIG13, 4253781, B29B 900, B29C 6702
Patent
active
050134981
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing pastilles.
A method and apparatus of this type has been previously known from German Patents No. 28 53 054 and No. 29 41 802 which, in turn, correspond to U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,579. In the case of these known concepts, the viscous mass is guided in tubular bodies which are designed in such a manner that, due to a certain overpressure prevailing inside the rotating tubular bodies, the mass is extruded downwardly in the form of drops every time the holes of the two tubular bodies come into alignment with each other. The drops so formed fall onto a cooling conveyor, where they are flattened a little through their own weight, and solidify thereafter to form the desired, as a rule substantially lentil-shaped, pastilles.
This way of producing pastilles, which is dependant on the formation of drops, requires that the passage openings in the outer rotating tubular body have certain minimum diameters. Consequently, the size of the pastilles that can be produced is limited, at the lower end of the scale.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide a method of the type described above which enables considerably smaller pastilles, so-called micropastilles, to be produced without much more input.
It is proposed to achieve this object of the invention by a method which departs from the production method used heretofore, which was based on the formation of drops. In contrast, the individual drop-like quantities which later solidify to form the micropastilles are produced by bringing the mass, which penetrates through the openings, intermittently into contact with a contact surface which acts to draw the mass particles forcedly out of the openings due to their inherent viscosity while the mass particles collectively constitute a drop in a stable state. Stability as defined in Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, pps. 959-960, is the physical state of a drop which has not exceeded a certain size at which the drop detaches itself and falls of its own accord. The individual mass portions can be metered out by opening and closing corresponding passage openings, or else by a corresponding movement of a conveyor surface which is first moved toward the partial quantities emerging from the corresponding openings, and then moved away from the latter intermittently. The use of the novel method according to the invention, therefore, enables considerably smaller pastilles--so-called micropastilles--to be produced in an economic manner. It is, therefore, also possible to use known rotating tubular bodies for carrying out the method according to the invention. It has been found that the number of nozzles and openings to be arranged in the outer rotary tubular body can be much higher than in the case of the known designs, without the risk of stoppage of the production flow. It has become possible in this manner, in spite of the possibility to produce small pastilles, to keep the output volume of the new apparatus substantially in the same range that could be achieved by the known apparatuses, where drops were formed from the substances to be processed. It is to be assumed that the apparatus according to the invention can be used only if the products belong to a higher viscosity range, for example from 1000 cP onwards. The viscosity is adjusted in the conventional manner, normally by controlling the temperature of the agent to be processed. The rotoformer is provided with corresponding heating means.
Alternatively, however, it is also possible, for carrying out the novel method, to provide containers with outlet openings through which the viscous mass penetrates by gravity and from which the mass is picked up and pulled off by a surface of a conveyor belt or a cooling roll which is moved toward the outlet openings.
Certain advantageous developments of the subject-matter of the invention are a solution to the thread-drawing problem which may be encountered in connection with the apparatus ac
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Santrade Ltd.
Thurlow Jeffery
Vargot Mathieu
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