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特開2023-39923回転式プレスのキャビティに充てんするための充てん装置、回転式プレス、及び粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステム
(19)【発行国】日本国特許庁(JP)
(12)【公報種別】公開特許公報(A)
(11)【公開番号】P2023039923
(43)【公開日】2023-03-22
(54)【発明の名称】回転式プレスのキャビティに充てんするための充てん装置、回転式プレス、及び粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステム
(51)【国際特許分類】
B30B 11/08 20060101AFI20230314BHJP
B30B 11/02 20060101ALI20230314BHJP
【ＦＩ】
B30B11/08 A
B30B11/02 F
【審査請求】有
【請求項の数】16
【出願形態】ＯＬ
【外国語出願】
(21)【出願番号】P 2022133527
(22)【出願日】2022-08-24
(31)【優先権主張番号】10 2021 123 339.9
(32)【優先日】2021-09-09
(33)【優先権主張国・地域又は機関】DE
(71)【出願人】
【識別番号】513277289
【氏名又は名称】フェッテ コンパクティング ゲーエムベーハー
(74)【代理人】
【識別番号】100080182
【弁理士】
【氏名又は名称】渡辺 三彦
(74)【代理人】
【識別番号】100142572
【弁理士】
【氏名又は名称】水内 龍介
(72)【発明者】
【氏名】ヤン ネーヴ
(72)【発明者】
【氏名】シュテファン リューデマン
(72)【発明者】
【氏名】スヴェン コルベ
(72)【発明者】
【氏名】フランク シェイド
(57)【要約】 （修正有）
【課題】タブレットプレスにおいて、大量生産に適し、充填材料の特性への影響が小さい充填装置を提案する。
【解決手段】充てん装置７８において、円形経路に沿って配置された充てん材料を受け入れるための複数のコンベヤポケットを備え、回転駆動装置によって鉛直方向（１１６）に対して角度（α）で配置された回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転可能なコンベヤホイールが前記充てんチャンバ（８０）内に配置され、前記コンベヤホイールが前記回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転されるときに、前記コンベヤポケットが前記入口開口部（１０６）を伝って及び前記出口開口部（１２４）を伝って回転することで、前記コンベヤポケットに受け入れられた充てん材料が前記入口開口部（１０６）から前記出口開口部（１２４）に搬送されることを特徴とする充てん装置、また回転式プレス及び粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステム。
【選択図】図５
【解決手段】充てん装置７８において、円形経路に沿って配置された充てん材料を受け入れるための複数のコンベヤポケットを備え、回転駆動装置によって鉛直方向（１１６）に対して角度（α）で配置された回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転可能なコンベヤホイールが前記充てんチャンバ（８０）内に配置され、前記コンベヤホイールが前記回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転されるときに、前記コンベヤポケットが前記入口開口部（１０６）を伝って及び前記出口開口部（１２４）を伝って回転することで、前記コンベヤポケットに受け入れられた充てん材料が前記入口開口部（１０６）から前記出口開口部（１２４）に搬送されることを特徴とする充てん装置、また回転式プレス及び粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステム。
【選択図】図５
【特許請求の範囲】
【請求項1】
充てん材料が充てんチャンバ（８０）に入る入口開口部（１０６）及び充てん材料が回転式プレス（１０）のキャビティ（６４）に出る出口開口部（１２４）を備えた前記充てんチャンバ（８０）を備える、前記回転式プレス（１０）の前記キャビティ（６４）を充てんするための充てん装置であって、
円形経路に沿って配置された充てん材料を受け入れるための複数のコンベヤポケット（１２０）を備え、回転駆動装置によって鉛直方向（１１６）に対して角度（α）で配置された回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転可能なコンベヤホイール（１１４）が前記充てんチャンバ（８０）内に配置され、前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）が前記回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転されるときに、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）が前記入口開口部（１０６）を伝って及び前記出口開口部（１２４）を伝って回転することで、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）に受け入れられた充てん材料が前記入口開口部（１０６）から前記出口開口部（１２４）に搬送されることを特徴とする、充てん装置。
円形経路に沿って配置された充てん材料を受け入れるための複数のコンベヤポケット（１２０）を備え、回転駆動装置によって鉛直方向（１１６）に対して角度（α）で配置された回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転可能なコンベヤホイール（１１４）が前記充てんチャンバ（８０）内に配置され、前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）が前記回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転されるときに、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）が前記入口開口部（１０６）を伝って及び前記出口開口部（１２４）を伝って回転することで、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）に受け入れられた充てん材料が前記入口開口部（１０６）から前記出口開口部（１２４）に搬送されることを特徴とする、充てん装置。
【請求項2】
前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）が、前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）の外周部に配置されることを特徴とする、請求項１に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項3】
前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）が前記回転軸（１１８）を中心に回転するときに、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）が、前記入口開口部（１０６）の下方及び前記出口開口部（１２４）の上方で回転することを特徴とする、請求項２に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項4】
前記入口開口部（１０６）が前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）の最も高い位置に配置され、前記出口開口部（１２４）が前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）の最も低い位置に配置されることを特徴とする、請求項１～３のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項5】
前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）は、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）の上側及び前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）の下側がそれぞれ開いていることを特徴とする、請求項１～４のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項6】
前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）が複数の側壁（１２２）を有し、隣接する前記側壁（１２２）が、隣接する前記側壁間にコンベヤポケット（１２０）をそれぞれ画定することを特徴とする、請求項１～５のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項7】
前記充てんチャンバ（８０）の上側がカバー（１１０）を有し、前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）と前記カバー（１１０）との間の距離が、５ｍｍ未満、好ましくは２ｍｍ未満、さらに好ましくは最大１ｍｍであることを特徴とする、請求項１～６のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項8】
前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）と前記充てんチャンバ（８０）の基部（１１２）との間の距離が、５ｍｍ未満、好ましくは２ｍｍ未満、さらに好ましくは１ｍｍ未満であることを特徴とする、請求項１～７のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項9】
前記充てんチャンバ（８０）の基部（１１２）が、少なくとも前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）によって掃引される領域において、回転軸（１１８）に垂直な平面に対して傾斜して設計されていることを特徴とする、請求項１～８のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項10】
前記充てんチャンバ（８０）の前記基部（１１２）が、少なくとも前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）によって前記掃引される領域において、円錐形に設計されることを特徴とする、請求項９に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項11】
前記充てんチャンバ（８０）の前記基部（１１２）が、中央領域において、前記回転軸（１１８）に対して垂直に設計されることを特徴とする、請求項１～１０のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項12】
前記コンベヤホイール（１１４）が、前記回転軸（１１８）を中心とした回転中に、前記コンベヤポケット（１２０）内に配置された充てん材料を遠心力によって前記出口開口部（１２４）に搬送するように設計されていることを特徴とする、請求項１～１１のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項13】
前記入口開口部（１０６）から前記出口開口部（１２４）への前記充てん材料の搬送経路は、前記充てん材料の流れ方向の各方向転換が９０°未満であるような搬送経路であることを特徴とする、請求項１～１２のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項14】
前記回転駆動装置を制御することによって、前記キャビティ（６４）に充てん材料を充てんするときに前記キャビティ（６４）に供給される充てん材料の量及び／又は充てん圧力を制御するように設計された制御装置（１０４）が設けられることを特徴とする、請求項１～１３のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置。
【請求項15】
回転式プレス（１０）であって、
回転ロータ駆動装置によって回転可能なロータを備え、前記ロータが、前記回転式プレス（１０）の上側プレスパンチ（６８）用の上側パンチガイド（６６）と、前記回転式プレス（１０）の下側プレスパンチ（７２）用の下側パンチガイド（７０）と、前記パンチガイド（６６，７０）間に配置されたダイプレート（６２）とを有し、前記プレスパンチ（６８，７２）が前記ダイプレート（６２）のキャビティ（６４）と相互作用し、
圧縮対象の充てん材料を前記ダイプレート（６２）の前記キャビティ（６４）に充てんする、請求項１～１４のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置（７８）をさらに備え、
作動中に前記上側プレスパンチ（６８）及び前記下側プレスパンチ（７２）と相互作用して前記ダイプレート（６２）の前記キャビティ（６４）内の前記充てん材料を圧縮してペレットを成形する少なくとも１つの上側プレス装置（８６）及び少なくとも１つの下側プレス装置（８７）をさらに備え、
前記キャビティ（６４）で生成された前記ペレットを前記回転式プレス（１０）から排出する排出装置（９６）を備える、回転式プレス。
回転ロータ駆動装置によって回転可能なロータを備え、前記ロータが、前記回転式プレス（１０）の上側プレスパンチ（６８）用の上側パンチガイド（６６）と、前記回転式プレス（１０）の下側プレスパンチ（７２）用の下側パンチガイド（７０）と、前記パンチガイド（６６，７０）間に配置されたダイプレート（６２）とを有し、前記プレスパンチ（６８，７２）が前記ダイプレート（６２）のキャビティ（６４）と相互作用し、
圧縮対象の充てん材料を前記ダイプレート（６２）の前記キャビティ（６４）に充てんする、請求項１～１４のいずれか一項に記載の充てん装置（７８）をさらに備え、
作動中に前記上側プレスパンチ（６８）及び前記下側プレスパンチ（７２）と相互作用して前記ダイプレート（６２）の前記キャビティ（６４）内の前記充てん材料を圧縮してペレットを成形する少なくとも１つの上側プレス装置（８６）及び少なくとも１つの下側プレス装置（８７）をさらに備え、
前記キャビティ（６４）で生成された前記ペレットを前記回転式プレス（１０）から排出する排出装置（９６）を備える、回転式プレス。
【請求項16】
粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステムであって、
粉末製品用の少なくとも２つのシステム入口（２０，２２，２４）と、前記粉末製品を連続的に混合するためのミキサ（３６）とを備え、前記ミキサ（３６）が前記少なくとも２つのシステム入口（２０，２２、２４）に接続された少なくとも１つのミキサ入口（３４）を有し、前記ミキサ（３６）が前記粉末製品から混合された充てん材料のためのミキサ出口（４０）を有し、
前記充てん材料を連続的に加工して前記ペレットを形成するための請求項１５に記載の回転式プレス（１０）をさらに備え、前記回転式プレス（１０）が、前記ミキサ出口（４０）に接続されたプレス入口（５０）及び前記回転式プレス（１０）で生成された前記ペレット用のプレス出口（５６）を有する、システム。
粉末製品用の少なくとも２つのシステム入口（２０，２２，２４）と、前記粉末製品を連続的に混合するためのミキサ（３６）とを備え、前記ミキサ（３６）が前記少なくとも２つのシステム入口（２０，２２、２４）に接続された少なくとも１つのミキサ入口（３４）を有し、前記ミキサ（３６）が前記粉末製品から混合された充てん材料のためのミキサ出口（４０）を有し、
前記充てん材料を連続的に加工して前記ペレットを形成するための請求項１５に記載の回転式プレス（１０）をさらに備え、前記回転式プレス（１０）が、前記ミキサ出口（４０）に接続されたプレス入口（５０）及び前記回転式プレス（１０）で生成された前記ペレット用のプレス出口（５６）を有する、システム。
【発明の詳細な説明】
【技術分野】
【0001】
本発明は、回転式プレスのキャビティに充てんするための充てん装置に関し、充てん材料が充てんチャンバに入る入口開口部と、充てん材料が回転式プレスのキャビティに出る出口開口部とを備えた充てんチャンバを備える。本発明はまた、回転式プレスと、粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステムとに関するものでもある。
【背景技術】
【0002】
回転式プレスでは、一般に、ペレット、例えば錠剤、を成形するために、粉末状の充てん材料がダイプレートのキャビティ内で上側パンチと下側パンチによって圧縮される。充てん材料は充てん装置によってキャビティに供給される。例えば、３チャンバ充てん装置、フィードシュー、又は多段階充てんシステムなど、様々なタイプの充てん装置が知られている。特に、高い量的処理能力、したがって回転式プレスの高生産量、を達成する充てん装置が広く使用されている。これにより、特に経済的な製造が達成される。充てん装置は、例えば、欧州特許第２０６５１７４号明細書（特許文献１）又は独国特許第１０２０１６１１０５５６号明細書（特許文献２）から周知である。
【0003】
一般的な充てん装置の構造は概して類似している。通常、充てん装置は、例えば重力によって、充てん材料が充てんされる充てんチャンバを有する。供給管内の粉末カラムが充てんチャンバ上に垂直に立っている。充てんチャンバ内には、撹拌羽根を備えた１つ以上の撹拌羽根車が配置されている。撹拌羽根車を回転させることによって充てん材料が充てんチャンバ内に分散され、材料の蓄積又はブリッジングが防止されるはずである。次いで、充てん材料は、充てんチャンバの出口開口部を介してキャビティに入る。これは重力によっても起こる。ペレットを成形するためにキャビティ内で充てん材料が加工される。
【0004】
特開２０１８－１９２５１７号公報（特許文献３）から、充てん材料のための通路部を備え、その基部が出口の方向に傾斜している充てん装置も知られている。これは、重力による粉末の搬送をさらに改善することを意図したものである。通路部には、粉末の流れを改善するために粉末状の充てん材料を撹拌する回転ミキサブレードが配置されている。
【0005】
上記で説明した充てん装置は、特にタブレットプレスの打錠アウトプットの観点から良好な結果を示す。しかしながら、錠剤製造における連続製造方法の普及拡大に伴い、もはや打錠アウトプットのみが最優先ではない。代わりに、初期製品からバッチリリースまでの全体的な付加価値プロセスが考慮及び評価されるべきである。特に、製品ロットのリアルタイムリリースでは、仕様に対応しないパッケージを排出できるようにするために、製品フロー内の個々の製品パッケージの位置をいつでも確認及び予測できることが要求される。この場合、回転式プレスの充てん装置が特定の役割を果たす。この公知の充てん装置では、充てん材料は充てんチャンバ内での滞留時間が長い。撹拌羽根車又はミキサブレードによる充てん材料の撹拌により、充てんチャンバ内で、充てん材料の、通常は円形の水平分布が生じる。長い滞留時間と組み合わさった充てんチャンバ内での充てん材料のこの撹拌により、特定の場所や時間への製品パッケージの割当ての確実性が損なわれる。充てんチャンバ内の充てん材料の滞留時間に加え、上記は充てん装置からの排出シーケンスにも当てはまる。
【0006】
撹拌羽根又はミキサブレードはまた、充てん装置内の充てん材料の望ましくない予圧縮を引き起こす可能性があり、粉末状の充てん材料の構造が、例えば細砕されるなどの悪影響を受ける可能性がある。同時に、充てん装置が大量生産に向けて検討され得るように、十分な処理量が達成されるべきである。
【先行技術文献】
【特許文献】
【0007】
【特許文献1】欧州特許第２０６５１７４号明細書
【特許文献2】独国特許第１０２０１６１１０５５６号明細書
【特許文献3】特開２０１８－１９２５１７号公報
【発明の概要】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
【0008】
したがって、説明された従来技術から出発して、本発明の目的は、上述の欠点を回避し得る上述のタイプの、充てん装置並びに回転式プレス及びシステムを提供することである。詳細には、大量生産に適し、充てん材料の特性への影響が可能な限り小さいものでありながら、それと同時に、充てん装置内の製品パッケージの進み具合をより良好に追跡できるべきである。
【課題を解決するための手段】
【0009】
本発明は、独立請求項１の主題によってその目的を達成する。有利な実施形態は、従属請求項、明細書、及び図面に開示されている。
【0010】
上述のタイプの充てん装置の場合、本発明はこの目的を、回転駆動装置によって垂直線に対してある角度で配置された回転軸を中心に回転可能なコンベヤホイールが充てんチャンバ内に配置され、コンベヤホイールがその回転軸を中心に回転されるときに、コンベヤポケットが入口開口部を伝って及び出口開口部を伝って回転し、それによってコンベヤポケットに受け入れられた充てん材料が入口開口部から前記出口開口部に搬送されることで達成する。
【0011】
既に説明したように、充てん装置は、回転式プレス、特に回転式タブレットプレス、のキャビティに充てんする役割を担う。キャビティは、回転式プレスのロータのダイプレート内に設計され得る。充てん装置は、入口開口部を備えた充てんチャンバを備え、該入口開口部を介して充てん材料が充てんチャンバに入る。充てん材料は粉末であり得る。充てん材料はまた、複数の成分、例えば、少なくとも１の医薬品有効成分（ＡＰＩ）と少なくとも１の賦形剤、で構成される材料混合物であり得る。充てん装置は充てん管を備えることができ、該充てん管の出口は充てんチャンバの入口開口部に接続され、該充てん管を通って充てん材料が重力によって入口開口部に入る。充てん材料は、重力によって入口開口部を介して充てんチャンバに流入することができる。充てんチャンバは出口開口部を有し、該出口開口部を介して充てん材料が回転式プレスのキャビティに流入する。
【0012】
本発明によれば、垂直に対してある角度で配置された回転軸を中心に回転駆動装置によって回転可能なコンベヤホイールが充てんチャンバ内に配置される。コンベヤホイールは、円形経路に沿って配置された、充てん材料を受け入れるための複数のコンベヤポケットを有する。コンベヤホイールがその回転軸を中心に回転するときに、コンベヤポケットは入口開口部を伝って及び出口開口部を伝って回転し、それにより、コンベヤポケット内に受け入れられた充てん材料が、コンベヤホイールによって入口開口部から出口開口部に搬送される。コンベヤホイールの回転軸は、９０°より小さく０°より大きい角度範囲を意味する垂直からの傾斜で配置される。垂直に対する回転軸の角度は、例えば、３０°～６０°の範囲内とすることができる。コンベヤホイールを非水平に配置することによって、入口開口部－出口開口部の直線に沿ったコンベヤホイールの傾斜姿勢が達成される。例えば重力によって充てん材料が入口開口部を介して入ってくるコンベヤポケットは、コンベヤホイールの半径方向外側領域に設計される。コンベヤポケットは、その体積によって定められた量の充てん材料をそれぞれ受け入れ、コンベヤホイールの回転中に、充てん材料を円形経路に沿って入口開口部から出口開口部まで搬送し、そこから充てん材料がキャビティに入る。充てんチャンバの上側はカバーによって閉じられている。コンベヤホイールは充てんチャンバの基部の上で回転する。例えば、充てん材料を入口開口部に供給するための充てん管を、このようなカバーを通して案内することができる。コンベヤホイールのための回転駆動装置は、例えば、電気モータとすることができる。
【0013】
本発明によれば、入口開口部に入る充てん材料の流れは、コンベヤポケットの体積に対応する体積パケットに分割され、次いで、コンベヤポケットによって、特に能動的及び規定された方法で出口開口部に搬送される。コンベヤポケットによる入口開口部から出口開口部への充てん材料の本発明による能動的搬送を通じて、入口開口部から出口開口部への短い直接経路で充てん材料が搬送される。したがって、充てんチャンバ内の充てん材料の短い滞留時間が達成される。キャビティに充てんされる充てん材料の量は、コンベヤホイールによって直接制御することができ、したがって監視することができる。これは、キャビティ内に充てん材料を搬送する充てん圧力にも当てはまる。対象の方法で充てん材料を輸送することにより、粉末に加わる力が小さくなる。特に、上記で説明した従来技術とは対照的に、充てん材料を緩めて分配するのにミキサブレード等は不要である。これに関連する欠点は回避される。充てん材料、特にコンベヤポケットによって規定されたボリュームパッケージの充てん材料を、コンベヤホイールによって入口開口部から出口開口部まで監視下で能動的に搬送することにより、充てんチャンバを通る充てん材料の輸送の先入れ先出し原則を実現することができる。短い滞留時間と組み合わせて、これにより、１つ以上のボリュームパッケージを含む充てん材料、特に個別の製品パッケージ、の充てん装置内での進み具合を確実に追跡することが可能となる。その結果、回転式プレスで製造されたペレットを特定の充てん材料パッケージに割り当てるのに、充てん装置が妨げとなることはない。本発明では、出口開口部を通過する充てん量は、必ずしも重力のみで決定されるわけではない。その代わり、能動的な充てん材料搬送により、制御の可能性が提供される。従来技術のような充てんチャンバ内の充てん材料の円形水平分布は回避される。これはまた、粉末の滞留（デッドスペース）の危険性を防止する。充てん材料に能動的に作用する力は、出口開口部の方向に作用し、そのため、充てん材料の構造に悪影響を及ぼすことはない。コンベヤポケットによって搬送されるボリュームパッケージのサイズを搬送しやすい程度に小さくするために、複数のコンベヤポケットが設けられる。コンベヤホイールは、例えば、少なくとも６つのコンベヤポケット、さらに好ましくは少なくとも８つのコンベヤポケット、特に８つより多いコンベヤポケットを有することができる。
【0014】
既に説明したように、コンベヤホイールは充てんチャンバの基部の上方で回転する。充てんチャンバの基部の形状は、コンベヤホイールの下側の形状に適合させることができる。例えば、コンベヤホイールの下側と充てんチャンバの基部との間に、全表面範囲にわたって基本的に同じままの距離が存在するような適合が可能である。回転するコンベヤホイールと充てんチャンバの基部との不所望の接触を防止するために、充てんチャンバの基部とコンベヤホイールの下側との間に（小さな）隙間が必ず存在しなければならないので、特定状況下で（少量の）充てん材料がコンベヤポケットに受け入れられずに、入口開口部からより低い高さにある出口開口部に直接流れることが可能である。しかしながら、コンベヤポケットによって搬送されないこの充てん材料の割合は、コンベヤポケットによって搬送される割合と比較して非常に小さい。例えば、搬送材料の９０％超、好ましくは９５％超が、コンベヤポケットによって搬送され得る。したがって、充てんチャンバ内の製品のトレーサビリティが依然として確実にもたらされる。これは、充てんチャンバ内での本発明による特に短い滞留時間に照らしても当てはまる。このため、コンベヤポケットによって入口開口部から出口開口部へ搬送される充てん材料と、入口開口部から出口開口部へ直進経路で流れる可能性のある充てん材料との滞留時間の差は非常に小さい。従来技術では、充てんチャンバ内の充てん材料の滞留時間は、通常、例えば１分の範囲内である。しかしながら、本発明によれば、充てんチャンバ内の充てん材料の滞留時間は、数秒、例えば５秒未満、好ましくは３秒未満の範囲であり得る。
【0015】
特に実用的な実施形態によれば、コンベヤポケットはコンベヤホイールの外周部に配置され得る。これにより、コンベヤポケット、ひいては充てん材料の加速度を特に高くすることができる。その結果、出口開口部への充てん材料の特に効果的な能動的搬送が行われる。
【0016】
特に実用的な他の実施形態によれば、コンベヤホイールがその回転軸を中心に回転するときに、コンベヤポケットが入口開口部の下方及び出口開口部の上方で回転する。これにより、少なくとも重力によって支持された充てん材料の特に簡素な供給及び排出が実現される。
【0017】
別の実施形態によれば、入口開口部はコンベヤホイールの最も高い位置に配置することができ、出口開口部はコンベヤホイールの最も低い位置に配置することができる。これにより、充てん材料が、製品滞留などを形成することなく均一に搬送されることが保証される。対応するデッドスペースが防止される。
【0018】
コンベヤホイールは、複数の側壁を有することができ、隣接する壁がその間にコンベヤポケットをそれぞれ画定する。壁は、例えば、コンベヤホイールの回転軸に対して半径方向に整列させることができる。壁は、回転軸に平行な平面内にあってもよい。
【0019】
別の実施形態によれば、前記充てんチャンバの上側はカバーを有することができ、コンベヤホイールとカバーとの間の距離又はそれぞれの隙間は、５ｍｍ未満、好ましくは２ｍｍ未満、さらに好ましくは最大１ｍｍであり得る。コンベヤホイールと充てんチャンバの基部との間の距離又はそれぞれの隙間は、５ｍｍ未満、好ましくは２ｍｍ未満、さらに好ましくは１ｍｍ未満、例えば０．５ｍｍ未満であり得る。コンベヤホイールと充てんチャンバのカバー又はそれぞれの基部との間がこのような狭い距離であることにより、能動的搬送という状況では、特に大きな割合の充てん材料がコンベヤポケットによって入口開口部から出口開口部に運ばれる。コンベヤポケットによる搬送とは無関係に出口開口部に到達する可能性のある充てん材料の割合は、最小限に抑えられる。充てん材料搬送のトレーサビリティがさらに向上される。充てんチャンバのカバー及び／又は基部の形状は、コンベヤホイールとカバー又はそれぞれの基部との間の距離又はそれぞれの隙間が可能な限り同じままであるように適合させることができる。距離が変化する場合、上記の情報は、コンベヤホイールとカバー又はそれぞれの基部との間の最大距離に関する。
【0020】
別の実施形態によれば、コンベヤポケットはそれぞれ、それらの上側及び下側が開いていることが可能である。その結果、回転中のコンベヤポケットの確実な充てん及び排出が行われる。
【0021】
別の実施形態によれば、充てんチャンバの基部は、少なくともコンベヤポケットによって掃引される領域において、回転軸に垂直な平面に対して傾斜させることができる。特に、基部は、出口開口部の方向に傾斜させることができる。回転軸に垂直な平面に対する角度は、例えば、１０°～６０°、好ましくは２０°～４０°の範囲とすることができる。したがって、充てんチャンバ内のコンベヤポケットの下の面は、出口開口部の方向に落ちる角度で傾斜している。そのため、充てん材料は、出口開口部の方向に流れようとする。これにより、デッドスペース及び充てん材料の滞留がさらに確実に防止される。さらに一貫して先入れ先出しの原理を実施できる。
【0022】
充てんチャンバの基部は、少なくともコンベヤポケットによって掃引される領域において円錐形に設計することができ、円錐面は回転軸の方向に下方に向かって先細になる。充てんチャンバの基部は、特に凹形状又はトラフ状のデザインを有することができる。
【0023】
さらに、充てんチャンバの基部は、中央領域において回転軸に垂直に設計できる。したがって、基部は、例えば円錐台の形状に設計することができる。
【0024】
コンベヤホイールは、回転軸を中心とするその回転中に、コンベヤポケットにある充てん材料を遠心力によって出口開口部へ搬送するように設計することもできる。これは、一方では、前述の構造設計によって達成することができ、他方では、コンベヤホイールの十分な回転速度によって達成することができる。この場合、遠心力は出口開口部の方向に作用する。このように、出口開口部に向かう能動的な搬送は、重力の影響とは無関係にさえ行われる。これにより、重力排出だけよりも、さらにもっと的確な充てん材料搬送が達成される。遠心力を適切に設定することにより、例えば、キャビティを充てんする際の充てん量や充てん圧力を所望の態様で設定することができる。ここで生成される遠心力は、特に、回転式プレスの他の機械パラメータ、例えばロータ回転速度から独立している。代わりに、コンベヤホイールの回転速度を適切に設定することによって、簡単な方法で制御することができる。
【0025】
本発明による充てん装置では、入口開口部から出口開口部への充てん材料の搬送経路は、充てん材料の流れ方向の各方向転換が９０°未満であるような搬送経路であり得る。９０°より小さい充てん材料の方向転換角度により、特に緩やかな方向転換、したがって充てん装置を通る充てん材料の特に緩やかな輸送が達成される。充てん材料への悪影響は、特段の確実性で防止される。
【0026】
別の実施形態によれば、回転駆動装置を制御することによって、特に、回転駆動装置の回転速度、ひいてはコンベヤホイールの回転速度を設定することにより、キャビティに充てん材料を充てんするときにキャビティに供給される充てん材料の量及び／又は充てん圧力を制御するように設計された制御装置を設けることができる。したがって、充てん量及び充てん圧力は、他の機械パラメータ、例えば回転式プレスのロータ回転速度から独立して所望の方法で正確に設定することができる。
【0027】
本発明はまた、回転式プレスであって、回転ロータ駆動装置によって回転可能なロータを備え、該ロータが、回転式プレスの上側プレスパンチ用の上側パンチガイドと、回転式プレスの下側プレスパンチ用の下側パンチガイドと、パンチガイド間に配置されたダイプレートとを有し、該プレスパンチがダイプレートのキャビティと相互作用し、圧縮対象の充てん材料をダイプレートのキャビティに充てんする本発明による充てん装置をさらに備え、作動中に上側プレスパンチ及び下側プレスパンチと相互作用してダイプレートのキャビティ内の充てん材料を圧縮してペレットを成形する少なくとも１つの上側プレス装置及び少なくとも１つの下側プレス装置をさらに備え、キャビティで生成されたペレットを回転式プレスから排出する排出装置を備える回転式プレスによって、その目的を達成する。
【0028】
そのような回転式プレスは当業者に周知である。ダイプレート内に設計されたキャビティは、例えば、ダイプレート内の穴によって、又はダイプレート内に配置されたダイスリーブによって形成できる。ダイプレートは、環状に一体に設計することもできるし、複数のリングセグメントから構成することもできる。本発明による充てん装置によってキャビティに充てんされた充てん材料は、次に、上側及び下側プレス装置との相互作用によってキャビティに関連する上側及び下側プレスパンチによって圧縮され、ペレット、特に錠剤、を成形する。次いで、ペレットは、下側プレスパンチの上方への軸方向変位によってダイプレートの上側に搬送され、ここから、ペレットは、例えば剥離装置によって、回転式プレスの出口に通じる排出装置に供給される。
【0029】
本発明はまた、粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステムであって、粉末製品用の少なくとも２つのシステム入口と、粉末製品を連続的に混合するためのミキサとを備え、該ミキサが少なくとも２つのシステム入口に接続された少なくとも１つのミキサ入口を有し、該ミキサが粉末製品から混合された充てん材料のためのミキサ出口を有し、充てん材料を連続的に加工してペレットを形成するための本発明による回転式プレスをさらに備え、該回転式プレスが、ミキサ出口に接続されたプレス入口及び回転式プレスで生成されたペレット用のプレス出口を有するシステムによって、その目的を達成する。
【0030】
このシステムは、特に粉末製品、特に乾燥粉末製品を連続的に加工するのに役立つ。既に説明したように、これらは、例えば、医薬品であり得る。粉末製品は、このように、例えば、少なくとも１の医薬品有効成分（ＡＰＩ）と少なくとも１の賦形剤とを含み得る。粉末製品は、少なくとも２つ、例えば２つより多いシステム入口を介してシステムに供給される。システム入口は、製品の供給を計量する計量装置をそれぞれ備えることができる。システム入口を介して供給される粉末製品は、接続ラインを介して少なくとも１つのミキサ入口に連続的に供給される。ミキサは、供給された粉末製品から、回転式プレスでのさらなる処理のために、製品混合物すなわち充てん材料を連続的に生成する。充てん材料を意味する製品混合物は、ミキサ出口に供給され、例えば搬送装置によって回転式プレスのプレス入口に連続的に供給される。連続供給は、それ自体公知のバッチプロセスとは対照的に、特に連続処理を指すことに留意されたい。連続供給はまた、特に、例えば空気コンベヤ装置によって行われるような断続的な供給を含む。回転式プレスによって充てん材料から製造されたペレット、特にタブレットは、回転式プレスのプレス出口に供給される。その後、例えば、除塵及び／又は包装など、さらなる処理が行われ得る。
【0031】
このシステムは、連続的に作動するシステムであり、バッチ原理に従って作動するシステムとは異なり、供給された粉末製品を連続的に混合し、それらをペレット、特に錠剤に加工する。本システムは、例えば機器飛散粒子濃度の標準測定（Ｓｔａｎｄａｒｄｉｚｅｄ Ｍｅａｓｕｒｅｍｅｎｔ ｆｏｒ Ｅｑｕｉｐｍｅｎｔ Ｐａｒｔｉｃｕｌａｔｅ Ａｉｒｂｏｒｎｅ Ｃｏｎｃｅｎｔｒａｔｉｏｎｓ：ＳＭＥＰＡＣ）試験にしたがって測定された、例えば封じ込め（ｃｏｎｔａｉｎｍｅｎｔ）レベルＯＥＢ３以上の封じ込めが可能である。
【0032】
本発明の例示的な実施形態は、図面に基づいて以下により詳細に説明される。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【0033】
【0034】
特に明記しない限り、同一の参照番号は、図中の同一の対象を示す。
【発明を実施するための形態】
【0035】
図１は、回転式プレス１０、ここでは回転式タブレットプレス１０を備える、粉末製品を連続的に加工するためのシステムを示す。回転式タブレットプレス１０はハウジング１２内に配置される。回転式タブレットプレス１０の隣にモジュールハウジング１４が同じ地面上に配置される。図１には、例示のためにドア１６が開いた状態でモジュールハウジング１４が示されている。回転式タブレットプレス１０のハウジング１２は、回転式タブレットプレス１０にアクセスするために開けることもできる窓１８を有する。
【0036】
モジュールハウジング１４は、その上側に、粉末製品、例えば、医薬品有効成分及び／又は賦形剤、を供給できる３つのシステム入口２０、２２、２４を有する。入口２０、２２、２４の各々は、供給された粉末製品を計量する計量装置２６、２８、３０を有する。図示の例では、計量装置２６、２８、３０を備えた入口２０、２２、２４の下流に、入口２０、２２、２４及び計量装置２６、２８、３０を介して供給された粉末製品が案内される供給漏斗３２が配置されている。供給漏斗３２の出口は、ミキサ３６のミキサ入口３４に接続される。図示の例では、ミキサ３６は、混合装置、例えば回転可能な混合オーガ、が内部に配置された横型ミキサチューブ３８を有する。ミキサチューブ３８内では、供給漏斗３２を介して供給された粉末製品が混合されて製品混合物すなわち充てん材料が形成され、充てん材料はミキサのミキサ出口４０で供給される。ミキサ出口４０は、図示の例では、コンベヤ装置４４の漏斗状のコンベヤリザーバ４２に接続されている。コンベヤ装置４４はまた、コンベヤリザーバ４２の出口に接続されたコンベヤホース４６を備え、その他端は、出口ホッパ４８を介して回転式タブレットプレス１０のハウジング１２の上側のプレス入口５０に接続されている。図示の例では、コンベヤ装置４４は空気動式バキュームコンベヤ装置４４である。したがって、コンベヤ装置４４は、バキュームホース５２と、真空発生ユニット５４とを有する。真空発生ユニット５４は、バキュームホース５２を介して、コンベヤホース４６の出口で真空を発生させ、これにより、コンベヤリザーバ４２内にある製品混合物が、コンベヤホース４６を通って出口ホッパ４８内に、さらに回転式タブレットプレス１０のプレス入口５０に搬送される。この目的のために、コンベヤホース４６の出口の出口弁が断続的に開き、その後、それぞれの搬送製品量が放出された後に再び閉じる。そして、垂直方向により低い高さにあるミキサ出口４０からコンベヤリザーバ４２から、垂直方向により高い高さにある回転式タブレットプレス１０のプレス入口５０へ、製品混合物が断続的に搬送されるように、このサイクルが繰り返される。回転式タブレットプレス１０では、以下にさらに詳細に説明される方法で、充てん材料を形成する供給製品混合物からタブレットが製造され、タブレットは回転式タブレットプレス１０のプレス出口５６で排出され、タブレットはさらなる加工、例えば除塵及び／又は包装に供することができる。
【0037】
図１に示すシステムは、粉末製品を連続的に加工して、回転式プレス１０で製造されたペレットを成形、特に図示の例では、回転式タブレットプレス１０で圧縮された錠剤を成形、するのに役立つ。本システムは、上記で説明したように封じ込めが可能である。
【0038】
図２では、例えば図１に示すシステムで使用される回転式タブレットプレス１０がロータの展開図に示されている。図２に示す回転式タブレットプレスは、複数のキャビティ６４を有するダイプレート６２を備えた回転駆動装置（詳細不図示）によって回転駆動されるロータを備える。キャビティ６４は、例えば、ダイプレート６２の穴によって形成できる。ロータは、ダイプレート６２と同期して作動する、上側パンチガイド６６内を案内される複数の上側プレスパンチ６８と下側パンチガイド７０内を案内される複数の下側プレスパンチ７２とをさらに備える。各対の上側プレスパンチ６８と下側プレスパンチ７２は、キャビティ６４に関連付けられている。ロータの回転中の上側プレスパンチ６８及び下側プレスパンチ７２の軸方向の移動は、上側制御曲線要素７４及び下側制御曲線要素７６によって制御される。回転式タブレットプレスはまた、本発明による充てん装置７８を備える。充てん装置７８は、充てん管８４を介して充てんチャンバ８０に接続された漏斗状の充てん材料リザーバ８２を備える。このようにして、この例では、粉末状の充てん材料が、重力によって充てん管８４を通って充てんチャンバ８０に入り、そこからさらにダイプレート６２のキャビティ６４に入る。さらに、回転式タブレットプレスは、上側プレス装置８６と下側プレス装置８７とを備える。上側プレス装置８６は、上側予備プレスローラ８８を備えた上側予備プレス装置を有し、下側プレス装置は、下側予備プレスローラ９０を備えた下側予備プレス装置を備える。上側プレス装置８６はまた、上側主プレスローラ９２を備えた上側主プレス装置を備え、下側プレス装置８７は、下側主プレスローラ９４を備えた下側主プレス装置を備える。上側及び下側プレスパンチ６８、７２は、プレス装置８６、８７を通過する際にキャビティ６４に押し込まれるが、その過程で、キャビティ６４内に充てんされた充てん材料を圧縮して錠剤１００を成形する。回転式タブレットプレスは、回転式プレスで製造されて下側プレスパンチ７２とダイプレート６２の上側とによって搬送された錠剤１００を錠剤排出部１０２に供給する、排出装置９６（本件ではストリッパ９８付き）をさらに備える。
【0039】
制御装置１０４は、回転式プレスの動作を制御し、特にロータの回転駆動装置にライン（詳細不図示）を介して接続される。
【0040】
図３～図６に基づいて、本発明による充てん装置７８の実施形態をより詳細に説明する。充てん管８４の下端は、充てん材料が重力によって充てん管８４から充てんチャンバ８０内に入る充てんチャンバ８０の入口開口部１０６を形成する。充てんチャンバ８０の上側は、ねじ式連結具１０８によって締結されたカバー１１０によって閉じられている。説明のために図４にはカバー１１０が示されていない。図から分かるように、充てんチャンバ８０は、水平に対して傾斜した角度、例えば３０°～６０°の角度、で配置されている。特に図５の断面図で分かるように、充てんチャンバの基部１１２は円錐台の形状に設計される。コンベヤホイール１１４が充てんチャンバ８０内に配置され、回転駆動装置（詳細不図示）、例えば電気モータ、によって、鉛直方向１１６に対して角度α（図５参照）で合わせられた回転軸１１８を中心として駆動シャフト１１９の周りを回転可能である。角度αは、例えば、３０°～６０°の範囲内とすることができる。コンベヤホイール１１４は、その半径方向外側の外周部に複数のコンベヤポケット１２０を有し、該複数のコンベヤポケットは、円形経路に沿って配置され、それぞれが隣接する側壁１２２によって画定され、その上側と下側が開いている。充てん管８４が、充てん材料が充てん管８４から入口開口部１０６を通って、入口開口部１０６の下方で回転するコンベヤホイール１１４のコンベヤポケット１２０内に落下するように配置され、それによってコンベヤポケット１２０内に受け入れられた充てん材料は充てんチャンバ８０の下側に配置された出口開口部１２４（図６参照）まで円形経路に沿ってさらに搬送される。
【0041】
このようにして、充てん材料は、入口開口部１０６から出口開口部１２４へコンベヤポケット１２０によって能動的に搬送される。入口開口部１０６は、コンベヤホイール１１４の最も高い位置に配置され、出口開口部１２４は、コンベヤホイール１１４の最も低い位置に配置される。特に図４及び図５から分かるように、充てんチャンバ８０の基部１１２は、上記で説明した円錐台の形状に従って、コンベヤポケット１２０によって掃引される領域において、回転軸１１８に垂直な平面に対して傾斜して設計されている。円錐台によって達成される充てんチャンバ８０のトラフ状の実施形態は、例示のために、充てん管８４及びカバー１１０に加えコンベヤホイール１１４も示されていない図７において、特によく見える。これにより、コンベヤポケット１２０内の製品の滞留やデッドスペースが確実に防止される。ここで、コンベヤポケット１２０に受け入れられた充てん材料、コンベヤホイール１１４の回転中に遠心力によって出口開口部１２４に、ひいては回転式プレス１０のキャビティ６４に搬送される。図５から分かるように、例えば、入口開口部１０６から出口開口部１２４への充てん材料の搬送経路は、充てん材料の流れ方向の方向転換がそれぞれ９０°未満であるようなものである。
【0042】
制御装置、例えば回転式プレス１０の制御装置１０４は、キャビティ６４に供給される充てん材料の量及び／又はキャビティ６４に充てん材料を充てんするときの充てん圧力を適切な方法で制御するために、コンベヤホイール１１４の回転駆動装置、特にその回転速度、したがってコンベヤホイール１１４の回転速度を制御することができる。
【符号の説明】
【0043】
１０ 回転式タブレットプレス
１２ ハウジング
１４ モジュールハウジング
１６ ドア
１８ 窓
２０ システム入口
２２ システム入口
２４ システム入口
２６ 計量装置
２８ 計量装置
３０ 計量装置
３２ 供給漏斗
３４ ミキサ入口
３６ ミキサ
３８ ミキサチューブ
４０ ミキサ出口
４２ コンベヤリザーバ
４４ コンベヤ装置
４６ コンベヤホース
４８ 出口ホッパ
５０ プレス入口
５２ バキュームホース
５４ 真空発生ユニット
５６ プレス出口
６２ ダイプレート
６４ キャビティ
６６ 上側パンチガイド
６８ 上側プレスパンチ
７０ 下側パンチガイド
７２ 下側プレスパンチ
７４ 上側制御曲線要素
７６ 下側制御曲線要素
７８ 充てん装置
８０ 充てんチャンバ
８２ 充てん材料リザーバ
８４ 充てん管
８６ 上側プレス装置
８７ 下側プレス装置
８８ 上側予備プレスローラ
９０ 下側予備プレスローラ
９２ 上側主プレスローラ
９４ 下側主プレスローラ
９６ 排出装置
９８ ストリッパ
１００ 錠剤
１０２ 錠剤排出部
１０４ 制御装置
１０６ 入口開口部
１０８ ねじ式連結具
１１０ カバー
１１２ 基部
１１４ コンベヤホイール
１１６ 鉛直方向
１１８ 回転軸
１１９ 駆動シャフト
１２０ コンベヤポケット
１２２ 側壁
１２４ 出口開口部
１２ ハウジング
１４ モジュールハウジング
１６ ドア
１８ 窓
２０ システム入口
２２ システム入口
２４ システム入口
２６ 計量装置
２８ 計量装置
３０ 計量装置
３２ 供給漏斗
３４ ミキサ入口
３６ ミキサ
３８ ミキサチューブ
４０ ミキサ出口
４２ コンベヤリザーバ
４４ コンベヤ装置
４６ コンベヤホース
４８ 出口ホッパ
５０ プレス入口
５２ バキュームホース
５４ 真空発生ユニット
５６ プレス出口
６２ ダイプレート
６４ キャビティ
６６ 上側パンチガイド
６８ 上側プレスパンチ
７０ 下側パンチガイド
７２ 下側プレスパンチ
７４ 上側制御曲線要素
７６ 下側制御曲線要素
７８ 充てん装置
８０ 充てんチャンバ
８２ 充てん材料リザーバ
８４ 充てん管
８６ 上側プレス装置
８７ 下側プレス装置
８８ 上側予備プレスローラ
９０ 下側予備プレスローラ
９２ 上側主プレスローラ
９４ 下側主プレスローラ
９６ 排出装置
９８ ストリッパ
１００ 錠剤
１０２ 錠剤排出部
１０４ 制御装置
１０６ 入口開口部
１０８ ねじ式連結具
１１０ カバー
１１２ 基部
１１４ コンベヤホイール
１１６ 鉛直方向
１１８ 回転軸
１１９ 駆動シャフト
１２０ コンベヤポケット
１２２ 側壁
１２４ 出口開口部
【図1】
【図2】
【図3】
【図4】
【図5】
【図6】
【図7】
【外国語明細書】
Filling Apparatus for Filling Cavities of a Rotary Press as well as Rotary Press and System for Continuously Processing Pulverulent Products
The invention relates to a filling apparatus for filling cavities of a rotary press, comprising a filling chamber with an inlet opening through which filling material enters the filling chamber, and an outlet opening through which filling material exits into the cavities of the rotary press. The invention also relates to a rotary press and to a system for continuously processing pulverulent products.
In rotary presses, pulverulent filling material is typically pressed in cavities of the die plate by upper and lower punches to form pellets, for example tablets. The filling material is supplied to the cavities by means of a filling apparatus. Different types of filling apparatuses are known, for example three-chamber filling devices, feed shoes, or multilevel filling systems. Filling apparatuses that achieve a particularly high volume throughput and thus a high production output of the rotary press are widely used. Particularly economical production is hereby achieved. Filling apparatuses are known, for example, from EP 2 065 174 B1 or DE 10 2016 110 556 B4.
The structure of common filling apparatuses is generally similar. The filling apparatus usually has a filling chamber which is filled with the filling material, for example, by means of gravity. A powder column in a supply tube stands vertically on the filling chamber. One or more stirrer blade wheels with stirrer blades or the like are arranged in the filling chamber. By rotating the stirrer blade wheels, the filling material is distributed in the filling chamber and material buildup or bridging should be prevented. The filling material then enters into the cavities through an outlet opening in the filling chamber. This also occurs due to gravity. The filling material is processed in the cavities to form pellets.
A filling apparatus is also known from JP 2018 192517 A with a passage part for filling material, the base of which is tilted in the direction of an outlet. This is intended to further improve the transport of powder due to gravity. In the passage part, a rotating mixer blade is arranged, which stirs the pulverulent filling material in order to improve the powder flow.
The filling apparatuses explained above show good results in particular from the perspective of the tableting output of tablet presses. However, with the increasing prevalence of continuous production methods in tablet production, the tableting output alone is no longer in the foreground. Instead, the entire added value process from the initial products to the batch release should be considered and evaluated. Particularly, a real-time release of product batches requires that the location of individual product packages within the product flow can be determined and predicted at any time, in order to be able to eject packages that do not correspond to the specification. In this case, filling apparatuses of rotary presses play a particular role. In the known filling apparatuses, the filling material has a high residence time in the filling chamber. Due to the stirring of the filling material by means of stirrer blade wheels or mixer blades, a typically circular, horizontal distribution of the filling material in the filling chamber takes place. This mixing of the filling material in the filling chamber in combination with the long residence time leads to an assignment of product packages to specific locations or times not being reliably possible. In addition to the residence time of the filling material in the filling chamber, this also applies to the sequence of the exit from the filling apparatus.
The stirrer blades or mixer blades can also cause an undesired precompression of the filling material in the filling apparatus, and the structure of the pulverulent filling material can be negatively influenced, for example ground up. At the same time, a sufficient throughput volume should be achieved so that the filling apparatus can be considered for mass production.
Starting from the explained prior art, the object of the invention is therefore to provide a filling apparatus as well as a rotary press and a system of the type mentioned above with which the aforementioned disadvantages can be avoided. In particular, it should be possible to be able to better track the progress of product packages in the filling apparatus, while at the same time being suitable for mass production and the properties of the filling material being influenced as little as possible.
The invention achieves the object by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims, the description and the figures.
For a filling apparatus of the type mentioned above, the invention achieves the object in that a conveyor wheel rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation arranged at an angle to the vertical is arranged in the filling chamber, with a plurality of conveyor pockets arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material, wherein the conveyor pockets rotate along the inlet opening and along the outlet opening when the conveyor wheel is rotated about its axis of rotation, so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets is conveyed from the inlet opening to the outlet opening.
As already explained, the filling apparatus serves to fill cavities of a rotary press, in particular a rotary tablet press. The cavities can be designed in a die plate of a rotor of a rotary press. The filling apparatus comprises a filling chamber with an inlet opening, through which filling material enters the filling chamber. The filling material can be a powder. It can also be a material mixture composed of multiple components, for example at least one active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and at least one excipient. The filling apparatus can comprise a filling tube, the outlet of which is connected to the inlet opening of the filling chamber, and through which filling material enters the inlet opening due to gravity. The filling material can flow into the filling chamber through the inlet opening due to gravity. The filling chamber has an outlet opening, through which the filling material flows into the cavities of the rotary press.
According to the invention, a conveyor wheel rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation arranged at an angle to the vertical is arranged in the filling chamber. The conveyor wheel has a plurality of conveyor pockets arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material. When the conveyor wheel rotates about its axis of rotation, the conveyor pockets rotate along the inlet opening and along the outlet opening, so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets is conveyed by the conveyor wheel from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. The axis of rotation of the conveyor wheel is arranged in particular tilted from the vertical, meaning in an angular range of less than 90° and greater than 0°. The angle of the axis of rotation compared to the vertical can be, for example, in the range from 30° to 60°. By arranging the conveyor wheel non-horizontally, an inclined position of the conveyor wheel along the inlet opening-outlet opening line is achieved. The conveyor pockets, into which the filling material enters through the inlet opening, for example due to gravity, are designed in a radially outer region of the conveyor wheel. The conveyor pockets each receive an amount of filling material defined by its volume and convey it, in the course of the rotation of the conveyor wheel, along a circular path from the inlet opening to the outlet opening, from where the filling material enters the cavities. The upper side of the filling chamber can be closed by a cover. The conveyor wheel rotates over a base of the filling chamber. For example, a filling tube for supplying the filling material to the inlet opening can be guided through such a cover. The rotary drive for the conveyor wheel can be, for example, an electric motor.
According to the invention, the filling material stream entering into the inlet opening is divided into volume packets corresponding to the volume of the conveyor pockets, which are then transported, in particular actively and in a defined manner, by the conveyor pockets to the outlet opening. Through the active conveying according to the invention of the filling material from the inlet opening to the outlet opening by means of the conveyor pockets, the filling material is transported on a short and direct path from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. Accordingly, a short residence time of the filling material within the filling chamber is achieved. The amount of filling material filled into the cavities can be directly controlled by the conveyor wheel and thus monitored. This also applies to the filling pressure with which the filling material is conveyed into the cavities. By transporting the filling material in a targeted manner, lower forces are exerted on the powder. In particular, in contrast to the prior art explained above, no mixer blade or the like is required to loosen and distribute filling material. The disadvantages associated therewith are avoided. Through the monitored active conveying of the filling material, in particular of the volume packages defined by the conveyor pockets, from the inlet opening to the outlet opening with the conveyor wheel, a first-in-first-out principle for the transport of the filling material through the filling chamber can be realized. This in combination with the short residence time enables the progress of the filling material in the filling apparatus, in particular of individual product packages, comprising one or more of the volume packages, to be tracked reliably. As a result, the filling apparatus in turn does not stand in the way of assigning pellets produced in the rotary press to specific filling material packages. In the invention, the filling amount which passes through the outlet opening, is not necessarily determined by gravity alone. Instead, the active filling material transport provides a control possibility. A circular, horizontal distribution of filling material in the filling chamber, as in the prior art, is avoided. This also prevents the danger of powder buildup (dead spaces). The forces actively exerted on the filling material act in the direction of the outlet opening and therefore do not lead to a negative influence on the structure of the filling material. In order to reduce the size of the volume packages conveyed by the conveyor pockets to a degree that is easily conveyable, a plurality of conveyor pockets is provided. The conveyor wheel can have, for example, at least six conveyor pockets, further preferably at least eight conveyor pockets, in particular more than eight conveyor pockets.
As already explained, the conveyor wheel rotates above the base of the filling chamber. The shape of the base of the filling chamber can be adapted to the shape of the underside of the conveyor wheel. The adaptation can be such, for example, that a distance that remains basically the same exists between the underside of the conveyor wheel and the base of the filling chamber over the entire surface extent. Since a (small) gap between the base of the filling chamber and the underside of the conveyor wheel must necessarily be present to prevent undesired contact of the rotating conveyor wheel with the base of the filling chamber, a (small) amount of filling material can flow directly from the inlet opening to the outlet opening lying at a lower height in certain circumstances without being received in conveyor pockets. This proportion of filling material not conveyed by the conveyor pockets, however, is very small in comparison with the proportion conveyed by the conveyor pockets. For example, more than 90%, preferably more than 95% of the conveyed material, can be conveyed by the conveyor pockets. The traceability of the product in the filling chamber is therefore still reliably given. This also applies in light of the particularly short residence time according to the invention within the filling chamber. Thus, a difference in residence time between filling material conveyed from the inlet opening to the outlet opening by the conveyor pockets and filling material possibly flowing on a direct path from the inlet opening to the outlet opening is very small. In the prior art, the residence time of filling material in filling chambers is regularly in the range of, for example, 1 minute. According to the invention, the residence time of the filling material in the filling chamber can be, however, in the range of a few seconds, for example less than 5 seconds, preferably less than 3 seconds.
According to a particularly practical embodiment, the conveyor pockets can be arranged on the perimeter of the conveyor wheel. This achieves a particularly high acceleration of the conveyor pockets and thus of the filling material. As a result, a particularly effective active conveying of the filling material to the outlet opening takes place.
According to another particularly practical embodiment, the conveyor pockets can rotate under the inlet opening and over the outlet opening when the conveyor wheel is rotated about its axis of rotation. This achieves a particularly simple supply and discharge of filling material, at least supported by gravity.
According to another embodiment, the inlet opening can be arranged at a highest position of the conveyor wheel and the outlet opening can be arranged at a lowest position of the conveyor wheel. This ensures that the filling material is conveyed uniformly without forming product buildup or the like. Corresponding dead spaces are prevented.
The conveyor wheel can have a plurality of lateral walls, wherein adjacent walls each delimit a conveyor pocket between them. The walls can be aligned, for example, in the radial direction in relation to the axis of rotation of the conveyor wheel. The walls can be in planes parallel to the axis of rotation.
According to another embodiment, the upper side of the filling chamber can have a cover, in particular be closed by a cover, and a distance or respectively gap between the conveyor wheel and the cover can be less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably at most 1 mm. A distance or respectively gap between the conveyor wheel and a base of the filling chamber can also be less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably less than 1 mm, for example less than 0.5 mm. With such narrow distances between the conveyor wheel and the cover or respectively the base of the filling chamber, a particularly large proportion of filling material is taken from the inlet opening to the outlet opening by the conveyor pockets in the context of active conveying. A proportion of the filling material possibly reaching the outlet opening independently of the conveying by the conveyor pockets is minimized. The traceability of the filling material conveying is further improved. The shape of the cover and/or of the base of the filling chamber can be adapted such that the respective distance or respectively gap between the conveyor wheel and the cover or respectively the base remains the same to the greatest possible extent. If the distance changes, the information above relates to a maximum distance between the conveyor wheel and the cover or respectively the base.
According to another embodiment, the conveyor pockets can each be open on their upper side and their lower side. As a result, a reliable filling and emptying of the conveyor pockets in the course of the rotation takes place.
According to another embodiment, the base of the filling chamber can be tilted in relation to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets. In particular, the base can be tilted in the direction of the outlet opening. The angle in relation to the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation can be, for example, in the range of 10° to 60°, preferably 20° to 40°. The faces below the conveyor pockets within the filling chamber are thus tilted with an angle falling in the direction of the outlet opening. The filling material therefore strives to flow in the direction of the outlet opening. This prevents dead spaces and filling material buildup even more reliably. The first-in-first-out principle can be implemented even more consistently.
The base of the filling chamber can be designed conically at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets, wherein the cone face tapers downwards in the direction of the axis of rotation. The base of the filling chamber can have in particular a concave shape or trough-shaped design.
Furthermore, the base of the filling chamber can be designed perpendicular to the axis of rotation in a central region. The base can thus be designed, for example, in the shape of a truncated cone.
The conveyor wheel can also be designed to convey filling material located in the conveyor pockets into the outlet opening through centrifugal force in the course of its rotation about the axis of rotation. On the one hand, this can be achieved by the aforementioned constructional design and, on the other hand, by a sufficient rotational speed of the conveyor wheel. The centrifugal force acts in this case in the direction of the outlet opening. An active conveying toward the outlet opening thus takes place, even independently of the effect of gravity. This achieves an even more defined conveying of the filling material than with solely a gravity emptying. By suitably setting the centrifugal force, the filling amount or the filling pressure, for example, when filling the cavities can be set in a desired manner. The generated centrifugal force here is in particular independent from other machine parameters of the rotary press, for example the rotor rotational speed. Instead, it can be controlled in a simple manner by suitably setting the rotational speed of the conveyor wheel.
In the filling apparatus according to the invention, the conveyed path of the filling material from the inlet opening to the outlet opening can be such that each redirection of the flow direction of the filling material is smaller than 90°. Any redirection angles of the filling material being smaller than 90° achieves a particularly gentle redirection and thus a particularly gentle transport of the filling material through the filling apparatus. Negative influences on the filling material are prevented with particular reliability.
According to another embodiment, a control apparatus can be provided which is designed to control the amount of filling material supplied to the cavities and/or the filling pressure when filling the cavities with filling material by controlling the rotary drive, in particular by setting the rotational speed of the rotary drive and thus of the conveyor wheel. The filling amount and the filling pressure can thus be set in a desire manner precisely and independently from other machine parameters, for example the rotor rotational speed of the rotary press.
The invention also achieves the object by a rotary press comprising a rotor rotatable by means of a rotary rotor drive, wherein the rotor has an upper punch guide for upper pressing punches of the rotary press and a lower punch guide for lower pressing punches of the rotary press as well as a die plate arranged between the punch guides, wherein the pressing punches interact with cavities of the die plate, further comprising a filling apparatus according to the invention by which the filling material to be pressed is filled into the cavities of the die plate, further comprising at least one upper pressing apparatus and at least one lower pressing apparatus which interact during operation with the upper pressing punches and with the lower pressing punches to press the filling material in the cavities of the die plate to form pellets, and comprising an ejector apparatus in which the pellets generated in the cavities are ejected from the rotary press.
Such rotary presses are known to the person skilled in the art. The cavities designed in the die plate can be formed, for example, by bores in the die plate or by die sleeves placed into the die plate. The die plate can be designed annularly in one piece or be composed of multiple ring segments. The filling material filled into the cavities by the filling apparatus according to the invention is then pressed by upper and lower pressing punches associated with the cavities by interacting with an upper and lower pressing apparatus to form pellets, in particular tablets. Then the pellets are conveyed through axial displacement of the lower pressing punches upwards onto the upper side of the die plate, from where they are supplied, for example, by a stripping apparatus to the ejector apparatus that leads to an outlet of the rotary press.
The invention also achieves the object by a system for continuously processing pulverulent products, comprising at least two system inlets for pulverulent products, a mixer for continuously mixing the pulverulent products, wherein the mixer has at least one mixer inlet connected to the at least two system inlets, and wherein the mixer has a mixer outlet for filling material mixed from the pulverulent products, further comprising a rotary press according to the invention for continuously processing the filling material to form pellets, wherein the rotary press has a press inlet connected to the mixer outlet and a press outlet for pellets generated in the rotary press.
The system serves to continuously process in particular pulverulent products, in particular dry pulverulent products. As already explained, these can be, for example, pharmaceutical products. The pulverulent products can thus comprise, for example, at least one active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and at least one excipient. The pulverulent products are supplied to the system through at least two, for example more than two, system inlets. The system inlets can each comprise a metering device with which the supply of the products is metered. The pulverulent products supplied through the system inlets are supplied continuously to the at least one mixer inlet via connecting lines. From the supplied pulverulent products, the mixer continuously generates a product mixture, namely a filling material, for further processing in the rotary press. The product mixture, meaning the filling material, is provided at the mixer outlet and continuously supplied to the press inlet of the rotary press, for example, by a conveying apparatus. It should be noted that the continuous supply refers in particular to continuous processing in contrast to a batch process, which is known per se. The continuous supply also comprises in particular an intermittent supply, for example, as takes place by means of pneumatic conveyor apparatuses. The pellets, in particular tablets, produced by the rotary press from the filling material are provided at the press outlet of the rotary press. Further processing can then take place, for example, dedusting and/or packaging.
The system is a continuously working system, which, unlike a system working in accordance with the batch principle, continuously mixes the supplied pulverulent products and processes them into pellets, in particular tablets. The system can be contained, for example, with a containment level OEB 3 or higher, measured, for example, according to the SMEPAC test (Standardized Measurement for Equipment Particulate Airborne Concentrations).
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail below based on figures. Schematically:
Figure 1 shows a system according to the invention for continuously processing pulverulent products in a perspective view,
Figure 2 shows a rotary press of the system shown in Figure 1 in an unrolled representation of the rotor,
Figure 3 shows a filling apparatus according to the invention in a first perspective view,
Figure 4 shows the filling apparatus from Figure 3 with the cover of the filling chamber removed,
Figure 5 shows the filling apparatus shown in Figure 3 in a section view,
Figure 6 shows a perspective view from below of the filling apparatus from Figure 3, and
Figure 7 shows the filling chamber of the filling apparatus from Figure 3 with the conveyor wheel removed.
The same reference signs refer to the same objects in the figures unless indicated otherwise.
Figure 1 shows a system for continuously processing pulverulent products, comprising a rotary press 10, presently a rotary tablet press 10. The rotary tablet press 10 is arranged in a housing 12. A module housing 14 is arranged next to the rotary tablet press 10 on the same ground. In Figure 1, the module housing 14 is shown with the doors 16 opened for purposes of illustration. The housing 12 of the rotary tablet press 10 has windows 18 which can also be opened for access to the rotary tablet press 10.
The module housing 14 has on its upper side three system inlets 20, 22, 24 through which the pulverulent products can be supplied, for example, active pharmaceutical ingredients and/or excipients. Each of the inlets 20, 22, 24 has a metering apparatus 26, 28, 30 through which the supplied pulverulent products are metered. In the example shown, a supply funnel 32, to which the pulverulent products supplied through the inlets 20, 22, 24 and the metering apparatuses 26, 28, 30 are conducted, is located downstream of the inlets 20, 22, 24 with the metering apparatuses 26, 28, 30. The outlet of the supply funnel 32 is connected to a mixer inlet 34 of a mixer 36. In the example shown, the mixer 36 has a horizontal mixer tube 38 in which a mixing apparatus is arranged, for example, a rotatable mixing auger. In the mixer tube 38, the pulverulent products supplied via the supply funnel 32 are mixed to form a product mixture, namely a filling material, which is provided at a mixer outlet 40 of the mixer. The mixer outlet 40 is in connection with an, in the example shown, funnel-shaped conveyor reservoir 42 of a conveyor apparatus 44. The conveyor apparatus 44 also comprises a conveyor hose 46 connected to the outlet of the conveyor reservoir 42, the other end of which is connected via an outlet hopper 48 to a press inlet 50 on the upper side of the housing 12 of the rotary tablet press 10. In the example shown, the conveyor apparatus 44 is a pneumatic vacuum conveyor apparatus 44. Accordingly, the conveyor apparatus 44 has a vacuum hose 52 and a vacuum generating unit 54. The vacuum generating unit 54 generates, via the vacuum hose 52, a vacuum at the outlet of the conveyor hose 46, by means of which the product mixture located in the conveyor reservoir 42 is conveyed through the conveyor hose 46 into the outlet hopper 48 and to the press inlet 50 of the rotary tablet press 10. For this purpose, an outlet valve at the outlet of the conveyor hose 46 opens intermittently and then closes again after the respectively conveyed product amount has been let out. Then, this cycle is repeated so that the product mixture is conveyed intermittently out of the conveyor reservoir 42 from the mixer outlet 40 located at a vertically lower level to the press inlet 50 of the rotary tablet press 10 arranged at a vertically higher level. In the rotary tablet press 10, tablets are produced from the supplied product mixture forming the filling material in a manner explained in more detail below, wherein the tablets are discharged at a press outlet 56 of the rotary tablet press 10, where they can be supplied to further processing, for example, dedusting and/or packaging.
The system shown in Fig. 1 serves to continuously process pulverulent products to form pellets produced in the rotary press 10, in the example shown in particular to form tablets pressed in the rotary tablet press 10. The system can be contained, as explained above.
In Figure 2, a rotary tablet press 10 used, for example, in the system shown in Figure 1 is shown in an unrolled representation of the rotor. The rotary tablet press shown in Figure 2 comprises a rotor rotatingly driven by a rotary drive (not shown in detail) with a die plate 62 having a plurality of cavities 64. The cavities 64 can be formed, for example, by bores in the die plate 62. The rotor further comprises a plurality of upper pressing punches 68 guided in an upper punch guide 66 and a plurality of lower pressing punches 72 guided in a lower punch guide 70, which run synchronously with the die plate 62. Each pair of an upper pressing punch 68 and a lower pressing punch 72 is associated with a cavity 64. The axial movement of the upper pressing punches 68 and lower pressing punches 72 in the course of the rotation of the rotor is controlled by upper control curve elements 74 and lower control curve elements 76. The rotary tablet press also comprises a filling apparatus 78 according to the invention. The filling apparatus 78 comprises a funnel-shaped filling material reservoir 82 which is in connection with a filling chamber 80 via a filling tube 84. In this manner, in the present example, the pulverulent filling material enters into the filling chamber 80 through the filling tube 84 due to gravity and out of it again into the cavities 64 of the die plate 62. In addition, the rotary tablet press comprises an upper pressing apparatus 86 and a lower pressing apparatus 87. The upper pressing apparatus 86 has an upper preliminary pressing apparatus with an upper preliminary pressing roller 88 and the lower pressing apparatus comprises a lower preliminary pressing apparatus with a lower preliminary pressing roller 90. The upper pressing apparatus 86 also an upper main pressing apparatus with an upper main pressing roller 92 and the lower pressing apparatus 87 comprises a lower main pressing apparatus with a lower main pressing roller 94. When passing through the pressing apparatuses 86, 87, the upper and lower pressing punches 68, 72 are pushed into the cavities 64 and in the process press the filling material filled into the cavities 64 to form tablets 100. The rotary tablet press further comprises an ejector apparatus 96, in the present case with a stripper 98 which supplies the tablets 100 produced in the rotary press and conveyed by the lower pressing punches 72 and the upper side of the die plate 62 to a tablet discharge 102.
A control apparatus 104 controls the operation of the rotary press and is connected inter alia to the rotary drive of the rotor via lines (not shown in detail).
Based on Figures 3 to 6, the embodiment of the filling apparatus 78 according to the invention shall be explained in more detail. The lower end of the filling tube 84 forms an inlet opening 106 of the filling chamber 80 through which the filling material enters from the filling tube 84 into the filling chamber 80 due to gravity. The upper side of the filling chamber 80 is closed by a cover 110 fastened by means of screw connections 108. The cover 110 is not shown in Figure 4 for purposes of illustration. As can be seen in the figures, the filling chamber 80 is arranged at an angle tilted to the horizontal, for example at an angle between 30° and 60°. As can be seen in particular in the section view in Figure 5, the base 112 of the filling chamber is designed in the shape of a truncated cone. A conveyor wheel 114 is arranged in the filling chamber 80 to be rotatable around a drive shaft 119 about an axis of rotation 118 aligned at an angle α (see Figure 5) to the vertical 116 by means of a rotary drive (not shown in detail), for example an electric motor. The angle α can be, for example, in a range between 30° and 60°. On its radially outer perimeter, the conveyor wheel 114 has a plurality of conveyor pockets 120 which are arranged along a circular path and each of which are delimited by adjacent side walls 122 and are open on their upper and lower sides. The filling tube 84 is arranged so that filling material falls from the filling tube 84 through the inlet opening 106 into the conveyor pockets 120 of the conveyor wheel 114 rotating below the inlet opening 106 so that the filling material received in the conveyor pockets 120 is further conveyed along the circular path to an outlet opening 124 arranged on the lower side of the filling chamber 80 (see Figure 6).
In this manner, the filling material is actively conveyed by the conveyor pockets 120 from the inlet opening 106 to the outlet opening 124. The inlet opening 106 is arranged at a highest position of the conveyor wheel 114 and the outlet opening 124 is arranged at a lowest position of the conveyor wheel 114. As can be seen in particular in Figures 4 and 5, the base 112 of the filling chamber 80 is designed tilted in relation to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation 118 in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets 120, according to the truncated cone shape explained above. The trough-shaped embodiment of the filling chamber 80 achieved by the truncated cone can be seen particularly well in Figure 7, in which, in addition to the filling tube 84 and the cover 110, the conveyor wheel 114 is also not shown for purposes of illustration. This reliably prevents product buildup and dead spaces in the conveyor pockets 120. Here, the filling material received in the conveyor pockets 120 is conveyed into the outlet opening 124 and thus into the cavities 64 of the rotary press 10 by centrifugal force in the course of the rotation of the conveyor wheel 114. As can be seen, for example, in Figure 5, the conveyed path of the filling material from the inlet opening 106 to the outlet opening 124 is such that redirections of the flow direction of the filling material are each smaller than 90°.
A control apparatus, for example the control apparatus 104 of the rotary press 10, can control the rotary drive of the conveyor wheel 114, in particular its rotational speed, and thus the rotational speed of the conveyor wheel 114 in order to control in a suitable manner the amount of filling material supplied to the cavities 64 and/or the filling pressure when filling the cavities 64 with filling material.
List of Reference Signs
10 Rotary tablet press
12 Housing
14 Module housing
16 Doors
18 Windows
20 System inlet
22 System inlet
24 System inlet
26 Metering apparatus
28 Metering apparatus
30 Metering apparatus
32 Supply funnel
34 Mixer inlet
36 Mixer
38 Mixer tube
40 Mixer outlet
42 Conveyor reservoir
44 Conveyor apparatus
46 Conveyor hose
48 Outlet hopper
50 Press inlet
52 Vacuum hose
54 Vacuum generating unit
56 Press outlet
62 Die plate
64 Cavities
66 Upper punch guide
68 Upper pressing punches
70 Lower punch guide
72 Lower pressing punches
74 Upper control curve elements
76 Lower control curve elements
78 Filling apparatus
80 Filling chamber
82 Filling material reservoir
84 Filling tube
86 Upper pressing apparatus
87 Lower pressing apparatus
88 Upper preliminary pressing roller
90 Lower preliminary pressing roller
92 Upper main pressing roller
94 Lower main pressing roller
96 Ejector apparatus
98 Stripper
100 Tablets
102 Tablet discharge
104 Control apparatus
106 Inlet opening
108 Screw connections
110 Cover
112 Base
114 Conveyor wheel
116 Vertical
118 Axis of rotation
119 Drive shaft
120 Conveyor pockets
122 Side walls
124 Outlet opening
The invention relates to a filling apparatus for filling cavities of a rotary press, comprising a filling chamber with an inlet opening through which filling material enters the filling chamber, and an outlet opening through which filling material exits into the cavities of the rotary press. The invention also relates to a rotary press and to a system for continuously processing pulverulent products.
In rotary presses, pulverulent filling material is typically pressed in cavities of the die plate by upper and lower punches to form pellets, for example tablets. The filling material is supplied to the cavities by means of a filling apparatus. Different types of filling apparatuses are known, for example three-chamber filling devices, feed shoes, or multilevel filling systems. Filling apparatuses that achieve a particularly high volume throughput and thus a high production output of the rotary press are widely used. Particularly economical production is hereby achieved. Filling apparatuses are known, for example, from EP 2 065 174 B1 or DE 10 2016 110 556 B4.
The structure of common filling apparatuses is generally similar. The filling apparatus usually has a filling chamber which is filled with the filling material, for example, by means of gravity. A powder column in a supply tube stands vertically on the filling chamber. One or more stirrer blade wheels with stirrer blades or the like are arranged in the filling chamber. By rotating the stirrer blade wheels, the filling material is distributed in the filling chamber and material buildup or bridging should be prevented. The filling material then enters into the cavities through an outlet opening in the filling chamber. This also occurs due to gravity. The filling material is processed in the cavities to form pellets.
A filling apparatus is also known from JP 2018 192517 A with a passage part for filling material, the base of which is tilted in the direction of an outlet. This is intended to further improve the transport of powder due to gravity. In the passage part, a rotating mixer blade is arranged, which stirs the pulverulent filling material in order to improve the powder flow.
The filling apparatuses explained above show good results in particular from the perspective of the tableting output of tablet presses. However, with the increasing prevalence of continuous production methods in tablet production, the tableting output alone is no longer in the foreground. Instead, the entire added value process from the initial products to the batch release should be considered and evaluated. Particularly, a real-time release of product batches requires that the location of individual product packages within the product flow can be determined and predicted at any time, in order to be able to eject packages that do not correspond to the specification. In this case, filling apparatuses of rotary presses play a particular role. In the known filling apparatuses, the filling material has a high residence time in the filling chamber. Due to the stirring of the filling material by means of stirrer blade wheels or mixer blades, a typically circular, horizontal distribution of the filling material in the filling chamber takes place. This mixing of the filling material in the filling chamber in combination with the long residence time leads to an assignment of product packages to specific locations or times not being reliably possible. In addition to the residence time of the filling material in the filling chamber, this also applies to the sequence of the exit from the filling apparatus.
The stirrer blades or mixer blades can also cause an undesired precompression of the filling material in the filling apparatus, and the structure of the pulverulent filling material can be negatively influenced, for example ground up. At the same time, a sufficient throughput volume should be achieved so that the filling apparatus can be considered for mass production.
Starting from the explained prior art, the object of the invention is therefore to provide a filling apparatus as well as a rotary press and a system of the type mentioned above with which the aforementioned disadvantages can be avoided. In particular, it should be possible to be able to better track the progress of product packages in the filling apparatus, while at the same time being suitable for mass production and the properties of the filling material being influenced as little as possible.
The invention achieves the object by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims, the description and the figures.
For a filling apparatus of the type mentioned above, the invention achieves the object in that a conveyor wheel rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation arranged at an angle to the vertical is arranged in the filling chamber, with a plurality of conveyor pockets arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material, wherein the conveyor pockets rotate along the inlet opening and along the outlet opening when the conveyor wheel is rotated about its axis of rotation, so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets is conveyed from the inlet opening to the outlet opening.
As already explained, the filling apparatus serves to fill cavities of a rotary press, in particular a rotary tablet press. The cavities can be designed in a die plate of a rotor of a rotary press. The filling apparatus comprises a filling chamber with an inlet opening, through which filling material enters the filling chamber. The filling material can be a powder. It can also be a material mixture composed of multiple components, for example at least one active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and at least one excipient. The filling apparatus can comprise a filling tube, the outlet of which is connected to the inlet opening of the filling chamber, and through which filling material enters the inlet opening due to gravity. The filling material can flow into the filling chamber through the inlet opening due to gravity. The filling chamber has an outlet opening, through which the filling material flows into the cavities of the rotary press.
According to the invention, a conveyor wheel rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation arranged at an angle to the vertical is arranged in the filling chamber. The conveyor wheel has a plurality of conveyor pockets arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material. When the conveyor wheel rotates about its axis of rotation, the conveyor pockets rotate along the inlet opening and along the outlet opening, so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets is conveyed by the conveyor wheel from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. The axis of rotation of the conveyor wheel is arranged in particular tilted from the vertical, meaning in an angular range of less than 90° and greater than 0°. The angle of the axis of rotation compared to the vertical can be, for example, in the range from 30° to 60°. By arranging the conveyor wheel non-horizontally, an inclined position of the conveyor wheel along the inlet opening-outlet opening line is achieved. The conveyor pockets, into which the filling material enters through the inlet opening, for example due to gravity, are designed in a radially outer region of the conveyor wheel. The conveyor pockets each receive an amount of filling material defined by its volume and convey it, in the course of the rotation of the conveyor wheel, along a circular path from the inlet opening to the outlet opening, from where the filling material enters the cavities. The upper side of the filling chamber can be closed by a cover. The conveyor wheel rotates over a base of the filling chamber. For example, a filling tube for supplying the filling material to the inlet opening can be guided through such a cover. The rotary drive for the conveyor wheel can be, for example, an electric motor.
According to the invention, the filling material stream entering into the inlet opening is divided into volume packets corresponding to the volume of the conveyor pockets, which are then transported, in particular actively and in a defined manner, by the conveyor pockets to the outlet opening. Through the active conveying according to the invention of the filling material from the inlet opening to the outlet opening by means of the conveyor pockets, the filling material is transported on a short and direct path from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. Accordingly, a short residence time of the filling material within the filling chamber is achieved. The amount of filling material filled into the cavities can be directly controlled by the conveyor wheel and thus monitored. This also applies to the filling pressure with which the filling material is conveyed into the cavities. By transporting the filling material in a targeted manner, lower forces are exerted on the powder. In particular, in contrast to the prior art explained above, no mixer blade or the like is required to loosen and distribute filling material. The disadvantages associated therewith are avoided. Through the monitored active conveying of the filling material, in particular of the volume packages defined by the conveyor pockets, from the inlet opening to the outlet opening with the conveyor wheel, a first-in-first-out principle for the transport of the filling material through the filling chamber can be realized. This in combination with the short residence time enables the progress of the filling material in the filling apparatus, in particular of individual product packages, comprising one or more of the volume packages, to be tracked reliably. As a result, the filling apparatus in turn does not stand in the way of assigning pellets produced in the rotary press to specific filling material packages. In the invention, the filling amount which passes through the outlet opening, is not necessarily determined by gravity alone. Instead, the active filling material transport provides a control possibility. A circular, horizontal distribution of filling material in the filling chamber, as in the prior art, is avoided. This also prevents the danger of powder buildup (dead spaces). The forces actively exerted on the filling material act in the direction of the outlet opening and therefore do not lead to a negative influence on the structure of the filling material. In order to reduce the size of the volume packages conveyed by the conveyor pockets to a degree that is easily conveyable, a plurality of conveyor pockets is provided. The conveyor wheel can have, for example, at least six conveyor pockets, further preferably at least eight conveyor pockets, in particular more than eight conveyor pockets.
As already explained, the conveyor wheel rotates above the base of the filling chamber. The shape of the base of the filling chamber can be adapted to the shape of the underside of the conveyor wheel. The adaptation can be such, for example, that a distance that remains basically the same exists between the underside of the conveyor wheel and the base of the filling chamber over the entire surface extent. Since a (small) gap between the base of the filling chamber and the underside of the conveyor wheel must necessarily be present to prevent undesired contact of the rotating conveyor wheel with the base of the filling chamber, a (small) amount of filling material can flow directly from the inlet opening to the outlet opening lying at a lower height in certain circumstances without being received in conveyor pockets. This proportion of filling material not conveyed by the conveyor pockets, however, is very small in comparison with the proportion conveyed by the conveyor pockets. For example, more than 90%, preferably more than 95% of the conveyed material, can be conveyed by the conveyor pockets. The traceability of the product in the filling chamber is therefore still reliably given. This also applies in light of the particularly short residence time according to the invention within the filling chamber. Thus, a difference in residence time between filling material conveyed from the inlet opening to the outlet opening by the conveyor pockets and filling material possibly flowing on a direct path from the inlet opening to the outlet opening is very small. In the prior art, the residence time of filling material in filling chambers is regularly in the range of, for example, 1 minute. According to the invention, the residence time of the filling material in the filling chamber can be, however, in the range of a few seconds, for example less than 5 seconds, preferably less than 3 seconds.
According to a particularly practical embodiment, the conveyor pockets can be arranged on the perimeter of the conveyor wheel. This achieves a particularly high acceleration of the conveyor pockets and thus of the filling material. As a result, a particularly effective active conveying of the filling material to the outlet opening takes place.
According to another particularly practical embodiment, the conveyor pockets can rotate under the inlet opening and over the outlet opening when the conveyor wheel is rotated about its axis of rotation. This achieves a particularly simple supply and discharge of filling material, at least supported by gravity.
According to another embodiment, the inlet opening can be arranged at a highest position of the conveyor wheel and the outlet opening can be arranged at a lowest position of the conveyor wheel. This ensures that the filling material is conveyed uniformly without forming product buildup or the like. Corresponding dead spaces are prevented.
The conveyor wheel can have a plurality of lateral walls, wherein adjacent walls each delimit a conveyor pocket between them. The walls can be aligned, for example, in the radial direction in relation to the axis of rotation of the conveyor wheel. The walls can be in planes parallel to the axis of rotation.
According to another embodiment, the upper side of the filling chamber can have a cover, in particular be closed by a cover, and a distance or respectively gap between the conveyor wheel and the cover can be less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably at most 1 mm. A distance or respectively gap between the conveyor wheel and a base of the filling chamber can also be less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably less than 1 mm, for example less than 0.5 mm. With such narrow distances between the conveyor wheel and the cover or respectively the base of the filling chamber, a particularly large proportion of filling material is taken from the inlet opening to the outlet opening by the conveyor pockets in the context of active conveying. A proportion of the filling material possibly reaching the outlet opening independently of the conveying by the conveyor pockets is minimized. The traceability of the filling material conveying is further improved. The shape of the cover and/or of the base of the filling chamber can be adapted such that the respective distance or respectively gap between the conveyor wheel and the cover or respectively the base remains the same to the greatest possible extent. If the distance changes, the information above relates to a maximum distance between the conveyor wheel and the cover or respectively the base.
According to another embodiment, the conveyor pockets can each be open on their upper side and their lower side. As a result, a reliable filling and emptying of the conveyor pockets in the course of the rotation takes place.
According to another embodiment, the base of the filling chamber can be tilted in relation to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets. In particular, the base can be tilted in the direction of the outlet opening. The angle in relation to the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation can be, for example, in the range of 10° to 60°, preferably 20° to 40°. The faces below the conveyor pockets within the filling chamber are thus tilted with an angle falling in the direction of the outlet opening. The filling material therefore strives to flow in the direction of the outlet opening. This prevents dead spaces and filling material buildup even more reliably. The first-in-first-out principle can be implemented even more consistently.
The base of the filling chamber can be designed conically at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets, wherein the cone face tapers downwards in the direction of the axis of rotation. The base of the filling chamber can have in particular a concave shape or trough-shaped design.
Furthermore, the base of the filling chamber can be designed perpendicular to the axis of rotation in a central region. The base can thus be designed, for example, in the shape of a truncated cone.
The conveyor wheel can also be designed to convey filling material located in the conveyor pockets into the outlet opening through centrifugal force in the course of its rotation about the axis of rotation. On the one hand, this can be achieved by the aforementioned constructional design and, on the other hand, by a sufficient rotational speed of the conveyor wheel. The centrifugal force acts in this case in the direction of the outlet opening. An active conveying toward the outlet opening thus takes place, even independently of the effect of gravity. This achieves an even more defined conveying of the filling material than with solely a gravity emptying. By suitably setting the centrifugal force, the filling amount or the filling pressure, for example, when filling the cavities can be set in a desired manner. The generated centrifugal force here is in particular independent from other machine parameters of the rotary press, for example the rotor rotational speed. Instead, it can be controlled in a simple manner by suitably setting the rotational speed of the conveyor wheel.
In the filling apparatus according to the invention, the conveyed path of the filling material from the inlet opening to the outlet opening can be such that each redirection of the flow direction of the filling material is smaller than 90°. Any redirection angles of the filling material being smaller than 90° achieves a particularly gentle redirection and thus a particularly gentle transport of the filling material through the filling apparatus. Negative influences on the filling material are prevented with particular reliability.
According to another embodiment, a control apparatus can be provided which is designed to control the amount of filling material supplied to the cavities and/or the filling pressure when filling the cavities with filling material by controlling the rotary drive, in particular by setting the rotational speed of the rotary drive and thus of the conveyor wheel. The filling amount and the filling pressure can thus be set in a desire manner precisely and independently from other machine parameters, for example the rotor rotational speed of the rotary press.
The invention also achieves the object by a rotary press comprising a rotor rotatable by means of a rotary rotor drive, wherein the rotor has an upper punch guide for upper pressing punches of the rotary press and a lower punch guide for lower pressing punches of the rotary press as well as a die plate arranged between the punch guides, wherein the pressing punches interact with cavities of the die plate, further comprising a filling apparatus according to the invention by which the filling material to be pressed is filled into the cavities of the die plate, further comprising at least one upper pressing apparatus and at least one lower pressing apparatus which interact during operation with the upper pressing punches and with the lower pressing punches to press the filling material in the cavities of the die plate to form pellets, and comprising an ejector apparatus in which the pellets generated in the cavities are ejected from the rotary press.
Such rotary presses are known to the person skilled in the art. The cavities designed in the die plate can be formed, for example, by bores in the die plate or by die sleeves placed into the die plate. The die plate can be designed annularly in one piece or be composed of multiple ring segments. The filling material filled into the cavities by the filling apparatus according to the invention is then pressed by upper and lower pressing punches associated with the cavities by interacting with an upper and lower pressing apparatus to form pellets, in particular tablets. Then the pellets are conveyed through axial displacement of the lower pressing punches upwards onto the upper side of the die plate, from where they are supplied, for example, by a stripping apparatus to the ejector apparatus that leads to an outlet of the rotary press.
The invention also achieves the object by a system for continuously processing pulverulent products, comprising at least two system inlets for pulverulent products, a mixer for continuously mixing the pulverulent products, wherein the mixer has at least one mixer inlet connected to the at least two system inlets, and wherein the mixer has a mixer outlet for filling material mixed from the pulverulent products, further comprising a rotary press according to the invention for continuously processing the filling material to form pellets, wherein the rotary press has a press inlet connected to the mixer outlet and a press outlet for pellets generated in the rotary press.
The system serves to continuously process in particular pulverulent products, in particular dry pulverulent products. As already explained, these can be, for example, pharmaceutical products. The pulverulent products can thus comprise, for example, at least one active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and at least one excipient. The pulverulent products are supplied to the system through at least two, for example more than two, system inlets. The system inlets can each comprise a metering device with which the supply of the products is metered. The pulverulent products supplied through the system inlets are supplied continuously to the at least one mixer inlet via connecting lines. From the supplied pulverulent products, the mixer continuously generates a product mixture, namely a filling material, for further processing in the rotary press. The product mixture, meaning the filling material, is provided at the mixer outlet and continuously supplied to the press inlet of the rotary press, for example, by a conveying apparatus. It should be noted that the continuous supply refers in particular to continuous processing in contrast to a batch process, which is known per se. The continuous supply also comprises in particular an intermittent supply, for example, as takes place by means of pneumatic conveyor apparatuses. The pellets, in particular tablets, produced by the rotary press from the filling material are provided at the press outlet of the rotary press. Further processing can then take place, for example, dedusting and/or packaging.
The system is a continuously working system, which, unlike a system working in accordance with the batch principle, continuously mixes the supplied pulverulent products and processes them into pellets, in particular tablets. The system can be contained, for example, with a containment level OEB 3 or higher, measured, for example, according to the SMEPAC test (Standardized Measurement for Equipment Particulate Airborne Concentrations).
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail below based on figures. Schematically:
Figure 1 shows a system according to the invention for continuously processing pulverulent products in a perspective view,
Figure 2 shows a rotary press of the system shown in Figure 1 in an unrolled representation of the rotor,
Figure 3 shows a filling apparatus according to the invention in a first perspective view,
Figure 4 shows the filling apparatus from Figure 3 with the cover of the filling chamber removed,
Figure 5 shows the filling apparatus shown in Figure 3 in a section view,
Figure 6 shows a perspective view from below of the filling apparatus from Figure 3, and
Figure 7 shows the filling chamber of the filling apparatus from Figure 3 with the conveyor wheel removed.
The same reference signs refer to the same objects in the figures unless indicated otherwise.
Figure 1 shows a system for continuously processing pulverulent products, comprising a rotary press 10, presently a rotary tablet press 10. The rotary tablet press 10 is arranged in a housing 12. A module housing 14 is arranged next to the rotary tablet press 10 on the same ground. In Figure 1, the module housing 14 is shown with the doors 16 opened for purposes of illustration. The housing 12 of the rotary tablet press 10 has windows 18 which can also be opened for access to the rotary tablet press 10.
The module housing 14 has on its upper side three system inlets 20, 22, 24 through which the pulverulent products can be supplied, for example, active pharmaceutical ingredients and/or excipients. Each of the inlets 20, 22, 24 has a metering apparatus 26, 28, 30 through which the supplied pulverulent products are metered. In the example shown, a supply funnel 32, to which the pulverulent products supplied through the inlets 20, 22, 24 and the metering apparatuses 26, 28, 30 are conducted, is located downstream of the inlets 20, 22, 24 with the metering apparatuses 26, 28, 30. The outlet of the supply funnel 32 is connected to a mixer inlet 34 of a mixer 36. In the example shown, the mixer 36 has a horizontal mixer tube 38 in which a mixing apparatus is arranged, for example, a rotatable mixing auger. In the mixer tube 38, the pulverulent products supplied via the supply funnel 32 are mixed to form a product mixture, namely a filling material, which is provided at a mixer outlet 40 of the mixer. The mixer outlet 40 is in connection with an, in the example shown, funnel-shaped conveyor reservoir 42 of a conveyor apparatus 44. The conveyor apparatus 44 also comprises a conveyor hose 46 connected to the outlet of the conveyor reservoir 42, the other end of which is connected via an outlet hopper 48 to a press inlet 50 on the upper side of the housing 12 of the rotary tablet press 10. In the example shown, the conveyor apparatus 44 is a pneumatic vacuum conveyor apparatus 44. Accordingly, the conveyor apparatus 44 has a vacuum hose 52 and a vacuum generating unit 54. The vacuum generating unit 54 generates, via the vacuum hose 52, a vacuum at the outlet of the conveyor hose 46, by means of which the product mixture located in the conveyor reservoir 42 is conveyed through the conveyor hose 46 into the outlet hopper 48 and to the press inlet 50 of the rotary tablet press 10. For this purpose, an outlet valve at the outlet of the conveyor hose 46 opens intermittently and then closes again after the respectively conveyed product amount has been let out. Then, this cycle is repeated so that the product mixture is conveyed intermittently out of the conveyor reservoir 42 from the mixer outlet 40 located at a vertically lower level to the press inlet 50 of the rotary tablet press 10 arranged at a vertically higher level. In the rotary tablet press 10, tablets are produced from the supplied product mixture forming the filling material in a manner explained in more detail below, wherein the tablets are discharged at a press outlet 56 of the rotary tablet press 10, where they can be supplied to further processing, for example, dedusting and/or packaging.
The system shown in Fig. 1 serves to continuously process pulverulent products to form pellets produced in the rotary press 10, in the example shown in particular to form tablets pressed in the rotary tablet press 10. The system can be contained, as explained above.
In Figure 2, a rotary tablet press 10 used, for example, in the system shown in Figure 1 is shown in an unrolled representation of the rotor. The rotary tablet press shown in Figure 2 comprises a rotor rotatingly driven by a rotary drive (not shown in detail) with a die plate 62 having a plurality of cavities 64. The cavities 64 can be formed, for example, by bores in the die plate 62. The rotor further comprises a plurality of upper pressing punches 68 guided in an upper punch guide 66 and a plurality of lower pressing punches 72 guided in a lower punch guide 70, which run synchronously with the die plate 62. Each pair of an upper pressing punch 68 and a lower pressing punch 72 is associated with a cavity 64. The axial movement of the upper pressing punches 68 and lower pressing punches 72 in the course of the rotation of the rotor is controlled by upper control curve elements 74 and lower control curve elements 76. The rotary tablet press also comprises a filling apparatus 78 according to the invention. The filling apparatus 78 comprises a funnel-shaped filling material reservoir 82 which is in connection with a filling chamber 80 via a filling tube 84. In this manner, in the present example, the pulverulent filling material enters into the filling chamber 80 through the filling tube 84 due to gravity and out of it again into the cavities 64 of the die plate 62. In addition, the rotary tablet press comprises an upper pressing apparatus 86 and a lower pressing apparatus 87. The upper pressing apparatus 86 has an upper preliminary pressing apparatus with an upper preliminary pressing roller 88 and the lower pressing apparatus comprises a lower preliminary pressing apparatus with a lower preliminary pressing roller 90. The upper pressing apparatus 86 also an upper main pressing apparatus with an upper main pressing roller 92 and the lower pressing apparatus 87 comprises a lower main pressing apparatus with a lower main pressing roller 94. When passing through the pressing apparatuses 86, 87, the upper and lower pressing punches 68, 72 are pushed into the cavities 64 and in the process press the filling material filled into the cavities 64 to form tablets 100. The rotary tablet press further comprises an ejector apparatus 96, in the present case with a stripper 98 which supplies the tablets 100 produced in the rotary press and conveyed by the lower pressing punches 72 and the upper side of the die plate 62 to a tablet discharge 102.
A control apparatus 104 controls the operation of the rotary press and is connected inter alia to the rotary drive of the rotor via lines (not shown in detail).
Based on Figures 3 to 6, the embodiment of the filling apparatus 78 according to the invention shall be explained in more detail. The lower end of the filling tube 84 forms an inlet opening 106 of the filling chamber 80 through which the filling material enters from the filling tube 84 into the filling chamber 80 due to gravity. The upper side of the filling chamber 80 is closed by a cover 110 fastened by means of screw connections 108. The cover 110 is not shown in Figure 4 for purposes of illustration. As can be seen in the figures, the filling chamber 80 is arranged at an angle tilted to the horizontal, for example at an angle between 30° and 60°. As can be seen in particular in the section view in Figure 5, the base 112 of the filling chamber is designed in the shape of a truncated cone. A conveyor wheel 114 is arranged in the filling chamber 80 to be rotatable around a drive shaft 119 about an axis of rotation 118 aligned at an angle α (see Figure 5) to the vertical 116 by means of a rotary drive (not shown in detail), for example an electric motor. The angle α can be, for example, in a range between 30° and 60°. On its radially outer perimeter, the conveyor wheel 114 has a plurality of conveyor pockets 120 which are arranged along a circular path and each of which are delimited by adjacent side walls 122 and are open on their upper and lower sides. The filling tube 84 is arranged so that filling material falls from the filling tube 84 through the inlet opening 106 into the conveyor pockets 120 of the conveyor wheel 114 rotating below the inlet opening 106 so that the filling material received in the conveyor pockets 120 is further conveyed along the circular path to an outlet opening 124 arranged on the lower side of the filling chamber 80 (see Figure 6).
In this manner, the filling material is actively conveyed by the conveyor pockets 120 from the inlet opening 106 to the outlet opening 124. The inlet opening 106 is arranged at a highest position of the conveyor wheel 114 and the outlet opening 124 is arranged at a lowest position of the conveyor wheel 114. As can be seen in particular in Figures 4 and 5, the base 112 of the filling chamber 80 is designed tilted in relation to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation 118 in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets 120, according to the truncated cone shape explained above. The trough-shaped embodiment of the filling chamber 80 achieved by the truncated cone can be seen particularly well in Figure 7, in which, in addition to the filling tube 84 and the cover 110, the conveyor wheel 114 is also not shown for purposes of illustration. This reliably prevents product buildup and dead spaces in the conveyor pockets 120. Here, the filling material received in the conveyor pockets 120 is conveyed into the outlet opening 124 and thus into the cavities 64 of the rotary press 10 by centrifugal force in the course of the rotation of the conveyor wheel 114. As can be seen, for example, in Figure 5, the conveyed path of the filling material from the inlet opening 106 to the outlet opening 124 is such that redirections of the flow direction of the filling material are each smaller than 90°.
A control apparatus, for example the control apparatus 104 of the rotary press 10, can control the rotary drive of the conveyor wheel 114, in particular its rotational speed, and thus the rotational speed of the conveyor wheel 114 in order to control in a suitable manner the amount of filling material supplied to the cavities 64 and/or the filling pressure when filling the cavities 64 with filling material.
List of Reference Signs
10 Rotary tablet press
12 Housing
14 Module housing
16 Doors
18 Windows
20 System inlet
22 System inlet
24 System inlet
26 Metering apparatus
28 Metering apparatus
30 Metering apparatus
32 Supply funnel
34 Mixer inlet
36 Mixer
38 Mixer tube
40 Mixer outlet
42 Conveyor reservoir
44 Conveyor apparatus
46 Conveyor hose
48 Outlet hopper
50 Press inlet
52 Vacuum hose
54 Vacuum generating unit
56 Press outlet
62 Die plate
64 Cavities
66 Upper punch guide
68 Upper pressing punches
70 Lower punch guide
72 Lower pressing punches
74 Upper control curve elements
76 Lower control curve elements
78 Filling apparatus
80 Filling chamber
82 Filling material reservoir
84 Filling tube
86 Upper pressing apparatus
87 Lower pressing apparatus
88 Upper preliminary pressing roller
90 Lower preliminary pressing roller
92 Upper main pressing roller
94 Lower main pressing roller
96 Ejector apparatus
98 Stripper
100 Tablets
102 Tablet discharge
104 Control apparatus
106 Inlet opening
108 Screw connections
110 Cover
112 Base
114 Conveyor wheel
116 Vertical
118 Axis of rotation
119 Drive shaft
120 Conveyor pockets
122 Side walls
124 Outlet opening
Claims
1. A filling apparatus for filling cavities (64) of a rotary press (10), comprising a filling chamber (80) with an inlet opening (106) through which filling material enters the filling chamber (80), and an outlet opening (124) through which filling material exits into the cavities (64) of the rotary press (10), characterized in that a conveyor wheel (114) rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation (118) arranged at an angle (α) to the vertical (116) is arranged in the filling chamber (80), with a plurality of conveyor pockets (120) arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material, wherein the conveyor pockets (120) rotate along the inlet opening (106) and along the outlet opening (124) when the conveyor wheel (114) is rotated about its axis of rotation (118) so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets (120) is conveyed from the inlet opening (106) to the outlet opening (124).
2. The filling apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor pockets (120) are arranged on the perimeter of the conveyor wheel (114).
3. The filling apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the conveyor pockets (120) rotate below the inlet opening (106) and above the outlet opening (124) when the conveyor wheel (114) is rotated about its axis of rotation (118).
4. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inlet opening (106) is arranged at a highest position of the conveyor wheel (114), and that the outlet opening (124) is arranged at a lowest position of the conveyor wheel (114).
5. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor pockets (120) are each open on their upper side and on their lower side.
6. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor wheel (114) has a plurality of lateral walls (122), wherein adjacent walls (122) each delimit a conveyor pocket (120) between them.
7. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper side of the filling chamber (80) has a cover (110), and that a distance between the conveyor wheel (114) and the cover (110) is less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably at most 1 mm.
8. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a distance between the conveyor wheel (114) and a base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably less than 1 mm.
9. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is designed tilted in relation to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation (118) at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets (120).
10. The filling apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is designed conically at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets (120).
11. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is designed perpendicular to the axis of rotation (118) in a central region.
12. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor wheel (114) is designed to convey filling material located in the conveyor pockets (120) into the outlet opening (124) by centrifugal force in the course of a rotation about the axis of rotation (118).
13. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyed path of the filling material from the inlet opening (106 ) to the outlet opening (124) is such that each redirection of the flow direction of the filling material is smaller than 90°.
14. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a control apparatus (104) is provided which is designed to control the amount of filling material supplied to the cavities (64) and/or the filling pressure when filling the cavities (64) with filling material by controlling the rotary drive.
15. A rotary press comprising a rotor rotatable by means of a rotary rotor drive, wherein the rotor has an upper punch guide (66) for upper pressing punches (68) of the rotary press (10) and a lower punch guide (70) for lower pressing punches (72) of the rotary press (10) as well as a die plate (62) arranged between the punch guides (66, 70), wherein the pressing punches (68, 72) interact with cavities (64) of the die plate (62), further comprising a filling apparatus (78) according to one of the preceding claims, by which filling material to be pressed is filled into the cavities (64) of the die plate (62), further comprising at least one upper pressing apparatus (86) and at least one lower pressing apparatus (87) which interact during operation with the upper pressing punches (68) and with the lower pressing punches (72) to press the filling material in the cavities (64) of the die plate (62) to form pellets, and comprising an ejector apparatus (96) in which pellets generated in the cavities (64) are ejected from the rotary press (10).
16. A system for continuously processing pulverulent products, comprising at least two system inlets (20, 22, 24) for pulverulent products, a mixer (36) for continuously mixing the pulverulent products, wherein the mixer (36) has at least one mixer inlet (34) connected to the at least two system inlets (20, 22, 24), and wherein the mixer (36) has a mixer outlet (40) for filling material mixed from the pulverulent products, further comprising a rotary press (10) according to claim 15 for continuously processing the filling material to form pellets, wherein the rotary press (10) has a press inlet (50) connected to the mixer outlet (40) and a press outlet (56) for pellets generated in the rotary press (10).
1. A filling apparatus for filling cavities (64) of a rotary press (10), comprising a filling chamber (80) with an inlet opening (106) through which filling material enters the filling chamber (80), and an outlet opening (124) through which filling material exits into the cavities (64) of the rotary press (10), characterized in that a conveyor wheel (114) rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation (118) arranged at an angle (α) to the vertical (116) is arranged in the filling chamber (80), with a plurality of conveyor pockets (120) arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material, wherein the conveyor pockets (120) rotate along the inlet opening (106) and along the outlet opening (124) when the conveyor wheel (114) is rotated about its axis of rotation (118) so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets (120) is conveyed from the inlet opening (106) to the outlet opening (124).
2. The filling apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor pockets (120) are arranged on the perimeter of the conveyor wheel (114).
3. The filling apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the conveyor pockets (120) rotate below the inlet opening (106) and above the outlet opening (124) when the conveyor wheel (114) is rotated about its axis of rotation (118).
4. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inlet opening (106) is arranged at a highest position of the conveyor wheel (114), and that the outlet opening (124) is arranged at a lowest position of the conveyor wheel (114).
5. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor pockets (120) are each open on their upper side and on their lower side.
6. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor wheel (114) has a plurality of lateral walls (122), wherein adjacent walls (122) each delimit a conveyor pocket (120) between them.
7. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper side of the filling chamber (80) has a cover (110), and that a distance between the conveyor wheel (114) and the cover (110) is less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably at most 1 mm.
8. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a distance between the conveyor wheel (114) and a base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably less than 1 mm.
9. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is designed tilted in relation to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation (118) at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets (120).
10. The filling apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is designed conically at least in the region swept over by the conveyor pockets (120).
11. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base (112) of the filling chamber (80) is designed perpendicular to the axis of rotation (118) in a central region.
12. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor wheel (114) is designed to convey filling material located in the conveyor pockets (120) into the outlet opening (124) by centrifugal force in the course of a rotation about the axis of rotation (118).
13. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyed path of the filling material from the inlet opening (106 ) to the outlet opening (124) is such that each redirection of the flow direction of the filling material is smaller than 90°.
14. The filling apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a control apparatus (104) is provided which is designed to control the amount of filling material supplied to the cavities (64) and/or the filling pressure when filling the cavities (64) with filling material by controlling the rotary drive.
15. A rotary press comprising a rotor rotatable by means of a rotary rotor drive, wherein the rotor has an upper punch guide (66) for upper pressing punches (68) of the rotary press (10) and a lower punch guide (70) for lower pressing punches (72) of the rotary press (10) as well as a die plate (62) arranged between the punch guides (66, 70), wherein the pressing punches (68, 72) interact with cavities (64) of the die plate (62), further comprising a filling apparatus (78) according to one of the preceding claims, by which filling material to be pressed is filled into the cavities (64) of the die plate (62), further comprising at least one upper pressing apparatus (86) and at least one lower pressing apparatus (87) which interact during operation with the upper pressing punches (68) and with the lower pressing punches (72) to press the filling material in the cavities (64) of the die plate (62) to form pellets, and comprising an ejector apparatus (96) in which pellets generated in the cavities (64) are ejected from the rotary press (10).
16. A system for continuously processing pulverulent products, comprising at least two system inlets (20, 22, 24) for pulverulent products, a mixer (36) for continuously mixing the pulverulent products, wherein the mixer (36) has at least one mixer inlet (34) connected to the at least two system inlets (20, 22, 24), and wherein the mixer (36) has a mixer outlet (40) for filling material mixed from the pulverulent products, further comprising a rotary press (10) according to claim 15 for continuously processing the filling material to form pellets, wherein the rotary press (10) has a press inlet (50) connected to the mixer outlet (40) and a press outlet (56) for pellets generated in the rotary press (10).
Abstract
The invention relates to a filling apparatus for filling cavities of a rotary press, comprising a filling chamber with an inlet opening through which filling material enters the filling chamber, and an outlet opening through which filling material exits into the cavities of the rotary press, wherein a conveyor wheel rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation arranged at an angle to the vertical is arranged in the filling chamber, with a plurality of conveyor pockets arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material, wherein the conveyor pockets rotate along the inlet opening and along the outlet opening when the conveyor wheel is rotated about its axis of rotation so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets is conveyed from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. The invention also relates to a rotary press and to a system for continuously processing pulverulent products.
The invention relates to a filling apparatus for filling cavities of a rotary press, comprising a filling chamber with an inlet opening through which filling material enters the filling chamber, and an outlet opening through which filling material exits into the cavities of the rotary press, wherein a conveyor wheel rotatable by means of a rotary drive about an axis of rotation arranged at an angle to the vertical is arranged in the filling chamber, with a plurality of conveyor pockets arranged along a circular path for receiving filling material, wherein the conveyor pockets rotate along the inlet opening and along the outlet opening when the conveyor wheel is rotated about its axis of rotation so that filling material received in the conveyor pockets is conveyed from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. The invention also relates to a rotary press and to a system for continuously processing pulverulent products.