VACUUM ROTARY DRYER

Abstract: A vacuum rotary dryer provided with an air-tight closure having a jacket used for the through-flow or charging of fluid, and characterized by a structure comprising a shell (1) having a charge/discharge opening (14) provided with said air-tight closure (13) being arbitrarily opened or closed, and comprising the double structure of said shell (1) with an inside shell body (2) and an outside jacket (3) to form a hot water/hot air flow path (4) between said shell body and said jacket, and comprising a drive motor to rotate said shell body via an axial shaft (5) being projected from said shell body (2) at the end of the horizontal center axis, and comprising a rotational mixing blade (41) being mounted at a part of the inner wall of said shell body (2) to be driven by a drive mechanism (42) at need, and comprising the hot water/hot air charge/discharge pipes (27, 28) to communicate with said hot water/hot air flow path (4) and with the outside source, and comprising more than one pipe (12, 20) to charge bulk materials or fluids, and a pipe (24) to feed high pressure gas, and an evacuation pipe (18) communicating with an outside vacuum unit, which pipes have ends opening into the inner chamber of said shell body (2) and coming through said axial shaft (5), and comprising the circular arc nozzle (23) being formed by extending said high pressure gas feed pipe (24) to the inside chamber of said shell body and having many small holes (25) along the line of outer side of the curvature.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to drying technology, mixing technology, and granulating technology of bulk material. More particularly it relates to a double cone type vacuum rotary dryer having a superior mixing function, especially for the mixing of bulk materials, which prevents the material from sticking to the inner wall surface of the dryer and also has a granulating function. A vacuum rotary dryer of this kind is known from the prior art, as is shown in the US-A-3 296 709. This known generic vacuum rotary dryer has a double-walled material receiving container rotatable about a hollow center axis and comprising an inlet/outlet portion which can be hermetically sealed by a lid. Between the walls of the container a gap is formed through which a heating or cooling fluid can be conducted which is supplied through a supply conduit embedded in the center axis. On the side opposite to the inlet/outlet portion, the material receiving container exhibits a filtrate collecting compartment which is separated from the actual filling chamber by a perforated wall and which can be evacuated by a liquid filtrate evacuating conduit. Moreover, several conduits, through which the filling chamber can be evacuated or the bulk material can be charged with certain solid substances, liquids or gases, are formed within the hollow center axis. However, the design of the inlet/outlet portion and of the filtrate collecting compartment proves to be particularly disadvantageous, as the surface temperatures thereof deviate from the container wall temperature so that a homogeneous heating of the bulk material cannot be achieved, Moreover, during the drying operation residues of the bulk material can be deposited on the inner wall of the container, which leads to an additional deterioration of the thermal efficiency during the heat transfer and to a worse mixing of the bulk material and thus to a loss in the quality of the product. The subject matter of the application has the object of further developing the vacuum rotary dryer according to the preamble of the new claim 1 in such a way that a stable high product quality can be achieved by low temperature vacuum drying without any thermal decomposition or any thermal degradation. According to the application this object is achieved by the features indicated in the characterizing part of the new main claim. The design of the closure with two closure walls forming a path leads to a uniform heating of the inner surface of the shell body. Due to the resulting enlargement of the heating surface, a rise in the thermal efficiency for the heat transmission to the bulk material is achieved so that the heating temperature can be lowered with the effect remaining the same. The maintaining of a uniform transmission of heat is additionally supported by the arrangement of a further high pressure gas feed pipe which forms a curved end portion inside the filling chamber provided with a plurality of small holes along the line of the curvature. By means of this arrangement deposited material residues leading to an unintended insulation of the inside shell and thus contributing to a deterioration of the product quality can be removed. So as to improve the drying and mixing operation, the vacuum rotary dryer according to the invention moreover provides a rotational mixing blade which increases the heat absorption of the bulk material and achieves a uniform temperature distribution within the bulk material. To use this equipment as a dryer or a granulator, the bulk materials to be processed are charged through the opened air-tight closure of the charge/discharge opening, and after the closure is realed the chamber is rotated by a rotary drive motor around the supported axial shaft to conduct the drying or granulating operation. During the drying of the materials, hot water at an appropriate temperature is sent through the flow path for hot water/hot air on the outside surface of the inner shell and on the air-tight closure via the hot water charge/discharge pipes to heat and dry the contained bulk materials through the walls of the inner shell and the closure. Since the filling chamber of the inner shell is evacuated by the outside vacuum unit via the evacuation pipe, the drying occurs in a vacuum and at a low temperature to produce high quality products free from thermal decomposition or thermal degradation. When the concave surface in the jacketed area at the air-tight closure is covered with a perforated plate and either of the charge/discharge pipelines is closed and a fluid such as hot air is fed from the other of the pipelines, the hot air is jetted into the filling chamber of the inner shell from the perforated plate to conduct flow-through drying. To use this equipment as a mixer, after the bulk materials to be mixed are charged through the opened airtight closure of charge/discharge opening, the closure is sealed and the chamber is rotated by the rotary drive motor around the supported axial shaft and the mixing blade mounted on the inner wall surface of the inner shell is rotated by a rotary drive mechanism such as an air-motor to conduct the mixing operation. Since the shell body has a conical shape, the rotation of the inner shell induces the repeated "press" and "disperse" motion of the bulk materials against the wall surface. This motion enhances the mixing by the rotary mixing blade. When bulk materials or liquids must be added during the mixing operation, they are poured or distributed into the filling chamber of the inner shell through the charge pipes, and after the completion of the mixing operation, they are discharged from the charge/discharge opening. During the mixing operation, when the jacketed concave part of the air-tight closure is covered with a blind plate and a fluid such as hot water is charged to the jacketed fluid path via feed pipe and is discharged from the discharge pipe, the hot water heats the blind plate which in turn heats the contacting materials inside the filling chamber of the shell to achieve a uniform temperature distribution on the whole wall surface. This new vacuum rotary dryer in accordance with the present invention has the advantage that it can be used as a dryer or mixer or a dryer and mixer. Another advantage of this invention is that the addition of bulk materials and liquids during the mixing process is considerably simplified. A further advantage is that there is no sticking of bulk materials to the inner wall surface of the inner shell during mixing or drying. A further advantage is that it achieves excellent quality control because there is no opening of the closure when charging additives. A further advantage of this invention is that it can be used as a multi-functional piece of equipment for granulation, liquid addition, coating, and other operations because it mixes different types of bulk materials and liquids and it can add and mix them during the drying process. The other features and advantages of this invention will be clearly understood from the following detailed description and the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front cross-sectional view of the whole piece of equipment representing the first embodiment of the rotary dryer of this invention. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the shell body. Fig. 3 is the cross-sectional view at section A-A in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is the cross-sectional view at section B-B in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is the cross-sectional view at section C-C in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a front view of the air-tight closure. Fig. 7 is the cross-sectional view at section D-D in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a front cross-sectional view of the shell body representing the second embodiment of the rotary dryer of this invention. Fig. 9 is a side sectional view of the same item as in Fig. 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Following is a detailed illustration of the vacuum rotary dryer which is provided with an air-tight closure having a jacket for through-flow or charging of fluid in accordance with this invention using the figures of the embodiments. Fig. 1 through Fig. 7 illustrate the first embodiment of this invention. Number 1 in the figures is the double structured shell body which has the inner shell 2 made of stainless steel or carbon steel or other materials as the inner structure and which has the jacket 3 at outside surface of the shell 2 as the outer structure to form the flow path 4 between the shell 2 and the jacket 3 for hot water/hot air and which has the charge/discharge opening 14 at a top of the conical shell and which has the air-tight closure 13 at the charge/discharge opening 14 in a manner to be easily opened or closed. At one end of the shaft center of the shell body 1, the flange member 5a is mounted to penetrate the shell body 1 to connect with the rotary tube shaft 5. The rotary tube shaft 5 which is extended with an air-tight device from the flange member 5a is supported to freely rotate on two bearings 6, 6 which are fixed on the base 7. The rotary tube shaft 5 or the extended part is connected to an appropriate rotary drive unit (not shown) to rotate the rotary tube shaft 5 according to a predetermined program. Number 8 in the figures is the observation hole in the shell body 1 at one end of the rotating center axis. The observation hole 8 is formed by mounting a transparent hard glass plate 10 in a cylindrical frame 9 which penetrates the inner shell 2 and the jacket 3 so that the fixture is airtight. In the rotary tube shaft 5 and the flange member 5a, a feeder pipe 16 is inserted in a manner that the feeder pipe 16 freely rotates under air-tight conditions using a shaft seal mechanism 15 such as gland packings. Through the feeder pipe 16, the following pipes are inserted so that the apparatus remains air-tight. (a) The bulk material charge pipe 12 which connects with the bulk material charge nozzle 11. (b) The evacuating pipe 18 which is provided with an air filter 17. (c) The liquid charge pipe 20 which is equipped with the spray nozzle 19 for addition of liquids. (d) The signal wire insertion pipe 22 which holds a signal cable to communicate with the temperature sensor 21 extended into the inside chamber of the inner shell 2. (e) The air supply pipe 24 which connects with the stickproof air nozzle 23. The stick-proof air nozzle 23 is curved along the curvature of the inner wall of the inner shell 2 at a certain distance and has many small holes 25, 25... along the line of the outer side of the curvature to form a circular arc, with the configuration of the air nozzle 23, the jetted air from many small holes 25, 25... blows off any bulk materials which stick to the inner wall surface of the inner shell 2. Number 26 in the figures is the rotary joint pipe which sheathes the extended part of the rotary tube shaft 5 under air-tight and rotational conditions and which is provided with charge/discharge ports 27 and 28 for hot air or hot water to the jacket, the charge/discharge ports 29 and 30 for hot air or hot water to the air-tight closure 13, the gas charge/discharge ports 31 and 32 to the chopper, and the auxiliary port 33. The rotary joint 26 communicates with the hot water/hot air flow path 4 of the shell body 2 and the jacket on the air-tight closure 13 via the corresponding communication paths 34 through the rotary tube shaft 5 under the rotating condition. The air-tight closure 13 opens and closes the charge/discharge opening 14 on the ring support frame 35. The rotary shaft 36 is attached to cross the ring support frame 35 at the center axis of the charge/discharge opening 14 under rotary and air-tight conditions. The closure plate 37 is attached to the rotary shaft to rotate approximately 90 degrees within the charge/discharge opening 14 and the closure plate 37 is provided with an O-ring on the periphery thereof to construct air-tight inserted valve structure. On the concave surface at the side of the closure plate 37, the jacketed area 39 is formed with an arbitrarily perforated plate 38 mounted by small screws for easy removal. The fluid charge path 43 and the fluid discharge path 44 are provided to communicate with both ends of the rotary shaft 36 and the jacketed area 39. Also, the charge/discharge ports 29 and 30 for hot air or hot water to the air-tight closure 13 communicate with the fluid paths 43 and 44 via the communication paths 34. Number 40 in the figures is the valve operating lever which is mounted at one end of the rotary shaft 36. Number 41 in the figures is the mixing blade which is mounted with an air-tight fitting from the outside of the shell body 1 at a part of the inner wall of the inner shell 2. The mixing blade 41 is driven by a rotary drive mechanism such as an airmotor 42 to break up the skinned agglomerates which are formed after the granulation upon the addition of liquid to the bulk materials or to disintegrate the skinned agglomerates which are formed after the drying of granulated materials by heating through the jacket or by hot air. The above illustrated vacuum rotary dryer dries or mixes the bulk materials by charging them into the shell body 2 through the charge/discharge opening 14 and by closing the air-tight closure 13 and by rotating or swinging the shell body 1 with the rotary drive unit according to a predetermined program. The drying process is conducted with a supply of hot water or hot air to the hot water/hot air flow path 4 on the inner shell 2 and to the jacketed area 39 on the air-tight closure 13 via the charge/discharge ports 27 and 28 for hot air or hot water to the jacket and via the charge/discharge ports for hot air or hot water to the air-tight closure 13. In addition, mixing or granulation is conducted while the additional fluids or powders are charged into the inside as needed through the bulk material charge pipe 12, the evacuation pipe 18, the liquid charge pipe 20, and the air supply pipe 24, or some combination of these pipes. Since the shell body 1 has a conical shape, the rotation of the inner shell 2 induces a repeated "press" and "disperse" motion of the bulk materials against the wall surface. Tis motion enhances the mixing produced by the rotary motion by the mixing blade 41. Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 illustrate the second embodiment of this vacuum rotary dryer invention. The following is an illustration of the structures that differ from those in the first embodiment (the same numbers are used as in the first embodiment for the same functioning parts). The double structured shell body 1 which has the inner shell 2 as the inner structure and the jacket 3 on the outside surface of the inner shell 2 as the outer structure to form the flow path 4 between the double structures for hot water/hot air and which has the charge/discharge opening 14 at the bottom of the conical shell body 1 and which has the air-tight closure 13 at the charge/discharge opening 14 in a manner to be easily opened and closed. At the top of the conical shell opposite the opening 14, the mixing blade 41 is air-tightly mounted with an air-tight fitting from the outside of the shell body 1 at a part of the inner wall of the inner shell 2. The mixing blade 41 is driven by a drive mechanism such as air-motor 42. At an end of the center axis of the shell body 1, the flange member 5a is mounted to penetrate the shell body 1 to connect with the rotary tube shaft 5. The extended part of the rotary tube shaft 5 is horizontally supported on the bearing units mounted on the base (not shown) to rotate the tube shaft 5 following a predetermined program. The evacuating pipe 18 having an air filter 17 at one end is air-tightly inserted into the rotary tube shaft 5. At the opposite end of the center axis of the shell body 1, the rotary frame 53 is mounted between the shell body 2 and the jacket 3. The rotary frame 53 rotates air-tightly inside the flange 52 which penetrates the jacket 3 and the inner shell 2 to open the material charge opening 49 via the mechanical seal mechanism consisting of the bearing 45 and the oil seal 46. The material charge opening 49 has a cylindrical frame 9 which is opened or closed by the operation of the lock handles 50, 50 and has an observation hole 8 provided with a transparent hard glass plate 10 sealed air-tight into a cylindrical frame 9. The wiper 51 is attached to the observation hole 8. The following pipes are sealed air-tight to and pass through the flange 52 : The liquid charge pipe 20 which is provided with a spray nozzle 19 for liquid addition. The signal wire insertion pipe 22 which holds a signal cable to communicate with the temperature sensor 21 extended to the inside chamber of the inner shell 2. The conduit 48 which communicates with the pressure gauge 47. The air supply pipe 24 which communicates with the stick-proof air nozzle 23. The air nozzle 23 is curved along the curvature of the inner wall of the inner shell 2 at a certain distance to form a circular arc and has many small holes 25, 25... along the line of outer side of curvature to blow off any bulk materials stuck to the inner wall surface of the inner shell 2 using the high pressure air jetted from the small holes 25. In short, the vacuum rotary dryer having the described structure performs drying, granulation, and coating of bulk materials by charging the materials and additives through the material charge opening 49 and using the spray nozzle 19 for addition of liquids, and blows off bulk materials stuck to the inner wall surface of the inner shell 2 using pressured air jetted from the stick-proof air nozzle 23 positioned against the inner wall of the inner shell 2, and is automatically controlled using information output from the temperature sensor 21 and the pressure gauge 47. The above description illustrates this invention using the most favorable embodiments. Since it is easy to give a wide variety of embodiments which present the concept and scope of this invention without any discrepancy, this invention is not restricted by any specific embodiment other than the limitations in the claims given below. A vacuum rotary dryer provided with an air-tight closure having a jacket used for the through-flow or charging of fluid, and characterized by a structure comprising a shell body having a charge/discharge opening provided with said air-tight closure being arbitrarily opened or closed, and comprising the double structure of said shell body with an inner shell and an outside jacket to form a hot water/hot air flow path between said inner shell and said jacket, and comprising a drive motor to rotate said shell body via an axial shaft being projected from said shell body at the end of the horizontal center axis, and comprising a rotational mixing blade being mounted at a part of the inner wall of said inner shell to be driven by a drive mechanism at need, and comprising the hot water/hot air charge/discharge pipes to communicate with said hot water/hot air flow path and with the outside source, and comprising more than one pipe to charge bulk materials or fluids, and a pipe to feed high pressure gas, and an evacuation pipe communicating with an outside vacuum unit, which pipes have ends opening into the inner filling chamber of said inner shell and coming through said axial shaft, and comprising the circular arc nozzle being formed by extending said high pressure gas feed pipe to the filling chamber of said inner shell and having many small holes along the line of outer side of the curvature.

Claims: A vacuum rotary dryer comprising a double wall-shaped shell body (1) with an inside shell (2) and an outside jacket (3) to form a flow path (4) for hot water/hot air therebetween, wherein said shell body (1) is supported in a rotary manner by a hollow axial shaft (5) containing a bulk material charge pipe (12), an evacuating pipe (18) communicating with an outside vacuum unit, a liquid charge pipe (20) and charge/discharge pipes (26) for the hot air or hot water to the jacket, and is provided with a charge/discharge opening (14) which can hermetically be sealed by a pivotable closure (13) so that the filling chamber of said shell body (1) is adapted to be vacuated and charged with solids, fluids or gas via said pipes (12, 20), characterized in that said shell body (1) includes at said inside shell (2) a rotational mixing blade (41) which is adapted to be driven by a drive mechanism (42) and said closure (13) includes two closure walls (37, 38) forming a path (39) inbetween to communicate with said charge/discharge pipes (26) for hot air or hot water, and that said shaft (5) comprises a high pressure air supply pipe (24) which forms a curved end portion (23) provided with a plurality of small holes (25) along the line of the outer side of the curvature. A vacuum rotary dryer as defined in claim 1 in which the cross section of said inner shell (2) has a conical shape. A vacuum rotary dryer as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 in which said shell body (1) is horizontally supported at the center axis therof via said axial shaft (5) projected from said inside shell (2) at an end of the center axis. A vacuum rotary dryer as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 in which said shell body (1) is provided with said axial shafts (5) on both sides of the center axis. A vacuum rotary dryer as defined in claim 1 through claim 4 in which said charge/discharge pipes (26) for hot air/hot water communicate with with an outside source via a rotary joint (29, 30) mounted on said axial shaft (5). A vacuum rotary dryer as defined in claim 1 through claim 5 in which said jacket structure on said air-tight closure (13) forms a structure in which the concave surface formed on the inner side surface is covered with a perforated plate or a blind plate and said jacket structure can be changed to the fluid charge structure or to the fluid through-flow structure.

Inventors: AOKI, MASAYOSHI, HORIAI, MAKOTO, OHIKE, ATSUO, SUZUKI, TOMIO, UEDA, TAKAO, YASUMURA, MITSURU
Applicants: FUJISAWA PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD., TOKUJU KOSAKUSHO CO., LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: F26B7
IPC codes: F26B11, F26B5