Continuous dispersing apparatus

Abstract: A continuous dispersing apparatus which comprises a vessel(1) comprising an inlet(2) for feeding a material to be processed at one end and an outlet(3) for discharging the dispersed material at the other end. A rotor(5) is disposed rotatably within the vessel(1), and the material flows between the vessel and rotor from the inlet(2) toward outlet(3). On the surface of the rotor, provided continuously are a compressing section (11) for gradually compressing the material, a shearing section(12) for applying shearing force to the material, and an expanding section(13) for releasing the compression of the material. When the material passes through the compressing section, shearing section and expanding section, the material is repeatedly applied with shearing force and dispersed sufficiently.

Description: The invention relates to a dispersing apparatus according to the preamble of claim 1. FR-A-2 293 979 discloses such a dispersing apparatus wherein the inner surface of the vessel has the same undulations as the outer surface of the rotor so that a processing space is provided without compressing section, shearing section and expanding section. This known apparatus is provided for processing material in connection with a grinding medium. GB-A-2 177 023 discloses an agitator mill which operates with attritive elements, wherein the rotor is displacable in axial direction in relation to the surrounding vessel the inner wall of which is provided with undulations. FR-A-1 542 726 discloses a dispersing apparatus, wherein a partition of the rotor into plural processing zones in an axial direction is provided. As an apparatus for mixing, finely grinding and dispersing the material to be processed, roll mills have been generally employed. A triple roll mill which has been conventionally used as a roll mill has a set of three rolls. The material is placed between a back roll and a middle roll and mixed by rotating the both rolls. A front roll is provided adjacent to the middle roll to transfer the treated material from the middle roll to the front roll, and the material is then scraped off and collected by a doctor knife at the front roll. It is supposed that, according to this method, the material to be processed is dispersed by subjecting it to compressing-shearing-expanding actions through a gap section (nip) between the back roll and the middle roll. The compressing-shearing-expanding actions by means of the roll mill are conducted only at straight sections between two nips among the three rolls and thus the dispersion efficiency of these actions can not be said to be so much high. When the material to be processed is a high viscosity substance, if the gap section between the rolls is very small at the beginning of the operation, there are problems that the start of the roll is difficult, metal parts are brought into contact with each other to cause seizing, and the like. In addition, since a conventional roll mill is of a batch system, it can not be operated continuously. It is also of an open type, thereby causing a problem of a solvent vapor, etc. and a problem in operation. The cooling of the material is made only from the inside of the roll, and therefore can not be said to be sufficient. Incidentally, a wet-type medium dispersing apparatus has been used in which medium such as balls, beads, etc. are stirred with a material to be processed in a vessel and shearing force is applied to the material to be processed to disperse the material. However, since the beads are used, there is an apprehension of incorporation of chips of beads and the like into the products, the structure is complex, and the handling is often troublesome. An object of the present invention is to provide a continuous dispersing apparatus which does not use the conventional roll mill and enables to conduct continuously the substantially same treatment as of the mixing, fine grinding, dispersing and the like of the material by use of the roll mill. Another object of the present invention is to provide a continuous dispersing apparatus which can enhance the dispersing efficiency without using beads. This object is achieved by the features in the characterizing part of claim 1. Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an example of a continuous dispersing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a part of another example at an outlet section of a vessel of the continuous dispersing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a developed view of a surface of a rotor of the continuous dispersing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another example of the rotor. Fig. 5 is a perspective side view of further example of the rotor. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example having two rotors. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of another example of a continuous dispersing apparatus according to the present invention, in which a vessel can be moved in an axial direction. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a part of an end portion of a vessel of another example in which the vessel can be moved. Fig. 9 is a front view of an end portion of a vessel showing further example in which the vessel can be moved. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In Fig. 1, a casing which constitutes a vessel 1 is formed into a cone shape, but may be formed into a cylindrical shape. The casing has an inlet 2 at one end for a material to be processed and an outlet 3 at the other end. At the inlet section, a compressing-feeding means such as a pump or the like, which is not shown in the drawing, is mounted for feeding the material to be processed into the vessel. Around the vessel, a jacket 4 is mounted for circulating temperature-controlling medium such as cooling water or the like. A rotor 5 is provided inside the vessel. The rotor is supported by a rotating shaft 7 in such a manner that it may be rotated in close to an inner wall 6 of the vessel. It is preferable to apply force to the rotating shaft 7 by use of a force-applying means such as a spring or the like so that the rotor may apply thrust in the direction opposite to the flowing direction of the material to be processed. The rotor is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape, but may be formed into a polygonal column shape. Between the rotor and the inner wall of the vessel, a flow path from the inlet toward the outlet is formed for the material to be processed. Here, as shown in Fig. 2, a rotor plate 8 and a stator plate 9 may be provided to form a narrow gap for preventing the free outflow of the material to be processed and applying sufficient compression to the material to be processed. Also, as shown by chain line in Fig. 1, the rotating shaft 7 may be provided with a flow path at the center portion thereof and a circulating path 10 running through the flow path and the inner wall of the rotor so that temperature-controlling medium such as cooling water or the like may be passed through the circulating path 10. Around the peripheral surface of the rotor 5, as shown in Fig. 3, there are continuously provided in a wave shape a compressing section 11 formed in such a manner that the space with the inner wall 6 of the vessel 1 becomes narrower gradually so that the material to be processed may be gradually compressed when the rotor is moved toward the direction of an arrow or the material to be processed is advanced toward the opposite direction of the arrow; a shearing section 12 disposed oppositely to the inner wall 6 with a narrow space so that shearing force may be applied to the material to be processed between the shearing section and the inner wall 6; and an expanding section 13 formed in such a manner that a space with the inner wall becomes wider gradually so that the compression to the material to be processed may be released subsequent to the shearing section 12. Such a compressing section 11, shearing section 12 and expanding section 13 can be variously provided along the direction of transfer of the material to be processed. In the example as shown in Fig. 1, the rotor 5 has a compressing section, a shearing section and an expanding section continuously in the axial direction. In this drawing, the compressing section and expanding section form a series of hollow spaces and are like annular grooves in appearance. The compressing section 11, shearing section 12 and expanding section 13 may be provided continuously in a circumferential direction of the rotor 5, and Fig. 4 shows an example thereof. In this instance, the compressing section and expanding section form a groove along the rotor's axial direction. These shapes may be formed in the axial direction and circumferential direction in combination to form the compressing section, shearing section and expanding section into a protrusion shape. The compressing section, shearing section and expanding section may be provided helically around the peripheral face of the rotor. In this instance, the direction of the helical pattern is preferably formed to twist in such a direction that the material to be processed is returned back to the inlet side when the rotor is rotated. The space between the shearing section 12 and the inner wall of the vessel, which is appropriately determined depending on the size of the material to be processed and conditions of the desired products, is mainly preferably within the range of from 0.5 to 0.02 mm. Fig. 5 shows an example in which the rotor 14 is partitioned into plural processing zones 15... in the axial direction; the compressing section 11, shearing section 12 and expanding section 13 are continuously provided in the circumferential direction of the rotor 14 in each processing zone; and the phases of the compressing sections 11, shearing sections 12 and expanding sections 13 at the processing zones 15, 15 adjacent each other are shifted. According to this example, during transfer of the material to be processed from a processing zone to an adjacent processing zone, the flow of the material meets a resistance and moves mainly in the circumferential direction as a whole, and resultingly the material is sufficiently processed. The rotor formed as mentioned above may be provided in a plural number within the vessel. For example, as shown in Fig. 6, the apparatus may be constituted in such a manner that the rotors 16, 17 formed as shown in Fig. 4 are arranged in series and a vessel 18 surrounds the rotors. By constituting the apparatus as mentioned above, the material to be processed flows and backs between the one rotor 16 and the other rotor 17, and the material is mainly moved in the circumferential direction as a whole. Resultingly the material is sufficiently processed. When the rotors 5, 14, 16 and 17 rotate, the material to be processed, which is fed with pressure into the vessel by use of a compressing-feeding means such as a pump or the like, is gradually compressed at the compressing section 11, applied with shearing force between the shearing section 12 and the inner wall 6 of the vessel to conduct the grinding, released at the expanding section 13, compressed again at the compressing section, and ground at the shearing section. The material flows to the outlet side after the continuous processing by such actions, during which the material is finely ground to a desired size and dispersed. The surface of the rotor and the inner wall of the vessel are preferably composed of abrasion resistance materials, for example, ultra rigid materials such as ceramic, tungsten carbide or the like. It is preferable to design the apparatus so that the space between the rotor and the inner wall of the vessel may be varied depending on the properties of the material to be processed. The adjustment of the space can be made by designing the apparatus in such a manner that the vessel and rotor are formed into a cone shape in which the inner diameters of them vary from the inlet to the outlet and either one or both of the vessel and rotor may be moved in the axial direction. The example shown in Fig. 7 shows an apparatus in which a vessel is arranged to be shiftable in the axial direction. In this drawing, the vessel 19 has an inlet 20 at one end for feeding the material to be processed by a compressing-feeding means such as a pump or the like, and an outlet 21 at the other end. The vessel has a jacket 22 for circulating the temperature-controlling medium such as cooling water or the like around the vessel, and a rotor 23 inside the vessel. The rotor 23 is rotated by a rotating shaft 24. The inner wall 25 of the vessel 19 and the rotor 23 are formed into a cone shape of which the diameter expands from the inlet 20 toward the outlet 21, but may be formed into a cone shape of which the diameter reduces from the inlet to the outlet. On the rotor 23, a compressing section, a shearing section and an expanding section are continuously arranged likely as the above example. An inner end of the vessel 19 is slidably fitted to a flange 27 arranged at a stationary portion 26 of its body, and an appropriate sealing member 28 is arranged to the sliding surface to permit the movement in the axial direction under a sealing condition. As a means of moving the vessel, an appropriate means may be used. In the moving means shown in Fig. 7, a cylinder device 29 such as a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder or the like is provided at the stationary portion 26, and a piston rod 30 of the cylinder device 29 is connected to the vessel 19. The vessel is moved in the axial direction by the expansion and contraction of the piston rod by the operation of the cylinder device 29. The moving means shown in Fig. 8 uses a thread device. That is, a male thread 32 is arranged at a flange 31 formed on the fixing portion 26 of the body, and a female thread 35 is arranged at a flange 34 formed on a vessel 33. The vessel can be moved in the axial direction by the rotation of the vessel 33. Fig. 9 shows an example using the other thread device. In this drawing, a vessel 36 is supported by a supporting member 37 and positioned transversely, and a flange 38 has a nut 39. A feed screw 40 is fitted to the nut 39. By rotating the feed screw 40 by an actuator 41 including a motor, a speed reducer or the like, the vessel 36 is moved in the axial direction. Here, if the vessel 36 is positioned in a vertical direction, the supporting member 37 is not necessary. The rotor 23 can be moved by providing an appropriate moving means for moving the rotor in the axial direction at one end of the rotor 24. According to the above constructions, the rotor and the vessel are moved in such a direction that these become apart from each other at first, and the distance between the compressing section, shearing section or the like and the inner wall of the vessel are expanded, and therefore the start of the operation can be made easily even if the material to be processed has a high viscosity. Once the rotor starts to rotate, the vessel may be moved in such a direction that it becomes close to the rotor to adjust the distance. In the respective examples mentioned above, the vessels and rotors are arranged transversely, but, as a matter of course, these may be practiced by arranging in the vertical direction or oblique direction. The present invention is constituted as mentioned above, the material to be processed is ground every time when it passes through the shearing section, and processed continuously by this action from the inlet to the outlet. Accordingly, the dispersing efficiency of the material is extremely high. Further, since the processing can be made continuously in a sealed system, the problems such as the solvent vapor or the like can be solved. Even if the material to be processed has a high viscosity, the problem in starting can be solved by adjusting the space at the shearing section, and also the surface of the rotor and the inner wall of the vessel are not brought into contact with each other to prevent the seizing of them.

Claims: A dispersing apparatus which comprises a vessel (1) having and inlet (2) for a material to be processed at one end and an outlet (3) at the other end, and a rotor (5) rotatably disposed within the vessel (1), wherein the outer surface of the rotor (5) is undulated, characterized in that, the undulated outer surface of the rotor (5) is surrounded by a plain inner wall (6) of the vessel (1) so that there is continuously provided a compressing section (11) which gradually becomes narrower between inner wall (6) of the vessel (1) and outer surface of the rotor (5), a shearing section (12) and an expanding section (13) which gradually becomes wider between inner wall (6) and outer surface of the rotor (5), wherein dispersing of a material can be continuously conducted without grinding medium by the succession of compressing, shearing and expanding sections. A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the compressing section (11), shearing section (12) and expanding section (13) are continuously arranged in a wave shape in an axial direction of the rotor (5). A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the compressing section (11), shearing section (12) and expanding section (13) are continuously arranged in a wave shape in a circumferential direction of the rotor (5). A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the compressing section (11), shearing section (12) and expanding section (15) are continuously arranged in an axial direction and a circumferential direction of the rotor (5). A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the rotor (5) is partitioned into plural processing zones (15) in an axial direction, the compressing section (11), shearing section (12) and expanding section (13) of the respective processing zones (15) are continuously arranged in the circumferential direction of the rotor (5), and phases of the compressing section (11), shearing section (12) and expanding section (13) of the adjacent processing zones (15) are shifted. A dispersing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the vessel (1) is expanded from one end toward the other end, and the rotor (5) is rotatably disposed within the vessel (1) of which the diameter expands from one end toward the other end along an inner wall (6) of the vessel (1), and the apparatus further comprises a means for moving the vessel (1) in an axial direction. A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein the moving means comprises a cylinder device (29). A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein the moving means comprises a thread device. A dispersing apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein the vessel (1) is slidably fitted to a stationary portion of its body.

Inventors: INOUE YOSHITAKA, KAMIWANO MITSUO, INOUE, YOSHITAKA, KAMIWANO, MITSUO
Applicants: INOUE MFG INC, INOUE MFG., INC.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B02C17
IPC codes: B02C17