Centrifugal fluidising granulator and method for powder coating granulation

Abstract: The centrifugal fluidizing granulator for powder coating granulation has a sensor (40) for detecting changes of viscosity of the growing particles by means of a load cell or a displacement detector; and output signal of the sensor (40) is compared with the data stored in a memory contained in a control unit (50) which determines whether the growing particles are in their wetted state or dried state. The control unit (50) controls the spraying of the liquid and the dispersion of the guest powder based on the result of the comparison.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a centrifugal fluidising granulator for powder coating granulation for manufacturing a granular type pharmaceutical product and the like with powder coating of a guest powder. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In general, there has been known the centrifugal fluidizing granulator for powder coating granulation as a means for producing granules with coating of guest powder such as powdery pharmaceutical product. Known centrifugal fluidising granulator for powder coating granulation is such that, a multiplicity of the particles to become the cores in the produced granules (throughout this description and claims, to be referred to as "core particles") are caused to spirally roll at peripheral portion on the rotating disk, which is disposed in the granulating chamber of cylindrical shape. And that a liquid is atomized or sprayed on the rolling core particles for making the core particles humid. Guest powder is dispersed on the rolling granules, so that it the attaches on the surface of the humid core particles. The spraying of the liquid and the dispersal of the guest powder are repeated alternately, or performed simultaneously, thereby causing the core particles dusted with and densely coated with the guest powder of pharmaceutical to gradually grow into granules having an intended size. In the known centrifugal fluidizing granulator and the method for powder coating granulation, when the amount of the liquid to be atomized or sprayed is excessive, coated core particles or the produced granules may sometimes adhere to the other particles or produced granules, thereby to produce an undesirably large granules. In contrast to this, when the amount of the supplied guest powder is excessive, the excessively supplied guest powder may sometimes solidify by itself by the sprayed liquid, thereby to produce the particles having no core particles. Therefore particle sizes often grow unequal and such irregular particles are undesirably mixed in the granules of regular size. In order to prevent the above-mentioned disadvantages, it is required to adjust the amount of the liquid to be atomized or sprayed and the amount of the guest powder for the dispersal to their optima, respectively. In addition, since the surface area of the particles increases with the growth of the granules during the process of the granulating operation, it is required to gradually vary the amount of the liquid to be atomized or sprayed and also the amount of the guest powder for the dispersal with the progress of the granulation and the growth of the granules. However, it has hitherto been difficult to directly measure the particle diameter or size of the growing granules under granulating operation. In addition, the adjustment of the amount of the liquid to be atomized or sprayed and the amount of the guest powder for the dispersal has hitherto been relied mainly on the intuition of the skilled operator. Therefore, the prior art has the problems in that it is difficult to always obtain particles of uniform size, and that the irregularity in the products is great for the respective product lots. SUMMARY AND OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-stated problems, and, as its object, a provision of a centrifugal fluidizing granulator for powder coating granulation, as well as, the granulation method, wherein the conditions of the growing granules is detected precisely under the granulating operation and automatically controls the atomization/spraying of the liquid and the dispersal of the powdery pharmaceutical. According to the present invention, there is provided a centrifugal fluidizing granulator comprising: the features according to claim 1. In the above-mentioned centrifugal fluidizing granulator, the lower end part of said sensor is shaped to be a thin plate whose vertical sides are finished to be knife edges, disposed in parallel with the direction of said rolling flow of particulate material and granules, while the upper end part of said sensor is provided with a load detecting device. In a further embodiment according to claim 2 the sensor is provided with a balancing weight to demonstrate its own dynamical stability, the lower end part of said sensor is shaped to be a cylinder which displaces with said spiral flow of particulate material and granules, and the upper end part of said sensor is provided with a displacement detecting device. In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for powder coating granulation comprising; the features according to claim 3. In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for powder coating granulation comprising; the features according to claim 4. The particles of granular shape have different properties depending on the surface condition whether they are in the wet state or in the dry state. The particles in the wet state demonstrate an intermediate state between a liquid and a solid (for instance, a slurry or mud state). More concretely, the viscosity of the flow of the particles whose surfaces are in the wetted state is larger than that of the flow of the particles whose surfaces are in the dry state. In accordance with the present invention, the above-mentioned sensor detects the change in the viscosity and transmits the corresponding output signal to the above-mentioned control unit. The control unit determines whether the surfaces of the particles contained in the granulating chamber is in a given degree of wet state or in that of dry state by comparing the output signal with the stored data, and controls the spraying or atomizing of the liquid as well as the dispersion of the guest powder based on the result of the determination. As above-mentioned, the centrifugal fluidizing granulator and the method for powder coating granulation in accordance with the present invention has such an advantage that the amounts of the guest powder (pharmaceutical product) and of the liquid are neither excessive nor insufficient. This is because the adjustment on the amounts can be made automatically by the control unit based on the output signal from the sensor. Therefore, there is no occurrence of such cases as undesirable adhesion of one particle to the other to produce a larger particles and an inclusion of the particles having no core particle and unequal particle size which may be produced from an excess of guest powder through solidifying by itself with the atomized liquid. In addition to this, since there is no more need of relying upon the intuition of the operator in charge, there is such another advantage that anyone can operate the granulator or carry out the method to manufacture uniform product. And the deviation from the established standard among the product lots becomes very small. While the novel features of the present invention are set fourth particularly in the appended claims, the invention, both as to organization and content, will be better understood and appreciated, along with other objects and features thereof, from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.1 is a partly cut-out perspective view of the centrifugal fluidizing granulator configured in accordance with the present invention. FIG.2 is a partly cut-out perspective view of the centrifugal fluidizing granulator as shown in FIG.1, illustrating a state of spraying liquid. FIG.3 is a partly cut-out perspective view of the centrifugal fluidizing granulator as shown in FIG.1, illustrating a state of dispersing guest powder. FIG.4 is a partly cut-out perspective view for illustrating a sensor built in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.5 is a partly cut-out plan view for illustrating the relationship between the sensor shown in FIG.4 and the flow of the spirally moving particles. FIG.6 is a partly cut-out perspective view for illustrating a sensor built in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG.7 is a schematic sectional plan view illustrating the relationship between the sensor shown in FIG.6 and the flow of the spirally moving particles. It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following paragraphs, preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. FIG.1 is a schematic perspective view of the centrifugal fluidizing granulator built in accordance with the present invention, FIGs.2 and 3 are partly cut-out perspective views like FIG.1 for illustrating a state of spraying liquid, and a state of dispersing guest powder, respectively, FIG.4 is a partly cut-out perspective view for illustrating a sensor built in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.5 is a partly cut-out plan view for illustrating the relationship between the sensor shown in FIG.4 and the flow of the spirally moving particles. [Example of centrifugal fluidizing granulator] As shown in FIG.1, a rotor 10 of generally a disk shape is accommodated rotatably in a granulating chamber 1 of a cylindrical shape. The rotor 10 is rotated in a given direction (in the shown granulator, in the clockwise direction) at a given rotational frequency by a motor 52. The interior space of the granulating chamber 1 is partitioned by the rotor into a pair of spaces, i.e., an upper compartment 1e and a lower compartment 1b. The lower compartment 1b is constantly supplied with air of a substantially normal pressure, a given temperature and a given humidity at a given rate by a compressor 51 as shown by an arrow g. The air thus supplied in the lower compartment 1b is then blown into the upper compartment 1e, through a clearance 1c formed between the inner side wall 1a of the granulating chamber 1 and the periphery of the rotor 10. It is to be noted here that the particulate material present on the rotor 10 should not fall into the lower compartment 1b. In order to prevent the particulate material from falling into the lower compartment 1b and to make the air stream uniform, the clearance 1c formed between the inner side wall 1a of the granulating drum 1 and the periphery of the rotor 10 must be finished very small and uniform. A long hub 11 of the rotor 10 for securing its shaft 12 is effective for suppressing the inclination of the shaft of the rotor 10 to very small degree and for designing the clearance 1c to be also very small. On a ceiling 1f of the granulating chamber 1, there is provided a vent 2 for escaping air as well as a plurality of through pipes 3a, 3b, 3c and so on. The air supplied to the granulating chamber 1 is expelled therefrom, and flows to outer space through the vent 2 as shown by an arrow F. On one through pipe 3a, there is provided a spray gun 30 for spraying liquid at the lower end thereof, a valve 31 for controlling the spraying of the liquid at the medium part thereof and a container 32 for storing the liquid at the upper end thereof. On the other through pipe 3b, there is provided a nozzle 24 for dispersing the guest powder (pharmaceutical product) and a connecting pipe 23. To the connecting pipe 23 an impeller 21 is connected for controlling the supply of the guest powder, and a motor 22 for driving the impeller 21 and a powder supplying unit 20 for storing the guest powder are connected to the impeller 21. On the side wall of the granulating chamber 1, there is provided an opening with a lid 1d for removing the granules produced in the chamber 1 therethrough. A sensor 40 is provided on the ceiling 1f of the granulating chamber 1 in a manner to be suspended therefrom in the upper compartment 1e of the granulating drum 1. As specifically shown by the enlarged perspective view of FIG. 4, the sensor 40 comprises; a vertical rod 42 which pierces through the ceiling 1f of the granulating drum 1, a thin plate 41 provided on the lower end part of the vertical rod 42, a lateral rod 43, a pair of bearing members 44 for pivotally supporting the lateral rod 43, a protrusion 42a provided on the upper end part of the vertical rod 42, a load cell 45 as a load detecting device for detecting the load received by the protrusion 42a, and a supporting pillar 46 for the load cell 45. The thin plate 41 receives a stress from the rolling particles. The thin plate 41 is typically a metal plate of about 3 cm width and 1 -- 1.5 mm thickness, vertical sides of the metal plate being shaped in knife edges. The compressor 51, the motors 22 and 52, the valve 31 as well as the load cell 45 are connected to a control unit 50. In the following paragraphs, a description will be made on the moving behavior of the particles under the granulating operation. When the moving particles are seen macroscopically, that is, the mass of the particles as a whole are seen collectively, the particles under the granulating operation can be observed as a doughnut-like zone 60 formed with a multiplicity of the spirally moving particles, as shown by FIGs. 2, 3 and 4. In contrast to this, when viewed microscopically, the individual particle under the granulating operation 61, however, receives a combination of (1) a rotational force indicated by an arrow A exerted by the rotation of the rotor 10, (2) a centrifugal force indicated by an arrow B, (3) a reaction force produced upon the collision of the particle on the inner side wall 1a, (4) an upward force given by the flow of air indicated by an arrow C, (5) a downward force generated by gravity and (6) a reaction force by the rotation of the rotor 10. And it is considered that the individual particle 61 is performing a spiral (i.e., rolling while bouncing) motion in the doughnut-like three-dimensional, zone as a result of complicated combination of these forces. Referring now to FIGs.4 and 5, the position of plane of the thin plate 41 in relation to the sensor 40 will be discussed. If the thin plate 41 were arranged in a manner that it would intersect with the direction of the motion of the particles 61 at right angle, the particle 61 would collide vertically upon the plane of the thin plate 41 and the stress received by the collision would be detected. The stress due to the collision is dominated mainly by the mass of the particles, and thus it is substantially impossible to detect the variance in the stress due to changes in the surface conditions of the particles. In other words, in case of the intersectingly disposed plate, the variance in the stress determined by the surface conditions such as being wet or being dry of the particle of a given mass is only slight in comparison with the variance resulted by variance of mass of the particle, which may be introduced by the spray of the liquid or the dispersion of the gust powder. On the contrary, the inventor confirmed that, when the thin plate 41 is arranged in parallel with the direction of the movement of the particles and both the vertical side edges of the thin plate 41 are finished in knife edges as specifically indicated by FIGs.5 and 6, the particle 61 only seldom collides directly with the thin plate 41. In this case, the surface of the thin plate 41 receives only the frictional force produced upon spiral movement of the particle 61 in the doughnut shaped region 60. The frictional force demonstrates a remarkable difference in its degree depending on the surface conditions of the particle whether it is wet or dry. Therefore, the frictional force is preferable for indicating the variance of the surface conditions of the particle. Thus, it is possible to reliably detect the variance of the surface conditions of the particle distinctly by utilizing this frictional force. Based on the above-described reason, the thin plate 41 is fixed on the sensor 40 in a manner that its face is parallel with the direction of the spiral motion of the individual particle 61, instead of being parallel with the nearest part of the inner side wall 1a of the granulating drum 1 as shown by FIGs.1, 2, 3 and 4. [First example of powder coating granulation] In the following paragraphs, a first method for powder coating granulation in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to FIGs.2 and 3, in which the centrifugal fluidizing granulator according to the claims 1 or 2 is being used. As a first step, a given amount of the core particles are charged into the granulating chamber 1. The core particles are those having a mean diameter of 200 --- 500 µm of an inert material having no pharmaceutically active ingredient and typically composed mainly of starch, sugars, celluloses and the like. The rotor 10 is being continuously rotated in the given direction at a given rotational frequency. The compressor 51 is constantly supplying the dry air to the lower compartment 1b of the granulating drum 1 at a given temperature at a given rate. In this manner, the core particles 61 (FIG.4) are rolling while spirally moving on the rotor 10 inside the granulating chamber 1. The mass of the core particles 61 as a whole is observed as if it is forming a doughnut-like mass 60 wherein many particles are making spiral motion. In a first step, the control unit 50 actuates the valve 31, so as to permit the spray gun 30 to continuously spray the liquid stored in the container 32 to the rolling and bouncing core particles in the granulating drum 1, until the core particles reach a wetted state of certain degree. The liquid used in the first step is typically such one that includes binding agent such as methyl cellulose and ethyl cellulose. During this spraying operation, the rolling and bouncing core particles, which had initially been in their dried state, are gradually becoming wetted and their surface viscosity is becoming to increase. Thus the frictional force imposed on the surface of the thin plate 41 of the sensor 40 by the core particles is gradually increasing, and the output signal of the load cell 45 is becoming great, accordingly. An output signal of the load cell 45 produced when the core particles are in a given degree of wetted state has previously been measured in a preliminary separate experiment and stored in a memory contained in the control unit 50, as an initial predetermined (or a threshold) value. The control device 50 compares the actual output signal from the load cell 45 with the stored initial predetermined value. As "a second step", after operation of the device for a certain period and, when the output signal from the load cell 45 reaches to the initial predetermined value, the control unit 50 stops the spraying of the liquid by actuating the valve 31, and starts the dispersing of the guest powder (pharmaceutical product) stored in the powder supplying unit 20 to the interior space of the granulating chamber 1 by actuating the motor 22. When the surfaces of the core particles in the wetted state start to be dusted with the guest powder, the conditions of the surfaces are gradually turning from their wetted state to their dried state. During this dusting process, the surfaces of the dusted particles (as contrasted to the core particles, this particle is simply referred to as "particle" in the following description) are gradually becoming to be dried. As the amount of the gust powder attached to the surface of the core particles increases, the output signal of the load cell 45 becomes gradually smaller. The particles, whose surfaces are uniformly coated with the guest powder, have surfaces in a substantially dried state of a smaller viscosity as compared with the particles, whose surfaces are in a wetted state. An output signal of the load cell 45 produced when the particles are in this substantially dried state has previously been measured in another separate experiment and its value has been stored in a memory contained in the control unit 50, as the first predetermined (or the threshold) value. The control unit 50 compares the actual output signal from the load cell 45 with the stored first predetermined value. Then, as "a third step", when the output signal from the load cell 45 reaches the above-mentioned first predetermined value, the control unit 50 stops the dispersing of the guest powder as a result of de-actuating of the motor 22 and starts the spraying of the liquid again by actuating the valve 31. With the progress of the spraying of the liquid, the guest powder coated on the particles is getting wet, and the particles turns from the dried state to another wetted state, thereby gradually increasing the output signal of the load cell 45. In general, the viscosity of the surfaces of the core particles in the wetted state is not always coincident with the viscosity of the surfaces of the particles dusted with the guest powder in the same wetted state. It is therefore necessary for properly performing the granulating operation by previously measuring in another experiment an output signal of the load cell 45 produced under such case that the particles dusted with the guest powder are in a wetted state, and then storing the measured value in a memory contained in the control unit 50 as a second predetermined (threshold) value. So that the control unit 50 compares the actual output signal from the load cell 45 with the stored second predetermined value. Then, as "a fourth step", when the output signal from the load cell 45 reaches the second predetermined value, the control unit 50 stops the spraying of the liquid by actuating the valve 31 and starts the dispersion of the guest powder stored in the powder supplying unit 20 to the interior of the granulating chamber 1 again by actuating the motor 22. Thereafter, as "a fifth step", the above-mentioned third step and fourth step are alternately repeated until the particles are grown to acquire a desired diameter, or until the dispersion of the guest powder of a given amount is completed. [Second example of powder coating granulation] In the following paragraphs, a second method for powder coating granulation in accordance with the present invention is elucidated. This method is carried out also by using the granulator according to claim 1 or 2. In this second embodiment, the spraying of the liquid and the concurrent dispersion of the guest powder are performed simultaneously. In this second method, parts of the description, which are the same as those in the foregoing first method example wherein the spraying of the liquid and dispersion of the powdery pharmaceutical are repeated alternately, will be omitted for brevity. Then, as "a second step", when the output signal from the load cell 45 reaches the initial predetermined value in a first step which value is identical with that of the first method, the control unit 50 starts the dispersal of the guest powder stored in the powder supplying unit 20 to the interior of the granulating chamber 1 by actuating of the motor 22, while the spraying of the liquid is continued. With the progress of the coating of the surfaces of the core particles spirally rolling in the granulating chamber with the guest powder, the sizes of the coated particles are gradually growing greater and their surface areas are also increasing. Along with this phenomenon, the difference of the particle diameters between those of the coated particles and those of the guest powder becomes great; and thus the amount of the liquid required for wetting the surface of the particles varies accordingly. When the amount of the spraying liquid and the amount of the dispersed guest powder are kept constant, the surfaces of the particles gradually turns to either of their excessively dried state or excessively wetted state. In order to prevent such excessive states, preferably the measuring is made on the variance in the output signal produced by the load cell 45 at the time of performing the granulating operation in an optimum condition in a separate previous experiment, and the measured data of this variance is stored in a memory contained in the control unit 50. The control unit 50 compares the actual variance in the output signal from the load cell 45 with the stored data. As "a third step" of this second method, when the variance in the output signal from the load cell 45 runs out of above a given range defined on the basis of the stored data with the progress of the granulating operation, it is determined that the surfaces of the particles turn to the wetted state as compared with the optimum condition in the granulating operation. When determined so, the control unit 50 decreases the amount of the spraying liquid by actuating the valve 31 or increases the amount of the guest powder for the dispersal by controlling the motor 22. In this manner, the surface conditions of the particles in the granulating chamber 1 turns from their wetted state to the optimum state. In contrast to this, as "a fourth step" of this second method, when the variance in the output signal from the load cell 45 runs out of below the given range defined on the basis of the stored data with the progress of the granulating operation, it is determined that the surfaces of the particles turn to the dried state as compared with the optimum condition in the granulating operation. When determined so, the control unit 50 increases the amount of the spraying liquid by actuating the valve 31 or decreases the amount of the guest powder for the dispersal by controlling the motor 22. In this manner, the surface conditions of the particles in the granulating drum 1 are turned from their dried state to the optimum state. As "a fifth step", the above-stated third and/or fourth steps are selectively repeated until the particles are grown to have a desired particle size, or until the dispersion of the guest powder of a given amount is completed. In this second method of powder coating granulation, however, the third step and the fourth step are not always repeated alternately, in contrast to the first method, because both the spraying of the liquid and the dispersal of the guest pharmaceutical powder are being performed substantially concurrently during the process. As previously described, it is required to gradually adjust the amount of the guest powder to be dispersed and the amount of the liquid to be sprayed with the growing of particle size and the increasing of surface area of the particles, during the process in the above-mentioned centrifugal fluidizing granulator in the method for powder coating granulation. In the past, the adjustments of the amounts of the guest powder and the spraying liquid have been relied upon the intuition of the operator in charge. But, according to the present invention, the adjustment can be made automatically by the control unit 50 based on the output signal from the sensor 40, and hence the amounts of the guest powder (pharmaceutical product) and of the liquid are adjusted to a suitable one. Therefore, there is no occurrence, such as, of undesirable adhesion of one particle to the other to produce a larger particles, of an undesirable inclusion of the particles lacking core particle, and of unequal particle size which may be produced from the excessive guest powder by solidifying by itself with the atomized liquid. [Sensor example configuration] In the following paragraphs, a second embodiment of the sensor unit of the centrifugal fluidizing granulator built in accordance with the present invention will specifically be described with reference to FIGs.6 and 7. In this description, the configuration of the centrifugal fluidizing granulator other than the sensor unit is the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG.1, and hence the illustration therefor will be omitted for brevity. In FIG.6, the sensor unit 400 comprises; a vertical rod 420, a lateral rod 430 fixed to the vertical rod 420, a pair of bearing members 440 provided on the ceiling or roof 1f of the granulating chamber 1 for rotatingly holding the lateral rod 430, a balancing weight 470 fixed on the vertical rod 420 and located below the lateral rod 430, a displacement detecting device 450 arranged in close to the upper end of the vertical rod 420 for detecting the displacement of the vertical rod 420, a supporting pillar 460 provided on the roof 1f and supports the displacement detecting device 450. The vertical rod 420 is typically a rod and the cross-section of at least its lower end part is circular. The displacement detecting device 450 is typically a differential transformer which converts the mechanical displacement into an electrical signal and outputs the electric signal. The balancing weight 470 is provided for giving a dynamical stability on the vertical rod 420, as in a pendulum. When the lower end part of the vertical rod 420 is immersed in the zone 60 of the spirally moving particles 61 as shown by FIG.6, some of the particles are rolling along the surface of the vertical rod 420 as shown by FIG.7. At that time, the vertical rod 420 receives a stress from the particles in the direction of moving particles by friction between the vertical rod 420 and the particles, and pivotally moves around the axis of the lateral rod 430. On the other hand, a gravity is constantly acting on the balancing weight, and therefore the vertical rod 420 stands still at an inclined position where the frictional force received from the moving particles is balanced with the gravity. The larger the viscosity of the moving particles is, the larger the frictional force received by the vertical rod 420 is and also the larger the angle of the inclination is. The resultant angle of the inclination of the vertical rod 420 is detected by the displacement detecting device 450. Incidentally, the output signals from the load cell 45 shown in FIGs.1 --- 4 and that from the displacement detecting device 450 shown in FIG.6 are actually a combination of a multiplicity of components, e.g., a monotonously increasing component and a periodically fluctuating factor which repeatedly increases or decreases depending on the change in the surface conditions of the particles. With the progress of the granulating operation the particle diameter of the growing particles increases, and its contacting area with the thin plate 41 of the sensor unit 40 or with the vertical rod 420 of the sensor unit 400 increases accordingly. With the increase in the contacting area, the frictional force of the particles acting on the sensor unit 40 or 400, as a whole, demonstrates a monotonously increasing tendency. This results in a monotonously increasing component. On the contrary, the periodically fluctuating factor is resulted from the output signal of the sensor unit 40 or 400 which increases or decreases depending on the surface conditions of the particles which repeatedly alternate from the wetted state to the dried state and vice versa, and to the output signal of the sensor 40 or 400 which increases or decrease by the consecutive of an agglomerate formed with a plurality of particles by their viscous properties in their wetted state. In each of the foregoing embodiments, although the descriptions are limited to the cases wherein the guest powder (pharmaceutical product) of a single ingredient are finished to the granules, the embodiments are also applicable to the cases wherein the guest powders of a plural kinds of the active ingredients are granulated in a laminated state. For the latter case, it is advantageous to connect a plurality of powder supplying units 20 containing respectively different kinds of guest powders of active ingredients to the plurality of through pipes 3a, 3b, 3c, and so on, and to perform the dispersals of the guest powders in turn in response to the coating of the respective layers. Although the present invention has been described in terms of the presently preferred embodiments. it is to be understood that such disclosures is not to be interpreted as limiting. Various alterations and modifications will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, after having read the above disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as covering all alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims: A centrifugal fluidizing granulator comprising: a stationary granulating chamber (1) of a generally cylindrical shape with a ceiling (1f) above which there are provided at least a powder supplying means (20), a liquid supplying means (32) and through which an outlet (2) for escaping gas is provided, and with a bottom plate having a bearing for a vertical shaft (12); a rotor (10) of a generally disk shape accommodated in and near the bottom part of said granulating chamber (1) a manner rotatable around said vertical shaft (12), for carrying particulate material to be granulated thereon and upon its rotation producing a sprial flow (60) of said particulate material and granules produced thereby; a sensor (40) supported by said granulating chamber (1) in a manner movable in a vertical plane the lower end part thereof being shaped to be a thin plate (41) whose both vertical sides are finished in knife edges, disposed in parallel with the direction of said rolling flow (60) of particulate material and granules in a manner to be only in friction contact with the particles and granules thereby to detect a change in the viscosity of said spiral flow, while the upper end part of said sensor (40) is provided with a load detecting device (45) which outputs an electric signal in response to said chance in the viscosity; and a control means for controlling said powder supplying means and said liquid supplying means in a manner that, when the output signal of said sensor is no larger than a first predetermined value, it stops to disperse the guest powder and starts to spray the liquid for wetting said particles, whereas when the output signal of said sensor is larger than a second predetermined value, it stops to spray the liquid and starts to disperse the guest powder for coating the wet particles with the guest powder. A centrifugal fluidizing granulator comprising: a stationary granulating chamber (1) of a generally cylindrical shape with a ceiling (1f) above which there are provided at least a powder supplying means (20), a liquid supplying means (32) and through which an outlet (2) for escaping gas is provided, and with a bottom plate having a bearing for a vertical shaft (12); a rotor (10) of a generally disk shape accommodated in and near the bottom part of said granulating chamber (1) a manner rotatable around said vertical shaft (12), for carrying particulate material to be granulated thereon and upon its rotation producing a sprial flow (60) of said particulate material and granules produced thereby; a sensor (400) supported by said granulating chamber (1) in a manner movable in a vertcal plane; said sensor (400) being provided with a balancing weight means (470) to give it a restoring force by gravity and having its own dynamic stability, the lower end part of said sensor (400) is shaped in a rod (420) with round section disposed in said spiral flow (60) of particulate material an granules in a manner to be in friction contact thereby to make a displacement corresponding to the viscosity of the flow of particles, and said sensor is provided at its upper end part with a displacement detecting device (450) which issues an electric signal corresponding to said displacement of said rod (420), and a control means for controlling said powder supplying means and said liquid supplying means in a manner that, when the output signal of said sensor is no larger than a first predetermined value, it stops to disperse the guest powder and starts to spray the liquid for wetting said particles, whereas when the output signal of said sensor is larger than a second predetermined value, it stops to spray the liquid and starts to disperse the guest powder for coating the wet particles with the guest powder. A method for powder coating granulation by use of a centrifugal fluidizing granulator according to claim 1 or to claim 2, comprising a first step of continuously spraying a liquid to core particles contained in a granulating chamber and producing a spiral flow of said particles on a continuously rotating rotor in the granulating chamber; a second step of stopping the spraying of the liquid and starting a dispersing of guest powder for coating on the core particles, when an output signal, which is produced by said sensor in dependence of the detected viscosity of the flow, indicates an initial predetermined value; a third step of stopping the dispersion of the guest powder and starting the spraying of the liquid, when an output signal, which is produced by the sensor sujected to the friction forces of the spiral flow of core particles whose surfaces are coated with the dispersed guest powder and representing the state of the surface condition, indicates a first predetermined value as contrasted to said initial predetermined value, demonstrating a change m the viscosity of the flow of the particles; a fourth step of stopping the spraying of the liquid and resuming the dispersion of the guest powder, when the output signal, which is produced by the sensor detecting the viscosity of the spiral flow of core particles whose surfaces are further attached with the guest powder and representing a wet surface condition, indicates a second predetermined value which is greater than said first predetermined value; and a fifth step of repeating said third and fourth steps alternately until the guest powder is dispersed up to the predetermined amount. A method for powder coating granulation by use of a centrifugal fluidizing granulator according to claim 1 or to claim 2, comprising a first step of continuously spraying a liquid to core particles contained in a granulating chamber and producing a spiral flow of said particles on a continuously rotating rotor in the granulating chamber; a second step of starting a dispersion of guest powder currently to the spraying of the liquid, when an output signal, which is produced by said sensor in dependence of the detected viscosity of the flow indicates an initial predetermined value; a third step of increasing the amount of the guest powder to be dispersed and decreasing the amount of the liquid to be sprayed, when the output signal, which is produced by the sensor sujected to the friction forces of said spiral flow of core particles whose surfaces are coated with the guest powder and representing the state of surface condition, changes from said initial predetermined value and the degree of the change exceeds a predetermined range; a fourth step of increasing the amount of the liquid to be sprayed or of decreasing the amount of the guest powder to be dispersed, when the output signal, being produced by the sensor subjected to the friction forces of the spiral flow of the core particles whose surfaces are further attached with the guest powder and representing the state of the surface condition, runs below said predetermined range; and a fifth step of increasing third step or the fourth step selectively until the guest powder is dispersed up to the predetermined amount.

Inventors: SATO KOJI, SUZUKI YUSUKE, TAKEDA TOYOHIKO, TOMODA YOSHITAKA, SATO, KOJI, SUZUKI, YUSUKE, TAKEDA, TOYOHIKO, TOMODA, YOSHITAKA
Applicants: SHIONOGI & CO, SHIONOGI & CO., LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B01J2
IPC codes: B01J8, B01J2, A61J3