Pressure roller station for rotary presses having external axle receptacles for pressure roller units

Abstract

The invention preferably relates to a compression roller station for rotary tableting machines with a guide profile which can be locked to the rotary tableting machine and comprises two side surfaces on which a pair of upper and lower shaft mountings for compression roller shafts are arranged externally in each case, so that two pairs of compression rollers can be attached to the same guide profile. In preferred embodiments, the shaft mountings have a laterally outwardly open shape, particularly preferably a u-shape, and are arranged for a swivelable mounting of compression roller shafts. In a further aspect, the invention relates to a rotary tableting machine comprising such a preferred compression roller station.

Claims

1. A compression roller station (1) for a rotary tableting machine comprising a guide profile (3) which can be locked to the rotary tableting machine and comprising a front surface (19) configured to face a turret (25) of the rotary tableting machine, wherein the guide profile (3) is present in the form of a free-standing support column and comprises, in addition to the front surface (19) configured to face the turret (25), a rear surface (17) configured to face away from the turret (25), and two side surfaces (5), wherein in a cross-section the front surface (19), the rear surface (17), and the two side surfaces (5) form a closed perimeter of the guide profile (3), whereby opposing ends of a first side surface of the two side surfaces (5) are connected to a first end of the front surface (19) and a first end of the rear surface (17), and opposing ends of a second side surface of the two side surfaces (5) are connected to a second end of the front surface (19) and a second end of the rear surface (17), wherein further on each of said two side surfaces (5) a pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7) for compression roller shafts (13) are arranged outwards of the closed perimeter, so that two pairs of compression rollers (11) can be attached to the same guide profile (3), and wherein the side surfaces (5) comprise an angle (27) which is selected so that the two pairs of compression rollers (11) act on a turret reference circle, when attached to the side surfaces (5).

2. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein on a first side surface (5) of said two side surfaces, there is a first pair of lower and upper compression rollers (11) forming a pre-compression station, and on a second side surface (5) of said two side surfaces, there is a second pair of lower and upper compression rollers (11) forming a main compression station.

3. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the angle (27) lies in the range from 10 to 120.

4. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein upper and lower shaft mountings (7) of any of the two side surfaces (5) are mounted in the guide profile (3) so as to be vertically adjustable together and/or relative to one another.

5. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the compression roller station (1) comprises guide rails (21) within the guide profile (3), on which the upper and lower shaft mountings (7) are movable together and/or relative to one another.

6. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the compression roller station (1) has adjustment drives (23) for moving the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7) within the guide profile (3).

7. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the compression roller station (1) comprises a motor for adjusting the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7), wherein the motor is not present within the guide profile (3).

8. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7) have a laterally outwardly open shape.

9. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7) have a u-shaped mounting surface in cross-section, such that a cuboidal compression roller shaft (13) of said compression roller shafts can be locked in a force-fitting and/or form-fitting manner in any one of the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7).

10. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7) have means for a swivelable mounting of a compression roller shaft (13).

11. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 1 wherein the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings (7) have a laterally outwardly open shape and means for a swivelable mounting of a compression roller shaft (13), wherein the means for the swivelable mounting enables a swiveling of the compression rollers out of the turret reference circle.

12. The compression roller station (1) of claim 11 wherein the means for the swivelable mounting of the compression roller shaft (13) comprises a swivel joint.

13. The compression roller station (1) according to claim 12 wherein the swivel joint is positioned in a rear region of the shaft mounting in order to enable a swiveling of the compression roller out of the turret reference circle.

14. The compression roller station according to claim 11 wherein the pair of upper and lower shaft mountings comprise releasable locking means allowing for a firm locking of the compression roller shafts such that the compression rollers may act on the turret reference circle in an operation mode, wherein releasing the locking means allows for swiveling of the compression rollers out of the turret reference circle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE IMAGES

(1) FIG. 1 Schematic diagram of a preferred compression roller station. Left: without compression roller units. Right: with compression roller units

(2) FIG. 2 Schematic diagram of a cross-section of a preferred compression roller station with compression roller units externally on both sides

(3) FIG. 3 Schematic diagram of a cross-section through a preferred guide profile

(4) FIG. 4 Schematic diagram of a detailed view of a preferred shaft mounting. A: perspective view, B: longitudinal section.

(5) FIG. 5 Schematic diagram to illustrate swiveling a compression roller unit out from a shaft mounting. A: top view, B: perspective view.

(6) FIG. 6 Schematic diagram illustrating the removal of a compression roller unit from a shaft mounting.

(7) FIG. 7 Schematic diagram of a compression roller station with a combined compression rail and dwell bar in the area of the pre-compression

(8) FIG. 8 Schematic diagram illustrating the use of an upper shaft mounting of the compression roller station for swiveling out the turret.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE IMAGES

(9) FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the compression roller station 1. The compression roller station 1 is characterized by a guide profile 3, which comprises two side surfaces 5, on each of which a pair of upper and lower shaft mountings 7 for compression roller shafts 13 are arranged externally, so that two pairs of compression rollers 11 or compression roller units 14 can be attached to the same guide profile 3. The guide profile 3 is designed as a free-standing support element or column and is used to support or guide the shaft mountings 7. As a result, the compressive forces occurring in the compression process are absorbed by the guide profile 3 and the adjustment spindles themselves. On the left, the compression roller station 1 is shown without compression roller units 14; on the right, with compression roller units 14, which are installed in the shaft mountings 7.

(10) By attaching the shaft mountings 7 to the two side surfaces 5 of a guide profile 3, two pairs of compression rollers 11 can be provided in each case, whereby their spatial requirement on the turret circle is substantially determined by the extension of the compression rollers 11 themselves. The compression roller station 1 is thus characterized by an extremely compact design, whereby, for example, a main compression station and a pre-compression station can be provided in a very confined space.

(11) FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a cross-section of a preferred compression roller station 1 with compression roller units 14 located externally on both sides, as is desirable, inter alia, for providing a pre-compression station and main compression station.

(12) The shaft mountings 7 are designed to support or guide a compression roller shaft 13 or a bearing shaft for other components in the guide profile 3. For this purpose, the shaft mountings 7 comprise a mounting section 9 for locking a compression roller shaft or bearing shaft 11 and a bearing section 8 for guiding the shaft mounting 7 within the guide profile 3. As in the example shown, the bearing section 8 is preferably located inside the guide profile 3 on guide rails 21, while the mounting section 9 faces laterally outwards and is therefore easily accessible. By designing the shaft mountings 7 as solid, preferably monolithic components, these are mounted to absorb high compressive forces. Vertical adjustment of the shaft mountings 7 is preferably effected in the guide profile 3 by means of adjustment drives or the preferably illustrated adjustment spindles 23. In the illustrated embodiment, there are four adjustment spindles 23 with which the upper and lower shaft mountings 7 of the respective pairs can be moved vertically, i.e. along the height of the guide profile 3, individually and independently of one another.

(13) For example, it may be preferable to use an adjustment drive to adjust the respective upper shaft mounting or upper compression roller and thus the insertion depth of an upper punch acted upon by the upper compression roller. Likewise, a lower shaft mounting or lower compression roller can preferably be adjusted relative to the upper shaft mounting or upper compression roller by means of a further adjustment spindle in order to define the height of the tablets to be produced. Furthermore, the upper and lower compression roller mountings can also be adjusted in relation to each other, for example to effect an adjustment of the compression zone.

(14) FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a cross-section through a preferred guide profile 3. In cross-section, the guide profile 3 is preferably characterized by the presence of two side surfaces 5 which are preferably not parallel or perpendicular to each other. Instead, the side surfaces 5 preferably comprise an angle 27, which is preferably selected so that pairs of compression rollers attachable to the side surfaces act on a turret reference circle.

(15) For this purpose, the cross-section of the preferred guide profile 3 resembles a circular ring segment in sections, with the two side surfaces forming the legs 5. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, in cross-section the front side 19 and rear side 17 can be straight in sections and emulate the arc shape of a circular arc. The front side 19 facing the turret has a smaller radius than the rear side 17 facing away from the turret. Accordingly, the front side 19 of the guide profile 3 shown is characterized by two surfaces, while the rear side 17 has three surfaces. Inside, the guide profile 3 is not solid, but has cavities for guiding the shaft mountings 7 and integrating other components, such as the adjustment drives (see FIG. 2).

(16) FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a detailed view of a preferred shaft mounting 7. It is evident that the shaft mounting 7 is characterized by a laterally open profile which is u-shaped in cross-section such that a cuboidal compression roller shaft 13 can be installed in a force-fitting and/or form-fitting manner. In addition, the shaft mounting 7 has means for a laterally outwardly swivelable mounting of the compression roller shaft 11, the pivot point being located in a rear region of the shaft mounting 7 and thus outside the guide profile 3. For this purpose, opposite sockets are provided in a rear region of the shaft mounting 7, through which a pivot pin 29 for the swivelable mounting of the compression roller shaft 13 can be guided.

(17) In a front area of the shaft mounting 7, the compression roller shaft is firmly locked in the swiveled-in state by means of a clamping bolt 33. The use of a wedge 31, which is inserted into the compression roller shaft 11 from the rear, can additionally ensure clearance-free fixing. In the swiveled-in operating state, there is thus a force-fitting and/or form-fitting connection which has the necessary stability to absorb the compressive forces. To release the locking and for swiveling out, the wedge 31 and clamping bolt 33 can be loosened so that the compression roller shaft 11 is only fastened to the shaft mounting 7 via the swivel joint or the pivot pin 29 in the rear area.

(18) FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the swiveling of the compression roller unit 14 out of a shaft mounting 7. While the upper compression roller unit 14 is firmly installed in the upper shaft mounting 7 by means of a wedge 31 and clamping bolt 33, the lower compression roller unit 14 has been swiveled out of the laterally open profile of the shaft mounting 7. FIG. 5A shows a top view, while FIG. 5B shows a perspective view.

(19) For removal and, if necessary, replacement of a compression roller unit 14, the pivot pin 29 can also be removed, as shown in FIG. 6.

(20) The laterally swivelable attachment thus allows compression roller units to be mounted or unmounted quickly and easily as required. It is not necessary to install or remove the entire compression roller station 1 for this purpose.

(21) Advantageously, the shaft mountings 7 of the compression roller station 1 can also be used for the swivelable locking of further components of a rotary tableting machine.

(22) For example, it may be preferable to replace a compression roller unit with a combined compression rail and dwell bar in the area of a pre-compression. The compression roller station 1 shown in the figure therefore comprises a compression rail unit 39 in the lower shaft mounting 7 of the first side surface of the guide profile 3, comprising a dwell bar 37 and a bearing axis or compression roller shaft 11.

(23) A multifunctional use of the compression roller station 1 for the removal, repair, cleaning and/or maintenance of a turret 25 is particularly preferred.

(24) FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use of an upper shaft mounting 7 of the compression roller station 1 for swiveling out a turret 25.

(25) For this purpose, the turret 25 comprises a mounting 47 or fastening means for a support arm 45 which can be inserted in one of the shaft mountings 7 so that the turret can be attached to the guide profile 3 in a swiveling manner via the support arm 45. Analogous to the swiveling bearing of the compression roller shafts, a pivot pin is used as a swivel joint, which is guided in the rear area through sockets in the support arm 45 of the shaft mounting 7.

(26) FIG. 8A shows the swiveled-in state, while FIG. 8B shows the swiveled-out state, for example for cleaning or maintenance purposes. Advantageously, the adjustment drives of the shaft mounting 7 can be used for raising or lowering the turret 25. A separate column fixed to the frame or a separate lifting device are no longer necessary.

(27) It is noted that various alternatives to the described embodiments of the invention can be used to implement the invention and arrive at the solution according to the invention. Thus, the embodiments of the compression roller station and rotary tableting machine according to the invention are not limited to the foregoing preferred embodiments. Rather, a large number of design variants are conceivable which may deviate from the solution presented. The aim of the claims is to define the scope of protection of the invention. The scope of protection of the claims aims to cover the compression roller station and rotary tableting machine according to the invention as well as equivalent embodiments thereof.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(28) 1 Compression roller station 3 Guide profile 5 Side surfaces of the guide profile 7 Shaft mounting 8 Bearing section for guiding the shaft mounting within the guide profile 9 Locating section for locking the compression roller shafts 11 Compression rollers 13 Compression roller shaft 14 Compression roller unit 15 Carrier plate 17 Rear of the guide profile 19 Front of the guide profile 21 Guide rails 23 Adjustment drives, in particular adjustment spindles 25 Turret 27 Angle comprised by the side surfaces 29 Swivel joint, especially pivot pin 31 Wedge 33 Clamping bolt 35 Strain gauge sensor 37 Dwell bar 39 Compression rail unit 41 Die plate 43 Lower punch guide 44 Upper punch guide 45 Support arm 47 Mounting for support arm, in particular on the end face of the turret