Drying device and method for traditional Chinese medicine decoction piece raw materials

Abstract

The device comprises a machine shell, the two sides of the machine shell are rotationally connected with a driving shaft and a driven shaft, the driving shaft is connected with a driving mechanism, the driving shaft is connected with the driven shaft through a chain plate belt, and the chain plate belt is formed by hinging a plurality of chain plates; racks on the upper sides and the lower sides of the inner end faces of the chain plates are meshed with fluted discs arranged on the two sides of shaft bodies of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, inner cavities of the chain plates are defined by net-shaped faces, inlets in the top faces of the chain plates can rotate to the position below a discharging opening of the feeding mechanism, outlets in the bottom faces of the chain plates can rotate to the position above the output belt, and plate chains on the inner sides of the two chain plate belts penetrate through the drying mechanism embedded in the machine shell in an attached mode. The method comprises the steps of chain plate feeding, plate-by-plate drying and discharging conveying. Traditional Chinese medicine decoction piece raw materials can be injected into the chain plates in a single layer mode to be rapidly dried, impurities and chippings in the raw materials can be blown away in the drying process, the integrity of the dried raw materials is guaranteed, and the device has the advantages of being good in finished product quality, high in automation degree, safe and environmentally friendly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of traditional Chinese medicine processing equipment, and in particular to a drying device and method for traditional Chinese medicine decoction piece raw materials. Background Art

[0002] Chinese herbal medicine slices refer to medicinal materials that have undergone certain processing steps, including but not limited to cleaning, cutting, drying, and preparation, to be processed into slices or other forms according to specific specifications and standards. The drying step is particularly critical in this process, as it removes excess moisture from the medicinal materials, reduces the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, and preserves the medicinal materials' color, aroma, flavor, and efficacy. However, the dehydration process prevents the medicinal materials from becoming too finely divided, which would affect the appearance and quality of the finished product. There are various traditional drying methods, the most common of which include natural air drying, hot drum drying, and hot air circulation drying. Among them, the natural drying method is limited by the site and weather, and requires manual spreading and collecting, which is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, and impurities are easily mixed in during the drying process; the hot drum drying mainly uses a high-temperature roller to tumble and dry the medicinal materials put into it, and its drying efficiency is relatively high, but it is very easy to break the dried medicinal materials during the tumbling process, increasing the loss of medicinal materials; the hot air drying method is carried out through a circulating bellows, and the medicinal materials need to be laid out layer by layer on the rack, which also requires manual assistance and cannot remove large impurities and debris in the medicinal materials; a new type of drying equipment and method is needed to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a drying device for Chinese herbal medicine raw materials, comprising a casing, two sets of master and slave shafts rotatably connected on both sides of the casing, the master shaft connected to the driving mechanism, the master shaft connected to the slave shaft through a chain belt, the chain belt is hinged by a plurality of chain plates, the upper and lower racks on the inner end surface of the chain plate are engaged with the toothed plates arranged on both sides of the master and slave shaft bodies, the inner cavity of the chain plate is surrounded by a mesh surface, the inner cavity passes through the top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate, the inlet of the top surface of the chain plate can be rotated to below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism; the outlet of the bottom surface of the chain plate can be rotated to above the output belt; the drying mechanism is embedded in the middle of the casing, and the inner plate chains of the two chain belts are fitted through the drying mechanism; in the remaining strokes, the top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate are respectively slidably fitted with the inner top surface of the casing and its middle partition.

[0004] Furthermore, the driving mechanism includes a driving motor, which is installed on the top surface of the partition. The output shaft of the driving motor passes through the partition and enters the transmission chamber in the lower layer of the casing. The bearing seat on the bottom surface of the transmission chamber is rotated and connected to the transmission shaft. The gear on the transmission shaft body is engaged with the gear at the end of the output shaft of the driving motor, and the gears at both ends of the transmission shaft are engaged with the gear at the bottom end of the driving shaft.

[0005] Furthermore, the feeding mechanism includes a feeding box, which is installed at one end of the top surface of the casing. The top of the feeding box is a storage hopper, and a shutter door is built in the lower hopper mouth of the storage hopper. The interior of the feeding box is divided into two slope chambers by two slope plates that cross at the upper ends. The slope chamber is divided into several single rooms by baffles. The discharge port at the bottom of the single room is matched with the size of the entrance on the top surface of the chain plate. An exciter is provided on the back side of the slope plate. The horizontal groove on the lower side of the slope plate is matched with the output plate of the two-way cylinder. The extended output plate can pass through the horizontal groove to penetrate into the closed discharge port in the single room.

[0006] Furthermore, the louver door includes a door shaft, the middle part of the door shaft is rotatably connected to the ridge at the intersection of the ramp plate, the gears at both ends of the door shaft pass through the side wall of the loading box and engage with the control rack, the control rack is connected to the output end of the transverse cylinder, and blades are provided on both sides of the door shaft body. When the blades are rotated to a horizontal position, they can close the lower bucket mouth of the storage hopper.

[0007] Furthermore, positioning blocks are provided on both sides of the loading box, and sensors are provided on the bottom surfaces of the positioning blocks, and the sensors can identify marks on the top surface of the rack.

[0008] Furthermore, the drying mechanism includes a drying room, which is divided into two symmetrical circulation chambers. The inner plate chain of the chain plate passes through the grooves on both sides of the circulation chamber. The top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate slide and fit into the interior of the drying room. The circulation chamber is divided into a supply air box and a return air box by the chain plate. Several circulation fans are provided at the bottom of the return air box. The output end of the circulation fan is connected to the air filter in the supply air box through the exhaust duct at the bottom of the circulation chamber. The supply air box has several heating wires built in, and a shutter is provided at the outlet of the supply air box.

[0009] Furthermore, the circulation fan is built into the wellhead at the bottom of the return air box, the wellhead is connected to the exhaust duct, and a filter net is built into the wellhead. The gear at the end of the circulation fan shaft passes through the bottom of the circulation chamber and engages with the gear on the power shaft body, and the power shaft is connected to the circulation motor.

[0010] Furthermore, the output belt extends into the door openings on both sides of the casing, and a shaking motor is installed on one side of the door opening. The shaft of the shaking motor is rotatably connected to the hinge seat on the other side of the door opening. The shaft body is provided with several elastic cam blocks in different phases, and the protrusion of the cam block contacts the outer end face of the chain plate.

[0011] The present invention also provides a drying method for the above device, comprising the following steps: Chain plate loading: Start the driving mechanism to drive the chain plates on both sides to rotate, and some chains move to the loading station. The top entrance of the chain plate in the station is aligned with the discharge port of the loading mechanism. Start the loading mechanism to pour the raw materials to be dried into the inner cavity of the chain plate. The raw materials are clamped in a single layer between the mesh surfaces. During the filling process, the driving mechanism stops. Plate-by-plate drying: The drive mechanism is started again to drive the chain plate belt forward. The loaded chain plates enter the drying mechanism one by one. The hot air in the drying mechanism passes through the mesh surface of the chain plates to dry the raw materials and remove the debris larger than the mesh. During the drying process, the rear chain plate continues to feed the materials. The chain plates in the drying mechanism use the pauses in feeding to further improve the drying and impurity removal effects. Unloading and transmission: The dried chain plate continues to enter the unloading station along the chain plate belt. At this time, the bottom surface of the chain plate is separated from the contact with the partition, exposing the bottom outlet. The medicinal pieces in the inner cavity of the chain plate fall onto the output belt surface, and the output belt transports the dried medicinal pieces to the next process.

[0012] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention can, through the cooperation of the louver door and the two-way cylinder in the feeding mechanism, load the Chinese herbal medicine raw materials into the vertical chain plate in a single layer and in a quantitative manner for rapid drying, thereby reducing the equipment footprint; during the drying process, the circulating hot air in the drying room can blow away impurities and debris in the raw materials, and can purify itself through the filter residue net and the air filter element; there is no need to tumble the medicinal materials for drying, thereby ensuring the integrity of the raw materials after drying, and having the characteristics of good finished product quality, high degree of automation, safety and environmental protection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 This is a front view structural cross-sectional view of the present invention at the feeding mechanism; Figure 2 This is a front view structural cross-sectional view of the present invention at the drying mechanism; Figure 3 It is a top view of the structure of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a side structural schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0014] The following are the descriptions of the accompanying figures: 1. housing; 101. partition; 102. transmission chamber; 103. door opening; 2. driving shaft; 3. driven shaft; 4. chain plate; 401. rack; 5. gear disc; 6. output belt; 7. driving motor; 8. transmission shaft; 9. loading box; 901. storage hopper; 902. ramp plate; 903. baffle; 904. positioning block; 10. vibrator; 11. two-way cylinder; 12. door shaft; 12 01. Blade; 13. Control rack; 14. Transverse cylinder; 15. Sensor; 16. Drying room; 1601. Through slot; 1602. Supply air box; 1603. Return air box; 1604. Exhaust duct; 1605. Wellhead; 17. Circulating fan; 18. Air filter element; 19. Heating wire; 20. Shutter; 21. Filter screen; 22. Power shaft; 23. Circulation motor; 24. Material shaking motor; 25. Cam block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are intended solely to facilitate and simplify the description of the present invention. They are not intended to indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0016] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed, detachable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0017] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings: like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, a drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slice raw materials includes a housing 1, two sets of main and driven shafts are rotatably connected on both sides of the housing 1, and the driving shaft 2 is connected to a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism includes a driving motor 7, which is mounted on the top surface of a partition 101 in the middle of the housing 1. The output shaft of the driving motor 7 passes through the partition 101 and enters the transmission chamber 102 in the lower layer of the housing 1. The bottom bearing seat of the transmission chamber 102 is rotatably connected to the transmission shaft 8. The gear on the body of the transmission shaft 8 meshes with the gear at the end of the output shaft of the driving motor 7. The gears at both ends of the transmission shaft 8 mesh with the gear at the bottom end of the driving shaft 2. The driving shaft 2 is connected to the driven shaft 3 through a chain plate belt. The chain plate belt is formed by a plurality of chain plates 4 hinged together. The upper and lower racks 401 on the inner end surface of the chain plate 4 mesh with the toothed discs 5 set on both sides of the main and driven shaft bodies. The inner cavity of the chain plate 4 is surrounded by a mesh surface. The inner cavity passes through the top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate 4. The entrance on the top surface of the chain plate 4 can be rotated to below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism.

[0018] In this embodiment, the feeding mechanism includes a feeding box 9, which is mounted on one end of the top surface of the casing 1. Positioning blocks 904 are provided on both sides of the feeding box 9. Sensors 15 are provided on the bottom surfaces of the positioning blocks 904. The sensors 15 can identify the markings on the top surface of the rack 401. The interior of the feeding box 9 is divided into two slope chambers by two intersecting ramp plates 902 at their upper ends. The interior of the slope chamber is divided into several single rooms by baffles 903. The discharge opening at the bottom of each single room matches the size of the entrance on the top surface of the chain plate 4. An exciter 10 is provided on the back of the ramp plate 902. The horizontal groove on the lower side of the ramp plate 902 matches the output plate of the two-way cylinder 11. The extended output plate can pass through the horizontal groove into the closed discharge opening in the single room. The top of the feeding box 9 is a storage hopper 901, and a louver door is built into the lower bucket mouth of the storage hopper 901. The louver door includes a door shaft 12. The middle part of the door shaft 12 is rotatably connected to the ridge at the intersection of the ramp plate 902. The gears at both ends of the door shaft 12 pass through the side wall of the feeding box 9 and engage with the control rack 13. The control rack 13 is connected to the output end of the transverse cylinder 14. Blades 1201 are provided on both sides of the door shaft 12. When the blades 1201 are rotated to a horizontal position, the lower bucket mouth of the storage hopper 901 can be closed.

[0019] In this embodiment, the bottom outlet of the chain plate 4 can be rotated to above the output belt 6, and the output belt 6 extends into the door openings 103 on both sides of the casing 1. A material shaking motor 24 is installed on one side of the door opening 103. The shaft of the material shaking motor 24 is rotatably connected to the hinge seat on the other side of the door opening 103. The shaft is provided with a plurality of elastic cam blocks 25 in different phases. The protrusions of the cam blocks 25 contact the outer end surface of the chain plate 4. A drying mechanism is embedded in the middle of the casing 1. The drying mechanism includes a drying chamber 16. The interior of the drying chamber 16 is divided into two symmetrical circulation chambers. The inner plate chain of the chain plate belt passes through the through slots 1601 on both sides of the circulation chamber. The top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate 4 are both in sliding contact with the interior of the drying chamber 16. During the rest of the stroke, the top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate 4 are respectively in sliding contact with the top surface of the casing 1 and the partition 101.

[0020] In this embodiment, the circulation chamber is divided by chain plate 4 into a supply air box 1602 and a return air box 1603. Several circulation fans 17 are installed at the bottom of return air box 1603. These fans 17 are built into a wellhead 1605 at the bottom of return air box 1603. Wellhead 1605 connects to an exhaust duct 1604 at the bottom of the circulation chamber. Wellhead 1605 houses a filter screen 21. The gear at the end of the rotating shaft of circulation fan 17 passes through the bottom of the circulation chamber and meshes with the gear on the body of power shaft 22. Power shaft 22 is connected to circulation motor 23. Circulation fan 17 transports air from return air box 1603 through exhaust duct 1604 to air filter element 18 in supply air box 1602. Supply air box 1602 houses several heating wires 19, and a shutter 20 is located at the outlet of supply air box 1602.

[0021] The drying method of the drying device comprises the following steps: Chain plate loading: Start the drive motor 7 to drive the chain plate belts on both sides to rotate, and part of the chain plate 4 moves to the loading station. With the assistance of the sensor 15, the top surface entrance of the chain plate 4 in the station is aligned with the discharge port of the loading mechanism. Start the transverse cylinder 14 to drive the control rack 13 to move transversely. The gear at the end of the door shaft 12 engages with the control rack 13, thereby driving the door shaft 12 to rotate and open the lower bucket mouth of the storage hopper 901. The raw materials to be dried in the storage hopper 901 fall into each single room in the loading box 9. Reset the transverse cylinder 14 to close the shutter door, and retract the two-way cylinder 11 to pour the raw materials in the single room into the inner cavity of the chain plate 4. The raw materials are clamped between the mesh surfaces in a single layer. During the filling process, the drive motor 7 stops. Plate-by-plate drying: start the drive motor 7 again to drive the chain plate belt forward, and the loaded chain plates 4 enter the drying mechanism one by one, start the circulation motor 23 to drive each circulation fan 17 to rotate, and the circulation fan 17 transports the air through the exhaust duct 1604 to the air filter element 18. The air filtered and dust-removed by the air filter element 18 is heated by the electric heating wire 19 and discharged from the louver 20 to form hot air. The hot air passes through the mesh surface of the chain plate 4 to dry the raw material and take away the debris larger than the mesh in the raw material. The air carrying the debris is filtered by the filter net 21 and returns to the circulation fan 17 again to complete the cycle. The large debris is blocked in the wellhead 1605. During the drying process, the rear chain plate 4 continues to load the material. The chain plate 4 in the drying mechanism uses the pause of loading to further improve the drying and impurity removal effect; Unloading and transmission: The dried chain plate 4 continues to enter the unloading station with the chain plate belt. At this time, the bottom surface of the chain plate 4 is out of contact with the partition 101, exposing the bottom outlet, starting the shaking motor 24, driving the cam blocks 25 to knock the chain plate 4 in an offset manner, and the medicinal pieces in the inner cavity of the chain plate 4 fall to the surface of the output belt 6, and the output belt 6 transports the dried medicinal pieces to the next process.

[0022] The basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention are shown and described above. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above embodiments and descriptions are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Various changes and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims

1. A drying device for Chinese herbal medicine raw materials, comprising a housing (1), characterized in that: The two sides of the housing (1) are rotatably connected to two sets of master and slave shafts, the driving shaft (2) is connected to the driving mechanism, and the driving shaft (2) is connected to the driven shaft (3) through a chain plate belt, which is formed by hinged connection of a plurality of chain plates (4). The upper and lower racks (401) on the inner end surface of the chain plate (4) are engaged with the toothed discs (5) arranged on both sides of the master and slave shaft bodies. The inner cavity of the chain plate (4) is surrounded by a mesh surface, and the inner cavity passes through the top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate (4). The inlet of the top surface of the chain plate (4) can be rotated to the bottom of the discharge port of the feeding mechanism; the outlet of the bottom surface of the chain plate (4) can be rotated to the top of the output belt (6); the middle part of the housing (1) is embedded with a drying mechanism, and the inner plate chains of the two chain plate belts pass through the drying mechanism; in the remaining strokes, the top and bottom surfaces of the chain plate (4) are respectively slidably fitted with the inner top surface of the housing (1) and the middle partition (101).

2. A drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving mechanism includes a driving motor (7), which is mounted on the top surface of the partition (101). The output shaft of the driving motor (7) passes through the partition (101) and enters the transmission chamber (102) in the lower layer of the casing (1). The bearing seat on the bottom surface of the transmission chamber (102) is rotatably connected to the transmission shaft (8). The shaft body gear of the transmission shaft (8) is meshed with the gear at the end of the output shaft of the driving motor (7), and the gears at both ends of the transmission shaft (8) are meshed with the gear at the bottom end of the driving shaft (2).

3. A drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding mechanism includes a feeding box (9), which is mounted on one end of the top surface of the casing (1). The top of the feeding box (9) is a storage hopper (901), and a shutter door is built into the lower hopper opening of the storage hopper (901). The interior of the feeding box (9) is divided into two slope chambers by two slope plates (902) intersecting at the upper ends. The slope chamber is divided into a plurality of single rooms by baffles (903). The discharge opening at the bottom of the single room is matched with the size of the entrance on the top surface of the chain plate (4). An exciter (10) is provided on the back side of the slope plate (902). The horizontal groove on the lower side of the slope plate (902) is matched with the output plate of the two-way cylinder (11). The extended output plate can pass through the horizontal groove to penetrate into the closed discharge opening in the single room.

4. A drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 3, characterized in that: The shutter door includes a door shaft (12), the middle of the door shaft (12) is rotatably connected to the ridge at the intersection of the ramp plate (902), the gears at both ends of the door shaft (12) pass through the side wall of the loading box (9) and engage with the control rack (13), the control rack (13) is connected to the output end of the transverse cylinder (14), and blades (1201) are provided on both sides of the door shaft (12), and when the blades (1201) are rotated to the horizontal position, the lower bucket mouth of the storage hopper (901) can be closed.

5. The drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 3, characterized in that: Positioning blocks (904) are provided on both sides of the loading box (9), and sensors (15) are provided on the bottom surfaces of the positioning blocks (904). The sensors (15) are capable of identifying marks on the top surface of the rack (401).

6. A drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drying mechanism includes a drying room (16), the interior of the drying room (16) is divided into two symmetrical circulation chambers, the inner plate chain of the chain plate belt passes through the through slots (1601) on both sides of the circulation chamber, the top surface and the bottom surface of the chain plate (4) are slidably fitted with the interior of the drying room (16), and the circulation chamber is divided into a supply air box (1602) and a return air box (1603) by the chain plate (4), and a plurality of circulation fans (17) are provided at the bottom of the return air box (1603), and the output end of the circulation fan (17) is connected to the air filter element (18) in the supply air box (1602) through the exhaust duct (1604) at the bottom of the circulation chamber, the supply air box (1602) is built with a plurality of electric heating wires (19), and a shutter (20) is provided at the outlet of the supply air box (1602).

7. A drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 6, characterized in that: The circulation fan (17) is built into the wellhead (1605) at the bottom of the return air box (1603), the wellhead (1605) is connected to the exhaust duct (1604), and the wellhead (1605) has a built-in filter screen (21). The gear at the end of the rotating shaft of the circulation fan (17) passes through the bottom surface of the circulation chamber and meshes with the shaft gear of the power shaft (22), and the power shaft (22) is connected to the circulation motor (23).

8. The drying device for Chinese herbal medicine slices according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output belt (6) extends into the door openings (103) on both sides of the housing (1), and a shaking motor (24) is installed on one side of the door opening (103). The shaft of the shaking motor (24) is rotatably connected to the hinge seat on the other side of the door opening (103). The shaft body is provided with a plurality of elastic cam blocks (25) in different phases, and the protruding portion of the cam block (25) contacts the outer end surface of the chain plate (4).

9. A method for drying Chinese herbal medicine slices, using the drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The drying method comprises the following steps: Chain plate loading: Start the driving mechanism to drive the chain plates on both sides to rotate, and some chain plates (4) move to the loading station. The top surface entrance of the chain plate (4) in the station is aligned with the discharge port of the loading mechanism. Start the loading mechanism to pour the raw materials of the medicinal slices to be dried into the inner cavity of the chain plate (4). The raw materials are clamped between the mesh surfaces in a single layer. During the filling process, the driving mechanism stops. Plate-by-plate drying: the driving mechanism is started again to drive the chain plate belt forward, and the loaded chain plates (4) enter the drying mechanism one by one. The hot air in the drying mechanism passes through the mesh surface of the chain plates (4) to dry the raw materials, and at the same time, removes the debris larger than the mesh in the raw materials. During the drying process, the rear chain plate (4) continues to feed the materials, and the chain plates (4) in the drying mechanism use the pause of feeding to further improve the drying and impurity removal effect; Unloading and transmission: The dried chain plate (4) continues to enter the unloading station along with the chain plate belt. At this time, the bottom surface of the chain plate (4) is separated from the contact with the partition (101), exposing the bottom outlet. The slices in the inner cavity of the chain plate (4) fall onto the surface of the output belt (6), and the output belt (6) transports the dried slices to the next process.

Images