An ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing device and a broken wall powder particle preparation process

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of low-temperature crushing technology, specifically to an ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment and a process for preparing cell-wall broken powder particles. The equipment includes: a storage chamber for low-temperature storage of materials; a crushing chamber equipped with a crushing mechanism for crushing the materials; and a conveying mechanism for feeding materials into the crushing chamber for cooling and conveying. The conveying mechanism includes a feed pipe, inside which a rotating cooling pipe is inserted, and spiral blades are fixedly connected to the outside of the cooling pipe. The beneficial effects of this invention are: the equipment integrates material storage, conveying cooling, and crushing / sorting functions, solving the problems of material conveying temperature rise, poor embrittlement effect, and high energy consumption caused by the disconnect between crushing and sorting in the prior art. It achieves simultaneous cooling during material conveying, improving crushing efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Furthermore, by recirculating the screened material, it further enhances energy saving and processing continuity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of low-temperature crushing, specifically relating to an ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment and a process for preparing cell wall-broken powder particles. Background Technology

[0002] In fields such as traditional Chinese medicine processing, fine chemicals, and new energy materials, ultra-fine cryogenic crushing is often required for heat-sensitive and highly tough materials to preserve their activity and ensure uniform particle size. Cryogenic crushing technology has become the preferred method for processing such materials because it can make them brittle, reduce their stickiness, and prevent high-temperature deterioration. However, existing cryogenic crushing equipment has many technical drawbacks, making it difficult to balance energy efficiency and crushing effect, which hinders its industrial-scale promotion.

[0003] Existing equipment generally suffers from high energy consumption and insufficient cooling efficiency. Traditional equipment often uses liquid nitrogen spray cooling, which consumes a large amount of liquid nitrogen, resulting in high operating costs. Furthermore, it is difficult to achieve stable low temperatures throughout the entire process of material storage, conveying, and crushing. Some materials experience a temperature rebound during conveying, reducing their embrittlement effect and increasing the difficulty of crushing and energy consumption. At the same time, the conveying mechanism and the cooling mechanism are independent; conveying only achieves material transfer and cannot simultaneously cool the material, which can easily lead to material adhesion and blockage, affecting the continuity of processing.

[0004] In addition, the crushing and sorting processes are disconnected, requiring additional sorting equipment after crushing. This not only increases equipment investment and floor space, but also prevents the residual material from being returned for secondary crushing in a timely manner. Consequently, the returned residual material needs to be cooled again, resulting in significant energy consumption.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for an ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment and a process for preparing cell wall-broken powder particles to overcome the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides an ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing device and a process for preparing cell wall-broken powder particles, thereby achieving the goal of solving the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs the following technical solution: an ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing device, comprising: a storage chamber for storing materials at low temperatures; a crushing chamber equipped with a crushing mechanism for crushing materials; and a conveying mechanism for conveying materials into the crushing chamber for cooling; wherein, the conveying mechanism includes a feed pipe, inside which a rotating cooling pipe is inserted, and a spiral blade is fixedly connected to the outside of the cooling pipe; the cooling pipe further extends into the interior of an air inlet pipe connected to the crushing chamber, thereby cooling the flowing air inside the air inlet pipe; a separator is provided inside the crushing chamber for screening materials lifted by the flowing air within the crushing chamber, with the remaining material entering a collection hopper for return to the crushing mechanism.

[0008] As a further improvement to the above technical solution:

[0009] The spiral blades have a hollow structure, allowing the medium inside the cooling tube to flow into the interior of the spiral blades to cool the material being transported by the spiral blades.

[0010] The feed pipe and the collection hopper are connected, so that the material fed into the feed pipe is mixed with the screened material inside the collection hopper.

[0011] The cooling pipe is fixedly connected to a stirring rod at the discharge port of the hopper.

[0012] The separator is rotatably installed inside the discharge pipe of the crushing chamber and is driven to rotate by an energy-saving motor.

[0013] A first gear is fixedly connected to the outer circumference of the cooling tube, and an energy-saving motor is connected to the end of the feed tube to drive the cooling tube to rotate. A second gear is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the energy-saving motor, and the rotation of the cooling tube is driven by the meshing transmission of the first gear and the second gear.

[0014] The crushing mechanism includes a rotating shaft rotatably disposed inside the crushing chamber, a hammer head and a scraper fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, the scraper being attached to the bottom of the crushing chamber and used to scrape the crushed material to the connection port between the air inlet pipe and the crushing chamber.

[0015] The present invention also employs the following technical solution: a process for preparing cell-wall broken powder particles, comprising the following steps: S1, the material is subjected to low-temperature crushing using the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment to obtain powder material with a particle size of 500-3000 mesh, wherein the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment controls the material temperature within the range of -60℃ to -10℃ during the crushing process to ensure the brittleness of the material; S2, the powder material with a particle size of 500-3000 mesh is subjected to particle size screening to separate cell-wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-3000 mesh; S3, the separated powder material smaller than 1000 mesh is fed back into the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment for low-temperature cell-wall breaking crushing to obtain a particle size of 500-6000 mesh. S4, Powder material; S5, Powder material with a particle size of 500-6000 mesh is screened to separate cell wall-broken powder with a particle size of 1000-6000 mesh; S6, Cell wall-broken powder with a particle size of 1000-3000 mesh and cell wall-broken powder with a particle size of 1000-6000 mesh are mixed to obtain cell wall-broken powder with different particle sizes and uniform distribution; S7, The mixed cell wall-broken powder is placed in a mixer and a high-concentration ethanol-water solution is continuously added to make a soft material. The soft material is then extruded into wet granules through a granulator with a 10-40 mesh sieve and the wet granules are dried; The volume fraction of ethanol in the high-concentration ethanol-water solution is 70%-95%; S8, The dried granules are sieved to make 20-40 mesh granules.

[0016] As a further improvement to the above technical solution: In step S6, when drying the wet particles, the wet particles are evenly spread on a tray and placed in a fluidized bed dryer or hot air circulating oven for drying; the drying temperature is 60-80℃, and the particle moisture content is reduced to ≤8.0%.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present invention are as follows: The equipment in this application integrates material storage, conveying cooling and crushing and sorting functions, which solves the problems of material conveying temperature rise, poor embrittlement effect and high energy consumption caused by the disconnection of crushing and sorting in the existing technology. It realizes synchronous cooling of material conveying, improves crushing efficiency and reduces energy consumption. At the same time, by returning the screened material, it further improves the energy-saving effect and processing continuity. The spiral blades are designed with a hollow structure, allowing the low-temperature medium inside the cooling tube to flow into the blades, achieving direct and efficient cooling of the material. This allows the material to quickly and uniformly reach an ultra-low temperature embrittlement state, improving crushing efficiency and pulverization effect. At the same time, it prevents the temperature of the material from rising again after long-term storage, reducing overall energy consumption. The new feed is effectively mixed with the screen residue without the need for additional conveying or mixing devices, which simplifies the equipment structure, improves the material recycling rate, stabilizes the crushing feed state, and at the same time uses the new material to cool down the screen residue that is rising in temperature, thus improving the low-temperature crushing effect and energy saving. The rotating cooling tube drives the stirring rod to break up material clumps at low temperatures, prevent clogging of the feed inlet, promote thorough mixing of new and old materials, ensure uniform crushing, and improve efficiency. No additional drive components are required, simplifying the structure, reducing manufacturing costs and energy consumption. At the same time, the stirring rod can further cool the residual material to ensure low-temperature conditions. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the cooling pipe of the present invention; Figure 4 Laser particle size distribution curves for rose petals and cassia seeds.

[0019] In the diagram: 1. Storage bin; 2. Crushing bin; 3. Conveying mechanism; 4. Crushing mechanism; 5. Air inlet pipe; 6. Sorter; 7. Collection hopper; 8. Discharge pipe; 9. Energy-saving motor one; 10. First gear; 11. Energy-saving motor two; 12. Second gear; 31. Feed pipe; 32. Cooling pipe; 33. Spiral blades; 34. Stirring rod; 41. Shaft; 42. Hammer; 43. Scraper. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0021] Traditional cryogenic crushing equipment generally suffers from high energy consumption and low cooling efficiency when processing heat-sensitive and highly tough materials. Maintaining a stable low temperature throughout the entire process of storage, conveying, and crushing is difficult, leading to poor material embrittlement and increased crushing difficulty and energy consumption. Furthermore, the separation of the conveying and cooling mechanisms easily causes material adhesion and blockage, and the disconnect between the crushing and sorting stages necessitates re-cooling of residual material during recirculation, further exacerbating energy consumption.

[0022] See Figures 1 to 3 This invention discloses an ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing device, comprising: Storage compartment 1 is used for low-temperature storage of materials; Crushing chamber 2, equipped with crushing mechanism 4 for crushing materials; and Conveying mechanism 3 is used to feed materials into the crushing chamber 2 for cooling and conveying. The conveying mechanism 3 includes a feed pipe 31, a rotating cooling pipe 32 is inserted inside the feed pipe 31, and a spiral blade 33 is fixedly connected to the outside of the cooling pipe 32. The cooling pipe 32 is further inserted inside the air inlet pipe 5 connected to the crushing chamber 2, and the cooling pipe 32 cools the airflow inside the air inlet pipe 5. The crushing chamber 2 is equipped with a separator 6, which is used to screen the material that is lifted by the airflow in the crushing chamber 2. The screened material enters the collection hopper 7 and flows back to the crushing mechanism 4.

[0023] For ease of understanding, the following explains some key terms in this embodiment: Storage chamber 1 serves to provide a low-temperature environment for the material to be crushed, ensuring that the material maintains its brittle state before entering the crushing stage, thereby improving the efficiency of subsequent crushing.

[0024] Crushing chamber 2 is the core area for ultra-fine cryogenic crushing of materials, and it is equipped with a crushing mechanism 4 specifically designed for mechanical crushing of materials.

[0025] The conveying mechanism 3 efficiently and stably transports the material stored at low temperature from the storage bin 1 into the crushing bin 2. During the conveying process, this mechanism also undertakes the task of further cooling the material to ensure that it remains in a suitable low-temperature embrittlement state when entering the crushing bin 2. The conveying mechanism 3 specifically includes a feed pipe 31, a cooling pipe 32, and spiral blades 33. The feed pipe 31 serves as the main channel for material conveying. The cooling pipe 32 passes through the feed pipe 31 and is rotatable. Spiral blades 33 are fixedly connected to its exterior. The rotation of the spiral blades 33 achieves the pushing of the material and the circulation of the cooling medium.

[0026] The crushing mechanism 4, located inside the crushing chamber 2, is the core component that directly applies mechanical force to the material to achieve crushing. Its design aims to efficiently crush materials that have become brittle at low temperatures to the required particle size.

[0027] The air inlet pipe 5 is connected to the crushing chamber 2 and is used to introduce external gas or circulating gas into the crushing chamber 2 to form a flowing airflow and lift the material.

[0028] The separator 6, located inside the crushing chamber 2, primarily functions to screen the crushed material by particle size. Through airflow that lifts the material, the separator 6 separates materials that meet the particle size requirements from the unacceptable residue.

[0029] The hopper 7 is used to collect the screened material that has been screened by the separator 6. This screened material will be guided back to the crushing mechanism 4 for secondary crushing to improve the utilization rate and crushing efficiency of the material.

[0030] This embodiment provides an ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing device. The device first includes a storage chamber 1, which is designed for cryogenic storage of materials. As one implementation, the storage chamber 1 can be a container with good thermal insulation properties, and the interior is maintained at a constant low temperature environment by a refrigeration system, such as through refrigerant circulation or dry ice cooling, to ensure that the material retains the required brittleness before entering the crushing stage.

[0031] Furthermore, the equipment also includes a crushing chamber 2, which contains a crushing mechanism 4 for crushing materials. The crushing chamber 2 can be a closed cavity, and its walls can be made of wear-resistant material. The crushing mechanism 4 can take various forms; for example, it can be a high-speed rotating hammer assembly that crushes materials through mechanical impact, shearing, or grinding.

[0032] In addition, the equipment includes a conveying mechanism 3, whose function is to feed materials into the crushing chamber 2 and perform cooling conveying. In one implementation, the conveying mechanism 3 may include a feed pipe 31 through which the material is guided. Inside the feed pipe 31, a rotatable cooling pipe 32 is installed. A spiral blade 33 is fixedly connected to the outside of the cooling pipe 32. The material moves forward along the feed pipe 31 under the push of the spiral blade 33. A low-temperature cooling medium, such as liquid nitrogen or a cryogenic refrigerant, can be introduced into the cooling pipe 32, exchanging heat with the material through the pipe wall to achieve synchronous cooling of the material during the conveying process.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the cooling pipe 32 is further inserted inside the air inlet pipe 5 connected to the crushing chamber 2. The air inlet pipe 5 is used to introduce gas into the crushing chamber 2 to form a flowing airflow. By cooling the flowing air inside the air inlet pipe 5 through the cooling pipe 32, it can be ensured that the temperature of the gas entering the crushing chamber 2 is low, thereby maintaining the low-temperature environment inside the crushing chamber 2 and assisting in the low-temperature embrittlement of the material.

[0034] The crushing chamber 2 is also equipped with a separator 6, which is used to screen the material lifted by the airflow within the crushing chamber 2. When the airflow lifts the crushed material, fine, qualified material can pass through the separator 6, while larger particles are blocked. This remaining material then enters the collection hopper 7 and is guided back to the crushing mechanism 4 for further crushing to improve the crushing efficiency and yield. The collection hopper 7 can be a simple funnel-shaped structure used to collect and guide the remaining material.

[0035] The ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing equipment of this application effectively solves the problems of material temperature rise and decreased embrittlement effect during transportation, as well as the serious energy consumption caused by the disconnect between crushing and sorting stages, in existing technologies by integrating material storage, conveying cooling, and crushing and sorting functions. This equipment achieves synchronous cooling of materials during transportation, ensuring that the materials remain in a low-temperature embrittlement state throughout the process, thereby improving crushing efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Simultaneously, the sorting and residual material return mechanism inside the crushing chamber 2 avoids the additional energy consumption of re-cooling residual materials, further enhancing the overall energy-saving effect of the equipment and the continuity of material processing.

[0036] In some of the above embodiments, the conveying mechanism 3 conveys and initially cools the material through a rotating cooling pipe 32 inserted inside the feed pipe 31 and a spiral blade 33 fixedly connected to its outside. However, this cooling method mainly relies on surface conduction of the cooling pipe 32 and convection of cooling air. For materials that need to reach extremely low temperatures quickly or have a large heat capacity, its cooling efficiency may be limited, making it difficult to ensure that the material reaches the optimal brittle state before entering the crushing chamber 2.

[0037] In this regard, this application further proposes that the spiral blade 33 has a hollow structure, so that the medium inside the cooling pipe 32 can flow into the interior of the spiral blade 33 to cool the material conveyed by the spiral blade 33.

[0038] Specifically, the helical blade 33 is designed as a hollow structure, meaning it has one or more through-cavities or channels inside, rather than being solid. This design provides the necessary space for the flow of the cooling medium, thus enabling the helical blade 33 itself to function as a highly efficient heat exchange component.

[0039] To ensure efficient transfer of the cooling medium, the connection between the cooling tube 32 and the spiral blade 33 is designed to be interconnected. For example, connecting holes can be made in the wall of the cooling tube 32, allowing the cryogenic medium (such as liquid nitrogen, chilled brine, or cryogenic gas) inside the cooling tube 32 to flow directly into the hollow cavity inside the spiral blade 33 through these holes. This design ensures that the cooling medium can be efficiently transferred from the main cooling source (cooling tube 32) to the spiral blade 33, thereby activating the direct cooling function of the spiral blade 33.

[0040] When the cryogenic medium flows inside the spiral blades 33, the surface temperature of the spiral blades 33 decreases significantly. Since the spiral blades 33 are in direct contact with the material during transport, their cryogenic surface can efficiently remove heat from the material through direct contact conduction, thus achieving direct, rapid, and uniform cooling of the material. After absorbing heat from the material, the cooling medium can circulate inside the spiral blades 33 and return to the cooling pipe 32 to achieve medium circulation.

[0041] Through the above technical solution, the spiral blade 33 is designed as a hollow structure, allowing the low-temperature medium inside the cooling pipe 32 to flow directly into the spiral blade 33, achieving more direct and efficient cooling of the conveyed material. When the material is conveyed by the spiral blade 33, the low-temperature medium flows inside the blade, rapidly absorbing the material's heat, thus enabling the material to reach the required ultra-low temperature state more quickly and uniformly before entering the crushing chamber 2. This direct contact cooling method significantly improves the cooling efficiency and uniformity of the material, ensuring that the material has higher brittleness before crushing, thereby improving crushing efficiency and ultra-fine grinding effect. At the same time, the material is cooled down in a short time before entering the crushing chamber 2, preventing the temperature from rising again during long-term storage, which helps to reduce overall energy consumption.

[0042] This application further proposes that the feed pipe 31 and the collection hopper 7 are connected, allowing the material fed into the feed pipe 31 to mix with the screened material inside the collection hopper 7. Specifically, the feed pipe 31, as part of the conveying mechanism 3, is mainly responsible for introducing the raw material to be crushed from the storage bin 1 into the crushing equipment. The material and inner wall treatment of the feed pipe 31 should ensure that the material does not easily adhere during the conveying process and can withstand low-temperature environments. The collection hopper 7 is used to collect the screened material that needs to be crushed again from the separator 6. It is usually funnel-shaped with a discharge port at the bottom so that the material can be discharged smoothly. The design of the collection hopper 7 should take into account the flowability of the material, avoid blockage, and be able to effectively connect with subsequent conveying or crushing stages. The connection between the feed pipe 31 and the collection hopper 7 means that, structurally, the material outlet end of the feed pipe 31 is physically connected to the discharge port of the collection hopper 7 or its internal space. This connection can be achieved by setting up a confluence pipe or a common mixing chamber. Through this connection method, the raw material fed into the feed pipe 31 and the screened material collected inside the collection hopper 7 can be fully mixed before entering the crushing mechanism 4. This mixing can be carried out under natural gravity, or the mixing effect can be enhanced by setting a simple mixing structure (such as a baffle) in the connection area. The mixed material will be conveyed to the crushing mechanism 4 again for processing as a whole.

[0043] The above technical solution achieves effective mixing of newly fed materials with the screened residue in crushing chamber 2. This design allows the screened residue requiring further crushing to enter the crushing process directly along with fresh materials, eliminating the need for additional conveying or mixing devices. This simplifies the equipment structure and improves material recycling efficiency. Simultaneously, the mixing of new and old materials helps stabilize the feeding state of crushing mechanism 4, ensuring the continuity and uniformity of the crushing process and avoiding process interruptions or efficiency reductions that might occur due to handling screened residue separately. Furthermore, the screened residue undergoes crushing in crushing chamber 2 for a certain period, resulting in a relative temperature rise. Mixing the screened residue with new materials helps to cool the screened residue again, further improving the overall low-temperature crushing effect and energy efficiency.

[0044] This application further proposes that a stirring rod 34 is fixedly connected to the cooling pipe 32 at the discharge port of the collecting hopper 7. The stirring rod 34 is a component used to mechanically agitate materials and promote their flow. It can be designed in various structural forms, such as spiral, blade, multi-forked, or simple rod shapes, to adapt to the physical properties and flow requirements of different materials.

[0045] The stirring rod 34 is typically made of wear-resistant and low-temperature-resistant materials, such as stainless steel or special alloys, to ensure its stability and service life in low-temperature environments. Since the cooling tube 32 itself rotates, the stirring rod 34, fixedly connected to it, can rotate with it, thus continuously mechanically stirring the material at the discharge port of the collecting hopper 7. This arrangement utilizes the existing rotational function of the cooling tube 32, eliminating the need for an additional independent drive mechanism, resulting in a more compact and efficient structure. The placement of the stirring rod 34 at the discharge port of the collecting hopper 7 is crucial for the material to exit the hopper 7 and prepare to enter the crushing mechanism 4; stirring at this location directly targets the area where material flow is most obstructed.

[0046] Through the above technical solution, when the material is discharged from the discharge port of the collecting hopper 7, the stirring rod 34, which rotates with the cooling pipe 32, can effectively mechanically agitate the material. This agitation can significantly break up material clumps that are prone to form in a low-temperature environment, preventing bridging or blockage at the discharge port, thus ensuring smooth material discharge. Simultaneously, the continuous agitation of the stirring rod 34 also helps to promote a more thorough and uniform mixing of the fresh material fed in from the feed pipe 31 and the screened material returning from the collecting hopper 7 at the discharge port. This not only ensures good uniformity of the material entering the crushing mechanism 4, but also avoids a decrease in crushing efficiency due to material agglomeration or uneven mixing. Furthermore, this solution utilizes the rotation of the cooling pipe 32 to drive the stirring rod 34, avoiding the need for additional drive components, thereby simplifying the equipment structure and reducing manufacturing costs and energy consumption. Simultaneously, through the heat conduction effect of the stirring rod 34, it can also further cool the screened material, ensuring that the screened material remains at a low temperature.

[0047] This application further proposes that the separator 6 is rotatably installed inside the discharge pipe 8 of the crushing chamber 2 and is driven to rotate by an energy-saving motor 9.

[0048] The separator 6 is a device used to separate materials according to their particle size. Inside the crushing chamber 2, the material is processed by the crushing mechanism 4 to form particles of different sizes. The function of the separator 6 is to accurately screen out ultrafine powder materials that meet specific particle size requirements and discharge them through the discharge pipe 8, while effectively separating larger particles that do not meet the requirements (i.e., screen residue) and allowing them to enter the collection hopper 7 so that they can be returned to the crushing mechanism 4 for further crushing.

[0049] The separator 6 is rotatably mounted inside the discharge pipe 8 of the crushing chamber 2, dynamically classifying materials through rotational motion. The energy-saving motor 9 is a high-efficiency electric motor designed to provide the necessary mechanical power with low energy consumption, thereby reducing equipment operating costs. The energy-saving motor 9 is mechanically connected to the rotating components of the separator 6 via its output shaft, for example, through a coupling, belt drive system, or gear transmission mechanism, providing stable and controllable rotational power to the separator 6. By adjusting the speed of the energy-saving motor 9, the rotational speed of the separator 6 can be precisely controlled, thereby achieving fine adjustment of the sorted particle size to adapt to the crushing requirements and product particle size standards of different materials.

[0050] This application further proposes that a first gear 10 is fixedly connected to the outer circumference of the cooling tube 32, and an energy-saving motor 11 for driving the cooling tube 32 to rotate is connected to the end of the feed tube 31. A second gear 12 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the energy-saving motor 11, and the rotation of the cooling tube 32 is driven by the meshing transmission of the first gear 10 and the second gear 12.

[0051] Specifically, the first gear 10, acting as the driven gear, receives driving force from the second gear 12, thereby driving the cooling tube 32 to rotate. Its tooth profile and module must match those of the second gear 12 to achieve smooth and efficient meshing transmission.

[0052] Energy-saving motor 21 is a type of electric motor with high energy conversion efficiency. Its main function is to provide power to drive the cooling tube 32 to rotate. Energy-saving motor 211 typically adopts a permanent magnet synchronous motor or a high-efficiency asynchronous motor to minimize energy consumption while ensuring sufficient torque output. The output shaft of energy-saving motor 211 is fixedly connected to the second gear 12 via a mechanical connection (e.g., key connection), thereby transmitting the rotational power of the motor to the gear transmission system.

[0053] The second gear 12 is the driving gear that meshes with the first gear 10, and it is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the second energy-saving motor 11. The second gear 12 and the first gear 10 together form a gear transmission pair, responsible for transmitting the rotational power generated by the second energy-saving motor 11 to the cooling tube 32. The number of teeth, module, and tooth profile of the second gear 12 must be precisely matched with the first gear 10 to ensure the accuracy of the transmission ratio and the smoothness of the transmission process, reducing vibration and noise. Meshing transmission refers to the mechanical transmission method in which the first gear 10 and the second gear 12 transmit motion and power through the interaction between their teeth. This transmission method has advantages such as accurate transmission ratio, reliable operation, compact structure, and high load-bearing capacity. By rationally designing the geometric parameters of the gears, the precise speed and torque required by the cooling tube 32 can be achieved, ensuring the uniformity and stability of the material during the conveying process. After the second energy-saving motor 11 starts, its output shaft drives the second gear 12, which is fixedly connected to the output shaft, to rotate. The second gear 12 meshes with the first gear 10, which is fixedly connected to the outer circumference of the cooling tube 32, thereby transmitting rotational power to the first gear 10, which in turn drives the cooling tube 32 to rotate around its axis. The rotation of the cooling tube 32 enables the spiral blades 33 on its outside to continuously push the material forward. At the same time, the low-temperature medium inside the cooling tube 32 can continuously cool the material, realizing low-temperature material conveying.

[0054] This application further proposes that the crushing mechanism 4 includes a rotating shaft 41 rotatably disposed inside the crushing chamber 2, a hammer 42 fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 41, and a scraper 43. The scraper 43 is attached to the bottom of the crushing chamber 2 and is used to scrape the crushed material to the connection port between the air inlet pipe 5 and the crushing chamber 2.

[0055] Specifically, the rotating shaft 41 is the core transmission component of the crushing mechanism 4. It is usually driven by a motor and rotates at a certain speed inside the crushing chamber 2. The setting of the rotating shaft 41 enables the hammer 42 and scraper 43 fixed on it to rotate at high speed, thereby realizing the functions of impact crushing and scraping of materials.

[0056] Hammerhead 42 is the component that directly impacts and crushes the material. It is typically block-shaped or rod-shaped and securely connected to the rotating shaft 41 by bolts, pins, or other fixing methods. When the rotating shaft 41 rotates at high speed, the hammerhead 42 impacts the material entering the crushing chamber 2 at extremely high linear velocity, pulverizing it under the action of impact, shearing, and friction. The shape, number, and arrangement of the hammerhead 42 can be optimized according to the characteristics of the material to be crushed and the required crushing effect.

[0057] Scraper 43 is a component used for cleaning and conveying crushed materials. It is also fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 41 and rotates with it. The scraper 43 is typically made of wear-resistant materials, such as high-manganese steel or ceramic composites, to resist material abrasion. The shape of the scraper 43 can be designed as a flat plate, an arc, or a blade with a certain angle to optimize its efficiency in scraping materials. "Close contact" refers to the fact that the lower edge of the scraper 43 maintains a very small gap with or is in direct contact with the bottom surface of the crushing chamber 2. This close contact design ensures that the scraper 43 can effectively scrape and push up the material accumulated at the bottom of the crushing chamber 2, especially fine powder materials, when rotating.

[0058] The specific function of scraper 43 is to scrape the crushed material to the connection between the air inlet duct 5 and the crushing chamber 2. This connection is typically the channel through which airflow enters the crushing chamber 2, and it is also a key area where material is lifted for sorting. Through its rotational motion, scraper 43 effectively guides and pushes the crushed material along the bottom surface of the crushing chamber 2 to this connection, ensuring that the crushed material can promptly enter the airflow and be screened by the sorter 6, preventing material from accumulating at the bottom.

[0059] Through the above technical solution, the crushing mechanism 4 can not only efficiently crush materials through impact, but also effectively solve the problem of material accumulation at the bottom of the crushing chamber 2 through the scraper 43 fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 41. The scraper 43 is closely attached to the bottom of the crushing chamber 2 and rotates continuously under the drive of the rotating shaft 41, which can scrape the crushed fine powder material from the bottom and corners of the crushing chamber 2 and directionally convey it to the connection between the air inlet pipe 5 and the crushing chamber 2. This allows the crushed material to be lifted by the flowing air in time and enter the separator 6 for screening. It significantly improves the material circulation efficiency and the utilization rate of the crushing chamber 2, avoids the ineffective retention of material inside the crushing chamber 2, and thus ensures the continuity and stability of the crushing process.

[0060] This application also proposes a process for preparing cell wall broken powder particles using ultra-fine low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment, which includes the following steps: In step S1, the material is subjected to cryogenic crushing using the ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing equipment to obtain powder material with a particle size of 500-3000 mesh. During the crushing process, the ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing equipment controls the material temperature within the range of -60℃ to -10℃ to ensure the material's brittleness. This step aims to perform preliminary cryogenic crushing of the raw material using the ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing equipment. The low-temperature environment (-60℃ to -10℃) makes the material more brittle and harder, thus making it easier to crush into fine particles under the action of the crushing mechanism 4, improving crushing efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Simultaneously, the low temperature effectively suppresses the heat generated by friction during the crushing process, preventing oxidation, deterioration, or loss of active ingredients due to heat, making it particularly suitable for heat-sensitive bioactive substances. The obtained powder material has a particle size range of 500-3000 mesh, laying the foundation for subsequent fine screening and re-crushing.

[0061] In step S2, the powder material with a particle size of 500-3000 mesh is screened to separate the cell-wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-3000 mesh. This step uses particle size screening technology to perform preliminary classification of the powder material obtained in step S1. The purpose of screening is to separate the cell-wall broken powder (1000-3000 mesh) that meets specific particle size requirements to ensure the particle size uniformity and quality of the final product. Screening equipment can be a vibrating screen, air classifier, or centrifugal screen, etc., and the appropriate screening method should be selected according to the material characteristics and production scale.

[0062] In step S3, the separated powder material smaller than 1000 mesh is fed back into the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment for low-temperature cell wall breaking and pulverization to obtain powder material with a particle size of 500-6000 mesh. This step embodies the concept of cyclic crushing. The large particles (smaller than 1000 mesh) that do not meet the requirements and are screened out in step S2 are returned to the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment for further pulverization. This aims to further improve the degree of material crushing, achieving a finer particle size (500-6000 mesh), thereby improving material utilization, reducing waste, and making it possible to obtain finer cell wall broken powder.

[0063] In step S4, the powder material with a particle size of 500-6000 mesh is screened to separate out the cell-wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-6000 mesh. This step is a second particle size screening of the finer powder material obtained in step S3. Through screening, cell-wall broken powder with a particle size range of 1000-6000 mesh is separated. This screening process ensures that the material after re-grinding can achieve higher fineness requirements and provides high-quality cell-wall broken powder with different particle size ranges for subsequent mixing steps.

[0064] In step S5, broken cell wall powder with a particle size of 1000-3000 mesh and broken cell wall powder with a particle size of 1000-6000 mesh are mixed to obtain broken cell wall powder with different particle sizes and a uniform distribution. This step precisely mixes the broken cell wall powder with different particle size ranges obtained from two screenings. Through mixing, the particle size distribution of the final broken cell wall powder product can be optimized, so that it contains both relatively coarse and finer particles, thereby obtaining a wider and more uniformly distributed particle size range. This mixing method helps to improve the bulk density, flowability, and uniformity of subsequent granulation of the powder. The mixing equipment can be a V-type mixer, a three-dimensional mixer, or a trough mixer, etc.

[0065] In step S6, the mixed cell-wall-breaking powder is placed in a mixer, and a high-concentration ethanol-water solution is continuously added to form a soft mass. This soft mass is then extruded through a pelletizer with a 10-40 mesh sieve to form wet granules, which are then dried. The high-concentration ethanol-water solution contains 70%-95% ethanol by volume. This step is crucial for granule preparation. First, the mixed cell-wall-breaking powder is placed in a mixer, and a high-concentration ethanol-water solution (70%-95% ethanol by volume) is continuously added as a binder to wet and stir the powder into a soft mass with a certain degree of plasticity. The high-concentration ethanol-water solution, as a binder, has good wetting and volatility, and low solubility for many active ingredients, effectively preventing the loss of active ingredients. Subsequently, the soft mass is extruded through a pelletizer (equipped with a 10-40 mesh sieve) to form uniform wet granules. Finally, the wet granules are dried to remove moisture, resulting in a dried granular product. Drying methods can include fluidized bed drying, vacuum drying, or hot air circulating oven drying.

[0066] In step S7, the dried granules are granulated and sieved to produce granules of 20-40 mesh. This step is the final granulation and sieving of the dried granules. Granulation aims to make the granules more regular in shape and remove irregular particles and fine powder. Sieving ensures that the particle size range of the final granule product meets the 20-40 mesh requirement, further improving the uniformity and quality stability of the product. The sieving equipment can be a vibrating screen or a swing screen, etc.

[0067] Using the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment proposed in this application, roses were crushed at crushing temperatures ranging from -10℃ to -25℃, and cassia seeds were crushed at crushing temperatures ranging from -15℃ to -30℃. The particle size distributions are shown in Table 1 and... Figure 4 As shown;

[0068] Table 1 Through the above technical solutions, the cell wall-breaking powder granulation process proposed in this application effectively solves the problems of difficulty in obtaining uniformly sized and reasonably distributed cell wall-breaking powder through single crushing, and the potential for unstable product quality and damage to active ingredients due to traditional granulation methods. This is achieved by combining ultra-low temperature energy-saving crushing equipment with multi-stage crushing, fine screening, and a unique granulation process. Firstly, low-temperature pulverization combined with cyclic crushing and multi-stage screening maximizes the crushing efficiency and fineness of the material, ensuring the acquisition of high-quality cell wall-breaking powder with different particle size ranges. Precise mixing achieves uniform particle size distribution, thereby improving the quality and utilization rate of the cell wall-breaking powder. Secondly, using a high-concentration ethanol-water solution as a binder for granulation not only avoids the degradation or dissolution of active ingredients that may be caused by traditional water-based binders, but also allows for faster drying time and reduced energy consumption due to the rapid volatility of ethanol. Extrusion granulation combined with subsequent drying and granulation screening ensures that the final granule product has good formability, uniform particle size, excellent flowability, and stability, facilitating storage and use. Overall, this process optimizes the preparation of cell wall-breaking powder, improves product quality and production efficiency, and also offers advantages in energy conservation and environmental protection.

[0069] This application further proposes that in step S6, during the drying of wet particles, the wet particles are evenly spread on a tray and placed in a fluidized bed dryer or hot air circulating oven for drying; the drying temperature is 60-80℃, reducing the particle moisture content to ≤8.0%. Specifically, before drying the wet particles, they are first evenly spread on the tray. This operation aims to ensure that the wet particles are evenly heated and dissipate moisture during the drying process. By spreading the wet particles in a thin layer or at a uniform thickness on the tray, the phenomenon of internal moisture being difficult to dissipate and external particles being over-dried due to particle accumulation can be effectively avoided, thereby ensuring the overall consistency of drying. This step can be achieved manually or with the help of automated spreading devices, such as vibrating spreaders or conveyor belts with scraping mechanisms, to improve the uniformity and efficiency of spreading.

[0070] Subsequently, the evenly spread wet granules are placed in a fluidized bed dryer or a hot air circulating oven for drying. A fluidized bed dryer is a highly efficient drying device. Its working principle is to suspend the wet granules through a flow of hot air, allowing the granules to fully contact the hot air, thereby achieving rapid and uniform heat and mass transfer. This method is particularly suitable for heat-sensitive granular materials that require rapid drying, effectively preventing particle adhesion and agglomeration. A hot air circulating oven is a common batch drying device. It uses an internal fan to force hot air to circulate within the oven, heating and drying the materials placed on trays. Its advantages include simple operation, wide applicability, and relatively precise temperature control, making it suitable for materials requiring high uniformity of drying.

[0071] During the drying process, the drying temperature is precisely controlled within the range of 60-80℃. This temperature range is set to maximize the protection of the effective components and physical structure of the broken-cell wall powder particles while ensuring drying efficiency. Temperatures below this range may result in excessively long drying times and low efficiency; temperatures above this range may cause particle degradation, inactivation of active substances, or surface hardening, affecting particle solubility and bioavailability. Precise control of this temperature range is typically achieved using temperature sensors and PID controllers. Ultimately, the moisture content of the particles is reduced to ≤8.0%. This is a stringent requirement for the final product's moisture content. Controlling the moisture content within this range effectively inhibits the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, extends the shelf life of the broken-cell wall powder particles, and maintains good particle flowability and compaction, providing a stable material basis for subsequent granulation, packaging, or further processing (such as tableting or capsule filling). Moisture content monitoring can be performed using online or offline moisture analyzers and adjusted in conjunction with drying time or a feedback control system.

[0072] The following specific example further illustrates the above technical solution: First, the pre-crushed medicinal herb granules are stored in storage chamber 1, which maintains the material at a low temperature to prevent temperature rise before entering the crushing stage. Then, the material is conveyed into crushing chamber 2 via conveying mechanism 3. Unlike traditional conveying methods, this conveying mechanism 3 not only transfers the material but also provides simultaneous cooling. Specifically, the material first enters feed pipe 31. Inside feed pipe 31, a rotating cooling pipe 32 is installed, with spiral blades 33 fixedly connected to its exterior. As the material is conveyed forward by the spiral blades 33, the low-temperature medium (e.g., liquid nitrogen or refrigerant) circulating inside the cooling pipe 32 continuously pre-cools the material. Furthermore, the spiral blades 33 are designed with a hollow structure, allowing the low-temperature medium inside the cooling pipe 32 to flow into the spiral blades 33, directly contacting and cooling the material during conveying. This effectively prevents the material from becoming less brittle due to temperature rise during conveying, significantly improving cooling efficiency and reducing energy consumption compared to traditional methods that rely solely on external cooling.

[0073] During the process of material being conveyed to crushing chamber 2, cooling pipe 32 is also installed inside the air inlet pipe 5 connecting crushing chamber 2. The cooling pipe 32 cools the cold air flowing inside the air inlet pipe 5, ensuring that the air temperature entering crushing chamber 2 is extremely low, providing stable ultra-low temperature conditions for the crushing environment. This design avoids the problems of material adhesion, blockage, and insufficient cooling caused by the independent operation of cooling and conveying mechanisms in traditional equipment.

[0074] After the material enters the crushing chamber 2, it is subjected to ultra-fine pulverization by the crushing mechanism 4. The crushing mechanism 4 includes a rotating shaft 41 rotatably disposed inside the crushing chamber 2, hammers 42 fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 41, and scrapers 43. The hammers 42 rotate at high speed to impact, shear, and rub the material, achieving ultra-fine pulverization. The scrapers 43 are attached to the bottom of the crushing chamber 2 and are used to scrape the crushed material to the connection port between the air inlet pipe 5 and the crushing chamber 2, ensuring that the material can be effectively lifted by the flowing cold air.

[0075] The crushed material is lifted by flowing cold air in the crushing chamber 2 and enters the separator 6 for particle size screening. The separator 6 is rotatably installed inside the discharge pipe 8 of the crushing chamber 2 and is driven by an energy-saving motor 9, which improves the sorting efficiency and accuracy. Ultrafine powder with the required particle size is discharged through the discharge pipe 8, while the sieved material enters the collection hopper 7. Unlike traditional solutions where the sieved material needs additional processing and re-cooling, this equipment connects the collection hopper 7 to the feed pipe 31, allowing the sieved material inside the collection hopper 7 to flow directly back to the crushing mechanism 4, mix with the newly fed material, and be crushed again. This design avoids the energy consumption of secondary cooling of the sieved material and achieves seamless connection and efficient circulation between the crushing and sorting stages. To ensure smooth return of the sieved material, a stirring rod 34 is fixedly connected to the cooling pipe 32 at the discharge port of the collection hopper 7 to prevent blockage of the material in a low-temperature environment and ensure continuous and stable material conveying.

[0076] A first gear 10 is fixedly connected to the outer circumference of the cooling tube 32, and an energy-saving motor 11 that drives the cooling tube 32 to rotate is connected to the end of the feed tube 31. A second gear 12 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the energy-saving motor 11. The rotation of the cooling tube 32 is driven by the meshing transmission of the first gear 10 and the second gear 12, ensuring the stable and efficient operation of the cooling tube 32 and the spiral blade 33.

[0077] Through the above-mentioned collaborative work, the equipment achieves stable ultra-low temperature control of materials throughout the entire process of storage, conveying, crushing, sorting and reflux. It effectively solves the problems of high energy consumption, insufficient cooling efficiency, material adhesion and blockage, and serious energy consumption for secondary cooling of screen residue materials in the ultra-low temperature crushing process of heat-sensitive and high-toughness materials, and significantly improves crushing efficiency and energy saving effect.

[0078] The terms “first” and “second” are used to distinguish similar objects, rather than to describe or indicate a specific order or sequence.

[0079] The term "comprising" or any other similar term is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus / device that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent in such process, method, article, or apparatus / device.

[0080] The technical solution of the present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of protection of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the principles of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make equivalent changes or substitutions to the relevant technical features, and the technical solutions after these changes or substitutions will all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing device, characterized in that, include: Storage compartment (1) is used for low-temperature storage of materials; The crushing chamber (2) is equipped with a crushing mechanism (4) for crushing materials; and The conveying mechanism (3) is used to send materials into the crushing chamber (2) for cooling and conveying. The conveying mechanism (3) includes a feed pipe (31), a rotating cooling pipe (32) is installed inside the feed pipe (31), and a spiral blade (33) is fixedly connected to the outside of the cooling pipe (32). The cooling pipe (32) is further inserted inside the air inlet pipe (5) connected to the crushing chamber (2), and the cooling pipe (32) cools the airflow inside the air inlet pipe (5); The crushing chamber (2) is equipped with a sorter (6) for screening materials that are lifted by the airflow in the crushing chamber (2). The remaining materials enter the collection hopper (7) and are returned to the crushing mechanism (4).

2. The ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spiral blade (33) has a hollow structure, which allows the medium inside the cooling pipe (32) to flow into the interior of the spiral blade (33) to cool the material conveyed by the spiral blade (33).

3. The ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feed pipe (31) and the collection hopper (7) are connected, so that the material fed into the feed pipe (31) and the screened material inside the collection hopper (7) are mixed.

4. The ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The cooling pipe (32) is fixedly connected to the discharge port of the hopper (7) with a stirring rod (34).

5. The ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sorter (6) is rotatably installed inside the discharge pipe (8) of the crushing chamber (2) and is driven to rotate by an energy-saving motor (9).

6. The ultra-micro cryogenic energy-saving crushing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cooling tube (32) is fixedly connected to a first gear (10) in the outer circumference. The end of the feed tube (31) is connected to an energy-saving motor (11) that drives the cooling tube (32) to rotate. A second gear (12) is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the energy-saving motor (11). The rotation of the cooling tube (32) is driven by the meshing transmission of the first gear (10) and the second gear (12).

7. The ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The crushing mechanism (4) includes a rotating shaft (41) rotatably disposed inside the crushing chamber (2), a hammer (42) fixedly connected to the rotating shaft (41), and a scraper (43). The scraper (43) is attached to the bottom of the crushing chamber (2) and is used to scrape the crushed material to the connection port between the air inlet pipe (5) and the crushing chamber (2).

8. A process for preparing cell-wall broken powder particles using the ultra-fine low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1, the material is subjected to low-temperature crushing through the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment to obtain powder material with a particle size of 500-3000 mesh, wherein the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment controls the material temperature within the range of -60℃ to -10℃ during the crushing process to ensure the brittleness of the material; S2, particle size screening is performed on powder materials with a particle size of 500-3000 mesh to separate cell wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-3000 mesh; S3, the separated powder material smaller than 1000 mesh is fed back into the ultra-micro low-temperature energy-saving crushing equipment for low-temperature cell wall breaking and pulverization to obtain powder material with a particle size of 500-6000 mesh; S4, particle size screening is performed on powder materials with a particle size of 500-6000 mesh to separate cell wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-6000 mesh; S5, mix the cell wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-3000 mesh and the cell wall broken powder with a particle size of 1000-6000 mesh to obtain cell wall broken powder with different particle sizes and uniform distribution; S6, the mixed cell wall breaking powder is placed in a mixer, and a soft material is made by continuously adding high-concentration ethanol-water solution. The soft material is then extruded into wet granules through a granulator with a 10-40 mesh sieve, and the wet granules are dried. S7. The dried granules are sieved to produce 20-40 mesh granules.

9. The process for preparing cell wall-breaking powder particles according to claim 8, characterized in that, In step S6, when drying the wet particles, the wet particles are evenly spread on a tray and placed in a fluidized bed dryer or hot air circulating oven for drying; the drying temperature is 60-80℃, and the particle moisture content is reduced to ≤8.0%.

10. The process for preparing cell wall-breaking powder particles according to claim 8, characterized in that, In step S6, the volume fraction of ethanol in the high-concentration ethanol-water solution is 70%-95%.

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