Self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical insoluble solid dispersions

Abstract

The application discloses a self-cleaning crusher for preparing pharmaceutical insoluble solid dispersion, and relates to a crusher which comprises a device frame, a conveying assembly arranged in the device frame, a crushing box arranged at a dispersion discharging position of the conveying assembly, two crushing rollers rotationally connected in the crushing box, and a first motor transmissionally connected with the crushing rollers, wherein the crushing rollers are composed of a plurality of crushing bodies arranged in sequence and in dislocation, and two crushing bodies in the same section perpendicular to the central shaft of the crushing roller are always matched within a certain gap range during rotation. The rotation of the motor can drive the crushing rollers to fully crush the solid dispersion. During the crushing process, the matching structure of the two crushing rollers prevents the dispersion from adhering to the outside of the crushing rollers, thereby achieving the self-cleaning effect. In addition, the device is provided with a matching conveying assembly, so that the dispersion is dispersed into the crushing rollers, and the crushing efficiency is further ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a crusher, specifically a self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions. Background Technology

[0002] In the pharmaceutical industry, the crushing process is one of the key steps in improving drug dissolution rate during the preparation of solid dispersions of poorly soluble drugs. Currently, most crushing equipment for solid dispersions uses single-roller or double-roller crushers, whose core principle is to crush materials by the rotation and extrusion of the crushing rollers.

[0003] However, existing double-roll crushers have many technical defects in practical applications. On the one hand, the roller surfaces of traditional double roll crushers are mostly smooth or have a single toothed structure. When crushing solid dispersions, the dispersed materials are easily squeezed and adhered to the outside of the crushing rollers. As the crushing process continues, the adhered materials will gradually accumulate and clump together, which will not only reduce the effective crushing area of ​​the crushing rollers, leading to a significant decrease in crushing efficiency, but also affect the feeding and crushing uniformity of subsequent materials. To solve this problem, operators need to frequently stop the machine to manually clean the crushing rollers, which not only increases the operation procedures and labor intensity, but also interrupts the production process due to machine stoppages, reducing overall production efficiency.

[0004] On the other hand, the feeding method of existing crushers is mostly direct feeding. The material falls into the space between two crushing rollers under the action of gravity, which is prone to uneven feeding and material accumulation. Some material is discharged through the roller gap without being fully crushed, resulting in uneven particle size distribution of the crushed material. This cannot meet the strict requirements of pharmaceutical processes for the particle size of solid dispersions, and thus affects the quality stability of subsequent formulations. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical insoluble solid dispersions includes a frame and a conveying assembly inside the frame, and a crushing box located at the discharge position of the dispersion in the conveying assembly. Two crushing rollers are rotatably connected inside the crushing box. The crushing rollers are driven by a first motor. Each crushing roller is composed of several crushing elements arranged in a staggered manner. Two crushing elements in the same cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the crushing roller maintain a certain gap range during rotation.

[0007] As a further aspect of the present invention: two splined shafts are rotatably connected inside the crushing box, the crushing roller cooperates with the splined shafts, and the two splined shafts are driven by two first gears meshing together, one of the splined shafts being connected to a first motor drive.

[0008] As a further embodiment of the present invention: a material collection hopper is fixedly connected below the equipment frame, and the inlet of the crushing box is located below the material collection hopper.

[0009] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the conveying assembly includes a drive roller and a driven roller, a conveyor belt is sleeved between the drive roller and the driven roller, and the drive roller is driven by a second motor.

[0010] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the output shaft of the second motor is fixedly connected to a drive gear, the drive gear meshes with the second gear for transmission, the second gear meshes with the third gear for transmission, and a fourth gear is fixedly connected to the central shaft of the drive drum, the fourth gear meshes with the third gear.

[0011] As a further embodiment of the present invention: a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft are rotatably connected to the equipment frame; a fifth gear that meshes with a second gear is fixedly connected to the end of the first rotating shaft; a sixth gear that meshes with the fifth gear is fixedly connected to the end of the second rotating shaft; pressure rollers are fixedly connected to the outer sides of both the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft; and the gap between the pressure rollers is located above the conveyor belt.

[0012] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the pressure roller located outside the fifth gear is pressed and engaged with the conveyor belt.

[0013] As a further embodiment of the present invention: the top position of the drive roller is located above the bottom position of the outer pressure roller of the fifth gear.

[0014] As a further embodiment of the present invention: a dispersing roller is rotatably connected to the equipment frame, and the dispersing roller is located above the conveyor belt.

[0015] As a further embodiment of the present invention: both the equipment frame and the bottom of the crushing box are connected to casters.

[0016] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are: This invention has a simple structure and is easy to use. The rotation of a motor drives the crushing rollers to fully crush the solid dispersion. During the crushing process, the cooperative structure of the two crushing rollers prevents the dispersion from adhering to the outside of the rollers, thus achieving a self-cleaning effect. Furthermore, the device also uses a matching conveying component to disperse the dispersion between the crushing rollers, further ensuring crushing efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of a self-cleaning crusher for a pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersion from another perspective.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a partial internal structure of a self-cleaning crusher for a pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersion.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of a self-cleaning crusher for a pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersion.

[0021] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Enlarged view of a portion of point A in the middle.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a partial cross-sectional view of another location of a self-cleaning crusher for a pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersion.

[0023] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Enlarged view of section B in the middle.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the crushing roller in a self-cleaning crusher for a pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersion.

[0025] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram showing the positions and structures of the drive roller, driven roller, and pressure roller in a self-cleaning crusher for a pharmaceutical sparingly soluble solid dispersion.

[0026] In the diagram: 1. Equipment frame; 2. Conveying assembly; 3. Crushing box; 4. Crushing roller; 5. Crushing material; 6. Splined shaft; 7. First gear; 8. First motor; 9. Collection hopper; 10. Drive roller; 11. Driven roller; 12. Conveyor belt; 13. Second motor; 14. Drive gear; 15. Second gear; 16. Third gear; 17. Fourth gear; 18. First rotating shaft; 19. Second rotating shaft; 20. Fifth gear; 21. Sixth gear; 22. Pressure roller; 23. Dispersing roller; 24. Moving wheel. Detailed Implementation

[0027] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present invention can be combined with each other.

[0028] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0029] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0030] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0031] Please refer to the attached figure. A self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical insoluble solid dispersions includes a frame 1. The frame 1 serves as the core support structure, supporting components such as the conveying assembly 2 and the collecting hopper 9. It also provides a stable installation reference for each transmission structure and auxiliary roller, ensuring overall operational accuracy.

[0032] The conveying assembly 2, as the core mechanism for material conveying, is horizontally positioned inside the equipment frame 1 and is responsible for smoothly conveying the sparingly soluble solid dispersion to be crushed to the subsequent crushing stage. This assembly mainly consists of a drive roller 10, a driven roller 11, a conveyor belt 12, and a power drive structure. Both the drive roller 10 and the driven roller 11 are rotatably connected to the equipment frame 1, and the conveyor belt 12 is sleeved between them. The continuous conveying of materials is achieved through the cyclic rotation of the conveyor belt 12. The driven roller 11 can adaptively adjust its speed according to the operation of the conveyor belt 12 to ensure that the conveyor belt 12 is always in a taut state and to avoid slippage during material conveying.

[0033] The drive drum 10 is powered by a second motor 13, and the two are connected via a multi-stage gear transmission structure to ensure stable speed and sufficient power output. The specific transmission path is as follows: a drive gear 14 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the second motor 13; the drive gear 14 meshes with the second gear 15, transmitting power to the second gear 15; the second gear 15 then meshes with the third gear 16, further transmitting power; and a fourth gear 17 is fixedly connected to the central shaft of the drive drum 10; the third gear 16 meshes with the fourth gear 17, ultimately transmitting the power of the second motor 13 to the drive drum 10, causing it to rotate, which in turn drives the conveyor belt 12. This multi-stage gear transmission structure effectively regulates the speed and improves the stability of power transmission, preventing uneven material conveying due to power fluctuations during crushing operations. Furthermore, the multi-gear transmission allows the drive drum 10 to be pre-positioned at a planned location, enabling it to work in conjunction with the pressure roller 22 below to stably disperse and convey the added dispersion material.

[0034] To improve material conveying quality and prevent the material to be crushed from accumulating or shifting on the conveyor belt 12, a first rotating shaft 18 and a second rotating shaft 19 are rotatably connected to the equipment frame 1. These two shafts are arranged parallel to each other and located above the conveyor belt 12, forming a material pretreatment mechanism. A fifth gear 20 is fixedly connected to the end of the first rotating shaft 18. This fifth gear 20 meshes with the aforementioned second gear 15, achieving synchronous rotation with the power of the second motor 13. A sixth gear 21 is fixedly connected to the end of the second rotating shaft 19. The sixth gear 21 meshes with the fifth gear 20, causing the first rotating shaft 18 and the second rotating shaft 19 to rotate synchronously in opposite directions. Simultaneously, pressure rollers 22 are fixedly connected to the outer sides of both the first rotating shaft 18 and the second rotating shaft 19. The gap between the two pressure rollers 22 faces the top of the conveyor belt 12, and the pressure roller 22 located below the fifth gear 20 presses against the conveyor belt 12, forming a material compaction structure. The pressure rollers 22 compress the dispersed raw material, preventing it from accumulating for crushing.

[0035] It is worth noting that the top of the drive roller 10 is located above the bottom of the pressure roller 22 outside the fifth gear 20. This layout design prevents materials from falling through the gaps as they fall onto the conveyor belt 12. At the same time, the fifth gear 20 can apply slight pressure to the conveyor belt 12, which can also disperse the materials and prevent them from piling up. In addition, a dispersing roller 23 is rotatably connected to the equipment frame 1. The dispersing roller 23 is also located above the conveyor belt 12 and is arranged on the side of the pressure roller 22 away from the crushing box 3. It can initially disperse the materials before they are conveyed to the pressure roller 22, breaking up material agglomeration and laying the foundation for subsequent compaction and crushing operations.

[0036] At the discharge position of the dispersion of the conveying component 2, a crushing box 3 is correspondingly installed. This crushing box 3 is the core component for crushing the sparingly soluble solid dispersion. Its inlet is located below the collecting hopper 9, which is fixedly connected to the bottom of the equipment frame 1 and directly opposite the discharge end of the conveying component 2. The material conveyed by the conveying component 2 falls into the collecting hopper 9 through the discharge end. The collecting hopper 9 has a funnel-shaped structure, which allows the material to fall accurately into the crushing area inside the crushing box 3, avoiding material scattering and waste, while improving crushing efficiency.

[0037] Two crushing rollers 4 are rotatably connected inside the crushing chamber 3. Arranged in parallel, they crush materials through relative rotation. To achieve synchronous reverse rotation of the crushing rollers 4, two splined shafts 6 are also rotatably connected inside the crushing chamber 3. The crushing rollers 4 and splined shafts 6 are connected in a mating manner, ensuring that the crushing rollers 4 rotate synchronously with the splined shafts 6 while facilitating disassembly and maintenance. The two splined shafts 6 are driven by two meshing first gears 7, causing them to rotate synchronously in opposite directions, thereby driving the two crushing rollers 4 to rotate relative to each other. One of the splined shafts 6 is connected to a first motor 8, which provides crushing power to the crushing rollers 4, ensuring sufficient torque for effective crushing of insoluble solid dispersions.

[0038] The structural design of the crushing roller 4 directly affects the crushing effect. It consists of several crushing elements 5 arranged in a staggered manner. This staggered layout can expand the crushing contact area and avoid material leakage during the crushing process. Simultaneously, within the same cross-section perpendicular to the central axis of the crushing roller 4, the crushing elements 5 on the two crushing rollers 4 maintain a certain gap range during rotation. This gap can be precisely adjusted according to the material's particle size requirements, ensuring that the material is fully crushed to the preset particle size while preventing wear caused by excessive compression between the crushing elements 5, thus extending the equipment's service life. Furthermore, this staggered structure also creates a self-cleaning effect during rotation, reducing material adhesion to the surface of the crushing elements 5 and ensuring continuous and stable crushing operations. Because the gap between them is small, larger raw materials will be crushed until they are smaller than the gap size. After being crushed to the gap size, the raw material is easily scraped off from the gap by subsequent materials, thus avoiding adhesion within the crushing area and achieving a self-cleaning effect. The multiple crushing elements 5 can be designed separately or fixedly connected. The spacing between the pulverizing bodies 5 is set according to the particle size. At the same time, the cross-section of the pulverizing body 5 is similar to an ellipse, and shear force can be generated between adjacent pulverizing bodies 5 to accelerate the pulverizing effect.

[0039] To further improve the crushing and self-cleaning effects of the crushing rollers 4, the two crushing rollers 4 in this application can adopt parallel and co-directional twin screws to achieve a self-cleaning effect. The parallel and co-directional twin screws adopt a fully meshing conjugate structure design, and the thread profiles of the two screws meet special geometric requirements, belonging to the double-helix self-cleaning and self-scraping Erdmenger element. The gaps between the screws and between the screws and the barrel are precisely designed and controlled to be extremely small, structurally avoiding space for material residue.

[0040] Two parallel screws rotate in the same direction and mesh with each other. In the meshing zone, the two screws move in opposite directions, generating relative motion. The screw edge of one screw can dynamically scrape the screw groove surface of the other screw, which can promptly clean the material adhering to the screw surface and prevent material adhesion and retention.

[0041] The material flows in a "figure-eight" (∞) path between the two meshing screws, and is continuously divided and exchanged at the meshing point. The continuous renewal effect of the screws on the surface of the material further reduces the possibility of the material staying in dead corners for a long time and carbonizing and degrading, ultimately achieving self-cleaning of the equipment during the extrusion process.

[0042] This self-cleaning property effectively prevents materials from remaining and degrading inside the extruder, reduces downtime for cleaning when changing products, and avoids cross-contamination between different batches of materials. It is particularly suitable for multi-variety, small-batch production changeovers, meeting the requirements of continuous, efficient production and green environmental protection.

[0043] In addition, both the equipment frame 1 and the bottom of the crushing box 3 are connected to casters 24 to facilitate the movement of the device.

[0044] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0045] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions, comprising a frame (1) and a conveying assembly (2) disposed inside the frame (1), characterized in that, It also includes a crushing box (3) set at the discharge position of the dispersion of the conveying component (2). There are two crushing rollers (4) rotatably connected inside the crushing box (3). The crushing rollers (4) are connected to the first motor (8) for transmission. The crushing rollers (4) are composed of several crushing bodies (5) arranged in a staggered manner. The two crushing bodies (5) in the same section perpendicular to the central axis of the crushing rollers (4) always maintain a certain gap range during rotation.

2. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 1, characterized in that, The crushing box (3) has two splined shafts (6) rotatably connected inside. The crushing roller (4) is engaged with the splined shaft (6). The two splined shafts (6) are driven by two first gears (7). One of the splined shafts (6) is connected to the first motor (8).

3. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 1, characterized in that, A material collection hopper (9) is fixedly connected below the equipment frame (1), and the inlet of the crushing box (3) is located below the material collection hopper (9).

4. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conveying assembly (2) includes a drive roller (10) and a driven roller (11), with a conveyor belt (12) sleeved between the drive roller (10) and the driven roller (11), and the drive roller (10) is connected to a second motor (13) for transmission.

5. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 4, characterized in that, The output shaft of the second motor (13) is fixedly connected to a drive gear (14), which meshes with the second gear (15) for transmission, and the second gear (15) meshes with the third gear (16) for transmission. A fourth gear (17) is fixedly connected to the central shaft of the drive roller (10), which meshes with the third gear (16).

6. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 5, characterized in that, The equipment frame (1) is rotatably connected to a first rotating shaft (18) and a second rotating shaft (19). The end of the first rotating shaft (18) is fixedly connected to a fifth gear (20) that meshes with a second gear (15). The end of the second rotating shaft (19) is fixedly connected to a sixth gear (21) that meshes with a fifth gear (20). Pressure rollers (22) are fixedly connected to the outer sides of both the first rotating shaft (18) and the second rotating shaft (19). The gap between the pressure rollers (22) is located above the conveyor belt (12).

7. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 6, characterized in that, The pressure roller (22) located outside the fifth gear (20) is pressed against the conveyor belt (12).

8. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 7, characterized in that, The top position of the drive roller (10) is located above the bottom position of the outer pressure roller (22) of the fifth gear (20).

9. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 4, characterized in that, A dispersing roller (23) is also rotatably connected to the equipment frame (1), and the dispersing roller (23) is located above the conveyor belt (12).

10. The self-cleaning crusher for pharmaceutical poorly soluble solid dispersions according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the equipment frame (1) and the crushing box (3) are connected to the bottom of the moving wheels (24).

Images