Rotary tablet press and method for lubricating a press punch using a rotary tablet press.

Abstract

To provide a rotary tablet press.SOLUTION: There is provided a rotary tablet press, comprising a lubrication device configured to lubricate, with a lubricant, upper press punches and / or lower pressing punches. The lubrication device includes a lubricant reservoir; and a stationary applicator connected to the lubricant reservoir and configured to apply the lubricant to the upper press punches and / or the lower pressing punches rotating, with a rotor, past the applicator. The lubrication device comprises a control apparatus designed to individually control, for different upper and / or lower pressing punches, an amount of lubricant applied by the applicator to the upper press punch and / or the lower pressing punch.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary tablet press comprising a rotor rotatable by a rotary drive device, the rotor having an upper punch guide for an upper press punch, a lower punch guide for a lower press punch, and a die plate arranged between the punch guides, the press punches cooperating with cavities of the die plate, the rotary tablet press further comprising a filling device for filling a powder material into the cavities of the die plate, the rotary tablet press comprising a press device having an upper press unit and a lower press unit that cooperate with the upper press punch and the lower press punch for compressing the powder material in the cavities of the die plate into tablets during operation, the rotary tablet press having a discharge device for discharging tablets, and the rotary tablet press further comprising a lubrication device for lubricating the upper and / or lower press punches with a lubricant. The present invention also relates to a method for lubricating upper and / or lower press punches using a rotary tablet press.

Background Art

[0002] A rotary tablet press typically has multiple upper and lower press punches, each assigned to one pair for each cavity in the die plate. During operation, the upper and lower press punches rotate with the die plate, their axial movement controlled by control cams and guided by upper and lower punch guides. While rotating, the die plate passes through separate components of the rotary tablet press: a filling unit for filling the die plate cavities with the powder material to be compressed, and a pressing unit for pushing the upper and lower press punches into the cavities by upper and lower press units, such as press rollers, to compress the powder material into tablets. After passing through the pressing unit, the upper press punches are guided upward out of the cavity, and the tablets formed within the cavity are pushed upwards on the die plate by the lower press punches. A scraper then scrapes the tablets off the die plate and out of the rotary tablet press, where they are fed to further processes.

[0003] The press punches of such rotary tablet presses must be regularly lubricated with a lubricant to prevent stiffening, especially within the punch guides. Typically, the lubricant is supplied to the press punches via an injection element and a lubrication pump. Lubricating felt can also be used. It is also known that a dry lubricant may be introduced into the cavity of the die plate, particularly to allow the press punch to enter the cavity smoothly and to prevent powder material from adhering.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a spray device for the lower punch to lubricate the die of a tablet press. The spray device is directed toward the die on the die plate so that the nozzle opening of the quick-action valve aligns with the side wall of the lower punch at its lowest position. When the lower punch is inserted into the die, only its side wall should be lubricated with lubricant by a cycle control method and a micro-supply method. The quick-action valve is connected via electrical wiring to a control unit for determining the cycle frequency and lubricant supply amount according to the rotor rotation speed. The amount of oil per pulse can be set by electrically adjusting the valve via the valve input. This device lubricates the die on the die plate. The objective is to optimize product separation from the die wall by this method. As a result, tablets formed in the die are less likely to adhere due to the lubricant and are easily separated.

[0005] The conventional lubrication systems described above require large amounts of lubricant. The lubricant often does not reach the press punch completely. Some of the lubricant passes through the press punch and splatters inside the rotary tablet press, and in the worst case, adheres to the formed tablets. If lubricating felt is used, the felt may become contaminated, reducing its effectiveness. Furthermore, conventional technology involves long tubes inside the rotor to supply lubricant, which must be distributed within these tubes to reach the press punch. If these tubes become clogged, the lubricant will not reach the punch. Cleaning these tubes consumes a great deal of time. Moreover, the lubricant is distributed unevenly between the tubes, resulting in inconsistent lubrication of the press punch. At the start of tablet production, the tubes must first be filled with lubricant before it reaches the press punch.

[0006] The apparatus described in Patent Document 1 also cannot adapt to the different lubrication requirements of each individual press punch in a rotary tablet press. The amount of oil discharged through the valve can be adjusted between different manufacturing processes of the tablet press or in different configurations of the tablet press. However, it cannot detect or respond to changes in lubrication requirements that occur during the manufacturing process, particularly for the press punches. Moreover, to optimize product removal, only the die is lubricated. The punch shaft or punch head is not lubricated. Instead, only the neck of the press punch below the press surface is lubricated. This cannot prevent increased wear of the punch, especially the punch shaft. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] German Utility Model No. 20107072 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] Building upon the prior art described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a rotary tablet press and method of the type mentioned at the beginning that can accurately and economically supply lubricant and, in particular, effectively prevent wear of the press punches, and can also accommodate the different lubrication requirements of individual press punches. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] This problem is addressed by independent claims 1 and 14, which achieve this objective. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims, specification, and drawings.

[0010] With respect to the rotary tablet press of the type mentioned at the beginning, the present invention achieves its objective in that the lubrication device has a lubricant reservoir and a fixed applicator connected to the lubricant reservoir for applying lubricant to upper and / or lower press punches that rotate through the applicator together with the rotor, and the lubrication device has a control device designed to individually control the amount of lubricant applied from the applicator to the upper and / or lower press punches for each different upper and / or lower press punch.

[0011] The basic configuration of a rotary tablet press is described at the beginning of this invention as the subject of protection of this invention. Please refer to that. The tablets produced by the rotary tablet press may be pharmaceutical tablets. However, other tablets such as dishwashing tablets can also be envisioned. According to this invention, the lubrication system for a rotary tablet press has a lubricant reservoir and a fixed applicator connected to the lubricant reservoir for applying lubricant to press punches that rotate through the applicator with the rotor. Since the applicator is fixed, it does not rotate with the rotor of the rotary tablet press. The lubricant reservoir is also preferably fixed and, like the applicator, does not rotate with the rotor. The lubrication system further comprises a control device, which is designed to control the applicator in such a way that it individually controls the amount of lubricant applied by the applicator to the upper and / or lower press punches for each different upper and / or lower press punch.

[0012] Therefore, in this invention, the lubricant is first applied directly to the press punch, particularly the punch shaft and punch head. This reduces the amount of lubricant required and ensures that the lubricant is reliably supplied to the parts to be lubricated, effectively preventing wear of the press punch, especially when the press punch is guided into the punch guide. The control device for the lubrication system may be the same as the control device that controls the operation of the rotary tablet press, i.e., the mechanical control device, or it may be a control device designed independently of this mechanical control device. A rotary tablet press usually has a press chamber in which the rotor is located. This press chamber is usually isolated from the outside by a housing. The lubrication system may also be located in the press chamber or within the housing. As the press punch moves through the applicator, the applicator is used to intermittently apply lubricant to the press punch. The applicator can simultaneously apply lubricant to multiple press punches rotating as they pass through it. Multiple applicators may also be arranged along a pitch circle formed by the press punches, and the multiple applicators apply lubricant to the passing press punches simultaneously or with a time difference. The applicator can also sequentially apply lubricant to multiple press punches rotating as they pass through it. As part of the individual control of the amount of lubricant applied according to the present invention, it is also possible to omit the application of lubricant to individual press punches when lubricant is not particularly needed.

[0013] Therefore, compared to the prior art, the present invention can reduce lubricant consumption and prevent lubricant diffusion within the press chamber of a rotary tablet press. This minimizes the risk of lubricant contamination of manufactured tablets. At the same time, the present invention allows for individual lubrication of the press punches, particularly the punch shaft and / or control cam guided by the associated punch guide and the punch head cooperating with, for example, the press roller, resulting in individual press punches being lubricated more or less than other press punches during the manufacturing process. This allows for flexible and accurate response to different lubrication requirements, even during the manufacturing process. It prevents over-lubrication of press punches that are adequately supplied with lubricant, while simultaneously preventing individual press punches from becoming under-lubricated, which can hinder the movement of the press punches within the punch guide and / or the die plate cavity, and increase wear. The long supply pipes in the press chamber, particularly in the rotor of a rotary tablet press, are prone to clogging, requiring considerable effort to clean and potentially causing uneven distribution of lubricant. This can be prevented by the present invention, particularly by an applicator that is positioned in a fixed location corresponding to the rotor and connectable to a lubricant reservoir, for example, positioned in spatial proximity to the applicator. In particular, for example, all lower press punches can be lubricated with a single applicator. Similarly, the upper press punches are also lubricated as needed. Of course, multiple applicators may be provided for lubricating the lower and / or upper press punches. The lubricant reservoir may be positioned in spatial proximity to the applicator, as described above. The lubricant reservoir may be located, for example, in the drive chamber of a rotary press.

[0014] In a particularly practical embodiment, the applicator may include at least one valve for applying lubricant from a lubricant reservoir to the outer surfaces of the upper and / or lower press punches, especially the punch shaft and / or punch head. Multiple valves can be employed within a single applicator, and multiple valves can simultaneously apply lubricant to one or more press punches from the outside. Such valves make it possible to apply lubricant with sufficient precision, preferably in a droplet form, especially if there is a distance between the valve and the associated press punch. On the other hand, by using valves that can operate at high speed, for example, each upper and / or lower press punch can be lubricated in just one rotation of the rotor, even when the rotor is operating at high speed.

[0015] At least one valve may be located in the internal space, particularly within the rotor, radially arranged within the pitch circle drawn by the upper and / or lower press punches, so that at least one valve applies lubricant to the upper and / or lower press punches from the inside out. In this way, the lubricant flows around the outer circumference of the press punches by centrifugal force, lubricating the entire press punch. By using an applicator with at least one valve, at least this one valve is located in the internal space within the rotor, so a sufficiently compact design is also possible. Essentially, the lubricant reservoir may be located within the internal space. This allows for a particularly short connection between at least one valve and the lubricant reservoir. However, the lubricant reservoir may be located separately from that location. At least one valve may also be located outside the pitch circle drawn by the upper and / or lower press punches, in which case at least one valve may apply lubricant to the upper and / or lower press punches from the outside in.

[0016] According to further embodiments, at least one valve may be positioned to apply lubricant to the upper and / or lower press punch from above, below, and / or from the side. This is particularly relevant when multiple valves are used. Each valve may be controlled individually and may lubricate only the punch shaft or punch head, for example. These designs allow for particularly comprehensive lubrication of the press punch.

[0017] In a further embodiment, at least one valve may be designed to intermittently apply lubricant at a frequency greater than 30 Hz, preferably greater than 100 Hz, more preferably greater than 200 Hz, and even more preferably less than or equal to 250 Hz. By using such a high-frequency-operable valve, as already described, it is possible to supply lubricant to all upper or lower press punches during one rotation of the rotor. This is also true for the typical rotor rotation speeds of modern rotary tablet presses. For example, if there are 115 sets of press punches on the rotor and a rotor speed of 120 revolutions per minute, this corresponds to an operating frequency of 230 Hz for the valve. However, as mentioned above, it is also possible to apply lubricant to each press punch over multiple rotor rotations, in which case, for example, a lower operating frequency can be set.

[0018] In a further embodiment, the control device may be designed to take into account the rotational position of the rotor and / or the delay time of the dispenser or dispenser valve and / or the flight time of the lubricant from the dispenser or dispenser valve to the upper and / or lower press punch in order to control the dispenser. The aforementioned parameters are crucial in determining when to open the dispenser or valve for lubricant discharge in order to adequately lubricate each desired press punch with lubricant. In particular, the flight time of the lubricant from the valve or dispenser outlet to the press punch, especially the flight time as it passes through the air in the gap between them, and any delay time after the valve is driven must be taken into account. The rotational position of the rotor and therefore the rotational position of the press punch are always accurately known by a rotary encoder, which is usually provided in rotary tablet presses. Similarly, based on the known rotor speed and the total delay time resulting from the flight time and valve delay, it is possible to determine the rotational position of the rotor at which the dispenser or valve should be opened in order to supply a desired amount of lubricant to the relevant press punch. Based on this, it is possible to supply a defined amount of lubricant to each specific press punch. By controlling the applicator or valve with a control device, the required amount of lubricant can be applied individually to each specific press punch.

[0019] According to further embodiments, the control device may take into account the lubricant pressure, lubricant temperature, lubricant viscosity, opening time of the applicator or applicator valve, discharge port shape of the applicator or applicator valve, and / or the distance from the applicator or applicator valve to the upper and / or lower press punch in order to determine the flight time of the lubricant. The flight time of the lubricant from the applicator or valve to the press punch depends on various parameters, particularly the lubricant pressure, applicator / valve opening time, lubricant temperature and viscosity, discharge port shape of the applicator or valve, and the distance from the applicator or valve to the press punch. To determine the injection velocity of the lubricant, for example, a single drop of lubricant, a test is performed in advance using the aforementioned parameters. For example, if the press punch of a rotary tablet press is changed between different manufacturing processes, the distance between the applicator and the press punch may change. These differences can be taken into account accordingly when calculating the flight time.

[0020] The lubricant reservoir may further include a press device that holds the lubricant at a predetermined pressure within the reservoir. To achieve reliable lubrication based on the calculations and parameters described above, it is desirable to keep the lubricant pressure as constant as possible. The press device may include, for example, a lubricant pump or a cartridge with a pressure regulator. However, a non-pressurized system is also possible, in which case a press device is not required.

[0021] In a further embodiment, the control device is designed to individually control the amount of lubricant applied to the upper and / or lower press punches by the applicator, particularly the size or number of drops, or the lubricant application interval. This can be done by adjusting the size of the lubricant drops applied from the applicator or valve and / or the dispensing time of the applicator or valve and / or the number of times the lubricant is applied by the applicator or valve for each individual upper and / or lower press punch, thereby enabling individual control for each different upper and / or lower press punch. Using the aforementioned parameters, the amount of lubricant applied individually can be reliably and accurately controlled.

[0022] In a further embodiment, the control device may receive measurements from at least one sensor of the rotary tablet press and, based on the received measurements, be designed to individually control the amount of lubricant applied to different upper and / or lower press punches by the applicator. The at least one sensor may comprise at least one stiffness sensor, which can individually measure the stiffness of each individual upper and / or lower press punch, particularly within the upper or lower punch guide. Such stiffness measurements can identify, if any, which press punches are stiffer than others, particularly when moving within the upper or lower punch guide and / or cavity. If an increase in stiffness is detected in an individual press punch, more lubricant can be individually supplied to these press punches than to the others. The supply of lubricant can also be stopped, especially for press punches that are operating smoothly. This can further conserve lubricant. For example, a force sensor that records the stiffness of a press punch during axial movement, particularly the force required for the press punch to move within the relevant punch guide, can be used as a stiffness sensor. Multiple stiffness sensors may be provided. The stiffness sensor can measure the stiffness of each press punch individually.

[0023] According to a further embodiment, the lubricant reservoir may contain a liquid lubricant, in particular lubricating oil, the applicator may drop the liquid lubricant to intermittently apply it to the upper and / or lower press punches, and / or the applicator may atomize a predetermined amount of the liquid lubricant and apply it to the upper and / or lower press punches. In any case, in this way the lubricant can be separated and applied exclusively to the respective press punches. In the case of spraying, in particular, a predetermined amount of atomized lubricant is intermittently ejected and applied to the upper and / or lower press punches.

[0024] According to a further embodiment, the lubricating device may comprise a heating device for heating the applicator. This makes it possible to achieve a desired lubricant viscosity for accurately achieving optimal lubrication.

[0025] The present invention also solves the problem by means of a method of lubricating upper and / or lower press punches using the rotary tablet press according to the present invention. The rotary tablet press is suitable and designed for appropriately carrying out the method, and this is particularly applicable to the lubricating device and the control device.

[0026] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail below with the aid of schematically illustrated drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] [Figure 1] The rotary tablet press according to the present invention, in a developed view of a rotor. [Figure 2] A diagram of the lubricating device of the rotary tablet press according to the present invention, illustrating an upper press punch. [Figure 3] A cross-sectional view showing a part of the rotary tablet press according to the present invention.

[0028] Unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals denote the same objects in the drawings. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0029] In the rotary tablet press shown in Figure 1, powder material is compressed into tablets. The rotary tablet press includes a rotor that rotates in a press chamber 11 by a rotary drive, and this rotor is fitted with a die plate 10 having a plurality of cavities 12. The cavities 12 are formed, for example, by holes in the die plate 10. The rotor further includes a plurality of upper press punches 14 and lower press punches 16, which rotate synchronously with the die plate 10. The upper press punches 14 are guided axially within an upper punch guide 18, and the lower press punches 16 are guided axially within a lower punch guide 20. The axial movement of the upper press punches 14 and lower press punches 16 while the rotor rotates is controlled by upper control cam elements 22 and lower control cam elements 24. The rotary tablet press further includes a filling device 26, which has a filling reservoir 28 and a filling chamber 30, connected by a filling tube 32. Thus, in this embodiment, the powder material moves from the filling reservoir 28 to the filling chamber 30 via the filling tube 32 by gravity, and from there it is supplied to the cavity 12 of the die plate 10 by gravity through a filling opening provided on the lower surface of the filling chamber 30.

[0030] The rotary tablet press further comprises a press device 34. The press device 34 comprises a pre-press device having an upper pre-press roller 36 and a lower pre-press roller 38, and a main press device having an upper press roller 40 and a lower press roller 42. Furthermore, the rotary tablet press comprises a discharge device 44 and a scraping device 46, the scraping device 46 having scraping elements that supply tablets 48 produced by the rotary tablet press to a discharge device 50 for discharge from the rotary tablet press. The scraping device 46 may, for example, have a preferably crescent-shaped scraping element that scrapes tablets 48 conveyed to the upper surface of the die plate 10 by the lower press punch 16 in the area of ​​the discharge device 44 and supplies them to the discharge device 50. The rotary tablet press also comprises a control device 52, in particular a mechanical control device 52, for controlling the operation of the rotary tablet press and controlling the lubrication device in the present invention, as will be described in detail below.

[0031] Figure 2 shows a lubrication device used as an example for lubricating the upper press punch 14, installed within the rotary tablet press machine of Figure 1. The lubrication device comprises a lubricant reservoir 54, which contains, for example, a liquid lubricant, i.e., lubricating oil. The lubricant in the lubricant reservoir 54 can be held at a predetermined, particularly constant, pressure by a press device (not shown). In the illustrated example, the applicator of the lubrication device comprises three valves 56, 58, and 60, which are connected to the lubricant reservoir 54 via short connecting lines 62, 64, and 66, respectively. Both the lubricant reservoir 54 and the valves 56, 58, and 60, including the connecting lines 62, 64, and 66, may preferably be located within an internal space 68 located inside the rotor or rotary tablet press machine and not rotate with the rotor of the rotary tablet press machine. However, it is also possible, for example, to place the lubricant reservoir 54 outside the internal space 68 and supply lubricant from the lubricant reservoir 54 to the valves 56, 58, and 60 through the internal space 68 via the connecting lines. Each valve 56, 58, and 60 has an outlet 70, 72, and 74, in particular an outlet nozzle 70, 72, and 74. In this embodiment, the outlets 70, 72, and 74 are directed toward different areas of the outer surface of the upper press punch 14. In particular, valve 56 having outlet 70 is directed toward the upper side of the punch head, and valves 58 and 60 having outlets 72 and 74 are directed toward the punch shaft of the upper press punch 14 at different heights. The outlets 70, 72, and 74 are each spaced apart from the upper press punch 14. During operation of the rotary tablet press, lubricant is supplied from the lubricant reservoir 54 to the outer surface of the upper press punch 14 via the outlets 70, 72, and 74 controlled by the control device 52. Figure 2 illustrates three valves 56, 58, and 60 arranged within an internal space 68. The lubrication system may have, for example, only one or two of the illustrated valves 56, 58, and 60. Alternatively or additionally, the lubrication system may have further valves that can lubricate other areas outside the upper press punch 14. As described above, the lubrication system has been described using an example of lubricating the upper press punch 14. A lubrication system for the lower press punch 16 may be designed similarly.During operation, the upper press punch 14 rotates as the rotor rotates, passing through a fixed lubrication device. Figure 3 shows an example of this configuration, viewed from above, of the upper punch guide 18. The punch guide 18 has punch guide holes 76, and the upper press punch 14 is guided axially into the punch guide holes 76 by their punch shafts. In Figure 3, only the valve 58 is shown as an example for illustrative purposes.

[0032] The rotary tablet press is further equipped with multiple sensors that measure various parameters during operation, such as the pressing force and / or the stiffness of the press punches 14 and 16 within the punch guides 18 and 20. The sensor readings are available to the control unit 52. The control unit controls the dispensers of the lubrication system, particularly the valves 56, 58, and 60 for individually lubricating the upper press punches 14, based, for example, on the stiffness sensor readings. If, for example, the stiffness sensor detects that an individual upper press punch 14 is stiff, the valves 56, 58, and 60 are controlled by the control unit 52 to precisely lubricate these upper press punches 14 with a large amount of lubricant. For example, the size of each drop of lubricant applied can be adjusted for this purpose. The amount of atomized lubricant can also be adjusted. Furthermore, the time for applying the lubricant and / or the number of times the lubricant is dispensed can also be adjusted. For example, the valves 56, 58, and 60 may also be individually controlled by the control unit 52 to precisely apply more or less lubricant to a specific area of ​​the press punch 14.

[0033] Valves 56, 58, and 60 may be designed to intermittently apply lubricant at a frequency of 30 Hz or higher, preferably 100 Hz or higher, more preferably 200 Hz or higher, and even more preferably 250 Hz or lower. This ensures that lubricant is supplied to all upper press punches 14 during one rotation of the rotor, even when there are many upper press punches 14 and the rotor is rotating at high speed.

[0034] In order to accurately supply a predetermined amount of lubricant to a specific upper press punch 14, the control device for controlling the applicator or valves 56, 58, 60 takes into account the rotational position of the rotor and / or the delay time of the valves 56, 58, 60 and / or the flight time of the lubricant from the valves 56, 58, 60 to the upper press punch 14, as described above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10 die plates 12 Cavity 14 Upper press punch 16 Lower press punch 18. Upper punch guide 20 Lower punch guide 22 Upper control cam element 24 Lower control cam element 26 Filling equipment 28 Filling reservoir 30 Filling room 32 Filling tube 34 Pressing device 36 Upper spare press roller 38 Lower spare press roller 40 Upper press roller 42 Lower press roller 44 Discharge device 46. ​​Scraping device 48 tablets 50 Ejector 52 Control device 54 Lubricant reservoir 56, 58, 60 valves 62, 64, 66 connection lines 68 Interior space 70,72,74 Discharge port 76 punch guide holes

Claims

1. A rotary tablet press machine equipped with a rotor that can be rotated by a rotary drive device, The rotor has an upper punch guide (18) for an upper press punch (14), a lower punch guide (20) for a lower press punch (16), and a die plate (10) positioned between the punch guides. Each of the aforementioned press punches (14, 16) has a punch shaft, The press punches (14, 16) cooperate with the cavity (12) of the die plate (10), The rotary tablet press further comprises a filling device (26) for filling the cavity (12) of the die plate (10) with the powder material to be compressed. The rotary tablet press machine comprises a press device (34) having an upper press unit (40) and a lower press unit (42) that cooperate with the upper press punch (14) and the lower press punch (16) during operation to compress the powder material in the cavity (12) of the die plate (10) into a tablet (48), The rotary tablet press has a dispensing device (44) for dispensing the tablets (48), The rotary tablet press machine further includes a lubrication device that lubricates the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) with a lubricant. The lubrication device comprises a lubricant reservoir (54) and a fixed applicator connected to the lubricant reservoir (54), and applies lubricant to the punch shafts of the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) that rotate together with the rotor as they pass through the applicator. The lubrication device includes a control device (52) designed to individually control the amount of lubricant applied by the applicator to the punch shafts of the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) for each of the different upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16), A rotary tablet press, characterized in that the control device (52) takes into account the rotational position of the rotor and / or the delay time of the applicator or the valves (56, 58, 60) of the applicator and / or the flight time of the lubricant from the applicator or the valves (56, 58, 60) of the applicator to the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) in order to control the applicator.

2. The rotary tablet press according to claim 1, characterized in that the applicator includes at least one valve (56, 58, 60) for applying lubricant from the lubricant reservoir (54) to the outer surface of the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16).

3. The rotary tablet press according to claim 2, characterized in that the at least one valve (56, 58, 60) is positioned within an internal space (68) arranged radially within a pitch circle drawn by the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16), thereby applying the lubricant to the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) from the inside out.

4. The rotary tablet press according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the at least one valve (56, 58, 60) is arranged to apply the lubricant to the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) from above, below, and / or from the side.

5. The rotary tablet press according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that at least one valve (56, 58, 60) is designed to intermittently apply lubricant at a frequency exceeding 30 Hz.

6. The rotary tablet press according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that at least one valve (56, 58, 60) is designed to intermittently apply lubricant at a frequency of 250 Hz or less.

7. The rotary tablet press according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device (52) takes into account the lubricant pressure, the temperature of the lubricant, the viscosity of the lubricant, the opening time of the applicator or the valves (56, 58, 60) of the applicator, the shape of the discharge port of the applicator or the valves (56, 58, 60) of the applicator, and / or the distance between the applicator or the valves (56, 58, 60) and the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) in order to determine the flight time of the lubricant.

8. The rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lubricant reservoir (54) is equipped with a press device that holds the lubricant at a predetermined pressure.

9. The rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control device (52) is designed to individually control the amount of lubricant applied to each upper and / or lower press punch (14, 16) by the applicator, by adjusting the size of a single drop of the lubricant applied by the applicator, and / or the opening time of the applicator, and / or the number of times the applicator applies lubricant to each upper and / or lower press punch (14, 16).

10. The control device (52) receives measurement values ​​from at least one sensor of the rotary tablet press machine. A rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is designed to individually control the amount of lubricant applied to each of the different upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) by the applicator, based on the received measurement values.

11. The rotary tablet press according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one sensor comprises at least one stiffness sensor for individually measuring the stiffness of the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16).

12. The lubricant reservoir (54) contains a liquid lubricant, The applicator intermittently applies the liquid lubricant in droplet form to the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16), and / or The rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the applicator applies the liquid lubricant to the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) in a predetermined amount in an atomized state.

13. The rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lubrication device has a heating device for heating the applicator.

14. A method characterized by lubricating the upper and / or lower press punches (14, 16) using a rotary tablet press machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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