Soft Capsule Drum and Pickup Roller Speed Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional soft capsule manufacturing apparatuses face productivity issues due to jamming and double-rolling of gelatin sheets, which occur when increasing the rotational speed of the pickup roller to enhance production efficiency, and the varying drying times required for different materials like gelatin and starch.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus independently drives the drum and pickup roller systems, allowing for optimized rotational speeds for each, along with temperature and humidity control, and a double injection mechanism to increase production speed and accuracy, while preventing adhesion and material wastage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the rotational speed of the pickup roller is increased to enhance production efficiency, then productivity is improved, but the gelatin sheet does not dry in time and jams in the spreader box
Solution Approach 1:
The drive system is segmented into two independent parts: a drum drive system for rotating the film-sheet forming drum, and a pickup roller drive system for rotating the pickup roller. This segmentation allows each component to operate at optimized speeds independently, resolving the contradiction between productivity and drying completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic speed control where the pickup roller can rotate at variable speeds independent of the drum rotation. This dynamic adjustment enables the pickup roller to rotate faster for high productivity while the drum maintains slower rotation for complete drying, eliminating the jamming problem.
2Speed
If the rotational frequency of the motor is increased to rotate the pickup roller at high speed, then transfer speed is improved, but the film-sheet forming drum rotation increases and causes sheet rolling in the spreader box
Solution Approach 1:
The drive system is divided into independent drum drive and pickup roller drive systems, allowing separate control of drum rotation speed and pickup roller rotation speed. This enables high pickup roller speed for fast transfer while maintaining low drum speed for reliable sheet peeling.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an idler as a universal transmission element that can transmit rotational force from the motor to the pickup roller independently of the drum drive system. This multi-functional component enables flexible speed matching between different parts of the system.
3Productivity
If the motor rotational frequency is increased to enhance production speed, then productivity is improved, but the gelatin sheet adhesion to the drum becomes unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements dynamic speed control where the pickup roller rotation speed can be independently adjusted from the drum rotation speed. This allows the system to operate at high productivity speeds while maintaining optimal adhesion conditions on the drum surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The idler acts as an intermediary transmission element between the motor and the pickup roller, enabling independent speed control. This mediator allows the pickup roller to rotate at high speed for productivity while the drum rotates at lower speed for reliable adhesion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables stable high-speed operation, reduces material wastage, and improves the quality and quantity of soft capsules produced by ensuring reliable peeling and drying of gelatin sheets, regardless of material type.
Implementation Method 1
The film-sheet forming drum 52 has cooling water circulated therein and is rotatably supported, and forms a cooled and solidified gelatin sheet 13 by blowing dried cold air to the gelatin material 11 while rotating the gelatin material 11 adhered on the drum surface
Implementation Method 2
forms a cooled and solidified gelatin sheet 13 by blowing dried cold air to the gelatin material 11
Implementation Method 3
The pickup roller 53 peels off the gelatin sheet 13 adhering to the film-sheet forming drum 52 and transfers the gelatin sheet 13 wound on the roller outer periphery
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
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AI summary
In a sheet forming part 2 of a soft capsule manufacturing apparatus 1, a drum drive system 27 which forms a gelatin sheet 13, and a pickup roller drive system 28 which peels off the gelatin sheet 13 are constructed to drive separately from each other. In the drum drive system 27, a film-sheet forming drum 23 is driven by a first motor 271, while in the pickup-roller drive system 28, a pickup roller 24 is driven by a second motor 281. The first motor and the second motor are controlled in speed separately from each other, so that the film-sheet forming drum rotates at a suitable speed for forming film sheet on the peripheral surface and the pickup roller rotates at a suitable speed for peeling off the adhered film sheet on the peripheral surface of the film-sheet forming drum, whereby gelatin sheet jamming and double-rolling on the film-sheet forming drum, which would be caused by too weak peeling force of the pickup roller, and gelatin sheet damage between the pickup roller and the film-sheet forming drum, which would be caused by too strong peeling force.