阅读说明：本技术 用于旋转压片机的模块化填料靴 (Modular packing shoe for rotary tablet presses ) 是由 英戈·克莱尔 斯特凡·米斯 罗伯特·波伊克 于 2018-05-24 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种在旋转压片机中将材料送到阴模孔中的搅拌叶片填料靴,该搅拌叶片填料靴被模块化地构造,从而允许在包括填料叶片轮和定量叶片轮的双腔填料靴与包括填料叶片轮、定量叶片轮和送料叶片轮的三腔填料靴之间进行功能变换,其中搅拌叶片填料靴不包括驱动叶片轮的齿轮机构。本发明还涉及一种包括模块化构造的搅拌叶片填料靴的旋转压片机,其中用于驱动叶片轮的齿轮机构位于搅拌叶片填料靴的外部。本发明还涉及根据本发明的模块化搅拌叶片填料靴的用途,其方法在用于将模块化搅拌叶片填料靴从双腔填料靴转换成三腔填料靴以及反向转换。搅拌叶片填料靴的功能既可以在压片机外部转换,也可以在压片机内部的安装状态下转换。(The invention relates to a mixing blade packing shoe for feeding material into a female die hole in a rotary tablet press, which is modularly constructed so as to allow a functional change between a dual-chamber packing shoe comprising a packing blade wheel and a dosing blade wheel and a triple-chamber packing shoe comprising a packing blade wheel, a dosing blade wheel and a feeding blade wheel, wherein the mixing blade packing shoe does not comprise a gear mechanism for driving the blade wheel. The invention also relates to a rotary tablet press comprising a modularly constructed mixing blade filling shoe, wherein a gear mechanism for driving the blade wheel is located outside the mixing blade filling shoe. The invention also relates to the use of a modular mixing blade packing shoe according to the invention, in a method for converting a modular mixing blade packing shoe from a dual-chamber packing shoe to a triple-chamber packing shoe and vice versa. The function of the mixing blade packing shoe can be switched either externally or internally in the tablet press.)

1. An impeller packing shoe for feeding material into the die hole of a rotary tablet press, characterized in that the impeller packing shoe is modularly constructed so as to be capable of functional exchange between a dual-chamber packing shoe (9) comprising a packing vane wheel (24) and a dosing vane wheel (17) and a three-chamber packing shoe (38) comprising a packing vane wheel (24), a dosing vane wheel (17) and a feeding vane wheel (25), and wherein the impeller packing shoe does not comprise a gearbox for driving the vane wheel.

2. The impeller packing shoe according to claim 1, characterized in that the bladed wheels each have an adapter for attaching a drive shaft connected to an external gearbox (32).

3. The impeller packing shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a base module (39) in which the packing vane wheel (24) is in a first chamber on the left and the dosing vane wheel (17) is in a second chamber on the right,

wherein the dual-chamber packing shoe (9) has a first modular structure (40) which can be mounted on the base module (39) and has a first inlet opening (11) which, in the mounted state, is located above the packing vane wheel (24) and

the triple chamber packing shoe (38) has a second modular structure (41) in which the feeder vane wheel (25) is arranged to be inserted into the central third chamber, the second modular structure (41) being mountable on the base module (39) and having a second feed opening (23).

4. An impeller fill shoe according to any preceding claim wherein each mounting part of the modular impeller fill shoe weighs no more than 20kg, preferably no more than 15 kg.

5. An impeller packing shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressing material in the dual chamber packing shoe (9) reaches the filling opening (26) and the die opening from the first inlet opening (11) in one zigzag stage, and the pressing material in the three chamber packing shoe (38) reaches the filling opening (26) and the die opening from the second inlet opening (23) in two zigzag stages.

6. Impeller packing boot according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base module (39) has a packing opening (26) at the bottom, which is provided with an elastic, replaceable sandwich seal (36) on both sides, and/or

The impeller packing shoe has an elastic pressure member (37) at the end of the packing opening (26) in the direction of rotation to reduce material loss.

7. An impeller fill shoe according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the components of the impeller fill shoe comprise a material selected from the group consisting of preferably stainless steel, aluminum and/or plastic.

8. A rotary tablet press comprising an impeller fill shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the rotary tablet press has a gear box (32) for driving the impeller, which is located outside the impeller fill shoe, and the impeller is connectable to the gear box (32) by means of a pluggable drive shaft.

9. A rotary tablet press according to claim 8, wherein the gear box (32) for driving the bladed wheel is located below the impeller fill shoe, preferably at the bottom of a vibrationally separate carrier plate (34) of the rotary tablet press.

10. A rotary tablet press according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the rotary tablet press has a feed device (43) in the head above the packing shoe, which feed device comprises an outlet tube (3), wherein the mouth tube (3) can be set in at least two positions, such that the outlet tube (3) is located in a first position (7) above a first feed opening (11) of a dual-chamber packing shoe (9) with a dual-chamber packing shoe (9) installed, and the outlet tube (3) is located in a second position (8) above a second feed opening (23) of a three-chamber packing shoe (38) with a three-chamber packing shoe (38) installed.

11. Use of an impeller packing shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a double-chamber packing shoe (9) is converted into a triple-chamber packing shoe (38) or a triple-chamber packing shoe (38) is converted into a double-chamber packing shoe (9).

12. Use according to claim 11, characterized in that the method of converting a dual chamber packing shoe (9) into a triple chamber packing shoe (38) comprises the steps of:

a. -providing an impeller packing shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 7 as a dual chamber packing shoe (9);

b. removing a first modular structure (40) of the dual chamber packing shoe (9) comprising a first inlet orifice (11);

c. providing a second modular structure (41) for the three-chamber packing shoe (38) comprising a second inlet opening (23);

d. inserting a feeding vane wheel (25) in the third chamber of the second modular structure (41);

e. mounting a second modular structure (41) on a base module (39) of the impeller packing boot.

13. Use according to claim 11, characterized in that the method of converting a three-chamber packing shoe (38) into a two-chamber packing shoe (9) comprises the steps of:

a. providing an impeller packing shoe according to any one of claims 1 to 7 as a three-chamber packing shoe (38);

b. removing a second modular structure (41) of the three-cavity packing shoe (38) comprising a second inlet opening (23) and a feeding vane wheel (25);

c. providing a first modular structure (40) comprising a first feed opening (11);

d. a first modular structure (40) is mounted on a base module (39) of the impeller packing boot.

14. Use according to claim 11, characterized in that the method of converting a dual chamber packing shoe (9) into a triple chamber packing shoe (38) comprises the steps of:

a. providing a rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 8 to 10, the impeller packing shoes being mounted in the configuration of dual chamber packing shoes (9);

b. removing a first modular structure (40) of the dual chamber packing shoe (9) comprising a first inlet orifice (11);

c. providing a second modular structure (41) for the three-chamber packing shoe (38) comprising a second inlet opening (23);

d. inserting a feeding vane wheel (25) in the third chamber of the second modular structure (41);

e. mounting a second modular structure (41) on a base module (39) of the impeller packing boot;

f. changing the outlet pipe (3) of the feeding device (43) from the first position (7) to the second position (8);

g. the feeder blade wheel (25) is connected to the gearbox (32) using a pluggable drive shaft (31).

15. Use according to claim 11, characterized in that the method of converting a three-chamber packing shoe (38) into a two-chamber packing shoe (9) comprises the steps of:

a. providing a rotary tablet press according to any one of claims 8 to 10, the impeller packing shoes being mounted in the configuration of three-chambered packing shoes (38);

b. disconnecting the drive shaft mounted between the feeding vane wheel (25) and the gearbox (32);

c. removing a second modular structure (41) of the three-cavity packing shoe (38) comprising a second inlet opening (23) and a feeding vane wheel (25);

d. providing a first modular structure (40) comprising a first feed opening (11);

e. mounting a first modular structure (40) on a base module (39) of an impeller packing shoe;

f. the outlet pipe (3) of the feeding device (43) is changed from the second position (8) to the first position (7).

Technical Field

The invention relates to an impeller packing shoe for feeding material into a die hole of a rotary tablet press, which is modularly constructed in order to achieve a functional change between a dual-chamber packing shoe comprising a packing paddle wheel and a metering paddle wheel and a triple-chamber packing shoe comprising a packing paddle wheel, a metering paddle wheel and a feeding paddle wheel, wherein the impeller packing shoe does not comprise a gearbox for driving the paddle wheel. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a rotary tablet press comprising a modular impeller fill shoe, wherein a gear box for driving the bladed wheel is located outside the impeller fill shoe. In addition, the invention also relates to the use of the impeller packing shoe according to the invention by a method of converting a modular impeller packing shoe from a dual cavity packing shoe to a triple cavity packing shoe and vice versa. The functional change of the impeller packing shoe can be carried out both outside the tablet press and in a state mounted inside the tablet press.

Background

The present invention relates to the field of rotary tablet presses used in the pharmaceutical, scientific or chemical industry or in the food industry for the mass production of tablets or granules from powdered material. Rotary tablet presses are well known in the art. They are characterized by a rotor comprising upper and lower punch guides for receiving the punches and a die plate having a die comprising holes for receiving the powder material. After filling the die holes, the material can be compressed into granules or tablets by the interaction of the upper punch with the lower punch.

Various prior art filling devices are used to fill the die holes. So-called weighing chamber packing shoes are characterized by an open frame in which baffles and a barrier net are arranged. Using a weighted chamber fill shoe, incoming compacted material is driven by friction with the die plate, is directed by the diaphragm over the die orifice and falls by gravity alone into the die orifice through the frame below. Due to the gravimetric filler, it is not possible to adapt simply and quickly to different flow rates of the powder. This is one of the reasons why today in the pharmaceutical industry weighing chamber packing shoes are hardly used but impeller packing shoes are used.

The impeller packing shoe is a motor-driven packing device in which material is fed from above. For this purpose, a material container can be arranged on the head of the rotary tablet press above the filling shoe, so that the impeller filling shoe is continuously filled with powder through the feed opening. In the impeller packing shoe there is usually one, two or three impeller blades which, by a rotary motion, convey the powder material from the feed opening to a packing opening in the packing shoe base plate above the pitch circle of the die opening, through which the powder enters the hole. This allows for more uniform and accurate filling of the die holes.

The impeller fill shoe originally developed was directly driven by the rotating rotor of the tablet press using a geared ring gear and gear drive. The filling results have been significantly better for compounds that are difficult to compress than with chamber packing shoes. However, the direct drive of the bladed wheel by the rotor proves to be disadvantageous, since the packing wheel rotates correspondingly slower at lower rotor speeds and faster packing can only be achieved by increasing the rotor speed. It is therefore not possible to set the different speeds of the rotor and the bladed wheel individually according to the filling and flow characteristics of the compacted material, which proves to be disadvantageous.

A more significant improvement in die hole filling in rotary tablet presses can only be achieved if the impeller is directly driven by a separate continuously variable motor. Now the optimum speed of the paddle wheel can be set to the rotor speed according to the compression material, rotor speed and tablet weight, so that good quality tablets with a constant weight within allowable tolerances can be produced with minimum relative standard deviation.

In the prior art, it is known to design an impeller packing shoe with one, two or three stirring blades. Such an impeller packing shoe is disclosed, for example, in patent applications FR1334257A, EP2551099a2 or DE202007002707U 1.

A packing device with two vane wheels, i.e. one packing vane wheel and one dosing vane wheel, has become a widespread standard. These impeller packing shoes are also known as dual chamber packing shoes.

Dual chamber packing boots are typically designed as follows: in the bottom of the packing shoe, circular cutouts are provided on the upper sides of the packing blade wheel on the left and the metering blade wheel on the right. The direction information is based on the installed packing shoe, whereby the viewing direction is assumed to be directed towards the rotor center. In the bottom of the packing shoe, at the level of the pitch circle of the holes of the die plate, there is still an opening in the bottom area, which is called the outlet or the filler opening. Typically, the intermediate plate covers the upper side of the bottom of the packing boot. The intermediate plate comprises two openings for the drive shafts of the two vane wheels and an opening for the material feed. The packing shoe cover is located on the intermediate plate and includes a feed inlet, a gear for driving the two bladed wheels and a drive pin for the gear drive. In the prior art, the bladed wheel is driven on both sides, i.e. the upper and lower side of the packing shoe housing. However, in 95% of all rotary tablet presses, the impeller fill shoe is top-driven, i.e. the drive motor is located in the head of the rotary tablet press. The drive motor is connected to the gearbox of the impeller packing shoe by a corresponding drive shaft above.

The filler paddle wheel typically rotates clockwise (viewing the rotary tablet press from above), while the dosing paddle wheel rotates counter-clockwise. Thus, the packing vane wheel rotates in the same direction as the pitch circle of the mold at the intersection point. The compacted material is transferred from the left side by the packing vane wheel into the filling opening of the packing shoe base plate and from there to the centre of the filling opening of the respective die opening. In this region, the replaceable packing curve is located in a lower curve sequence, which withdraws the lower punch below the die surface, for example, in the range of 6 to 22 mm. The compacted material is thus sucked into the die orifice in the withdrawal region of the packing curve. Typically, the selected packing curve will always fill the die hole with more compression material than the desired tablet weight requires. This is also referred to as coarse filler. The dosing unit is arranged below the second right half of the filling device in the lower turn sequence. It usually comprises a height-adjustable dosing unit with gripping and withdrawal curves and a movable or rigid transfer track arranged between the filling curve and the dosing unit. For example, if a 10mm packing curve is used in a rotary tablet press and a tablet weight requires a net packing of 6mm, the lower punch is raised by 4mm by the dosing unit after the packing process so that a packing volume of 6mm remains in the die hole. This filling is accordingly referred to as net filling. The 4mm compacted material dispensed by the dosing unit is pushed back into the fill port by the lower punch via the second half of the filling device and thus into the right chamber of the impeller fill shoe. In this right chamber there is a so-called metering vane wheel which rotates anticlockwise and thus conveys the excess material in the direction of the packing vane wheel on the left. The excess compacted material is returned to the packing chamber on the left side by suitable guide rails, where it is used proportionally by the packing vane wheel for new packing.

Good tabletting results have been achieved with conventional granulate and direct mix devices using double chamber filling means. However, there are also compounds with very fast flow characteristics, so that the material pressure exerted from the outlet of the feed vessel to the column of material of the packing vane wheel has a great influence on the filling of the mould. Depending on the position of the material container above the rotary tablet press (typically at a height of 2.5 to 6m according to the prior art), the weight of the tablets may vary greatly. This means that a high column of material results in a higher tablet weight, while a low column of material results in a lower tablet weight. To eliminate this effect of the material column height on the final product, prior art three-chamber packing shoes were developed.

For a three-chamber packing shoe, there is an additional third chamber above the packing vane wheel and the metering vane wheel, in which a third vane wheel is placed. The third vane wheel is also referred to as a feeder vane wheel.

The direction of rotation of the feeder vane wheel is of no decisive significance and is therefore used differently in the prior art. However, it is important to note that the inlet to the feeder vane wheel is offset in a different position from the outlet to the lower chamber of the packing shoe. Preferably, the feed openings are on the inner pitch circle and the outlet openings for the powder material are on the outer pitch circle. This forms a further zigzag-shaped stage for the delivery of the powder into the packing shoe housing, which prevents the very fluid pressed mass from simply rushing through the packing device after opening the main valve.

In the case of a three-cavity packing shoe, the compacted material is first fed into a feed chamber that includes a feeder vane wheel. From here, the compacted material is conveyed by rotating the feeder vane wheel to a chamber of the filler vane wheel in a plane below, which preferably lies on the outer pitch circle. This causes the material to fall from the feed chamber into the packing chamber, from where it is carried away by the packing vane wheel and onto the die pitch circle, from where it falls through the packing orifice at the bottom of the packing shoe into the die orifice. The vaned wheel thus exhibits the function of a mesh-like wheel brake, delivering the same amount of material into the packing chamber constantly regardless of the pressure of the column of material. By adding a third chamber, excellent tableting results can be obtained regardless of the flow characteristics of the compacted material.

The basic design of the three-chamber packing device corresponds to that of the two-chamber packing device, except that a further chamber for the feeding vane wheel is present above the packing vane wheel and the metering vane wheel.

In order to be able to drive the bladed wheel in a defined direction of rotation with a motor even in the case of three-cavity packing shoes, the prior art packing devices usually have a corresponding gearbox with a drive shaft and a connection for the three bladed wheels on the housing cover of the packing device.

Excellent packing can be achieved using a universal three-cavity impeller packing shoe. In particular, by having a design with two zigzag stages, from the feed inlet to the packing paddle wheel and from the packing paddle wheel to the fill inlet, the effect of the different material columns above the feed inlet on the tablet weight can be minimized. However, this advantage faces considerable drawbacks in the prior art. In the prior art, the three-cavity impeller packing shoe made of V4A steel weighs more than 50 kg. The three-chambered packing boot is difficult to remove due to its high weight.

In addition, the prior art would prefer to use dual chamber packing shoes for powder materials with poor flow characteristics. This will reduce energy consumption compared to a three-chamber packing shoe. Due to the different types of material filling of tablet presses, it is desirable to provide a packing shoe which on the one hand has a particularly high adaptability to the different flow characteristics of the powder material and on the other hand has the characteristics of light weight and easy removal (for example for cleaning).

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a packing shoe which is characterized by a high adaptability to the flow characteristics of the powder material and by a simple interchangeability.

According to the invention, the above object is achieved by the independent claims. The dependent claims represent preferred embodiments of the device and the method according to the invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the invention relates to an impeller packing shoe for feeding material into a die bore of a rotary tablet press, wherein the impeller packing shoe is modularly constructed so that a functional change can be made between a dual-cavity packing shoe comprising a packing impeller and a metering impeller and a triple-cavity packing shoe comprising a feed impeller, a packing impeller and a metering impeller, and wherein the impeller packing shoe itself does not comprise a gearbox for driving the impellers.

The present invention relates to an impeller packing shoe of the above-mentioned type and is suitable for filling a die hole in a tablet press with powder material. According to the invention, the impeller packing shoe has a modular design. In the sense of the present invention, a modular impeller packing shoe is preferably understood to be composed of at least three different components that can be assembled into at least two configurations to perform at least two functions.

According to the present invention, the impeller packing shoe is preferably used in the initial configuration of a dual chamber impeller packing shoe. In this configuration, the impeller packing shoe has a packing vane wheel in the first chamber and a metering vane wheel in the second chamber. As described for the prior art dual chamber packing shoe, the material is initially fed into the first chamber comprising the packing paddle wheel, preferably from above or from a material reservoir via a feed opening.

The chamber is preferably located in the left region of the impeller packing shoe. In the sense of the present invention, the left and right direction of the installed packing shoe is preferably defined by the viewing direction looking towards the center of the rotor. The left and right designations also apply to existing tablet press designs in which the die disc rotates counter-clockwise when viewed from above. With opposite rotational directions, it may also be preferable to reverse the positioning of the left and right chambers accordingly. Thus, as the die plate rotates under the packing shoe, the die orifice is first directed under the left side region of the packing shoe base plate of the impeller packing shoe. In this region, a packing vane wheel is provided, which preferably conveys the powder material to a so-called filling opening of the impeller packing shoe. In the sense of the present invention, a filling opening preferably means a recess or opening in the underside of the filling shoe which allows a connection between the first and/or second chamber and the die plate comprising the die orifice. The filling opening is therefore also referred to as the discharge opening.

By means of the packing shoe, the packing process can preferably be performed as is well known in the art. For this purpose, the lower punch is preferably withdrawn while the die orifice is located below the fill opening. Thus, the powder material in the first chamber may completely fill the die hole by gravity. In this first step, preferably more compressed material is introduced into the die opening than is required for the desired tablet weight. This so-called coarse filler is then brought to the desired tablet weight or net weight by means of a dosing unit. For this purpose, the lower punch is raised again to discharge excess material. Excess powder material is preferably fed through the feed opening into the second (right) chamber of the impeller packing shoe. For this purpose, the ejection and dosing is preferably carried out while the die orifice is still located below the second chamber. This enables the reuse of excess powder material, which is transported from the second (right) chamber back to the first (left) chamber by the metering paddle wheel.

The modular design of the impeller packing shoe allows it to be assembled into at least a second configuration according to the present invention. In a second configuration, the impeller packing shoe may be used as a triple cavity packing shoe. In the construction as a three-cavity packing shoe, the impeller packing shoe has, in addition to the packing vane wheel and the metering vane wheel, a third vane wheel, which is referred to as a feeder vane wheel. To this end, for example, the modular impeller packing shoe may comprise a first assembly in which the packing vane wheel is mounted in a first (left) chamber and the dosing vane wheel is mounted in a second (right) chamber. For example, for a dual chamber packing shoe configuration, a second assembly may be mounted on the first assembly, the second assembly including a feed port aligned with the packing vane wheel. To switch from the dual chamber configuration to the triple chamber configuration, for example, the second assembly may be replaced with a third assembly comprising a feeder vane wheel. Preferably, the third assembly further comprises a feed inlet aligned with the feeder vane wheel. In addition to this described modular replacement of the assembly, other variations are included as long as they allow the configuration of the modular impeller packing shoe to be changed from a dual chamber packing shoe to a triple chamber packing shoe.

The modular design of the impeller fill shoe of the present invention surprisingly eases the switching between the two configurations of the impeller fill shoe described above. This allows a particularly flexible adjustment of the different process conditions. In order to accurately control the weight of the tablet end product, it is critical to ensure that the die holes are accurately filled using a packing shoe. For certain applications, such as the use of fast flowing powder materials, it may be advantageous to use a three-chambered packing shoe. The preferred double zigzag stage of directing of the powder material slows down the powder flow in a particularly controlled manner. However, for other compacted materials, it may also be preferred to use a dual chamber packing shoe. Compared with three-cavity packing boots, the three-cavity packing boot has the characteristics of low energy consumption, light weight and easier control.

The modular design of the present invention allows the user to be in a comfortable position to adapt the construction of the packing boot to the corresponding operating conditions by a quick and easy process.

However, the impeller packing shoe according to the invention achieves its particularly surprising technical effect only by combining a modular design with the design condition that the impeller packing shoe itself does not comprise gears for driving the bladed wheel. In the sense of the present invention, this feature is preferably understood to mean that the gearbox itself for driving the bladed wheel does not belong to the impeller fill shoe. The gearbox need not be removed either for removal of the impeller packing shoe, for example for cleaning and/or change of configuration purposes. The gear is functionally connected to, but not part of, the impeller packing shoe during operation. Preferably, the gear box is located inversely further away from the impeller fill shoe within the sheeting machine. Since the gear box does not belong to the impeller fill shoe, the position within the sheeter can be freely selected. For example, the gearbox may be located in a lower separate machine bed.

As already explained at the outset, the gearboxes for driving the packing blade wheel have a high weight. In the case of prior art impeller packing shoes, the gearbox is usually installed as part of the impeller packing shoe together with the impeller packing shoe, so that the cumbersome gearbox must also be removed when the impeller packing shoe is removed, for example for cleaning. The three-chamber prior art packing shoe typically weighs well over 50 kg. Thus, the disassembly must be performed by at least two people. Furthermore, disassembling these heavy components may pose a greater health risk to certain people with back problems. By designing the impeller fill shoe without the gearbox, the overall weight of the impeller fill shoe can already be reduced. By combining the modular design with the gearless box design, the weight of the components to be assembled or disassembled is greatly reduced. It is also preferred that the basic components of the impeller packing shoe remain mounted in either a dual chamber or triple chamber packing shoe configuration in the tablet press, for example, when changing functions between configurations by swapping other components.

The modular design of such gearless packing shoes represents a complex series of construction steps, which obviously does not follow from the prior art for the expert. In contrast, it is surprising that the combination of a modular design with the absence of a gearbox can be achieved in a simple manner and offers the special advantage of the above-mentioned functional flexibility and ease of replacement.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the impeller fill shoe is characterized in that the impeller blades each have an adapter for attaching a drive shaft to connect to an external gearbox. In the case of a two-chamber packing shoe, the impeller is preferably referred to as a packing impeller and a metering impeller, and in the case of a three-chamber packing shoe, the impeller is preferably referred to as a packing impeller, a metering impeller and a feeding impeller. By providing an adapter for connecting the drive shaft, a particularly quick and safe connection between the gearbox and the bladed wheel of the packing shoe can be provided. Surprisingly, a drive shaft that can be inserted and extracted for this purpose has proven to be particularly reliable. The drive shaft converts the rotational movement of the gearbox into a rotation of the bladed wheel. The design of the adapter can be implemented in various ways. Thus, the drive shaft can be connected to the bladed wheel by screwing, locking, clamping or otherwise by means of an adapter, but can be released by a special handle. It may be preferred that each adapter fits into each drive shaft. However, it may also be preferred to encode the insertion principle so that an adapter can be assigned to a drive shaft accordingly. Incorrect assembly can be avoided particularly easily if the coding is also carried out on the gearbox side.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the impeller packing shoe is characterized in that it comprises a base module, with the packing vane wheel in a first chamber on the left and the metering vane wheel in a second chamber on the right, the dual-chamber packing shoe having a first modular structure which can be mounted on the base module and has a first inlet opening which, in the mounted state, is located above the packing vane wheel, and the triple-chamber packing shoe having a second modular structure, with the feeding vane wheel in a central third chamber, which can be mounted on the base module and has a second inlet opening. In the sense of the present invention, a dual-chamber or triple-chamber packing shoe preferably denotes the construction of a modular impeller packing shoe according to the invention as a dual-chamber or triple-chamber packing shoe.

The base module preferably refers to an assembly of impeller packing shoes that is used in both a dual chamber packing shoe configuration and a triple chamber packing shoe configuration. When there is a functional change between these configurations, the base module is not replaced, but rather is expanded by a different module. Preferably, in the base module, the filler vane wheel is located in the first (left) chamber and the dosing vane wheel is located in the second (right) chamber. In a preferred variant, the base module may be composed of more than two components. For example, the base module may include a packing shoe base plate with the packing ports located on a bottom surface of the packing shoe base plate. Preferably it coincides with the left and right chambers of the packing shoe, allowing filling and dosing of the die holes. The packing paddle wheel and the dosing paddle wheel are preferably mounted in a base plate, whereby the base module may also preferably comprise a packing shoe cover covering the paddle wheel.

In the case of the provision of a packing boot cover, the base module preferably has mounting options on the upper side for at least two different modular structures.

Preferably, a first modular structure may be provided for the construction of the dual chamber packing boot. For this purpose, the first modular structure preferably has a first feed opening, whereby the modular structure is mounted such that the feed opening is located above the first chamber comprising the packing vane wheel. For this purpose, defined positions of the first modular structure are preferably defined on the base module, for example in the form of holes. This allows for a repeatable and reliable assembly of the first modular structure for the dual chamber packing boot.

In addition to the second feed opening, the second modular structure preferably also comprises an intermediate third chamber into which the blade wheel can be inserted or into which it has already been inserted. Thus, the second modular structure is adapted to be converted into a three-chambered packing boot. As with the first modular structure, the second modular structure may preferably be fastened to the top of the base module with fasteners. For example, in the case of a packing boot cover, there may be a separate hole defining the location of the second modular structure. However, it may also be preferred that some holes may be used for both the first modular structure and the second modular structure. It is also preferred that in the second modular configuration the feeder vane wheel is located below the second feed opening. In order to optimize the material flow, the second modular structure is preferably mounted on the base module such that the feeder vane wheel is positioned centrally above the filler vane wheel and the dosing vane wheel. When the material is filled into the three-chamber packing shoe, the powder is thus conveyed from the feeder vane wheel to the packing vane wheel in the first stage and from the packing vane wheel to the filling opening in the second stage. As mentioned at the outset, the addition of an additional bladed wheel ensures a particularly uniform powder supply, which can lead to excellent tabletting results.

Furthermore, it may be preferred that the first modular structure and the second modular structure are each made up of a plurality of parts. For example, the modular structure may include a middle plate on which the feed inlet may be mounted. In another variation, the same feed port may be used for both dual and triple chamber packing shoe configurations. This requires only the additional step of switching the feed inlet from the first intermediate plate to the second intermediate plate.

The provision of the base module allows a particularly simple conversion of a dual-chamber packing shoe into a triple-chamber packing shoe by exchanging the first modular structure with the second modular structure. The modular structure of the preferred form described therefore represents a particularly compact and technically stable solution. The efficient use of the base module in both configurations also reduces manufacturing costs. For example, the conventional form of providing two separate packing shoes requires five impeller vanes, whereas the preferred modular impeller packing shoe requires only three impeller vanes available in two modular configurations.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the impeller fill shoe is characterized in that the weight of the individual assembly parts of the modular impeller fill shoe does not exceed 20kg, preferably 15 kg. Due to the modular design of the gearless wheel packing shoe, it is advantageously possible to keep the individual weight of the individual assembly parts of the wheel packing shoe below 20kg, even below 15 kg. The assembly parts preferably refer to those components of the impeller packing shoe which have to be mounted or dismounted in their entirety during assembly or disassembly of the packing shoe. Such low weight of the assembled components is not known in the prior art, in particular for three-chamber packing boots, and is particularly advantageous in terms of user-friendliness and occupational safety. According to the current state of knowledge, for example, assembly parts weighing less than 15kg can be transported and replaced by female personnel without health problems.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the compacted material is guided from the first inlet opening to the filling opening and the die opening in one zigzag stage in the construction as a two-chamber packing shoe, and from the second inlet opening to the filling opening and the die opening in two zigzag stages in a three-chamber packing shoe. In the sense of the present invention, a zigzag-shaped stage preferably means a step with a planar or stepped character, so that the powder material does not flow downwards in a straight flow along the gravity line, but first stops on the planar or stepped part. The material is then conveyed from the stage to a discharge port, such as a fill port or another stage.

In the design of the modular impeller packing shoe, the zigzag stage is preferably achieved by the relative positioning of the chambers. Preferably, for a dual chamber packing shoe, the feed inlet for the powder is not positioned above the center of the packing opening with a plumb line, but rather the material is first fed from the feed inlet into the first (left) chamber where the flow of powder stops at a first step or plane. By means of the packing paddle wheel, the powder is further transported from the plane to the packing opening so that the lower die hole can be filled. This constitutes the first zigzag stage.

In the three-chamber packing shoe, the feed inlet is preferably positioned such that the powder material is first directed to a first step or plane in the third chamber. From here, the powder material is conveyed by the feeder vane wheel to the lower, first (left) chamber, where the filler vane wheel is arranged. From here, as in the case of a double-chamber packing shoe, the delivery to the packing opening takes place in a further zigzag stage. By providing a feeder vane wheel, the second zigzag stage can thus be realized in the case of a three-chamber packing shoe. In this preferred embodiment, the filling material can be controlled and metered particularly precisely. The design of the packing shoe by means of the special zigzag-shaped stage effectively prevents the rush of powder material. In addition, the zigzag stage reduces the back pressure that is stored directly in a free manner on the material at intermediate levels in the individual chambers. By separating the powder material from the feed column, a particularly uniform filling of the die holes can be ensured and agglomeration can be avoided. Thus, beneficial sheeting results can be achieved using the preferred impeller packing shoe.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the impeller packing shoe is characterized in that the base module has a packing opening on the underside, which packing opening is equipped with an elastic, replaceable sandwich seal on both sides and/or the impeller packing shoe has an elastic pressure element at the end of the packing opening in the direction of rotation, in order to reduce material losses.

A seal attached to the edge of the filling opening of the base module allows a particularly closed filling compartment to be realized. The elastic pressure element and the elastic replaceable sandwich seal prevent material loss. For example, the seal prevents powder material on the surface of the form plate near the die holes from rotating away from the area of the packing shoe. In addition to the efficient use of powder material, the preferred embodiment also allows particularly clean production of tablets. A particularly reliable confinement of the powder material in the region of the filling shoe is particularly important if different filling stations with different materials are operated on the die plate (for example for producing multi-layer tablets). Due to the elastic replaceable sandwich seal and the elastic pressure element, a particularly effective and reliable filling station can be realized with a minimum of material residues.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the impeller packing shoe is characterized in that the parts of the impeller packing shoe comprise a material preferably selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, aluminum and/or plastic. The mentioned materials are characterized by a particularly low weight and high durability. Surprisingly, the production of aluminium and plastic parts for the packing boot not only significantly reduces the weight but also improves the functional stability. In the prior art, VA steel is preferably used for the packing shoe. It is therefore surprising that the packing shoe can also be made of materials such as plastic and aluminium which meet the highest demands on precision, low wear and tear and low error.

In another preferred embodiment, the invention relates to a rotary tablet press characterized in that the rotary tablet press has a gearbox for driving the paddle wheel, which gearbox is located outside the impeller fill shoe, and the paddle wheel is connectable to the gearbox by a pluggable drive shaft. The rotary tablet press according to the present invention belongs to the category of rotary tablet presses described above and is well known in the art. The rotary tablet press is therefore characterized by a rotor comprising an upper and a lower punch guide for receiving the punches and a die plate with holes for receiving the powder material. After filling the die holes by the impeller fill shoe according to the invention, the material can be compressed into granules or tablets by the interaction of the upper and lower punches. Thus, a rotary tablet press comprises a modular impeller fill shoe according to the present invention or a preferred embodiment thereof for material filling of the die holes. The advantages disclosed for the preferred embodiment of the impeller packing shoe also have a beneficial technical effect when used in a rotary tablet press according to the invention. The gearbox for the impeller driving the packing shoe is not in the impeller packing shoe but is located outside the impeller packing shoe as a separate component of the tablet press from the impeller packing shoe. To operate the impeller fill shoe, the impeller is connected to a gear by a pluggable drive shaft. Therefore, the gearbox is also referred to as an external gearbox, i.e. a gearbox located outside the impeller packing shoe.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the rotary tablet press is characterized in that a gear box for driving the bladed wheel is located below the impeller fill shoe, preferably on the underside of a vibrationally separate carrying plate of the rotary tablet press. In the sense of the present invention, a carrier plate preferably means a component on which the rotor and a treatment station, such as a filling station, dosing station or pressing station, are mounted. On the upper side of the carrying plate there are therefore preferably a rotor, a rotor drive shaft, upper and lower control curves for the pressing tool, a filling device, pre-and main printing columns, a tablet stripper, a tablet discharge chute, while below the carrying plate there is a drive gearbox with a motor for the rotor drive, a drive with a gearbox for one or more filling devices. It is particularly preferred that the carrier plate is mounted so as to be vibrationally separate, for example on four steel or air springs of the machine base. This mounting of the carrier plate means that no vibrations or oscillations are transmitted to the machine housing, which means that the tablet press has an extremely low noise level and therefore is characterized by quiet running.

By attaching the gear box on the underside of the vibration-separated carrier plate, a particularly compact design of the tablet press can be achieved. On the other hand, since the gearbox is mounted outside the pressing area and is therefore dust and dirt proof, the gearbox can also be used in an open and therefore inexpensive design.

In a further preferred embodiment, the rotary tablet press is characterized in that the rotary tablet press has a feed device in the head above the packing shoe, which feed device has an outlet tube which is adjustable in at least two positions such that the outlet tube is located in a first position above the first feed opening of the dual-chamber packing shoe in the case of an installed dual-chamber packing shoe and in a second position above the second feed opening of the three-chamber packing shoe in the case of an installed three-chamber packing shoe. In this embodiment, the rotary tablet press preferably has a head arranged above the packing shoe. The head preferably has a feeder device which feeds the powdered material into the filling shoe. Since the head is arranged above the packing shoe, gravity can be advantageously used for the filling. For this purpose, the head, which in both versions of the filling device is located above both feed openings, has an opening into which a separate rotary feed device can be inserted and fastened. The feed device preferably has an outlet pipe on its bottom surface which allows the used press material to be introduced into the packing shoe precisely. The filling shoe is mounted in the preferred rotary tablet press such that the outlet tube coincides with the feed opening of the filling shoe.

In a preferred variant of the impeller packing shoe, the feed openings in the case of a dual-chamber packing shoe are located differently from the feed openings in the case of a triple-chamber packing shoe. As mentioned above, in the case of a dual chamber packing shoe, the feed inlet is preferably located above the packing vane wheel, i.e. above the first (left) chamber. On the other hand, in the case of a three-chamber packing shoe, the feed inlet is located midway between the first (left) and second (right) chambers above the feeder vane wheel. Thus, when the same base module is used, the feed openings in the two configurations are in different positions in the assembled working state. For this reason, in a preferred form of the rotary tablet press, the head is designed such that the outlet tube can be placed in two different positions.

For this purpose, for example, the head above the feed openings of the dual-chamber and triple-chamber filling devices can have a circular opening which is closed from above by a circular cover plate when the feed unit is mounted, whereby the outlet tube is attached to the circular cover plate and is rotatably fixed in two positions. The angle of rotation preferably reflects the different local positioning of the feed ports in the two configurations. This design may make it particularly easy to switch between different configurations of modular impeller packing shoes within a tablet press. For example, time consuming changeover of the head of the tablet press is not required. Instead, the rotary feed unit on the head of the tablet press can be adapted to the configuration of a dual or triple cavity packing shoe by simple manual movement.

In a further preferred embodiment, the invention also relates to the use of an impeller packing shoe, the method of which consists in converting an impeller packing shoe according to the invention or a preferred embodiment from a double-chamber packing shoe to a triple-chamber packing shoe and vice versa. The impeller packing shoe can be switched between outside the tablet press and inside the tablet press.

Those skilled in the art realize that the preferred embodiments of the impeller packing shoe described herein are preferably used in the method for converting an impeller packing shoe according to the present invention described below. Thus, the advantageous technical features already disclosed for the impeller packing shoe also convey beneficial effects in the use or method described herein. For example, the modular design comprising a base module and a first or second modular structure is disclosed for an impeller packing shoe allowing particularly fast conversion. Obviously, this embodiment also saves time when using an impeller packing shoe in the process. Furthermore, for example for an impeller packing shoe, it has been disclosed that the first and second modular structures may preferably be mounted by means of screws in corresponding holes of the base module. The person skilled in the art realizes that the corresponding assembly steps in the method can also be performed preferentially by screw connections, thus enabling a quick and precise change.

The method described below represents a preferred use of a modular impeller packing shoe according to the present invention, wherein the impeller packing shoe is disposed in a dual chamber configuration and converted to a triple chamber configuration, or the impeller packing shoe is disposed in a triple chamber configuration and converted to a dual chamber configuration.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is directed to a method for converting a dual chamber packing shoe into a triple chamber packing shoe, the method comprising the steps of:

a. providing an impeller packing shoe according to the present invention or a preferred embodiment thereof constructed as a dual chamber packing shoe;

b. removing a first modular structure of a dual chamber packing shoe including a first feed port;

c. providing a second modular construction for the three-chambered packing shoe including a second feed inlet;

d. inserting a feeder vane wheel into a third chamber of the second modular structure;

e. the second modular structure is mounted on the base module of the impeller packing boot.

The method is characterized by a particularly simple and rapid change in function from the impeller packing shoe of the double-chamber configuration according to the invention to the impeller packing shoe of the triple-chamber configuration according to the invention. Since the base module remains the same for both configurations, only structural replacement of the functionalized modular structure is required. In a preferred embodiment, the steps are performed in the order described above. However, the above-described method steps can also preferably be performed in a different order or in parallel to one another. For example, the feeder vane wheel may be inserted into the third chamber of the second modular structure prior to removal of the first modular structure of the dual chamber packing shoe. It may also be preferred that the feeder vane wheel is already currently installed in the third chamber of the second modular structure.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method for converting a three-chambered packing shoe into a dual-chambered packing shoe, the method comprising the steps of:

a. providing an impeller packing shoe according to the present invention or a preferred embodiment thereof configured as a three-chambered packing shoe;

b. removing a second modular structure of the three-cavity packing shoe comprising a second feed inlet and a feed vane wheel;

c. providing a first modular structure including a first feed port;

d. the first modular structure is mounted on the base module of the impeller packing boot.

This preferred method is essentially the reverse of the previous method and is characterized by an easy and reliable change in function from a triple cavity constructed impeller fill shoe according to the present invention to a double cavity constructed impeller fill shoe according to the present invention. Also in this case, it may be preferred that the steps are performed in the given order or in any other order.

The conversion of the impeller packing shoe may preferably be done externally of the tablet press or when it is installed in the tablet press.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to a method for converting a rotary tablet press comprising dual cavity packing shoes into a rotary tablet press comprising triple cavity packing shoes, the method comprising the steps of:

a. providing a rotary tablet press comprising an impeller fill shoe according to the present invention, the impeller fill shoe being mounted in the configuration of a dual chamber fill shoe;

b. removing a first modular structure of a dual chamber packing shoe including a first feed port;

c. providing a second modular construction for the three-chambered packing shoe including a second feed inlet;

d. inserting a feeder vane wheel into a third chamber of the second modular structure;

e. mounting a second modular structure on a base module of an impeller packing boot;

f. changing an outlet pipe of the feeding device from a first position to a second position;

g. the feeder vane wheel is connected to the gearbox using a pluggable drive shaft.

In a preferred embodiment, the impeller packing shoe is converted from a dual chamber packing shoe configuration to a triple chamber packing shoe configuration while the packing shoe remains at least partially installed inside the tablet press. Thus, for the impeller packing shoe, the base module does not have to be replaced. It may remain mounted inside the tablet press. When installed, the dual chamber packing shoe is preferably connected to the gear box outside the impeller packing shoe by two drive shafts. Advantageously, the connection does not have to be disconnected for the function change. Instead, only the first modular structure is replaced by a second modular structure comprising a feeder blade wheel. After connecting the feeder vane wheel to the gearbox and changing the outlet pipe of the feeder to the feed inlet, the impeller packing shoe is ready for use as a triple cavity packing shoe. The first position of the outlet pipe is preferably a position above the first feed opening while the impeller packing shoe is installed as a dual chamber packing shoe. The second position preferably corresponds to the alignment of the outlet tube with the second inlet port of the triple chamber packing shoe.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to a method for converting a rotary tablet press comprising three cavity packing shoes into a rotary tablet press comprising two cavity packing shoes, the method comprising the steps of:

a. providing a rotary tablet press comprising an impeller packing shoe according to the present invention, the impeller packing shoe being mounted in a three chamber packing shoe configuration;

b. disconnecting a drive shaft installed between the feeding vane wheel and the gear box;

c. removing a second modular structure of the three-cavity packing shoe comprising a second feed inlet and a feed vane wheel;

d. providing a first modular structure including a first feed port;

e. mounting a first modular structure on a base module of an impeller packing boot;

f. the outlet tube of the feeding device is changed from the second position to the first position.

The preferred method is essentially the reverse of the previous method and is characterized by a simple and reliable change in function from a rotary tablet press having an impeller fill shoe of dual chamber configuration to a rotary tablet press having an impeller fill shoe of triple chamber configuration.

These simple method steps for the conversion of the impeller packing shoe have significant advantages over known methods and existing packing devices. These methods can greatly reduce the conversion time. In addition, the installation step is not associated with lifting or carrying heavy parts, and is therefore particularly beneficial to health. Furthermore, incorrect mounting can be minimized, since the base module remains preferentially mounted in the tablet press throughout the rebuild process. In this case, it is not necessary to connect or disconnect the drive shaft for the filler vane wheel or the metering vane wheel.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail using examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Drawings

Fig. 1-3 are schematic views of a preferred embodiment of an impeller packing shoe as a dual chamber packing shoe.

Figures 4, 5 are schematic views of a preferred embodiment of a first modular construction for a dual chamber packing boot.

Fig. 6-8 are schematic views of a preferred embodiment of an impeller packing shoe as a three-chamber packing shoe.

Fig. 9-11 are schematic views of a preferred embodiment of an impeller packing shoe as a three chamber packing shoe.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the connection of a preferred embodiment of a dual chamber packing boot to a gearbox having a drive motor.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a dual chamber packing boot, viewed from below, to illustrate a male adapter for a drive shaft.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the connection of a preferred embodiment of a three-chambered packing shoe to a gearbox having a drive motor.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a three-chambered packing shoe, viewed from below, to illustrate attachment of the drive shaft.

FIGS. 16 a-16 c are schematic views of a preferred embodiment of a flexible adjustable feeder for dual or triple chamber packing shoes.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 to 3 show different schematic views of a preferred embodiment of an impeller packing shoe as a dual chamber packing shoe 9. Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional overview of a double-chamber packing shoe 9, in which only the parts visible from the outside are shown. Fig. 2 shows a schematic 3D cross-sectional view and fig. 3 a plan view of a preferred embodiment of a dual chamber packing shoe 9.

The dual chamber packing boot 9 shown in fig. 1-3 comprises a base module 39 having a base plate 14 and a cover 21. The base plate 14 and the cover 21 form a left chamber for the filler vane wheel 24 and a right chamber for the dosing vane wheel 17 in the base module 39. The cover 21 of the base module 39 may be secured to the base plate 14 using T-shank screws 15. The mounting element 28 serves to support and seal the drive shaft of the bladed wheel. The dual chamber packing boot 9 has a first modular structure 40 mounted on the cover 21 of the base module. The fixing of the modular structure 40 is also preferably carried out by means of a T-shank screw 13, which allows simple assembly. The modular construction 40 comprises in particular a first feed opening 11 which is equipped with a clamping ring 10 for a feed opening sleeve. An outlet pipe of a feeding device (not shown) is connected to the feed opening 11. During operation of the dual-chambered packing shoe 9 in a tablet press, powder material is first fed from the feed device through the feed opening 11 into the left chamber comprising the packing paddle wheel 24. The filler vane wheel 24 rotates normally clockwise in plan view, while the dosing vane wheel 17 rotates anticlockwise. Thus, the packing vane wheel 24 rotates in the same direction as the pitch circle of the mold (not shown) at the intersection point. The compacted material is transferred from the left side by the packing vane wheel 24 into the packing openings 26 of the base plate 14 and from there into the individual die holes. The packing shoe is located in the tablet press, which fills the die hole by withdrawing the lower punch below the die surface. Then, after the filling process, the lower punch may be raised using a dosing unit so that a specified filling volume remains in the die hole. The counter-clockwise rotating dosing vane wheel 17 in the right chamber returns the excess material to the left chamber, i.e. to the packing vane wheel 24. The powdered material can be discharged from the chamber through discharge ducts 18 and 19 controlled by a locking slide 35. Furthermore, the inspection window 16 enables monitoring of the chamber and the vane wheel during operation.

Fig. 4 and 5 show schematic views of a preferred embodiment of a first modular structure 40 for a dual chamber packing boot 9 according to fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional view, fig. 5a is a sectional view, and fig. 5b is a plan view. The modular structure 40 includes a middle plate 12 that can be mounted on a base module 39 using T-shank screws 13 as shown in fig. 1-3. The inlet 11 with the clamping ring 10 for the inlet sleeve is mounted on the left side of the intermediate plate 12, so that the inlet 11 is located above the packing vane wheel 24 in the double-chamber packing shoe 9 (see fig. 1 to 3).

Fig. 6-8 show different schematic views of a preferred embodiment of the impeller packing shoe as a three-chamber packing shoe 38. Fig. 6 shows a three-dimensional overview of the three-chambered packing shoe 38, in which only the components visible from the outside are shown. Fig. 7 shows a schematic 3D cross-sectional view and fig. 8 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of a three-chambered packing shoe 9.

The three-chambered packing shoe 38 shown in fig. 6-8 includes a base module 39 identical to the two-chambered packing shoe 9 shown in fig. 1-3. The base module 39 includes a base plate 14 and a mating cover 21, the cover 21 being secured to the base plate 14 by T-shank screws 15. In the base module 39, the filler vane wheel 24 is located in the left chamber and the dosing vane wheel 17 is located in the right chamber. In contrast to the dual chamber packing shoe 9 shown in fig. 1 to 3, the triple chamber packing shoe 38 does not have a first modular structure 40 mounted on the base module 39, but has a second modular structure 41. The second modular structure 41 for the tricompartment packing shoe 38 comprises a middle plate 22 mounted on the cover 21 of the base module using T-shank screws 13. On this intermediate plate 22 there is a feed opening 23 which is located above the intermediate third chamber formed by the intermediate plate 22. In the intermediate third chamber, there is a feeder vane wheel 25.

Thus, in the preferred construction of the three-chambered packing shoe 38 shown, the impeller packing shoe has three bladed wheels. An outlet pipe of a feeding device (not shown) is connected to the feed opening 23. In the three-chamber packing shoe 38, the powder material is not fed directly to the packing vane wheel 24 as in the two-chamber packing shoe 9. Instead, the material is first fed through the feed opening 23 to a blade wheel 25 located in the middle third chamber. When mounted, the feeder vane wheel 25 is located on an outer circle offset from the filler vane wheel 24. This forms the first zigzag stage of the transport path of the powder material, which is first conveyed by the feeder vane wheel 25 in the middle chamber to the filler vane wheel 24 in the left chamber offset below. The powder material is conveyed in a further zigzag-shaped stage from the packing vane wheel 24 to a discharge or filling opening 26, whereby the mould holes are filled as described for the two-chamber packing shoe 9.

After filling, the filling height of the die hole was quantified. The lower punch is raised by means of the dosing unit, and the excess material is returned to the packing paddle wheel 24 via the dosing paddle wheel 17. The function of the three-chamber packing shoe 38 is the same as that of the two-chamber packing shoe 9 with respect to the packing vane wheel 24 and the metering vane wheel 17. However, the additional feeding vane wheel 25 allows for an improved material feed. In particular, the additional blade wheel 25 achieves a double zigzag phase and thus a particularly uniform transport of the powder material. With the three-chambered packing shoe 38, excellent tableting results can be obtained to a large extent, regardless of the flow characteristics of the compacted material.

Fig. 9-11 show schematic views of a preferred embodiment of a second modular structure 41 for a three-chambered packing shoe 38 according to fig. 6-8. Fig. 9 shows a three-dimensional view of the modular structure 41 from an oblique upper perspective and fig. 10 shows an oblique bottom view. Fig. 11 corresponds to a plan view of a preferred design of modular structure 41.

The second modular structure 41 includes an intermediate plate 22 that can be mounted on the base module 39 using T-shank screws 13 as shown in fig. 6-8. As shown in particular in fig. 10, in the intermediate plate 22 there is an intermediate third chamber in which the blade wheel 25 is located. The feeding vane wheel 25 can be operated by a pluggable drive shaft 31. The fastening element 28 allows to carry and seal the drive shaft 31 of the bladed wheel 25. The feed opening 23 is located in the intermediate plate 22 so that the powder material is first fed into the intermediate chamber of the feeder vane wheel 25. As explained with respect to fig. 6 to 8, a double zigzag phase for the transport of the powder material can be achieved, which ensures a uniform filling.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic view of the connection of the dual chamber packing shoe 9 to the gearbox 32 for the driving vane wheel. The gear box 32 is located below a vibrationally separate carrier plate 34 of the tablet press and is driven by a servo motor 33. The gearbox 32 is connected to the vane wheel by two pluggable drive shafts 29 and 30. The first drive shaft 29 drives the left-hand packing vane wheel 24, while the second drive shaft 30 drives the right-hand dosing vane wheel 17. Since no feeder vane wheel is present in the construction of the dual chamber packing shoe 9, no third drive shaft is required.

Fig. 13 shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a dual chamber packing shoe 38 from below. As shown, an adapter 30a for driving the drive shaft 30 of the right quantitative paddle wheel 17 and an adapter 29a for driving the drive shaft 29 of the left quantitative paddle wheel 24 are provided on the base plate 14. Furthermore, fig. 13 shows an interlayer seal 36 and an elastic pressure element 37, which prevent the powder material from escaping from the surface of the die plate outside the region of the packing shoe.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic view of the connection of the three chamber packing shoe 38 to the gearbox 32 for driving the vane wheel. The gear box 32 is located below a vibrationally separate carrier plate 34 of the tablet press and is driven by a servo motor 33. The gearbox 32 is connected to the bladed wheel by three pluggable drive shafts 29, 30 and 31. A first drive shaft 29 drives the left-hand packing vane wheel 24, while a second drive shaft 30 drives the right-hand dosing vane wheel 17, and a third drive shaft 31 drives the middle feed vane wheel 25.

FIG. 15 shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a three-chambered packing shoe 38 from below. As shown, on the base plate 14, there are an adapter 30a for driving the drive shaft 30 of the right-hand fixed-amount impeller 17, an adapter 29a for driving the drive shaft 29 of the left-hand fixed-amount impeller 24, and a third adapter 31a for driving the drive shaft 31 for driving the intermediate feeder impeller 25.

Fig. 16a to 16c show schematic views of a preferred embodiment of a flexible adjustable feeding device 43 for a dual or triple chamber packing shoe. Fig. 16a shows the feed device 43 in plan view, fig. 16b shows the feed device 43 in a three-dimensional side view, and fig. 16c shows the feed device 43 in a sectional view. The feeding device 43 is located in the head above the packing shoe and comprises an outlet tube 3 which is adjustable in two positions 7 and 8. Three T-shank screws 2 and a mounting flange or plate 1 are used to mount the feed device 43 in a tablet press. The three-piece clamping flanges 4 and 5 ensure a secure sealing of the outlet tube 3. Furthermore, a shut-off valve 6 is present at the lower end of the outlet pipe 3. The material is fed through the outlet pipe 3 into the inlet of a two-or three-chamber packing shoe. As shown in fig. 1 to 15, if the impeller packing shoe is configured as a dual chamber packing shoe 9, the feed port 11 is located at a different position than the feed port 23 of the triple chamber packing shoe 38. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the position of the outlet pipe 3 to the position of the corresponding feed opening. For this purpose, the outlet tube 3 is asymmetrically positioned in the circular mounting flange 1, so that the outlet tube 3 can be rotated between two positions 7 and 8. In the preferred embodiment shown, the angle of rotation is 35 °. However, the angle of rotation depends on the positioning of the feed ports 11 and 23 in the different modular structures 40 and 41. In the present case, position 7 corresponds to the position of the outlet tube 3 of the dual chamber packing shoe 9, while position 8 corresponds to the position of the outlet tube 3 of the triple chamber packing shoe 38. The illustrated embodiment of the feed device 43 allows for particularly easy changing of the assembly between the two configurations of the impeller packing shoe.

It should be noted that the invention can be implemented using various alternatives to the described embodiments of the invention and a solution according to the invention is obtained. The impeller fill shoe according to the present invention, a rotary tablet press comprising an impeller fill shoe according to the present invention and the described method are therefore not limited in design to the preferred embodiments described above. On the contrary, various design variations are conceivable which may differ from the solution shown. The aim of the appended claims is to define the scope of the invention. The scope of protection of the claims is intended to cover the impeller fill shoe according to the invention, a rotary tablet press comprising the impeller fill shoe according to the invention and preferred methods and their equivalent embodiments.

List of reference numerals

1 attachment flange/plate

2-hole head screw

3 outlet pipe

4 three-piece clip type flange

5 three-piece clip type flange

6 stop valve

7 Material opening position of double-cavity filling boot

Material opening position of 8-three-cavity filling boot

9 double-cavity filling boot

10 clamping ring of feed inlet sleeve

11 first feed inlet of two-chamber packing boot

12 first intermediate plate of a dual chamber packing boot

13T-shank screw

14 base module base plate

15T-shank screw

16 inspection window

17 quantitative vane wheel

18 right chamber of discharge pipe

19 left chamber of discharge pipe

21 cover of base module

Second intermediate plate of 22-three-cavity packing boot

Second feed inlet of 23 three-cavity packing boot

24 packing vane wheel

25 feeding vane wheel

26 discharge and/or filling openings in the base plate

Bearing and seal for 28-bladed wheel drive shaft

29 insertable drive shaft for a left-hand packing blade wheel

29a adapter for the drive shaft of the packing vane wheel on the left

30 insertable drive shaft for right-hand metering bladed wheel

30a adapter for the drive shaft of a right-hand metering bladed wheel

31 insertable drive shaft for a third/intermediate delivery vane wheel

31a adapter for the drive shaft of a third/intermediate distribution vane wheel

32 gearbox for driving a bladed wheel

33 servomotor

34 vibration separated bearing plate

35 locking slide for discharge pipes 18 and 19

36 interlayer sealing element

37 elastic pressure member

38 three-cavity packing boot

39 base module

First modular construction of a 40 dual chamber packing boot

Second modular structure of 41 three-cavity packing boot

43 feeding device