# US 2019/0315017 A1 · Apparatus for producing pellet and method for producing pellet

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- Number: US 2019/0315017 A1
- Document ID: US20190315017A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/313,525
- Filed: 2017-07-04
- Published: 2019-10-17
- Earliest claimed: 2016-07-06
- Assignees: DIC Corporation
- Applicants: DIC Corporation
- Inventors: Yoshinobu Sakurai; Yasuaki Kumagai; Hisanori Ikeda; Koji Nakanishi; Yasuhiro Iriguchi; Kazunari Fukasawa; Hiroshi Yamaguchi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190315017A1

## CPC

- B29B 9/06: in the form of filamentary material, e.g. combined with extrusion
- B29B 7/726: {Measuring properties of mixture, e.g. temperature or density (B29B7/724 takes precedence)}
- B29B 7/82: Heating or cooling
- B29B 7/90: Fillers or reinforcements {, e.g. fibres}
- B29C 48/885: External treatment, e.g. by using air rings for cooling tubular films
- B29C 48/0022: {combined with cutting}
- B29C 48/04: Particle-shaped (making granules B29B9/00)
- B29C 48/355: Conveyors for extruded articles
- B29C 48/92: Measuring, controlling or regulating
- B29C 2948/92209: Temperature
- B29C 2948/92428: Calibration, after-treatment, or cooling zone
- B29C 2948/92704: Temperature
- B29K 2067/003: {PET, i.e. poylethylene terephthalate}
- B29K 2509/02: Ceramics
- B29B: PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
- B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00)
- B29K: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR {MOULDS, } REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS

## Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a method for producing a pellet and an apparatus for producing a pellet, including a conveyor belt that conveys a strand formed by melting a composition containing a thermoplastic resin and an additive and then ejecting the molten composition from a feeder, a liquid-spraying device spraying a liquid toward the strand conveyed, a gas-blowing device blowing a gas toward the strand conveyed, a strand cutter cutting the strand conveyed into a pellet, the liquid-spraying device, the gas-blowing device, and the strand cutter being disposed in this order in the conveying direction of the strand, a measurement device measuring a surface temperature of the strand, the measurement device being disposed upstream of the strand cutter in the conveying direction, and an adjustment mechanism adjusting driving of at least one of the liquid-spraying device and the gas-blowing device in accordance with the surface temperature measured.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus for producing a pellet, comprising a conveyor belt that conveys a strand formed by melting a composition containing a thermoplastic resin and an additive and then ejecting the molten composition from a feeder; at least one liquid-spraying device that sprays a liquid toward the strand conveyed on the conveyor belt; at least one gas-blowing device that blows a gas toward the strand conveyed on the conveyor belt; a strand cutter that cuts the strand conveyed on the conveyor belt into a pellet, the at least one liquid-spraying device, the at least one gas-blowing device, and the strand cutter being disposed in this order in a conveying direction of the strand;
a measurement device that measures a surface temperature of the strand, the measurement device being disposed upstream of the strand cutter in the conveying direction; and
an adjustment mechanism that adjusts driving of at least one of the at least one liquid-spraying device and the at least one gas-blowing device in accordance with the surface temperature measured with the measurement device.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus for producing a pellet according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one liquid-spraying device and the at least one gas-blowing device comprises a plurality of liquid-spraying devices or a plurality of gas-blowing devices, the plurality of liquid-spraying devices or the plurality of gas-blowing devices are disposed in the conveying direction of the strand, and
the adjustment mechanism drives at least two of the plurality of liquid-spraying devices or at least two of the plurality of gas-blowing devices under different conditions from each other.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus for producing a pellet according to claim 1, wherein the measurement device measures maximum temperatures of the surface temperatures in respective measurement areas set in a width direction of the conveyor belt, and
the adjustment mechanism adjusts driving of the at least one liquid-spraying device or the at least one gas-blowing device in accordance with a result of an operation on the maximum temperatures in the respective measurement areas.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The apparatus for producing a pellet according to claim 3, wherein among the measurement areas, the measurement device measures the maximum temperature of the surface temperature in an area having a temperature of higher than a predetermined target measurement temperature.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus for producing a pellet according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism adjusts driving of the at least one liquid-spraying device or the at least one gas-blowing device when the surface temperature is lower than a low-temperature-side threshold based on a melting point of the thermoplastic resin or when the surface temperature is higher than a high-temperature-side threshold based on the melting point of the thermoplastic resin.

### Claim 6

A method for producing a pellet, comprising the steps of conveying a strand on a conveyor belt, the strand being formed by melting a composition containing a thermoplastic resin and an additive and then ejecting the molten composition from a feeder; spraying a liquid toward the strand on the conveyor belt; blowing a gas toward the strand on the conveyor belt; cutting the strand conveyed by the conveyor belt into a pellet;
measuring a surface temperature of the strand at a position before cutting the strand; and
adjusting at least one of spraying the liquid and blowing the gas in accordance with the measured surface temperature of the strand.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method for producing a pellet according to claim 6, wherein at least one treatment selected from spraying the liquid and blowing the gas is performed at a plurality of positions in a conveying direction of the strand, and
wherein in the at least one treatment at the plurality of positions, the at least one treatment is performed at at least two positions under different conditions from each other.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method for producing a pellet according to claim 6, wherein the surface temperatures of the strand in respective measurement areas set in a width direction of the conveyor belt are measured, and
at least one of spraying the liquid and blowing the gas is adjusted in accordance with a result of an operation on maximum temperatures in the respective measurement areas.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method for producing a pellet according to claim 8, wherein among the measurement areas, the maximum temperature of the surface temperature in an area having a temperature of higher than a predetermined target measurement temperature is measured.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The method for producing a pellet according to claim 6, wherein at least one of spraying the liquid and blowing the gas is adjusted when the surface temperature is lower than a low-temperature-side threshold based on a melting point of the thermoplastic resin or when the surface temperature is higher than a high-temperature-side threshold based on the melting point of the thermoplastic resin.