KR102864596B1 - Manufacturing method of Omega 3 Seamless Soft Capsule - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule, which can continuously manufacture an omega-3 seamless soft capsule in a spherical shape with a uniform size, made of an inner substance and a film material that surrounds the inner substance, comprising the steps of: discharging an inner substance containing omega-3 and a film material that surrounds the inner substance, the film material comprising at least one of gelatin and an edible polymer material; simultaneously dropping the discharged inner substance and film material onto a flowing hardened oil; and forming the dropped inner substance and film material into a spherical omega-3 seamless soft capsule; wherein the inner substance is supplied at a supply rate of 100 to 1000 mg/s, and the inner substance is subjected to pulsation 4 to 40 times per second.

Description

Manufacturing method of Omega 3 Seamless Soft Capsule

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule, and more specifically, to a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule capable of continuously manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule in a spherical shape of uniform size, manufactured from an inner material and a film material that surrounds the inner material.

In general, a seamless soft capsule is a capsule manufactured by wrapping a core material with a film material without a seam.

These seamless soft capsules are easy to ingest and are widely used in various fields such as food, over-the-counter drugs, and pharmaceuticals.

In particular, seamless soft capsules, which are capsules with a liquid filler as their core, are widely used due to their high productivity.

Here, a film-forming material that forms a seamless soft capsule is used that has excellent solubility in the body and can quickly disintegrate to release the contents.

These seamless soft capsules contain a membrane and an inner material enclosed by the membrane. Seamless soft capsules are manufactured by curing the membrane material, which tightly encloses the inner material.

Accordingly, there is a need for a manufacturing method capable of continuously manufacturing seamless soft capsules in a spherical shape with a uniform size.

Republic of Korea Publication Patent No. 10-2010-0039362

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule capable of continuously manufacturing a seamless soft capsule in a spherical shape of uniform size, which is manufactured by an inner material containing omega-3 and a film material that surrounds the inner material.

In addition, the technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the description below.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention comprises the steps of: discharging an inner material including omega-3 and a film material including at least one of gelatin and an edible polymer material and having a shape that surrounds the inner material; the step of simultaneously dropping the discharged inner material and film material onto a flowing hardened oil; and the step of forming the dropped inner material and film material into a spherical omega-3 seamless soft capsule; wherein the inner material is supplied at a supply speed of 100 to 1000 mg/s and the inner material is pulsed 4 to 40 times per second.

As an example, the gel strength of the film material is 100 to 300 bloom.

As another example, the temperature of the film material is 50°C to 75°C.

As another example, the endogenous substance comprises at least one of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

As an example, the temperature of the hardening oil is -20°C to +20°C.

As another example, the hardened oil has a viscosity of 20 CP or more.

As another example, the flow velocity of the part where the seamless soft capsules of the hardened oil are transported is 10 cm/s to 100 cm/s.

As described above, the present invention having the above-described configuration can continuously manufacture omega-3 seamless soft capsules in a spherical shape of uniform size, manufactured with an inner material and a film material that surrounds the inner material.

In addition, the effects that can be obtained from the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the description below.

Figure 1 is a flow chart schematically showing a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a front view schematically showing an elastic tube (30) generating device of an omega-3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a side view schematically showing an elastic tube (30) generating device of an omega-3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Furthermore, these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but rather are presented merely as examples. Various modifications are possible without departing from the technical scope thereof.

The present invention is susceptible to various modifications and embodiments. Specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but rather to encompass all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

In this application, terms such as “include” or “have” are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in the specification, but should be understood not to exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Fig. 1 is a flow chart schematically showing a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a drawing schematically showing an apparatus for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a front view schematically showing a vibration generating device of an omega-3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a side view schematically showing a vibration generating device of an omega-3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device according to the present invention.

As illustrated in the drawing, the method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention is for easily manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule having a spherical shape of uniform size with an inner material and a film material that surrounds the inner material.

Specifically, the method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention comprises a film material that surrounds an inner material, including at least one of gelatin and an edible polymer material, and an inner material corresponding to a core includes omega-3.

Then, the inner substance and the film material are dropped simultaneously onto the flowing hardened oil to manufacture a spherical omega-3 seamless soft capsule with the inner substance and the film material enveloping the inner substance.

Here, as the internal material, omega 3 containing at least one of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is used, but the internal material of the present invention is not limited to omega 3, and it will be apparent that a seamless soft capsule can be manufactured using various other materials that can be manufactured into a seamless soft capsule as the internal material.

At this time, when both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid are included, each substance may be included in a weight ratio of 9:1 to 1:9, 7:1 to 1:7, 5:1 to 1:5, 3:1 to 1:3 or 2:1 to 1:1.

Additionally, it is possible for the internal material to contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) at a high content of 95% or more by weight relative to 100% by weight of the total internal material. Furthermore, the internal material may contain various saturated or unsaturated fatty acids in addition to eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. For example, saturated fatty acids, linoleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid may be further included.

Here, as film materials, plant-based ingredients such as starch and seaweed extract and animal-based ingredients such as gelatin can be used.

As for the plant-based starch, grain starch (wheat, corn, rice), root starch (potato, tapioca, arrowroot, ginger, lotus root, kudzu root, yam), and modified starch can be used, and as for the animal-based gelatin, fish gelatin, cow skin gelatin, and pork skin gelatin can be used, but are not limited to these, and any edible polymer can be used.

At this time, the gel strength of the gelatin or starch constituting the film material should be 100 to 300 bloom to form an appropriate film.

If the gel strength of the film material is less than 100 bloom, the strength is too weak to form a capsule film, and if the gel strength exceeds 300 bloom, it is difficult to form a spherical shape and decomposition is not good. Therefore, the gel strength of the film material is preferably 100 to 300 bloom or more to form an appropriate film.

At this time, the gel strength is based on an internationally unified measurement method called the bloom method, and the bloom value is measured according to JIS K 6503.

Meanwhile, to facilitate the flow of the film material, the temperature of the film material is preferably 50°C to 75°C. If the temperature of the film material exceeds 75°C for a long period of time, denaturation of the proteins constituting the film material may occur, and if it is below 50°C, proper flowability may not be achieved.

Here, the internal material and the film material can be discharged by a multi-nozzle (20), as illustrated in FIG. 2, and the multi-nozzle (20) can include an inner nozzle (21) that discharges the internal material and an outer nozzle (23) that discharges the film material and is provided in a form that surrounds the inner nozzle (21) on the outer periphery of the inner nozzle (21).

And, an elastic tube (30) for supplying internal material and film material is connected to the multi-nozzle (20), and an inner elastic tube (31) for supplying flowing internal material may be connected to the inner nozzle (21), and an outer elastic tube (33) for supplying flowing film material may be connected to the outer nozzle (23).

By the structure described above, the inner elastic tube (31) supplies the inner material to the inner nozzle (21), and the outer elastic tube (33) supplies the film material to the outer nozzle (23), and an omega-3 seamless soft capsule is manufactured with the inner material discharged through the multiple nozzle (20) and the film material discharged in a form that wraps the inner material.

Here, the internal material is supplied at a supply rate of 100 to 1000 mg/s. That is, the supply rate of the internal material supplied to the inner nozzle (21) through the inner elastic tube (31) is 100 to 1000 mg/s.

Meanwhile, the internal material discharged from the above multi-nozzle (20) and the film material that surrounds the internal material are simultaneously dropped onto the hardened oil to form an omega-3 seamless soft capsule.

To this end, a curing device (50) through which curing oil flows is provided at the bottom of the multi-nozzle (20), and an internal material and a film material that surrounds the internal material are dropped onto the curing oil flowing in the curing device (50) to form a spherical omega-3 seamless soft capsule.

Here, the hardened oil may be one that does not chemically react with the internal substance and the film substance, but specifically may be a medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil having an average carbon number of 8 to 12 so that it can maintain a liquid state at low temperatures.

Preferably, the medium-chain fatty acid may be, but is not limited to, coconut oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil, safflower oil, palm oil, etc., and may be a fatty acid having 8 to 12 carbon atoms.

In addition, the temperature of the hardening oil may be -20 to +20°C. Here, if the temperature of the hardening oil exceeds 20°C, the film material is not sufficiently hardened, which causes a problem in that the omega-3 seamless soft capsule is not properly formed.

Meanwhile, when the temperature of the curing oil is -20 to 20°C, the viscosity of the curing oil is preferably 20CP or higher based on a room temperature of 20°C. If the viscosity of the curing oil is less than 20CP, the flow of internal substances and film substances within the curing oil may be fast, which may cause a problem in that the Omega 3 seamless soft capsule is not formed. Here, the viscosity of the curing oil may be 23CP to 40CP at a room temperature of 20°C, and more preferably, the viscosity of the curing oil may be 24CP to 27CP based on a room temperature of 20°C.

Meanwhile, it is preferable that the flow rate of the curing oil in the above-described curing device (50) be 10 cm/s to 100 cm/s. If the flow rate is less than 10 cm/s, the flow of the internal material and the film material may be slow, which may result in the failure to form an Omega-3 seamless soft capsule or in the hardening of multiple spheres while they are stuck together. If the flow rate exceeds 100 cm/s, it may be too fast, which may result in the failure of the film material of the Omega-3 seamless soft capsule to encapsulate the internal material.

Here, a first supply pump (41) for supplying internal material to the inner nozzle (21) and a second supply pump (43) for supplying film material to the outer nozzle (23) may be further included. Specifically, the first supply pump (41) is connected to the inner elastic tube (31) to supply internal material to the inner nozzle (21), and the second supply pump (43) is connected to the outer elastic tube (33) to supply film material to the outer nozzle (23).

At this time, the first supply pump (41) or/and the second supply pump (43) may be a gear pump that meshes two gears to discharge the fluid trapped in the space between the teeth of the gears by rotation of the gears.

Here, the inner elastic tube (31) and/or the outer elastic tube (33) is provided with a vibration generating device (10) for applying vibration, and the elastic tube (30) to which vibration is applied by the vibration generating device (10) may be partially or entirely made of a material having elasticity.

For this purpose, the shore hardness of the material of the elastic tube (30) may be A20 to A70 or A30 to A70, and appropriate vibration by the vibration generating device (10) may be transmitted to each material of the elastic tube (30).

Meanwhile, the vibration generating device (10) is intended to apply vibration to the elastic tube (30), thereby causing a break in the flow of internal material and film material flowing inside the elastic tube (30).

This interruption in flow allows the film material to better encapsulate the inner material when forming the Omega-3 seamless soft capsule within the hardened oil, thereby facilitating the formation of spheres in the Omega-3 seamless soft capsule.

Here, the vibration generating device (10) may be configured to apply vibration to the elastic tube (30) to cause a break in each material flowing inside the elastic tube (30) to control the capacity of the seamless soft capsule.

To this end, the vibration generating device (10) is formed as a cam structure capable of reciprocating motion according to rotational motion, and can provide vibration to the elastic tube (30) by performing linear or up-and-down reciprocating motion in response to the rotational motion.

Specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the vibration generating device (10) includes a driving member (11) that rotates according to the driving of a motor (17), a driven member (12) that performs a vertical reciprocating motion by the rotation of the driving member (11) to apply vibration to an elastic tube (30), and fixed members (15) provided on each side of the driven member (12) so that the driven member (12) can reciprocate.

The above driving member (11) is formed in the shape of a disk, and a motor (17) is connected to the central axis along the same axis, and rotates by driving the motor (17). The driven member (12) is formed in the shape of a plate, and reciprocates vertically by the rotation of the driving member (11), and a striking blade (13) is formed at the bottom to strike an elastic tube (30) to apply vibration.

The above-mentioned fixing member (15) is provided as a pair on each side of the driven member (12), and a plurality of fixing projections (12c) are formed protrudingly on each side of the driven member (12), and a slit-shaped fixing hole (15a) is formed corresponding to the fixing projection (12a) so that the fixing projection (12a) is coupled to the fixed member (15), and the fixing projection (12a) moves vertically on the fixing hole (15a), so that the driven member (12) vertically reciprocates on the fixed member (15).

Here, a rotating member (11a) in the shape of a disk is formed on the inner surface in the thickness direction of the main member (11) so as to be biased to one side with respect to the central axis, and an elevator hole (12a) is formed through the central portion of the driven member (12) so that the rotating member (11a) of the main member (11) can be installed rotatably.

Due to this, when the driving member (11) rotates, the rotary member (11a) provided to be biased to the driving member (11) rotates, and the lifting hole (12a) to which the rotary member (11a) is coupled reciprocates in the vertical direction, and the striking blade (13) strikes the outer periphery of the elastic tube (30) provided at the lower portion of the driving member (12) by the reciprocating movement of the lifting hole (12a), thereby applying vibration to the elastic tube (30).

At this time, it is preferable that the blade width of the impact blade (13) is 0.1 mm to 100 mm, 0.1 mm to 5 mm, 0.3 mm to 2 mm, or 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm. If the width of the impact blade (13) is less than 0.1 mm, the impact blade (13) may be too sharp, causing damage to the elastic tube (30), and if the width of the impact blade (13) exceeds 100 mm, the impact portion may not be concentrated, causing a problem in that no flow interruption occurs in each material of the elastic tube (30).

At this time, the internal material can be given pulsations of 4 to 40 times per second through a vibration generating device (10).

For example, when the internal substance is supplied through the inner elastic tube (31) to the inner nozzle (21) at a supply speed of 100 to 1000 mg/s and pulsations are applied 4 to 40 times per second, 4 to 40 capsules of omega-3 seamless soft capsules having a capacity of 25 mg can be manufactured per second. In addition, various other changes can be made by controlling the supply speed of the internal substance and the number of pulsations applied to the elastic tube (30) through the vibration generating device (10) depending on the capacity of the omega-3 seamless soft capsule being manufactured.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule according to the present invention will be briefly described.

First, the internal material is supplied to the inner nozzle (21) through the inner elastic tube (31) of the Omega 3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device (1), and the film material is supplied to the outer nozzle (23) through the outer elastic tube (33).

At this time, at least one of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may be used as the internal material, and at least one of gelatin or an edible polymer material may be used as the film material.

And, the internal material and the film material that surrounds the internal material are discharged through the multi-nozzle (20) including the inner nozzle (21) and the outer nozzle (23).

At this time, the discharged internal material and the film material that surrounds the internal material are simultaneously dropped into the hardening oil.

As a result, the inner substance dropped into the hardened oil and the film material wrapping the inner substance are formed into a spherical omega-3 seamless soft capsule.

Here, when the internal material and the film material that surrounds the internal material are discharged through the multi-nozzle (20) including the inner nozzle (21) and the outer nozzle (23), vibration is applied to the outer elastic tube (33) or/and the inner elastic tube (31).

At this time, the supply flow rate of the internal material and/or film material supplied to the multiple nozzles (20) through the elastic tube (30) by the vibration of the vibration generating device (10) can be set, and after the supply flow rate of the internal material and/or film material supplied to the multiple nozzles through the elastic tube (30) is set in advance, the capacity of the Omega 3 seamless soft capsule for the set supply flow rate is calculated, and the number of vibrations of the elastic tube is set, and the rotational speed of the motor (17) is adjusted according to the set value, thereby setting the capacity of the Omega 3 seamless soft capsule to be manufactured according to the application of the vibration.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

1: Omega 3 seamless soft capsule manufacturing device
10: Vibration generating device
11: Judongjeol
11a: Rotation section
12: Jongdongjeol
12a: Elevator hall
12c: Fixed protrusion
13: Strike day
15: Fixed member
15a: Fixed hole
17: Motor
20: Multi-nozzle
21: Inner nozzle
23: Outer nozzle
30: Elastic tube
31: Inner elastic tube
33: Outer elastic tube
41: First supply pump
43: Second supply pump
50: Hardening device

Claims (7)

In the manufacturing method of a seamless soft capsule,
A step of discharging a film material comprising an inner substance including omega 3 and at least one of gelatin and an edible polymer material, and wrapping the inner substance;
A step in which the discharged internal material and film material are simultaneously dropped onto the flowing hardened oil; and
A step in which the dropped internal material and film material are formed into a spherical omega-3 seamless soft capsule;
Including,
The above internal material is supplied at a supply rate of 100 to 1000 mg/s,
The above internal material is subjected to pulsations of 4 to 40 times per second by a vibration generating device,
The above internal material is supplied from the inner elastic tube and the above film material is supplied from the outer elastic tube,
The above vibration generating device includes a motor, a drive member, a driven member, and a fixed member,
The above-mentioned driving member is configured to be capable of rotating according to the driving of the above-mentioned motor,
The above-mentioned driven member is configured to perform vertical reciprocating motion by the rotational motion of the above-mentioned driven member, thereby applying vibration to the inner elastic tube or the outer elastic tube.
The above-mentioned fixed member is provided on both sides of the driven member so that the driven member can perform vertical reciprocating movement,
The above-mentioned longitudinal section includes a plurality of fixing projections on both sides,
The above fixing member includes a plurality of fixing holes in the form of slits formed to correspond to the plurality of fixing protrusions so that the plurality of fixing protrusions are coupled,
The viscosity of the above-mentioned hardened oil is 23 cP to 40 cP at 20°C,
A method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule, characterized in that the flow rate of the above-mentioned hardened oil is 10 cm/s to 100 cm/s.
In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing a seamless soft capsule containing omega 3, characterized in that the gel strength of the film material is 100 to 300 bloom.
In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule, characterized in that the temperature of the film material is 50°C to 75°C.
In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule, characterized in that the internal material comprises at least one of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing an omega-3 seamless soft capsule, characterized in that the temperature of the above-mentioned hardened oil is -20°C to +20°C.
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