JP2013043154A - Capsule sorting device and method for using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a possibility of sorting defective capsules and non-defective capsules by using force other than an ascending air current simply flowing from the lower side to the upper side.SOLUTION: The capsule sorting device includes: a passage plate on which capsules pass; and an air current forming hood which serves as a passage guiding an ascending air current flowing upwardly from the lower side of an air current passage part formed in part of the passage plate. The capsule sorting device sorts out defective capsules from non-defective capsules. The passage plate includes a jump table supporting the passage plate in an inclined state so that the capsules move on the passage plate by their own weight and making the capsules jump up from the passage plate and charge into the ascending air current.

Description

  The present invention relates to a capsule sorting apparatus and a method of using the same for sorting non-defective capsules filled with a prescribed amount of contents and defective capsules not filled with a prescribed amount of contents.

  The capsule filled with the contents has an elongated cylindrical shape, and is configured such that a cap is fitted to the body and the contents are accommodated therein. More specifically, the body and the cap are both cylindrical cases that are closed at one end and open at the other end, and the diameter of the open end of the body is slightly smaller than that of the cap. is there. Then, after filling the body with contents such as granules and fine powder, the open end of the cap is fitted outside the open end of the body to complete the capsule.

  However, in the filling process of the contents in the capsule, the inspection process after filling, etc., a capsule that is not filled with a prescribed amount of contents, more specifically, a capsule that does not contain any contents (also called an empty capsule) )), Capsules whose contents are less than the prescribed amount, or capsules separated into a body and a cap may be found. Such capsules are defective capsules and must be sorted out from non-defective capsules filled with a specified amount of contents. In general, defective capsules are mixed in non-defective capsules in only a small percentage. Therefore, the sorting apparatus is required to sort out a very small number of defective capsules from a large number of non-defective capsules.

  By the way, a sorting apparatus for sorting empty capsules and non-defective capsules among defective capsules is known (Patent Document 1). This is provided with a trough in which a metal mesh is stretched on the transfer surface of the capsule, a suction hood disposed above the metal mesh, and vibration means for advancing the capsule on the metal mesh.

  Then, when the capsule comes over the wire mesh, this sorter rises as the defective capsule is caught up by the rising air flow from the bottom of the wire mesh toward the suction hood, and the good product capsule moves over the wire mesh. It passes under the suction hood and is thereby selected.

JP-A-5-317810

  However, since the above-described sorting method uses only the updraft, the probability of sorting out defective capsules cannot be increased other than adjusting the strength of the updraft.

  Under such circumstances, the present inventors use a rising airflow to raise the defective defective capsules by using the rising air flow, and the non-defective capsules are good. We worked on the development of a sorting device that can sort by dropping capsules. In the development process, not only the upward air flow but also the use of other forces led to the completion of the invention capable of increasing the probability of selecting defective capsules.

  As described above, the present invention has been made on the premise of such a situation, and it is possible to increase the probability of selecting defective capsules and non-defective capsules by using a force other than the upward airflow that is directed upward from below. Objective.

  The present invention comprises a passage plate through which capsules pass, and an airflow forming hood that serves as a passage for leading upward airflow from below to an airflow passage portion formed in a part of the passage plate, and a non-defective capsule and a defective capsule It is assumed that a capsule sorting device is selected.

  The capsule sorting device of the present invention supports the passage plate in an inclined state such that the capsule moves on the passage plate by its own weight, and jumps the passage plate through the jump base that jumps from the passage plate and enters the rising air current. It prepares for.

In addition, the jump base may be formed in close contact with the passage board, but it is desirable to make the capsule flying from the jump base easy to receive the upward airflow as follows.
That is, a narrow space portion formed between the jump base and the passage board is provided below the jump base, and the passage board has a position corresponding to a position directly below the tip of the jump base as a reference. That is, airflow passages are formed upstream and downstream.

  The airflow passage portion refers to a hole having a size that prevents the non-defective product and the defective product capsule from dropping, and the airflow passes in the vertical direction using the hole. The airflow passage portion may be formed by making a through hole in the passage plate, or may be formed by attaching another part (for example, a porous material filter (such as a wire mesh or nonwoven fabric)) to the passage plate. In addition, the hole shape in the case of making a through-hole in a passage board is not limited, For example, circular shape, slit shape, etc. are mentioned. As for the number of holes, in order to allow airflow to pass evenly from the entire surface of the airflow passage part, in the case of circular through-holes, a plurality of holes, more specifically, a large number of through-holes are scattered on the traveling plate. It is desirable to do. Moreover, in the case of a slit-shaped through-hole, the number is not limited to a plurality, and for example, one may be formed by forming a meandering shape by combining a number of S shapes. In addition, you may form an airflow passage part combining the through-hole of a some shape.

Further, there may be no obstacle at the destination of the capsule flying from the jumping table, but in order to easily receive the upward airflow, it is desirable to do the following.
That is, an obstacle that the defective capsule collides is arranged downstream of the jumping table with a passage interval through which the updraft passes, and the obstacle is floated and supported rather than the non-defective capsule that passes on the passage plate. That is.

In order to make it easier for the defective capsule to ride on the rising airflow, it is desirable to make the obstacle as follows.
That is, the obstacle is a roller in which the obstacle is supported in a sideways state, and the roller is rotatably provided in a state where the upstream surface side of the roller rotates in a direction coinciding with the direction of the rising airflow.

Further, the surface of the roller may be a smooth surface. However, in order to easily apply an upward force from the roller to the defective capsule, it is desirable to do the following.
That is, the surface of the roller is rough.

Further, it is desirable that the surface of the roller is as follows even if it is rough.
That is, concave grooves extending in the width direction are formed on the surface of the roller at intervals in the circumferential direction.

Further, in order to make the defective capsule easily collide with the surface of the roller, it is desirable to do the following.
That is, a static electricity generator is provided opposite to the downstream surface side of the roller.

In the present invention, the non-defective capsule means a capsule filled with a specified amount of contents. On the other hand, defective capsules mean capsules that are not filled with a specified amount of content, such as capsules that do not contain any content, capsules that have less than the specified amount, and separated capsules. .
Such defective capsules are objects to be sorted by this device, and this device has a better effect on sorting capsules that do not contain any content and capsules separated into body and cap, It shows an even better effect on sorting capsules that do not contain anything.

  According to the present invention, the capsule moves by its own weight while utilizing the inclination of the passage plate, jumps up at the jumping table, and uses this jumping force to receive the updraft from the bottom. Compared to the conventional ones, the area of the capsule that receives the updraft becomes larger, and even if the capsule falls, the time to receive the updraft becomes the same as the height of the jumping base, and the defective capsule is in the meantime. Riding on the rising air current rises and the non-defective capsule drops again on the passage plate, and the probability of selecting the defective and non-defective capsule increases.

  In addition, a narrow space is formed between the tip of the jump stand and the passage plate, and the passage plate has an air flow passage portion (upstream and downstream) with respect to a position corresponding to a position directly below the tip of the jump stand. For example, if a plurality of through holes) are formed, the flow path of the ascending air current passing through the air flow passage portion from below passes through the narrow space portion, so that it can be throttled at the tip of the jump base, and the momentum is increased. As a result of the increased updraft, defective capsules can easily ride the updraft.

  Furthermore, if an obstacle is arranged downstream of the jumping base, the defective capsule will collide and bounce off, so the time for receiving the updraft will be longer, and the defective capsule will easily ride the updraft. As a result, the good capsule passes under the obstacle and is sorted.

  Also, when the roller as an obstacle is rotated, if the upstream side of the roller rotates in a direction that coincides with the direction of the updraft, an upward force is applied to the collided defective product capsule and the updraft rides. It becomes easy.

  Furthermore, if the surface of the roller is a rough surface, an upward force is more efficiently applied to the defective capsule that collides with the roller, and it is easy to ride the rising airflow.

  In addition, if grooves on the surface of the roller that extend in the width direction are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction, a part of the rising airflow enters the grooves on the surface of the roller. As a result, the upward force is more efficiently applied to the defective capsule that collides with the roller, and it becomes easier to ride the rising airflow.

  Further, if a static electricity generator is provided opposite to the downstream surface of the roller, the defective capsule easily collides with the surface of the roller on which static electricity has accumulated due to the electrostatic attraction force, and can easily ride on the rising airflow.

  Furthermore, if the defective capsule to be sorted does not contain any contents, the weight is light, so that it is easy to ride the updraft.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline | summary of the capsule selection apparatus of this invention. It is a side view which shows the outline | summary of the capsule selection apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the outline | summary of the capsule selection apparatus of this invention. It is the perspective view which decomposed | disassembled the principal part of the capsule selection apparatus of this invention.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of a capsule sorting apparatus according to the present invention. The capsule sorting device includes a passage board 10 through which the capsule C passes, a jump base 20 that jumps out of the passage board 10 through the passage board 10, and a defective capsule C 2 that has jumped out of the jump base 20. The roller 30 as an obstacle to collide, the static electricity generator 40 which makes static electricity on the surface of the roller 30, the airflow formation hood 50 which becomes a passage which guides an updraft in a partial region of the passage plate 10, and the airflow generator 60 And are configured as main parts. These parts are assembled to the frame 90. In the example shown in the drawing, the frame 90 is mainly composed of four columns 91 standing outside the passage plate 10, and these four columns 91 are connected by a connecting bar 92 or the like. Hereinafter, main parts will be described in detail.

  The passage plate 10 is a bent plate that is bent in a “U” shape in cross section, and the opening portion of the “U” shape faces upward. More specifically, the passage plate 10 is continuous with the side plates 12 standing on both sides of the central plate 11 through which the capsule C passes. In order to move the capsule C by its own weight on the central plate 11, the central plate 11 is inclined, and the side plates 12 on both sides are bolted to the four columns 91 at the upstream and downstream facing portions. By assembling with the nut, the passage plate 10 is supported in an inclined state. For example, in the illustrated example, the holes 12a through which the shaft portions of the bolts are passed are formed in the side plate 12 at the upstream and downstream assembly locations, and the downstream hole 12a has a long hole shape. In this way, the passage plate 10 has a portion corresponding to the shape of the long hole of the downstream hole 12a with the assembly position of the upstream hole 12a as a fulcrum, although the bolt is fixed to the column 91 in a fixed position. The inclination angle can be adjusted.

  Further, the central plate 11 is formed with a large number of through-holes 13 as airflow passage portions in a partial area thereof. More specifically, a large number of through-holes 13 are uniformly formed at intervals in the opening width direction (lateral width direction) and the capsule C traveling direction in the midstream portion (extension direction intermediate portion) of the central plate 11. In addition, the through-hole 13 should just be a magnitude | size which the capsule C does not fall.

  The jump base 20 is a bent plate bent in a “<” shape, and the jump plate 22 is located on the downstream side of the fixed plate 21 that is fixed on the central plate 11 of the passage plate 10 by welding or the like. 11 is continuous in an inclined state away from 11. A narrow space portion 23 having a triangular cross section is formed between the jump plate 22 and the passage plate 10 and expands toward the downstream side. In addition, the numerous through holes 13 described above are formed on the upstream and downstream sides of a position corresponding to a position directly below the tip of the jump plate 22. As the air rapidly passes through the through holes 13 from the bottom to the top, an ascending air current penetrating the central plate 11 of the passage plate 10 is formed. In addition, when a part of the updraft enters the narrow space portion 23 and is gathered together at the tip of the jump plate 22, the updraft increases at the portion ahead of the jump plate 22.

  The rollers 30 are arranged with a passage interval 31 through which the rising air current passes downstream of the jump plate 22 of the jump base 20. Although this passage interval 31 also has a balance with the inclination angle of the passage plate 10, the defective capsule C <b> 2 that has jumped out from the jump table 20 can collide with the surface of the roller 30, and the non-defective capsule C <b> 1 falls from the jump table 20. The interval is set to be possible.

  The roller 30 has a cylindrical roller main body 30a extending over the entire width of the central plate 11, and the rotating shaft 32 protruding from both sides of the roller main body 30a is oriented horizontally (horizontal). The bracket 93 is rotatably attached. An interval 35 through which the non-defective capsule C1 can pass is formed between the roller body 30a and the central plate 11 of the passage plate 10.

  Furthermore, as a rotating mechanism of the roller 30, in the illustrated example, a pulley 33 is provided on one rotating shaft 32 of the roller 30, and a belt 34 is hung on the pulley 33. Another pulley (not shown) is hung on the belt 34, and this other pulley is rotated in one direction by a motor (not shown). In the illustrated example, the motor is rotated so that the roller 30 rotates clockwise. At this time, since the passage plate 10 is inclined to the lower right, the passage plate 10 (center plate 11) has an upstream side on the left side and a downstream side on the right side. Therefore, the upstream surface side of the roller 30 is the left surface side of the roller 30. Then, when the roller 30 rotates clockwise, the upstream surface side of the roller 30 is rotated in a direction that coincides with the direction of the rising airflow. As a result, an upward force is applied to the defective capsule C2 that has collided with the roller body 30a.

  Further, the roller main body 30a has a rough surface, and more specifically, concave grooves 30b extending in the lateral width direction are formed at equal intervals over the entire length in the circumferential direction. The bottom surface of the recessed groove 30b is recessed in an arc shape.

  The airflow forming hood 50 is a case having a downward opening 51, and the opening 51 is disposed close to the upper surface of the roller 30. The airflow forming hood 50 is a case in which the front, rear, left and right four surfaces are covered with a concealment plate 52, and the left and right concealment plates 52 are shaped to match the arc shape of the roller body 30a. The airflow forming hood 50 has a shape in which the inner space becomes narrower toward the upper portion thereof, and the capsule C passes between the lower end of the upstream concealment plate 52 and the tip of the jump plate 22. A sufficient vertical gap 53 is formed. In addition, a gap 54 in the front-rear direction is formed between the upstream concealment plate 52 and the upstream surface of the roller 30 so that the defective capsule C2 riding on the rising airflow passes. In addition, the airflow forming hood 50 is provided with a top plate 55 that closes the top of the front, rear, left, and right concealment plates 52. A connection pipe 56 projects upward from the top plate 55, and an air gun 61 of an airflow generator 60 is connected to the connection pipe 56.

  The airflow generation device 60 is mainly composed of an air gun 61 and a compressor 62. The air gun 61 has a cylindrical shape, and a pipe tube 63 from the compressor 62 is connected to an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction. Then, compressed air is sent from the compressor 62 to the inside of the air gun 61, and the compressed air is discharged from one end of the air gun 61 at a predetermined pressure, so that external air is also sucked from the other end of the air gun 61 and discharged from the tip of the air gun 61. To do. By connecting the air gun 61 to the connection pipe 56 of the air flow forming hood 50 so as to discharge the compressed air upward, an ascending air current passing through the inside of the air flow forming hood 50 is generated. Defective product capsules C2 are collected above. As the air gun 61, for example, a trade name Wonder Gun manufactured by Osawa Co., Ltd. is used.

  The static electricity generator 40 is a well-known device and is provided facing the downstream surface side of the roller 30. The static electricity generated from the static electricity generator 40 accumulates static electricity on the surface of the roller 30, and the static electricity acts to bring the defective capsule C <b> 2 closer to the roller 30. In order to easily accumulate static electricity on the surface of the roller 30, it is desirable that the surface is formed of a resin (for example, a fluororesin) rather than a metal.

  The capsule sorting apparatus described above is used as follows. After driving the roller motor, the compressor 62, and the static electricity generator 40, a large number of capsules C are continuously introduced from the upstream side of the passage plate 10. Then, the capsule C moves on the central plate 11 of the passage plate 10 by its own weight using the inclination of the passage plate 10. Then, it is blown into the air by the jump plate 22 of the jump stand 20. Then, an updraft is generated from the bottom of the through-hole 13 into the airflow forming hood 50 at the skipped portion. Among the capsules C, the non-defective capsule C1 filled with the contents falls against the rising airflow by its own weight, and again moves on the central plate 11 of the passage plate 10. At this time, even if many non-defective capsules C1 are concentrated just below the roller body 30a, the rotation of the roller 30 prevents the non-defective capsules C1 from being clogged between the passage plate 10 and the roller body 30a.

  On the other hand, among the capsules C, the defective capsule C2 separated into the body and the cap jumps up due to its lightness and collides with the roller main body 30a while receiving the action of the rising airflow, and the upward force is applied by the rotational force of the roller 30. In response to the rising airflow, the airflow forming hood 50 is lifted and passes through the air gun 61. In addition, when the defective product capsule C2 collides with the roller main body 30a, an electrostatic adsorption force accumulated on the surface of the roller main body 30a acts slightly. As described above, the capsules C are sorted into non-defective capsules C1 and defective capsules C2 (separated into a body and a cap).

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the jump base 20 may not be a plate, but the jump plate 22 may be a base having a sufficient thickness. In this case, the narrow space portion 23 is not formed. Further, the airflow generation device 60 may be arranged so as to inject compressed air from the lower side of the through hole 13 of the passage plate 10.

C capsule C1 good product capsule C2 defective product capsule 10 passage plate 11 center plate 12 side plate 12a hole 13 through hole (airflow passage part)
20 Jump base 21 Fixed plate 22 Jump plate 23 Narrow space 30 Roller 30a Roller body 30b Groove 31 Passing distance 32 Rotating shaft 33 Pulley 34 Belt 40 Static electricity generator 50 Air flow forming hood 51 Opening 52 Concealing plate 53 Clearance 54 Clearance 55 Top plate 56 Connection pipe 60 Airflow generator 61 Air gun 62 Compressor 90 Frame 91 Post 92 Connection bar 93 Bracket

Claims (9)

A passage plate through which the capsules pass, and an airflow forming hood that serves as a passage for leading upward airflow from below the airflow passage formed in a part of the passageboard, and sorts out good and bad capsules In the capsule sorting device,
Capsule sorting device characterized in that it includes a jump plate that supports the passage plate in an inclined state such that the capsule moves on the passage plate under its own weight, and jumps from the passage plate to enter the rising airflow. .   A narrow space formed between the jump board and the passage plate is provided below the tip of the jump base, and the passage plate has a position upstream of the jump base and a position corresponding to the position immediately below the tip of the jump stand. The capsule sorting device according to claim 1, wherein an airflow passage is formed downstream.   The capsule sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airflow passage portion is a plurality of through holes.   The obstacle where the defective capsule collides is arranged downstream of the jumping table with a passing interval through which the updraft passes, and the obstacle is floated and supported rather than the non-defective capsule passing on the passage plate. The capsule sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein A roller in which the obstacle is supported sideways,
5. The capsule sorting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the roller is rotatably provided in a state where the upstream surface side of the roller rotates in a direction coinciding with the direction of the rising airflow.   6. The capsule sorting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the roller has a rough surface.   7. The capsule sorting device according to claim 6, wherein a concave groove extending in the width direction is formed on the surface of the roller at intervals in the circumferential direction.   The capsule sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a static electricity generating device is provided facing the downstream surface of the roller. In the usage method of the capsule sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A method for using a capsule sorting device, wherein, among good and bad capsules to be sorted, defective capsules contain no contents at all.

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