JP2015152482A - Conveyance device, and inspection device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection device that can constitute a linear conveyance route and is easily assembled or disassembled, in a conveyance device having an inspection process in a midway of the conveyance route.SOLUTION: A conveyance device 60 includes a conveyance route formed by combining, in a nested shape, a first component 61 and second component 62 each of which is formed in a comb-teeth shape by a plurality of conveyance route members 63. The conveyance route is formed by linearly interconnecting a carrying-in groove 9 (first groove), a measurement groove (second groove) including a measurement base 3, and a step-wise carrying-out groove 16 (third groove), and a capsule 7 is conveyed by a conveyance body 14 or the like. Thus, a linear conveyance route can be accurately formed by combining the block-like conveyance route members, and a workpiece can be certainly conveyed at a high speed. By disassembling two components, cleaning work is performed easily and certainly.

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus that provides a groove-shaped conveying path in a gap between both members by arranging block-shaped conveying path constituting members side by side at a predetermined interval, and conveys a workpiece along this conveying path. In addition to providing an inspection process in the middle of the conveyance path, the entire conveyance path can be configured linearly so as to be suitable for high-speed conveyance of workpieces, and the conveyance apparatus excellent in the cleaning property of the groove-shaped conveyance path and The present invention relates to an inspection device using a transport device.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention of a capsule weight measuring device. According to this apparatus, the weight can be measured while a long capsule is transported along the transport path, but the transport path of the capsule is formed by a transport groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section in a single block-shaped member. The capsule is held in the V-shaped bottom of this transport groove, and the capsule is transported along the discharge groove by a claw-shaped discharge mechanism that circulates and reciprocates while entering and exiting the transport groove. To do. The capsule is sent to a weighing platform having a substantially V-shaped cross section similar to the conveyance groove of the conveyance path, and the weight is measured. Then, the capsule is sent to a conveyance path such as a guide and conveyed to the next process.

Japanese Patent No. 3343480

  According to the transport device in the invention of the capsule weight measuring device disclosed in Patent Document 1 above, the supplied capsule is transported in the transport step of the previous stage, and this is carried into the weight measuring step to measure the weight. In the subsequent transfer process, the sheet is transferred to a predetermined position on the downstream side. Therefore, the transport path in the preceding transport process, the weighing platform for the capsule in the weight measurement process, and the transport path in the subsequent transport process are linearly arranged and positioned because of the need to transport the capsule at high speed, and are mutually unnecessary. It is necessary to connect without gaps, and assembly requires high accuracy. In addition, as in the case of a medicine capsule, there are cases in which a large number of objects to be transported are repeatedly transported to generate and attach dust or the like to the transport path. In general, the transport path needs to be periodically cleaned. However, in the structure of the conveyance path as described above, there is a problem that time and cost increase because it takes time to disassemble and assemble after cleaning.

The present invention has been made in view of various problems in the conventional technology described above, and is suitable for high-speed conveyance of a workpiece in the entire conveyance path in a conveyance apparatus in which an inspection process is provided in the middle of the conveyance path. are intended to provide can be configured in a straight line, yet decomposed, and the transport device has high cleaning properties of easy assembly der Ru grooved conveyance path, an inspection apparatus using the conveying device.

The conveyance device 60 described in claim 1 is:
The inspection table 3 is composed of at least two conveyance path constituting members 63 arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and includes first grooves 8 and 9 for conveying the workpiece 7 and a groove portion for supporting the workpiece 7. The second groove 12 provided continuously to the first grooves 8 and 9 to arrange the first groove 8 and the third groove 16 provided continuously to the second groove 12 to convey the workpiece 7 are linear. A transport path arranged in an automatic manner,
Conveying means 13, 14, 17 for moving the workpiece 7 along the conveying path;
It is characterized by comprising.

The conveyance device 60 according to claim 2 is the conveyance device 60 according to claim 1,
Two or more transport paths are arranged in parallel by three or more transport path constituting members 63 arranged side by side.

The conveyance device 60 described in claim 3 is the conveyance device 60 according to claim 1,
The three or more transport path constituting members 63 arranged side by side belong to one of two groups 61 and 62 that are different from each other in the parallel direction, and each of the groups 61 and 62 has a plurality of transport paths. Opposite sides of the constituent members 63 in the longitudinal direction are connected to each other, and the groups 61 and 62 are combined in a nested manner.

  The inspection apparatus 1 described in claim 4 includes the conveyance device 60 according to claim 1, and inspection means 4 provided in the second groove 12 of the conveyance device 60 and connected to the inspection table 3, It is characterized by having.

  The inspection apparatus 1 described in claim 5 is the inspection apparatus 1 according to claim 4, wherein an upper end edge of the conveyance path constituting member 63 constituting the second groove 12 is above the inspection table 3. It is characterized by that.

  According to the transfer device described in claim 1, the first groove that is linearly continuous by the at least two transfer path constituting members arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and the second groove of the inspection table, Since the groove-shaped conveyance path having the third groove can be configured, the workpiece can be reliably conveyed by the conveyance means along the conveyance path, and high-speed conveyance is also possible as necessary. In addition, when it is desired to clean the transport path, if at least two transport path constituent members arranged in parallel are separated from each other, the operation of cleaning the individual transport path constituent members can be easily performed. It is also easy to assemble the conveyance path constituent member and restore the original shape of the conveyance path.

  According to the transfer device described in claim 2, since the three or more transfer path constituent members are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, two or more transfer paths as described above are arranged in parallel. Therefore, it is possible to realize a transfer device that can transfer a large number of workpieces in parallel at high speed.

  According to the conveying apparatus described in claim 3, two sets of a plurality of conveying path constituting members that are arranged in parallel in a comb-teeth shape at an interval twice the predetermined interval and connected at the root are prepared. By combining them in a nested manner, a plurality of transport paths can be formed at the predetermined intervals, so that handling when disassembling, cleaning, and assembling the transport paths is easy.

  According to the inspection apparatus described in claim 4, the workpiece is conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying path in which the first groove, the inspection table provided in the second groove, and the third groove are linearly continuous. While being able to convey reliably, a workpiece | work can be mounted in an inspection stand in the 2nd groove | channel of a conveying apparatus, and it can test | inspect with a test | inspection means. Accordingly, it is possible to carry the entire carrying work including the inspection at a high speed as necessary. Further, when the conveyance path or the inspection table needs to be cleaned along with the inspection work, the conveyance path can be easily disassembled, cleaned, and assembled.

  According to the inspection apparatus of the fifth aspect, the second groove provided with the inspection table connected to the inspection means is divided and configured by a pair of left and right transport path constituent members arranged in parallel. The upper end edges of the pair of transport path constituent members protrude above the upper end edge of the inspection table. For this reason, if parts of this device that can be replaced or removed fall from the mounting section etc. from above the transport path, the fallen object will collide with the upper edge of the transport path constituent member and The possibility of falling downward is increased, and the possibility of damage to the inspection table and the inspection means connected to the inspection table is reduced.

It is a whole perspective view of the inspection device of an embodiment. It is the whole perspective view which showed the conveyance apparatus of the capsule which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has, except a conveyance means. It is the whole perspective view which showed the conveyance apparatus of the capsule which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has. It is sectional drawing which looked at the conveyance apparatus of the capsule which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has from the side surface direction. It is a top view which shows the state before the combination of a conveyance path | route structural member in the capsule conveying apparatus which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has. It is a perspective view which shows the state before the combination of a conveyance path | route structural member in the capsule conveying apparatus which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has. It is a top view which shows the state in the combination of the conveyance path | route structural member in the capsule conveying apparatus which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the combination of the conveyance path | route structural member in the capsule conveying apparatus which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has. FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a state in which transport path constituent members are combined in a capsule transport device included in the inspection apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a front view of the same. It is a perspective view which shows the state which combined the conveyance path | route structural member in the capsule conveying apparatus which the inspection apparatus of embodiment has. FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 9A, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line YY of FIG. (3) is sectional drawing in the ZZ cutting | disconnection line of Fig.9 (a).

1. About the whole structure of the weight measuring apparatus 1 which is a test | inspection apparatus (FIGS. 1-4)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a weight measuring device 1 as an inspection device, and includes an outer casing 51 having a door 50 that is partially translucent and that can be opened and closed. Inside the outer casing 51, a capsule supply unit 2 and a transport device 60 for transporting the capsule are provided. Although not appearing in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the weight measuring unit 4 and the like as inspection means are also provided inside the outer casing 51. A supply hole 52 that communicates with the supply unit 2 is provided on the upper surface of the outer casing 51, and a hopper (not shown) is attached to the upper surface of the outer casing 51 to communicate with the supply hole 52. The capsule can be supplied to the capsule supply unit 2 inside the container.
As described above, in the present embodiment, a cylindrical capsule 7 in which a medicine is sealed and both ends are formed in a hemispherical shape is illustrated as a workpiece as a measurement object in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration inside the outer casing 51 of the weight measuring device 1, and is a perspective view showing the capsule supply unit and the capsule transfer device 60 excluding the transfer means. FIG. 2 shows the content of FIG. 2 with the addition of a transport body 14 as transport means which is a part of the capsule transport device 60.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the weight measuring device 1 as viewed from the side. The weight measuring apparatus 1 includes a supply unit 2 for an object to be measured, a transport device 60 that transports the capsule 7 supplied from the supply unit 2 along a transport path continuous from right to left in the figure, and the transport. It has a measuring table 3 as an inspection table that is provided in the middle of the path and measures the weight of the object to be measured, and a weight measuring unit 4 as an inspection means that is connected to the measuring table 3 and is provided below the transport path. ing. Further, the weight measuring device 1 includes a sorting unit 6 that sorts the capsules 7 according to the weight measurement result so as to be continuous to the downstream side of the transport path, and further controls these components in an integrated manner. The control part which does not do is provided.
Hereinafter, the configuration of each component will be described.

2. Conveying device 60 (FIGS. 4 to 11)
<Conveyance path structure>
The transport path for transporting the capsule 7 is composed of two parts, a first part 61 and a second part 62 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. 5 and 6 show a state before the first part 61 and the second part 62 are assembled. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each of the parts 61 and 62 is configured by combining a plurality of elongate transport path constituting members 63 whose longitudinal direction is the transport direction of the capsule 7. In the embodiment, the first component 61 includes six conveyance path constituting members 63, and the second component 62 includes five conveyance path constituting members 63. In each component 61, 62, a plurality of conveyance path constituting members 63 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and opposite sides in the longitudinal direction are connected by connecting members 64, 65 in the form of rods or plates, respectively. That is, both parts 61 and 62 have a comb-like structure, and are arranged with their front ends facing each other facing each other during assembly.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the parts 61 and 62 are combined in a nested manner and integrated as shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, the leading end of the transport path constituting member 63 of the second part 62 engages with the connecting member 64 of the first part 61, and the leading end of the transport path constituting member 63 of the first part 61 is connected to the second part 62. Engaging with the member 65, both parts are fixed and integrated with each other by an appropriate fixing means (not shown). As can be understood from FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 showing this assembled state, adjacent conveyance path constituting members 63, 63 belonging to different parts (groups) are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, The gap serves as a groove as a transport path for transporting the capsule 7. In the present embodiment, ten grooves serving as a conveyance path are configured. Both parts 61 and 62 can be assembled and disassembled, and the transport path can be cleaned in a timely manner by disassembling as necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the conveyance path constituting member 63 of each component 61, 62 protrudes from a long rectangular plate-like wall portion 66 having a substantially constant height and both side surfaces of the wall portion 66. The locking portion 67 is provided. However, since the transport path of the capsule 7 does not exist on the outer surface side of the two outermost transport path constituent members 63, 63 of the first component 61, the locking portion 67 is not provided.

FIG. 9 shows the state in which the two parts 61 and 62 are combined in a nested manner and integrated as described above, but the two cutting lines YY and ZZ in FIG. The cross-sectional views in FIG. 11 are the cross-sectional views (2) and (3) in FIG. 11, respectively. As shown in these cross-sectional views, a tapered portion 70 chamfered along the longitudinal direction is provided on the inner edge of the upper surface of the locking portion 67 of the transport path. The capsule 7 is supported in a state where the capsule 7 is in contact with the taper portions 70 and 70 on both sides in a groove between the locking portions 67 and 67 of the two adjacent conveyance path constituting members 63 and 63, and is downstream by a conveyance means described later. It is conveyed toward. In addition, although sectional drawing in the cutting | disconnection line XX in Fig.9 (a) is shown in FIG.11 (1), this part is for arrange | positioning the measurement stand 3 in which the capsule 7 is mounted so that it may mention later. The width is wider than the front and rear conveyance paths, and therefore the locking portion 67 and the tapered portion 70 are not provided.
In FIG. 11, the arm 30 that connects the measuring table 3 to the weight measuring unit 4 to be described later is omitted in the partial diagram (1), and some reference numerals are shown in the partial diagrams (2) and (3). The illustration is omitted.

  The structure of the conveyance path described above will be described again from the viewpoint shown in FIG. 4 (the viewpoint in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the conveyance path constituting member 63). First, the transport path of the capsule 7 is upstream of the measurement table 3 (on the right side of the measurement table 3 in FIG. 4) and downstream of the measurement table 3 (the measurement table 3 in FIG. 4). It is composed of the latter half of the transport route on the left side of The transport path in the first half has a curved groove 8 and a carry-in groove 9, and in the present embodiment, these grooves are referred to as first grooves as the first half grooves. The second half conveyance path has a step-like carry-out groove 16 that gradually decreases in height in the conveyance direction. In the present embodiment, this carry-out groove 16 is referred to as a third groove as the second half groove. . The carry-out groove 16 that is the third groove is formed between the adjacent conveyance path constituting members 63. Between the first half groove (first groove) and the second half groove (third groove), a measurement groove 12 for arranging the measurement table 3 is provided. In the present embodiment, the measurement groove 12 is referred to as a second groove. The measurement groove 12 as the second groove is a portion shown in FIG. 11A, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line XX in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11 (1), the width of the measurement groove 12 is the same as that of the first groove (curved groove 8 and carry-in groove 9) in the previous stage, and FIGS. 11 (2) and (3). It is wider than the width of the carry-out groove 16 shown in FIG.

  As described above, each conveyance path constituting member 63 has a linear plate shape and is arranged in parallel to each other. Therefore, the first groove, the second groove, and the third groove formed in the gap are the capsules 7. Are arranged in a straight line along the conveying direction and communicate with each other.

<Details of first half transport path configuration and transport means>
As shown in FIG. 4, the supply unit 2 has a function of intermittently feeding one capsule 7 supplied from a hopper (not shown) disposed above one by one to a transport path in a subsequent process. In order to achieve this function, the supply unit 2 includes a magazine 10 as a transport path and a stopper 11. The magazine 10 has a supply path that communicates with the bottom of the hopper, and drops and supplies the capsule 7 with periodic reciprocation in the vertical direction. The capsules 7 are accommodated inside the magazine 10 in a vertical posture with its axis line directed in the vertical direction and in a line in the vertical direction. The stopper 11 closes the supply path when the magazine 10 moves upward from the lower end position in the vertical movement, and prevents the capsule 7 from falling from the lower end of the supply path.

  A curved groove 8 constituting a part of the transport path is provided immediately below the magazine 10 of the supply unit 2. The capsule 7 dropped from the magazine 10 is held in a posture in which its axis is inclined obliquely upward in the transport direction by landing on the curved groove 8. On the downstream side of the curved groove 8 in the transport direction, a carry-in groove 9 constituting a part of the transport path is continuously provided. As described above, in the carry-in groove 9, the inner edge of the upper surface of the locking portion 67 on the inner surface is a tapered portion 70, and the contact area with the capsule 7 is reduced. This tapered portion 70 can be supported in the same manner even if the size of the capsule 7 to be transported changes.

  In the carrying direction of the capsule 7 in the carry-in groove 9, a pusher 13 as a carrying means is provided on the side opposite to the carry-in groove 9 with the curved groove 8 interposed therebetween. The pusher 13 is allowed to advance and retreat into the carry-in groove 9 through the curved groove 8 along the carrying direction. The pusher 13 has a shape in which the upper end of the tip protrudes forward, so that by sliding from the rear of the curved groove 8 toward the horizontal front, the rise of the capsule 7 in the curved groove 8 is regulated. Can be delivered to the carry-in groove 9.

  In the transport direction, a measurement groove 12 is provided downstream of the carry-in groove 9 so as to communicate with the carry-in groove 9, and the measurement table 3 is provided in the measurement groove 12. This structure does not appear in FIG. 4, but will be understood from FIG. The measuring table 3 is arranged as the next process of the curved groove 8 and the carry-in groove 9 which are the transport paths in the first half. As shown in FIG. 11 (1), the measuring table 3 has a tapered surface 71 that continues to the tapered portion 70 of the carry-in groove 9 so that the capsule 7 can be continuously received from the carry-in groove 9. It has become. The capsules 7 sent out from the carry-in groove 9 are placed one by one on the measuring table 3, and the weight is measured one by one by the weight measuring unit 4 described later. The details of the configuration of the measurement table 3 and the weight measuring unit 4 will be described after the next item <Details of the configuration of the second half transport path and transport means, etc.>.

  As shown in FIG. 11 (1), in the measurement groove 12 provided with the measurement table 3, the upper edge of the pair of left and right transport path constituting members 63 protrudes higher than the upper edge of the measurement table 3. Yes. In other words, the measurement table 3 is hidden inside the measurement groove 12 and does not protrude upward. For this reason, if the replaceable or detachable parts of the apparatus fall off the mounting portion etc. from above the transport path, the fallen object collides with the upper edge of the transport path constituent member 63. There is a high possibility that falling below this will be prevented. For example, even if the magazine 10 is accidentally dropped on the conveyance path during the above-described operation of attaching and detaching the magazine 10, the magazine 10 directly collides with the measurement table 3 in the measurement groove 12. The potential for damage is small.

<Details of the configuration of the latter half of the transport path and transport means, etc.>
As shown in FIG. 4, an intermittent conveyance unit 5 is provided on the downstream side of the measurement table 3. The intermittent conveyance unit 5 is arranged at the subsequent stage of the measurement table 3 and constitutes the latter half of the conveyance path of the capsule 7. The intermittent conveyance unit 5 has a function of intermittently conveying the capsule 7 in synchronization with the operations of the supply unit 2 and the weight measurement unit 4 described later. The intermittent transport unit 5 includes a claw-shaped transport body 14 and a stepped transport mechanism 15 as transport means for the capsule 7.

  The conveyance body 14 which is a conveyance means is provided with a claw-like structure having a downward space such as an E shape. In this embodiment, it has the front nail | claw part F which protrudes downward, the middle nail | claw part M, and the rear nail | claw part R. The capsule 7 can be accommodated in the axial direction between the front claw part F and the middle claw part M. The transport body 14 can be transported while preventing the capsule 7 from escaping and popping out by the front claw part F, the middle claw part M, the rear claw part R, and the upper wall part 66W connecting them.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the transport body 14 is in the first movement position on the upstream side in the transport direction, and the middle claw portion M hits the rear end of the capsule 7 of the measurement table 3. In this state, the front claw part F hits the rear end of the previous capsule 7, and the rear claw part R hits the front end of the rear capsule 7. The transport body 14 holds the capsule 7 of the measurement table 3 so as to cover it from above, and sends it to the next-stage stepped transport mechanism 15. After the capsule 7 is transported, the transport body 14 rises and returns to the initial position in the transport direction that deviates from the transport path of the capsule 7. By repeating this circulation operation, the transport body 14 can intermittently transport the capsule 7 in synchronization with the movement of the supply unit 2. In this intermittent conveyance operation, the time during which the capsule 7 is in a stationary state substantially coincides with the weighing timing of the weight measuring unit 4. That is, the timing at which the capsule 7 can be weighed is the sum of the stop time of the carrier 14 and the return time to the intended position.

The step-like transport mechanism 15 includes the step-like carry-out grooves 16 formed in the gaps between the plurality of transfer path constituting members 63 arranged in parallel, and the step-like pusher 17 as a transfer means provided in each carry-out groove 16. Have As described above, in each step of the carry-out groove 16, the conveyance path through which the capsule 7 is conveyed has a tapered portion 70 similar to the curved groove 8 and the carry-in groove 9 described above, as shown in FIG. 11 (3). I have. In the same figure, two capsules 7 supported at the stepped portions having different heights are shown.
The conveyance path constituting member 63 is a step-like member that is composed of a plurality of horizontal portions and vertical portions and descends downstream in the conveyance direction of the capsule 7. In each horizontal portion of the transport path constituting member 63, the aforementioned tapered portion 70 is formed on the edge facing the carry-out groove 16. The stepped pusher 17 is an integral plate-like member formed in a step shape that is substantially the same shape as the conveyance path constituting member 63. The stepped pusher 17 can be slid alternately in the front-rear direction along the conveyance direction of the capsule 7 in the carry-out groove 16 formed between the conveyance path constituting members 63 and 63. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the stepped pusher 17 is at the most upstream position in the transport direction, that is, at the start position immediately before pushing out the capsule 7, each horizontal portion of the stepped pusher 17 is transported path constituting member 63. These horizontal portions are arranged in a positional relationship so as to be approximately half the height of the vertical portions of the stepped pusher 17 and the conveyance path constituting member 63. Therefore, if the stepped pusher 17 is advanced to the end point position advanced by the same length as the length of the horizontal portion of the conveyance path constituting member 63 during conveyance, the capsule 7 supported by the conveyance path constituting member 63 is The pusher 17 is pushed by the vertical part of the pusher 17 and falls onto the next horizontal part of the stepped pusher 17 protruding above the next horizontal part of the transport path constituting member 63. When the stepped pusher 17 moves backward in the next step, the capsule 7 placed on the horizontal portion of the stepped pusher 17 abuts against the vertical portion of the transport path constituting member 63 and stops, and the stepped pusher 17 further moves backward. If it returns to the said starting point position, the capsule 7 will fall and be mounted in the next horizontal part of the conveyance path | route structural member 63. FIG.

  In the intermittent conveyance unit 5, a regulating member 18 is provided above the stepped conveyance mechanism 15. The restricting member 18 is disposed to face the stair-like transport mechanism 15 so as to be spaced apart from each other, and the opposing lower surface is formed following the staircase shape. The capsule 7 is transported by the stair-like transport mechanism 15 in the specified direction. Prevent jumping out.

  A distribution unit 6 is provided on the downstream side of the intermittent conveyance unit 5. The sorting unit 6 according to the present embodiment can switch the transport destination of the capsule 7 based on the measurement result from the weight measuring unit 4 when the capsule 7 is transported from the intermittent transport unit 5. The distribution unit 6 includes a drop port 19 and an opening / closing lid 20. By controlling the opening / closing of the opening / closing lid 20 in synchronization with the operation of the intermittent conveyance unit 5, the upstream first transport destination A and the downstream side are controlled. The capsules 7 can be selectively dropped to any of the second transport destinations B, and sorting can be performed by weight. In the present embodiment, the first transport destination A is a place for transporting NG product capsules 7, and the second transport destination B is a place for transporting OK product capsules 7.

  As described above, the transport path of the capsule 7 that is the object to be measured is configured by the upstream loading groove 9 and the like with the measurement table 3 interposed therebetween, and the downstream step-shaped unloading groove 16 and the like. In the present embodiment, this transport path is not a single row, more specifically, as described above, it has a multiple structure in which 10 transport paths are arranged. A weight measuring unit 4 is provided for each path.

3. About the configuration of the weight measuring unit 4 and the like as the inspection means (FIG. 4)
As described above, the measuring table 3 for measuring the weight of the capsule 7 is provided in the middle of each transport path, that is, the carry-in groove 9 that is the upstream transport path and the step-shaped transport that is the downstream transport path. It is provided between the grooves 16. The weight measuring unit 4 is arranged below the measuring table 3 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a base member 25 is disposed below the measurement table 3. As described above, the apparatus 1 has a multiple structure in which a large number of conveyance paths are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 4, and the weight measuring unit 4 is also arranged in the same direction for each conveyance path. However, the base member 25 is provided as a single and common base member to which the plurality of weight measuring units 4 are attached. The base member 25 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing whose longitudinal direction is a direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 4) perpendicular to the transport direction of the capsule 7 (the left-right direction in FIG. 4). It has the strength or rigidity necessary to mount And the fixing | fixed part 26 of the weight measurement part 4 is being fixed to the front surface (right side surface in FIG. 4) and rear surface (left side surface in FIG. 4) of the base member 25 from which the position regarding the conveyance direction of the capsule 7 differs. . In FIG. 4, only the weight measuring unit 4 attached to the front surface of the base member 25 is shown in order to avoid the complexity of the illustration. However, the plurality of weight measuring units 4 corresponding to the multiple conveyance paths are shown in FIG. The members 25 are alternately attached to the front surface and the rear surface of the base member 25 so as to be staggered in the longitudinal direction.

  The weight measuring unit 4 has a fixed portion 26 fixed to the front surface or the rear surface of the base member 25, and a free end opposite to the fixed portion 26. The weight measuring portion 4 extends in the transport direction and is bent at both ends. The movable part 27 is connected to the measurement table 3 via the arm 30 and the robot part 28 is connected to the movable part 27 and the fixed part 26. The substantially parallel four sides are configured so that each side can move freely. It is a frame-like structure of shape. When the capsule 7 is placed on the measurement table 3, the movable part 27 is displaced due to the mass of the capsule 7, and therefore the mass can be measured from the physical quantity detected due to the displacement. A specific mass detection method will be described later.

  According to the present embodiment, a plurality of sets of the measuring table 3 and the weight measuring unit 4 are alternately attached to the common base member 25. That is, the fixing portions 26 of the plurality of weight measuring units 4 are alternately fixed to the front surface and the rear surface of the base member 25 having different positions in the transport direction of the capsule 7. It is fixed in a staggered arrangement along the longitudinal direction. As a result, the measurement tables 3 of each set are arranged at the same position in the transport direction of the capsule 7 and are closely arranged in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

  Thus, since the structure which fixes each fixing | fixed part 26 of the some weight measurement part 4 to the common base member 25 by staggered arrangement | positioning is employ | adopted, the multiple structure which arranged the several weight measurement part 4 was arranged. It is possible to configure the weight measuring device 1 with a relatively small ground contact area. Such a structure is compatible with the assembly structure in which the second part 62 and the first part 61 in which a plurality of conveyance path constituting members 63 are integrated in a comb-like shape are combined to form a conveyance path. In addition, it is possible to realize an efficient work of measuring the weight efficiently while transporting the capsules 7 through the multiple transport paths arranged in a small area.

In addition, as a specific mass detection method by the weight measurement part 4 provided with the Roberval mechanism, the following methods can be illustrated, for example.
A sensor for detecting the displacement of the movable portion 27, for example, a capacitance sensor capable of detecting the displacement of the movable portion 27 as a change in capacitance is provided between the movable portion 27 and the fixed portion 26, and the capsule 7 is mounted on the measurement table 3. There is a method of measuring the mass of the capsule 7 by detecting a change in capacitance based on the displacement of the movable portion 27 when placed, and comparing it with table data prepared in advance.
Moreover, in the weight measuring part 4 provided with the Robert mechanism, the load cell etc. which used the strain gauge other than the capacity | capacitance sensor mentioned above can also be used.

Alternatively, a so-called force balance type can be used. That is, a capacitance sensor that can detect the displacement of the movable portion 27 as a change in capacitance is provided, and an actuator that returns the displaced movable portion 27 to an equilibrium state is provided using the action of the capacitance as a drive source. When the capsule 7 is placed on the measurement table 3 and the movable portion 27 is displaced and the capacitance sensor detects a change in capacitance, the change in capacitance is converted into a voltage value. The voltage applied to the actuator is controlled so that the value becomes a predetermined value (for example, the voltage value is 0, that is, the change in capacitance is 0). At the same time, the voltage applied to the actuator is output to the control unit, and the mass of the object to be measured is measured by comparing with the table data.
In addition, when the force balance type is used, as a means for detecting the displacement of the movable portion 27, a means for detecting the displacement using a photodiode can be used in addition to the capacitance sensor described above.

4). About action, effect, etc. as weight measuring device 1 According to weight measuring device 1 concerning this embodiment, each part of the device explained above is driven and controlled by a control part synchronously. That is, when the capsule 7 falls from the magazine 10 of the supply unit 2 that reciprocates in the vertical direction and enters the curved groove 8, the pusher 13 slides forward to send the capsule 7 to the carry-in groove 9. Furthermore, the transport body 14 circulates and operates, whereby the capsule 7 in the carry-in groove 9 is moved and placed on the measurement table 3. Then, the weight of the capsule 7 is measured by the weight measuring unit 4 during the stationary period of operation. The capsule 7 whose weight has been measured enters the intermittent conveyance unit 5 by the conveyance body 14, and is further intermittently conveyed downstream by the operation of the intermittent conveyance unit 5, and operates according to the measurement result by the weight measurement unit 4. The sorting unit 6 sorts the product into an NG product and an OK product.

5. About the effect by the assembly structure of the conveyance path | route structural member 63 (FIG.4 and FIGS.5-11)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first groove on the carry-in side of the capsule 7 and the measurement table 3 are provided by the plurality of transport path constituting members 63 arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval. A conveyance path in which the second groove and the third groove on the carry-out side of the capsule 7 are linearly continued can be configured. According to such a transport path, the capsule 7 can be transported reliably and at high speed by the transport means, and efficient weight measurement is possible. In addition, when it is desired to clean the transport path, the work of cleaning the individual transport path constituent members 63 can be easily performed by disassembling the first part 61 and the second part 62 arranged side by side. Later, it is also easy to assemble the first part 61 and the second part 62 to restore the original shape of the conveyance path.

  In the embodiment described above, the example of measuring the weight of the capsule 7 filled with a medicine or the like has been described. However, this is only an example, and the object to be measured (workpiece) targeted by the present invention has a specific shape. The inspection content is not limited to the weight measurement.

  That is, in the embodiment, the weight measuring unit 4 is exemplified as the inspection unit, but the purpose of the inspection, the configuration and principle of the inspection unit, etc. are not particularly limited, and for example, foreign matter detection using X-rays, thickness measurement, electromagnetic Any inspection means such as detection of metal foreign matter using the principle of guidance can be applied as necessary.

  In the case of inspection using X-rays, the object to be inspected is irradiated with X-rays from above in the vertical direction, and the X-ray transmitted through the object to be detected is detected by a detection device provided below the object. Therefore, in the support structure such as the first groove and the third groove that support the work with the pair of left and right tapered portions, the conveyance path constituting member 63 overlaps the portion that is in contact with the tapered portion of the work. Can not do it. However, since the portion of the measurement groove 12, which is the second groove of the present embodiment, has a sufficient width so that the entire capsule 7 can be visually recognized, the entire capsule 7 placed on the measurement table is irradiated with X-rays. Can be inspected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Weight measuring apparatus as an inspection apparatus 2 ... Work supply part 3 ... Measuring table as an inspection table 4 ... Weight measuring part as an inspection means 5 ... Intermittent conveyance part 7 ... Capsule as a workpiece which is a measurement object 8 ... Curved groove as first groove of conveyance path 9. Loading groove as first groove of conveyance path 12. Measuring groove as second groove of conveyance path 13. Pusher as conveyance means 14. Conveyance body 15 as conveyance means ... Step-like transport mechanism as transport means 16 ... Unloading groove as third groove of transport path 17 ... Stepped pusher as transport means 60 ... Transport device 61 ... First part 62 as one group of transport path constituent members ... 2nd part which is the other group of conveyance path | route structural members 63 ... Conveyance path | route structural member which comprises a conveyance path | route 70 ... Tapered part of a conveyance path | route 71 ... Tapered surface of a measurement stand

Claims (5)

A first groove (8, 9) for conveying the work (7) and a groove portion for supporting the work are configured by at least two conveyance path constituting members (63) arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval. A second groove (12) provided continuously to the first groove for arranging the inspection table (3) provided, and a third groove provided continuously to the second groove for conveying a workpiece. A conveying path in which the grooves (16) are linearly arranged;
Conveying means (13, 14, 17) for moving the workpiece along the conveying path;
A transport device (60) comprising: The transport apparatus (60) according to claim 1, wherein the two or more transport paths are arranged in parallel by the three or more transport path constituent members (63) arranged in parallel. The three or more transport path constituting members (63) arranged in parallel belong to one of two groups (61, 62) that are different every other in the parallel direction, and a plurality of the transports are provided for each group. The conveying device (60) according to claim 1, wherein opposite sides of the path constituent members in the longitudinal direction are connected to each other, and the groups are combined in a nested manner. A transport device (60) according to claim 1;
Inspection means (4) provided in the second groove (12) of the transport device and connected to the inspection table (3);
An inspection apparatus (1) characterized by comprising: The inspection apparatus (1) according to claim 4, wherein an upper end edge of a conveyance path constituting member (63) constituting the second groove (12) is located above the inspection table (3).

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