JP2019005411A - Tablet printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a tablet printing apparatus which can minimize the entire apparatus and sufficiently dry ink on a printing surface of a tablet.SOLUTION: A tablet printing apparatus includes first and second conveyors 5, 5conveying tablets T; first and second ink jet printer parts 7, 7for performing printing on the tablets T during conveyance by the first and second conveyors 5, 5; a dry conveyor 9 which is arranged on the lower side of first and second conveyors 5, 5and performs dry processing of the printing surface of the tablet T while conveying the tablet T whose printing processing is complete and which is delivered from the second conveyor 5; and a dispersion bar 100 which disperses a large number of tablets T delivered from the second conveyor 5in the width direction on the conveyance surface 9A of the dry conveyor 9. The width dimension W of the conveyance surface 9A of the dry conveyor 9 is larger than the width dimension W' of the second conveyor 5. The conveyance velocity V of the dry conveyor 9 is slower than the conveyance velocity V' of the second conveyor 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in the structure of a tablet printing apparatus for printing on tablets.

  The applicant of the present application has proposed an apparatus as shown in JP 2013-13711 A as a tablet printing apparatus for printing on tablets. The tablet printing apparatus includes a first conveyor that conveys tablets, a first printer unit that prints on one surface of tablets during conveyance by the first conveyor, and a front and back that are introduced from the first conveyor. A second conveyor for conveying the inverted tablets, and a second printer unit for printing on the other surface of the tablets during conveyance by the second conveyor (paragraphs [0039] to [ 0040] and FIG.

  Although there is no clear description in the specification of the above publication, after the printing process by the second printer unit, the tablets are continuously transported by the second conveyor, and the ink on the printing surface of the tablets is being transported during the transport. A drying process is performed.

  In the above conventional tablet printing apparatus, since the ink on the printing surface of the tablet needs to be dried during the conveyance by the second conveyor, the entire length of the second conveyor becomes long, and as a result, the entire apparatus becomes long. There is a disadvantage that the occupied space becomes large.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is that the length of the entire apparatus can be shortened, the entire apparatus can be miniaturized, and the printing surface of the tablet can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet printing apparatus that can sufficiently dry the ink.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a tablet printing apparatus according to the present invention is provided below a transport conveyor that transports tablets, a printer unit that performs printing processing on tablets during transport by the transport conveyor, and a transport conveyor. A drying conveyor that completes the printing process by the printer unit and that performs a drying process on the printing surface of the tablets while transporting the tablets delivered from the transport conveyor. The drying conveyor has a conveying surface wider than the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor, the conveying speed of the drying conveyor is set slower than the conveying speed of the conveying conveyor, and the drying conveyor is delivered from the conveying conveyor. Dispersing means for dispersing a large number of tablets substantially in the width direction on the transport surface of the drying conveyor is provided. Here, the word “substantially” is included to include all directions slightly inclined with respect to the transport direction, and includes the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction (hereinafter, referred to in this specification). The same in).

  In the present invention, the tablets are subjected to a printing process by the printer unit during the conveyance by the conveyance conveyor, and the tablets for which the printing process has been completed are delivered from the conveyance conveyor to the drying conveyor below the tablets. And the drying process of the printing surface of a tablet is performed during conveyance by a drying conveyor.

  According to the present invention, not only can the drying conveyor be arranged below the transport conveyor, but the overall length of the apparatus can be shortened to reduce the size of the entire apparatus, and the drying conveyor can be made smaller than the transport surface of the transport conveyor. It has a wide conveying surface and has a dispersing means to disperse a large number of tablets delivered from the conveying conveyor substantially in the width direction on the conveying surface of the drying conveyor. Even if the speed is set slower than the conveyor speed, it is possible to prevent a large number of tablets delivered from the conveyor from staying on the conveyor surface of the drying conveyor, thereby shortening the length of the drying conveyor. Also, it is possible to secure a sufficient drying time for tablets by slowing the conveying speed of the drying conveyor. As a result, the length of the drying conveyor can be further shortened, the entire apparatus can be further miniaturized, and the ink on the printing surface of the tablet can be sufficiently dried.

  Although it is conceivable to shorten the length of the drying conveyor by raising the drying temperature of the tablets during conveyance by the drying conveyor, in that case, the temperature of the tablets may increase and the tablets may be damaged. On the other hand, according to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the length of the drying conveyor without increasing the tablet drying temperature.

  In this invention, the dispersion | distribution means is comprised in the upstream end of the drying conveyor, and is comprised from the air ejection part which ejects air with respect to the tablet on a drying conveyor.

  In the present invention, the dispersing means includes a vibration unit that is provided on the drying conveyor and vibrates the conveying surface of the drying conveyor.

  In the present invention, the dispersing means is constituted by swinging means for swinging the drying conveyor in the width direction.

  In this invention, the conveyance conveyor has the inversion part which reverses the front and back of a tablet, and the tablet by which the front and back was reversed by the inversion part is introduced into the drying conveyor.

  In the present invention, the transport conveyor has a suction section that sucks the tablet whose front and back are reversed by the reversing section from above, and the tablets are delivered from the transport conveyor to the drying conveyor by releasing the suction by the suction section. It is like that.

  The present invention further includes a hopper that accommodates a large number of tablets, and a supply conveyor for supplying tablets introduced from the hopper to the conveyor, and the supply conveyor is arranged in a direction that intersects the conveyance direction of the conveyor. It is installed.

  According to the present invention, since the supply conveyor is arranged not in the direction along the conveyance direction of the conveyance conveyor but in the intersecting direction, the length of the entire apparatus can be further shortened, and the entire apparatus can be further reduced in size. .

  As described above, according to the tablet printing apparatus according to the present invention, the drying conveyor is arranged below the transport conveyor, so that not only the length of the entire apparatus can be shortened and the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, but also drying can be performed. The conveyor has a conveying surface that is wider than the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor, and has a dispersing means for dispersing a large number of tablets delivered from the conveying conveyor substantially in the width direction on the conveying surface of the drying conveyor. Therefore, even if the conveying speed of the drying conveyor is set slower than the conveying speed of the conveying conveyor, a large number of tablets delivered from the conveying conveyor can be prevented from staying on the conveying surface of the drying conveyor. Even if the length of the drying conveyor is shortened, a sufficient drying time for the tablets can be secured by slowing the conveying speed of the drying conveyor. As a result, the length of the drying conveyor can be further shortened, the entire apparatus can be further miniaturized, and the ink on the printing surface of the tablet can be sufficiently dried.

1 is a schematic front view of a tablet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front schematic diagram of the 2nd conveyance conveyor and drying conveyor in the tablet printer (Drawing 1). FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a drying conveyor in the tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1), and shows a state in which air is ejected from a dispersion bar serving as dispersion means. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a drying conveyor in the tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1), for explaining a difference in width from a second conveyor. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the drying conveyor in the tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1) as viewed obliquely from above, showing the nozzles of the dispersion bar. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing an internal structure of the dispersion bar (FIG. 5). It is a figure which shows the modification of the said dispersion | distribution bar (FIG. 6). It is a figure which shows the other modification of the said dispersion | distribution bar (FIG. 6). It is the perspective partial view which looked at the drying conveyor in the said tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1) from diagonally upward, Comprising: The dispersion | distribution guide as a dispersion | distribution means is shown. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of the said dispersion | distribution guide (FIG. 9), Comprising: It corresponds to the XX arrow directional view of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of the said dispersion | distribution guide (FIG. 9), Comprising: It corresponds to the XX arrow directional view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic partial perspective view of the second transport conveyor and the drying conveyor in the tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1) as viewed obliquely from above, for explaining the operation when a swing mechanism is provided as a dispersing means. It is a figure and the state before rocking | fluctuation of a drying conveyor is shown. FIG. 5 is a schematic partial perspective view of the second transport conveyor and the drying conveyor in the tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1) as viewed obliquely from above, for explaining the operation when a swing mechanism is provided as a dispersing means. It is a figure, Comprising: The state after rocking | fluctuation of a drying conveyor is shown. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional schematic partial figure of the front panel of the said tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1), Comprising: The state before rocking | fluctuation of the said drying conveyor (FIG. 12) is shown. It is the vertical cross-section schematic fragmentary figure of the front panel of the said tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1), Comprising: The state after the rocking | fluctuation of the said drying conveyor (FIG. 13) is shown.

Hereinafter, a tablet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 6 are diagrams for explaining a tablet printing apparatus according to this embodiment. For convenience of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a tablet without the tablet, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show only some of the tablets on the transport surface of the drying conveyor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet printing apparatus 1 includes a hopper 2 that stores a large number of tablets, a supply conveyor 3 in which tablets stored in the hopper 2 are introduced from a chute 20 below the hopper, and a supply from the supply conveyor 3. The distribution unit 4 in which a plurality of grooves for distributing a large number of tablets into a plurality of rows are recessed in the width direction (perpendicular to the paper surface of the figure), and each tablet distributed into the plurality of rows by the distribution unit 4 are introduced. Rutotomoni, first and conveyor 5 _1, the first detection line sensor camera for detecting each tablet during conveyance of the first conveyor 5 ₁ conveyed in the arrow direction while maintaining each tablet in a plurality of rows 6 _1, the first inkjet printer unit ₇₁ for printing on each tablet during conveyance on the basis of the detection data of each tablet detected by the first detection line sensor camera 6 _1, first And a first inspection line sensor camera 8 ₁ for inspecting the printed state of each tablet according to the inkjet printer unit _71.

The supply conveyor 3 is disposed in a direction intersecting with the paper surface of FIG. 1 (that is, gradually inclined downward from the back side to the near side of the paper surface), and the first conveyor 5 _1. We are orthogonal in plan view to the laying direction of the (likewise for the second conveyor 5 ₂ to be described later) (FIG left-right direction). First inkjet printer unit ₇₁ is provided retractably in the opening 70a ₁ formed in the front panel 10. First conveyor _{5 1,} together wound around the roller ₅₀ 1, 50 ₁ 'has a single or multiple idler. First conveyor 5 _first roller 50 ₁ '(reversing portion) is such to invert the front and back sides of each tablet of the first conveyor 5 onto ₁ passes to the second conveyor 5 ₂ below Therefore, a large number of suction holes are formed on the outer peripheral surface. Each suction hole is connected to a blower (not shown).

Tablet printing apparatus 1 also includes a second transport conveyor front and back from the first conveyor 5 ₁ for conveying with passed each tablet obtained by inverting, each tablet passed in the direction of the arrow while keeping the plurality of rows 5 _2, and the second detection line sensor camera 6 ₂ for detecting each tablet during conveyance by the second conveyor 5 _2, the second detection of the tablet is detected by the detection line sensor camera 6 _{2 2} and the second inkjet printer 7 for printing on the tablets being conveyed based on the data, the second inspection line sensor for inspecting a printing state of each tablet according to the second ink-jet printer 7 ₂ and a camera _{8 2.}

The second ink-jet printer 7 ₂ is provided retractably in the opening 70a ₂ formed in the front panel 10. Further, the front panel 10 is formed with a recess 30a, and an ink container 30 for supplying ink to the first and second ink jet printer sections 7 ₁ and 7 ₂ is accommodated in the recess 30a. Has been. In front of the second detection line sensor camera 6 ₂ and the second inspection line sensor camera _82, a mirror 60 for introducing an image of the tablets of the second conveyor 5 onto ₂ in each camera, 80 are provided. Second conveyor _{5 2} together wound around the roller ₅₀ 2, 50 ₂ 'has a single or multiple idler. Second conveyor 5 _second roller (reversing section) 50 2 _', to the front and back of each tablet of the second conveyor 5 on ₂ again reversed so as delivered to the drying conveyor 9 beneath, A large number of suction holes are formed on the outer peripheral surface. Each suction hole is connected to a blower (not shown). The second lower span of conveyor 5 _2, suction portion for sucking and holding from above into the conveying tablets sides are reversed by the conveyor 5 ₂ of the second by rollers 50 2 _'(suction portion) 15 is provided. The suction unit 15, a plurality of suction holes are formed in the width direction corresponding to the second columns of conveyor 5 _2, each suction hole is connected to a blower (not shown), each tablet It is sucked and held by these suction holes.

The tablet printing apparatus 1 further has a drying conveyor 9. The drying conveyor 9, first, second inkjet printer _71, 7 ₂ by such that each tablet printing on the front and back is applied is transferred from the second conveyor 5 ₂ via the suction unit 15 It has become. The drying conveyor 9 performs a drying process on the printing surface of each tablet while conveying each delivered tablet. The transport speed V of the drying conveyor 9 is set slower than the transport speed V ′ of the _second transport conveyor 52 (that is, V <V ′). The drying conveyor 9 is disposed below the second conveyor 5 _{2 (and} the first conveyor 5 _1), partially overlapping vertically with the second conveyor 5 ₂ ing. That is, drying rollers 90 ₁ located in the conveying direction upstream end of the conveyor 9 is disposed between the second conveyor ₅ the rollers ₅₀ 2 ₂ 50 ₂ '. In this example, the drying conveyor 9 partially overlaps the suction unit 15.

As shown in FIG. 2, defective product discharge boxes 200 and 201 are disposed below the suction portion 15. The suction unit 15 releases the suction state of the tablet T that has become a defective product such as a printing defect based on the inspection results of the first and second inspection line sensor cameras 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ (FIG. 1), The defective product boxes 200 and 201 are discarded. Here, two defective product discharge boxes are provided in the event that the disposal of defective products in the defective product box 200 on the upstream side in the transport direction should fail in the event that the defective product is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction. This is to ensure that the good product box 201 can be disposed of. As a result, only good tablets T are introduced into the drying conveyor 9. Upon introduction of the tablet T into the drying conveyor 9, when the tablet T is moved to a position above the conveyance direction upstream end of the second conveyor 5 ₂ by drying conveyor 9, releasing the attraction state by the suction unit 15 As a result, the tablets T are delivered from the _second conveyor 52 to the drying conveyor 9.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a servo motor 210 is provided on the side of the drying conveyor 9, and its output shaft 210 a is connected to the drying conveyor 9 via a pulley and a belt (not shown). It is drivingly connected to the roller 90 _1. Drying conveyor 9, for example, is composed of a synthetic resin mesh belt, on its conveying surface 9A are a number of through-holes 9A ₀ is formed (see FIG. 3). A blower unit 120 is provided below the upper span of the drying conveyor 9 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Blowing unit 120 is for blowing the blowing / warm air through the through holes 9A ₀ for each tablet T on the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9. The blower unit 120 is connected to a blower (not shown). The blower unit 120 may be disposed over the entire length in the transport direction of the drying conveyor 9 or may be disposed in a part thereof. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit depending on the kind etc. of a tablet.

As shown in FIG. 4, the width W of the conveying surface of the drying conveyor 9, second width dimension W of the conveying surface of the conveyor 5 ₂ 'it is greater than (i.e., W>W'). In this example, the rear end in the width direction of the drying conveyor 9 (the upper end in the figure), that is, the end disposed in the vicinity of the front panel 10 of the tablet printing apparatus 1 is the width direction of the _second conveyor 52. Is substantially coincident with the position of the rear side end (the end portion similarly disposed in the vicinity of the front panel 10 of the tablet printing apparatus 1), but the front side end in the width direction of the drying conveyor 9 (the lower side end in the figure). In other words, the end portion of the tablet printing apparatus 1 that is disposed away from the front panel 10 is the front end in the width direction of the _second conveyor 52 (similarly from the front panel 10 of the tablet printing apparatus 1 forward). It is arranged at a position further forward (downward in the drawing) than the position of the end portion arranged farther away.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of guide rails 150 and 151 are provided along the conveyance direction at both ends in the width direction of the conveyance surface 9 </ b> A of the drying conveyor 9 with a slight gap upward from the conveyance surface 9 </ b> A. It is arranged. These guide rails 150 and 151 prevent each tablet T on the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 from dropping downward from the transport surface 9A and guide the movement of each tablet T along the transport direction. The height of the tablet T is approximately the same as or higher than the thickness of the tablet T.

A dispersion bar (dispersing means) 100 extending substantially in the width direction is disposed at the upstream end in the transport direction of the drying conveyor 9 with a slight gap upward from the transport surface 9A. The dispersion bar 100 is for substantially dispersing the tablets T transferred from the _second conveyor 52 to the drying conveyor 9 on the conveying surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 in the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the dispersion bar 100 is formed with a plurality of nozzles (air ejection portions) 100 a at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction (that is, the width direction of the drying conveyor 9). As shown in FIG. 6, these nozzles 100a are inclined in the short direction (that is, the conveying direction of the drying conveyor 9) inside the dispersion bar 100 (that is, toward the front side end of the dispersion bar 100). E) are inclined. Inside the dispersion bar 100, there are formed an introduction path 101 through which compressed air is introduced from a compressed air source from the outside, and a flow path 102 connected to this and extending in the longitudinal direction. Each nozzle 100a has a flow path. 102, respectively. An air hose 103 is connected to the introduction path 101 via a connector 104.

  As a result, the compressed air introduced from the external compressed air source through the air hose 103 into the introduction path 101 is ejected from the nozzles 100 a to the outside through the flow path 102. The ejection direction of the compressed air ejected from each nozzle 100a is inclined forward in the width direction with respect to the transport direction of the drying conveyor 9 (see the arrow direction in FIG. 3). Each tablet T on the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 is substantially dispersed in the width direction on the transport surface 9A by the ejection of compressed air from each nozzle 100a. In this example, the diameters and arrangement directions of the nozzles 100a are the same / substantially the same.

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described while explaining the operation of the tablet printing apparatus 1 described above.
A large number of tablets T supplied from the hopper 2 (FIG. 1) through the supply conveyor 3 to the distribution unit 4 are distributed into a plurality of rows by the distribution unit 4 and introduced into the _first transport conveyor 51. First conveyor 5 _1, while conveying each tablet T while maintaining each column of the tablets T in the direction of the arrow, performs a printing process in a predetermined position of each tablet T by the first inkjet printer unit 7 ₁ . Each tablet T which printing is completed, the front and back by the first conveyor 5 _first roller 50 1 _'is reversed, it is transferred to the second conveyor 5 ₂ below.

Second conveyor 5 _2, like the first conveyor 5 _1, while conveying each tablet T while maintaining each column of the tablets T in the arrow direction, each by a second inkjet printer 7 ₂ A printing process is performed on a predetermined position of the tablet T. Each tablet T for which the printing process has been completed is reversed again by the roller 50 ₂ ′ of the _second conveyor 52, and is conveyed while being sucked by the suction unit 15, and is then transferred to the drying conveyor 9 below. be introduced.

  The introduction to the drying conveyor 9 is performed by releasing the suction state by the adsorption unit 15 when each tablet T sucked and conveyed by the adsorption unit 15 moves to a position above the upstream end of the drying conveyor 9. At this time, however, each tablet T is introduced slightly downstream of the dispersion bar 100 at the upstream end of the drying conveyor 9 (see the tablet T indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3). Then, the compressed air ejected from each nozzle 100a of the dispersion bar 100 hits each tablet T on the transport surface 9A (see the arrow in FIG. 3), and as a result, each tablet T is placed on the transport surface 9A. It moves in the direction of expanding in the width direction and disperses (see the tablet T indicated by the solid line in the figure). Thereby, it is possible to prevent the tablets T from overlapping immediately after being introduced into the drying conveyor 9, and it is possible to prevent the printing surface from becoming unclear due to the transfer of ink between the tablets. Thereafter, each tablet T is transported by the drying conveyor 9, and during the transport, the blowing / warm air from the blower unit 120 is blown to dry the printing surface of each tablet T.

According to the present embodiment, the drying conveyor 9 is arranged below the _second conveyor 52, so that not only the length of the entire apparatus can be shortened and the entire apparatus can be downsized, but also the drying conveyor 9 conveyor 9, the second conveyor 5 than the _second conveying surface having a wider conveying surface 9A and the second conveyor 5 a number of tablets T passed received from ₂ on conveying surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 In order to disperse substantially in the width direction, the dispersion bar 100 that ejects compressed air is provided, so that the transport speed V of the drying conveyor 9 is set slower than the transport speed V ′ of the _second transport conveyor 52. Even if it has been applied, the dispersion bar 100 can prevent the tablets T that have been delivered from the _second conveyor 52 from overlapping and staying on the conveyor surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9, thereby allowing drying. Of conveyor 9 Sufficient drying time for the tablet T can be ensured with even shorter slowing the conveyance speed V of the drying conveyor 9 that the of. As a result, the length of the drying conveyor 9 can be further shortened, the entire apparatus can be further miniaturized, the ink on the printing surface of the tablet T can be sufficiently dried, and a good printing surface can be secured. Moreover, the laying direction is first supply conveyor 3, the (preferably viewed perpendicular direction) viewed from the transverse direction relative to the second conveyor 5 _1, 5 ₂ in the transport direction are arranged on the entire device The overall length of the apparatus can be further reduced by further reducing the length of the apparatus, and the installation area of the apparatus can be further reduced.

  As mentioned above, although the suitable example for the present invention was described, application of the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications are included in the present invention. Some examples of modifications are given below.

<First Modification>
In the above embodiment, the drying conveyor 9 is extended only on the front side of the paper in FIG. 1 to be wide (see FIG. 4), but extends to both the front side and the back side of the paper in FIG. It may be made wider by being provided.

<Second Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the compressed air is constantly ejected from each nozzle 100a of the dispersion bar 100 has been described. However, the compressed air may be an intermittent ejection in which the ON state and the OFF state for a certain time are combined. .

<Third Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the diameters and arrangement directions of the nozzles 100a formed on the dispersion bar 100 are the same / substantially the same is shown, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this. 7 and 8 show a modification of the present invention. In these drawings, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiment denote the same or corresponding parts.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, the diameter of each nozzle 100a is different. In this example, the diameter gradually increases from the longitudinal end (right end in FIG. 7) of the dispersion bar 100 toward the front end (left end in FIG. 7). In the example shown in FIG. 8, the inclination of each nozzle 100a is different. In this example, the inclination gradually increases from the far side end (right side end in FIG. 8) in the longitudinal direction of the dispersion bar 100 toward the near side end (left side end in FIG. 8). That is, each nozzle 100a is arranged radially.

<Fourth Modification>
In the said Example, although the example which controlled only the air pressure from the external compressed air source to the introduction path 101 was shown, application of this invention is not limited to this. While supplying compressed air individually about each nozzle 100a, you may make it adjust an air pressure by providing an adjustment valve in each.

<Fifth Modification>
In the embodiment and the third to fifth modifications, the example in which each nozzle 100a of the dispersion bar 100 is provided only in a part in the longitudinal direction of the dispersion bar 100 has been described. 100 may be provided over the entire length in the longitudinal direction.

<Sixth Modification>
In the said Example, the example using the dispersion | distribution bar 100 which has several nozzle 100a as a dispersion | distribution means to disperse | distribute each tablet T on the conveyance surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 on the conveyance surface 9A substantially in the width direction is shown. But. The application of the present invention is not limited to this. Although not shown, a vibrating conveyor (vibration unit) is provided below the upper span of the drying conveyor 9, and the tablets T on the conveying surface 9A are substantially dispersed in the width direction by vibrating the conveying surface 9A. You may do it.

<Seventh Modification>
In the said Example, the tablet T on the conveyance surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 was disperse | distributed on the conveyance surface 9A substantially in the width direction with the compressed air ejected from each nozzle 100a of the dispersion | distribution bar 100. However, application of the present invention is not limited to this.

9 to 11 show modified examples of the present invention. In each figure, the same reference numerals as those in the above-described embodiment denote the same or corresponding parts. As shown in these drawings, a dispersion guide (dispersing means) 130 extending substantially in the width direction is provided slightly downstream from the upstream end in the transport direction of the drying conveyor 9. The dispersion guide 130 is composed of a bar 130A and a plurality of resin plates 130a which are suspended from the lower surface and have flexibility. A slight interval h is formed between each plate 130a and the transport surface 9A. The interval h is set to a dimension slightly larger than the thickness of the tablet T. Incidentally, in the conveyance direction upstream end of the drying conveyor 9 is a bar 100 'is disposed in the width direction, which is not a dispersion bar, the conveying surface 9A of the second conveyor 5 ₂ from drying conveyor 9 It is a member having a function as a simple partition wall for preventing each of the introduced tablets T from dropping off from the conveying surface 9A. The introduction of the tablets T to the second conveyor 5 ₂ from drying conveyor 9 is carried out in the sandwiched within the area dispersion guide 130 and a bar 100 '.

In such modification, when the tablet T is introduced on the conveying surface 9A of the second conveyor 5 ₂ from drying conveyor 9, each tablet T, T 'is as shown in FIG. 10 on the conveying surface 9A Suppose that they are placed in a posture. That is, it is assumed that one or a plurality of tablets T ′ are riding on another tablet T. From this state, when the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 moves in the transport direction (that is, the direction toward the back side of the paper surface in FIG. 10), some tablets T ′ that have been riding on the other tablets T are dispersed. At this time, each plate 130a elastically deforms and exerts a repulsive force on the tablet T ′, so that the tablet T ′ is placed on the transport surface 9A from the other tablets T that have been ridden. fall into. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, all the tablets T and T ′ are arranged in a horizontal state on the transport surface 9 </ b> A without riding on any of the tablets T.

<Eighth Modification>
12 to 15 are views for explaining a swinging mechanism of the drying conveyor 9 provided as a modification of the dispersing means according to the present invention. In these drawings, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiment denote the same or corresponding parts.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are schematic perspective partial views of the _second conveyor 52 and the drying conveyor 9 as viewed obliquely from above, and show states before and after the drying conveyor 9 swings. 14 and 15 are schematic partial cross-sectional views of the front panel 10 of the tablet printing apparatus 1, and correspond to FIGS. 12 and 13, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a reciprocating shaft 95 extending into a hole 10 a formed through the front panel 10 is connected to any roller of the drying conveyor 9. The reciprocating shaft 95 is connected to a reciprocating mechanism (not shown), and the reciprocating shaft 95 is reciprocated in the directions of arrows Y ₁ and Y ₂ (that is, the width direction of the drying conveyor 9) by driving the reciprocating mechanism. It moves (linear rocking). As a result, the drying conveyor 9 has its back end (that is, the end near the front panel 10) aligned vertically with the back end of the _second conveyor 52 (see FIGS. 12 and 14). The front side end (that is, the end portion away from the front panel 10 on the front side) can take a position (see FIGS. 13 and 15) where the front side end of the _second conveyor 52 is aligned vertically. It has become.

According to this modified example, by drying conveyor 9 swings in the width direction, a number of tablets T introduced into the second conveyor 5 ₂ from drying conveyor 9, the conveying surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 It can be dispersed in the width direction without staying in the same place.

<Ninth Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, the tablet printing apparatus that performs printing on the front and back of the tablet has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a tablet printing apparatus that performs printing on only one side of a tablet. In that case, with omitting the second conveyor 5 ₂ may be disposed so as to place the drying conveyor 9 to the first conveyor 5 ₁ below. At this time, since the transport direction of the drying conveyor 9 is opposite to that in the above embodiment, the ink container 30 needs to be disposed on the opposite side of the front panel 10.

<Other variations>
The above-described embodiments and modifications are to be regarded as merely illustrative of the present invention in all respects and are not limiting. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will not depart from the spirit and essential characteristics of the present invention without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics thereof, even if not explicitly stated herein. Various modifications and other embodiments employing the above principle can be constructed.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a tablet printing apparatus that requires downsizing of the entire apparatus.

1: Tablet printer

2: Hopper 3: Supply conveyor 5 ₁ : First transport conveyor 5 ₂ : Second transport conveyor 7 ₁ ; First ink jet printer section 7 ₂ : Second ink jet printer section 9: Drying conveyor 9A: Transport surface 15 : Adsorption part (suction part)
50 ₁ ', 50 ₂ ': Roller (reversing part)

100: Dispersion bar (dispersion means)
100a: Nozzle (air ejection part)
130: Dispersion guide (dispersion means)

W: width dimension of drying conveyor W ': width dimension of second conveyor V: transport speed of drying conveyor V': conveyor speed of second conveyor T, T ': tablets

JP 2013-13711 A (see paragraphs [0039] to [0040] and FIG. 1)

Claims (7)

A tablet printing device,
A transport conveyor for transporting tablets;
A printer unit that performs printing processing on tablets during conveyance by the conveyance conveyor;
A drying conveyor that is disposed below the conveyor, completes the printing process by the printer unit, and performs a drying process on the printing surface of the tablets while transporting the tablets delivered from the conveyor;
The drying conveyor has a conveying surface wider than the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor, the conveying speed of the drying conveyor is set slower than the conveying speed of the conveying conveyor, and the drying conveyor is separated from the conveying conveyor. Dispersing means for dispersing a large number of delivered tablets substantially in the width direction on the transport surface of the drying conveyor,
A tablet printer characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The dispersing means is provided at an upstream end of the drying conveyor, and includes an air ejection unit that ejects air to the tablets on the drying conveyor.
A tablet printer characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The dispersing means is provided in the drying conveyor, and includes a vibration unit that vibrates the transport surface of the drying conveyor.
A tablet printer characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The dispersing means is composed of swinging means for swinging the drying conveyor in the width direction.
A tablet printer characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The transport conveyor has a reversing part for reversing the front and back of the tablet, and the tablet whose front and back are reversed by the reversing part is introduced into the drying conveyor,
A tablet printer characterized by the above. In claim 5,
The transport conveyor has a suction section that sucks the tablets whose front and back are reversed by the reversing section from above, and the tablets are transferred from the transport conveyor to the drying conveyor by releasing the suction by the suction section. Is supposed to be
A tablet printer characterized by the above. In claim 1,
A hopper that contains a large number of tablets, and a supply conveyor for supplying tablets introduced from the hopper to the conveyor.
The supply conveyor is disposed in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the transport conveyor,
A tablet printer characterized by the above.

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