JP2019058220A - Tablet printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To reliably prevent an occurrence of a defective product such as a product with defective printing attributed to overlapping of tablets.SOLUTION: A tablet printing device 1 includes: a distribution unit 4 having a plurality of distribution grooves 40 for distributing a large number of supplied tablets to a plurality of rows; a first conveyer 5for conveying the tablets delivered from the distribution unit 4 in a plurality of rows; a first printer unit 7for performing printing on one surface of each tablet while the tablets are conveyed by the first conveyer 5; a roller (reversing unit) 50' provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the first conveyer 5for reversing the front and back of each tablet; a second conveyer 5for conveying the tablets delivered from the roller 50' in a plurality of rows; and a second printer unit 7for performing printing on the other surface of each tablet while the tablets are conveyed by the second conveyer 5. A guide 100 is provided to the distribution unit 4, which works to come in contact with any of the plurality of tablets that are overlapped with each other in the distribution groove 40 and eliminate the overlapping of the tablets.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a tablet printing apparatus for printing tablets, and more particularly, to an improvement in the structure for eliminating the overlap of tablets in the introduction groove or distribution groove.

  The applicant of the present invention has already 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 sorting unit having a plurality of grooves for sorting a plurality of tablets supplied from the hopper into a plurality of rows; and a first conveyor for conveying the tablets sorted by the sorting unit in a plurality of rows as they are From the first printer unit that performs printing on one side of each tablet during conveyance by the first conveyor, the inversion unit that inverts the front and back of each tablet on the downstream side of the conveyance direction of the first conveyor, and the inversion unit The printer includes a second conveyor for conveying the introduced tablets in a plurality of rows, and a second printer unit for printing on the other side of each tablet during conveyance by the second conveyor (in Paragraphs [0039] to [0040] and Figure 1).

  In the above-described conventional tablet printing apparatus, when a large number of tablets are supplied from the hopper to the distribution unit, a plurality of tablets are horizontally arranged in the groove width direction or longitudinally arranged in the groove height direction in each groove of the distribution unit. If the tablets are delivered to the first conveyor in this state, the tablets may be overlapped during the conveyance of the first conveyor. It causes an outbreak.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional circumstances, and a problem to be solved by the present invention is a tablet printing apparatus capable of reliably preventing the generation of defective products such as printing defects caused by overlapping of tablets. To provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, the tablet printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention has a large number of supplied tablets and has an introduction groove which is gradually inclined downward toward the downstream side. A conveyor having a lead-in portion in which the bottom surface of the lead-in groove is inclined with respect to the groove width direction, and a conveying path for conveying each tablet delivered from the lead-in portion; And the introduction unit is provided with a guide that acts to abut on any one of the plurality of tablets in the introduction groove to cause overlapping of the tablets. . Here, "overlap" of the tablets includes not only the groove width direction but also the overlap of the tablets in the vertical direction of the groove in the introduction groove, and not only when a plurality of tablets are in contact, It is a concept also including the case of non-contact (the same applies throughout the present specification).

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the guide is provided in the introducing portion, the overlapping of the tablets in the introducing groove is eliminated by the guide, and the occurrence of the overlapping of the tablets on the conveyance path of the conveyor is prevented. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the generation of defective products such as printing defects caused by the overlapping of tablets.

  The tablet printing apparatus according to the second invention of the present invention distributes a large number of supplied tablets into a plurality of rows, and has a plurality of distribution grooves which gradually incline downward toward the downstream side. A conveyor having a distribution unit whose bottom surface is inclined with respect to the groove width direction, and a plurality of conveyance paths for conveying each tablet delivered from the distribution unit as it is in a plurality of rows, printing on each tablet during conveyance by the conveyor The distribution unit is provided with a guide that acts in such a way as to abut on any of a plurality of tablets which are overlapping in each distribution groove to eliminate the overlap of the tablets. There is.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the guide is provided in the distributing unit, the overlapping of the tablets in the distributing groove is eliminated by the guide, and the occurrence of the overlapping of the tablets on the conveyance path of the conveyor is prevented. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the generation of defective products such as printing defects caused by the overlapping of tablets.

  In the present invention, the guide passes through the guide main body disposed in the width direction above the distribution unit, and one of the plurality of overlapping tablets formed by hanging downward from the guide main body as it is. And a flexible member which elastically contacts other tablets to delay the passage of the tablets.

  As a result, it is possible to separate the tablets which are overlapped in the introduction groove / in the distribution groove and to widen the interval between each tablet, thereby preventing the occurrence of the overlapping of the tablets on the conveyance path of the conveyor. As a result, generation of defective products such as printing defects due to overlapping of tablets can be reliably prevented.

  In the present invention, the conveyor is further provided with a second guide that regulates lateral displacement of each tablet on the transport path. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of defective products such as printing defects caused by lateral displacement of the tablet.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the guide is provided in the introducing part / distribution part, the guide eliminates the overlap of the tablets in the introducing groove / the distributing groove, and the tablet on the conveyance path of the conveyor It is possible to prevent the occurrence of overlapping, and thereby it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of defective products such as printing defects caused by overlapping of tablets.

FIG. 1 is a front schematic view of a tablet printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the front view which looked at an example of the 1st guide provided in the distribution unit of the said tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1) from the upstream side, Comprising: It has shown with the cross section of the distribution unit. It is a partially expanded view of FIG. It is the front view which looked at the state before a tablet passes the said guide in the said guide (FIG. 2) from the upstream side. It is a plane partial view showing the state before a tablet passes through the said guide in the said guide (FIG. 2). It is a plane partial view showing the state after a tablet passes through this guide in the above-mentioned guide (Drawing 2). It is the front view which looked at the other example of the guide provided in the distribution unit of the said tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1) from the upstream side, Comprising: It has shown with the cross section of the distribution unit. It is a partially expanded view of FIG. It is the front view which looked at the state before a tablet passes the said guide in the said guide (FIG. 7) from the upstream side. It is a top view of the 2nd guide provided in the 1st conveyance conveyor of the tablet printing device (Drawing 1). FIG. 10 is a front view of the guide (FIG. 10) viewed from the upstream side in the transport direction, which corresponds to a view taken along line XI-XI in FIG. 10 and is shown with a cross section of the first transport conveyor. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII in FIG. 11 and is a diagram for describing the function and effect of the guide in time series. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII in FIG. 11 and is a diagram for describing the function and effect of the guide in time series with FIG. 12; It is the plane schematic of the drying conveyor in the said tablet printing apparatus (FIG. 1). It is a front schematic diagram of the 2nd conveyance conveyer and drying conveyor in the tablet printing device (Drawing 1). It is a figure for demonstrating a mode when the drying conveyor reverses in FIG.

Hereinafter, a tablet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.
1 to 6 and 10 to 16 are views for explaining a tablet printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. For convenience of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a tablet omitted, and FIG. 14 shows only a portion of the tablet on the transport surface of the drying conveyor. In addition, although a biconvex lens type thing is shown as an example of a tablet here, as a tablet, it is applicable also to the irregular shaped tablet containing an oval etc. besides a disk shape.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet printing apparatus 1 includes a hopper 2 for storing a large number of tablets, a supply conveyor 3 into which the tablets stored in the hopper 2 are introduced from a chute 20 at the bottom of the hopper, and a supply conveyor 3. A distribution unit (distribution section) 4 in which a plurality of distribution grooves for distributing the plurality of tablets in a plurality of rows are arranged in parallel in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. with each tablet is passed, each tablet during conveyance from the first conveyor (first conveyor) 5 ₁ conveyed in the arrow direction while maintaining each tablet in a plurality of rows, according to the first conveyor 5 ₁ first-in performing the first and the detection line sensor camera 6 ₁ for detecting the print 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 It comprises click-jet printer (the first printer unit) 7 ₁ and the first inspection line sensor camera 8 ₁ for inspecting the printed state of each tablet according to the first inkjet printer unit _71.

The supply conveyor 3 is disposed in a direction intersecting with the paper surface of FIG. 1 (that is, while being gradually inclined downward from the back side to the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1). It is disposed along the paper surface (that is, gradually inclined downward from the left side to the right side in the figure). At the lower part of the distribution unit 4, a vibration feeder 4A is provided. The first conveyer 5 ₁ (the same applies to a _second conveyer 52 described later) is disposed along the plane of the drawing. First inkjet printer unit ₇₁ is provided retractably in the opening 70a ₁ formed in the front panel 10. First conveyor 5 _{1 (same} applies to the second conveyor 5 ₂ described later) is constituted by a plurality of belts arranged in parallel with each other with a predetermined gap therebetween in the width direction, each being transported The tablet is disposed across the gap between adjacent belts in the width direction, is supported from below by the belts on the left and right sides of the gap, and is sucked from below by a blower (not shown) at least at the upstream side. . 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 In order to suck the tablets in the reverse, 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, the first is the disposed below the transport conveyor 5 ₁ and the front and back from the first conveyor 5 ₁ is passed to each tablet obtained by inverting each tablet passed to a plurality of rows ₂ second conveyor (second conveyor) 5 for conveying in the direction of the arrow while maintaining the second detection line sensor camera 6 ₂ for detecting each tablet during conveyance by the second conveyor 5 ₂ , each of the second ink-jet printer for printing on tablets (second printer unit) 7 ₂ being conveyed on the basis of the detection data of each tablet detected by the second detection line sensor camera 6, _second and a ₂ second inspection line sensor camera 8 for inspecting a printing state for each tablet 2 by the inkjet printer unit 7 _2.

The second ink-jet printer 7 ₂ is provided retractably in the opening 70a ₂ formed in the front panel 10. In addition, the front panel 10, a recess 30a is formed open, inside the concave portion 30a, first, the ink container 30 for supplying ink to the ₂ second inkjet printer _71, 7 accommodated It is done. 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 respectively. Second conveyor _{5 2} together wound around the roller ₅₀ 2, 50 ₂ 'has a single or multiple idler. The second conveyor 5 ₂ rollers (reversing section) 50 2 _', to the front and back of each tablet of the second conveyor 5 on ₂ is again inverted to pass the drying conveyor 9 beneath, The outer peripheral surface is formed with a large number of suction holes for suctioning each tablet being inverted. Each suction hole is connected to a blower (not shown). The second lower span of conveyor 5 _2, the adsorption section 15 for attracting and holding from above is provided a tablet sides have been reversed during transport by the conveyor 5 ₂ of the second by rollers 50 2 _' ing. In the suction unit 15, a plurality of suction holes are formed in the width direction corresponding to each row of the _second conveyer 52, each suction hole is connected to a blower (not shown), and each tablet is It is sucked by these suction holes and held by suction.

The tablet printing apparatus 1 further includes 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 is wound around rollers 90 ₁ and 90 ₁ ′. The drying conveyor 9 carries out drying processing of the printing surface of each tablet while conveying each received tablet. The drying conveyor 9 is disposed to the second conveyor 5 ₂ below, a portion of which overlaps vertically with the second conveyor 5 _2. 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, a part of the drying conveyor 9 also overlaps with the suction unit 15.

Below the suction unit 15, defective product disposal boxes 200 and 201 are disposed. The suction unit 15 cancels the suction state of the tablet that has become a defective product such as a printing defect based on the inspection result obtained from the imaging data of the first and second inspection line sensor cameras 8 ₁ and 82 ₂ . Discard the lower defective product disposal box 200, 201. Here, the fact that two defective product discarding boxes are provided means that, in the event that the defective product is discarded to the defective product discarding box 200 on the upstream side in the transport direction, the defective product should be transported downstream in the transport direction. This is to make it possible to discard the defective item in the defective item disposal box 201. As a result, only non-defective tablets are introduced to the drying conveyor 9. Upon introduction of the tablet to the drying conveyor 9 when the tablet is moved to a position above the conveyance direction upstream end of the second conveyor 5 ₂ by drying conveyor 9, by releasing the attraction state by the suction unit 15 The tablets are to be delivered from the _second conveyor 52 to the drying conveyor 9.

In the vicinity of the roller 90 ₁ of dry conveyor 9 below the suction portion 15, further, another defective waste box 202 is disposed. The defective product discarding box 202 rotates the drying conveyer 9 in the reverse direction, for example, in the case where there is a possibility of discarding a defective product into the defective product discarding box 200 or 201 during unmanned operation of the apparatus. It is for discarding the defective products mixed up above (details will be described later).

  Above the distribution unit 4, a first guide 100 is provided for eliminating the overlap of the tablets in the distribution grooves of the distribution unit 4. In this example, although the example in which the first guide 100 is disposed on the upstream side of the distribution unit 4 is shown as a preferable embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first guide 100 is not limited to this. It may be disposed at the downstream side of the or the middle portion between the upstream side and the downstream side.

  The details of the first guide 100 and the distribution unit 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. 2 to 4 show an example of the first guide 100, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining the function and effect of the first guide 100. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distribution unit 4 has a plurality of (six in this example) distribution grooves 40 arranged on the top surface at predetermined intervals in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2). Each distribution groove 40 has a substantially triangular shape including a rising surface 40a rising in a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and an inclined surface 40b inclined obliquely downward toward the rising surface 40a so as to intersect at the bottom of the rising surface 40a. By means of these distribution grooves 40, a sawtooth-shaped groove is formed on the upper surface of the distribution unit 4 as a whole. Although not shown, each inclined surface 40b of each distribution groove 40 has a gradually smaller inclination toward the downstream side (the rear side in the drawing) of the tablet moving direction, and the first conveyor 5 ₁ And a flat surface in the width direction. That is, each distribution groove 40 is a rectangular groove at a position facing the _first conveyer 51.

  The first guide 100 is, as shown in FIG. 2, a guide main body 100A disposed in the width direction above the distribution unit 4 and a flexible material, for example, made of resin, hanging downward from the guide main body 100A. It is comprised from sheet member (flexible member) 100B. In the guide main body 100A, an extending portion 110A 'extending from the one end to the outside of the distribution unit 4 is integrally connected. The distal end of the extending portion 110A 'is screwed and fixed to a frame member 45 disposed on the side of the distribution unit 4 by a mounting screw 115.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible sheet members 100B are provided corresponding to the respective distribution grooves 40 of the distribution unit 4 and arranged in parallel via the slits 110c extending in the vertical direction, and also in the respective vertical directions. It has a pair of extending strip members 110a and 110b. In this example, six pairs of belt-like members 110 a and 110 b are provided corresponding to the number of distribution grooves 40. The pair of strip members 110a and 110b respectively corresponding to the distribution grooves 40 adjacent in the width direction are separated from each other via slits 110c 'extending in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2, the lower end 110a ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110a which is spaced apart from the standing surface 40a of the sorting groove 40, between the inclined surface 40b of the sorting groove 40 An inclined surface is formed extending along the inclined surface 40b while forming a gap. Further, in a portion close to the rising surface 40a at the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b disposed in the vicinity of the rising surface 40a of the sorting groove 40, 110b _1-out rectangular notches are formed.

In FIG. 3, two rectangular hatched regions Ts and Ts' indicate tablets. As shown in the figure, the tablet Ts is placed upright along the rising surface 40a of the distribution groove 40, and the tablet Ts' is placed on the inclined surface 40b of the distribution groove 40 in a supine posture. I'm going. At this time, the notch 110b ₁ of the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b forms a large gap slightly larger than the size (thickness) of the tablet Ts between the rising surface 40a of the distribution groove 40, the notch 110b _The gap formed between the _first and the standing surfaces 40a is set to a size that allows the tablets Ts standing along the standing surfaces 40a to pass without contacting. The lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b, the size of the tablet Ts' between the inclined surface 40b of the sorting groove 40 forms a large gap slightly larger than (the thickness), a lower end 110b ₀ and the inclined surface 40b The gap formed between the two is set to a size through which the tablet Ts' placed on the inclined surface 40b in the supine posture can pass. Meanwhile, at least a portion of the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b, is provided so as to be in contact with the other tablet yielded overlapping tablets Ts in the sorting groove 40.

This will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a front view of the first guide 100 viewed from the upstream side, and FIG. 5 is a partial plan view corresponding to FIG. In each of the figures, a tablet T ₁ (corresponding to the tablet Ts in FIG. 3) placed upright along the rising surface 40 a of the distribution groove 40 is overlapped in the groove width direction in the same distribution groove 40. and (that was side-by-side) when showing a tablet by symbol T _2, the tablets T ₂ is disposed in various positions relative to the tablet T _1.

In FIG. 4, in the distribution groove 40 disposed at the left end, the tablet T ₂ is placed on the inclined surface 40 _b in a supine posture with the convex surface down, and in the second distribution groove 40 from the left end, the tablet T ₂ are are placed likewise standing posture tablets T _1, the third sorting groove 40 within the left end, the tablet T ₂ are, top contact to and lower into tablets T ₁ contacts the inclined surface 40b and, tablets T ₂ are being placed in a state of leaning against the tablet T _1. These in any of the three sorting groove 40 is also at least a portion of the lower end 110b ₀ for each strip 110b corresponding to each sorting groove 40, seen overlapped when viewed from the groove longitudinal direction with respect to the upper part of the tablet T ₂ There is. The tablet T disposed in the fourth distribution groove 40 from the left end corresponds to the tablet Ts'.

From this state, when each tablet T ₁ , T ₂ , T moves to the downstream side (the back side in FIG. 4 / the right side in FIG. 5) along each distribution groove 40, the upper end portion of each tablet T ₂ is the first the lower end 110b ₀ for each corresponding strip 110b of the flexible sheet member 100B of the guide 100 abuts slightly deflect upwardly the lower end 110b ₀ for each strip 110b is elastically deformed. At this time, the upper end portion of each tablet T _2, acts an elastic repulsive force due to elastic deformation of the lower end 110b ₀ for each strip 110b, which exerts a braking force to each tablet T _2. On the other hand, each tablet T ₁ , T does not contact the lower end 110 b ₀ of each strip 110 b, and the gap between the lower end 110 b ₀ rectangular notch 110 b ₁ or the lower surface 110 b ₀ and the inclined surface 40 b Pass as it is. Therefore, as each tablet T ₁ , T ₂ , T passes through the first guide 100, the tablet T ₂ passes through the first guide 100 later than the tablet T ₁ , T. As a result, after each tablet _{T 1, T} 2, T has passed the first guide 100, as shown in FIG. 6, the tablet _{T 2} are delayed from the tablet _{T 1,} upstream of the tablet _{T 1} ( The left side of FIG. In this manner, the overlap of the tablets T ₁ and T ₂ can be eliminated on the upstream side of the distribution grooves 40 of the distribution unit 4, and the generation of the overlap on the downstream side of the distribution grooves 40 can be prevented.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the transfer portion from the distribution unit 4 to the first conveyor 5 _1, and the first conveyor 5 _first roller (reversing section) 50 1 from _'the second conveyor 5 ₂ the transfer part of the provided second, third guide 101 for regulating the lateral displacement of the tablets in the first conveyor 5 _first and second respective conveying path of the conveyor 5 _2, respectively ing. The details of the second and third guides 101 and 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13. Since the third guide 102 has the same configuration as the second guide 101, only the second guide 101 will be described here, but at the same time, the configuration of the _first conveyer 51. Also explain.

As shown in FIG. 11, the _first conveyor 51 is configured by arranging a plurality of (in this example, seven) belts 51 in parallel via a gap 51c in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 11). ing. Each tablet T is disposed on the corresponding gap 51c, and is supported by the left and right belts 51. Therefore, each gap 51c constitutes a first conveyance path conveyor 5 ₁ each, in this example, six of the conveying path is provided. Further, in the same drawing, reference symbol CL indicates a center line of each transport path.

As shown in FIG. 11, the second guide 101 has a guide main body 101A disposed in the width direction above the _first conveyer 51 (see FIG. 10). Guide body 101A has a plurality of corresponding respectively to the first conveyor _{5 1} of each gap 51c (i.e. the conveyance path) (in this example 6) has a guide groove 101B of. Each guide groove 101B extends in the longitudinal direction of each belt 51 of the _first conveyor 51 (that is, along the conveyor paths of the _first conveyor 51) (see FIG. 10). The center line of each guide groove 101B coincides with the center line CL of each conveyance path of the _first conveyance conveyor 51.

Each guide groove 101B, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, includes a tapered groove 101b ₁ disposed on the upstream side (the lower side in FIG. 10, the front side in FIG. 11, the left side in FIG. 12) (FIG. 10 upper and 11 verso side, FIG. 12 right) is disposed, and a continuously provided by the straight groove 101b ₂ Metropolitan the tapered groove 101b _1. Tapered groove 101b ₁ has an opening width of the upstream end is formed wide, it is formed gradually narrower toward the downstream side. Opening width of the straight groove 101b _2, the size corresponding to the width of the tablet T is set (i.e., width slightly greater than the width of the tablet T as the tablet T may pass) to. Further, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a through hole 101a for inserting a mounting screw is formed at one end in the width direction of the guide main body 101B. On the other hand, a base member 55 is disposed below the _first conveyor 51, and a through hole 55a for inserting a mounting screw is similarly formed at one end of the base member 55. The through holes 101a and 55a are aligned, and the guide body 101B is screwed and fixed to the base member 55 by mounting screws.

Now, each tablet T from the sorting unit 4 on the upstream side are transferred to the first conveyor 5 _1, with respect to the second guide 101, and was located in the position shown in FIG. 12. As shown in the figure, the tablet T at the top and the tablet T at the fifth from the top are disposed at positions corresponding to the center lines CL of the corresponding guide grooves 101B respectively, The fourth to fourth tablets T are disposed at positions slightly offset from the respective center lines CL of the corresponding guide grooves 101B.

In such a case, each tablet T disposed at a position shifted from the center line CL of the guide groove 101B contacts the tapered surface of the tapered groove 101b ₁ of the guide groove 101B during conveyance by the _first conveyer 51. it allows gradually moved toward the center line CL side of the guide groove 101B (i.e. conveyance path center side), passing through the straight groove 101b ₂ (see FIG. 13). Thus, lateral displacement of the tablets T on the transport path of the _first transport conveyor 51 can be restricted, and the occurrence of lateral displacement of the tablets T on the downstream side of each guide groove 101B can be prevented.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the drying conveyor 9 is made of, for example, a mesh belt made of synthetic resin, and a large number of through holes 9A ₀ (only a part of which is shown in the same drawing) It is formed. Below the upper span of the drying conveyor 9, as shown in FIG. 15, a blower unit 120 is provided. Blowing unit 120 is for through the through-holes 9A ₀ for each tablet T on the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 blowing blower / warm air. The blower unit 120 is connected to a blower (not shown). The blower unit 120 may be disposed over the entire length of the drying conveyor 9 in the transport direction, or may be disposed at a part thereof. Also, depending on the type of tablet, etc., it may be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 14, a pair of guide rails 150 and 151 are disposed along the transport direction at both ends in the width direction of the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 with a slight gap upward from the transport surface 9A. ing. These guide rails 150, 151 prevent the tablets T on the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 from falling downward from the transport surface 9A, and guide the movement of the tablets T along the transport direction. The height is as high as, or higher than, the thickness of the tablet T. Further, the roller 90 ₁ of dry conveyor 9, the output shaft 210a of servo motor 210 is drivingly connected via a belt or the like (not shown). An output shaft 210a of the servomotor 210 is enabled reverse rotation, during forward rotation, the tablets T in the drying conveyor 9 conveys the side of the downstream side of the roller 90 1 _', at the time of reverse rotation, tablets on drying conveyor 9 conveying the T on the side of the upstream side of the roller 90 _1.

Next, the operation and effects of the present embodiment will be described while describing the operation of the tablet printing apparatus 1 described above.
A large number of tablets T contained in the hopper 2 (FIG. 1) are supplied from the chute 20 through the supply conveyor 3 to the upstream end of the distribution unit 4. Each tablet T supplied to the distribution unit 4 starts to move downstream along the inclination of the distribution unit 4 under the action of the vibration feeder 4A, and is processed by the first guide 100 (FIG. 2) Receive

Now, it is assumed that the tablets T ₁ , T ₂ and T are arranged in the distribution grooves 40 of the distribution unit 4 on the upstream side of the first guide 100 in a posture as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Tablets T ₁ is placed standing upright position adjacent the upright surface 40a in the sorting groove 40, the tablet T ₂ are, adjacent to the groove width direction with respect to the tablet T ₁ in the sorting groove 40 They are arranged side by side and placed in an upright standing posture, a diagonal posture or a supine posture along the inclined surface 40b. That is, in each of the distribution grooves 40, the tablets T ₁ and T ₂ are in a state of being overlapped in the groove width direction. Incidentally, in addition to these, the tablets T ₂ are are arranged in tandem adjacent to the groove vertical direction with respect to the tablet T ₁ (i.e., placed in a state which caused the overlap groove vertically) Sometimes it in addition, sometimes the tablets T ₂ are closely arranged in a non-contact in the groove width direction or a groove vertically with respect to the tablet T _1. Furthermore, more than two tablets may result in overlap. On the other hand, the tablet T is placed alone in the supine posture along the inclined surface 40 b in the distribution groove 40. As described above, since each distribution groove 40 has the inclined surface 40b inclined obliquely downward toward the rising surface 40a, the tablet introduced into the distribution groove 40 has the phase and function of the vibration feeder 4A. Then, it gradually moves downward along the inclined surface 40b.

When the tablets T ₁ and T ₂ respectively move downstream along the distribution grooves 40 from the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the tablets T ₁ do not contact the lower end 110 b ₀ of each strip 110 b. as it passes through the rectangular cutouts 110b in _one of the lower end 110b _0. Similarly the tablet T may, without contact with the lower end 110b ₀ for each strip 110b, as it passes through the gap between the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b and the inclined surface 40b. Meanwhile, the tablets _{T 2} are, its upper end portion, the lower end 110b ₀ for each strip 110b corresponding the flexible sheet member 100B of the first guide 100 abuts thereby, the lower end 110b of each strip 110b ₀ elastically deforms and bends slightly upward. At this time, the upper end portion of the tablet T _2, acts an elastic repulsive force due to elastic deformation of the lower end 110b ₀ for each strip 110b, which exerts a braking force to the tablets T _2. As a result, the tablet T ₂ passes through the first guide 100 later than the tablets T ₁ , T.

Thus, after the tablets T ₁ , T ₂ , T pass through the first guide 100, the tablet T ₂ is arranged at a distance upstream of the tablet T ₁ (see FIG. 6). In this manner, overlapping of the tablets T ₁ and T _{2 in} the distribution grooves 40 can be eliminated. Each tablet T ₁ , T ₂ , T that has passed the first guide 100 moves downstream along each distribution groove 40 of the distribution unit 4.

Next, each tablet T, together with the passed from the distribution unit 4 to the first conveyor 5 _1, subjected to processing according to the second guide 101 during delivery (FIG. 10, FIG. 11).

Now, the respective tablets T transferred from the distributing unit 4 to the first conveyor 5 _1, with respect to the second guide 101, was located in the position shown in FIG. 12. From this state, when the tablet T is transported in the transport direction downstream side (right side of the figure) by the first conveyor 5 _1, of each tablet T, the respective center line CL of each corresponding guide groove 101B The tablet T (the second to fourth and sixth tablets from the top in FIG. 12) disposed at the shifted position is gradually brought into contact with the tapered surface of the tapered groove 101b ₁ of the guide groove 101B, thereby gradually guiding the guide groove 101B. the center line CL side (i.e. conveyance path center side) are moved toward and passes through the straight groove 101b ₂ (see FIG. 13). As a result, lateral displacement of tablets on the transport path of the _first transport conveyor 51 can be eliminated, and the occurrence of lateral displacement on the downstream side of each guide groove 101B can be prevented.

Each tablet T introduced into the first conveyor 5 ₁ while being conveyed to the downstream side maintaining each column in the width direction, subjected to printing in a predetermined position by the first inkjet printer unit 7 ₁ . At this time, as described above, the overlap of the tablets in each of the distribution grooves 40 of the distribution unit 4 is resolved by the action of the first guide 100, and further, all of the tablets are generated by the action of the second guide 101. since the tablets T in are aligned along a first respective conveying path of the corresponding conveyor 5 _1, it is possible to perform accurate printing on a predetermined position of one face of each tablet T.

Each tablet T which printing is completed, the front and back are inverted by the first conveyor 5 _first roller 50 1 _', received together passed to the second conveyor 5 ₂ below, the third upon delivery Processing by the guide 102 of FIG. The processing by the third guide 102 is the same as that by the second guide 101, whereby the second conveyer 5 ₂ is transferred when delivering from the roller 50 ₁ ′ of the _first conveyer 51. The lateral displacement of the tablet generated above can be eliminated.

Each tablet T which is delivered to the second conveyor 5 ₂ together are conveyed to the downstream side maintaining each column in the width direction, the print process to a predetermined position by the second ink jet printer 7 ₂ receive. At this time, as described above, by the action of the third guide 102, since all of the tablets T are aligned along a second respective conveying path corresponding conveyor 5 _2, and the other of each tablet T in Printing can be performed accurately at a predetermined position on the surface. Each tablet T which printing is completed, the second conveyor 5 and inverted front and back again by the _second roller 50 2 _', after being conveyed while being sucked by the suction unit 15, below the drying conveyor 9 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 . Each tablet T introduced into the drying conveyor 9 is conveyed downstream by the blowing / warm air from the blowing unit 120, whereby the printing surface is dried.

On the other hand, although the inspection of the printing surface of the tablet T is performed based on the imaging data of the first and second inspection line sensor cameras 8 ₁ and 82 ₂ , when a defective product such as a printing failure occurs The defective product T ′ (FIG. 15) is dropped below the defective product discarding box 200 by releasing the suctioned state by the adsorbing unit 15 above the defective product discarding box 200 while being transported by the adsorbing unit 15. Discarded to 200. If the defective product T 'can not be dropped above the defective product box 200 and the defective product T' should be discarded, the suction state by the suction unit 15 is released again above the defective product discarding box 201. By doing this, the defective product T ′ is discarded and collected in the defective product box 201 (see FIG. 15). Although not shown, a sensor for detecting the drop of the defective product T ′ is provided above the defective product discarding boxes 200 and 201.

  When the tablet printing apparatus 1 is set to the unmanned operation mode and the unmanned operation is being performed, the servomotor 210 may fail to discard the defective product T ′ in the defective product discarding box 201. By moving the drying conveyor 9 in the reverse direction by reversing (FIG. 14) (moving distance is, for example, the conveyor length + α), all the tablets on the transport surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 are discarded as defective goods waste box 202 (See FIG. 16). Thereby, even if defective product T 'is mixed in the conveyance surface 9A of the drying conveyor 9 at the time of defective product discarding error, defective product T' is reliably prevented from being transported downstream as good product. it can.

According to such a present Example, since the 1st guide 100 was provided above the distribution unit 4, the overlap of the tablet in each distribution groove 40 of the distribution unit 4 can be eliminated, The printing resulting from the overlap of a tablet The occurrence of defective products such as defects can be reliably prevented. Moreover, according to the present embodiment, is provided with the second guide 101 to the delivery portion from the distribution unit 4 to the first conveyor 5 _1, tablets of the first respective conveying path of the conveyor 5 ₁ The lateral displacement can be regulated, and the generation of defective products such as printing defects due to the lateral displacement can be reliably prevented. Further, according to this embodiment, since the third guide 102 is provided from the first conveyor 5 _first roller 50 1 _'to the delivery portion of the second to the conveyor 5 _2, the second conveyor 5 The lateral displacement of the tablet in each of the conveyance paths ₂ can be regulated, and the generation of defective products such as printing defects due to the lateral displacement can be reliably prevented. In this way, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of defective products such as printing defects due to positional deviation such as tablet overlap and lateral displacement.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention includes various modifications. The following are some examples of variations.

First Modification
In the above embodiment, the belt-shaped member 110a of the flexible sheet member 100B constituting the first guide 100 of the distribution unit 4, with respect to the shape of the lower end 110a _0, 110b ₀ to 110b, inclined to the lower end 110a ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110a surface is formed, an example in which notches 110b ₁ of rectangular shape formed at the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b, application of the present invention is not limited thereto. The shape and size of the lower end 110a ₀ and 110b ₀ of each of the strip members 110a and 110b and the shape and size of the notch are appropriately set according to the shape and size of the tablet. For example, it is also possible to form a-out rectangular notch at the lower end 110a ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110a.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show other examples of the first guide 100, and in these figures, the same reference numerals as in the above embodiment denote the same or corresponding parts. Than those shown in these figures, the length of the belt-shaped member 110b is set shorter than that shown in the embodiment, the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b is disposed above the sorting groove 40, strip notch 110a ₁ of rectangular shape is formed at the lower end 110a ₀ member 110a. Also, the size of the tablet is larger than that shown in the above example.

In FIG. 8, two rectangular hatched regions Ts and Ts ′ indicate tablets respectively. In the figure, the tablet Ts is placed upright along the rising surface 40a of the distribution groove 40, and the tablet Ts' is placed on the inclined surface 40b of the distribution groove 40 in a supine posture. ing. At this time, the notch 110b ₁ of the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b corresponding to the tablet Ts is to form a large gap slightly larger than the size (thickness) of the tablet Ts between the rising surface 40a of the sorting groove 40 cage, the gap formed between the notches 110b ₁ and the standing surface 40a are tablets Ts standing upright along the rising surface 40a of the sorting groove 40 is set to a size that can pass through. Tablets Ts 'bottom 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b corresponding to the tablet Ts between the inclined surface 40b of the sorting groove 40' forms a large gap slightly larger than the size of the (thickness), the lower end 110b _The gap formed between ₀ and the inclined surface 40b is set to a size that allows the tablet Ts' placed on the inclined surface 40b in the supine posture to pass. Meanwhile, the lower end 110a of the lower end 110b ₀ and strip material 110a of the belt-shaped member 110b ₀ is provided to overlap contact with the other tablets that are produced to a tablet Ts in the sorting groove 40.

This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view of the first guide 100 as viewed from the upstream side. In the same figure, when a tablet placed side by side in the same distribution groove 40 with respect to the tablet T ₁ (corresponding to the tablet Ts) placed in a standing state along the rising surface 40 a of the distribution groove 40 is shown by a symbol T ₂ , tablets T ₂ is disposed in various positions relative to the tablet T _1. In the figure, Within the sorting groove 40 disposed at the left end, the tablets T ₂ are are placed on the inclined surface 40b in a supine position with the convex surface down, in the second sorting groove 40 within the left end, tablets T ₂ are are placed likewise standing posture tablets T _1, the third sorting groove 40 within the left end, the tablet T ₂ are, top contact to and lower into tablets T ₁ contacts the inclined surface 40b and, tablets T ₂ are being placed in a state of leaning against the tablet T _1. In these three sorting groove 40, at least a portion of the lower end 110a ₀ of the lower end 110b ₀ or band member 110a of the belt-shaped member 110b corresponding to the sorting groove 40, seen from the groove longitudinal direction with respect to the upper part of the tablet _{T 2} Are visible overlapping. The tablet T disposed in the fourth distribution groove 40 from the left end corresponds to the tablet Ts'.

When each tablet T ₁ , T ₂ , T moves from the state shown in FIG. 9 to the downstream side (back side in the drawing) along the distribution grooves 40, each tablet T ₁ , T is attached to each strip 110a, bottom 110a of 110b _0, 110b ₀ and without contact, the notch 110b within ₁ or passes through the gap and the notch 110a in the _first and the lower end 110b ₀ of the belt-shaped member 110b and the inclined surface 40b. Meanwhile, each tablet _{T 2} are, the upper is brought into contact with the lower end 110a ₀ corresponding lower end 110b ₀ or each strip 110a of the belt-shaped member 110b of the flexible sheet member 100B of the first guide 100. Then, the lower ends 110a ₀ and 110b _{0 of} the respective strip members 110 a and 110 b are elastically deformed and curved slightly upward, and at this time, the lower ends 110 a _{0 of} the respective strip members 110 a and 110 b are formed on the top of each tablet T ₂ . The elastic repulsion force accompanying the elastic deformation of 110b ₀ acts to exert the braking force. Thereby, each tablet T ₂ passes through the first guide 100 later than each tablet T ₁ , T. As a result, after the tablets T ₁ , T ₂ and T pass through the first guide 100, overlapping of the tablets T ₁ and T ₂ can be eliminated, and the tablets T ₁ and T ₂ at the downstream side of the respective dividing grooves 40 can be eliminated. Generation of overlapping can be prevented.

Second Modified Example
Although the tablet printing apparatus which prints on the front and back of a tablet was demonstrated to the example in the said Example, this invention is applicable similarly to the tablet printing apparatus which prints only on any one side of a tablet. In that case, by omitting the second conveyor 5 ₂ may be the drying conveyor 9 so disposed in the first conveyor 5 ₁ below.

<Third Modification>
Although the said Example showed the example using the distribution unit 4 which has the some distribution groove 40 in order to distribute the supplied many tablet to multiple rows, the application of this invention is not limited to this. Instead of the distribution unit 4, an introduction part (not shown) having one introduction groove may be provided. In this case, a large number of supplied tablets are delivered to a conveyer (conveyor) in a state of being introduced into one introduction groove of the introduction unit and held in a line without being divided into a plurality of rows. The conveyer is composed of, for example, two belts (or one belt having suction holes) juxtaposed with a predetermined gap, and the tablet delivered from the introduction part is the gap (or suction holes) ) And supported by the left and right belts (or one belt).

  A first guide for eliminating the overlap of the tablets is provided on the upstream side of the introduction unit, and a second guide for restricting lateral displacement of the tablets is provided on the delivery section from the introduction unit to the conveyor. At this time, since the introduction groove of the introduction portion is one, the first guide provided in the introduction portion is constituted of the guide main body and a pair of flexible sheet members which are vertically provided from the bottom (see 2 and a pair of flexible sheet members 110a and 110b corresponding to each distribution groove 40 in FIG. 3). Similarly, since there is one space between the conveyer, the second guide provided on the conveyer is formed such that the opening width on the upstream side is wide and gradually narrows toward the downstream side. In addition, the opening width of the downstream end has a single guide groove (see guide groove 101B in FIGS. 10 and 11) having a size corresponding to the width dimension of the tablet.

  Also in such a modification, overlapping of the tablets in the introduction groove may occur, and lateral displacement of the tablets may occur on the transport path of the transport conveyor, so the prevention effect by each guide can be expected.

<Other Modifications>
The embodiments and the modifications described above should be considered in all respects as merely illustrative of the present invention and not limiting. Without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the present invention, those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates will be able, given the above teachings, even if not explicitly stated herein. Various modifications and other embodiments can be constructed which adopt the principle of.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a tablet printing apparatus which is required to prevent the occurrence of defective products such as printing defects caused by overlapping of tablets.

1: Tablet printing device

4: Distribution unit (distribution unit)
40: Distribution groove

5 ₁ : First conveyor (first conveyor)
50 ₁ ': Roller (reverse part)
5 ₂ : Second conveyor (second conveyor)

7 ₁ ; First inkjet printer unit (first printer unit)
7 ₂ : Second inkjet printer unit (second printer unit)

100: First Guide 101: Second Guide 102: Third Guide

T, T ₁ , T ₂ : Tablet T ': Defective product

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

Claims (4)

A tablet printing device,
An introduction portion into which a large number of supplied tablets are introduced, and has an introduction groove gradually inclined downward toward the downstream side, and the bottom surface of the introduction groove is inclined with respect to the groove width direction;
A conveyor having a transport path for transporting each tablet received from the introduction unit;
A printer unit for printing each tablet during conveyance by the conveyor;
The introduction portion is provided with a guide that acts to abut on any one of a plurality of tablets that are overlapping in the introduction groove to eliminate the overlap of the tablets.
A tablet printing apparatus characterized in that. A tablet printing device,
A large number of supplied tablets are divided into a plurality of rows, and a plurality of distribution grooves gradually inclined downward toward the downstream side are provided, and the distribution grooves have a bottom surface inclined with respect to the groove width direction. Department,
A conveyor having a plurality of transport paths for transporting each tablet received from the distribution unit in a plurality of rows;
A printer unit for printing each tablet during conveyance by the conveyor;
The distribution unit is provided with a guide that acts to abut on any one of a plurality of tablets which are overlapped in each of the distribution grooves to eliminate the overlap of the tablets.
A tablet printing apparatus characterized in that. In claim 1 or 2,
A guide main body disposed in the width direction above the distribution unit;
A flexible member which is provided downward from the guide body to pass one of a plurality of overlapping tablets as it is and to elastically contact another tablet to delay the passage of the tablets. And consists of
A tablet printing apparatus characterized in that. In claim 1 or 2,
The conveyor is further provided with a second guide that regulates lateral displacement of each tablet on the transport path.
A tablet printing apparatus characterized in that.

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