JP2023108170A - Granular material processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of improving the workability when arranging an elastically deformable holding member contacting a granular material in an inversion mechanism which inverts the front and rear surfaces of the granular material.SOLUTION: A granular material processing apparatus includes an inversion mechanism which inverts the front and rear surfaces of a granular material at an inversion position on a conveyance path of the granular material. The inversion mechanism includes a conical inclined drum 77 whose diameter is reduced from the bottom part to the top part. The inclined drum 77 includes a base part 51, a holding member 52 and a fixation part 53. The base part 51 forms a recess 62 that is recessed to the radial direction inner side on the top part side while forming a base side surface 61 on the bottom part side. The holding member 52 is placed on the recess 62. The fixation part 53 sandwiches the holding member 52 between the base part 51 and itself while being mounted on the base part 51. By fitting a protrusion part 521 formed in the holding member 52 to a notch part 514 formed in the base part 51, the holding member 52 can be highly accurately aligned and the workability can be improved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a granular material processing apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment on the surface of granular materials.

Characters and codes for identifying the product are printed on the surface of the tablet, which is a medicine. In addition, there are cases where marks and illustrations are printed on tablets such as ramune. Conventionally, there has been known a printing apparatus that prints an image on the surface of such granular materials such as tablets and tablet confectionery by an inkjet method. In particular, in recent years, the spread of generic drugs has led to a diversification of tablet types. For this reason, in order to make it easier to identify tablets, attention has been focused on a technique for clearly printing both the front and back surfaces of a tablet using an ink-jet method. Therefore, Patent Document 1, for example, describes an apparatus that prints on both the front and back surfaces of a tablet using an inkjet method.

The tablet printing apparatus (1) of Patent Document 1 transports the tablet (9) along the annular transport path, and photographs and prints the first surface of the tablet (9) with the first camera (40). Printing by the unit (30), photographing by the second camera (50), and drying by the drying mechanism (60) are performed. After that, after the tablet (9) is turned over by the reversing mechanism (70), the second surface of the tablet (9) is photographed again by the first camera (40) and printed by the printing unit (30). , photographing by the second camera (50), and drying by the drying mechanism (60).

JP 2021-007473 A

The reversing mechanism (70) is composed of a plurality of tilting drums (71-76). Each of the plurality of inclined drums (71 to 76) has suction holes (711, 721) that suck and hold the tablets (9), and elastic members ( 52). The contact of the tablets (9) with the elastic member (52) prevents the tablets (9) from coming off and being damaged when the tablets (9) are transferred through the inclined drums (71-76). However, in the manufacturing process of the tablet printing device (1) including the reversing mechanism (70), when the elastic member (52) is arranged at the edge of the suction hole (711, 721), the alignment of the elastic member (52) is difficult, and there is a possibility that the workability is lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can improve workability when arranging an elastic member in the manufacturing process of a tablet printing apparatus including a reversing mechanism.

In order to solve the above problems, the first invention of the present application is a granular material processing apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment on the surface of the granular material, the granular material being held and conveyed along a conveying path. a conveying mechanism, a processing section that performs the predetermined processing on a first surface or a second surface of a granular material at a processing position on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism, and an inversion of the conveying mechanism on the conveying path. a reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the granules at the position, wherein each of the reversing mechanisms decreases in diameter from the bottom toward the top about an inclined axis inclined with respect to the width direction of the conveying path. a plurality of slanted drums having conical or pyramidal flanks, each of said plurality of slanted drums forming a base side which is part of said side on said bottom side and which is more inclined than said base side; a base portion that forms a concave portion that is concave radially inward along the entire circumference on the top portion side; an elastically deformable holding member that is annular about the tilt axis and is placed in the concave portion; a fixing portion that is detachable from the base portion and holds the holding member between itself and the base portion when attached to the base portion; has a plurality of openings opened at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and a first fitting portion formed in a part of the circumferential direction, and the holding member is formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction It has a plurality of through holes and a second fitting portion formed in a part of the circumferential direction. A plurality of suction holes for sucking and holding a plurality of particulate matter are formed by fitting the fitting portion and connecting the plurality of through holes to the opening.

A second invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the first fitting portion is a cut portion cut radially inward from the recess, and the second fitting portion is a protruding portion that protrudes radially inward at the top-side end of the holding member.

A third invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the first invention or the second invention, wherein the plurality of granular materials are sucked and held by the plurality of suction holes, and the plurality of particles are disposed in the respective suction holes. It contacts the retaining member at its peripheral edge.

A fourth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the third invention, wherein the plurality of inclined drums are respectively placed on the end surface of the holding member on the top side. The spring is capable of expanding and contracting in a direction along the tilt axis, and in a state in which the fixing portion is attached to the base portion, the spring is attached to the fixing portion and the holding member. held by being sandwiched between

A fifth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the fourth invention, wherein the spring is a wave washer.

A sixth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the fifth invention, wherein the base portion has a cylindrical or A columnar portion extending in a square tubular shape and having a first thread formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof is further provided, and the fixing portion extends in a cylindrical or square tubular shape around the tilting axis and has a second screw on the inner peripheral surface. and a flange portion extending radially outward from the tubular portion. attached to the part.

A seventh invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the sixth invention, wherein the reversing mechanism has a conical or pyramidal shape centered on the first axis, which is the tilting axis. a first tilting drum that is the tilting drum having a first side that is the side that is the shape of a cone; a second tilting drum that is a tilting drum, the first tilting drum having the plurality of suction holes annularly arranged around the first axis on the first side surface; The second inclined drum has the plurality of suction holes arranged annularly around the second axis on the second side surface, and the first inclined drum receives the granular material transferred from the conveying mechanism, The granular material is transferred to the second inclined drum while being attracted and held by the first side surface, and the granular material is transferred to the second inclined drum. The second inclined drum attracts the granular material transferred from the first inclined drum to the second side surface. It rotates while holding, and delivers the granular material to the transport mechanism.

The eighth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the seventh invention, wherein the conveying mechanism conveys the granular material along the annular conveying path, The mechanism reverses the front and back of the granular material and moves the position of the granular material in the width direction on the conveying path.

A ninth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the eighth invention, wherein the conveying mechanism rotates a holding surface that adsorbs and holds the granular material along the conveying path, and the holding surface is configured to rotate along the conveying path. It has a first area and a second area adjacent to each other in the width direction, and the reversing mechanism moves the granular material held in the first area to the second area.

A tenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the seventh invention, wherein the vertical angle of the first inclined drum and the vertical angle of the second inclined drum when viewed in the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism The sum is 180°.

The eleventh invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the seventh invention or the tenth invention, wherein the vertical angle of the first inclined drum and the vertical angle of the second inclined drum when viewed in the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism All apex angles are 90°.

A twelfth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus of the eleventh invention, wherein the first inclined drum and the second inclined drum have the same shape and size.

A thirteenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to the seventh invention or any one of the tenth to twelfth inventions, wherein the adsorption force of the granular material in the second aspect is equal to that in the first aspect. greater than the adsorption force of particulate matter in

A fourteenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the seventh invention or the tenth invention to the thirteenth invention, wherein the conveying mechanism moves along the annular conveying path. The reversing mechanism reverses the front and back of the granular material and moves the position of the granular material in the conveying path in the conveying direction.

A fifteenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourteenth inventions, wherein the processing section includes a printing section that prints on the surface of the granular material by an inkjet method.

A sixteenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifteenth inventions, wherein the processing section includes a camera for photographing the surface of the granular material.

A seventeenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixteenth inventions, wherein the granular material is a tablet.

An eighteenth invention of the present application is the granular material processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the seventeenth invention, wherein the holding member is made of silicone rubber.

According to the first to eighteenth inventions of the present application, the reversing mechanism of the granular material processing apparatus sucks and holds a plurality of granular materials in the plurality of suction holes via elastically deformable holding members, Flip it upside down. This makes it possible to easily prevent the particles from falling off or being damaged. Further, in the manufacturing process of the granular material processing apparatus including the reversing mechanism, the holding member is aligned by placing the second fitting portion of the holding member while fitting the first fitting portion of the base portion. workability can be improved.

In particular, according to the third invention of the present application, even if the granular material is shaken or tilted with respect to the suction holes when the granular material is turned over by the reversing mechanism, the granular material falls off or is damaged. can be further prevented.

In particular, according to the fourth and fifth inventions of the present application, even if the holding member placed in the recess has some dimensional error or is placed with a slight inclination, Springs can absorb dimensional errors and tilts. As a result, the fixing portion can be attached to the base portion with high accuracy.

In particular, according to the sixth invention of the present application, by screwing the second screw of the fixing part into the first screw of the base part, the fixing part is attached to the base part, and the gap between the fixing part and the base part is fixed. The holding member can be sandwiched between. As a result, there is no need to use separate members for fixing them, so the number of parts can be reduced.

In particular, according to the seventh invention of the present application, the length in the conveying direction required for the reversing mechanism can be suppressed.

In particular, according to the twelfth invention of the present application, the first tilting drum and the second tilting drum can be shared as parts.

In particular, according to the thirteenth invention of the present application, it is possible to further suppress the dropping of the granular material when the granular material is transferred from the first side surface to the second side surface.

In particular, according to the eighteenth invention of the present application, the holding member can be easily processed and molded.

It is a side view of a tablet printing device. It is a top view of a tablet printing apparatus. It is a bottom view of a tablet printing apparatus. 4 is a partial perspective view of the transport mechanism; FIG. It is a bottom view of a head. It is the figure which looked at the conveyance mechanism and the reversing mechanism from the direction of the outline arrow V in FIG. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a tilting drum; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tilting drum; It is a perspective view of a base part. It is a perspective view of a holding member. It is a perspective view of a fixing|fixed part. 3 is a block diagram showing connections between a control unit and each unit; FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process in a tablet printing apparatus. It is a side view of the tablet printing apparatus which concerns on a modification.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the direction in which a plurality of tablets are conveyed will be referred to as the "conveying direction", and the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and along the holding surface 220 of the conveying belt 22, which will be described later, will be referred to as the "width direction". .

<1. Overall configuration of tablet printing device>
FIG. 1 is a side view of a tablet printing apparatus 1, which is an example of a granular material processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the tablet printing apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the tablet printing apparatus 1. FIG.

This tablet printing apparatus 1 is a device that prints images such as a product name, a product code, a company name, a logo mark, etc. on both sides of each tablet 9 while conveying a plurality of tablets 9 that are granular materials. The tablet 9 may be an uncoated tablet (uncoated tablet) or a coated tablet such as a sugar-coated tablet or a film-coated tablet (FC tablet). Tablet 9 may also be a capsule, including hard capsules and soft capsules. In addition, the “particulate matter” in the present invention is not limited to tablets as pharmaceuticals, but may be tablets as health foods, tablet confectionery such as soda pop.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a loading mechanism 10, a conveying mechanism 20, a printing unit 30, a first camera 40, a second camera 50, a drying mechanism 60, a reversing mechanism 70, An unloading mechanism 80 and a control unit 90 are provided.

The carry-in mechanism 10 is a mechanism for carrying a plurality of tablets 9 put into the tablet printing apparatus 1 into the transport mechanism 20 . The carrying-in mechanism 10 has an alignment mechanism (not shown) composed of a vibration feeder, a rotary feeder, a chute, etc., and a carrying-in drum 11 . A plurality of tablets 9 loaded into the tablet printing apparatus 1 are aligned in a plurality of rows (three rows in this embodiment) by the alignment mechanism and supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the carry-in drum 11 . The carrying-in drum 11 rotates while sucking and holding a plurality of aligned tablets 9 one by one on its outer peripheral surface. As a result, the plurality of tablets 9 in each row are arranged at equal intervals in the conveying direction. Each tablet 9 held by the loading drum 11 is conveyed in an arc by the rotation of the loading drum 11 and transferred to the conveying mechanism 20 .

The conveying mechanism 20 is a mechanism that holds a plurality of tablets 9 and conveys them along an annular conveying path. The transport mechanism 20 has a pair of pulleys 21 and an annular transport belt 22 stretched between the pair of pulleys 21 . One of the pair of pulleys 21 is rotated by power obtained from a transport motor 23 . As a result, the conveyor belt 22 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 21 is driven to rotate as the conveyor belt 22 rotates.

4 is a partial perspective view of the transport mechanism 20. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of suction holes 221 are provided on a holding surface 220 that is the outer peripheral surface of the conveying belt 22 . The plurality of suction holes 221 are arranged at regular intervals in the transport direction and width direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 , the transport mechanism 20 has a suction mechanism 24 that sucks gas from the space inside the transport belt 22 . When the suction mechanism 24 is operated, the space inside the conveying belt 22 becomes a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. The plurality of tablets 9 are adsorbed and held in the adsorption holes 221 by the negative pressure.

In this manner, the plurality of tablets 9 are sucked and held on the holding surface 220 of the conveying belt 22 while being aligned in the conveying direction and the width direction. The conveying mechanism 20 then rotates the holding surface 220 of the conveying belt 22 along the annular conveying path, thereby conveying the plurality of tablets 9 along the annular conveying path. A plurality of tablets 9 are horizontally conveyed below four heads 31, which will be described later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 20 has three first blow mechanisms B1 and one second blow mechanism B2. The three first blow mechanisms B1 are located inside the conveying belt 22 and at positions facing the first inclined drum 71, the third inclined drum 73, and the fifth inclined drum 75, which will be described later, via the conveying belt 22. is provided. The three first blow mechanisms B1 supply gas to only the suction holes 221 facing the first inclined drum 71, the third inclined drum 73, and the fifth inclined drum 75 among the plurality of suction holes 221 of the conveying belt 22. spray. Then, the suction hole 221 becomes a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the adsorption of the tablets 9 in the adsorption holes 221 is released, and the tablets 9 are transferred from the transport belt 22 to the first inclined drum 71 , the third inclined drum 73 and the fifth inclined drum 75 .

The second blowing mechanism B<b>2 is provided inside the conveyor belt 22 and at a position facing the later-described discharge chute 81 via the conveyor belt 22 . The second blow mechanism B<b>2 blows gas only to the suction holes 221 facing the carry-out chute 81 among the plurality of suction holes 221 of the conveyor belt 22 . Then, the suction hole 221 becomes a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the suction of the tablets 9 in the suction holes 221 is released, and the tablets 9 fall from the conveyor belt 22 to the discharge chute 81 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the holding surface 220 of the conveyor belt 22 of the present embodiment includes a first area A1 for holding the tablets 9 before being reversed by the later-described reversing mechanism 70, and a first area A1 for holding the tablets 9 after being reversed. and a second area A2 that holds the The first area A1 and the second area A2 are adjacent to each other in the width direction. In this embodiment, the plurality of suction holes 221 are provided in three rows in the width direction in each of the first area A1 and the second area A2. The tablet 9 carried in by the carrying-in mechanism 10 described above is sucked and held in the suction holes 221 of the first area A1. A plurality of tablets 9 printed on both sides are delivered to the carry-out mechanism 80 through the suction holes 221 in the second area A2.

The printing unit 30 is a processing unit that prints on the surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the conveying belt 22 by an inkjet method. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing section 30 of this embodiment has four heads 31 . The four heads 31 are positioned above the transport belt 22 and arranged in a row along the transport direction of the tablets 9 . Each head 31 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22 . The four heads 31 eject ink droplets of different colors (eg, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) toward the surface of the tablet 9 . Then, a multicolor image is recorded on the surface of the tablet 9 by superimposing monochromatic images formed by these colors. The ink ejected from each head 31 is edible ink manufactured from raw materials approved by the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Food Sanitation Law, and the like.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of one head 31. FIG. In FIG. 5, the conveyor belt 22 and the plurality of tablets 9 held by the conveyor belt 22 are indicated by two-dot chain lines. As shown enlarged in FIG. 5, a plurality of nozzles 311 capable of ejecting ink droplets are provided on an ejection surface 310 that is the lower surface of the head 31 . In this embodiment, a plurality of nozzles 311 are two-dimensionally arranged in the transport direction and width direction on the lower surface of the head 31 . The nozzles 311 are arranged with their positions shifted in the width direction. By arranging the plurality of nozzles 311 two-dimensionally in this manner, the positions of the nozzles 311 in the width direction can be brought closer to each other. However, the plurality of nozzles 311 may be arranged in a row along the width direction.

As a method for ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles 311, for example, a so-called piezo method is used in which ink in the nozzles 311 is pressurized and ejected by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element to deform it. However, the method of ejecting ink droplets may be a so-called thermal method in which the heater is energized to heat and expand the ink in the nozzle 311 to eject the ink droplets.

The first camera 40 is a processing unit for photographing the surface of the tablet 9 before printing. The first camera 40 is located downstream of the carry-in drum 11 in the transport path and upstream of the four heads 31 in the transport path. Also, the first camera 40 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For the first camera 40, for example, a line sensor in which imaging elements such as CCD and CMOS are arranged in the width direction is used. A first camera 40 photographs a plurality of tablets 9 conveyed by the conveying belt 22 . The captured image is transmitted from the first camera 40 to the control unit 90, which will be described later. Based on the image obtained from the first camera 40 , the control unit 90 detects the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in each suction hole 221 , the position of the tablet 9 and the orientation of the tablet 9 . Based on the image obtained from the first camera 40, the control unit 90 also inspects each tablet 9 for defects such as chipping.

The second camera 50 is a processing unit for photographing the surface of the tablet 9 after printing. The second camera 50 is located downstream of the four heads 31 in the transport path and upstream of the drying mechanism 60 in the transport path. Also, the second camera 50 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For the second camera 50, for example, a line sensor in which imaging elements such as CCD and CMOS are arranged in the width direction is used. A second camera 50 photographs a plurality of tablets 9 conveyed by the conveying belt 22 . An image obtained by photographing is transmitted from the second camera 50 to the control unit 90, which will be described later. The control unit 90 inspects the quality of the image printed on the surface of the tablet 9 based on the image obtained from the second camera 50 .

The drying mechanism 60 is a mechanism for drying ink adhering to the surface of the tablet 9 . The drying mechanism 60 is located downstream of the second camera 50 in the transport path and upstream of the transport path from the reversing mechanism 70 and the carry-out chute 81 to be described later. Moreover, the drying mechanism 60 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For the drying mechanism 60, for example, a hot air supply mechanism that blows heated gas (hot air) toward the tablets 9 conveyed by the conveying belt 22 is used. The ink adhering to the surface of the tablet 9 is dried by hot air and fixed to the surface of the tablet 9 .

As described above, the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has four processing units: the printing unit 30 , the first camera 40 , the second camera 50 and the drying mechanism 60 . Each processing unit performs predetermined processing, that is, printing, photographing, and drying, on the surface of the tablet 9 at each processing position on the transport path in the transport mechanism 20 .

The reversing mechanism 70 is a mechanism that reverses the front and back of the tablet 9 transported by the transport belt 22 and moves the position of the tablet 9 in the transport path in the width direction from the first area A1 to the second area A2. That is, the reversing mechanism 70 moves the tablet 9 held in the first area A1 to the second area A2. The reversing mechanism 70 is located downstream of the carry-out chute 81 and upstream of the carry-in drum 11 in the transport path.

FIG. 6 is a view of the conveying mechanism 20 and the reversing mechanism 70 viewed from the direction of the outline arrow V in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6, the reversing mechanism 70 of this embodiment includes a first tilting drum 71, a second tilting drum 72, a third tilting drum 73, a fourth tilting drum 74, a fifth tilting drum It includes a drum 75 and a sixth tilted drum 76 . However, the number of tilting drums included in the reversing mechanism 70 may be seven or more as long as the number is plural.

The first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction. The third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction downstream of the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 in the conveying path. The fifth tilting drum 75 and the sixth tilting drum 76 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction downstream of the third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 in the conveying path. Below, the position where the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 are provided on the transport path of the transport mechanism 20 is referred to as a "first reversing position P1", and the third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 are provided. The position at which the fifth tilting drum 75 and the sixth tilting drum 76 are provided is referred to as a "second reversing position P2", and a "third reversing position P3".

The first tilting drum 71 has a first side surface 710 . The first side surface 710 is a conical side surface that decreases in diameter from the bottom toward the top about a first axis C1 that is an inclined axis that is inclined with respect to the width direction of the conveying path. A portion of the first side surface 710 faces the first area A1 of the conveyor belt 22 with a small gap therebetween. Also, the first tilting drum 71 is fixed to the output shaft of the first motor 71M. When the first motor 71M is driven, the first tilting drum 71 rotates around the first axis C1.

The second slanted drum 72 has a second side 720 . The second side surface 720 is a conical side surface whose diameter decreases from the bottom toward the top about the second axis C2, which is an inclined axis that is inclined with respect to the width direction of the conveying path. The first inclined drum 71 and the second inclined drum 72 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction so that their top portions face each other. A portion of the second side surface 720 faces the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22 with a slight gap therebetween. Another portion of the second side surface 720 faces the first side surface 710 with a small gap therebetween. Also, the second tilting drum 72 is fixed to the output shaft of the second motor 72M. When the second motor 72M is driven, the second tilting drum 72 rotates about the second axis C2.

In this embodiment, the vertical angle of the first tilted drum 71 and the vertical angle of the second tilted drum 72 when viewed in the transport direction of the transport mechanism 20 are both 90°. Further, the inclination angle of the first axis C1 with respect to the holding surface 220 is 45°. Further, the inclination angle of the second axis C2 with respect to the holding surface 220 is 45°. Therefore, the first side surface 710 and the second side surface 720 face each other at a position of 90° with respect to the holding surface 220 . Also, the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 have the same shape, structure and size. Therefore, the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 can be shared as components. Thereby, the manufacturing cost of the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be reduced.

Below, the structure of the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 will be described in more detail while both being referred to as the "tilting drum 77". Also, the first side surface 710 of the first tilting drum 71 and the second side surface 720 of the second tilting drum 72 are respectively referred to as "side surfaces 700". Also, the first axis C1 of the first tilting drum 71 and the second axis C2 of the second tilting drum 72 are respectively referred to as "tilt axis C0". Further, the direction orthogonal to the tilt axis C0 is called "radial direction", and the direction along the arc centered on the tilt axis C0 is called "circumferential direction".

7 is a perspective view of the tilting drum 77. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the inclined drum 77. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the tilting drum 77 has a base portion 51, a holding member 52, a fixing portion 53, and a spring . The tilting drum 77 is conical about the tilting axis C0 and has an internal space 701 . In this embodiment, the portions of the inclined drum 77 excluding the holding member 52 are made of, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel. However, the entire inclined drum 77 may be molded using elastic resin such as silicone rubber.

9 is a perspective view of the base portion 51. FIG. As shown in FIG. 9 , the base portion 51 has a large diameter portion 511 , a small diameter portion 512 and a columnar portion 513 .

The large-diameter portion 511 is a portion of the base portion 51 that extends in an annular shape around the tilt axis C0 on the bottom side. The outer peripheral surface of the portion of the large-diameter portion 511 on the top side decreases in diameter from the bottom side toward the top side. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the portion of the large diameter portion 511 on the top side serves as a base side surface 61 that is part of the side surface 700 of the inclined drum 77 . That is, the base portion 51 including the large diameter portion 511 forms a base side surface 61 that is part of the side surface 700 on the bottom side.

The small-diameter portion 512 is a portion that continues to the top portion side of the large-diameter portion 511 and spreads in an annular shape about the tilt axis C0. The outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 512 decreases in diameter from the bottom side toward the top side. Also, the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 512 is smaller than the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 511 . Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion 512 is recessed from the base side surface 61 , which is the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 511 . As a result, the base portion 51 including the small diameter portion 512 forms a concave portion 62 that is concave radially inward along the entire circumference on the top portion side of the side surface 61 of the base.

Further, the base portion 51 is provided with a plurality of (nine in this embodiment) openings 510 . Each of the plurality of openings 510 is formed by opening a small through-hole in the concave portion 62 , which penetrates the small-diameter portion 512 of the base portion 51 in the thickness direction. Each of the multiple openings 510 communicates with the internal space 701 . Moreover, the plurality of openings 510 are opened at equal intervals in the circumferential direction in the concave portion 62 . However, the structure of the plurality of openings 510 is not limited to this. For example, the plurality of openings 510 may be circumferentially spaced apart from each other in the recess 62 . That is, the plurality of openings 510 may be opened at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction in the concave portion 62 . Also, the plurality of openings 510 may be connected to each other. It should be noted that the diameter of the opening 510 of this embodiment is sufficiently larger than the diameter of a through hole 520 formed in the holding member 52, which will be described later. Moreover, the opening 510 is an elongated hole in which the length in the generatrix direction of the opening 510 is longer than the length in the circumferential direction of the opening 510 .

A notch portion 514 is formed as a first fitting portion at the top end portion of the small diameter portion 512 . The cut portion 514 is a portion cut further radially inward than the recessed portion 62 . In addition, the cut portion 514 is formed in a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the small diameter portion 512 in the circumferential direction. In the present embodiment, two notches 514 (one of the notches 514 is not shown) are formed at positions spaced apart from each other by 180° in the circumferential direction at the top-side end of the small-diameter portion 512 . However, the position where the cut portion 514 is formed is not limited to this.

The columnar portion 513 is a portion extending in a bottomed cylindrical shape around the tilt axis C0 at the top-side end portion of the base portion 51 . Thereby, the inner space 701 of the inclined drum 77 is closed on the top side. A first screw (male screw), not shown, is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion 513 .

10 is a perspective view of the holding member 52. FIG. The holding member 52 is an elastically deformable member in the shape of a truncated cone centered on the tilt axis C0. Moreover, the holding member 52 of this embodiment is made of silicon rubber. Thereby, the holding member 52 can be easily processed and molded. However, the holding member 52 may be made of, for example, urethane rubber (urethane foam) or butyl rubber. The inner diameter of the holding member 52 is smaller than the outer diameter of the top-side end of the large-diameter portion 511 of the base portion 51 and larger than the outer diameter of the small-diameter portion 512 . Thereby, the holding member 52 can be placed in the concave portion 62 of the base portion 51 . When the holding member 52 is placed in the recess 62, the holding member 52 has an annular shape centered on the tilt axis C0.

Furthermore, the holding member 52 is provided with a plurality of (nine in this embodiment) through holes 520 . Each of the plurality of through holes 520 penetrates through the holding member 52 in the thickness direction. Moreover, the plurality of through holes 520 of the present embodiment are formed in the holding member 52 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. However, the plurality of through holes 520 may be formed in the holding member 52 at unequal intervals in the circumferential direction. That is, the plurality of through-holes 520 may be formed in the holding member 52 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

A projecting portion 521 as a second fitting portion is formed at the end portion of the holding member 52 on the top portion side. The protruding portion 521 is a portion that protrudes radially inward from the top-side end portion of the holding member 52 . Moreover, the projecting portion 521 is formed in a part of the holding member 52 in the circumferential direction. In the present embodiment, two protrusions 521 are formed at positions spaced apart from each other by 180° in the circumferential direction at the top end of the holding member 52 . However, the position where the projecting portion 521 is formed is not limited to this.

In the process of assembling the inclined drum 77 , when the holding member 52 is placed in the recess 62 , the two protruding portions 521 are fitted into the notches 514 of the base portion 51 respectively. When the holding member 52 is placed in the recessed portion 62 and the projecting portion 521 is fitted into the cut portion 514 , the plurality of through holes 520 overlap the openings 510 of the base portion 51 in the thickness direction and communicate with the openings 510 . . With such a structure, the holding member 52 can be aligned with the base portion 51 with high accuracy, and the workability of the alignment can be improved.

Here, the pressure in the internal space 701 of the inclined drum 77 is maintained at a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure by a suction mechanism (not shown). Therefore, as described above, by connecting the plurality of through holes 520 to the openings 510 respectively, the plurality of tablets 9 are sucked and held on the side surface 700 of the inclined drum 77 (nine in this embodiment). Suction holes 800 are formed. In this embodiment, the plurality of suction holes 800 are annularly formed at equal angular intervals around the tilt axis C0. That is, the first side surface 710 of the first inclined drum 71 is formed with first suction holes 711, which are a plurality of suction holes 800 annularly arranged around the first axis C1. A second side surface 720 of the second tilting drum 72 is formed with second suction holes 721, which are a plurality of suction holes 800 annularly arranged around the second axis C2.

However, the structure for fitting the base portion 51 and the holding member 52 is not limited to this. For example, the base portion 51 may be formed with a protrusion and the holding member 52 may be formed with a notch. Then, when the holding member 52 is placed in the concave portion 62 , the cut portion of the holding member 52 may be fitted to the protrusion of the base portion 51 . Also, the base portion 51 and the holding member 52 may be fitted using a structure different from the projecting portion and the notch portion. That is, in a state in which the holding member 52 is placed in the recess 62 , the first fitting portion formed in a portion of the base portion 51 in the circumferential direction becomes the first fitting portion formed in a portion of the holding member 52 in the circumferential direction. It suffices if it has a structure that fits into the two fitting portions.

As described above, with the holding member 52 placed in the recessed portion 62 of the base portion 51 , the peripheral portions of the openings 510 of the base portion 51 are covered with the holding member 52 from the outside in the radial direction. is formed. As a result, as will be described later, when the inclined drum 77 delivers the plurality of tablets 9 while adsorbing and holding them in the plurality of adsorption holes 800, the tablets 9 are delivered via the elastically deformable holding members 52. The load and shock applied to the tablet 9 can be absorbed, and as a result, breakage of the tablet 9 can be easily suppressed. Further, when the tilted drum 77 delivers the tablet 9, even if the gap from the delivery source to the delivery destination is somewhat large, the tablet 9 can be continuously held by the frictional force between the tablet 9 and the holding member 52. As a result, falling off of the tablet 9 can be easily suppressed.

Further, as described above, the diameter of the opening 510 of this embodiment is sufficiently larger than the diameter of the through hole 520 of the holding member 52 . Therefore, the portion of the holding member 52 near each through hole 520 protrudes further inward than the peripheral portion of the opening 510 . Then, while being sucked and held by the plurality of suction holes 800 , the plurality of tablets 9 contact the holding member 52 at the peripheral edge portions of the plurality of suction holes 800 . As a result, when the inclined drum 77 delivers the plurality of tablets 9 while sucking and holding them in the plurality of suction holes 800, even if the tablets 9 are shaken or tilted with respect to the suction holes 800, the tablets 9 are Falling off or damage can be further prevented.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, in the holding member 52 of the present embodiment, the thickness of the portion near each through hole 520 is greater than the thickness of the other portions. By having such a shape, while suppressing the amount of silicone rubber for forming the holding member 52, it is possible to further suppress the load and impact applied to the tablet 9 when the tablet 9 is held in each suction hole 800. .

11 is a perspective view of the fixing portion 53. FIG. The fixed portion 53 has a tubular portion 531 and a flange portion 532 . The cylindrical portion 531 is a portion that extends cylindrically around the tilt axis C0 on the topmost side of the fixing portion 53 . The flange portion 532 is a portion extending radially outward over the entire circumference from the peripheral portion of the bottom-side end portion of the cylindrical portion 531 . In addition, the fixed portion 53 has a curved portion 533 that is partially hollowed out in the circumferential direction. Accordingly, the operator can easily handle the fixed portion 53 by grasping and holding the curved portion 533 .

A second screw (female screw), not shown, is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 531 . In this embodiment, the fixing portion 53 can be attached to the base portion 51 by screwing the second screw (female screw) of the fixing portion 53 into the first screw (male screw) of the base portion 51 described above. . That is, in the present embodiment, the fixing portion 53 is detachable from the base portion 51 by screwing the first screw (male screw) of the base portion 51 and the second screw (female screw) of the fixing portion 53. there is However, the columnar portion 513 of the base portion 51 is formed in a cylindrical shape, a second screw (female screw) is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and a first screw (male screw) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 531 of the fixed portion 53. ) are formed and these may be screwed together.

In addition, when the holding member 52 is placed in the recess 62 , the outer diameter of the end surface of the flange portion 532 on the bottom side is larger than the inner diameter of the end surface of the holding member 52 on the top side. Accordingly, by attaching the fixing portion 53 to the base portion 51 while the holding member 52 is placed in the recess 62 , the holding member 52 can be sandwiched between the fixing portion 53 and the base portion 51 . . As a result, the holding member 52 placed in the recess 62 can be held without coming off or falling. Moreover, since there is no need to use a separate member for holding the holding member 52, the number of parts can be reduced.

When the fixing portion 53 is attached to the base portion 51 with the holding member 52 placed in the concave portion 62 , the spring 54 is placed on the top end surface of the holding member 52 . The spring 54 can expand and contract in the direction along the tilt axis C0 when placed on the end face of the holding member 52 on the top side. The spring 54 of this embodiment is a wave washer. However, the spring 54 may be a disk spring, a coil spring, or the like. With the fixing portion 53 attached to the base portion 51 , the spring 54 is held by being sandwiched between the fixing portion 53 and the holding member 52 . By interposing the spring 54 in this way, even if the holding member 52 placed in the recess 62 has a slight dimensional error or is placed with a slight inclination, Springs 54 can absorb dimensional errors and tilts. As a result, the fixing portion 53 can be attached to the base portion 51 with high accuracy.

Before assembling the inclined drum 77, a plurality of interchangeable holding members 52 having different thicknesses or different sizes of the through holes 520 are prepared in advance. When assembling the inclined drum 77 , first, an optimum holding member 52 that matches the thickness, diameter, etc. of the tablet 9 is selected and placed in the concave portion 62 of the base portion 51 . At this time, the two projecting portions 521 of the holding member 52 are fitted into the cut portions 514 of the base portion 51 respectively. Thereby, the holding member 52 can be aligned with the base portion 51 with high accuracy. Next, the spring 54 is placed on the end surface of the holding member 52 on the top side. Further, the fixing portion 53 is attached to the base portion 51 by screwing the second screw (female screw) of the fixing portion 53 into the first screw (male screw) of the base portion 51 . As a result, the spring 54 can be held between the fixing portion 53 and the holding member 52 while the holding member 52 is clamped and fixed between the base portion 51 and the fixing portion 53 . As described above, the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72, which are the tilting drums 77, can be assembled.

In addition, after assembling the first inclined drum 71 and the second inclined drum 72, the pressure in the internal space (internal space 701) of the first inclined drum 71 when introduced into the tablet printing apparatus 1 is omitted from the illustration. A suction mechanism maintains a negative pressure that is lower than atmospheric pressure. The first inclined drum 71 holds the plurality of tablets 9 one by one in the plurality of first suction holes 711 by this negative pressure. Similarly, the pressure in the internal space (internal space 701) of the second tilting drum 72 is also maintained at a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure by a suction mechanism (not shown). The second inclined drum 72 holds the plurality of tablets 9 one by one in the plurality of second suction holes 721 by this negative pressure.

Here, as described above, in a state in which the plurality of tablets 9 are sucked and held by the plurality of first suction holes 711 of the first inclined drum 71, the holding member 52. In addition, while the plurality of tablets 9 are being sucked and held by the plurality of second suction holes 721 of the second inclined drum 72 , the plurality of tablets 9 come into contact with the holding member 52 at the peripheral edge portions of the plurality of second suction holes 721 . As will be described later, the reversing mechanism 70 including the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 sucks and holds the tablets 9 in the plurality of first suction holes 711 and the plurality of second suction holes 721, and the plurality of The tablet 9 is turned upside down by being delivered while being in contact with the holding member 52 at the periphery of each of the first suction hole 711 and the plurality of second suction holes 721 .

As a result, when the tablets 9 are delivered by the first inclined drum 71 and the second inclined drum 72, even if the gap between the delivery source and the delivery destination becomes somewhat narrower than the set value, the elasticity of the holding member 52 allows the tablets to be held. Excessive load on the tablet 9 is suppressed, and breakage of the tablet 9 is less likely to occur. Also, when the tablets 9 are delivered by the first inclined drum 71 and the second inclined drum 72, the gap from the delivery source to the delivery destination widens somewhat from the set value, and the tablets 9 do not reach the first suction holes 711 or the second suction holes. Even when separated from the hole 721, the tablet 9 is continuously held by the frictional force between the tablet 9 and the holding member 52, making it difficult for the tablet 9 to fall off.

As indicated by broken lines in FIG. 6, inside the first tilting drum 71, a third blowing mechanism B3 is provided. The third blow mechanism B<b>3 blows gas only to the first suction holes 711 facing the second tilted drum 72 among the plurality of first suction holes 711 of the first tilted drum 71 . Then, the pressure in the first adsorption hole 711 becomes a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the adsorption of the tablets 9 in the first adsorption holes 711 is released, and the tablets 9 are transferred from the first adsorption holes 711 of the first inclined drum 71 to the second adsorption holes 721 of the second inclined drum 72. .

Further, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 6, inside the second tilting drum 72, a fourth blowing mechanism B4 is provided. The fourth blow mechanism B<b>4 blows gas only to the second suction holes 721 facing the second area A<b>2 of the conveyor belt 22 among the plurality of second suction holes 721 of the second inclined drum 72 . Then, the second suction holes 721 have a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the suction of the tablets 9 at the second suction holes 721 is released, and the tablets 9 are delivered from the second suction holes 721 of the second inclined drum 72 to the suction holes 221 of the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22. be

The suction force of the tablets 9 by the plurality of second suction holes 721 on the second side surface 720 is preferably slightly larger than the suction force of the tablets 9 by the plurality of first suction holes 711 on the first side surface 710 . This makes it difficult for the tablets 9 to fall off during delivery of the tablets 9 from the first suction holes 711 of the first inclined drum 71 to the second suction holes 721 of the second inclined drum 72 . However, the adsorption force of the plurality of first adsorption holes 711 of the first inclined drum 71 and the adsorption force of the plurality of second adsorption holes 721 of the second inclined drum 72 may be the same.

The third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 have the same structure as the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72, and like the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72, they are arranged adjacent to each other. It is However, the third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 are arranged at the second reversing position P2 downstream of the first reversing position P1 at which the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72 are arranged. be done. Further, the third tilted drum 73 and the fourth tilted drum 74 are shifted in the width direction from the first tilted drum 71 and the second tilted drum 72 by one widthwise arrangement interval of the tablets 9. are placed. The third tilting drum 73 is fixed to the output shaft of the third motor 73M. The fourth tilting drum 74 is fixed to the output shaft of the fourth motor 74M.

The fifth tilting drum 75 and the sixth tilting drum 76 also have the same structure as the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72, and are arranged adjacently like the first tilting drum 71 and the second tilting drum 72. It is However, the fifth tilting drum 75 and the sixth tilting drum 76 are arranged at the third reversing position P3 downstream of the second reversing position P2 where the third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 are arranged. be done. In addition, the fifth tilted drum 75 and the sixth tilted drum 76 are shifted in the width direction from the third tilted drum 73 and the fourth tilted drum 74 by one widthwise arrangement interval of the tablets 9. are placed. The fifth tilting drum 75 is fixed to the output shaft of the fifth motor 75M. The sixth tilting drum 76 is fixed to the output shaft of the sixth motor 76M.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the tablets 9 held by the suction holes 221 at the first position W1 in the width direction of the conveying belt 22 and conveyed to the first reversing position P1 are received by the first inclined drum 71. Passed. The first tilted drum 71 rotates while sucking and holding the tablets 9 transferred from the conveyor belt 22 to the first suction holes 711 of the first side surface 710 to transfer the tablets 9 to the second tilted drum 72 . After that, the second inclined drum 72 rotates while sucking and holding the tablets 9 delivered from the first inclined drum 71 to the second suction holes 721 of the second side surface 720 to move the tablets 9 in the width direction of the conveying belt 22 . It is transferred to the suction hole 221 at the second position W2. As a result, at the first reversing position P1 on the transport path of the transport mechanism 20, the tablet 9 moves from the first position W1 belonging to the first area A1 to the second position W2 belonging to the second area A2 in the width direction of the transport path. moves, and the tablet 9 is turned upside down.

Similarly, the third tilting drum 73 and the fourth tilting drum 74 move from the third position W3 belonging to the first area A1 to the second position belonging to the second area A2 at the second reversing position P2 on the transport path of the transport mechanism 20. The position of the tablet 9 in the width direction in the conveying path is moved to the fourth position W4, and the front and back of the tablet 9 are reversed. Similarly, the fifth tilting drum 75 and the sixth tilting drum 76 move from the fifth position W5 belonging to the first area A1 to the second area A2 at the third reversing position P3 on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism 20. The position of the tablet 9 in the width direction in the conveying path is moved to the sixth position W6 to which it belongs, and the front and back of the tablet 9 are reversed.

As described above, the holding member 52 is detachable from the base portion 51 and the fixed portion 53 in each of the first to sixth inclined drums 71 to 76 . In this embodiment, as the holding member 52, in addition to the one already placed in the concave portion 62 of the base portion 51, a plurality of holding members having different thicknesses or different sizes of the through holes 520 and being replaceable with each other are provided. 52 are prepared in advance. As a result, even when the tablet 9 to be processed is changed to another type of tablet 9 having a different thickness, diameter, etc., the optimum holding member 52 suitable for the thickness, diameter, etc. of the changed tablet 9 can be selected. , the first tilting drum 71 to the sixth tilting drum 76, it is possible to easily deal with the problem. For example, when a tablet 9 with a small thickness is used, the holding member 52 with a large thickness is placed in the recess 62 to stably transfer the tablet 9 between the first to sixth inclined drums 71 to 76. It can be carried out.

The carry-out mechanism 80 is a mechanism for carrying out the plurality of tablets 9 from the transport mechanism 20 to the outside of the tablet printing apparatus 1 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the carry-out mechanism 80 has a carry-out chute 81 and a carry-out conveyor (not shown). The carry-out chute 81 is positioned downstream of the drying mechanism 60 in the conveying path and upstream of the reversing mechanism 70 in the conveying path. Also, the carry-out chute 81 faces the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22 . When the tablets 9 adsorbed to the adsorption holes 221 in the second area A2 reach the position of the carry-out chute 81, the adsorption of the tablets 9 is released by the second blow mechanism B2. As a result, the tablets 9 fall from the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22 through the discharge chute 81 onto the upper surface of the discharge conveyor. Then, the fallen tablets 9 are carried out to the outside of the tablet printing apparatus 1 by the carry-out conveyor.

The control unit 90 is means for controlling the operation of each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1 . FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing connections between the control unit 90 and each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. As conceptually shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 90 is configured by a computer having a processor 91 such as a CPU, a memory 92 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 93 such as a hard disk drive. A computer program CP is installed in the storage unit 93 for carrying out the tablet 9 conveying process, the reversing process, and the printing process.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 90 controls the above-described loading mechanism 10 (including the alignment mechanism and the loading drum 11), the transport mechanism 20 (the transport motor 23, the suction mechanism 24, the first blow mechanism B1, and the second blow mechanism B2), printing unit 30 (including four heads 31), first camera 40, second camera 50, drying mechanism 60, reversing mechanism 70 (first motor 71M to sixth motor 76M, third 3 blow mechanism B3, 4th blow mechanism B4, and suction mechanism), and a carry-out mechanism 80 are communicably connected. The control unit 90 temporarily reads the computer program CP and data stored in the storage unit 93 into the memory 92, and the processor 91 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program CP, thereby operating each unit described above. Control. As a result, the conveying process, the reversing process, and the printing process of the plurality of tablets 9 proceed.

<2. About the flow of processing>
Next, the flow of the conveying process, the reversing process, and the printing process using the tablet printing apparatus 1 described above will be described. Processing performed on one tablet 9 will be described below in order. However, this tablet printing apparatus 1 performs a predetermined process while sequentially conveying a plurality of tablets 9 along the conveying route. Therefore, a plurality of tablets 9 exist simultaneously inside the tablet printing apparatus 1 .

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in the tablet printing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. When the tablet 9 is loaded into the tablet printing apparatus 1, the loading mechanism 10 first loads the tablet 9 into the loading path on the transport mechanism 20 (step S1). The transported tablets 9 are held by suction in the suction holes 221 in the first area A1 of the conveying belt 22 . As the conveying belt 22 rotates, the tablets 9 are conveyed along the annular conveying path.

Hereinafter, the surface facing the outside of the tablet 9 while held in the suction holes 221 of the first area A1 is referred to as "first surface". Also, in this state, the surface that is sucked by the suction holes 221 will be referred to as a “second surface”. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the first surface of the tablet 9 is shaded in order to distinguish between the first surface and the second surface. However, the “first side” and the “second side” are irrelevant to the original front and back surfaces of the tablet 9 . For example, when the tablet 9 is a tablet with a scored line only on one side, among the plurality of tablets 9 held in the first area A1, the tablet 9 whose side with the scored line is the first side and the tablet 9 with the scored line Tablets 9 having the blank side as the first side may be mixed.

When the tablet 9 reaches below the first camera 40 , the first camera 40 photographs the first surface of the tablet 9 . Thereby, the image data of the first surface of the tablet 9 is obtained. The acquired image data is transmitted from the first camera 40 to the control section 90 . Also, the control unit 90 performs a pre-printing inspection of the first surface based on the image data received from the first camera 40 (step S2). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 221, the front and back sides of the tablet 9, the rotational posture of the tablet 9 around the vertical axis, the positional deviation of the tablet 9 with respect to the suction hole 221, the presence or absence of a shape defect of the tablet 9, etc. are inspected. be done.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches below the printing unit 30 , the four heads 31 eject ink droplets toward the first surface of the tablet 9 . Thereby, the printing process is performed on the first surface of the tablet 9 . As a result, an image is printed on the first surface of tablet 9 (step S3). At this time, the control unit 90 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection result of step S2 described above. For example, from the image for the front side and the image for the back side, an appropriate image is selected according to the front and back sides of each tablet 9, and the selected image is rotated according to the rotational posture of each tablet 9. A print signal is input to the head 31 based on the adjusted image. As a result, an appropriate image is printed on the first side of each tablet 9 in an appropriate orientation.

Subsequently, when the tablet 9 reaches below the second camera 50 , the second camera 50 photographs the first surface of the tablet 9 . Thereby, the image data of the first surface of the tablet 9 is acquired. The acquired image data is transmitted from the second camera 50 to the control section 90 . The control unit 90 also performs a post-printing inspection of the first surface based on the image data received from the second camera 50 (step S4). Specifically, for example, the control unit 90 compares the image data received from the second camera 50 and the data of the normal image prepared in advance, so that the image printed on the first surface of each tablet 9 is displayed. Determine whether the image is normal.

Subsequently, when the tablet 9 reaches the position of the drying mechanism 60 , the drying mechanism 60 blows hot air toward the first surface of the tablet 9 . As a result, the ink adhering to the first surface of the tablet 9 is dried and fixed on the first surface (step S5).

After that, when the tablet 9 reaches the first reversing position P1 to the third reversing position P3 on the conveying path, the reversing mechanism 70 moves the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction on the conveying path and reverses the front and back of the tablet 9. (step S6). Specifically, the tablets 9 conveyed at the first position W1 in the width direction are moved to the second position W2 in the width direction by the first tilted drum 71 and the second tilted drum 72 . The tablets 9 conveyed at the third position W3 in the width direction are moved to the fourth position W4 in the width direction by the third tilted drum 73 and the fourth tilted drum 74 . The tablets 9 conveyed at the fifth position W5 in the width direction are moved to the sixth position W6 in the width direction by the fifth tilted drum 75 and the sixth tilted drum . As a result, the plurality of tablets 9 move from the suction holes 221 in the first area A1 of the conveying mechanism 20 to the suction holes 221 in the second area A2.

At this time, the first inclined drum 71 sucks the tablets 9 delivered from the first area A1 one by one to the plurality of first suction holes 711, and constitutes the peripheral portion of each first suction hole 711. By bringing the tablet 9 into contact with the holding member 52 , the tablet 9 is rotated while being held, and transferred to the second inclined drum 72 . The second tilted drum 72 sucks the tablets 9 delivered from the first tilted drum 71 one by one to the plurality of second suction holes 721, and is a holding member that constitutes the peripheral edge of each second suction hole 721. By bringing the tablet 9 into contact with 52, it is rotated while being held, and transferred to the second area A2. As a result, the tablet 9 is turned upside down.

Similarly, the third inclined drum 73 sucks the tablets 9 delivered from the first area A1 to the plurality of suction holes one by one, and holds the tablets 9 on the holding member 52 forming the periphery of each suction hole. is rotated while being held by contact with the , and delivered to the fourth inclined drum 74 . The fourth tilted drum 74 sucks the tablets 9 delivered from the third tilted drum 73 one by one to the plurality of suction holes, and the tablets 9 come into contact with the holding members 52 forming the peripheral edge of each suction hole. It is rotated while being held by being rotated, and delivered to the second area A2. In addition, the fifth inclined drum 75 sucks the tablets 9 delivered from the first area A1 to the plurality of suction holes one by one, and holds the tablets 9 on the holding member 52 forming the peripheral edge of each suction hole. It rotates while being held by contact and is transferred to the sixth inclined drum 76 . The sixth tilted drum 76 sucks the tablets 9 delivered from the fifth tilted drum 75 one by one to the plurality of suction holes, and the tablets 9 come into contact with the holding member 52 forming the peripheral edge of each suction hole. It is rotated while being held by being rotated, and delivered to the second area A2. As described above, all the tablets 9 arranged in three rows in the width direction are turned upside down at the first turning position P1 to the third turning position P3, and are placed in the second area A2 with the second surface facing outward. is adsorbed and held in the adsorption hole 221 of .

Subsequently, when the tablet 9 reaches below the first camera 40 , the first camera 40 photographs the second surface of the tablet 9 . Thereby, the image data of the second surface of the tablet 9 is obtained. The acquired image data is transmitted from the first camera 40 to the control section 90 . Further, the control unit 90 performs a pre-printing inspection of the second surface based on the image data received from the first camera 40 (step S7). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 221, the front and back sides of the tablet 9, the rotational posture of the tablet 9 around the vertical axis, the positional deviation of the tablet 9 with respect to the suction hole 221, the presence or absence of a shape defect of the tablet 9, etc. are inspected. be done.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches below the printing unit 30 , the four heads 31 eject ink droplets toward the second surface of the tablet 9 . Thereby, the printing process is performed on the second surface of the tablet 9 . As a result, an image is printed on the second surface of tablet 9 (step S8). At this time, the control unit 90 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection result of step S7 described above. For example, from the image for the front side and the image for the back side, an appropriate image is selected according to the front and back sides of each tablet 9, and the selected image is rotated according to the rotational posture of each tablet 9. A print signal is input to the head 31 based on the adjusted image. As a result, an appropriate image is printed on the second surface of each tablet 9 in an appropriate orientation.

Subsequently, when the tablet 9 reaches below the second camera 50 , the second camera 50 photographs the second surface of the tablet 9 . Thereby, the image data of the second surface of the tablet 9 is acquired. The acquired image data is transmitted from the second camera 50 to the control section 90 . The control unit 90 also performs a post-printing inspection of the second surface based on the image data received from the second camera 50 (step S9). Specifically, for example, the control unit 90 compares the image data received from the second camera 50 and the data of the normal image prepared in advance, so that the image data printed on the second surface of each tablet 9 is displayed. Determine whether the image is normal.

Subsequently, when the tablet 9 reaches the position of the drying mechanism 60 , the drying mechanism 60 blows hot air toward the second surface of the tablet 9 . As a result, the ink adhering to the second surface of the tablet 9 is dried and fixed on the second surface (step S10).

Thereafter, when the tablets 9 reach the position of the carry-out chute 81, the tablets 9 fall from the conveyor belt 22 through the carry-out chute 81 to the carry-out conveyor. Then, the tablet 9 is carried out to the outside of the conveying path of the tablet printing apparatus 1 by the carry-out conveyor (step S11).

As described above, the tablet printing apparatus 1 conveys the tablets 9 along the annular conveying path. A part of the conveying path is provided with a reversing mechanism 70 that reverses the front and back of the tablet 9 and moves the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction. Therefore, each process of photographing by the first camera 40, printing by the printing unit 30, photographing by the second camera 50, and drying by the drying mechanism 60 is performed on both sides of the tablet 9 at the same position in the conveying direction. can. That is, each processing unit of the printing unit 30, the first camera 40, the second camera 50, and the drying mechanism 60 can perform predetermined processing on both the first surface and the second surface of the tablet 9. . Therefore, the number of parts of the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where these processes for the first surface and these processes for the second surface are performed at separate positions. Moreover, the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be miniaturized.

In particular, in this embodiment, a pair of inclined drums are used to realize the reversal of the tablet 9 and the movement in the width direction. According to this mechanism, the tablet 9 can be turned upside down and moved in the width direction without changing the position in the conveying direction. Therefore, the length in the conveying direction required for the reversing mechanism 70 can be suppressed. Thereby, the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be made more compact.

<3. Variation>
Although the main embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

In the above-described embodiment, the reversing mechanism 70 reverses the front and back of the tablet 9 and moves the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction. However, the reversing mechanism 70 may reverse the front and back of the tablet 9 without moving the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction. FIG. 14 is a side view of the tablet printing apparatus 1 provided with such a reversing mechanism 70. As shown in FIG.

In the modified example of FIG. 14, the transport mechanism 20 transports the tablet 9 along the annular transport path, similarly to the above-described embodiment. However, in this example, the tablets 9 before reversal and the tablets 9 after reversal are alternately arranged in the transport direction on the holding surface 220 of the transport belt 22 . When the tablet 9 before reversal reaches the reversal position, the first blow mechanism B1 blows gas only to the suction holes 221 in which the tablet 9 is adsorbed and held. As a result, among the plurality of tablets 9 held and conveyed by the conveying belt 22 , only the tablets 9 before reversing are delivered to the reversing mechanism 70 .

The reversing mechanism 70 of FIG. 14 has the same configuration as the reversing mechanism 70 of the above-described embodiment. However, in the example of FIG. 14, the first inclined drum 71 and the second inclined drum 72 are arranged adjacent to each other in the transport direction. Therefore, the reversing mechanism 70 that receives the tablet 9 from the conveying belt 22 transfers the tablet 9 after reversing to the suction hole 221 of the conveying belt 22 while reversing the front and back of the tablet 9 . Then, the reversing mechanism 70 moves the position of the tablet 9 in the conveying direction in the conveying path.

Even in such a configuration, in one transport mechanism 20, both surfaces of the tablet 9 are photographed by the first camera 40, printed by the printing unit 30, photographed by the second camera 50, and dried by the drying mechanism 60. each process can be executed. Therefore, the number of parts of the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be reduced compared to the case where these processes for the first surface and these processes for the second surface are performed in separate transport mechanisms. Moreover, the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be miniaturized.

In the above-described embodiment, the vertical angle of the first tilted drum 71 and the vertical angle of the second tilted drum 72 when viewed in the transport direction of the transport mechanism 20 are both 90°. However, the vertical angle of the first tilting drum 71 and the vertical angle of the second tilting drum 72 do not necessarily have to be 90°. However, when it is desired to move the tablet 9 while reversing it on the same holding surface 220, the vertical angle of the first inclined drum 71 and the vertical angle of the second inclined drum 72 when viewed in the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism 20 are is preferably 180°. For example, the vertical angle of the first tilted drum 71 when viewed in the transport direction may be 60°, and the vertical angle of the second tilted drum 72 when viewed in the transport direction may be 120°.

In the embodiments described above, the first to sixth inclined drums 71 to 76 all had conical side surfaces. However, the side surfaces of the first to sixth inclined drums 71 to 76 may have a polygonal pyramid shape such as a quadrangular pyramid, a hexagonal pyramid, and an octagonal pyramid. That is, the sides 700 of the tilting drum 77, including the first side 710 of the first tilting drum 71 and the second side 720 of the second tilting drum 72, may be pyramidal. The large-diameter portion 511, the small-diameter portion 512, the columnar portion 513 of the base portion 51, the holding member 52, the tubular portion 531 of the fixed portion 53, and the flange portion 532 of the inclined drum 77 are arranged on the inclined axis. It may extend in the shape of a rectangular tube with C0 as the center.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printing unit 30 is provided with four heads 31 . However, the number of heads 31 included in the printing unit 30 may be 1 to 3, or may be 5 or more.

In addition, the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment includes the printing unit 30, the first camera 40, the second camera 50, and the drying mechanism 60 as processing units that process the tablets 9 on the transport path of the transport mechanism 20. I was prepared. However, the tablet printing apparatus 1 may include only some of these processing units. Moreover, the tablet printing apparatus 1 may be provided with another processing unit.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the tablet 9 is conveyed along the annular conveying path has been described. However, in the granular material processing apparatus of the present invention, while conveying the granular material along a non-circular conveying path, the granular material is reversed in a part of the conveying path, and the position of the granular material in the width direction is moved. It may have a reversing mechanism.

Further, the detailed configuration inside the device may be different from each figure of the present application. Also, the elements appearing in the above-described embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined as long as there is no contradiction.

1 Tablet Printing Device 9 Tablet 20 Conveying Mechanism 30 Printing Unit 40 First Camera 50 Second Camera 51 Base Part 52 Holding Member 53 Fixing Part 54 Spring 60 Drying Mechanism 61 Base Side 62 Recess 70 Reversing Mechanism 71 First Inclined Drum 72 Second Inclined drum 73 Third inclined drum 74 Fourth inclined drum 75 Fifth inclined drum 76 Sixth inclined drum 77 Inclined drum 80 Carry-out mechanism 90 Control unit 220 Holding surface (of annular conveying belt) 221 Adsorption (of annular conveying belt) Hole 510 Opening 511 Large-diameter portion 512 Small-diameter portion 513 Columnar portion 514 Cut portion 520 Through hole 521 Protruding portion 531 Cylindrical portion 532 Flange portion 700 Side (of inclined drum) 701 Internal space (of inclined drum) 710 First side 711 Second 1 suction hole 720 second side surface 721 second suction hole 800 suction hole (of inclined drum) A1 first area A2 second area C0 inclined axis C1 first axis C2 second axis

Claims (18)

A granular material processing apparatus for performing a predetermined treatment on the surface of granular materials,
a transport mechanism that transports the particulate material along the transport path while holding the particulate material;
a processing unit that performs the predetermined processing on the first surface or the second surface of the granular material at a processing position on the transport path of the transport mechanism;
a reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the granular material at a reversing position on the transport path of the transport mechanism;
with
The reversing mechanism is
including a plurality of inclined drums each having a conical or pyramidal side surface whose diameter decreases from the bottom to the top about an inclined axis inclined with respect to the width direction of the conveying path;
Each of the plurality of tilted drums:
a base portion that forms a base side surface that is a part of the side surface on the bottom portion side, and that forms a concave portion that is recessed radially inward over the entire circumference on the top portion side of the base side surface;
an elastically deformable holding member having an annular shape centered on the tilting axis and mounted in the recess;
a fixing portion that is detachable from the base portion and sandwiches the holding member between itself and the base portion when attached to the base portion;
has
The base portion
a plurality of openings opening at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction in the recess;
a first fitting portion formed in a part in the circumferential direction;
has
The holding member is
a plurality of through holes formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction;
a second fitting portion formed in a part in the circumferential direction;
has
With the holding member placed in the recess, the first fitting portion fits into the second fitting portion, and the plurality of through-holes communicate with the openings, respectively, thereby forming a plurality of granular particles. A particulate material processing apparatus having a plurality of suction holes through which objects are adsorbed and held. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The first fitting portion is a cut portion cut radially inward from the concave portion,
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the second fitting portion is a protruding portion that protrudes radially inward from the end portion of the holding member on the top portion side. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The particulate matter processing apparatus, wherein a plurality of particulate matter are in contact with the holding member at peripheral edge portions of the plurality of adsorption holes in a state of being adsorbed and held by the plurality of adsorption holes. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Each of the plurality of tilted drums:
further comprising a spring placed on the end face of the holding member on the top side;
the spring is stretchable in a direction along the tilt axis;
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the spring is held by being sandwiched between the fixing portion and the holding member in a state where the fixing portion is attached to the base portion. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The particulate processing device, wherein the spring is a wave washer. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The base portion
further comprising a columnar portion extending in a cylindrical shape or a rectangular tube shape around the tilt axis at the end on the top side and having a first screw formed on the outer peripheral surface;
The fixed part is
a tubular portion extending in a cylindrical or square tubular shape around the tilt axis and having a second screw formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof;
a flange portion extending radially outward from the cylindrical portion;
has
The granular material processing device, wherein the fixing portion is attached to the base portion by screwing the first screw and the second screw together. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The reversing mechanism is
a first tilting drum that is the tilting drum having a first side surface that is the side surface of a conical or pyramidal shape centered on the first axis that is the tilting axis;
a second tilting drum, which is the tilting drum having a second side surface, which is the side surface of a conical or pyramidal shape centered on the second axis, which is the tilting axis;
has
The first tilting drum has the plurality of suction holes arranged in a ring around the first axis on the first side surface,
the second tilting drum has the plurality of suction holes arranged annularly around the second axis on the second side surface;
The first inclined drum rotates while adsorbing and holding the granular material delivered from the transport mechanism to the first side surface, and delivers the granular material to the second inclined drum;
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the second inclined drum rotates while attracting and holding the granular material delivered from the first inclined drum to the second side surface, and delivers the granular material to the transport mechanism. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The conveying mechanism conveys the granular material along the annular conveying path,
The reversing mechanism reverses the front and back of the granular material and moves the position of the granular material in the width direction of the conveying path. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 8,
The transport mechanism rotates a holding surface that adsorbs and holds the granular material along the transport path,
The holding surface has a first region and a second region adjacent in the width direction,
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the reversing mechanism moves the granular material held in the first area to the second area. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 7,
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the sum of the vertical angle of the first tilted drum and the vertical angle of the second tilted drum when viewed in the transport direction of the transport mechanism is 180°. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 7 or claim 10,
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the apical angle of the first inclined drum and the apical angle of the second inclined drum are both 90° when viewed in the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 11,
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the first inclined drum and the second inclined drum have the same shape and size. The granular material processing apparatus according to claim 7 or any one of claims 10 to 12,
The granular material processing apparatus, wherein the adsorption force of the particulate matter on the second side surface is greater than the adsorption force of the particulate matter on the first side surface. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or claims 10 to 13,
The conveying mechanism conveys the granular material along the annular conveying path,
The reversing mechanism reverses the front and back of the particulate matter and moves the position of the particulate matter in the conveying direction on the conveying path. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
The processing unit is
A particulate matter processing apparatus including a printing unit that prints on the surface of particulate matter using an inkjet method. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15,
The processing unit is
A particulate processing apparatus including a camera for photographing the surface of particulate matter. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16,
A granular material processing apparatus, wherein the granular material is a tablet. The granular material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17,
The particulate processing apparatus, wherein the holding member is made of silicone rubber.

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