JP3570518B2 - Capsule filling weighing method and capsule filling machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention continuously supplies an empty capsule in which a cap and a body are temporarily connected, fills the empty capsule with the contents, and continuously manufactures a capsule filling. In order to control and control, a sample for weighing is sampled from the obtained capsule filling group, the total weight is obtained by weighing the sample, and when calculating the filling amount of the contents from the total weight, the weight of the empty capsule weight is calculated. It is possible to accurately measure the filling amount of the contents without causing errors due to variations, and it is particularly preferably employed when manufacturing a capsule having a small amount of contents as seen in a special pharmaceutical preparation. The present invention relates to a capsule filling weighing method, and a capsule filling machine for producing a capsule filling while controlling and controlling the filling amount of contents by the weighing method.
[0002]
Problems to be solved by the prior art and the invention
Capsules filled with a drug in a hard capsule consisting of a cap and a body are filled by a capsule filling machine in the following steps: (1) a capsule supply step of continuously supplying empty capsules; and (2) a cap of all supplied empty capsules. (3) Separation step of separating capsule into cap and body, (4) Filling step of filling drug into body of separated capsule, (5) Capsule (6) The capsule and the body are connected again, and (6) the obtained capsule is weighed and the weighing step of inspecting the filling amount of the contents is sequentially performed. In this case, the empty capsule is continuously manufactured. Are automatically supplied to each other and are automatically transported between the respective processes, so that all the processes are automatically performed.
[0003]
Here, in the weighing step (6), a predetermined number of capsules are sampled from the obtained capsules at any time to measure the weight, and the weight of the empty capsule is subtracted from the measurement result to determine the weight in the capsule. A medicine filling amount is calculated, quality control is performed based on the result, and a filling process is controlled to adjust the filling amount.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-mentioned conventional weighing method, the amount of the drug filled in the capsule cannot be accurately weighed, so that a slight error occurs, and this error may cause a serious problem depending on the type of the drug. is there.
[0005]
That is, there are seven types of hard capsules (also referred to as hard capsules) from No. 00 to No. 5 depending on their size, but the weight of the capsules themselves and the amount of drug filling are determined to some extent. In the case of No. capsules, the capsule weight is 65 mg / ± 3-4 mg, and the inside can be filled with 250-300 mg of the drug with a powder, and usually the full body of the capsule is filled with 250-300 mg of the drug. When such a capsule is weighed by the above-mentioned weighing method, the variation of the capsule weight ± 3 to 4 mg is not corrected and an error is caused. Has an error of about 1% of the loaded drug, and usually has almost no problem.
[0006]
However, in certain therapeutic pharmaceutical formulations, the drug loading may be less than the weight of the empty capsule, for example, a small capsule of 20-40 mg is filled into a No. 2 capsule, In this case, the variation of the capsule weight ± 3 to 4 mg is more than 10% of the drug, and greatly exceeds the mere error range. In particular, in the case of a pharmaceutical preparation, as a matter of course, the dose of the drug must be strictly controlled, and an error of 10% becomes a serious problem.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, it is possible to accurately measure the filling amount of the contents in the capsule without being affected by the weight error of the capsule, and to reduce the filling efficiency of the capsule, especially It is possible to control and control the filling amount by incorporating it into the capsule filling process without requiring complicated operations, and it is particularly suitable for the production of small-fill capsules where the content drug is small compared to the capsule size. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for weighing a capsule filling to be performed and a capsule filling machine capable of performing a capsule filling operation while managing and controlling the filling amount of the contents by the weighing method.
[0008]
Means and Action for Solving the Problems
In order to achieve the above object, the method for weighing capsule filling of the present invention continuously supplies a large number of empty capsules in which a cap and a body are temporarily connected, and places these empty capsules upright with the cap on top. After the caps and the body of the empty capsule are continuously separated and the contents are filled in the body, the cap and the body are connected again to continuously manufacture the capsule filling. At this time, in order to control and control the filling amount of the contents, a predetermined number is sampled from the obtained capsule fillings, the weight is measured, and the contents filling amount in the capsule is calculated. In the method, empty capsules having a fixed reference weight are supplied at regular intervals or at arbitrary intervals, and a capsule filling in which the contents are filled in the empty capsules having the reference weight during the weighing is selected. It is designed to accurately calculate the filling amount of the contents by subtracting the known weight of the empty capsules constituting the capsule filling from the total weight of the capsule filling and performing weight measurement by sampling the capsules. is there.
[0009]
That is, according to the capsule filling weighing method of the present invention, when producing capsule filling, empty capsules that have been adjusted to a certain reference weight by weight measurement in advance together with ordinary empty capsules (for example, with respect to a predetermined reference value) (The range of ± 0.5 mg) is supplied between normal empty capsules at any time, the contents are filled in the same manner as for normal empty capsules, and the capsule filling material is selectively sampled and weighed. By subtracting the known empty capsule weight from the measured value, the amount of the content filled in the capsule can be accurately obtained, and by controlling and controlling the filled amount based on this measured value, Thus, it is possible to reliably obtain a capsule filling with an accurate filling amount with almost no error.
[0010]
Therefore, even when a small amount of 20 to 30 mg of a drug is filled in the No. 2 capsule normally filled with the content of 250 to 300 mg, the filling amount of the drug is controlled without causing an error or within a very small error range. It is possible to control the quality of the capsule, to improve the quality of the capsule, and to prevent the occurrence of poor filling as much as possible to improve the yield.
[0011]
Further, the present invention provides a capsule filling machine for managing and controlling the filling amount by the above-mentioned weighing method, a capsule supply means for continuously supplying empty capsules in a state where the cap and the body are temporarily connected, A direction regulating means for arranging the capsules in an upright state, a transfer means for transferring the group of arranged capsules, a capsule separating means for separating the empty capsule into a cap and a body, and the inside of the body of the separated capsule. Filling means for filling the contents, capsule connecting means for connecting the body and the cap of the capsule after filling the contents, collecting means for collecting the obtained capsule filling, and a predetermined number of capsules from the collected capsule filling group Weighing means for sampling the capsule filling material and measuring the weight, and continuously supplying empty capsules from the capsule supplying means. The capsules are arranged in an upright state with the cap up by the direction regulating means, and the capsules are separated into the cap and the body by the capsule separating means while the capsule group is transferred between the respective steps by the transfer means, and the capsule is separated by the filling means. The contents are filled in the body, the cap and the body are connected by the capsule connecting means to produce a capsule filling, the obtained capsule filling is collected by the collecting means, and a predetermined number of capsules are filled by the weighing means. The contents are sampled, the weight of the sampled capsule filling is weighed, the empty capsule weight is subtracted from the weighed value to calculate the contents filling amount, and the filling amount of the contents is managed based on the result. In a capsule filling machine configured to control, a sampling capsule supply for supplying empty capsules having a fixed reference weight at a constant interval or at an arbitrary interval. Means, and a sampling control means for controlling the weighing means so as to selectively sample the sampling capsule filling in which the empty capsule of the reference weight is filled with the contents is provided. I do.
[0012]
As described above, this capsule filling machine continuously supplies a large number of empty capsules in which the cap and the body are temporarily connected by the capsule supply means, and arranges them in an upright state with the cap up by the direction regulating means. Then, the cap and the body of the empty capsule are continuously separated by the capsule separating means while transferring between the respective steps by the transferring means, and the contents are filled into the body by the filling means. The capsule filler is connected again by the capsule connecting means to continuously produce a capsule filling, which is collected by the collecting means, and a predetermined number is sampled from the capsule filling obtained by the weighing means to measure the weight. , Calculates the filling amount of the contents in the capsule, and manages and controls the filling amount.
[0013]
In this case, according to the filling machine of the present invention, in addition to the capsule supplying means, the direction regulating means, the transferring means, the capsule separating means, the filling means, the capsule connecting means, the collecting means, and the weighing means for performing the capsule filling and weighing as described above. In addition, the above-mentioned sampling capsule supply means and sampling control means are added, whereby it is possible to prevent as much as possible the occurrence of a measurement error of the filling amount based on the variation in the weight of the empty capsule.
[0014]
That is, a normal empty capsule supplied by the capsule supply means with the sampling capsule supply means supplying a sampling capsule (for example, a range of ± 0.5 mg with respect to a predetermined reference value) which has been previously adjusted to a certain reference weight by weight measurement. The sampling capsule is filled with the contents by using the direction regulating means, the transfer means, the capsule separating means, the filling means, the capsule connecting means and the collecting means in the same manner as for a normal empty capsule. At the same time as collecting, the sampling control means controls the sampling mechanism of the weighing means to selectively sample this sampling capsule filling from the obtained capsule filling group, perform weight measurement, and perform measurement from the measured value. Determine the amount of contents filled in the capsule by subtracting the known empty capsule weight It is intended. As a result, the filling amount of the contents can be accurately measured without causing a measurement error due to a variation in the weight of the empty capsule, and by managing and controlling the filling amount based on the measured value, almost no error can be obtained. It is possible to surely obtain a capsule filling with no accurate filling amount.
[0015]
Therefore, according to the capsule filling machine of the present invention, even when a small amount of a drug of 20 to 30 mg is filled in a No. 2 capsule which is usually filled with a content of 250 to 300 mg, there is no error or a very small amount. The filling amount of the medicine can be managed and controlled within the error range, the quality of the capsule can be improved, and the occurrence of poor filling can be prevented as much as possible to improve the yield.
[0016]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1 to 17 show a pharmaceutical capsule filling machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. This filling machine weighs a drug filling amount in a capsule by a weighing method of the present invention, and It is configured to manage and control the medicine filling amount based on this.
[0017]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this capsule filling machine is provided with a drive source (not shown) such as a motor and a base having an operation unit 11 for controlling and operating the apparatus. 1, a capsule supply unit 2, a capsule separation unit 3, a capsule transfer unit 4, a medicine filling unit 5, a capsule connection unit 6, and a capsule collection unit 7 are provided. Further, a weighing unit 8 is attached to the capsule collection unit 7. It is provided.
[0018]
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the capsule supply unit 2 includes a hopper 21 that continuously supplies empty capsules in a state where the cap and the body are temporarily connected, a supply drum 23, a direction regulating drum 24, And a direction regulating mechanism 22 comprising a transfer drum 25. The hopper 21 continuously supplies empty capsules to the direction regulating mechanism 22, and the direction regulating mechanism 22 places the empty capsule on the cap. It is arranged in the upright state and delivered to the transfer section 4.
[0019]
The hopper 21 includes a main hopper (capsule supply means) 211 for continuously supplying a normal empty capsule 10 and a small hopper (sampling capsule supply) for supplying a sampling capsule 12 having a predetermined weight by measuring the weight in advance. (Means) 212. The small hopper 212 has a supply pipe section 213 for arranging the sampling capsules 12 in a line and sequentially supplying the sampling capsules 12 to the supply drum 23 of the direction regulating mechanism section 22. 214 and a shutter 215 are provided, and four sampling capsules 12 are accommodated between the stopper 214 and the shutter 215 (see FIG. 3). The distal end of the supply pipe 213 is located in front of the main hopper 211 in the rotation direction of the supply drum 23, and the distal end of the supply pipe 213 is located just before the normal capsule supply position by the main hopper 211. , The sampling capsule 12 is supplied to the supply drum 23. In this case, when the shutter 215 is opened to supply the sampling capsules 12 to the supply drum 23, the stopper 214 is closed in conjunction with the opening to prevent the insertion of four or more sampling capsules (FIGS. 4 and 5). When all the four sampling capsules 12 are supplied to the supply drum 23, the shutter 215 is closed again, and the stopper 214 is opened to hold the four sampling capsules 12 between the shutter 215 and the stopper 214. (See FIG. 3), it is prepared for the next supply.
[0020]
The supply drum 23 constituting the direction regulating mechanism 22 has 36 accommodation pockets 231 for accommodating capsules formed on the peripheral surface along the circumferential direction, and the supply drum 23 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure. By rotating, the capsules 10 or 12 are sequentially supplied and stored in the storage pocket 231 from the hopper 21.
[0021]
The storage pocket 231 has a shape in which a part of the periphery of the opening is widened in the rotation direction so that the capsules 10 and 12 can easily enter the suction pocket 231, and a suction hole formed near the radial inside of the supply drum 23. / Communication with the blowout hole 232. On the other hand, suction units 233 and 234 and a blowing unit 235 are provided on a wall (not shown) that supports the supply drum 23, and the suction units 233 and 234 and the suction / blowing holes 232 are connected to each other. In the matched state, the inside of the storage pocket 231 is sucked, and in the state where the blowout portion 235 and the suction / blowout hole 232 match, air is blown into the storage pocket 231. Further, left and right guide plates 236 and 236 are provided along the drum peripheral surface to prevent the capsule from falling off from the vertical middle part of the supply drum 23 to the lower side. A gap for discharging the capsule is provided between 236 and 236.
[0022]
The direction regulating drum 24 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the supply drum 23, is disposed below the supply drum 23, with its peripheral surface close to the supply drum 23, and is supplied at the same peripheral speed as the supply drum 23. The drum 23 rotates in the opposite direction (clockwise direction in the figure). On the peripheral surface of the direction regulating drum 24, three sets of direction regulating portions each comprising four direction regulating pockets 241 are provided at regular intervals along the circumferential direction. These direction regulating pockets 241 communicate with a substantially elliptical upper portion in which the capsule is housed in the lateral direction and one end of the upper portion. The cap portion of the capsule is not allowed to enter and only the body portion is allowed to enter. And the bottom is adjusted.
[0023]
The bottom of the direction regulating pocket 241 is in communication with a suction / blowing hole 242 formed near the radially inner side of the direction regulating drum 24. As in the case of the supply drum 23, a suction unit 243 and a blowing unit 244 are provided on a wall (not shown) supporting the direction control drum 24. In the state where the suction / blowout hole 242 coincides, the inside of the direction regulation pocket 241 is sucked, and in the state where the blowout portion 244 and the suction / blowout hole 242 coincide, the inside of the direction regulation pocket 241 is placed. The air blows out. Further, a guide plate 245 (direction regulating body) for preventing the capsule from falling off and regulating the direction of the capsule is provided along the peripheral surface from one side (the right side in the figure) of the peripheral surface of the direction regulating drum 24 to the lower side. ing.
[0024]
Further, the transfer drum 25 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the supply drum 23 similarly to the above-described direction regulating drum 24, and is disposed in a state in which its peripheral surface is close to the lower side of the direction regulating drum 24, and It rotates in the opposite direction (counterclockwise direction in the figure) to the direction regulating drum 24 at the same peripheral speed as the drum 24. On the peripheral surface of the transfer drum 25, three sets of transfer portions each including four transfer pockets 251 are provided at regular intervals along the circumferential direction.
[0025]
These transfer pockets 251 are formed in such a shape that a part of the periphery of the opening part is widened in the anti-rotation direction so that the capsule can be easily inserted, and the suction / pump formed near the radially inner side of the transfer drum 25. It is in a state of communicating with the blowing hole 252. On the other hand, the wall (not shown) supporting the transfer drum 25 is provided with a suction unit 253 and a blowing unit 254, and the suction unit 253 and the suction / blowing hole 252 are aligned. In the transfer pocket 251, the inside of the transfer pocket 251 is sucked, and the air is blown into the transfer pocket 251 when the blowout portion 254 and the suction / blowout hole 252 are aligned. A guide plate 255 is provided along the peripheral surface of the transfer drum 25 to prevent the capsule from falling off from one side (the left side in the figure) of the peripheral surface to the lower side.
[0026]
The operation of the capsule supply unit 2 including the hopper 21 and the direction regulating mechanism unit 22 will be described. First, the empty capsule 10 and the sampling capsule 12 are transferred from the main hopper 211 or the small hopper 212 of the hopper 21 to the storage pocket 231 of the supply drum 23. Are continuously supplied and stored. In this case, the supply drum 23 rotates counterclockwise in the figure, and capsules are sequentially supplied and stored in the storage pocket 231 from the leading end of the supply pipe 213 of the main hopper 211 or the small hopper 212. 233 and the suction / blow-out hole 232 coincide with each other, the inside of the storage pocket 231 is sucked, and the capsule is stored in the storage pocket 231 from the main hopper 211 or the supply pipe 213 by this suction force.
[0027]
The capsule accommodated in the accommodation pocket 231 of the supply drum 23 is carried to the lower side of the supply drum 23 by the rotation of the supply drum 23, and is transferred to the direction regulation pocket 241 of the direction regulation drum 24. At this time, the blowout portion 235 of the supply drum 23 and the suction / blowout hole 232 coincide with each other, air is blown out from the storage pocket 231 to push out the stored capsule, and the suction / blowout hole 242 of the direction regulating drum 24. Are aligned with the suction part 243, and the direction regulating pocket 241 is in the suction state, so that the capsule can be reliably received.
[0028]
Here, in the supply drum 23, 36 storage pockets 231 are uniformly provided on the peripheral surface of the drum, while in the direction control drum 24, three sets of four direction control pockets 241 are formed. The restricting portions are merely provided at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. For this reason, the capsules stored in the storage pocket 231 of the supply drum 23 are transferred to the direction control drum 24 every four capsules, and the capsules supplied to the supply drum 23 from the hopper 21 After passing through the supply unit from the hopper 21 again without being moved to the direction regulating drum 24 in the first cycle, the sheet is moved to the direction regulating drum 24 in the second cycle. Therefore, even if the capsule is not properly stored in the storage pocket 231 during supply from the hopper 21 and the storage pocket 231 in an empty state occurs, the empty pocket 231 is passed through the supply unit from the hopper 21 for the second time. The capsule is reliably supplied to the direction regulating drum 24 without generating an empty direction regulating pocket 241 in the direction regulating drum 24.
[0029]
Next, when the capsule accommodated in the direction regulating pocket 241 of the direction regulating drum 24 enters the pocket 241 from the body side, the body of the capsule enters the bottom of the direction regulating pocket 241 and the cap is raised. It is completely accommodated in the direction regulating pocket 241 in an upright state (on the peripheral surface side of the drum). On the other hand, the capsule that has entered the pocket 241 from the cap side cannot enter the bottom because the diameter of the cap is larger than the diameter of the bottom of the pocket, and the body portion protrudes from the circumferential surface of the direction regulating drum. As the direction regulating drum 24 rotates in this state, the body portion protruding from the drum peripheral surface comes into contact with one end of the guide plate 245 (see the capsule 10a in FIG. 3). By further rotating the direction regulating drum 24, the capsule 10a is stored and held in the upper part of the direction regulating pocket 241 in a state where the capsule portion is tilted with the cap portion forward in the direction of rotation of the direction regulating drum (see the capsule 10a in FIG. 4). ).
[0030]
The capsule accommodated in the direction control pocket 241 of the direction control drum 24 is transferred to the transfer pocket 251 of the transfer drum 25. The holes 242 coincide with each other, air is blown out from the direction regulating pocket 241 to push out the stored capsules, and the suction / blow-out holes 252 of the transfer drum 25 coincide with the suction portions 253, so that the transfer pocket 251 is formed. Is in a suction state, so that the capsule can be reliably received.
[0031]
At this time, the capsule that has been housed in the direction regulating pocket 241 in an upright state with the body part entering the bottom of the direction regulating pocket 241 enters the transfer pocket 251 as it is from the cap side, and the body side moves upward. The capsule (see the capsule 10a in FIG. 4), which is housed in an inverted state (drum peripheral side) and is also housed in a state of being fallen on the upper part of the direction regulating pocket 241, also has the cap part forward in the drum rotation direction. , It enters the transfer pocket 251 from the cap side, and is housed in an inverted state with the body side up (drum peripheral side). Therefore, all the capsules transferred to the transfer drum 25 are accommodated in the transfer pocket 251 in an inverted state with the body side up (drum peripheral surface side).
[0032]
The capsule transferred to the transfer drum 25 is moved downward by the rotation of the transfer drum 25, and is replaced by a replacement pocket 261 of a reciprocating replacement unit 26 disposed below the transfer drum 25. Moved to In this case, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the reciprocating replacement unit 26 moves to the right side in the figure in accordance with the rotational movement of the transfer drum 25, and successively accommodates capsules in the replacement pocket 261. At this time, the inside of the replacement pocket 261 is sequentially sucked by the exhaust shoe 262 disposed below the reciprocating replacement unit 26, and the suction / blowing holes 252 of the transfer drum 25 are sequentially aligned with the blowing portion 254. Then, the capsules are sequentially pushed out from the transfer pocket 251, and the capsule is reliably transferred into the replacement pocket 261 of the reciprocating replacement unit 26.
[0033]
In this case, as described above, since all the capsules transferred to the transfer drum 25 are in an inverted state with the body side up (drum peripheral surface side), all of the capsules are put into the replacement pocket 261 from the body side. Then, the caps are housed in the replacement pocket 261 in an upright state with the cap up, so that all four capsules are aligned in the upright state with the cap up.
[0034]
For the sake of convenience in the drawings and description, the pockets 231, 241 and 251 of the drums 23, 24 and 25 and the replacement pockets 261 of the reciprocating replacement unit 26 are all shown in only one row. , 24, 25 and the width direction of the unit 26 (front-rear direction in the figure) are formed in seven rows, and the same operation as described above is performed in each row.
[0035]
Next, the group of capsules aligned and held in the reciprocating replacement unit 26 is transferred to the capsule transfer unit 4 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
[0036]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the capsule transfer section 4 includes a flat disk-shaped rotating disk 41 and twelve body containers 42 disposed below the rotating disk 41. I have. On the periphery of the rotating disk 41, twelve sets of cap housing portions 412 each having 28 cap pockets 411 arranged in four rows of four are formed at regular intervals from each other. In the 42, 28 body pockets 421 corresponding to the cap pockets 411 are formed in four rows of seven in a row. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 43 denotes a cap that closes the upper surface of the hollow portion of the rotary disk 41.
[0037]
The rotating disk 41 is made to rotate once by the twelfth intermittent rotation (in FIGS. 9 and 10, numbers 1 to 12 are assigned to each rotation angle). Further, the body container 42 is connected to the rotating disk 41 by a ring-shaped wall 47 that rotates integrally with the rotating disk 41, and is intermittently rotated in synchronization with the rotating disk 41. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, an extrusion shaft 44 is connected to each of the body containers 42, and the tip of the extrusion shaft 44 is inserted into an extrusion cam groove 45 provided on the rotation center side. It is slidably connected. Accordingly, the extrusion cam groove 45 pushes the extrusion shaft 44 outward at the rotation angles of 3, 4, 5, and 6, and the body container 42 is moved from the peripheral edge of the rotary disc 41 as shown in FIG. It protrudes outward.
[0038]
Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a pair of elevating shafts 46 are connected to the lower surface side of each body container 42, and the elevating shafts 46 are ring-shaped protruding from the upper surface of the base 1. It is slidably connected to an elevating cam groove 49 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the wall 48 (see FIGS. 6 to 8). Thus, at the rotation angles 1, 2 and 7 to 12, the lifting cam groove 49 pushes the lifting shaft 46 upward, and the body container 42 comes into close contact with the lower surface of the rotating disk 41, and the rotation angles 3 to 6 In, the elevating cam groove 49 pulls the elevating shaft 46 downward, and the body housing 42 and the lower surface of the rotating disk 41 are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. Accordingly, the body container 42 projects outward at the rotation angles of 3 to 6 by the action of the pushing cam groove 45 and is separated downward from the lower surface of the rotary disk 41 by the action of the lifting cam groove 49. It is supposed to be. At rotation angles 1, 2, and 7 to 12 at which the body container 42 is in close contact with the lower surface of the rotary disk 41, the cap pocket 411 of the rotary disk 41 and the body pocket 421 of the body container 42 communicate with each other. It is in a state of having been done.
[0039]
At the position of the rotation angle 1 in FIGS. 9 and 10, the capsule group arranged in the reciprocating replacement unit 26 is transferred by the capsule supply unit 2 to the rotating disk 41 and the body container 42 of the capsule transfer unit 4. That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, capsules AB (hereinafter, the cap portion of the capsule is A, the body portion is B, and the capsule in which the cap and the body are connected to each other are AB) are aligned and accommodated. The reciprocating replacement unit 26 (see FIG. 7) is moved onto the rotating disk 41 so that the cap pocket 411 of the rotating disk 41 and the replacement pocket 261 of the reciprocating replacement unit 26 coincide with each other. The shutter 27 that has closed the lower end opening of the replacement pocket 261 in an air flow state so as not to fall off is opened, and the capsule AB is put into the cap pocket 411 of the rotating disk 41 (see FIG. 8).
[0040]
Here, the lower portion of the cap pocket 411 of the rotating disk 41 is formed to have a small diameter so that the body portion B of the capsule AB can pass through, but the cap portion A cannot pass. Then, in this state, the inside of the body pocket 421 of the body container 42 is sucked by the capsule separating exhaust shoe (capsule separating means) 31 disposed below the body container 42, thereby the body B of the capsule AB. Is sucked and stored in the body pocket 421 while leaving the cap A in the cap pocket 411, and the capsule AB is separated into the cap A and the body B (see FIG. 8). As described above, as soon as the capsule AB is delivered to the capsule transfer section 4, the capsule AB is separated into the cap A and the body B, and the portion having the rotation angle 1 (see FIG. 9). Is the capsule separation unit 3.
[0041]
The cap A and the body B separated by the capsule separating section 3 are transferred to the medicine filling section 5 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) by rotating the rotating disk 41 and the body container 42. The medicine filling section 5 is installed at the position of the rotation angle 4 in FIG.
[0042]
As shown in FIG. 12, the medicine filling section 5 includes a metering disk 51, a medicine supply chamber 52, a pushing plunger 53, an auxiliary plunger 54, and a filling plunger 55. .
[0043]
In the metering disk 51, a metering hole 511 corresponding to the filling amount of the medicine is formed in a peripheral portion corresponding to the body pocket 421 of the body container 42, and the metering disk 51 is formed. Reference numeral 51 is intermittently rotated in synchronization with the rotating disk 41 and the body container 42. A part of the metering disk 51 protrudes outward from the outer periphery of the body container 42, that is, the rotating disk 41 at the position of the rotation angle 4 in FIG. The metering hole 511 and the body pocket 421 of the body container 42 are communicated with each other so as to be close to the upper surface of the body container 42 separated from the lower surface and downward. It is in a state.
[0044]
The medicine supply chamber 52 is disposed near the upper surface of the metering disk 51 on the peripheral edge upper surface side of the metering disk 51 at a position facing the body container 42 with the rotation center interposed therebetween. I have. In the medicine supply chamber 52, the tip side of a pushing plunger 53 which moves up and down by an appropriate power is disposed, and when the plunger 53 is lowered, the tip end thereof becomes a metering hole 511 of the metering disk 51. It is designed to enter inside. In the medicine supply chamber 52, a distal end of a medicine supply pipe 521 is disposed so as to penetrate an upper wall, and a powdery medicine from a medicine supply hopper (not shown) is provided in the medicine supply pipe 521. The rotation of the screw shaft 522 is supplied to the medicine supply chamber 52 through the medicine supply pipe 521. The medicine supplied to the medicine supply chamber 52 is constantly leveled by vibrating the stirring blade 523, and furthermore, by detecting the medicine surface with the level sensor 524, a certain amount of medicine is supplied into the medicine supply chamber 52. Are always held.
[0045]
An auxiliary plunger 54 that moves up and down with appropriate power is disposed on the lower surface of the metering disk 51 that faces the medicine supply chamber 52 with the metering disk 51 interposed therebetween. As a result of the upward movement, the leading end thereof enters the metering hole 511 of the metering disk 51.
[0046]
The filling plunger 55 is disposed above the metering hole 511 that is in communication with the body container 42 at a position facing the medicine supply chamber 52 with the rotation center of the metering disk 51 interposed therebetween. And move up and down by appropriate power. When the filling plunger 55 descends, its tip enters the metering hole 511.
[0047]
In the medicine filling section 5, a predetermined amount of medicine is filled in the body B of the capsule AB separated into the cap and the body by the capsule separating section 3. In this case, first, a powdery filling medicine is supplied from the medicine supply pipe 521 into the medicine supply chamber 52, and the medicine supply chamber 52 is filled with a predetermined amount of medicine. Keep it.
[0048]
Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the plunger 53 is lowered from this state (FIG. A) to push the medicine C into the metering hole 511 of the metering disk 51 and compress the medicine C at a predetermined pressure. Then, after the cylindrical drug molded article D is molded (FIG. B), the pushing plunger 53 is raised (FIG. C). During the series of operations in FIGS. A to C, the tip of the auxiliary plunger 54 is aligned with the lower end opening of the metering hole 511. The lower end opening is in a closed state.
[0049]
Next, when the steps in FIGS. A to C are completed, the auxiliary plunger 54 rises by a predetermined amount, and its tip enters the metering hole 511 to push up the drug molding D by a predetermined amount. A part of the object D is projected from the upper surface of the metering disk 51 (FIG. D). Then, after the auxiliary plunger 54 descends and its tip comes out of the metering hole 511, the metering disk 51 rotates, and the drug molded product D is transferred to the filling section 50 (see FIG. 12). At this time, the projecting portion of the medicine molded product D projecting from the upper surface of the metering disk 51 is scraped off by the peripheral wall 525 (see FIG. 12) of the medicine supply chamber 52 (see FIG. 12), thereby finely adjusting the medicine filling amount. Done. That is, in the step of pushing up the drug molded product (FIG. D), the amount of drug filling can be adjusted by adjusting the rising amount of the auxiliary plunger 54 to adjust the projecting amount of the drug molded product D. ing.
[0050]
When the medicine molding D is transferred to the filling section 50 (see FIG. 12) by rotating the metering disk 51, the filling plunger 55 descends and its tip enters the measuring hole 511. As a result, the drug product D is dropped into the body pocket 421 of the body container 42 located below the metering disk 51, and is filled in the capsule body B held in the body pocket 421. (FIG. F).
[0051]
Here, the metering disk 51 is replaceable, and the medicine filling amount can be adjusted by exchanging with another measuring disk having a thickness corresponding to the medicine filling amount. The filling amount is adjusted in this manner, and the filling amount can be finely adjusted by adjusting the rising amount of the auxiliary plunger 54 in the step of FIG. 13A. .
[0052]
The body B and the cap A of the capsule filled with the medicine in the medicine filling section 5 are transferred to the capsule connecting section 6 (see FIG. 1) by the rotation of the rotating disk 41 and the body container 42, and the capsule The connecting portion 6 connects the body B filled with the medicine and the cap A.
[0053]
The capsule connecting portion 6 is disposed at the position of the rotation angle 8 shown in FIG. 9, and includes a pressing plate 61 disposed close to the upper surface of the rotating disk 41 as shown in FIG. And a connecting plunger 62 that is vertically movable below the body container 42 in opposition to the holding plate 61.
[0054]
Then, when the capsule body B and the capsule cap A filled with the medicine in the medicine filling section 5 are transferred to the capsule connecting section 6 (at this time, the body container 42 is in close contact with the lower surface of the rotating disk 41). State), the connection plunger 62 rises and its tip enters the body pocket 421 of the body container 42 from below. As a result, the capsule body B in the body pocket 421 is pushed up, enters the cap pocket 411 of the rotating disk 41, and its upper end (opening side) contacts the lower end of the cap A in the cap pocket 411. By raising the jar 62, the cap A is pushed up together with the body B.
[0055]
When the upper end of the cap A comes into contact with the lower surface of the holding plate 61 and is pressed, the upper end of the body B is pushed into the lower end of the cap A, and the cap A and the body B are connected. In this state, the connection plunger 62 is at the upper limit, and then the connection plunger 62 descends so that the tip of the connection plunger 62 withdraws from the body pocket 421 of the body container 42 and returns to the initial state.
[0056]
As described above, the capsule AB in which the cap A and the body B are connected is held in the cap pocket 411 of the rotating disk 41 with the lower end of the body B inserted into the body pocket 421 of the body container 42. The rotation of the rotary disk 41 and the body container 42 causes the body to be transferred to the capsule collecting section 7 (see FIG. 7).
[0057]
The capsule collecting section 7 is disposed at the position of the rotation angle 10 shown in FIG. 9 and has a rectangular box shape extending from the upper surface of the rotating disk 41 to the outside of the base 1 as shown in FIG. It has a recovery pipe 71 and an extrusion plunger 72 disposed below the body container 42 so as to be vertically movable.
[0058]
The collecting pipe 71 has a collecting hole 711 corresponding to the cap pocket 411 of the rotating disk 41 at one end of a bottom wall adjacent to the upper surface of the rotating disk 41, and the collecting hole 711 is formed inside. The capsule AB is inclined from one end to the other end, and the capsule AB collected in the collection pipe 71 from the collection hole 711 flows toward the other end by its own weight.
[0059]
The push-out plunger 72 is erected in correspondence with the body pocket 421 of the body container 42, and moves upward so that the leading end side passes through the inside of the body pocket 421 and the cap pocket 411 of the collection pipe 71. It enters into the upper end of the collection hole 711.
[0060]
When the capsule AB filled with the medicine is transferred to the collecting section 7, the push-out plunger 72 rises, and its tip enters the body pocket 421 to push up the capsule AB, and the body pocket 421 and the cap pocket 411 are pushed up. The capsule AB is discharged from the inside, and is pushed into the collection hole 711 of the collection pipe 71, and the capsule AB is further pushed up and discharged into the collection pipe 71. Thereafter, the push-out plunger 72 is lowered, and the tip end thereof retreats from the recovery hole 711, the cap pocket 411, and the body pocket 421 to return to the initial state.
[0061]
The capsules AB discharged into the collecting pipe 71 flow through the collecting pipe 71 under their own weight and are collected. A predetermined number of capsules are sampled from the thus collected capsules AB, and are collected by the collecting section 7. It is weighed by a weighing unit 8 (see FIG. 1) provided in association with it, and the result is used to manage and control the medicine filling amount.
[0062]
That is, as shown in FIG. 16, the collecting pipe 71 has a front portion divided into a collecting path 712 and a weighing path 713, and the flowing portion of the capsule AB is supplied to the collecting path 712 and the weighing path 713. The sampling flap 714 is rotatably provided. The sampling flap 714 normally closes the weighing path 713 and opens the collection path 712, and flows the flowing capsule AB to the collection path 712 side, and the small hopper 212 of the capsule supply unit 2. Activated when the capsule 12AB filled with the drug flows into the sampling capsule 12 supplied from, the collection path 712 is closed, and the weighing path 713 is opened to flow the capsule 12AB to the weighing path 713. I have. The operation of the sampling flap 714 is controlled by a computer (not shown) and is activated by setting a timing by a sequencer (not shown) (sampling control means). 12AB is selectively flown to the weighing path 713 side.
[0063]
Then, the capsules 12AB that have been flowed to the weighing path 713 and sampled are transferred to the weighing unit 8 and weighed one by one, and the weight of the sampling capsule 12 is measured from the weighed value (the exact weight is measured in advance. The amount of the drug to be loaded is calculated by subtracting (known).
[0064]
As shown in FIG. 17, the weighing unit 8 includes a capsule dropping device 81 connected to the tip of the weighing path 731, a balance 82 disposed below the dropping device 81, and a balance 82 with the capsule 82. And a collecting body 83 arranged to be able to reciprocate with the dropping device 81.
[0065]
The capsule dropping device 81 is provided with a capsule passage hole 811 through which only one capsule can pass, and a stopper 812 that opens and closes the capsule passage hole 811 at an intermediate portion of the capsule passage hole 811. In addition, a shutter 813 that opens and closes the opening is provided at the lower end opening of the capsule passage hole 811. Then, the capsules 12AB that have flowed through the weighing path 713 enter the capsule passage holes 811 in a line, and are temporarily stopped by the stoppers 812. When the shutter 813 is closed, the stoppers 812 are opened once and one capsule 12AB is stopped. The shutter 813 is held between the shutter 812 and the shutter 813, then the stopper 812 is closed, and the shutter 813 is opened to drop only one capsule 12AB onto the balance 82 through the passage hole 831 of the collecting body 83. Thereafter, the shutter 813 is closed, the stopper 812 is opened, and the next capsule 12AB is again held between the stopper 812 and the shutter 813. That is, the capsules 12AB are surely dropped onto the balance 82 one by one.
[0066]
Next, the capsules 12AB are weighed one by one by the balance 82 to determine the medicine filling amount. Then, after the weighing is completed, the collecting body 83 slides in one direction (left direction in the figure), and the weighed capsule 12AB is dropped on the collecting chute 84 to be collected.
[0067]
Next, the operation and operation when producing capsules using this capsule filling machine and performing quality control by the method of the present invention will be described.
First, the normal empty capsules 10 are continuously supplied from the main hopper 211 of the hopper 21 at all times, and the empty capsules 10 are aligned and arranged in the upright posture with the cap up by the above-described direction regulating mechanism 22. While being transferred to the transfer unit 4, it is separated into a cap A and a body B by the capsule separation unit 3. Next, the capsule 10 separated into the cap A and the body B is transferred by the capsule transfer unit 4, the medicine is filled in the capsule body B by the medicine filling unit 5, and the cap A and the body B are filled by the capsule connection unit 6. Are connected to each other to produce a capsule, and the obtained capsule is collected by the capsule collection unit 7.
[0068]
In this case, weight measurement is performed in advance from the small hopper 212 at a constant interval or an arbitrary interval by computer control or manual switching, and the sampling capsule 12 adjusted to a constant weight is supplied. This sampling capsule 12 is controlled in direction, is separated into a cap and a body, is filled with a drug, is connected to the cap and the body, is made into a capsule, and is collected as in the case of the ordinary empty capsule 10. However, at the time of collection, the sampling capsule 12AB is automatically sent to the weighing unit 8 by automatically operating the sampling flap 714, weighed, and subtracting a known capsule weight from the obtained weighed value. The drug loading is determined.
[0069]
Then, underfilling or overfilling is determined based on the obtained filling amount, and quality control is performed. In response to the lacking or excessive filling amount, the medicine filling section 5 automatically or manually by computer control according to the filling amount. Of the auxiliary plunger 54 in the medicine filling step (see FIGS. 13 and D) is adjusted to adjust the medicine filling amount.
[0070]
As described above, the capsule filling machine and the weighing method according to the present embodiment use the sampling hopper 12 (for example, in a range of ± 0.5 mg with respect to a predetermined reference value) that has been previously adjusted to a certain reference weight by weight measurement. A small hopper 212 supplies the normal empty capsule 10 between the normal empty capsules 21 as needed, and the direction regulating mechanism unit 22, the capsule separating unit 3, and the capsule transfer to the sampling capsule 12 in the same manner as for the normal empty capsule 10. The medicine is filled and collected by using the part 4, the medicine filling part 5, the capsule connecting part 6, and the capsule collecting part 7, and the sampling flap 714 (sampling mechanism) is automatically operated by using a computer (sampling control means). , A sampling capsule 12AB was selectively sampled from the group of obtained capsules, It is intended to determine the amount of drug which is filled into capsules by subtracting the empty capsules weight fraction known from the measured value by performing a measurement. As a result, the medicine filling amount can be accurately measured without causing a measurement error due to a variation in the weight of the empty capsule, and by managing and controlling the filling amount based on the measured value, there is almost no error. It is possible to reliably obtain a capsule with an accurate drug filling amount.
[0071]
Therefore, according to the capsule filling machine and the weighing method, even if a small amount of 20 to 30 mg of the drug is filled in the No. 2 capsule normally filled with 250 to 300 mg of the drug, no error occurs or the amount is small. The filling of the medicine can be managed and controlled within the error range, the quality of the capsule can be improved, and the occurrence of poor filling can be prevented as much as possible to improve the yield.
[0072]
The method for weighing the capsule filling material and the capsule filling device of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but are usually a supply means for capsules and sampling capsules, a direction regulating means, a capsule transfer means, a medicine filling means, and a capsule. The collection means, the sampling means, the weighing means, and the like can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. In addition, the method for weighing capsule filling and the capsule filling apparatus of the present invention are particularly preferably employed for the production and management of small-capsule capsules. It is also suitably adopted when performing.
[0073]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the capsule filling weighing method of the present invention, the content filling amount in the capsule can be accurately measured without being affected by the weight error of the capsule, and the capsule filling efficiency can be improved. It is possible to control and control the filling amount by incorporating it into the capsule filling step without lowering the amount of the resin or requiring a particularly complicated operation.
[0074]
Further, according to the capsule filling machine of the present invention, the capsule filling operation can be performed while controlling the filling amount of the contents by the weighing method of the present invention. Can be prevented as much as possible to improve the yield.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a capsule filling machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the filling machine.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a capsule supply section of the filling machine.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the capsule supply unit.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the capsule supply unit.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a capsule separating section of the filling machine.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the capsule separating section.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the capsule separating section.
FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing a capsule transfer section of the filling machine.
FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view for explaining a mechanism of a body container constituting the capsule transfer section.
FIG. 11 is a schematic development view for explaining a mechanism of a body container constituting the capsule transfer section.
FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a medicine filling section of the filling machine.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for sequentially explaining a medicine filling step in the medicine filling section from FIG. A to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing a capsule connecting portion of the filling machine.
FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing a capsule collecting section of the filling machine.
FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view showing a sampling mechanism of the capsule collecting section.
FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing a weighing unit of the filling machine.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 base
11 Operation unit
10 empty capsules
12 sampling capsules
12AB Sampling capsule (Sampling capsule filling)
2 capsule supply unit
21 hopper (capsule supply means)
211 Main hopper
212 Small hopper (Sampling capsule supply means)
22 Direction regulating mechanism (direction regulating means)
23 Supply drum
24 direction regulation drum
245 Guide plate (direction regulating body)
25 Transfer drum
26 Reciprocating replacement unit
3 Capsule separation unit (capsule separation means)
31 Exhaust shoe for capsule separation
4 Capsule transfer unit (transfer means)
41 rotating disk
411 cap pocket
412 cap housing
42 body container
421 body pocket
5 Drug filling section (filling means)
51 Metering disk
511 metering hole
52 Drug supply room
53 Push plunger
54 auxiliary plunger
55 filling plunger
6. Capsule connecting part (capsule connecting means)
61 Holding plate
62 Connecting Plunger
7 Capsule collection unit (collection means)
71 Recovery pipe
711 Collection hole
712 Collection route
713 weighing path
714 sampling flap
72 Extrusion Plunger
8 Weighing unit (weighing means)
81 Capsule drop device
82 Balance
83 Collected body
84 Collection Chute
A cap
B body
AB Capsule with body and body connected
C drug
D Drug molded product

Claims (5)

A large number of empty capsules in which the cap and the body are temporarily connected are continuously supplied, and these empty capsules are arranged in an upright state with the cap facing upward, and the cap and the body of the empty capsule are continuously separated. After filling the body with the contents, the cap and the body are connected again to continuously manufacture capsule fillings, and to control and control the filling amount of the contents. In the capsule filling weighing method of measuring a weight by sampling a predetermined number from the capsule filling, calculating the content filling amount in the capsule,
At regular intervals or at arbitrary intervals, empty capsules having a constant reference weight are supplied, and at the time of the above-mentioned weighing, the capsule filling in which the contents are filled into the empty capsules having the reference weight is selectively sampled to perform weight measurement. A capsule filling weighing method, wherein the known filling weight of the empty capsules constituting the capsule filling is subtracted from the total weight of the capsule filling to accurately calculate the filling amount of the contents. The method for weighing capsule filling according to claim 1, wherein the capsule filling is a capsule filling in which the filling amount of the content is smaller than the standard filling amount of the empty capsule. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the capsule filling is a medical capsule filled with a medical drug as a content. Capsule supply means for continuously supplying empty capsules in a state where the cap and the body are temporarily connected,
A direction regulating means for arranging the empty capsules in an upright state with the cap up,
Transfer means for transferring the array of capsules,
Capsule separation means for separating the empty capsule into a cap and a body,
Filling means for filling the contents into the body of the separated capsule,
Capsule connecting means for connecting the capsule body and the cap after filling the contents,
Collection means for collecting the obtained capsule filling,
Sampling a predetermined number of capsule fillers from the collected capsule filler group, comprising weighing means for performing weight measurement,
Empty capsules are continuously supplied from the capsule supply means, and the capsules are arranged in an upright state with the cap up by the direction regulating means. Is separated into a cap and a body, the contents are filled into the body by a filling means, the cap and the body are connected by a capsule connecting means to produce a capsule filling, and the capsule filling obtained by the collecting means is obtained. While collecting, a predetermined number of capsule fillings are sampled by weighing means, the weight of the sampled capsule fillings is weighed, and the empty capsule weight is subtracted from the weighed value to calculate the contents filling amount. In a capsule filling machine configured to manage and control the filling amount of the contents based on the result,
A sampling capsule supply means for supplying empty capsules having a constant reference weight at a constant interval or an arbitrary interval; and the weighing means for selectively sampling the contents of the sampling capsule in which the empty capsules of the reference weight are filled with contents. A capsule filling machine, further comprising sampling control means for controlling the means. A supply drum with a number of capsule storage pockets formed on the peripheral surface,
A direction regulating pocket formed on the peripheral surface portion, with a direction regulating pocket having an upper portion formed in a substantially elliptical shape capable of accommodating the capsule in a lateral direction, and a bottom portion formed in a diameter that allows only the body of the capsule to enter,
A direction regulating body disposed in proximity to the peripheral surface of the direction regulating drum,
A transfer drum in which a transfer pocket corresponding to the direction regulating pocket is formed on a peripheral surface portion,
Capsules are continuously supplied from the hopper for supplying empty capsules to the capsule receiving pocket of the rotating supply drum, and the capsules are sequentially replaced with the direction regulating pockets of the rotating direction regulating drum. At this time, the direction is regulated from the cap side. The capsule enters the pocket, and does not reach the bottom of the direction regulation pocket, but the body side of the capsule projects from the drum peripheral surface. In this way, the cap side is accommodated in the upper part of the direction regulating pocket with the cap side oriented in the rotation direction, and all capsules are inserted from the direction of the transfer drum into the transfer pocket of the transfer drum from the cap side and replaced. By sequentially discharging and arranging capsules from the transfer pocket of the drum, all capsules can be In capsule filling machine having a direction regulating means adapted to sequence erected state in which the top cap,
A sampling capsule supply hopper for supplying a sampling capsule having a constant reference weight is disposed on the front side in the rotation direction of the empty capsule from the position where the empty capsule is supplied to the supply drum by the hopper. 5. The capsule filling machine according to claim 4, wherein a predetermined number of sampling capsules are supplied to said supply drum at intervals or at arbitrary intervals.

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