JP3952151B2 - Drop chute for small items - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a dropping chute for dropping small articles such as tablets and capsules such as pharmaceuticals and granular confectionery from above and reliably transferring them to a predetermined position below, and spirally orbiting the small articles within the chute It is related with the fall chute | shoot for small articles comprised so that it might fall along.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In various industrial fields, when a small article is transferred from a predetermined upper position to a predetermined lower position, the small object to be transferred is put into a cylindrical chute, and the chute is dropped to a predetermined lower position. A small article is transferred to a position. For example, in the manufacturing process of pharmaceuticals such as tablets and capsules and granular foods, a small article discharged from an apparatus or container installed on the floor is put into a chute that communicates downstairs, and the inside of the chute is self-weighted. It is dropped and transferred to a device or a container installed or arranged in the downstairs.
[0003]
Here, when a small article is dropped from the upper floor to the lower floor as described above, the drop speed of the small article falling in the chute becomes a considerable speed and is installed or arranged in the lower floor. Small items may be damaged by impact when landing in a device or container, and in the case of relatively fragile items, damage may occur due to contact with the inner wall of the chute during dropping or collision between small items. Scratching problems may occur.
[0004]
In this case, the small chute can be prevented from being damaged or damaged by arranging the chute diagonally like a slide or providing a spiral chute to increase the moving distance with respect to the head. Such a chute has a problem of requiring a large installation area, and therefore, a chute that has been devised so that a transferred object falls in a spiral trajectory in a cylindrical chute installed vertically has been conventionally used. ing.
[0005]
As such a chute, for example, one shown in FIG. 5 is known. That is, a metal support b is erected along the axial center of the cylindrical chute body a, and a synthetic resin guide block c having a thread-like slope around the support b is supported and fixed. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 5, there is known a dropping chute in which a small article t such as a tablet put into the chute body a falls in a spiral shape while sliding on the slope of the guide block c. .
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional drop chute shown in FIG. 5 is very heavy and extremely inferior in handleability. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide block c forming the thread-like slope is divided into a plurality of parts to reduce the weight, but this guide block c also has a considerable weight. In addition, a column b is required to support a plurality of guide blocks c, and when a small article is transported from the upper level to the lower level as described above, it becomes a very long chute, which is very heavy. It is extremely inferior.
[0007]
In this case, in the production line for pharmaceuticals and confectionery, it is normal to produce multiple types of products with different shapes, sizes, masses, etc. in one line, and when changing the product to be produced In some cases, it may be necessary to replace the drop chute with an inner diameter and a slope angle suitable for it, and it may be necessary to remove the drop chute for cleaning and maintenance. In such a case, the weight of the dropping chute greatly affects the work efficiency of the replacement work and the cleaning work, and its weight reduction is a major issue.
[0008]
The fall chute shown in FIG. 5 is manufactured by fixing a plurality of the guide blocks c to the outer periphery of the support b, and arranging and fixing the guide blocks c in the cylindrical chute body a. Each guide block c is usually manufactured by cutting and forming the slope into a synthetic resin lump, which increases the manufacturing cost and makes it extremely expensive.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, is lightweight and excellent in handleability, can be manufactured at low cost, and can reliably drop small articles such as tablets along a spiral track. An object of the present invention is to provide a small article drop chute that can prevent the article from being damaged or damaged as much as possible.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a cylindrical chute main body arranged vertically and a plurality of D-shaped guide plates arranged in the chute main body, and each of the guide plates includes: A first imaginary line perpendicular to the edge corresponding to the D-shaped string and imaginary along the upper surface of the guide plate is inclined downward by a predetermined angle with the string side down, and the first imaginary line The second imaginary lines that are orthogonal and imaginary along the upper surface of the guide plate are inclined in a state where they are inclined downward at a predetermined angle with one end side down, and in this inclined state, the second imaginary line is 180 degrees around the axis of the chute body. The two types of guide plates rotated by two degrees are alternately arranged at regular intervals or at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the chute body, and small articles falling in the chute body are guided by the guide plates. Configured to fall along a generally spiral trajectory To provide a chute for small goods.
[0011]
The dropping chute of the present invention guides a small article such as a tablet falling in the chute main body by a plurality of guide plates arranged in the chute main body so as to drop along a substantially spiral track. It is a thing.
[0012]
That is, the plurality of guide plates arranged in the chute body are D-shaped as described above, and are alternately arranged in two forms rotated 180 degrees from each other. The small article is temporarily blocked from dropping at each location where the guide plate is installed, and passes through the communication port formed by the edge of the guide plate corresponding to the D-shaped chord portion and the inner peripheral surface of the chute body. It will drop onto the guide plate and will fall inside the chute body while repeating this operation.
[0013]
In this case, according to the present invention, each guide plate is perpendicular to the edge corresponding to the D-shaped string, and the first imaginary line hypothesized along the upper surface of the guide plate descends by a predetermined angle with the string side down. A second imaginary line that is inclined and perpendicular to the first imaginary line and imaginary along the upper surface of the guide plate is inclined and installed at a predetermined angle downward with one end facing down. That is, the guide plate is inclined downward toward the communication port side and is also inclined toward one side orthogonal to the inclination direction. It is guided and falls to the next lower guide plate from the above-mentioned communication port while heading diagonally downward. Since the next lower guide plate is installed in a state where the guide plate having the same inclination as the previous upper guide plate is rotated 180 degrees, the small article is guided in a diagonally downward direction in the opposite direction. By dropping further from the communication port to the next lower stage and repeating this operation, the small article falls in the chute body while drawing a substantially spiral path.
[0014]
As described above, the drop chute for small articles of the present invention uses a light plate-shaped guide plate instead of the conventional guide block c (see FIG. 5), and this guide plate is installed in the above-described special inclined state. By guiding the falling small article with this guide plate, the small article is dropped along a substantially spiral track, and this guide plate is lightweight and is used to support it. It can be directly supported on the chute body without using the support column.
[0015]
Therefore, the drop chute of the present invention can be significantly reduced in weight as compared with the conventional chute and is excellent in handleability. Therefore, the work efficiency of chute replacement work and cleaning work can be greatly improved.
[0016]
Further, the guide plate is a simple D-shaped plate body that is tilted and disposed in the chute body as described above, and does not require advanced processing such as cutting as in the conventional guide block c. The drop chute of the present invention can be manufactured at a very low cost because it can be easily and inexpensively manufactured, and a supporting column and the like are not required.
[0017]
As described above, the drop chute for small articles of the present invention is lightweight and excellent in handleability, can improve work efficiency of chute replacement work and cleaning work, and can be manufactured at low cost. . In addition, small articles that fall in the chute reliably fall along a substantially spiral track, and can take a sufficiently long drop path with respect to the drop, resulting in reduced load and impact on the small articles and damage. It is possible to reliably transport small articles without causing damage or damage.
[0018]
Furthermore, in the drop chute for small articles of the present invention, as described above, since the guide plate that guides the falling small articles to the spiral track is lightweight, it can be directly supported by the chute body. In this case, a slit that penetrates the inside and outside of the chute body is provided in the outer peripheral wall of the chute body, and a guide plate is inserted into the chute body through the slit from the outside of the chute body, and a guide plate is inserted into the slit. It can be made to support.
[0019]
And according to the support mode of the guide plate using such a slit, it is possible to easily configure the drop chute by a simple operation of inserting the guide plate into the chute main body through the slit from the outside of the chute main body. In addition, since the guide plate can be easily removed, cleaning and other maintenance can be performed very easily and with good workability. Furthermore, by forming multiple types of slits with different pitches and inclination angles, or by preparing multiple types of guide plates with different sizes, the position of the slit for inserting the guide plate and the guide plate to be inserted can be adjusted. It is possible to easily change the drop path (such as the pitch of the spiral trajectory) according to the small article to be transferred, and to change without changing the drop chute when changing the small article to be transferred. It is possible to easily reconfigure an appropriate dropping path according to the article.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
EXAMPLES Hereinafter, an Example is shown and this invention is demonstrated more concretely.
FIG. 1 shows a drop chute for small articles according to an embodiment of the present invention, and this drop chute has a plurality of guide plates 2a and 2b arranged in a cylindrical chute body 1. As shown in FIG.
[0021]
The chute body 1 is not particularly limited, but is preferably formed of a synthetic resin from the viewpoint of weight reduction, workability, cost, and the like, and the internal state can be easily confirmed. Since it can do, it is preferable that it is a transparent thing. Examples of the material include acrylic resin, polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of slits 11 are formed on the peripheral wall of the chute body 1 so as to be inclined over substantially a half circumference of the chute body 1. It is provided alternately by being displaced by 180 degrees along the predetermined interval.
[0023]
The guide plates 2a and 2b are both D-shaped plate bodies having the same shape, and as shown in FIG. 2, both end portions of the edge corresponding to the arc of the D-shaped plate-shaped guide base portion 21. An arcuate locking edge portion 22 is integrally extended and formed on the portion excluding. These guide plates 2a and 2b (only 2a is shown in FIG. 2) are inserted into the chute body 1 from the outside through the slit 11 and the guide base portion 21 is arranged in the chute body 1. In addition, the guide plates 2 a and 2 b are supported by the slit 11.
[0024]
In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the arc portion of the guide base portion 21 of each guide plate 2a, 2b is completely aligned with the inner peripheral surface of the chute body 1, and a D-shaped string is formed. Only the portion surrounded by the corresponding edge 23 and the inner peripheral surface of the chute body 1 serves as a communication port. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide plate 2a and the guide plate 2b are in a state of being rotated 180 degrees with respect to each other about the axis of the chute body 1, and two modes rotated 180 degrees with respect to each other. The guide plates 2a and 2b are alternately arranged in a state of being separated by a predetermined interval along the axial direction of the chute body 1. Accordingly, the communication ports are alternately formed at positions displaced by 180 degrees from each other in the vicinity of the inner peripheral surface of the chute body 1.
[0025]
The guide plates 2a and 2b are disposed in the chute body 1 with a special inclination. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, an arbitrary virtual image that is perpendicular to the edge 23 corresponding to the D-shaped chord portion of the guide plates 2a and 2b and is virtual along the upper surface of the guide plates 2a and 2b. When the line is a first virtual line 24 and an arbitrary virtual line that is orthogonal to the first virtual line and is virtual along the upper surfaces of the guide plates 2a and 2b is a second virtual line 25, the line is shown in FIG. As described above, the first virtual line 24 is inclined downward by a predetermined angle x with the edge 23 side down (see FIG. 5A), and the second virtual line 25 is predetermined with one end side down. Each of the guide plates 2a and 2b is inclined in a state where the angle y is inclined downward (see FIG. 5B). The guide plate 2a and the guide plate 2b are in a state of being rotated 180 degrees with each other while having the same inclination.
[0026]
Here, the inclination angle x of the first imaginary line 24 and the inclination angle y of the second imaginary line 25 are both the inner diameter and length (head) of the chute body 1, the size, strength, and slip of the small article to be transferred. Although it is appropriately set according to the property, mass, target transfer speed (falling speed), material of the guide plates 2a, 2b, etc., the inclination angle x of the first imaginary line 24 is usually not limited. It is preferably 10 to 30 degrees, particularly 20 to 25 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane h (see FIG. 3) when the chute body 1 is arranged vertically, and the inclination angle y of the second imaginary line 25 is similarly horizontal. The angle is preferably 3 to 20 degrees, particularly 5 to 15 degrees with respect to h.
[0027]
Further, the arrangement interval of the guide plates 2a and 2b is also set as appropriate according to the same factors and is not particularly limited, but is usually 0.5 to 3.0 times the inner diameter of the chute body 1. In particular, it is preferably 0.75 to 2.0 times. This arrangement interval is an interval at a position along the axial center of the chute body 1.
[0028]
Normally, the inclination angles x and y of all the guide plates 2a and 2b are the same, and all the guide plates 2a and 2b are arranged at equal intervals. Alternatively, it is possible to gradually change both of these in the upper part-intermediate part-lower part of the chute body 1 so that the falling speed and the shape of the spiral trajectory are changed during the transfer.
[0029]
The material of the guide plates 2a and 2b is not particularly limited and can be formed of an appropriate material. However, since the impact applied to the falling small article can be absorbed to some extent, the synthetic resin having moderate flexibility. More specifically, polyethylene, polypropylene, polytetrafluoroethylene and the like are preferably used. Among them, polytetrafluoroethylene has a low friction coefficient and good slipperiness, and is damaged by a small article that falls. Can be effectively prevented, and a small article can be smoothly transferred.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 4, the small article drop chute according to the present embodiment is arranged such that a small article t such as a tablet falling inside the chute main body 1 is placed on the guide plates 2 a and 2 b arranged in the chute main body 1. Is guided along a substantially spiral trajectory.
[0031]
That is, the guide plates 2a and 2b arranged in the chute body 1 have a D-shape as described above, and are alternately arranged in two modes 2a and 2b rotated 180 degrees from each other. For this reason, the small article t falling in the chute body 1 is temporarily blocked from dropping for each installation location of the guide plates 2a and 2b, and the edge 23 of the guide plates 2a and 2b corresponding to the D-shaped chord portion and the chute It drops onto the lower guide plate 2a or 2b through the communication port formed with the inner peripheral surface of the main body 1, and falls in the chute main body 1 while repeating this operation.
[0032]
In this case, in the drop chute of this example, each guide plate 2a, 2b is disposed in the above-described special inclination state, that is, is inclined downward toward the communication port side, and with respect to this inclination direction. Therefore, the small article t is guided by the inclination of the guide plates 2a and 2b and goes obliquely downward as shown in FIG. 4B. However, it falls from the communication port onto the next lower guide plate 2a or 2b. The next lower guide plate 2a or 2b is a guide plate having the same inclination as that of the previous upper guide plate 2a or 2b. Guided downward and dropped further from the communication port to the next lower stage, and as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4 (A), this operation is repeated so that the small article shoots while drawing a substantially spiral trajectory. The inside of the main body 1 is dropped.
[0033]
The guide plates 2a and 2b are preferably formed of a synthetic resin having moderate flexibility as described above, and small articles dropped on the flexible guide plates 2a and 2b are guided. It becomes easy to bounce due to the flexibility of the plates 2a and 2b, but the bounce direction becomes an oblique direction due to the inclination of the guide plates 2a and 2b, and does not collide with small articles falling from the upper communication port, Small items can be smoothly flowed.
[0034]
Thus, the small article drop chute of this example uses lightweight plate-like guide plates 2a and 2b in place of the conventional guide block c (see FIG. 5), and the guide plates 2a and 2b are used as described above. The small article t is installed along a substantially spiral path by guiding the falling small article t with the guide plates 2a and 2b by installing it in an inclined state. Since the guide plates 2a and 2b are directly supported by the chute body 1, no support is required unlike the conventional chute.
[0035]
Therefore, this drop chute is greatly reduced in weight as compared with the conventional chute and is excellent in handleability. Therefore, the work efficiency of chute replacement work and cleaning work can be greatly improved.
[0036]
Further, the guide plates 2a and 2b are formed by tilting a D-shaped simple plate body in the chute body 1 as described above, and perform advanced processing such as cutting as in the conventional guide block c. Therefore, the drop chute of this example can be manufactured at a very low cost because it is possible to easily and inexpensively manufacture the support and to support a supporting column or the like.
[0037]
Thus, the drop chute for small articles of this example is lightweight and excellent in handleability, can improve work efficiency of chute replacement work and cleaning work, and can be manufactured at low cost. In addition, small articles that fall in the chute reliably fall along a substantially spiral track, and can take a sufficiently long drop path with respect to the drop, resulting in reduced load and impact on the small articles and damage. It is possible to reliably transport small articles without causing damage or damage.
[0038]
Furthermore, in the small article drop chute of the present example, a slit 11 that penetrates the inside and outside of the chute body is provided, and the guide plates 2a and 2b are inserted into the chute body 1 through the slit 11 from the outside of the chute body 1. At the same time, the guide plate 2a, 2b is supported by the slit 11, and the guide plate 2a, 2b is easily inserted from the outside of the chute body 1 into the chute body 1 through the slit 11. Since the guide plates 2a and 2b can be easily removed, cleaning and other maintenance can be performed very easily and with good workability.
[0039]
Further, although not particularly illustrated, the guide plates 2a and 2b are formed by forming a plurality of types of slits 11 having different pitches and inclination angles or preparing a plurality of types of guide plates having different sizes. When changing the position of the slit to be inserted and the guide plate to be inserted as appropriate, the fall path (such as the pitch of the spiral trajectory) can be easily adjusted according to the small article to be transferred. It is also possible to configure so that an appropriate dropping path corresponding to the small article t to be changed can be easily reconfigured without replacing the dropping chute.
[0040]
The drop chute for small articles of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the shape and arrangement of the guide plate can be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention, and other configurations Various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the drop chute for small articles of the present invention is arranged in a state where a light guide plate is given a special inclination in the chute body, and by guiding the small articles falling by this guide plate, By dropping the small article along a substantially spiral track, the weight can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional chute, the handleability is excellent, and the small article can be manufactured at a low cost. Therefore, the work efficiency of the chute replacement operation and the cleaning operation can be greatly improved, and the manufacturing cost of the small articles to be transferred can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a drop chute for small articles according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the dropping chute.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view for explaining the inclination of a guide plate constituting the drop chute.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of a small article falling in the drop chute.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a part of a conventional small solid drop chute.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chute | shoot body 11 Slit 2a, 2b Guide plate 21 Guide base part 22 of a guide plate Locking edge part 23 Edge 24 equivalent to a D-shaped string 1st virtual line 25 2nd virtual line t Small article (tablet)

Claims (7)

A cylindrical chute main body arranged vertically, and a plurality of D-shaped guide plates arranged in the chute main body, each guide plate having an edge corresponding to a D-shaped string; A first imaginary line that is orthogonal and imaginary along the upper surface of the guide plate is inclined downward by a predetermined angle with the chord side down, and is imaginary along the upper surface of the guide plate that is orthogonal to the first imaginary line. The second imaginary line is inclined in a state inclined downward by a predetermined angle with the one end side down, and in this inclined state, two kinds of guide plates rotated 180 degrees around the axis of the chute body, It is arranged alternately at equal intervals or at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the chute body, so that small articles falling in the chute body fall along a substantially spiral track while being guided by the guide plate. A falling chute for small articles constructed of When the chute body is arranged vertically, the angle between the first imaginary line and the horizontal plane of each guide plate is 10 to 30 degrees, and the angle between the second imaginary line and the horizontal plane is 3 to 20 degrees. The drop chute for small articles according to claim 1. The small article drop chute according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the guide plates is inserted and arranged in the chute body through a slit provided in an outer peripheral wall of the chute body and is supported by the slit. . The drop chute for small articles according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the chute body and the guide plate are formed of a synthetic resin. The drop chute for small articles according to claim 4, wherein the chute body is formed of a transparent synthetic resin selected from acrylic resin, polycarbonate, or polyethylene terephthalate. The drop chute for small articles according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the guide plate is made of polyethylene, polypropylene or polytetrafluoroethylene. The drop chute for small articles according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is a chute for dropping tablets or capsules.

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