JP5992212B2 - Small molded product transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus that conveys small molded articles such as tablets so that they are aligned and supplied to a subsequent processing apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to a small molded article conveying apparatus improved to improve the alignment of small molded articles on the conveying belt and to improve the conveying ability and, in turn, the efficiency of processing in the next stage.

  In a processing apparatus for small molded articles, for example, an inspection apparatus for performing an appearance inspection of small molded articles, it is necessary that all small molded articles are subjected to uniform and stable inspection. For this purpose, it is important that the individual small molded products are aligned without overlapping and are supplied to the inspection apparatus in a fixed target posture. However, on the conveyance path from the supply part of the small molded product to be inspected to the inspection device, the small molded products may be entirely or partially overlapped. In addition, the flat cylindrical small molded product may have a target posture in which the end surface is in contact with the conveyance surface and may have a posture in which the peripheral side surface portion is in contact with the conveyance surface (standing posture). Therefore, as a conventional conveying device, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the small molded products are aligned by gradually narrowing the conveyance path of the conveying belt on which the small molded products are placed and conveyed toward the downstream. Some are provided with an alignment guide and a height regulation gate that is arranged in the middle of the conveyance path and regulates the height between the conveyance belt and the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt so as to target the small molded product. In addition, such a transport apparatus is further provided with a return path for returning small molded products that could not be aligned to a position on the upstream side of the transport path.

JP 2003-128233 A

  There is a need for downsizing of systems including inspection equipment, transport equipment and supply equipment for small molded products, and improvement in transport and inspection efficiency. To that end, proper placement of each equipment, improvement in transport speed, compact molding There is a strong demand for suppression of product stagnation and clogging, and a reduction in the number of small molded products returned to the upstream side. However, the conventional conveying device as disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot sufficiently meet these demands, particularly due to the configuration, shape and arrangement of the height regulating gate.

  In view of such points, the present invention appropriately determines the configuration, shape, and arrangement of the height regulating gate in order to contribute to the downsizing of the entire system and the improvement of the efficiency of the next stage such as the conveyance efficiency or inspection. It aims at providing the conveying apparatus which can respond to the said request.

  Another object of the present invention is to reduce the load acting on the height regulation gate and the small molded product that has not reached the target posture.

To that end, the present invention aligns a small molded product while conveying it, and in a small molded product conveying apparatus that supplies the processing device in the next stage,
A transport belt for transporting the small molded product toward the processing device;
A height regulating member arranged with a predetermined gap from the conveying surface of the conveying belt so as to convert the small molded article to be conveyed into a target posture suitable for processing in the processing device;
A support member that supports the conveyor belt from its lower surface, and has a support member having a recess in a range along at least the height restricting member, for contact with a small molded product that is not converted to the target posture. Accordingly, the height regulating member is elastically deformed and / or displaced to expand the gap, thereby allowing the small molded product to pass and allowing the conveyance belt to be bent into the recess during the passage. It is characterized by.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in the transport device for small molded products that are aligned while transporting the small molded products and supplied to the processing device in the next stage,
A transport belt for transporting the small molded product toward the processing device;
A height regulating member arranged with a predetermined gap from the conveying surface of the conveying belt so as to convert the small molded article to be conveyed into a target posture suitable for processing in the processing device;
A guide member that is disposed on one side of the conveyor belt and gradually narrows the conveyance path by the conveyor belt toward the processing device in order to align the small molded articles ;
Opposed side wall facing the guide member across the front Symbol conveyor belt,
Bei to give a,
The height regulating member has one end positioned on the guide member side relatively downstream in the transport direction of the small molded article and the other end positioned on the opposite side wall relatively upstream in the transport direction. characterized in that it is arranged extending so as to straddle the transport path at an angle has.

In this embodiment, the height regulating member may have an arc shape and be disposed so as to protrude toward the upstream side.

  According to the present invention, the height regulating member is elastically deformed and / or displaced according to contact with a small molded product that is not converted into the target posture to expand the gap, and further, the small molding that is not converted into the target posture. By allowing the conveyor belt to bend into the recess of the support member when the product passes, the small molded product can be smoothly passed and the load caused by the contact between the small molded product and the height regulating member can be reduced. it can. In addition, the height regulating member is disposed so as to extend diagonally across the conveying path, and the extending direction is determined so as to approach the guide member toward the downstream in the conveying direction. When a small molded product that has not been moved moves along the height regulating member, the small molded product is guided to the guide member side rather than being eliminated in the return path, etc., so that the small molded product is returned to the upstream side. The number of products is reduced, and the possibility of changing to a target posture during the guidance process is increased. Furthermore, the height restricting member is formed in an arc shape and is arranged so as to protrude toward the upstream in the conveying direction, so that the contact point or the contact area between the height restricting member and the small molded product in a standing posture is limited. Thus, the effect of setting the tablet to the target posture can be further enhanced.

  From the above, it is possible to suppress the retention and clogging of small molded products and to reduce the number of small molded products returned to the upstream side while allowing an improvement in the conveyance speed of small molded products. This can contribute to the downsizing of a system including a processing apparatus, a transport apparatus, and a supply apparatus that perform inspections and the like, and the efficiency of transport or the improvement of processing efficiency in the next stage such as inspection.

It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the conveying apparatus of this invention small molded article. It is a perspective view which shows the connection part of the conveying apparatus of FIG. 1, and a small molded article supply part. (A)-(d) is a figure which shows 4 forms of the tablet as an example of a small molded article. (A) And (b) is the top view and side view which respectively show the structure of the height control gate which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and its surrounding conveyance path. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the preferable structure, shape, and arrangement | positioning of a height control gate. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect by arrangement | positioning shown in FIG. 5 of the height control gate. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows a state when the small molded article which did not become a target attitude | position passes a height control gate. It is a typical perspective view which shows other embodiment of this invention conveying apparatus.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the transfer apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connection portion between the transfer apparatus of FIG. 1 and a small molded article supply unit. 3 (a) to 3 (d) are diagrams showing examples of the shape of a tablet as a small molded product. In the following embodiments, a tablet called a flat tablet, that is, as shown in FIG. 3 (a). In FIG. 3 (b), (c) and (d), an R-attached tablet, a sugar-coated tablet and a sugar-coated tablet as shown in FIGS. It can also be applied to the transportation of deformed tablets.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a transport device 1 according to the present embodiment for transporting a tablet T as a small molded product includes a transport path 10 that aligns the tablets T and supplies them to an inspection device (not shown), And a return path 80 juxtaposed laterally. The conveyance path 10 includes a conveyance belt 11 that conveys the tablet T supplied from the supply unit F in the main conveyance direction indicated by an arrow X, and a height regulation gate 100 (described later in detail) according to the main part of the present embodiment. The guide member 20 in which the guide side surface 21 which guides the tablet T is formed is included. The conveyor belt 11 is in the form of an endless belt conveyor, and the two conveyor belts 11 extend so that the conveyance surface of the tablet T extends from the supply unit F at the previous stage to the inspection processing apparatus (not shown) for the next-stage small molded product. It is stretched between the pulley blocks 30 and 30 and driven. The supply unit F is disposed at a position higher than the conveyance surface of the conveyance path 10 on the upstream side portion of the conveyance path 10, and the tablet T is a slope portion disposed so as to connect the supply unit F and the conveyance path 10. By sliding down 205, the belt is received by the conveyor belt 11. Therefore, as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 2, the tablet T is transported in the main transport direction X while changing its direction by approximately 90 degrees during the reception.

  The guide member 20 is disposed immediately above the conveyance belt 11 and has the guide side surface 21 for guiding the tablet T as described above. The guide side surface 21 is formed so as to cross the conveying belt 11 obliquely in the downstream direction. That is, the guide side surface 21 of the guide member 20 defines a transport path 10 that is substantially equal to the width of the transport belt 11 in the tablet receiving portion on the upstream side in the main transport direction of the tablet T, and on the return path 80 side as it goes downstream. As a result, the width of the conveyance path 10 of the tablet T is gradually narrowed. Furthermore, the guide side surface 21 has the conveyance path 10 so that the width of the conveyance path 10 is the narrowest in the vicinity of the entrance of the gate portion 40 continuous to the inspection apparatus (not shown), and the width is substantially equal to the diameter of the tablet T to be conveyed. Define.

  The guide member 20 is movable in the horizontal direction and orthogonal to the main transport direction X, and the tablet T to be transported by moving the guide member 20 and thus the guide side surface 21 by the position adjusting knob 16. The width of the conveyance path 10 can be adjusted in accordance with the size of. Reference numeral 17 denotes a clamper for fixing the guide member 20 to the base at a desired adjustment position.

  The gate unit 40 is arranged on the most downstream side of the transport apparatus 1 and finally regulates the width and height of the tablets T being transported, and allows only the aligned tablets to pass in a target posture, It fulfills the function of excluding other tablets to the return path 80 side. The gate unit 40 includes adjustment knobs 42 and 44 that can adjust the width and height to be regulated according to the size of the tablet T to be transported or inspected.

  The return path 80 is defined by a return belt 81 in the form of an endless belt conveyor. The return path 80 is located on the side of the gate portion 40 and lower than the transport surface of the transport path 10 from the transport surface of the transport path 10. It extends to a position upstream of the higher conveyance direction. Accordingly, the removed tablet T falls on the return belt 81, is returned in the direction indicated by the arrow R1 in FIG. 2, is changed in direction to the direction indicated by the arrow R2 by the guide member 83, and moves on the slope portion 85. It slides down and is received by the conveyor belt 11. In FIG. 2, what is indicated by reference numeral 87 is that the traveling direction of the tablet T received from the return path 80 side is quickly matched with the main transport direction X and smoothly joined with the tablet T received from the supply unit F side. It is a guide member for. Accordingly, the traveling direction of the tablet T returned from the return path 80 side changes by approximately 180 degrees.

  In order to reduce the size of the system including the transport device, in the present embodiment, the supply unit F is disposed on the side portion on the upstream side of the transport path 10, and the tablet T connects the supply unit F and the transport path 10. It is configured to be received by the conveyor belt 11 via the slope portion 205. In addition, although an improvement in the conveyance speed is desired from the viewpoint of improving the efficiency of conveyance or inspection, since the traveling direction of the tablet supplied from the supply unit F and the tablet returned via the return path 80 changes rapidly, As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet remains cluttered with an increase in the conveyance speed, that is, the tablets are entirely or partially overlapped, or the posture in which the peripheral side surface portion is in contact with the conveyance surface ( The probability of being transported in a standing position is increased. The height regulating gate disclosed in Patent Document 1 (indicated by reference numerals 13 and 14 in FIG. 2 of the same document) is narrowed by the conveyance path 10 by the almost middle flow area of the conveyance path 10, that is, by the guide side surface 21. It was arranged at a position where the transport density of the guide plate was considerably increased, and extended toward the return path from the guide member toward the downstream side. For this reason, as the conveyance speed increases, the function as a height regulation guide does not sufficiently function, and the number of tablets returned to the upstream side may increase.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the height regulating gate 100 for obtaining the target posture (the posture in which the end surface is in contact with the conveyance surface) by effectively unwrapping the tablets and overturning the tablets in a standing posture. Is provided. As will be described below, the height regulating gate 100 of the present embodiment responds to the demands of improving the conveyance speed, suppressing the retention and clogging of tablets, and reducing the number of tablets returned to the upstream side. Or, in order to contribute to the improvement of the efficiency of processing performed in the next stage, the configuration, shape and arrangement are appropriately determined.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side view showing a height regulating gate and its surrounding transport path according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a preferred configuration, shape, and arrangement of the height regulating gate, and FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the effect of the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 of the height regulating gate. It is explanatory drawing for.

  The height regulating gate 100 includes a tube-shaped height regulating member 101, a support portion 103 disposed on the guide member 20 and supporting one end of the height regulating member 101, a guide side surface 21 of the guide member 20, and a conveyance path. And a support portion 105 that is disposed on the side wall of the conveyance path that is opposed to 10 and supports the other end of the height regulating member 101. The height regulating member 101 is disposed so as to extend diagonally across the conveyance path 10 with a predetermined gap G from the conveyance surface in a relatively upstream region of the conveyance path 10, that is, a position where the conveyance density of the tablets T is relatively low. Is done.

  When the predetermined gap G is larger than the thickness t of the tablet T shown in FIG. 3A (that is, the height from the conveyance surface when in the target posture) and the diameter d of the tablet T (that is, in the standing posture). The height from the conveying surface is less than the diameter d), specifically, a distance of about 0.5 mm to 1 mm less than the diameter d. Thereby, the tablet T can be made into a target attitude | position by releasing the whole or partial overlap of tablets, and rolling the tablet of the standing attitude. In consideration of the fact that the tablet T to be transported may have various dimensions, a means capable of adjusting the gap G may be added to the support portions 103 and 105, or it is desirable according to the dimensions of the tablet T. The support portions 103 and 105 for setting the gap or the height regulating member 101 may be replaced and attached.

  In the present embodiment, the height regulating member 101 is disposed in a relatively upstream area of the conveyance path 10, that is, in a position where the conveyance density of the tablets T is relatively low so as to cross the conveyance path 10 diagonally. For this reason, it is possible to regulate the height of a larger number of tablets than when the height regulating member is disposed orthogonal to the conveyance path 10 or that disclosed in Patent Document 1. Further, in the height regulating member 101 of the present embodiment, the support portion 103 disposed on the guide member 20 is downstream in the transport direction, and the support portion 105 disposed on the side wall facing the guide side surface 21 is upstream in the transport direction. Is located. As will be described later, the height regulating gate 100 of the present embodiment effectively rolls over or smoothly passes most of the tablets T in a standing posture, but some tablets stand up. It is conceivable to move along the height regulating member 101 while maintaining the posture. Determining the extending direction of the height regulating member 101 as in this embodiment means that such a tablet is actively guided to the side of the guide side surface 21 and rollover may occur in the process. I can expect.

  In addition, the height regulating member 101 of the present embodiment has an arc shape and is attached so as to be convex toward the upstream side. As shown in FIG. 5, the angle θ1 formed by the tangential direction of the height regulating member 101 at the support portion by the support portion 105 with respect to the direction orthogonal to the transport direction and the tangential direction at the support portion by the support portion 103 are It means that the angle θ2 formed with respect to the direction orthogonal to the transport direction has a relationship of θ1 ≦ θ2.

  The effect is demonstrated using FIG. 6 (a) and (b). In these drawings, reference numeral 101 'denotes a portion of the height regulating member 101 that first contacts the tablet T, and T' denotes a portion of the tablet T that contacts the portion 101 '. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the height regulating member 101 is arranged so as to form a convex arc toward the upstream in the conveying direction, the tablet portion T ′ contacts the height regulating member 101 ′. A point (or contact area) is limited, and the contact is made only at a position biased to one of the tablet thickness directions. For this reason, the force which rolls over the tablet T works effectively, and the effect which makes a tablet a target posture increases further. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the height regulating member 101 is arranged so as to form a concave arc toward the upstream in the conveying direction, the tablet is formed with respect to the portion 101 ′ of the height regulating member. The portion T ′ of the two contacts at two symmetrical points, so that the force to roll the tablet T may not work effectively.

  Now, even when the arc-shaped height regulating member 101 is arranged so as to be convex toward the upstream in the transport direction as in the present embodiment, the force that unravels the tablets and rolls over the tablets in a standing posture. May not work effectively. In such a case, for example, the tablet T in a standing posture continues to rotate at that position without being further conveyed after contacting the height regulating member 101, or the height regulating member 101 and the conveying surface May cause not only the tablet itself but also the subsequent tablets T to stay and cause clogging. It is also conceivable that the tablet T is damaged or the height regulating member 101 is distorted due to the load caused by the biting.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the height regulating member 101 is formed of a material that can be elastically deformed, for example. That is, in response to the contact with the tablet T entering the gap T while standing as shown in FIG. 7A, the gap G is expanded by elastically deforming as shown in FIG. 7B. Thus, the height restricting member 101 is configured to allow the tablet T to pass smoothly and to restore the tablet T as shown in FIG. Alternatively, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the height regulating member 101 is displaced upward in response to the contact with the tablet T entering the gap while standing. A configuration in which the tablet T returns to the original position after passing through the tablet T may be employed. In this case, the height restricting member 101 is allowed to move upward in response to contact with the tablet, and the support portion of the height restricting member 101 can be returned to its original position by its own weight after the contact is released. 103 and 105 can be configured. Moreover, the support parts 103 and 105 can also be comprised so that the height control member 101 may be suspended, for example with a spring.

  Further, in addition to allowing passage of the tablet T in a standing posture by deformation or displacement of the height regulating member 101, a recess is formed in the support member 120 of the transport belt 11 corresponding to the range where the height regulating member 101 exists. By providing 121 and allowing the bending of the conveyor belt 11 when the tablet T passes, the passage can be performed more smoothly. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIGS. 7A to 7C, the entire lower part of the conveyor belt 11 extends from the upstream end to the downstream end of the height regulating member 101. Although the concave portion 121 is provided, the concave portion may be provided limited to a range along the height regulating member 101.

  Depending on whether a configuration in which the gap G is expanded by elastic deformation of the height regulating member 101 or a configuration in which the gap is expanded by supporting the height regulating member 101 so as to be displaceable is adopted. The forming material and the cross-sectional shape of the member 101 can be appropriately selected.

When adopting a configuration in which the gap G is expanded by elastic deformation of the height regulating member 101, a preferable forming material of the height regulating member is, for example, silicone rubber having a hardness of Shore A40. For example, if the tube is a silicone rubber tube having an outer diameter of 4 mm, an inner diameter of 2 mm, a secondary moment of 11.8 mm ⁴ , and a Young's modulus of 4 MPa, the bending rigidity is 47.2 N · mm ² .

When adopting a configuration that supports the height regulating member 101 so as to be displaceable, the height regulating member 101 can be formed by using, for example, a resin material of hardness Shore A100 or a material such as stainless steel. For example, in the case of a fluororesin tube having an outer diameter of 12 mm, an inner diameter of 9 mm, a cross-sectional secondary moment of 696 mm ⁴ and a Young's modulus of 550 MPa, the bending rigidity is 383 × 10 ³ N · mm ² . If a stainless steel solid rod having an outer diameter of 12 mm, a cross-sectional secondary moment of 1.02 × 10 ³ mm ⁴ and a Young's modulus of 206 GPa is used, the bending rigidity is 210 × 10 ⁶ N · mm ² .

  As described above, by adopting a configuration that allows the tablet T, which has not reached the target posture even by contact with the height regulating member 101, to pass smoothly, it is possible to effectively suppress tablet retention and clogging. As a result, processing such as opening the conveyance path in order to eliminate stagnation and clogging can be greatly reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the load acting on the height regulation gate and the tablets that have not reached the target posture.

  In the above embodiment, the hollow or solid height regulating member 101 having a circular cross section has been described. However, if it is possible to achieve the intended purpose of releasing the overlap between the small molded articles being conveyed or promoting the rollover of the small molded articles to convert the small molded articles to a target posture, the height regulating member The cross-sectional shape 101 can be arbitrarily selected. Further, the material for forming the height regulating member 101 can be appropriately selected. If the degree of deformation according to the bending rigidity of the height regulating member is not sufficient, it can be further supported so as to be displaceable.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration including one transport path 10 and one return path 80 has been described. However, the present invention has two transport paths 10 and one return path 80 as shown in FIG. May be applied to a configuration including the above, or may be applied to other combinations.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a case where a flat, substantially cylindrical tablet as illustrated in FIG. 3A is conveyed as a small molded product is illustrated, but FIG. 3B, FIG. It can also be effectively applied to the transport of R-attached tablets, sugar-coated tablets and deformed tablets as shown in d). In particular, even if the tablet shown in FIG. 3 (c) is supported by surrounding tablets or is rolling on the conveyor belt, it may be in a standing posture. The application of the invention is effective. Of course, the present invention can be applied not only to tablets but also to conveying devices for granular confectionery and other small molded articles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance apparatus 10 Conveyance path 11 Conveyance belt 20 Guide member 21 Guide side surface 80 Return path 81 Return belt 100 Height regulation gate 101 Height regulation member 103,105 Support part 120 Conveyance belt support member 121 Concave part T Tablet

Claims (3)

In the transport device for small molded products, which are aligned while transporting small molded products and supplied to the processing device in the next stage,
A transport belt for transporting the small molded product toward the processing device;
A height regulating member arranged with a predetermined gap from the conveying surface of the conveying belt so as to convert the small molded article to be conveyed into a target posture suitable for processing in the processing device;
A support member that supports the conveyor belt from its lower surface, and has a support member having a recess in a range along at least the height restricting member, for contact with a small molded product that is not converted to the target posture. Accordingly, the height regulating member is elastically deformed and / or displaced to expand the gap, thereby allowing the small molded product to pass and allowing the conveyance belt to be bent into the recess during the passage. A transport device for small molded products. In the transport device for small molded products, which are aligned while transporting small molded products and supplied to the processing device in the next stage,
A transport belt for transporting the small molded product toward the processing device;
A height regulating member arranged with a predetermined gap from the conveying surface of the conveying belt so as to convert the small molded article to be conveyed into a target posture suitable for processing in the processing device;
A guide member that is disposed on one side of the conveyor belt and gradually narrows the conveyance path by the conveyor belt toward the processing device in order to align the small molded articles ;
Opposed side wall facing the guide member across the front Symbol conveyor belt,
Bei to give a,
The height regulating member has one end positioned on the guide member side relatively downstream in the transport direction of the small molded article and the other end positioned on the opposite side wall relatively upstream in the transport direction. has been that small molded article conveying device you wherein being arranged extending so as to straddle the transport path at an angle. The apparatus for transporting a small molded product according to claim 2 , wherein the height regulating member has an arc shape and is arranged so as to be convex toward the upstream side.

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