JP6215010B2 - Small molded article conveying apparatus and lever-like member used in the apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a small molded article that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding appearance such as shape and size, a small molded article that does not satisfy the condition, a crack or a chip, a piece thereof, or other foreign matter (this specification And in the claims, these are referred to as defective products). In particular, the present invention relates to a transport apparatus to which a configuration for efficiently sorting out defective products and removing them from a transport path in the process of transporting small molded products such as tablets, and an insulator-like member used in the apparatus.

  A small molded product such as a manufactured tablet can be finally inspected for quality by an appearance inspection apparatus. In order to perform the inspection at high speed and with high precision, it is preferable to eliminate in advance a defective product caused by some factor in the process of transporting the small molded product to the appearance inspection apparatus. Inspecting all of the conveyed objects not only increases the burden on the visual inspection apparatus, but also causes the edge of the defective part to be caught by the conveying member, which reduces the state of conveyance of small molded products or arises from the defective part. This is because the inspection function deteriorates due to the adhered powder adhering to the sensor or the like of the appearance inspection apparatus.

  Therefore, conventionally, a configuration is adopted in which a punching plate having a plurality of holes is arranged in a part of a conveyance path of a small molded product, and the conveyance path is vibrated by a vibration feeder. The hole is formed in a round hole shape having a smaller size than a small molded product having a predetermined size, and therefore, the defective product falls through the hole in the process of passing over the punching plate. Eliminated.

  In Patent Document 1 relating to the applicant's application, the above configuration is not particularly problematic when a small molded product having a circular planar shape is conveyed, but a small molded product having a substantially elliptical planar shape, that is, an irregular shape. In the case of transporting a tablet called a tablet, there is a problem that if there are cracked pieces mixed along the major axis direction, such a piece cannot be removed from the round hole of the punching plate. Has been. Therefore, in this document, in order to cope with this problem, a plurality of slits having a width smaller than the minimum width in the direction orthogonal to the major axis direction of such a deformed tablet are provided in parallel with the conveying direction. A second conveying path in which a plurality of round hole portions having a diameter larger than the minimum width and smaller than the maximum width in the direction orthogonal to the major axis direction are formed on the conveying direction on the upstream side in the conveying direction, on the downstream side in the conveying direction. The configuration arranged in is proposed.

JP-A-9-38578

  By applying the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the effect of eliminating defective products is improved. However, the present inventors may not obtain the desired exclusion effect depending on the posture of the small molded product, and this is only a small molded product having a substantially elliptical planar shape like a deformed tablet. In addition, the present inventors have found that it can occur even in a small molded product having a circular planar shape.

  An object of the present invention is to further improve the efficiency of eliminating defective products.

Therefore, the present invention selects a small molded product that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding appearance and a defective product that does not satisfy the condition in the process of conveying the small molded product, and eliminates the defective product. A small molded article conveying apparatus including a plurality of guides, wherein the conveying path has a width equal to or smaller than a thickness of the small molded article and forms a slit extending in the conveying direction. The guide has an inclined surface that is inclined upward as it goes downstream in the transport direction, and the inclined surface is provided at a position that is different between the adjacent guides in the transport direction. It is characterized by being.

Further, the present invention is an insulator- like member used in a conveyance path disposed in the apparatus, wherein the plurality of guides in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction are disposed at a portion corresponding to the downstream side in the conveyance direction. It exists in the insulator-like member which has the opening over the range corresponding to the arrangement | sequence range, and the dimension of the said conveyance direction of this opening is set to 1/2 or less of the largest dimension of the said small molded article .

  According to the present invention, when a small-shaped product such as a tablet has been transported in a posture in which the surface intersecting the thickness direction thereof is directed to the transport surface, by riding on the slope provided in the guide of the lever-shaped member, Since the posture is changed, a defective product that does not satisfy the predetermined thickness falls from the slit and is reliably removed from the conveyance path.

It is a typical side view which shows one Embodiment of the conveying apparatus of this invention small molded article. It is a top view of the conveying apparatus of FIG. 1 including the first and second conveying paths according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A)-(e) is a figure which shows the 5 form of the tablet as an example of a small molded article, and the upper part and lower part of each figure have shown the plane and side surface of the tablet, respectively. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating whether the exclusion by the punching board shown in FIG. 2 is possible while showing the various defect | deletion states of the tablet shown in FIG.3 (b). It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating whether the exclusion by the punching board shown in FIG. 2 is possible while showing the various defect | deletion states of the tablet shown in FIG.3 (e). It is a perspective view of the lever-like member applied to the 1st conveyance path in FIG. It is a side view of the lever-like member applied to the 1st conveyance path in FIG. (A)-(d) is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the process of the attitude | position change of a tablet. (A) And (b) is the side view which showed the opening vicinity in order to demonstrate the tablet selection performed by opening of the lever-shaped member provided in the side connected with a punching board.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a schematic side view and a top view in the direction of an arrow, respectively, showing an embodiment of a small-sized molded article conveying apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a vibration feeder 3 that is a vibration generating device is provided on a base 1 that is an installation surface via a buffer member 2a made of rubber or the like and an installation table 2, and a conveyance path is provided on the upper surface thereof. The base 8 is fixed. The conveyance path base 8 receives a tablet as a small molded product that is dropped and supplied from the hopper 4 and supplies it to the conveyance path on the downstream side in the conveyance direction F, and is disposed on the downstream side thereof. The first conveying path 6 having an insulator-like member 61 provided with an opening (slit) 63 extending in the conveying direction, and a punching plate 71 provided further downstream and provided with a circular opening 73. And a transport path outlet portion 10 disposed so as to incline downward on the downstream side. In addition, a receiving portion 9 is provided below the first conveyance path 6 and the second conveyance path 7 for receiving a defective product that falls through the slit 63 and the circular opening 73.

  The hopper 4 stores tablets to be transported from the illustrated transport device to an appearance inspection device (not shown), and supplies an appropriate amount of tablets to the lower transport path inlet 5. Further, the vibration of the vibration feeder 3 is transmitted to the conveyance path base 8, and accordingly, the tablets supplied to the conveyance path inlet section 5 are transferred to the first conveyance path 6. The transport paths 6 and 7 are fixed to the transport path base 8 so as to incline downward appropriately so that the tablets can be transported smoothly along them. Then, only a small molded product having a predetermined shape and size, that is, a non-defective product passes through these conveyance paths 6 and 7 and is further inspected for appearance via a conveyance path outlet 10 provided downstream of the conveyance path 7. Supplied to a second transport device including a transport belt 100 that reaches the device (not shown). On the other hand, the defective product falls through the opening of one of the conveyance paths and is received and collected by the receiving portion 9. It should be noted that the “non-defective product” here does not refer to a small molded product that is finally determined to be free of defects even by an appearance inspection apparatus.

  Tablets that are small shaped articles have various shapes, dimensions, and surface conditions. For example, all of the ones shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C have a circular planar shape, but the one shown in FIG. 3A is called a flat lock and has a flat, generally cylindrical shape, and is opposed to Each of the pair of end faces is flat. The one shown in FIG. 2B is called an R-lock, and each of a pair of opposed end surfaces has a bulging portion that forms a curved surface that bulges outward. The one shown in FIG. 2C is a sugar-coated tablet, and since the sugar coating is applied, the outer surface is smooth. On the other hand, what is shown in FIGS. (D) and (e) is called a deformed lock, and both have a substantially elliptical planar shape, but the deformed lock in FIG. (D) has a pair of opposing end faces. While each of them is flat, the deformed lock shown in FIG. 5E has a curved surface in which each of a pair of opposed end faces bulges outward.

The punching plate 71 constituting the second transport path 7 has a plurality of circular openings 73 having a diameter determined according to the shape, dimensions, and surface state of a tablet to be transported, that is, a diameter that does not cause a non-defective product to fall. Are arranged in a staggered pattern. For example, if the lock with R (FIG. 3 (b)) or sugar-coated tablet (FIG. 3 (c)) is transported, the diameter D of the circular opening 73 with respect to the outer diameter L is
D = 0.8 × L (Formula 1)
If the flat lock (FIG. 3 (a)) is transported, the diameter D of the circular opening 73 with respect to the outer diameter L is
D = 0.95 × L (Formula 2)
It can be determined to be Furthermore, if a deformed tablet having a major axis LL and a minor axis LS as shown in FIG. 3 (e) is conveyed, the diameter D of the circular opening 73 is determined based on the minor axis LS.
D = 0.95 × LS (Formula 3)
It can be determined to be

  However, there are defects that cannot be excluded only by the punching plate 71 designed according to the above formula.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining whether or not the punching plate shown in FIG. 2 can be removed according to various states of the tablet (R-attached tablet) shown in FIG. is there. It is assumed that the diameter D of the circular opening 73 of the punching plate 71 is determined to be 0.8 × L according to the above formula.

  FIG. 4 (a) shows a non-defective R-shaped lock, and since the constant diameter L is maintained over the entire circumference, the R-lock does not depend on its posture. Even if one of the pair of bulging portions c sandwiching the cylindrical flat barrel portion b forming the cylindrical surface is in contact with the conveyance surface of the punching plate 71, the barrel portion b is in contact with the conveyance surface. Even if it is in the posture, it does not drop from the circular opening 73 and passes through the second conveyance path 7.

  FIG. 4B shows a lock with R in which a part is deficient and the chord length corresponding to the deficient part is equal to or smaller than the diameter D of the circular opening 73. In this case, since the outer diameter L ′ reduced by the loss does not become smaller than the diameter D (= 0.8 × L), the circular opening 73 is independent of the posture, the outer diameter L ′, and the thickness t. No drop occurs from the second transport path 7 and the second transport path 7 is passed.

  FIG. 4C shows a fragment generated as a result of the loss of the R-lock, and shows the R-lock with the chord length corresponding to the missing portion being equal to or less than the diameter D of the circular opening 73. . In this case, since the maximum dimension of the piece does not exceed the diameter D, it falls from the circular opening 73 regardless of the thickness t ′ and the posture reduced by the defect and is eliminated.

  FIG. 4 (d) shows a lock with R that is cracked in the diameter direction, that is, a lock with R in which the length of the string corresponding to the cracked portion matches the outer diameter L (> D). In this case, if the thickness t is equal to or smaller than the diameter D of the circular opening 73 and the body portion b is in contact with the conveying surface of the punching plate 71, the defective product can fall from the circular opening 73 and be eliminated. . However, when any of the bulging portions c is in contact with the conveyance surface (the second conveyance path 7 or the punching plate 71 is vibrated by the vibration feeder, the posture is such. In many cases, it is considered that there is no drop from the circular opening 73 and the second conveyance path 7 is passed.

  FIG. 4E shows that any of the bulging portions c is missing at the boundary with the body portion b (referred to as capping, which is a defect that occurs frequently in tablets having the bulging portion), or the body portion b. The lock with R of the state which the crack of the radial direction produced in is shown. In this case, as in (a) of FIG. 4, since the defective product maintains a constant diameter L over the entire circumference, it does not drop from the circular opening 73 regardless of the posture, and the second conveyance. It will pass through the road 7.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory view for explaining whether or not the punching plate shown in FIG. 2 can be removed in accordance with various states of the deformed lock shown in FIG. This deformed tablet has a body part b and a pair of bulging parts c opposed to each other, and the major axis LL has a dimension more than twice the minor axis LS. Further, it is assumed that the diameter D of the circular opening 73 of the punching plate 71 is determined to be 0.95 × LS based on the short diameter LS according to the above formula.

  FIG. 5A shows a state of a non-defective product, and since the dimension of the short diameter LS or more is maintained over the entire circumference, the drop from the circular opening 73 does not occur regardless of the posture. 2 passes through the second conveyance path 7.

  FIG. 5 (b) shows a deformed tablet in which a part of the tablet is broken, but in this case as well, since the dimension of the short diameter LS or more is maintained, the shape from the circular opening 73 does not depend on the posture. The drop does not occur and passes through the second conveyance path 7.

  FIG. 5 (c) shows a fragment generated as a result of the loss of the deformed tablet. When the length of the chord corresponding to the missing portion is equal to or smaller than the diameter D of the circular opening 73, the defect is lost. Regardless of the thickness t ′ and the posture reduced by the above, the fragment falls from the circular opening 73 and is eliminated.

  FIG. 5D shows a deformed tablet that is cracked in the minor axis direction at the central portion in the major axis direction. In this case, since the dimension equal to or greater than the minor axis LS is maintained, the second conveyance path does not cause the drop from the circular opening 73 regardless of the dimension LL ′ in the major axis direction reduced by the crack and the posture. 7 will be passed.

  FIG. 5 (e) shows a deformed tablet in which any of the bulging portions c is missing (capped) at the boundary with the body portion b forming the elliptical cylindrical surface, or a crack in the major axis direction occurs in the body portion b. Is shown. In this case, as in FIG. 5A, since the dimension equal to or larger than the minor axis LS is maintained over the entire circumference, the circular opening 73 does not depend on the posture and the thickness t ″ reduced by the defect. No drop occurs from the second transport path 7 and the second transport path 7 is passed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to significantly reduce the amount of defective products that can pass through the punching plate 71, that is, the second transport path 7, a configuration in which defective products are effectively sorted and eliminated in advance on the first side is the first configuration. This is applied to the conveyance path 6.

6 and 7 are a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a lever-like member applied to the first transport path in FIG. The lever-like member 61 has a plurality of guides 65 extending in a direction parallel to the tablet conveyance direction F, and a slit 63 is formed between adjacent guides. Here, the width P of the slit 63 is set to the thickness t of the tablet to be conveyed.
t ≧ P ≧ t / 2 (Formula 4)
Can be set to be In particular, in the tablet having the bulging portion c shown in FIG. 3 (b) or (e), the bulging portion c is likely to crack at the boundary between the bulging portion c and the body portion b. The thickness P of the slit 63 is defined as tc and the thickness of the body b is tb.
t ≧ P ≧ tc + tb (Formula 5)
It is preferable to set so that.

  By appropriately setting the width P of the slit 63 in this way, the lock with R and the irregular lock are defective products as shown in FIG. 4 (d), FIG. 4 (e) or FIG. 5 (e), respectively. Even in this case, if the body portion b is in the state facing the transport surface on the first transport path 6 (hereinafter referred to as the first posture), such a defective product is dropped through the slit 63. , Can be excluded from the transport path. That is, it is possible to prevent a situation in which such a defective product is guided to the second transport path 7 and passes therethrough.

  However, in the defective product as shown in FIG. 4D, FIG. 4E, or FIG. 5E, the end face of the body portion b exposed by the loss of one bulging portion c or the remaining surface remains. If the surface of the bulging portion c faces the transport surface on the first transport path 6 (hereinafter referred to as the second posture), it cannot be dropped through the slit 63, and the first 2 is guided to the second conveyance path 7. This is an example of a case where the intended exclusion effect cannot be obtained even by applying the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. And this is the same when a crack occurs in the direction intersecting the thickness direction even in the tablet as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3C and 3D without the curved bulge. It is a problem that occurs.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, even when the tablet is in the second posture, the configuration for converting the tablet to the first posture is applied to the first transport path 6 or the lever-like member 61. That is, the guide 65 of the present embodiment has a posture changing part 67 that forms a slope whose height from the guide surface gradually increases toward the downstream side in the transport direction F, and in the relationship between the adjacent guides 65. The position of the posture changing unit 67 is varied in the transport direction. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when a certain guide 65 has the posture changing portion 67 at a position biased upstream in the transport direction F, the guide 65 adjacent to the guide 65 is downstream in the transport direction F. It is assumed that the posture changer 67 is provided at a position biased to the side. In addition, the posture changing unit 67 of the present embodiment has a shape that becomes wider as it goes downstream in the transport direction so that a smooth posture change can be performed. In the figure, a guide having a circular cross-sectional shape (that is, in the form of a round bar) is shown.

  The function of the posture change part 67 is demonstrated using FIG. 8 (a)-(d). 8A to 8D correspond to cross sections of the insulator-like member 61 taken along lines VIIIa to VIIId in FIG. 7, respectively.

  First, as shown in FIG. 8A, a guide 65a having a posture changing portion 67a at a position biased upstream in the adjacent conveyance direction F and a guide 65b having a posture changing portion 67b at a position biased downstream. In the meantime, it is assumed that the tablet T is conveyed in the second posture. The tablet T eventually reaches the posture changing portion 67a of the guide 65a (FIG. 8 (b)), and when the end portion climbs (FIG. 8 (c)), the tablet T is changed to the first posture. And when it reaches the position of FIG.8 (d), the tablet T will take a 1st attitude | position. Even if the tablet T is transported without being engaged with the posture changing portion 67a of the guide 65a, the tablet T is eventually engaged with the posture changing portion 67b of the guide 65b, so that the posture change is similarly performed.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the tablet T is a defective product as shown in FIG. 4 (d), FIG. 4 (e) or FIG. 5 (e), and this is conveyed in the second posture. Even in such a case, since the first posture is forcibly switched to the first conveying path 6, such a defective product can be dropped through the slit 63 and removed from the conveying path. .

  On the other hand, the tablet T in which such a drop does not occur passes between the adjacent guides 65a and 65b in the first posture, but such a tablet includes not only non-defective products but also FIG. ), A defective product as shown in FIG. 5B or FIG. 5D, that is, a defective product that cannot be eliminated by the punching plate 71 may be included. 7 will be led. This is another example of a case where the intended exclusion effect cannot be obtained even by applying the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration that further eliminates those missing items is adopted.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lever-like member 61 of the present embodiment has a range corresponding to the arrangement range of the guides 65 orthogonal to the conveyance direction along the edge 68 located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. A rectangular opening 69 is provided. The dimension W in the transport direction of the opening 69 is the maximum dimension of the tablet T to be transported (the outer diameter L in the tablets illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C, and illustrated in FIGS. 3D and 3E). In the case of a deformed tablet, it is set in accordance with the long diameter LL). In this embodiment,
W ≦ L / 2 (or W = LL / 2) (Formula 6)
Set to In setting the dimension W of the opening 69, kinematic conditions, that is, the speed of the tablet sliding down the lever-like member 61 may be taken into consideration.

  By setting the dimension W in the transport direction of the opening 69 in this way, as shown in FIG. 9A, for example, the tablet T in the form of a deformed tablet having no defect in the direction of the maximum dimension LL has a center of gravity of the opening 69. Since it is always supported by the guide 65 and the edge portion 68 in the upper position, it passes over the opening 69 and is conveyed to the second conveyance path 7, that is, the punching plate 71 on the downstream side. On the other hand, since the center of gravity of the tablet T ′ having a defect in the direction of the maximum dimension LL is positioned on the opening 69 before the tip is supported by the edge portion 68, as shown in FIG. Then, it falls from the opening 69 and is removed from the conveyance path.

  As described above, the first transport path 6 eliminates in advance many defective items that cannot be excluded by the configuration of the second transport path 7 and is shown in FIG. 4C or FIG. 5C. Even if a defective product in the form of such a piece, that is, a small defective product that can move greatly in response to the vibration of the lever-like member 61 by the vibration feeder 3, jumps over the opening 69, it reaches the second transport path 7. It is eliminated by the punching plate 71. In addition, the tablet is in the first posture and passes through the first transport path 6, but is transported in a posture (second posture) in which the surface intersecting the thickness direction faces the transport surface (second posture). Generally used for inspection. Therefore, when supplying the tablet in the second posture to the transport belt 100, a second transport path that can transmit vibration to the tablet is provided, and this is disposed downstream of the first transport path. Is preferred.

  As described above, this embodiment further improves the efficiency of eliminating defective products as compared with the configuration of Patent Document 1, and as a result, reduces the burden on the appearance inspection apparatus for finally determining the quality of tablets. It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the conveyance state of the small molded product due to the edge of the defective product being caught by the conveyance member and the deterioration of the inspection function of the appearance inspection apparatus due to the powder generated from the defective product. is there.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, changed, or modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the lever-like member 61 having the slit 63 in which the width P is set and the opening 69 in which the dimension W is set in accordance with the size or the like of the tablet to be transported is used. You may comprise an insulator-like member so that P and the dimension W can be adjusted.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lever-like member 61 in which the posture changer 67 is arranged so that the one biased to the upstream side and the one biased to the downstream side alternately appear in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is used. . However, the arrangement mode of the posture changing unit 67 can be determined as appropriate. For example, a device that is biased to the upstream side, a device that is positioned in the middle of the first transport path, and a device that is biased to the downstream side are sequentially transported. The posture changer 67 may be arranged so as to appear in a direction orthogonal to the direction.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the opening 69 for removing the defective product that cannot be removed by the punching plate 71 is formed integrally with the lever-like member 61. However, the position of the opening can be determined as appropriate. It is. For example, it can be provided integrally with the punching plate 71 at the upstream portion thereof, or such an opening is defined by the downstream edge of the lever-shaped member and the upstream edge of the punching plate. Good.

  In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to tablets but also to conveying devices for granular confectionery and other small molded products.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base 3 Vibrating feeder 6 1st conveyance path 7 2nd conveyance path 8 Conveyance path base 10 Conveyance path 61 Insulator-like member 63 Slit 65 Guide 67 Posture change part 69 Opening 71 Punching plate 73 Circular opening T Tablet

Claims (7)

In the process of transporting small molded products, a small molded product that has a conveyance path for selecting small molded products that satisfy a predetermined condition regarding appearance and defective products that do not satisfy the conditions, and eliminating the defective products. A device for conveying molded articles,
The transport path has a lever-like member provided with a plurality of guides having a width equal to or smaller than the thickness of the small molded product and forming slits extending in the transport direction
The guide is provided with a slope that slopes upward as it goes downstream in the transport direction,
The inclined surface is provided at a position different between the adjacent guides in the conveying direction between the adjacent guides.   The apparatus for transporting a small molded article according to claim 1, wherein a width of the slit is set to be equal to or more than half of a thickness of the small molded article.   The small molded article integrally has a body part and a pair of bulging parts sandwiching the body part in the thickness direction, and the width of the slit is the thickness of the body part and the pair of bulging parts. The small-sized molded article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying apparatus is set to be equal to or greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the first and second thicknesses.   The second conveying path having a punching plate in which a plurality of circular openings for removing the defective product that has passed through the conveying path is formed on the downstream side of the conveying path. The conveyance apparatus of the small molded article in any one of 1 thru | or 3.   Between the conveyance path and the second conveyance path, an opening is provided over a range corresponding to the arrangement range of the plurality of guides in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and the dimension of the opening in the conveyance direction is the small size. 5. The apparatus for transporting small molded articles according to claim 4, wherein the conveying apparatus is set to one half or less of the maximum dimension of the molded article.   The said conveyance path and the said 2nd conveyance path are arrange | positioned so that the vibration by a vibration generation body may be transmitted while it inclines below toward the downstream of the said conveyance direction. 4. A small molded article conveying apparatus according to 4 or 5. An insulator-like member used in the transport path disposed in the apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The portion corresponding to the downstream side of the conveying direction has an opening over a range corresponding to the arrangement range of the plurality of guides in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and the dimension of the opening in the conveying direction is the small molded product An insulator-like member characterized in that it is set to one half or less of the maximum dimension .

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