JP6644648B2 - Tablet printing apparatus and tablet printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tablet printing apparatus and a tablet printing method for printing on the surface of a tablet.

  Characters and codes for identifying products are printed on the surface of tablets that are pharmaceuticals. Such characters and codes may be printed by engraving, but the engraving has a problem that visibility is low. In particular, in recent years, the types of tablets have been diversified due to the spread of generic drugs. For this reason, in order to reliably identify tablets, a technique of performing clear printing on the surface of a tablet by an inkjet method has been receiving attention.

  A conventional ink jet type tablet printing apparatus is described in Patent Document 1, for example. In the manufacturing process of a tablet including this type of printing apparatus, in addition to poor printing, defective shapes such as cracks and chips may occur. The tablet printing apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 performs printing on tablets and collects defective products from the printed tablets. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the entry of defective products into the product.

JP-A-2006-10437

  Even in the case of having a mechanism for collecting defective products like the tablet printing device described in Patent Literature 1, in rare cases, defective products that cannot be completely collected may be mixed in the product. If a defective product is mixed into a pharmaceutical tablet product, it is discarded in packaging units, blister pack units, or every dozen. For this reason, it is more desirable to further reduce the mixing ratio of defective products into products.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can improve the efficiency of collecting defective products in a tablet printing apparatus that prints on the surface of a tablet that is a pharmaceutical product.

In order to solve the above problems, a first invention of the present application is a tablet printing apparatus that performs printing on the surface of a tablet, and a transport mechanism that transports the tablet while sucking and holding the tablet by applying a negative pressure to a plurality of suction units. A head that ejects ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, a camera that is disposed downstream of the head, and that images the tablet, and based on an image captured by the camera, and defective determination unit for determining a target tablet to be recovered out of the tablet, is arranged downstream of the camera, said by the action of positive pressure to the suction portion of the target tablet is held, the object in the suction unit A first blow mechanism for releasing the suction of the tablet, a discharge sensor disposed downstream of the first blow mechanism, for detecting whether or not the target tablet is present in the suction unit; For detection signal Then, a positive pressure is applied to the residual determination unit that determines the residual tablet remaining in the suction unit as the target tablet and the suction unit that is disposed downstream of the discharge sensor and holds the residual tablet. by, have a, a second blowing mechanism for releasing the adsorption of the tablets containing the residual tablets in the suction unit, the pressure value of positive pressure which the second blowing mechanism is caused to act on the suction unit, the first It is higher than the positive pressure value applied to the suction section by one blow mechanism .

  The second invention of the present application is the tablet printing apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the suction units are arranged at regular intervals in a width direction perpendicular to a conveying direction to form a line, and the first blowing mechanism includes: At a predetermined position in the transport direction, a positive pressure is applied to the suction section to which the target tablet is sucked to release the suction of the target tablet, and the second blow mechanism is located downstream of the first blow mechanism. In the method, the positive pressure is applied to the suction section to which the residual tablet is adsorbed to release the adsorption of the residual tablet.

  A third invention of the present application is the tablet printing apparatus according to the second invention, wherein the second blowing mechanism applies a positive pressure to the entirety of the row including the suction section where the residual tablet is held. Then, the suction of all the tablets held in the row is released.

  A fourth invention of the present application is the tablet printing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the third invention, wherein the transport mechanism reduces a transport speed when the second blow mechanism is driven.

  A fifth invention of the present application is the tablet printing apparatus according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the transport mechanism stops transporting when the second blow mechanism is driven.

The sixth invention of the present application is the tablet printing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the fifth invention , wherein the transport mechanism transports the tablet while exposing a first surface of the tablet, A second transport unit that transports the tablet while exposing a second surface of the tablet, wherein the head discharges ink droplets toward the first surface of the tablet transported by the first transport unit. A first head and a second head that ejects ink droplets toward the second surface of the tablet conveyed by the second conveyance unit, wherein the camera is located downstream of the first head. A first camera arranged to capture the first surface of the tablet transported by the first transport unit, and the tablet disposed downstream of the second head and transported by the second transport unit; A second camera for imaging the second surface of the defective product. Parts, the image captured in the first camera, based on both the image captured in the second camera, to determine the subject tablets.

The seventh invention of the present application is a tablet printing method for performing printing on the surface of a tablet to be conveyed while being suction-held by applying a negative pressure to a plurality of suction units by a conveyance mechanism, wherein a) the tablet is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. Printing by ejecting ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet, and b) after the step a), an inspection is performed based on an image of the tablet, and an object to be collected among the tablets A step of determining a tablet; and c) a step of applying a positive pressure to the suction section holding the target tablet determined in the step b) to release the suction of the target tablet in the suction section; d) after the step c), a step of determining whether or not there is a residual tablet in which the target tablet remains in the adsorbing section; and e) when the residual tablet is present in the determination of the step d) Then, the suction portion where the residual tablet is held is positively applied. It was allowed to act, and a step for releasing the adsorption of the residual tablets in the suction unit.

According to the first to seventh inventions of the present application, even in a case where the defective product is not collected by the first blow mechanism, the defective product can be collected by the second blow mechanism. Therefore, the efficiency of collecting defective products can be improved.

According to the third to fifth aspects of the present invention , defective products can be more reliably collected in the second blow mechanism.

It is a figure showing composition of a tablet printing device concerning a 1st embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a transport drum of the tablet printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration near a second transport conveyor of the tablet printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a bottom view of the head of the tablet printing device concerning a 1st embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing connections between each unit and a control unit in the tablet printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit related to a printing process in the tablet printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printing process in the tablet printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a flow chart which showed a flow of a printing process in a tablet printing device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure showing composition of a tablet printing device concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a figure showing composition near a 2nd conveyance conveyor of a tablet printing device concerning a 3rd embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit related to a printing process in a tablet printing apparatus according to a third embodiment. It is a flow chart which showed a flow of a printing process in a tablet printing device concerning a 3rd embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a direction in which a plurality of tablets are transported is referred to as a “transport direction”, and a direction perpendicular and horizontal to the transport direction is referred to as a “width direction”.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1-1. Configuration of tablet printing device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The tablet printing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that prints images such as a product name, a product code, a company name, and a logo mark on the surface of each tablet 9 while transporting a plurality of tablets 9 as medicines.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a supply mechanism 20, a transport mechanism 30, a printing unit 40, an inspection mechanism 50, a collection unit 60, and a control unit 10.

  The supply mechanism 20 has a hopper 21, a straight feeder 22, a rotary feeder 23, and an inclined feeder 24. The supply mechanism 20 is a mechanism for transferring the tablets 9 put into the apparatus to the transport mechanism 30.

  The hopper 21 is an input unit for collectively receiving a large number of tablets 9 in the device. The hopper 21 is arranged at the top of the housing 100 of the tablet printing device 1. The hopper 21 has an opening 211 located on the upper surface of the housing 100 and a funnel-shaped inclined surface 212 that gradually converges downward. The plurality of tablets 9 put into the opening 211 flow into the straight feeder 22 along the inclined surface 212.

  The rectilinear feeder 22, the rotary feeder 23, and the inclined feeder 24 are mechanisms for transporting the plurality of tablets 9 put into the hopper 21 to the transport mechanism 30. The rectilinear feeder 22 has a flat vibration trough 221. The plurality of tablets 9 supplied from the hopper 21 to the vibration trough 221 are conveyed to the rotary feeder 23 by the vibration of the vibration trough 221.

  The rotary feeder 23 has a disk-shaped rotary table 231. The plurality of tablets 9 that have dropped from the vibration trough 221 to the upper surface of the turntable 231 gather around the outer periphery of the turntable 231 due to centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the turntable 231.

  The inclined feeder 24 has a plate-shaped slope 241 that extends obliquely downward from the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 231 to a transport drum 31 of the transport mechanism 30 described below. FIG. 2 is a perspective view including a part of the inclined feeder 24, a part of the transport drum 31 and a part of the first transport conveyor 32. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of (eight in the example of FIG. 2) transport grooves 242 are provided on the upper surface of the slope 241. Each of the plurality of tablets 9 conveyed to the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 231 is supplied to any one of the plurality of conveyance grooves 242 and flows down obliquely downward along the conveyance grooves 242. As described above, the plurality of tablets 9 are distributed and supplied to the plurality of transport grooves 242, so that the tablets 9 are aligned in the plurality of transport rows. Then, the plurality of tablets 9 in each transport row are supplied to the transport drum 31 in order from the top one.

  The transport mechanism 30 includes a transport drum 31, a first transport conveyor 32, a second transport conveyor 33, and an unloading conveyor 34.

  The transport drum 31 is a mechanism that transfers a plurality of tablets 9 from the inclined feeder 24 to the first transport conveyor 32. The transport drum 31 has a substantially cylindrical outer peripheral surface. The transport drum 31 rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2 around a rotation shaft extending in the width direction by a power obtained from a motor not shown. As shown in FIG. 2, on the outer peripheral surface of the transport drum 31, a plurality of suction units 310 arranged at substantially equal intervals in the transport direction and the width direction are provided. The plurality of suction units 310 are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the transport drum 31 at widthwise positions corresponding to each of the transport grooves 242 of the inclined feeder 24.

  Each of the suction sections 310 is a through hole provided on the surface of the transport drum 31. FIG. 3 is a partial schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the transport drum 31, a part of the first transport conveyor 32, and the second transport conveyor 33. As shown in FIG. 3, a suction mechanism 311 is provided inside the transport drum 31. When the suction mechanism 311 is operated, a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is generated in each of the plurality of suction units 310. The suction unit 310 suction-holds the tablets 9 supplied from the inclined feeder 24 one by one by the negative pressure.

  A release blow mechanism 312 is provided inside the transport drum 31. The release blow mechanism 312 blows locally pressurized gas from the inside of the transport drum 31 toward the first transport conveyor 32. The release blow mechanism 312 applies a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure to all of the suction sections 310 arranged at a predetermined position facing the first transport conveyor 32, and sucks the tablets 9 in the suction sections 310. Cancel.

  As a result, in the suction unit 310 arranged at a position not facing the first transport conveyor 32, the tablet 9 is sucked only by the suction unit 310 facing the first transport conveyor 32 while maintaining the suction state of the tablets 9. Is released. The transport drum 31 rotates while adsorbing and holding the plurality of tablets 9 supplied from the inclined feeder 24, and delivers the tablets 9 to the first transport conveyor 32.

  Here, the surface that is sucked by the suction unit 310 while the tablet 9 is being suction-held by the transport drum 31 is referred to as a first surface. On the other hand, the surface opposite to the first surface is referred to as a second surface. That is, the surface exposed to the outside while the tablet 9 is being sucked and held by the transport drum 31 is referred to as a second surface. When the tablets 9 are delivered from the transport drum 31 to the first transport conveyor 32, the second surface of the tablets 9 faces the first transport conveyor 32. Therefore, the second surface of the tablet 9 is adsorbed on the first conveyor 32. Therefore, the first surface of the tablet 9 is exposed to the outside while being sucked and held by the first transport conveyor 32. In this way, the front and back of the tablet 9 are inverted between the time when the tablet 9 is sucked and held by the transport drum 31 and the time when the tablet 9 is sucked and held by the first transport conveyor 32.

  The first transport conveyor 32 is a first transport unit having a pair of pulleys 321, a transport belt 322, and a suction mechanism 323. The transport belt 322 is looped between a pair of pulleys 321. A part of the conveyor belt 322 is arranged so as to be close to and opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor drum 31. One of the pair of pulleys 321 is rotated by power obtained from a motor (not shown). Thereby, the transport belt 322 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 321 rotates following the rotation of the transport belt 322.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the transport belt 322 is provided with a plurality of suction units 320. The plurality of suction units 320 are through holes provided on the surface of the transport belt 322, similarly to the suction units 310 of the transport drum 31. The plurality of suction units 320 are arranged in the transport direction at widthwise positions corresponding to each of the plurality of transport rows. The interval between the plurality of suction units 320 in the transport belt 322 in the transport direction and the width direction is equal to the interval between the plurality of suction units 310 in the transport drum 31 in the transport direction and the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first transport conveyor 32 has a suction mechanism 323. The suction mechanism 323 generates a negative pressure in a space inside the pulley 321 and the transport belt 322. When the suction mechanism 323 is operated, a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is generated in each of the plurality of suction units 320. The suction unit 320 suction-holds the tablets 9 delivered from the transport drum 31 one by one by the negative pressure. Thereby, the first transport conveyor 32 transports the plurality of tablets 9 while applying a negative pressure to the plurality of suction units 320 while sucking and holding the plurality of tablets 9 in a state of being aligned in the transport direction and the width direction.

  Further, the first transport conveyor 32 is provided with a release blow mechanism 324 shown in FIG. The release blow mechanism 324 blows locally pressurized gas from the inside of the conveyor belt 322 toward the second conveyor 33. The release blow mechanism 324 applies a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure to all of the suction units 320 arranged at a predetermined position facing the second transport conveyor 33, so that the tablets 9 are sucked by the suction units 320. Cancel. As a result, the suction of the tablets 9 by the suction section 320 is released, and the tablets 9 are delivered from the first transport conveyor 32 to the second transport conveyor 33.

  Here, while the tablet 9 is being sucked and held by the first conveyor 32, the second surface of the tablet 9 is sucked by the suction part 320, and the first surface of the tablet 9 is exposed to the outside. When the tablets 9 are delivered from the first conveyor 32 to the second conveyor 33, the first surface of the tablets 9 faces the second conveyor 33. For this reason, the first surface of the tablet 9 is attracted to the second conveyor 33. Therefore, the second surface of the tablet 9 is exposed to the outside while being sucked and held by the second conveyor 33. In this way, the tablet 9 is turned upside down while being sucked and held on the first conveyor 32 and between being sucked and held on the second conveyor 33.

  The second transport conveyor 33 is a second transport unit including a pair of pulleys 331, a transport belt 332 having a plurality of suction units 330, and a suction mechanism 333. The pair of pulleys 331, the conveyor belt 332, and the suction mechanism 333 of the second conveyor 33 have the same configuration as the pair of pulleys 321, the conveyor belt 322, and the suction mechanism 323 of the first conveyor 32, and therefore description thereof is omitted. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second transport conveyor 33 is provided with a discharge blow mechanism 334. A chute 341 that connects the second transport conveyor 33 and the unloading conveyor 34 is disposed below the discharge blow mechanism 334. The discharge blow mechanism 334 blows locally pressurized gas from the inside of the transport belt 332 toward the chute 341. The discharge blow mechanism 334 applies a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure to all of the suction sections 330 arranged at a predetermined position facing the chute 341 to release the suction of the tablets 9 in the suction section 330. . As a result, the suction of the tablets 9 by the suction section 330 is released, and the tablets 9 are delivered from the second conveyor 33 to the unloading conveyor 34.

  The unloading conveyor 34 is a mechanism for unloading a plurality of tablets 9 after printing out of the housing 100 of the tablet printing apparatus 1. The upstream end of the unloading conveyor 34 is located below the chute 341. The downstream end of the unloading conveyor 34 is located outside the housing 100. The downstream end of the carry-out conveyor 34 is connected to, for example, a packaging device that packages the tablets 9 after the printing process. As the unloading conveyor 34, for example, a belt transport mechanism is used. The plurality of tablets 9 transferred from the second transport conveyor 33 to the unloading conveyor 34 are unloaded to the outside of the housing 100 by the unloading conveyor 34.

  The printing unit 40 has a first printing unit 41 and a second printing unit 42.

  The first printing unit 41 is a processing unit for printing an image on the first surface of the tablet 9. As shown in FIG. 1, the first printing unit 41 is an inkjet head unit having four heads 411. Each of the four heads 411 ejects ink droplets toward the first surface of the tablet 9 transported by the first transport conveyor 32. The four heads 411 eject ink droplets of different colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). A multicolor image is recorded on the surface of the tablet 9 by superimposing single-color images formed by these colors. As the ink ejected from each head 411, an edible ink manufactured from a raw material approved by the Food Sanitation Law is used.

  FIG. 4 is a bottom view of one head 411. In FIG. 4, the transport belt 322 and the plurality of tablets 9 held on the transport belt 322 are indicated by two-dot chain lines. As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 4, a plurality of nozzles 410 capable of discharging ink droplets are provided on the lower surface of the head 411. In the present embodiment, a plurality of nozzles 410 are two-dimensionally arranged on the lower surface of the head 411 in the transport direction and the width direction. The nozzles 410 are arranged at different positions in the width direction. By arranging the plurality of nozzles 410 two-dimensionally in this manner, the positions of the nozzles 410 in the width direction can be brought closer to each other. However, the plurality of nozzles 410 may be arranged in a line along the width direction.

  As a method for discharging ink droplets from the nozzle 410, for example, a so-called piezo method is used in which a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric element, which is a piezoelectric element, to deform the piezoelectric element, thereby discharging the ink inside the nozzle 410 by pressurizing. The head 411 of this embodiment can switch the size of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle 410 according to the magnitude of the voltage applied to the piezo element. More specifically, an arbitrary ink droplet can be ejected from four types of ink droplets, from “finest ink droplet“ size 1 ”to the largest ink droplet“ size 4 ”. However, the size of the ink droplet that can be ejected may be two to three types, or may be five or more types. In addition, the method of discharging ink droplets may be a so-called thermal method in which a heater is energized to discharge ink by heating and expanding the ink in the nozzle 410.

  The second printing unit 42 is a processing unit for printing an image on the second surface of the tablet 9. The second printing unit 42 is an inkjet type head unit having four heads 421. Since the configuration of the second printing unit 42 is the same as that of the first printing unit 41, the description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection mechanism 50 includes a first appearance inspection camera 51, a second appearance inspection camera 52, a first print inspection camera 53, a third appearance inspection camera 54, and a second print inspection camera 55. And

  The first visual inspection camera 51 is a camera for photographing the second surface of the tablet 9 transported by the transport drum 31.

  The second visual inspection camera 52 is a camera that takes an image of the first surface of the tablet 9 transported by the first transport conveyor 32 on the upstream side of the first printing unit 41. The first print inspection camera 53 is a camera that captures an image of the first surface of the tablet 9 transported by the first transport conveyor 32 on the downstream side of the first printing unit 41.

  The third visual inspection camera 54 is a camera that captures an image of the second surface of the tablet 9 transported by the second transport conveyor 33 on the upstream side of the second printing unit 42. The second print inspection camera 55 is a camera that captures an image of the second surface of the tablet 9 transported by the second transport conveyor 33 on the downstream side of the second print unit 42.

  The collection unit 60 includes a defective print collection unit 61, a defective appearance collection unit 62, a discharge sensor 63, and a post-collection unit 64.

  The defective printing product collection unit 61 includes a blowing mechanism 611 for collecting defective printing products and a box 612 for collecting defective printing products. The blower 611 for collecting defective printing products is arranged downstream of the second print inspection camera 55. Below the defective print collection blow mechanism 611, a defective print collection box 612 is arranged. The defective print collecting blow mechanism 611 blows locally pressurized gas from the inside of the transport belt 332 toward the defective print collection box 612. The blow mechanism for recovering defective printing 611 applies a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure to only a part of the suction units 330 holding the target tablets designated by the control unit 10, and applies the positive pressure to the suction units 330. Release the held target tablet from adsorption. As a result, the target tablets are collected in the defective printing product collection box 612.

  The defective appearance product collection unit 62 includes a defective appearance product collection blow mechanism 621 and a defective appearance product collection box 622. The appearance defective product collecting blow mechanism 621 is disposed downstream of the defective print product collecting unit 61. A defective appearance product collection box 622 is arranged below the appearance defective product collection blow mechanism 621. The appearance defective product collecting blow mechanism 621 blows locally pressurized gas from inside the conveyor belt 332 toward the appearance defective product collection box 622. The appearance defective product collecting blow mechanism 621 applies a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure to only a part of the suction units 330 holding the target tablets specified by the control unit 10, and applies the positive pressure to the suction units 330. Release the held target tablet from adsorption. As a result, the target tablets are collected in the defective appearance product collection box 622.

  The blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective printing products and the blow mechanism 621 for collecting defective appearance products apply positive pressure to the suction unit 330 holding the target tablet at a predetermined position in the transport direction, and A first blow mechanism for releasing the suction of the target tablet is configured.

  In the present embodiment, the defective printing product collection unit 61 is disposed upstream of the appearance defective product collection unit 62, but the present invention is not limited to this. The appearance defective product collection unit 62 may be arranged on the upstream side of the print defective product collection unit 61.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the tablet printing apparatus 1 has the two first blow mechanisms, the blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective printing products and the blow mechanism 621 for collecting defective appearance products, but the present invention is not limited to this. Absent. The tablet printing apparatus of the present invention may have a single first blow mechanism for collectively collecting defective products, or may include three different blow mechanisms for collecting other types of defective products. The above-described first blow mechanism may be provided.

  The discharge sensor 63 is disposed downstream of the defective printing product collection unit 61 and the defective appearance product collection unit 62. The discharge sensor 63 is a sensor that irradiates the laser onto the suction unit 330 and detects the reflected light to detect the distance to the object. The discharge sensor 63 can detect whether or not the tablet 9 is held in each suction unit 330 by detecting the reflection distance.

  The rear collecting section 64 has a rear collecting blow mechanism 641 and a rear collecting box 642. The post-collection blow mechanism 641 is disposed downstream of the discharge sensor 63. A rear collection box 642 is disposed below the rear collection blow mechanism 641. The post-recovery blow mechanism 641 blows locally pressurized gas from the inside of the transport belt 332 toward the rear-recovery box 642. The post-collection blow mechanism applies a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure to only the predetermined suction unit 330 that holds the residual tablet specified by the control unit 10, and applies the positive pressure held by the suction unit 330. The adsorption of the tablet 9 is released. Thereby, the tablet 9 is collected in the post-collection box 642.

  The post-collection blow mechanism 641 constitutes a second blow mechanism that releases suction of residual tablets at a downstream side of the first defective blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective prints and the blow mechanism 621 for collecting defective external appearance. I do.

  The control unit 10 is a unit for controlling operation of each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing connection between the control unit 10 and each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1. As conceptually shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 10 is configured by a computer having an arithmetic processing unit 101 such as a CPU, a memory 102 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 103 such as a hard disk drive. In the storage unit 103, a computer program P for executing a printing process is installed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 10 includes a linear feeder 22, a rotary feeder 23, a transport drum 31 (including a motor, a suction mechanism 311, and a release blow mechanism 312), a first transport conveyor 32 (a motor, a suction mechanism 323). , Release blow mechanism 324), second transport conveyor 33 (including motor, suction mechanism 333, discharge blow mechanism 334), unloading conveyor 34, four heads 411 of first printing section 41, second printing section 42, four heads 421, a first visual inspection camera 51, a second visual inspection camera 52, a first print inspection camera 53, a third visual inspection camera 54, a second print inspection camera 55, and a blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective prints. , The externally defective product recovery blow mechanism 621, the discharge sensor 63, and the post-recovery blow mechanism 641 are communicably connected to each other.

  The control unit 10 temporarily reads out the computer program P and data stored in the storage unit 103 into the memory 102, and performs the arithmetic processing by the arithmetic processing unit 101 based on the computer program P, thereby controlling each of the above units. Control the operation. Thereby, the printing process for the plurality of tablets 9 proceeds.

<1-2. Printing Process Flow>
Next, a flow of a printing process using the tablet printing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the control unit 10 relating to the printing process. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printing process in the tablet printing apparatus 1. Hereinafter, the flow of the printing process of the tablet printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 10 of the present embodiment includes an appearance determination unit 11, a print processing unit 12, a print quality determination unit 13, a first discharge processing unit 14, a residual determination unit 15, 2 discharge processing unit 16. Each of the above functions in the control unit 10 is realized by a computer as the control unit 10 operating according to the above-described computer program P.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the printing process, first, the first appearance inspection camera 51 photographs the second surface of the tablet 9 transported by the transport drum 31. Then, the image data D51 acquired by the first appearance inspection camera 51 is input to the appearance determination unit 11.

  Based on the image data D51, D52, and D54 acquired by the first visual inspection camera 51, the second visual inspection camera 52, and the third visual inspection camera 54, the visual appearance determination unit 11 has the tablet 9 in each suction unit 330. Each tablet 9 has a function of determining whether or not each tablet 9 has a shape defect such as cracking or chipping or an appearance defect such as dirt. When the tablet 9 to be processed in the tablet printing apparatus 1 has a dividing line on its surface, the appearance determining unit 11 simultaneously determines the angle of the dividing line provided on each tablet 9.

  Here, the score line provided on the tablet 9 will be described. The score line is a groove cut on one side of the tablet, and is provided to split the tablet in half. The tablet 9 of the present embodiment is, for example, a disk-shaped or elliptical-shaped tablet having a dividing line on one side.

  When the image data D51 is input to the appearance determination unit 11, the appearance determination unit 11 determines whether or not the tablet 9 has a poor appearance when viewed from the second surface based on the image data D51. At the same time, the appearance determining unit 11 determines whether each tablet 9 has a score line on the second surface side and determines the angle of the score line provided on the second surface. As described above, the appearance determination unit 11 performs the appearance inspection of the second surface for each tablet 9 (step S101).

  Next, the second visual inspection camera 52 takes an image of the first surface of the tablet 9 delivered from the transport drum 31 to the first transport conveyor 32. Then, the image data D52 acquired by the second appearance inspection camera 52 is input to the appearance determination unit 11.

  When the image data D52 is input to the appearance determination unit 11, the appearance determination unit 11 determines whether or not the tablet 9 has a poor appearance when viewed from the first surface based on the image data D52. At the same time, the appearance determining unit 11 determines whether each tablet 9 has a score line on the first surface side and determines the angle of the score line provided on the first surface. As described above, the appearance determining unit 11 performs the appearance inspection of the first surface for each tablet 9 (step S102).

  The appearance determination unit 11 generates first appearance data D111 including the determination result of the presence or absence of the appearance defect of each tablet 9 and the determination result of the surface on which the dividing line is formed and the dividing line angle based on the image data D51 and D52. I do. Then, the appearance determining unit 11 transfers the first appearance data D111 to the print processing unit 12 and the first discharge processing unit 14.

  The print processing unit 12 has a function of causing the head 411 of the first print unit 41 and the head 421 of the second print unit 42 to perform print processing based on the first appearance data D111 generated by the appearance determination unit 11.

  Subsequent to step S102, the print processing unit 12 causes the first print unit 41 to perform a print process on the first surface of the tablet 9 based on the first appearance data D111 input from the appearance determination unit 11 (step S102). S103).

  Specifically, in step S103, the print processing unit 12 first specifies the tablet 9 to be subjected to the print processing in the first print unit 41 based on the first appearance data D111. Thereby, the first printing unit 41 does not perform the printing process on the suction unit 330 to which the tablet 9 is not sucked or on the tablet 9 having the poor appearance.

  Further, the print processing unit 12 determines which surface of each tablet 9 to be subjected to the printing process has a score line and the angle of the score line of each tablet 9 based on the first appearance data D111. Then, on the basis of the determination result, the head 411 of the first printing unit 41 is caused to perform a printing process on the first surface of each tablet 9. Thereby, the first printing unit 41 performs the printing process on the tablet 9 having the dividing line on the first surface in accordance with the dividing line angle determined based on the image data D52. Further, the first printing unit 41 performs a printing process on the tablet 9 having the dividing line on the second surface in accordance with the dividing line angle determined based on the image data D51.

  After printing on the first surface, the first print inspection camera 53 takes an image of the first surface of the tablet 9 on which the printing process by the first printing unit 41 has been completed. Then, the image data D53 acquired by the first print inspection camera 53 is input to the print quality determination unit 13.

  The print quality determination unit 13 has a function of determining whether the printing process on the surface of the tablet 9 is good or defective based on the image data D53 and D55 acquired by the first print inspection camera 53 and the second print inspection camera 55. .

  When the image data D53 is input to the print quality determination unit 13, the print quality determination unit 13 determines whether the image printed on the first surface has a defect based on the image data D53. That is, the print quality determination unit 13 performs a print inspection of the first surface for each tablet 9 (step S104). Then, the print quality determining unit 13 transfers the first print quality data D131 including the determination result to the first discharge processing unit 14.

  Then, the third visual inspection camera 54 photographs the second surface of the tablets 9 transferred from the first transport conveyor 32 to the second transport conveyor 33. Then, the image data D <b> 54 acquired by the third appearance inspection camera 54 is input to the appearance determination unit 11.

  When the image data D54 is input to the appearance determination unit 11, the appearance determination unit 11 determines again whether or not the tablet 9 has a poor appearance when viewed from the second surface based on the image data D54. . At the same time, the appearance determining unit 11 determines again the angle of the secant provided on the second surface of each tablet 9. As described above, the appearance determination unit 11 performs the appearance inspection of the second surface for each tablet 9 (step S105).

  Based on the image data D54, the appearance determination unit 11 generates second appearance data D112 including the determination result of the presence or absence of the appearance defect of the tablet 9, and the determination result of the surface on which the dividing line is formed and the dividing line angle. Then, the appearance determination unit 11 transfers the second appearance data D112 to the print processing unit 12 and the first discharge processing unit 14.

  Subsequent to step S105, the print processing unit 12 causes the second print unit 42 to perform a print process on the second surface of the tablet 9 based on the first appearance data D111 and the second appearance data D112 (step S106). .

  Specifically, in step S106, the print processing unit 12 first specifies the tablet 9 to be subjected to the print processing in the second print unit 42 based on the first appearance data D111 and the second appearance data D12. Accordingly, the second printing unit 42 does not perform the printing process on the suction unit 330 to which the tablet 9 is not sucked or on the tablet 9 having the poor appearance.

  Further, the print processing unit 12 determines which side of each tablet 9 to be subjected to the printing process has a dividing line and the angle of the dividing line of each tablet 9 based on the first appearance data D111 and the second appearance data D112. I do. Then, based on the result of the determination, the control unit 205 causes the head 421 of the second printing unit 42 to perform a printing process on the second surface of each tablet 9. Thereby, the second printing unit 42 performs the printing process on the tablet 9 having the secant on the second surface in accordance with the secant angle determined based on the image data D54. Further, the second printing unit 42 performs a printing process on the tablet 9 having the dividing line on the first surface in accordance with the dividing line angle determined based on the image data D52.

  After the printing on the second surface is completed, the second print inspection camera 55 takes an image of the second surface of the tablet 9 on which the printing process by the second printing unit 42 has been completed. Then, the image data D55 acquired by the second print inspection camera 55 is input to the print quality determination unit 13.

  When the image data D55 is input to the print quality determination unit 13, the print quality determination unit 13 determines whether or not the image printed on the second surface has a defect based on the image data D55. That is, the print quality determination unit 13 performs the print inspection of the second surface for each tablet 9 (step S107). Then, the print quality determination unit 13 delivers the second print quality data D132 including the determination result to the first discharge processing unit 14.

  As described above, the appearance determination unit 11 and the print quality determination unit 13 constitute a defective product determination unit that determines a target tablet to be collected among the tablets 9 based on the images captured by the cameras 51 to 55.

  The first discharge processing unit 14 has a function of causing the blow mechanism 611 for recovering defective prints to release the suction of the tablets 9 having poor appearance based on the first print quality data D131 and the second print quality data D132. Further, the first discharge processing unit 14 has a function of causing the appearance defective article collecting blow mechanism 621 to release the suction of the tablet 9 having the printing failure based on the first appearance data D111 and the second appearance data D112.

  Subsequent to step S107, the first discharge processing unit 14 holds the defective printing products to be collected based on the first print quality data D131 and the second print quality data D132 input from the print quality determination unit 13. The part 330 is specified. Then, the first discharge processing section 14 causes the blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective printing products to release the suction of the tablets 9 which are defective printing products. As a result, the defective prints are collected in the defective print collection box 612 (step S108).

  Thereafter, based on the first appearance data D111 and the second appearance data D112 input from the appearance determination unit 11, the first discharge processing unit 14 specifies the suction unit 330 that holds the defective appearance product to be collected. Then, the first discharge processing unit 14 causes the appearance-defective-goods collection blow mechanism 621 to release the suction of the tablet 9 that is the appearance-defective. Thus, the defective appearance product is collected into the defective appearance product collection box 622 (step S109).

  Subsequent to step S109, the discharge sensor 63 detects whether or not the tablet 9 is held in each of the suction units 330 on the downstream side of the defective print product collection unit 61 and the defective appearance product collection unit 62. Based on the detection result detected by the discharge sensor 63, the residual determination unit 15 selects one of the target tablets (defective print product and poor appearance product) to be collected by the poor print product recovery unit 61 and the poor appearance product recovery unit 62. The remaining tablets remaining in the suction section 330 are determined. Thereby, it is confirmed whether or not the discharge in the defective printing product collection unit 61 and the defective appearance product collection unit 62 has been performed normally (step S110).

  The second discharge processing unit 16 releases the suction of the tablets 9 in some of the suction units 330 including the suction unit 330 that holds the remaining tablets to the post-collection blow mechanism 641 based on the determination result of the residue determination unit 15. Let it. Thereby, the residual tablets are collected in the post-collection box 642 (step S111).

  As described above, since the tablet printing apparatus 1 includes the discharge sensor 63 and the rear collection unit 64, the collection efficiency of defective products can be further improved. Therefore, the reliability of the quality of the tablet 9 as a medicine can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, the post-collection blow mechanism 641 applies a positive pressure to all of the suction units 330 in the same conveyance direction as the suction unit 330 that holds the remaining tablets, and releases the suction of the tablets 9. That is, the post-collection unit 64 releases the suction of the tablets 9 from the entire row including the suction unit 330 that holds the remaining tablets among the plurality of suction units 330.

  As described above, when the defective printing is not properly performed in the defective printing product collection unit 61 and the defective appearance product collection unit 62, not only the remaining tablets but also the entire row including the remaining tablets is collected, so that the defective products are collected. Recovery efficiency can be further improved. Therefore, the reliability of the quality of the tablet 9 can be further improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the positive pressure applied by the post-collection blow mechanism 641 as the second blow mechanism to the suction unit 330 is changed to the printing failure product collection blow mechanism 611 as the first blow mechanism and the defective appearance product. The pressure is higher than the positive pressure applied by the recovery blow mechanism 621 to the suction section 330.

  When a discharge failure occurs in the blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective printing products and the blow mechanism 621 for collecting defective appearance products, the shape of the residual tablet and the state of the suction unit 330 for holding the residual tablet may be different from normal. For this reason, in order to discharge and collect the residual tablet more reliably in the post-collection blow mechanism 641, the positive pressure value generated in the suction unit by the second blow mechanism is thus controlled by the first blow mechanism. It is preferable that the pressure is larger than the positive pressure value generated in the suction section.

  The positive pressure applied by the post-collection blow mechanism 641, which is the second blow mechanism, to the suction unit 330 is the same as the first blow mechanism, ie, the defective print collection blow mechanism 611 and the defective appearance collection blow mechanism 621. May be the same as the positive pressure applied to the adsorption section 330.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Subsequently, a flow of a printing process using the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. The device configuration of the tablet printing device 1 according to the second embodiment is the same as the tablet printing device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printing process of the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment.

  In the printing process of the second embodiment, the appearance inspection of the second surface of the tablet 9 (step S201), the appearance inspection of the first surface (step S202), the printing process on the first surface (step S203), the first surface Printing inspection (step S204), appearance inspection of the second surface (step S205), printing process on the second surface (step S206), printing inspection of the second surface (step S207), collection of defective printing (step S208) Then, the collection of defective appearance products (Step S209) is performed in order.

  Steps S201 to S209 of the printing process according to the second embodiment are the same as steps S101 to S109 of the printing process according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  After the recovery of the defective products in steps S208 and S209, based on the detection result of the discharge sensor 63, the residual determination unit 15 determines the target to be recovered in the defective printing product recovery unit 61 and the defective appearance product recovery unit 62. Among the tablets (defective printing and defective appearance), the remaining tablets remaining in the adsorption section 330 are determined. That is, it is determined whether or not the discharge in the defective print collection unit 61 and the defective appearance collection unit 62 has been normally performed (step S210).

  In step S <b> 210, when the residual determination unit 15 determines that the defective print collection unit 61 and the defective appearance collection unit 62 have normally performed the discharge, the second discharge processing unit 16 determines the determination result of the residual determination unit 15. , The post-collection blow mechanism 641 collects the sample tablets (step S211). Specifically, the second discharge processing unit 16 applies a positive pressure to the suction unit 330 holding the non-defective tablets 9 at a predetermined interval (for example, at an interval of one tablet in 10 rows of the suction unit 330). Then, the suction of the tablet 9 by the suction section 330 is released. Thereby, the non-defective tablet 9 is collected in the post-collection box 642 as a sample tablet.

  In this way, by periodically collecting the sample tablets, the quality control of the tablet 9 as a medicine can be easily performed.

  On the other hand, when the residual determination unit 15 determines in step S210 that the defective printing product collection unit 61 and the defective appearance product collection unit 62 do not discharge properly and that there is a residual tablet in the suction unit 330, the control unit 10 determines Then, the transport of the tablets 9 in the transport mechanism 30 is stopped (step S212). Then, the control unit 10 notifies the operator that there is residual defective product by voice or display.

  Then, when the operator performs an operation on the control unit 10, the second discharge processing unit 16 causes the post-collection blow mechanism 641 to store the tablets 9 in some of the suction units 330 including the suction unit 330 that holds the residual tablets. Release the adsorption. Thereby, the remaining tablets are collected in the post-collection box 642 (step S213). Thereafter, when the operator operates the control unit 10, the transport of the tablets 9 in the transport mechanism 30 is resumed, and the printing process is resumed.

  In step S212, the printing process is stopped before the collection of the residual tablets, and the operation by the operator is interposed, so that the operator can collect the sample tablets collected in the post-collection box 642 before the collection of the residual tablets. Can be taken from In this way, the sample tablet and the tablet 9 collected at the time of collecting the residual tablet can be collected separately.

  In addition, in step S213, when the post-collection blow mechanism 641 is driven, the conveyance by the conveyance mechanism 30 is stopped, so that the time during which the post-collection blow mechanism 641 applies a positive pressure to the suction unit 330 can be extended. The time during which the post-collection blow mechanism 641 applies a positive pressure to the suction unit 330 is longer than the time during which the defective printing product collection blow mechanism 611 and the defective appearance product collection blow mechanism 621 apply a positive pressure to the suction unit 330. By doing so, the residual tablets can be more reliably discharged and collected in the post-collection blow mechanism 641.

  In addition, after the collection of the residual tablets in step S213, the conveyance by the conveyance mechanism 30 is restarted by the operator, so that the conveyance can be restarted after the operator confirms the discharge of the residual tablets. Therefore, the remaining tablets can be more reliably discharged and collected in the rear collection unit 64.

  When the post-collection blow mechanism 641 is driven, the transport speed of the transport mechanism 30 may be reduced. Even in this case, the time during which the post-collection blow mechanism 641 applies a positive pressure to the suction section 330 can be lengthened. Therefore, the residual tablets can be more reliably discharged and collected by the post-collection blow mechanism 641.

<3. Third Embodiment>
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a tablet printing apparatus 1A according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a partial schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the transport drum 31, a part of the first transport conveyor 32, and the second transport conveyor 33 in the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 10A and each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1A according to the third embodiment.

  9 to 11, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. First, differences between the tablet printing apparatus 1A according to the third embodiment and the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, in the tablet printing apparatus 1A, the collecting unit 60A does not have a discharge sensor. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 10A does not have the residual determination unit and the second discharge processing unit but has a sample discharge processing unit 17A. Other configurations of the tablet printing apparatus 1A are the same as those of the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printing process of the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment. Hereinafter, a flow of a printing process using the tablet printing apparatus 1A according to the third embodiment will be described.

  In the printing process of the third embodiment, the appearance inspection of the second surface of the tablet 9 (step S301), the appearance inspection of the first surface (step S302), the printing process on the first surface (step S303), the first surface Print inspection (step S304), appearance inspection of the second surface (step S305), printing process on the second surface (step S306), print inspection of the second surface (step S307), collection of defective printing (step S308) Then, the collection of the defective appearance product (Step S309) is sequentially performed.

  Steps S301 to S309 of the printing process according to the third embodiment are the same as steps S101 to S109 of the printing process according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  After the defective products are collected in steps S308 and S309, the sample discharge processing unit 17A causes the post-collection blow mechanism 641 to collect the sample tablets (step S310). Specifically, the sample discharge processing unit 17A applies a positive pressure to the suction unit 330 holding the non-defective tablets 9 at a predetermined interval (for example, at an interval of one tablet in 10 rows of the suction unit 330). Thus, the suction of the tablet 9 by the suction section 330 is released. As a result, the non-defective tablet 9 is collected in the post-collection box 642 as a sample tablet.

  In this way, by periodically collecting the sample tablets, the quality control of the tablet 9 as a medicine can be easily performed.

  In particular, when the unloading conveyor 34 for transferring the tablets 9 from the second transport conveyor 33 is directly connected to the packaging device, all of the tablets 9 transferred to the unloading conveyor 34 are subjected to the packaging process, and the sample tablets Is difficult to recover. Therefore, it is preferable that the sample tablets can be collected before the tablets 9 are delivered to the unloading conveyor 34.

<4. Modification>
As described above, the main embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  The tablet printing apparatus described above is an apparatus that performs printing on both sides of a tablet by the first printing unit and the second printing unit. However, the tablet printing apparatus of the present invention may be an apparatus that performs printing on only one side of a tablet.

  Further, the above-described tablet printing apparatus is a tablet printing apparatus capable of printing on a tablet having a score line. Therefore, two appearance inspection cameras are arranged on the upstream side of the first printing unit, but the present invention is not limited to this. When printing is performed on a tablet having no parting line, only one appearance inspection camera may be arranged on the upstream side of the first printing unit.

  Further, in the above-described tablet printing apparatus, due to the configuration of the supply mechanism, the tablets are not necessarily arranged in all the suction units of the transport mechanism. For this reason, the appearance inspection camera arranged on the upstream side of the printing unit checks whether or not the tablet is held in each suction unit in order to avoid performing the printing process on the suction unit where no tablet exists. Play a role.

  However, the tablet printing device does not have to have a visual inspection camera upstream of the printing unit. It is only necessary that the supply mechanism has a configuration in which tablets can be arranged in all the suction sections of the transport mechanism. Further, the determination of defective appearance may be made by a print inspection camera provided downstream of the printing unit.

  Further, in the above tablet printing apparatus, defective printing products and defective appearance products are collected by different collecting units. With this configuration, it is easy to determine whether the tablet supplied to the tablet printing apparatus has a defect or the tablet printing apparatus has a defect. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Defective printing products and defective appearance products may be collected by a single collection unit.

  Further, the detailed configuration of the tablet printing apparatus may be different from each drawing of the present application. In addition, the elements appearing in the above-described embodiments and the modified examples may be appropriately combined as long as no contradiction occurs.

1, 1A tablet printing device 9 tablets 10, 10A control unit 11 appearance determination unit 12 print processing unit 13 print quality determination unit 14 first discharge processing unit 15 residual determination unit 16 second discharge processing unit 17A sample discharge processing unit 30 transport mechanism 32 First transport conveyor 33 Second transport conveyor 40 Printing unit 41 First printing unit 42 Second printing unit 50 Inspection mechanism 51 First appearance inspection camera 52 Second appearance inspection camera 53 First print inspection camera 54 Third appearance inspection camera 55 second print inspection camera 60, 60A collection unit 61 defective print collection unit 62 defective appearance collection unit 63 discharge sensor 64 rear collection unit 310, 320, 330 suction unit 411, 421 head 611 defective blow print collection blow mechanism 621 Blow mechanism for recovering defective appearance 641 Blow mechanism for recovering after

Claims (7)

A tablet printing device that performs printing on the surface of a tablet,
A transport mechanism that transports the tablets while applying and holding the tablets by applying a negative pressure to the plurality of suction units;
A head that ejects ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet transported by the transport mechanism,
A camera arranged downstream of the head and imaging the tablet;
Based on the image captured by the camera, a defective product determination unit that determines a target tablet to be collected among the tablets,
A first blow mechanism that is disposed downstream of the camera and applies a positive pressure to the suction unit where the target tablet is held, thereby releasing suction of the target tablet in the suction unit.
A discharge sensor disposed downstream of the first blow mechanism and detecting whether the target tablet is present in the suction unit;
Based on a detection signal from the discharge sensor, a residual determination unit that determines the residual tablet remaining in the suction unit as the target tablet,
A second blow mechanism that is disposed downstream of the discharge sensor and applies a positive pressure to the suction unit where the residual tablet is held, thereby releasing suction of the tablet including the residual tablet in the suction unit.
Have a,
The tablet printing apparatus , wherein a positive pressure value applied to the suction unit by the second blow mechanism is higher than a positive pressure value applied to the suction unit by the first blow mechanism . The tablet printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The suction unit is arranged at regular intervals in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction to form a line,
The first blow mechanism, at a predetermined position in the transport direction, by applying a positive pressure to the suction unit to which the target tablet is sucked, to cancel the suction of the target tablet,
The tablet printing device, wherein the second blow mechanism applies a positive pressure to the suction section to which the residual tablet is sucked on the downstream side of the first blow mechanism to release the suction of the residual tablet. The tablet printing apparatus according to claim 2,
The second blow mechanism applies a positive pressure to the entirety of the row including the suction unit where the residual tablet is held, and releases suction of all the tablets held in the row. Tablet printing device. The tablet printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The tablet printing device, wherein the transport mechanism reduces a transport speed when the second blow mechanism is driven. The tablet printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The tablet printing apparatus, wherein the transport mechanism stops transporting when the second blow mechanism is driven. A tablet printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
  The transport mechanism,
    A first transport unit that transports the first surface of the tablet while exposing the first surface,
    A second transport unit that transports the tablet while exposing a second surface of the tablet,
Including
  The head is
    A first head that ejects ink droplets toward the first surface of the tablet conveyed by the first conveyance unit;
    A second head that ejects ink droplets toward the second surface of the tablet conveyed by the second conveyance unit,
Including
  The camera is
    A first camera arranged downstream of the first head and imaging the first surface of the tablet conveyed by the first conveyance unit;
    A second camera arranged downstream of the second head and imaging the second surface of the tablet conveyed by the second conveyance unit;
Including
  The tablet printing device, wherein the defective product determination unit determines the target tablet based on both an image captured by the first camera and an image captured by the second camera. A tablet printing method in which a negative pressure is applied to a plurality of suction units by a transfer mechanism to perform printing on a surface of a tablet to be suction-held and transferred,
  a) a step of performing printing by discharging ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet conveyed by the conveyance mechanism;
  b) after the step a), performing an inspection based on an image obtained by imaging the tablet, and determining a target tablet to be collected among the tablets;
  c) a step of applying a positive pressure to the suction section holding the target tablet determined in the step b) to release the suction of the target tablet in the suction section;
  d) after the step c), determining whether or not there is a residual tablet in which the target tablet remains in the adsorption section;
  e) when the residual tablet is present in the determination in the step d), a step of applying a positive pressure to the suction section holding the residual tablet to release the suction of the residual tablet in the suction section; ,
Has,
  The tablet printing method, wherein the positive pressure applied to the suction unit in the step e) is higher than the positive pressure applied to the suction unit in the step c).

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