JP7300047B2 - counting filling device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a counting and filling apparatus, and more particularly to a counting and filling apparatus that counts conveyed objects such as tablets and capsules and fills them into containers.

As a conventional counting and filling device, for example, a workpiece counting device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this device, a counting sensor counts the workpieces supplied in a line from the supply mechanism while they are conveyed by the conveyor, and when a predetermined number of workpieces are counted, the entrance dampers provided at the entrances of the two collection chambers are rotated. It is configured to switch the collection chamber that accommodates the workpieces.

This workpiece counting device is equipped with two high-pressure air injectors for ejecting high-pressure air to release workpieces being conveyed. One of the high-pressure air injectors separates the following workpieces from the conveyor when the distance between the workpieces measured by the dimension measuring sensor is smaller than the set dimension. When the counter sensor detects a predetermined number of workpieces, the other high-pressure air jet ejects the following workpieces until the inlet damper switches.

JP-A-6-259624

However, in the above-described conventional counting and filling apparatus, when the workpieces before and after being conveyed come into contact with each other, the dimension measuring sensor cannot detect this state, so that the workpieces cannot be detached. is mistakenly detected as a single workpiece, the workpiece count becomes inaccurate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a counting and filling apparatus capable of accurately counting the objects to be conveyed and filling them into a container regardless of the conveyed state of the objects.

The object of the present invention is to provide a counting and filling apparatus for counting the objects to be conveyed and filling them into a container, comprising: a supply device for aligning and supplying the objects to be conveyed; a first detection device for detecting a transported object transported by the transporting device; and a removal device for selectively removing from the transporting device the transported object that has passed through the first detection device. and a control device for controlling the operation of the removal device based on the detection by the first detection device, wherein the control device counts the number of transferred objects based on the detection by the first detection device. The transport direction length of the transported object is measured, transported objects whose transport direction length is greater than a set value are excluded from counting, and are removed from the transporting device by the operation of the removing device, and the removing device is removed. This is achieved by a counting and filling device that fills containers with a predetermined number of conveyed objects that have passed through.

In this counting and filling apparatus, when the interval between the objects to be conveyed detected by the first detection device is smaller than a set value, the controller excludes from counting all the objects forming the interval. In addition, it is preferable to remove from the conveying device by operating the removing device.

It is preferable to further include a second detection device that detects a transported object transported by the transporting device downstream of the removing device in the transport direction, and the control device detects the transported object supplied to one container. By collating the counting results detected by the first detection device and the second detection device, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a filling failure.

At least one of the first detection device and the second detection device is preferably an imaging device capable of inspecting the appearance of the object to be transported. It is possible to identify the container to which the transported object determined to be defective is supplied.

Preferably, the imaging device includes a line sensor.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a counting and filling apparatus capable of accurately counting objects to be conveyed and filling them into containers regardless of the conveyed state of the objects.

1 is a schematic front view of a counting and filling device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 1; 2 is a side view of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part for explaining the operation of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing a main part of a counting and filling device according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 6; FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing the essential parts of a counting and filling device according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a counting and filling device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 3 are a sectional view and a side view of the main part of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 1, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the counting and filling device 1 includes a feeding device 10, a conveying device 20, a first detecting device 30, a removing device 40, a container replacing device 50 and a control device 60. The objects T to be conveyed, such as capsules, can be counted and filled into the containers Va and Vb.

The feeding device 10 is a rotary parts feeder capable of aligning and feeding the objects T to be conveyed using centrifugal force. As shown in FIG. , a first ring 12 rotatably supported about an oblique axis and a second ring 13 rotatably supported about a vertical axis. The rotating disk 11, the first ring 12 and the second ring 13 are independently driven to rotate by a driving device (not shown), and are set so that their rotational speeds increase in this order. The conveyed objects T supplied onto the rotating disk 11 of the supply device 10 are transferred to the first ring 12 and the second ring 13 by centrifugal force, the conveying speed is increased step by step, and the conveyed objects T are aligned to the transfer position. Reach P1. The supply device 10 is not particularly limited as long as it can align and supply the objects to be conveyed. For example, a vibrating parts feeder, a device combining a hopper and a drum, or the like can be used.

The conveying device 20 includes a suction roller 21 that attracts the object to be conveyed T to its outer peripheral surface and rotates and conveys the object T toward the containers Va and Vb. The suction roller 21 has a rotation shaft arranged substantially horizontally so that the outer peripheral surfaces face each other from above at the transfer position P1, and is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. A groove portion 22 is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 21 along the circumferential direction, and a large number of suction ports 22a are formed in the bottom portion of the groove portion 22 at regular intervals along the entire circumferential direction. The suction port 22 a communicates with the suction path 23 , and while the suction path 23 passes through the suction shoe 24 , the object T is sucked by a vacuum suction device (not shown) so that the object to be conveyed T is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 21 . is held by suction. The structure of the conveying device 20 is not particularly limited, either. For example, it may be a belt conveyor or the like that conveys the object to be conveyed T in the horizontal direction.

The conveying speed of the conveying device 20 is preferably set slightly higher than the feeding speed of the feeding device 10 . As a result, the conveying apparatus 20 can convey the objects T sequentially supplied to the transfer position P1 while being in contact with each other from the supplying apparatus 10 while increasing the distance between them.

The first detection device 30 is arranged near the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 21 so as to detect the object T transported by the transport device 20 . Although the first detection device 30 uses a photoelectric sensor in this embodiment, it can detect the length of the transported object T in the transport direction and the interval of the transported object T along the transport direction. There is no particular limitation as long as it exists, and for example, it may be an ultrasonic sensor or the like. Alternatively, the first detection device 30 may be an imaging device that captures an image of the transported object T to acquire image data of the transported object T. FIG. When using an imaging device, it is preferable to have a line sensor arranged so as to scan in the width direction of the transported object T (direction perpendicular to the transport direction).

The removing device 40 is a device that selectively removes from the conveying device 20 the object to be conveyed T that has passed through the first detecting device 30 , and is located downstream of the first detecting device 30 in the conveying direction and near the suction roller 21 . A nozzle 41 is provided near the outer peripheral surface. The nozzle 41 is connected to a compressed air supply source through a pipe 42. By opening a valve 43 provided in the pipe 42, the nozzle 41 blows the compressed air onto the object T to be transferred, thereby transferring the object T to the transfer device. 20 can be detached. The transferred object T separated from the transfer device 20 is returned to the supply device 10 via the return pipe 44 . The removal device 40 may have a structure other than the structure of the present embodiment, for example, having a structure for mechanically removing the transported object T by, for example, advancing and retreating a stopper.

The container exchange device 50 is a device that exchanges the containers Va and Vb that serve as the transfer destinations of the objects T that have passed through without being removed by the removal device 40. As shown in FIG. A damper 52 is provided inside a discharge chute 51 arranged near the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 21 on the side. The damper 52 is rotatable by an actuator and, as shown in FIG. By rotating from the position guided to Va to the position indicated by the dashed line, the transport destination of the transported object T can be switched to the container Vb.

Based on the detection signal of the first detection device 30, the control device 60 controls the operations of the removal device 40 and the container replacement device 50 as described later.

Next, the operation of the counting and filling device 1 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the counting and filling device shown in FIG. 1, and shows the conveying surface of the conveying device 20 in a developed state.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the transported object T supplied from the supply device 10 (see FIG. 1) to the transfer position P1 is transported in the arrow direction by the transport device 20, and is detected by the first detection device 30. After being detected, they are sequentially supplied to the container Va. The control device 60 (see FIG. 1) counts based on the detection by the first detection device 30, and when a predetermined number of transported objects T are counted, the predetermined number of the transported objects T are counted. The removal device 40 is operated at the timing when the removal device 40 is passed, and compressed air is jetted from the nozzle 41 . As a result, the subsequent transported object T is removed from the transport device 20 . The removed transported object T is returned to the supply device 10 through the return pipe 44 and then supplied to the transport device 20 again.

The injection time from the nozzle 41 can be set in advance in consideration of the time required to complete the operation of the container replacement device 50 . Alternatively, after the ejection from the nozzle 41 is started, the ejection may be continued until the first detecting device 30 detects a preset number of transferred objects T. FIG. By continuously removing a plurality of objects T in this way, as shown in FIG. be done.

After the container Va is filled with a predetermined number of objects T, the control device 60 operates the container replacement device 50 at the timing when the space G reaches the container replacement device 50, as shown in FIG. 4(c). Then, while the supply of the object T to be transferred is interrupted, the transfer destination is switched from the container Va to the container Vb. In this way, the transport destination of the transported object T can be replaced with a new container Vb without overfilling the container Va.

The control device 60 measures the transport direction length of each transported object T detected by the first detection device 30, and determines the transported object T whose transport direction length is greater than the set value. The object T is excluded from counting, and the removal device 40 is operated at the timing when the object T passes through the removal device 40 to remove it from the conveying device 20 . The set value in this case is set in advance so that it can be determined whether or not the transported object T is normal.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction ports 22a formed in the suction roller 21 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, but the central portion of the transported object T is not necessarily attracted to the suction ports 22a. Therefore, the distance between the transported objects T is not necessarily constant. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5(a), there is a possibility that the first detection device 30 detects the transported objects Ta and Tb that are adjacent to each other in the transport direction while being in contact with each other. In this case, since the transport direction length L obtained by uniting the objects Ta and Tb becomes larger than the set value, the control device 60 excludes these objects Ta and Tb from the count and removes them as a whole. Remove from transport device 20 . As a result, there is no possibility that a plurality of objects Ta and Tb are erroneously counted as a single object, and the objects can be accurately counted and filled into containers.

Further, when the interval between the objects T detected by the first detection device 30 is smaller than the set value, the control device 60 excludes all the objects T forming the interval from the counting. , is removed from the conveying device 20 by actuation of the removing device 40 . As shown in FIG. 5(b), if the distance S between the transported objects Tc and Td adjacent in the forward and rearward directions in the transport direction is too narrow, the removal device 40 may not be transported due to the formation of the gap G (see FIG. 4) or the like. When removing either one of the objects Tc and Td, there is a risk of mistakenly removing the other or both. Therefore, the minimum distance required to properly remove the transported object is determined as a set value based on the size and shape of the transported object, the transport speed, etc., and the transported objects Tc and Td that do not satisfy this condition are determined. By collectively removing the objects in advance, the above problem can be prevented and the objects to be conveyed can be counted more reliably.

As described above, the counting and filling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can reliably prevent erroneous counting when the distance between the objects T to be conveyed is too small or when the objects T are in contact with each other without any interval. can be conveyed at high speed, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, specific aspects of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the counting and filling device 1 shown in FIG. 1, as shown in the front view of the main part in FIG. A detection device 70 may also be provided. The second detection device 70 may be any device as long as it can count the objects T to be conveyed. Similar to the first detection device 30, an imaging device such as a photoelectric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a line sensor is exemplified. be able to. The control device 60 controls the operations of the removal device 40 and the container replacement device 50 based on the detection signals of the first detection device 30 and the second detection device 70 .

The control device 60 shown in FIG. 6 counts the number of transferred objects T detected by the first detection device 30 for each container, and after selectively operating the removal device 40, the second detection device 30 The detected transported objects T are counted, and the count results are collated. If the count results match, it is determined that the container is properly filled with the transferred object T. If the count results do not match, it is determined that the container is improperly filled. As a result, even if removal of the transported object T by the removal device 40 is not successful, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not there is a filling failure in the container.

In addition, by using an imaging device such as a line sensor for at least one of the first detection device 30 and the second detection device 70, the control device 60 can perform an appearance inspection of the transferred object T based on the imaging data. . When there is a transported object T that is determined to have a defective appearance, the container V to which this transported object T is supplied can be determined based on the operating state of the container replacement device 50 or the like.

A container V determined to be defective by the control device 60 can be automatically discarded by, for example, a discarding device 80 shown in FIG. The discarding device 80 includes a plurality of transport conveyors 81a and 81b capable of transporting the containers V distributed by the container replacement device 50, and a rotating rod 82 for removing the transported containers V from the transport conveyors 81a and 81b. and is controlled by the controller 60 . As shown in FIG. 7(a), the transported object Tf determined to be defective in appearance by the visual inspection based on the detection by the second detection device 70 is supplied to the container Vf and is moved by the operation of the transport conveyor 81b. After being transported to the vicinity of 82, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the rotating rod 82 rotates to discard the container Vf.

Further, the container exchange device 50 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the objects T to be transferred are sorted by the damper 52, but there is a particular limitation as long as the container V to which the objects T to be transferred can be transferred can be replaced. not a thing For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , the container replacement device 50 ′ can be configured to include a conveyer 53 that sequentially supplies the containers V to the discharge position P2 from the discharge chute 51 . The container replacement device 50' can replace the containers V by intermittently driving the transport conveyor 53 each time the containers V are filled with the objects T to be transported.

1 counting and filling device 10 supply device 20 transport device 30 first detection device 40 removal device 50 container replacement device 60 control device 70 second detection device

Claims (5)

A counting and filling device for counting conveyed objects and filling them into containers,
a feeding device that aligns and feeds the objects to be conveyed;
a conveying device that conveys the supplied object to be conveyed toward the container;
a first detection device that detects a transported object transported by the transport device;
a removal device that selectively removes from the transfer device an object to be transferred that has passed through the first detection device;
a control device that controls the operation of the removal device based on the detection of the first detection device;
The control device counts the transported objects based on the detection of the first detection device, measures the transport direction length of the transported objects, and detects the transported objects whose transport direction length is greater than a set value. , excluded from counting and removed from the conveying device by actuation of the removing device;
A counting and filling device that fills containers with a predetermined number of objects that have passed through the removing device. When the interval between the objects to be carried detected by the first detection device is smaller than a set value, the control device excludes from counting all the objects forming the interval and removes the removing device. 2. A counting and filling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the counting and filling device is removed from said conveying device by actuation of . further comprising a second detection device that detects an object to be transferred transported by the transport device on the downstream side of the removal device in the transport direction;
2. The control device determines whether or not there is a filling failure by collating counting results obtained by detection by the first detection device and the second detection device with respect to the transported object supplied to the one container. 3. or the counting and filling device according to 2. At least one of the first detection device and the second detection device is an imaging device capable of performing an appearance inspection of the object to be transported,
4. The counting and filling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control device determines a container supplied with a transported object determined to have a defective appearance based on the imaging data of the imaging device. 5. The counting and filling device of claim 4, wherein the imaging device comprises a line sensor.

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