JP7516646B2 - Conveyance processing device and conveyance processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conveying and processing device and a conveying and processing method for conveying tablets and performing a predetermined process on their surfaces.

Letters and codes are printed on the surface of pharmaceutical tablets to identify the product. These letters and codes are sometimes printed by engraving, but engraving has the problem of low visibility. In particular, in recent years, the variety of tablets has diversified due to the spread of generic drugs. For this reason, technology that uses inkjet printing to print clearly on the surface of tablets in order to reliably identify tablets has attracted attention.

In this type of printing device, multiple tablets are fed into the device and transported one by one in the transport direction at a specified interval while undergoing specified processing such as printing, inspection, and drying on the surface. In the tablet manufacturing process using this type of printing device, in addition to printing defects, shape defects such as cracks and chips may occur. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that sorts tablets into good and bad products based on the results of inspection of tablets that have been printed.

The tablet printing device (1) described in Patent Document 1 has a conveying unit, a printing unit (61, 62), an inspection camera (71, 72), and a control unit (3). The conveying unit conveys a plurality of tablets. The conveying unit includes a conveying drum (10), a first conveying belt (20), a second conveying belt (30), and a third conveying belt (40). The printing unit (61, 62) performs a printing process on the plurality of tablets being conveyed. The inspection cameras (71, 72) capture images of the results of the printing process. The control unit (3) checks the results of the printing process on the plurality of tablets based on the image data acquired by the inspection cameras (71, 72). Tablets that are not defective as a result of the inspection are fed into a non-defective product duct (48) and collected in a non-defective product collection box (58). On the other hand, defective tablets that are not defective as a result of the inspection are fed into a defective product duct (46) and collected in a defective product box (56).

JP 2015-223323 A

However, in the tablet printing device (1) of Patent Document 1, the tablet transfer points from the conveyor drum (10) to the first conveyor belt (20), the tablet transfer points from the first conveyor belt (20) to the second conveyor belt (30), and the tablet transfer points from the second conveyor belt (30) to the third conveyor belt (40) are formed above the good product duct (48) and the good product collection box (58), respectively. Therefore, if a tablet accidentally falls from these transfer points, there is a risk that the fallen tablet will enter the good product duct (48) or the good product collection box (58).

The present invention was developed in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a device that can prevent tablets from falling into a collection section that collects good tablets, even if the tablets are accidentally dropped during transportation and transfer.

In order to solve the above problems, the first invention of the present application is a conveying and processing device for conveying tablets, comprising: a second conveying mechanism that moves a plurality of suction holes that adsorb and hold tablets one by one in a conveying direction; a judgment unit that judges whether the processing state of the tablet is good or bad at a judgment position on a conveying path by the second conveying mechanism; a defective product collection mechanism that applies positive pressure to the suction hole in which a tablet determined to be defective by the judgment unit is adsorbed and held, at a defective product discharge position downstream of the judgment position in the conveying direction, to release the suction of the tablet at the suction hole and drop the tablet into a defective product collection outlet; and a good product discharge mechanism that applies positive pressure to the suction hole in which a tablet determined to be good by the judgment unit is adsorbed and held, at a good product discharge position downstream of the defective product discharge position in the conveying direction, to release the suction of the tablet at the suction hole and drop the tablet into a good product discharge outlet, wherein the good product discharge outlet is located above the defective product collection outlet and the good product discharge outlet is horizontal. The second transport mechanism has a suction conveyor that transports the tablets along the annular transport path including a horizontal plane while suction-holding the tablets one by one in the suction holes, the non-defective product outlet faces the horizontal plane in the vertical direction across a gap, the tablets have a front surface, a back surface, and an annular side surface, the multiple suction holes each suction-hold the back surface of the tablet, and the vertical distance of the gap between the horizontal plane and the non-defective product outlet is greater than the thickness of the tablet and less than twice the thickness of the tablet.

The second invention of the present application is the transport and processing device of the first invention, which further includes a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the surface of the tablet at a processing position upstream of the judgment position in the transport direction.

A third aspect of the present invention is the transport and processing device according to the first or second aspect of the present invention , wherein the defective product discharge position is located upstream of the non-defective product discharge position in the transport direction.

The fourth invention of the present application is a conveying and processing device of any one of the first to third inventions, further comprising a good product discharge conveyor that places multiple tablets that have fallen through the good product discharge outlet and discharges them to the outside, and a cover that covers part of the upper surface of the good product discharge conveyor.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the conveying and processing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, further comprising height adjusting means for adjusting the height of the non-defective product discharge outlet.

According to the first to fifth aspects of the present application, when a tablet determined to be defective is dropped into the defective product collection port to be handed over from the suction hole of the second transport mechanism to the defective product collection mechanism, the tablet can be prevented from erroneously dropping into the good product discharge port. Also, even if a tablet erroneously flies into the good product discharge port from the side or diagonally above, the tablet can be prevented from dropping into the good product discharge port.

In particular, according to the third invention of the present application, it is possible to further prevent tablets determined to be defective from accidentally falling into the non-defective product outlet.

In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when tablets determined to be non-defective are transported to the outside, it is possible to prevent other tablets from being mixed in erroneously.

In particular, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the vertical distance of the gap between the second conveying mechanism and the non-defective product discharge outlet can be adjusted in accordance with the thickness of the tablets.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tablet printing device. FIG. 2 is a top view of the tablet printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the tablet printing apparatus. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the suction conveyor and the reversing mechanism as viewed from the direction of the white arrow V1 in FIG. 1. 2 is a diagram showing the suction conveyor, the defective product recovery mechanism, and the non-defective product discharge mechanism as viewed from the direction of the white arrow V2 in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing connections between a control unit and each unit. 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the tablet printing device. FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the direction in which the tablets are transported is referred to as the "transport direction," and the direction perpendicular and horizontal to the transport direction is referred to as the "width direction."

<1. Overall configuration of the tablet printing device>
Fig. 1 is a side view of a tablet printing device 1 which is an example of a conveying and processing device according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the tablet printing device 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the tablet printing device 1.

This tablet printing device 1 is a device that prints images such as product name, product code, company name, logo mark, etc. on both sides of each tablet 9 while conveying multiple tablets 9 that are pharmaceuticals. The tablets 9 may be plain tablets (plain tablets) or coated tablets such as sugar-coated tablets and film-coated tablets (FC tablets). The tablets 9 may also be capsules including hard capsules and soft capsules. The tablets 9 may also be tablets other than pharmaceutical tablets, such as health food tablets or tablet candies such as Ramune. Figure 11 is a perspective view of the tablet 9. As shown in Figure 11, the tablet 9 has circular front and back surfaces and annular sides. However, the shape of the tablet 9 is not limited to this.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the tablet printing device 1 of this embodiment includes a feeder 10, a transport conveyor 20, an adsorption drum 30, an adsorption conveyor 40, a first camera 50, a printing unit 60, a second camera 70, a drying mechanism 80, a reversing mechanism 90, a defective product recovery mechanism 100, a non-defective product discharge mechanism 110, and a control unit 120.

The feeder 10 is a mechanism for feeding the tablets 9 fed into the tablet printing device 1 to the conveyor 20. The feeder 10 is composed of, for example, an input hopper, a rotary feeder, a vibrating feeder, etc. The tablets 9 fed into the tablet printing device 1 are aligned in multiple rows by these mechanisms and conveyed to the conveyor 20. Specifically, multiple rows (three rows in this embodiment) of tablets 9 aligned in the conveying direction are formed in the width direction (horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction). The aligned tablets 9 are then supplied to the conveyor 20. Note that only one row of tablets 9 is shown in FIG. 1.

The transport conveyor 20 is a mechanism that holds and transports the tablets 9 horizontally between the feeder 10 and the suction drum 30. The transport conveyor 20 has a pair of pulleys 21 and a circular transport belt 22 stretched between the pair of pulleys 21. One of the pair of pulleys 21 rotates by power obtained from a motor M1. This causes the transport belt 22 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. The other of the pair of pulleys 21 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the transport belt 22.

The tablets 9 supplied from the feeder 10 are placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 22 and move in the conveying direction together with the conveyor belt 22. At this time, the tablets 9 have already been aligned in multiple rows in the width direction by the above-mentioned feeder 10, but the spacing of the tablets 9 in the conveying direction in each row is uneven. The tablets 9 are conveyed in close proximity to each other in the conveying direction or with a small gap between them.

The suction drum 30 is a transfer mechanism for transferring the tablets 9 from the transport conveyor 20 to the suction conveyor 40. The suction drum 30 has a substantially cylindrical outer periphery centered on a rotation axis O that extends horizontally in the width direction. In addition, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1, a motor M2 is connected to the suction drum 30. When the motor M2 is driven, the suction drum 30 rotates about the rotation axis O. A plurality of drum suction holes 301 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the suction drum 30. Each drum suction hole 301 opens horizontally in the width direction.

When the suction drum 30 rotates, the multiple drum suction holes 301 move along a circular path that includes a first transfer position P1 close to the upper surface of the conveyor belt 22 and a second transfer position P2 close to the surface of the suction belt 42 described below. In this embodiment, the first transfer position P1 is located directly below the rotation axis O of the suction drum 30. The second transfer position P2 is formed at a position higher than the rotation axis O of the suction drum 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, a first suction mechanism 302 is connected to the suction drum 30. When the first suction mechanism 302 is operated, gas is sucked out from the internal space S of the suction drum 30 located in the angular range between the first transfer position P1 and the second transfer position P2. This causes the internal space S to have a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. The tablets 9 transported by the transport conveyor 20 and reaching the first transfer position P1 are sucked and held by the drum suction holes 301 of the suction drum 30 due to this negative pressure. The multiple tablets 9 are sucked and held one by one by each drum suction hole 301. As a result, the intervals between the multiple tablets 9 in the transport direction become a predetermined interval corresponding to the intervals between the drum suction holes 301.

The tablet 9 is moved in the conveying direction from the first transfer position P1 to the second transfer position P2 by the rotation of the suction drum 30 while being suction-held by the drum suction hole 301. Then, when the tablet 9 passes the second transfer position P2, it is released from the suction of the tablet 9 by being out of the angle range of the internal space S maintained at the negative pressure. As a result, the tablet 9 is transferred from the suction drum 30 to the suction conveyor 40. In this embodiment, the transfer angle of the tablet 9 from the suction drum 30 to the suction conveyor 40 is 90° or more and 180° or less. That is, the suction drum 30 lifts and transfers the tablet 9 from the conveying conveyor 20 to the suction conveyor 40 at a transfer position (including the first transfer position P1 and the second transfer position P2) upstream of the printing position by the printing unit 60 described later in the conveying direction.

The suction conveyor 40 is a mechanism that suction-holds a number of tablets 9 and transports them along a circular transport path. The suction conveyor 40 has a pair of pulleys 41 and a circular suction belt 42 that is stretched between the pair of pulleys 41. One of the pair of pulleys 41 rotates by power obtained from a motor M3. This causes the suction belt 42 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. The other of the pair of pulleys 41 rotates in response to the rotation of the suction belt 42.

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the suction conveyor 40. As shown in Figure 4, a plurality of suction holes 421 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the suction belt 42. The plurality of suction holes 421 are arranged at equal intervals in the conveying direction and the width direction. Also, as shown in Figure 1, the suction conveyor 40 has a second suction mechanism 43 that sucks out gas from the space inside the suction belt 42. When the second suction mechanism 43 is operated, the space inside the suction belt 42 becomes negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. The plurality of tablets 9 are sucked and held one by one by the suction holes 421 due to the negative pressure. Each suction hole 421 sucks and holds the back side of the tablet 9.

In this way, the tablets 9 are held on the surface of the suction belt 42 in a state aligned in the conveying direction and the width direction. The suction conveyor 40 then rotates the suction belt 42 to convey the tablets 9 along a circular conveying path. Note that a horizontal plane 422 is included in part of the circular conveying path formed by the suction belt 42. The tablets 9 are conveyed horizontally below the four heads 61 described below and below the second blow mechanism B2 and third blow mechanism B3 described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction conveyor 40 further includes three first blow mechanisms B1, one second blow mechanism B2, and one third blow mechanism B3.

The three first blow mechanisms B1 are provided on the inside of the suction belt 42 and at positions facing the first inclined drum 91, the third inclined drum 93, and the fifth inclined drum 95, which will be described later, through the suction belt 42. The three first blow mechanisms B1 blow gas only to the suction holes 421 of the suction belt 42 that face the first inclined drum 91, the third inclined drum 93, and the fifth inclined drum 95. This causes the suction holes 421 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This releases the suction of the tablets 9 at the suction holes 421, and the tablets 9 are transferred from the suction belt 42 to the first inclined drum 91, the third inclined drum 93, and the fifth inclined drum 95.

2 and 3, the holding surface 420 of the suction belt 42 in this embodiment has a first area A1 that holds the tablets 9 before inversion by the inversion mechanism 90 described later, and a second area A2 that holds the tablets 9 after inversion. The first area A1 and the second area A2 are adjacent to each other in the width direction. In this embodiment, the first area A1 and the second area A2 are provided with a plurality of suction holes 421 in three rows in the width direction. The tablets 9 delivered from the above-mentioned suction drum 30 are suction-held by the suction holes 421 in the first area A1. In addition, the plurality of tablets 9 printed on both sides are delivered from the suction holes 421 in the second area A2 to the defective product recovery mechanism 100 or the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 described later.

The second blow mechanism B2 is provided on the inside of the suction belt 42, and in a position facing the defective product collection port 102 described later across the suction belt 42. The second blow mechanism B2 blows gas vertically downward only to the suction hole 421 of the suction belt 42 that faces the defective product collection port 102. This causes the suction hole 421 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This releases the tablet 9 from the suction hole 421, and the tablet 9 falls from the suction belt 42 to the defective product collection port 102.

The third blow mechanism B3 is provided on the inside of the suction belt 42, at a position facing the non-defective product discharge outlet 114 described later across the suction belt 42. The third blow mechanism B3 blows gas vertically downward only to the suction hole 421 of the suction belt 42 that faces the non-defective product discharge outlet 114. This causes the suction hole 421 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This releases the tablet 9 from the suction hole 421, causing the tablet 9 to fall from the suction belt 42 to the non-defective product discharge outlet 114.

The first camera 50 is a processing unit for photographing the tablets 9 before printing. The first camera 50 is located downstream of the conveying path from the second transfer position P2 described above and upstream of the conveying path from the printing unit 60. The first camera 50 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For example, a line sensor in which image pickup elements such as CCD and CMOS are arranged in the width direction is used for the first camera 50. The first camera 50 photographs the tablets 9 conveyed by the suction belt 42. The image acquired by photographing is transmitted from the first camera 50 to the control unit 120 described later. Based on the image obtained from the first camera 50, the control unit 120 detects the presence or absence of tablets 9 in each suction hole 421, the position of the tablets 9, and the attitude of the tablets 9. Based on the image obtained from the first camera 50, the control unit 120 also inspects whether each tablet 9 has defects such as chips.

The printing unit 60 is a processing unit that performs printing on the surface of the tablet 9 by the inkjet method at a printing position on the transport path of the suction conveyor 40. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the printing unit 60 of this embodiment has four heads 61. The four heads 61 are located above the suction belt 42 and are arranged in a row along the transport direction of the tablet 9. Each head 61 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2 of the suction belt 42. The four heads 61 eject ink droplets of different colors (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) toward the tablet 9. Then, a multi-color image is recorded on the surface of the tablet 9 by superimposing the monochromatic images formed by each of these colors. Note that the ink ejected from each head 61 is edible ink manufactured from raw materials approved by the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Food Sanitation Act, etc.

Figure 5 is a bottom view of one head 61. In Figure 5, the suction belt 42 and the multiple tablets 9 held by the suction belt 42 are indicated by two-dot chain lines. As shown enlarged in Figure 5, the bottom surface of the head 61 is provided with multiple nozzles 611 capable of ejecting ink droplets. In this embodiment, the multiple nozzles 611 are two-dimensionally arranged in the conveying direction and width direction on the bottom surface of the head 61. Each nozzle 611 is arranged with its position shifted in the width direction. In this way, by arranging the multiple nozzles 611 two-dimensionally, the positions of the nozzles 611 in the width direction can be made close to each other. However, the multiple nozzles 611 may also be arranged in a line along the width direction.

The method of ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle 611 is, for example, the so-called piezo method, in which a voltage is applied to a piezo element to deform it, thereby pressurizing the ink in the nozzle 611 and ejecting it. However, the ink droplets may also be ejected using the so-called thermal method, in which electricity is passed through a heater to heat and expand the ink in the nozzle 611, thereby ejecting it.

The second camera 70 is a processing unit for photographing the tablets 9 after printing. The second camera 70 is located downstream of the printing unit 60 and upstream of the drying mechanism 80 on the conveying path. The second camera 70 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For example, a line sensor in which imaging elements such as CCD or CMOS are arranged in the width direction is used for the second camera 70. The second camera 70 photographs the tablets 9 conveyed by the suction belt 42 at a determination position downstream of the above-mentioned printing position in the conveying direction. The image acquired by photographing is transmitted from the second camera 70 to the control unit 120 described later. The control unit 120 inspects the printing state of the tablets 9 based on the image obtained from the second camera 70.

The drying mechanism 80 is a mechanism for drying ink adhering to the surface of the tablet 9. The drying mechanism 80 is located downstream of the second camera 70 on the transport path and upstream of the inversion mechanism 90, the defective product recovery mechanism 100, and the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 described below. The drying mechanism 80 also extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. The drying mechanism 80 may be, for example, a hot air supply mechanism that blows heated gas (hot air) toward the tablet 9 transported by the suction belt 42. The ink adhering to the tablet 9 is dried by the hot air and fixed to the surface of the tablet 9.

The reversing mechanism 90 is a transfer mechanism that reverses the front and back of the tablets 9 transported by the suction belt 42 and transfers the tablets 9 from the first area A1 to the second area A2. The reversing mechanism 90 is located downstream of the transport path from the defective product recovery mechanism 100 and the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 described below and upstream of the transport path from the suction drum 30.

Figure 6 is a view of the suction conveyor 40 and the reversing mechanism 90 as seen from the direction of the outlined arrow V1 in Figure 1. As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 6, the reversing mechanism 90 of this embodiment has a first inclined drum 91, a second inclined drum 92, a third inclined drum 93, a fourth inclined drum 94, a fifth inclined drum 95, and a sixth inclined drum 96.

The first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 are disposed adjacent to each other in the width direction. The third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 are disposed adjacent to each other in the width direction downstream of the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 in the conveying path. The fifth inclined drum 95 and the sixth inclined drum 96 are disposed adjacent to each other in the width direction downstream of the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 in the conveying path. Hereinafter, the position where the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 are provided on the conveying path of the suction conveyor 40 is referred to as the "third transfer (reversal) position P3", the position where the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 are provided is referred to as the "fourth transfer (reversal) position P4", and the position where the fifth inclined drum 95 and the sixth inclined drum 96 are provided is referred to as the "fifth transfer (reversal) position P5".

The first inclined drum 91 has a conical first side surface 910 centered on a first axis C1 inclined with respect to the width direction. A portion of the first side surface 910 faces the first area A1 of the suction belt 42 with a small gap between them. The first inclined drum 91 is fixed to the output shaft of a motor 91M. When the motor 91M is driven, the first inclined drum 91 rotates around the first axis C1.

The second inclined drum 92 has a conical second side 920 centered on a second axis C2 inclined with respect to the width direction. The first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 are disposed adjacent to each other in the width direction so that their tops face each other. A part of the second side 920 faces the second area A2 of the suction belt 42 with a small gap between them. The other part of the second side 920 faces the first side 910 with a small gap between them. The second inclined drum 92 is fixed to the output shaft of a motor 92M. When the motor 92M is driven, the second inclined drum 92 rotates around the second axis C2.

In this embodiment, the apex angle of the first inclined drum 91 and the apex angle of the second inclined drum 92 are both 90° when viewed in the conveying direction of the suction conveyor 40. The inclination angle of the first axis C1 with respect to the holding surface 420 is 45°. The inclination angle of the second axis C2 with respect to the holding surface 420 is 45°. Therefore, the first side 910 and the second side 920 face each other at a position of 90° with respect to the holding surface 420. The first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 have the same shape, structure, and size. Therefore, the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 can be made common parts. This reduces the manufacturing cost of the tablet printing device 1.

The first side surface 910 is provided with a plurality of suction holes 911. The plurality of suction holes 911 are arranged at equal angular intervals in a circular ring shape centered on the first axis C1. Similarly, the second side surface 920 is provided with a plurality of suction holes 921. The plurality of suction holes 921 are arranged at equal angular intervals in a circular ring shape centered on the second axis C2.

The pressure in the internal space of the first inclined drum 91 is kept at a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure by a suction mechanism not shown. The first inclined drum 91 uses this negative pressure to hold the tablets 9 one by one in the multiple suction holes 911. Similarly, the pressure in the internal space of the second inclined drum 92 is kept at a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure by a suction mechanism not shown. The second inclined drum 92 uses this negative pressure to hold the tablets 9 one by one in the multiple suction holes 921.

As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6, a fourth blow mechanism B4 is provided inside the first inclined drum 91. The fourth blow mechanism B4 blows gas only into the suction holes 911 of the first inclined drum 91 that face the second inclined drum 92. This causes the suction holes 911 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This releases the tablet 9 from its suction hole 911, and the tablet 9 is transferred from the suction hole 911 of the first inclined drum 91 to the suction hole 921 of the second inclined drum 92.

As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6, a fifth blow mechanism B5 is provided inside the second inclined drum 92. The fifth blow mechanism B5 blows gas only to the suction holes 921 of the second inclined drum 92 that face the second area A2 of the suction belt 42. This causes the suction holes 921 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This releases the tablet 9 from the suction hole 921, and the tablet 9 is transferred from the suction hole 921 of the second inclined drum 92 to the suction hole 421 of the second area A2 of the suction belt 42.

The third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 have the same structure as the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92, and are arranged adjacent to each other like the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92. However, the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 are arranged at a fourth transfer position P4 downstream of the conveying path from the third transfer position P3 where the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92 are arranged. In addition, the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 are arranged at a position shifted in the width direction by one of the arrangement intervals of the tablets 9 in the width direction from the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92. The third inclined drum 93 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 93M. The fourth inclined drum 94 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 94M.

The fifth inclined drum 95 and the sixth inclined drum 96 have the same structure as the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92, and are arranged adjacent to each other like the first inclined drum 91 and the second inclined drum 92. However, the fifth inclined drum 95 and the sixth inclined drum 96 are arranged at a fifth transfer position P5 downstream of the conveying path from the fourth transfer position P4 where the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 are arranged. In addition, the fifth inclined drum 95 and the sixth inclined drum 96 are arranged at a position shifted in the width direction by one of the arrangement intervals of the tablets 9 in the width direction from the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94. The fifth inclined drum 95 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 95M. The sixth inclined drum 96 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 96M.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tablet 9 held in the suction hole 421 at the first position W1 in the width direction of the suction belt 42 and transported to the third transfer position P3 in the transport direction is transferred to the first inclined drum 91. The first inclined drum 91 rotates while suction-holding the tablet 9 received from the suction belt 42 in the suction hole 911 of the first side surface 910, and transfers it to the second inclined drum 92. The second inclined drum 92 then rotates while suction-holding the tablet 9 received from the first inclined drum 91 in the suction hole 921 of the second side surface 920, and transfers it to the suction hole 421 at the second position W2 in the width direction of the suction belt 42. As a result, the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction on the transport path moves from the first position W1 belonging to the first area A1 to the second position W2 belonging to the second area A2, and the front and back of the tablet 9 are reversed.

Similarly, the third inclined drum 93 and the fourth inclined drum 94 move the widthwise position of the tablet 9 on the conveying path from the third position W3 belonging to the first area A1 to the fourth position W4 belonging to the second area A2 at the fourth transfer position P4 in the conveying direction, and also invert the tablet 9. Similarly, the fifth inclined drum 95 and the sixth inclined drum 96 move the widthwise position of the tablet 9 on the conveying path from the fifth position W5 belonging to the first area A1 to the sixth position W6 belonging to the second area A2 at the fifth transfer position P5 in the conveying direction, and also invert the tablet 9.

The defective product recovery mechanism 100 is a mechanism for recovering tablets 9 determined to be defective from the suction conveyor 40. FIG. 7 is a view of the suction conveyor 40, the defective product recovery mechanism 100 (partially omitted from the illustration), and the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 as viewed from the direction of the outlined arrow V2 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the defective product recovery mechanism 100 has a defective product chute 101 and a recovery box (not shown). The defective product chute 101 is located downstream of the drying mechanism 80 on the conveying path and upstream of the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 (described later) on the conveying path. The defective product chute 101 is formed in a cylindrical shape.

The defective product collection port 102, which is an opening at the upper end of the defective product chute 101, faces the second area A2 of the horizontal surface 422 of the suction conveyor 40 in the vertical direction across a gap D1. When a tablet 9 determined to be defective reaches a position (defective product discharge position P6) facing the defective product chute 101 downstream in the conveying direction from the above-mentioned determination position, the tablet 9 is released from suction by the second blow mechanism B2. This causes the tablet 9 to fall from the suction hole 421 of the suction belt 42 through the defective product collection port 102 and the inside of the defective product chute 101 into the above-mentioned collection box. The tablet 9 that has fallen into the collection box is then collected by an operator or the like and disposed of outside the tablet printing device 1.

The good product discharge mechanism 110 is a mechanism for conveying tablets 9 determined to be good products from the suction conveyor 40. As shown in FIG. 7, the good product discharge mechanism 110 has a good product chute 111, a good product discharge conveyor 112, and a cover 113. A chute body 131 of the good product chute 111, which will be described later, is fixed to the housing of the tablet printing device 1. The good product chute 111 has a cylindrical shape with a partially curved structure.

The good-product discharge port 114, which is an opening at the upper end of the good-product chute 111, faces the second area A2 of the horizontal surface 422 of the suction conveyor 40 in the vertical direction across a gap D2. When the tablet 9 determined to be a good product reaches a position (good-product discharge position P7) facing the good-product chute 111 downstream in the conveying direction from the above-mentioned judgment position, the suction of the tablet 9 is released by the third blow mechanism B3. As a result, the tablet 9 falls from the suction hole 421 of the suction belt 42 through the good-product discharge port 114 and the inside of the good-product chute 111 to the good-product discharge conveyor 112. The good-product discharge conveyor 112 has a configuration equivalent to the above-mentioned conveyor 20. The pulley 115 of the good-product discharge conveyor 112 rotates by the power obtained from the motor M4, causing the conveyor belt 116 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7. The tablets 9 that fall onto the non-defective product discharge conveyor 112 are placed on the conveyor belt 116 and transported outside the tablet printing device 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first transfer position P1 where the suction drum 30 suction-holds the tablet 9 from the conveyor 20, the second transfer position P2 where the suction drum 30 transfers the tablet 9 to the suction conveyor 40, the third transfer position P3, the fourth transfer position P4, and the fifth transfer position P5 where the reversing mechanism 90 transfers the tablet 9 from the first area A1 to the second area A2 of the suction belt 42 while reversing it, and the outer periphery of the pulley 41, which is the location where the inclination of the tablet 9 suction-held by the suction conveyor 40 changes significantly, are located at a position away from above the good product discharge port 114. As a result, even if the tablet 9 accidentally falls when the tablet 9 is transferred at these locations or when the inclination of the tablet 9 changes significantly, the fallen tablet 9 can be prevented from entering the good product discharge port 114. As a result, it is possible to prevent other tablets 9 from accidentally being mixed into the tablet 9 determined to be a good product.

As shown in FIG. 7, the non-defective product discharge outlet 114 is horizontal and faces the horizontal surface 422 of the suction conveyor 40 in the vertical direction across a gap D2. The horizontal surface 422 and the non-defective product discharge outlet 114 are arranged close enough that the vertical distance of the gap D2 between them is greater than the thickness d of the tablet 9 (see FIG. 11) and less than twice the thickness d of the tablet 9. This prevents the tablet 9 from falling into the non-defective product discharge outlet 114 even if the tablet 9 accidentally flies into the non-defective product discharge outlet 114 from the side or diagonally above.

As described above, the defective product discharge position P6 is located upstream of the good product discharge position P7 in the conveying direction. This allows the tablet 9 determined to be defective to be collected before it reaches above the good product discharge port 114. As shown in FIG. 7, the good product discharge port 114 is located above the defective product collection port 102. As a result, even if the tablet 9 determined to be defective collides against the defective product collection port 102 and bounces off when the suction from the suction hole 421 is released at the defective product discharge position P6, it is possible to further prevent the tablet 9 from accidentally falling into the good product discharge port 114.

Furthermore, in the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 of this embodiment, a cover 113 is provided that completely covers a portion of the upper surface of the non-defective product discharge conveyor 112 (the outside of the non-defective product chute 111). This further prevents other tablets 9 from being mixed in when tablets 9 determined to be non-defective are transported to the outside.

Figure 8 is an exploded side view of the non-defective product chute 111. As shown in Figure 8, the non-defective product chute 111 has a chute body 131, a thickness adjustment member 132, a pressing member 133, and a plurality of (in this embodiment, two) screws 134. Through holes 135b, 135m, and 135u that allow the tablets 9 to pass through are formed inside the chute body 131, the thickness adjustment member 132, and the pressing member 133, respectively.

Multiple (in this embodiment, two) screw holes 136 are formed in the upper surface of the flange portion at the upper end of the chute body 131. Multiple (in this embodiment, two) through holes 137 are formed in the peripheral portion of the thickness adjustment member 132. The through holes 137 pass vertically through the thickness adjustment member 132. Multiple (in this embodiment, two) through holes 138 are formed in the flange portion at the lower end of the pressing member 133. The through holes 138 pass vertically through the flange portion of the pressing member 133.

The two screws 134 pass through the through holes 138 of the pressing member 133 and the through holes 137 of the thickness adjustment member 132, and are screwed into the screw holes 136 of the chute body 131. As a result, the thickness adjustment member 132 is fixed while being sandwiched between the chute body 131 and the pressing member 133. In other words, the thickness adjustment member 132 is detachable from the chute body 131. In this embodiment, in addition to the thickness adjustment member 132 already used in the non-defective product chute 111, a number of thickness adjustment members 132 with different thicknesses and interchangeable with each other are prepared.

As a result, even if the tablets 9 to be processed are changed to other types of tablets 9 with different thicknesses or diameters, the optimum thickness adjustment member 132 that matches the thickness and diameter of the changed tablets 9 can be selected and attached to the chute body 131, making it possible to easily adjust the vertical distance of the gap D2 between the horizontal surface 422 of the suction conveyor 40 and the non-defective product discharge outlet 114 to an appropriate size. In other words, the non-defective product chute 111 of this embodiment has a height adjustment means for easily adjusting the height of the non-defective product discharge outlet 114. However, the configuration of the height adjustment means is not limited to this.

The control unit 120 is a means for controlling the operation of each unit in the tablet printing device 1. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 120 and each unit in the tablet printing device 1. As conceptually shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 120 is composed of a computer having a processor 121 such as a CPU, a memory 122 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 123 such as a hard disk drive. A computer program CP for executing the printing process is installed in the storage unit 123.

As shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 120 is connected to the above-mentioned feeder 10, the transport conveyor 20 (including the motor M1), the suction drum 30 (including the motor M2 and the first suction mechanism 302), the suction conveyor 40 (including the motor M3, the second suction mechanism 43, and the blow mechanisms B1, B2, and B3), the first camera 50, the printing unit 60 (including the head 61), the second camera 70, the drying mechanism 80, the reversing mechanism 90 (including the motors 91M to 96M, the blow mechanisms B4 and B5, and the suction mechanism), and the non-defective product discharge mechanism 110 (including the motor M4) in a wired or wireless manner so as to be able to communicate with each other. The control unit 120 temporarily reads out the computer program CP and data stored in the storage unit 123 into the memory 122, and the processor 121 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program CP to control the operation of each of the above-mentioned units. As a result, the transportation of the multiple tablets 9 and the printing process for each tablet 9 proceed.

<2. Processing flow>
Next, the flow of the transport process and the printing process using the above-mentioned tablet printing device 1 will be described. Below, the process performed on one tablet 9 will be described in order. However, this tablet printing device 1 performs a predetermined process while transporting multiple tablets 9 sequentially along the transport path. Therefore, multiple tablets 9 are present inside the tablet printing device 1 at the same time.

Figure 10 is a flow chart showing the process flow in the tablet printing device 1. When multiple tablets 9 are fed into the tablet printing device 1 (step S1), the feeder 10 first supplies the multiple tablets 9 to the transport conveyor 20. The multiple tablets 9 supplied to the transport conveyor 20 are placed on the upper surface of the transport belt 22, and move approximately horizontally in the transport direction to the first transfer position P1 as the transport belt 22 rotates (step S2).

Next, the tablets 9 are adsorbed and held by the drum suction holes 301 of the suction drum 30 at the first transfer position P1, and are moved in the conveying direction to the upper second transfer position P2 by the rotation of the suction drum 30. At this time, the tablets 9 are aligned so that the spacing between them in the conveying direction is a predetermined spacing that corresponds to the spacing between the drum suction holes 301. When the tablets 9 reach the second transfer position P2, the suction of the tablets 9 at the drum suction holes 301 is released. As a result, the tablets 9 are transferred from the suction drum 30 to the suction conveyor 40 (step S3).

Next, the tablet 9 is adsorbed and held in the suction hole 421 of the first area A1 of the suction belt 42. Then, as the suction belt 42 rotates, the tablet 9 is transported along the circular transport path. Hereinafter, the surface of the tablet 9 facing outward when held in the suction hole 421 of the first area A1 is referred to as the "first surface". In addition, in this state, the surface adsorbed to the suction hole 421 is referred to as the "second surface". In Figures 2 and 3, the first surface of the tablet 9 is shaded to distinguish between the first surface and the second surface. However, the "first surface" and the "second surface" are unrelated to the original front and back surfaces of the tablet 9. For example, if the tablets 9 are scored tablets having a score line 130 (see FIG. 11) on only one side, the tablets 9 held in the first area A1 may include a mixture of tablets 9 whose first side is the side having the score line 130 and tablets 9 whose first side is the side without the score line 130.

When the tablet 9 reaches below the first camera 50, the first camera 50 captures an image of the first side of the tablet 9. This acquires image data of the first side of the tablet 9. The acquired image data is sent from the first camera 50 to the control unit 120. The control unit 120 performs a pre-printing inspection of the first side based on the image data received from the first camera 50 (step S4). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 421, the front and back of the tablet 9, the rotational orientation of the tablet 9 around the vertical axis, the positional deviation of the tablet 9 relative to the suction hole 421, the presence or absence of shape defects of the tablet 9, etc. are inspected.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches the printing position below the printing unit 60, the four heads 61 eject ink droplets toward the first side of the tablet 9. This causes a printing process to be performed on the first side of the tablet 9. As a result, an image is printed on the first side of the tablet 9 (step S5). At this time, the control unit 120 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection result of step S4 described above. For example, an appropriate image is selected depending on whether the tablet 9 is printed on the side having the score line 130 or the opposite side, and the selected image is rotated depending on the rotational posture of each tablet 9. Then, a print signal is input to the head 61 based on the adjusted image. As a result, an appropriate image is printed in an appropriate posture on the first side of each tablet 9.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches the judgment position below the second camera 70, the second camera 70 captures an image of the first side of the tablet 9. This acquires image data of the first side of the tablet 9. The acquired image data is transmitted from the second camera 70 to the control unit 120. The control unit 120 also performs a post-printing inspection of the first side based on the image data received from the second camera 70 (step S6). Specifically, the control unit 120 judges whether the printing condition of the first side of each tablet 9 is good or bad by, for example, comparing the image data received from the second camera 70 with data of a normal image prepared in advance.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches a position below the drying mechanism 80, the drying mechanism 80 blows hot air toward the first surface of the tablet 9. This dries the ink adhering to the first surface of the tablet 9, and the ink is fixed to the first surface (step S7).

After that, when the tablet 9 reaches the third transfer position P3, the fourth transfer position P4, or the fifth transfer position P5, which is an inversion position on the conveying path, the inversion mechanism 90 inverts the tablet 9 and transfers the tablet 9 from the first area A1 to the second area A2 (step S8). By this step S8, the first surface of the tablet 9 is adsorbed to the suction hole 421 in the second area A2, and the second surface faces outward.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches below the first camera 50, the first camera 50 captures an image of the second side of the tablet 9. This acquires image data of the second side of the tablet 9. The acquired image data is sent from the first camera 50 to the control unit 120. The control unit 120 also performs a pre-printing inspection of the second side based on the image data received from the first camera 50 (step S9). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 421, the front and back of the tablet 9, the rotational orientation of the tablet 9 around the vertical axis, the positional deviation of the tablet 9 relative to the suction hole 421, the presence or absence of shape defects of the tablet 9, etc. are inspected.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches the printing position below the printing unit 60, the four heads 61 eject ink droplets toward the second side of the tablet 9. This causes a printing process to be performed on the second side of the tablet 9. As a result, an image is printed on the second side of the tablet 9 (step S10). At this time, the control unit 120 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection result of step S9 described above. For example, an appropriate image is selected depending on whether the tablet 9 is printed on the side having the score line 130 or the opposite side, and the selected image is rotated depending on the rotational posture of each tablet 9. Then, a print signal is input to the head 61 based on the adjusted image. As a result, an appropriate image is printed in an appropriate posture on the second side of each tablet 9.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches the judgment position below the second camera 70, the second camera 70 captures an image of the second side of the tablet 9. This acquires image data of the second side of the tablet 9. The acquired image data is transmitted from the second camera 70 to the control unit 120. The control unit 120 also performs a post-printing inspection of the second side based on the image data received from the second camera 70 (step S11). Specifically, the control unit 120 judges whether the printing condition of the second side of each tablet 9 is good or bad by, for example, comparing the image data received from the second camera 70 with data of a normal image prepared in advance.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches a position below the drying mechanism 80, the drying mechanism 80 blows hot air toward the second surface of the tablet 9. This dries the ink adhering to the second surface of the tablet 9, and the ink is fixed to the second surface (step S12).

As described above, the control unit 120 judges whether the printing condition of the tablet 9 is good or not and whether there are any shape defects such as chips, based on the image data received from the first camera 50 and the second camera 70. That is, the control unit 120 functions as a judgment unit that judges whether the printing condition and shape of the tablet 9 are good or not at a judgment position downstream in the transport direction from the printing position. Furthermore, the judgment unit judges for each tablet 9 whether it is a good product with a good printing condition and no shape defects such as chips, or whether it is a defective product with poor printing or shape defects (step S13).

When the tablet 9 is judged to be defective by the judgment unit (step S13 = NO), when the tablet 9 judged to be defective subsequently reaches the defective product discharge position P6 downstream in the conveying direction from the judgment position, positive pressure is applied to the suction hole 421 of the suction conveyor 40 where the tablet 9 is held by suction, and the suction of the tablet 9 at the suction hole 421 is released. As a result, the tablet 9 judged to be defective is discharged to the defective product collection port 102 (step S14).

When the tablet 9 is judged to be a good product by the judgment unit (step S13 = YES), when the tablet 9 judged to be a good product subsequently reaches the good product discharge position P7 downstream in the conveying direction from the judgment position, positive pressure is applied to the suction hole 421 of the suction conveyor 40 to which the tablet 9 is suction-held, and the suction of the tablet 9 at the suction hole 421 is released. As a result, the tablet 9 judged to be a good product is discharged to the good product discharge outlet 114 (step S15). The multiple tablets 9 that fall from the good product discharge outlet 114 to the good product discharge conveyor 112 are placed on the conveyor belt 116 and conveyed outside the tablet printing device 1.

As described above, the first transfer position P1 where the suction drum 30 suction-holds the tablet 9 from the conveyor 20, the second transfer position P2 where the suction drum 30 transfers the tablet 9 to the suction conveyor 40, the third transfer position P3, the fourth transfer position P4, and the fifth transfer position P5 where the reversing mechanism 90 transfers the tablet 9 from the first area A1 to the second area A2 of the suction belt 42 while reversing it, and the outer periphery of the pulley 41, which is the location where the inclination of the tablet 9 suction-held by the suction conveyor 40 changes significantly, are located at a position away from above the good product discharge port 114. As a result, even if the tablet 9 accidentally falls when the tablet 9 is transferred at these locations or when the inclination of the tablet 9 changes significantly, the fallen tablet 9 can be prevented from entering the good product discharge port 114. As a result, it is possible to prevent other tablets 9 from accidentally being mixed into the tablet 9 determined to be a good product.

As described above, the defective product discharge position P6 is located upstream of the good product discharge position P7 in the conveying direction. This allows the tablet 9 determined to be defective to be collected before it reaches above the good product discharge outlet 114. The good product discharge outlet 114 is also located above the defective product recovery outlet 102. As a result, the tablet 9 determined to be defective can be further prevented from accidentally falling into the good product discharge outlet 114 when suction from the suction hole 421 is released at the defective product discharge position P6.

3. Modifications
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

Each inclined drum in the above-mentioned embodiment has a plurality of small suction holes. However, each inclined drum may have an annular suction slit (not shown) on the side surface, which is the outer circumferential surface. For example, the first inclined drum 91 may have an annular suction slit centered on the first axis C1 on the first side surface 910. The second inclined drum 92 may have an annular suction slit centered on the second axis C2 on the second side surface 920. Then, a plurality of tablets 9 may be adsorbed and held in these suction slits. In this way, the tablets 9 can be adsorbed and held at any position of the suction slit. Therefore, even if the tablets 9 are slightly misaligned when the tablets 9 are transferred, the tablets 9 can be adsorbed and held.

In the above embodiment, the first inclined drum 91 to the sixth inclined drum 96 all have conical side surfaces. However, the shape of the side surfaces of the first inclined drum 91 to the sixth inclined drum 96 may also be a polygonal pyramid, such as a square pyramid, a hexagonal pyramid, or an octagonal pyramid.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the printing unit 60 is provided with four heads 61. However, the number of heads 61 included in the printing unit 60 may be one to three, or may be five or more.

The tablet printing device 1 of the above embodiment includes a printing unit 60 that performs a printing process on the tablets 9 at a printing position as a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the tablets 9 at a processing position on the transport path of the suction conveyor 40. However, the tablet printing device 1 may also include other processing units, such as a packaging device that packages the tablets 9.

That is, the conveying and processing device of the present invention is a device that conveys tablets and performs a predetermined processing on their surfaces, and includes a first conveying mechanism that conveys the tablets in the conveying direction while holding them, a second conveying mechanism that moves in the conveying direction a plurality of suction holes that adsorb and hold the tablets one by one, a processing unit that performs a predetermined processing on the surface of the tablet at a processing position on the conveying path by the second conveying mechanism, a transfer mechanism that transfers the tablet from the first conveying mechanism to the suction hole of the second conveying mechanism at a transfer position upstream in the conveying direction from the processing position, a judgment unit that judges whether the processing state of the tablet is good or bad at a judgment position downstream in the conveying direction from the processing position, and a good product discharge mechanism that applies positive pressure to the suction hole in which a tablet judged to be a good product by the judgment unit is adsorbed and held, thereby releasing the adsorption of the tablet at the suction hole at a good product discharge position downstream in the conveying direction from the judgment position, and drops the tablet into a good product discharge outlet, and the transfer position may be located at a position away from above the good product discharge outlet. Here, the transport path and transfer mechanism formed by the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism described above corresponds to the transport path formed by the transport conveyor 20 and the suction conveyor 40 and the suction drum 30, or the transport path formed by the first area A1 on the suction conveyor 40 and the second area A2 on the suction conveyor 40 and the inversion mechanism 90.

The transport processing method of the present invention is a method of transporting tablets and performing a predetermined process on the surface thereof, and includes the steps of: a) transporting the tablet in the transport direction while holding it in the first transport mechanism; b) moving a plurality of suction holes that suction-hold the tablets one by one in the transport direction in the second transport mechanism; c) performing a predetermined process on the surface of the tablet at a processing position on the transport path during step b); d) transferring the tablet from the first transport mechanism to the suction hole of the second transport mechanism at a transfer position upstream in the transport direction from the processing position; e) judging the quality of the tablet processing state at a judgment position downstream in the transport direction from the processing position; and f) applying positive pressure to the suction hole in which the tablet judged to be a good product in the judgment of step e) is held by suction at a good product discharge position downstream in the transport direction from the judgment position to release the suction of the tablet at the suction hole, and dropping the tablet into the good product discharge port, and the transfer position may be located at a position away from above the good product discharge port.

In addition, the detailed configuration of the device may differ from that shown in the figures of this application. Furthermore, the elements appearing in the above embodiments and variations may be combined as appropriate to the extent that no contradictions arise.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Tablet printing device 9 Tablet 10 Feeder 20 Transport conveyor 21 Pulley 22 Transport belt 30 Suction drum 40 Suction conveyor 41 Pulley 42 Suction belt 43 Second suction mechanism 50 First camera 60 Printing unit 61 Head 70 Second camera 80 Drying mechanism 90 Reversing mechanism 100 Defective product collection mechanism 101 Defective product chute 102 Defective product collection port 110 Good product discharge mechanism 111 Good product chute 112 Good product discharge conveyor 113 Cover 114 Good product discharge port 115 Pulley 116 Transport belt 120 Control unit 131 Chute body 132 Thickness adjustment member 133 Pressing member 134 Screw 301 Drum suction hole 302 First suction mechanism 421 Suction hole 422 Horizontal surface A1 First area A2 Second area P1 Delivery position P2 Delivery position P6 Defective product discharge position P7 Good product discharge position

Claims (5)

A conveying and processing device for conveying tablets,
a second conveying mechanism that moves a plurality of suction holes that suction-hold the tablets one by one in a conveying direction;
A judgment unit that judges whether a processing state of the tablets is good or bad at a judgment position on a conveying path by the second conveying mechanism;
a defective product collection mechanism that applies positive pressure to the suction holes in which tablets determined to be defective by the determination unit are suction-held at a defective product discharge position downstream of the determination position in the conveying direction, thereby releasing the suction of the tablets at the suction holes and causing the tablets to fall into a defective product collection port;
a good product discharge mechanism that applies positive pressure to the suction hole in which a tablet determined to be a good product by the determination unit is suction-held at a good product discharge position downstream of the defective product discharge position in the conveying direction, thereby releasing the suction of the tablet at the suction hole and causing the tablet to fall into a good product discharge port;
having
the non-defective product discharge port is located above the defective product collection port,
The non-defective product outlet is horizontal,
The second transport mechanism includes:
A suction conveyor that conveys a plurality of tablets along the annular conveying path including a horizontal plane while suction-holding the tablets one by one in the suction holes.
having
the non-defective product discharge port faces the horizontal plane in a vertical direction across a gap,
The tablet has a front surface, a back surface, and an annular side surface;
Each of the plurality of suction holes suction-holds the back surface of the tablet,
A conveying and processing device , wherein the vertical distance of the gap between the horizontal plane and the non-defective product discharge outlet is greater than the thickness of the tablet and less than twice the thickness of the tablet . The conveying and processing device according to claim 1 ,
The conveying and processing device further has a processing unit that performs a predetermined processing on the surface of the tablet at a processing position upstream of the judgment position in the conveying direction. 3. The conveying and processing device according to claim 1,
The defective product discharge position is located upstream of the non-defective product discharge position in the conveying direction. The conveying and processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
a non-defective product discharge conveyor that carries the plurality of tablets that have fallen through the non-defective product discharge port to the outside while placing them thereon;
A cover for covering a part of an upper surface of the non-defective product discharge conveyor;
The transport and processing device further comprises: The conveying and processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the non-defective product discharge port
The transport and processing device further comprises:

Images