JPH0160769B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a capsule dent and length sorting machine that detects the length of capsules and dents on both end R parts, and removes short or long capsules and capsules with dents as defective products. It is related to.

Conventional methods for detecting the length and dents at both ends of capsules in pharmaceuticals include methods using television cameras, but this method requires a computer to process images and has the disadvantage of being expensive. In addition, in order to increase capacity, a large space is required to install lights, cameras, etc. in order to increase the number of rows, which also has the drawback of increasing costs, but it is difficult to miniaturize this. It was hot.

The present invention was proposed to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and since the length and indentation of the capsule are detected mechanically, the detection is reliable, the structure is simple, and multi-rows can be easily formed. The purpose is to obtain a sorting machine.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides an annular drum that rotates intermittently and has a large number of holes arranged at a constant pitch toward the center of the drum for storing capsules on its outer periphery. a capsule supply pipe for supplying capsules to the holes; a fixed plunger and a movable plunger disposed inside and outside across the holes of the drum at positions downstream of the holes by an integral number of pitches from the supply pipe, each having a recess for pressing both ends of the capsule; a first detection mechanism comprising a photoelectric switch that detects the pressing position of the capsule of the movable plunger and determines whether the capsule is good or bad; a rod that is biased to protrude toward the capsule in each of the plungers; A second detection mechanism consisting of a photoelectric switch that detects dents in the R portions at both ends of the capsule depending on the position where the capsule moves while being pushed by the capsule, is provided at a position separated by an integral number of pitches of the hole from the plunger position, and is used to detect abnormalities and defects in the capsule. A removal mechanism is provided at the lower center of the drum and operates to remove the abnormal or defective capsule from the hole in the drum when the abnormal or defective capsule comes to the position based on the signal detected by the first and second detection mechanisms. The present invention aims to provide a capsule dent and length sorter that has a simple structure and can reliably detect and sort out good capsules and bad capsules, and is equipped with a discharge pipe for discharging good capsules that fall from a hole. be.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a sorting machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the sorting section in FIG. 1. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an annular drum, which is driven by an indexing unit to make constant intermittent rotational movement. That is, a large number of holes 3 for storing capsules 2 are provided on the outer periphery of the drum 1 at a constant pitch toward the center of the drum. It stops for a predetermined time every time it matches the position. The capsules 2 are stored in the holes 3 through the supply pipe 4 when the annular drum 1 stops due to natural fall. At this time, a receiving member 5 is provided inside approximately the upper left 1/4 portion of the annular portion of the drum 1 to prevent the capsule 2 from falling downward from the hole 3.

Reference numerals 6 and 7 denote a fixed plunger and a movable plunger that are provided in the sorting part at a position an integral number of pitches away from the position of the capsule supply pipe 4, and are stored in the hole that has rotated to the part inside and outside the hole of the annular drum 1. A conical recess 6 is provided on the opposing surface to center the capsule 2 by holding down the relatively outer periphery of the R portions at both ends of the capsule 2.
a, 7a are formed. Also, the plunger 6,
In the center of 7 is a thin rod 8 that can be moved inside.
9 are inserted respectively, and the rods 8 and 9 are the second rods.
When the plungers 6 and 7 do not sandwich the capsule 2 as shown in the figure, the springs 10 and 11
The plungers are biased by the plungers 6a and 7a and protrude into the recesses 6a and 7a, but their tips are substantially flush with the end faces of the plungers 6 and 7. However, plunger 6,
When the capsule 2 is pinched by the rods 7, the rods 8 and 9 are moved back against the springs 10 and 11, respectively.

The fixed plunger 6 is fixed to the fixed member 12,
The movable plunger 7 is fixed to the movable member 13. A roller 14 at the tip of a rod fixed inside the movable member 13 is constantly pressed against a cam 15 that rotates intermittently in synchronization with the annular drum 1, and as the cam 15 rotates, the arrow shown in FIG. When the capsule 2 reciprocates in the direction and moves outward, the capsule 2 can be sandwiched between the recesses 6a and 7a of the plungers 6 and 7. A disc spring 16 is interposed between the movable plunger 7 and the movable member 13, and when the capsule 2 is pushed by the plunger 7, if the capsule is long, it bends to prevent the capsule from being crushed.

17 and 18 are photoelectric switches for overlength detection, respectively;
Photoelectric switch for over/short detection, 19 and 20 are rod 8
It is a photoelectric switch that turns on and off according to the amount of movement of the rear part of the capsule and detects the dents in the R portions at both ends of the capsule. Reference numeral 21 denotes a nozzle for blowing out air, which is provided facing the hole 3 at a position away from the receiving member 5 at a position separated by an integer pitch of the hole 3 from the positions of the plungers 6 and 7. When a defective capsule is detected, it is stored in a shift register and a defective capsule 2a is placed at this position.
When the capsule 2a comes and stops, air is blown out to blow the defective capsule 2a into a separately installed case 22. Reference numeral 23 is located on the outer periphery of the drum 1 directly below the capsule supply pipe 4, and discharges the good capsules that naturally fall from the hole 3a directly below the discharge pipe; 24 is the lower left outer periphery of approximately 1/4 portion of the annular drum 1; the drum 1
This is a receiving member that prevents capsules placed close to the capsule from falling. 25 is a plunger whose inner roller is constantly pressed by a cam 26 that rotates in synchronization with the cam 15, and a defective capsule with a crushed body that has not fallen naturally through the hole 3a directly below the drum. 2b into the case 27.

Next, the effect will be explained. When the annular drum 1 rotates intermittently until the hole 3 comes to a position directly below the capsule supply pipe 4 and the drum 1 stops, the capsules 2 naturally fall into the hole 3 and are stored therein. The annular drum 1 rotates by one pitch of the holes 3 and stops again, and thereafter repeats intermittent rotation, and when it stops, the capsules 2 from the supply pipe 4 are stored in the holes 3 that are successively moved.

Next, when the capsule 2 comes to the sorting section, the movable plunger 7 is pushed by the cam 15 and moves, and the capsule 2
The R portions at both ends are the recesses 6a, 7a of the plungers 6, 7.
It is sandwiched between and centered. At this time, if the overlength detection photoelectric switch 17 is off and the overshortness detection photoelectric switch 18 is on, this capsule is a good capsule, and if both switches 17 and 18 are on, it is an overlong defective capsule, or If both switches 17 and 18 are off, the capsule is too short and defective.

On the other hand, if there are dents on both ends of the capsule, the tips of rods 8 and 9 will enter the dents in the capsule, so they will move less than a capsule without dents, but they will move outward depending on the size of the dent. . If the rods 8, 9 move less, the photoelectric switches 19, 20 remain on, and it is detected that the capsule 2a is defective and has a dent.

The above length abnormality and the position of the dented capsule are stored in a shift register to control the nozzle 21, and when the defective capsule 2a comes to the position of the nozzle 21 and the drum 1 stops, the nozzle 21 This defective capsule is blown into the case 22 by blowing out air. The good capsules 2 that were not removed here come to the position of the discharge pipe 23 directly below the drum 1 and when the drum stops, the good capsules fall naturally into the discharge pipe 23 because there is no receiving member 24 here. and is discharged.

Additionally, this device can also sort out capsules with crushed bodies. In this case, the capsule with a crushed body does not enter the hole 3 from the capsule supply pipe 4 if it falls naturally, so it is forcibly supplied by an upper and lower plunger (not shown). If this capsule is of normal length and has no dents in the R portions of both ends, it will be judged as a normal capsule by the sorting section, so it will not be rejected by the nozzle 21 section and will reach the discharge pipe 23 section directly below, but the body will be crushed. Because of this, it cannot be discharged by natural fall. This bad capsule 2
b moves as it is and when it comes to the plunger 25 part, the plunger 25 is pushed by the cam 26 and plunges into the hole 3, expelling the defective capsule 2b into the case 27.

Since the present invention is configured as described above in detail, defective capsules having an abnormal length or dents in the R portions at both ends can be automatically separated from good capsules and eliminated. Moreover, the device of the present invention has a simple structure, so there is no failure, the manufacturing cost is low, and the device has excellent effects such as reliable sorting.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a sorting machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing details of the sorting section in FIG. 1. Explanation of main parts of the figure 1... Annular drum, 2... Capsule, 2a... Defective capsule, 3... Hole, 4... Capsule supply pipe, 6... Fixed plunger, 7... Movable plunger, 8, 9... Rod, 10, 11... Spring, 15...Cam, 17, 18...Photoelectric switch (first detection mechanism), 19, 20...Photoelectric switch (second detection mechanism)
detection mechanism), 21... air blowing nozzle, 23...
Exhaust pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An annular drum that rotates intermittently and has a large number of holes arranged at a constant pitch toward the center of the drum for accommodating capsules on the outer periphery, provided at the upper center of the drum,
A capsule supply pipe for supplying capsules to the storage hole, a movable fixed plunger disposed inside and outside across the holes of the drum located downstream of the holes by an integral number of pitches from the supply pipe, and having a recess for pressing both ends of the capsule. a plunger, a first detection mechanism comprising a photoelectric switch that detects the pressing position of the capsule of the movable plunger and determines whether the capsule is good or bad; a rod urged to protrude in the direction of the capsule in each of the plungers; A second detection mechanism includes a photoelectric switch that detects dents in the R portions at both ends of the capsule depending on the position where the rod moves when pushed by the capsule, and is provided at a position separated by an integral number of pitches of the hole from the plunger position, and is installed to detect abnormalities in the capsule. a removal mechanism that operates to remove the defective capsule from the hole in the drum when the defective capsule comes to the position according to a signal when the defect is detected by the first and second detection mechanisms, and a center of the drum. A capsule dent and length sorting machine characterized by being provided at the bottom and consisting of a discharge pipe for discharging good capsules that fall from a hole.