JPH0776305A - Tablet packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tablet packaging machine which can stably feed capsules in despressed parts of a drum from a chute. CONSTITUTION:A tablet packaging machine is equipped with a plastic film 22 on which pockets 38a, 38c, 38e, etc., to contain a capsule 17 are formed with uniform intervals, a continuous carrying roller which carries the plastic film 22 in the horizontal direction at a fixed speed, a drum 13 on the outer periphery of which a plurality of depressed parts 14a-14i to contain the capsule 17 are formed in order to feed the capsule 17 in the pockets 38a, 38c, 38e, etc., and a chute to feed the capsule 17 in the depressed parts 14a-14i. Then, the tablet packaging machine is also equipped with a roller gear 45 which rotates the drum 13 by different speeds by (1) a first feeding timing to feed the capsule 17 contained in the depressed parts 14a-14i of the drum 13 to the pockets 38a, 38c, 38e, etc., and (2) a second feeding timing by which the chute feeds the tablets in the depressed parts 14a-14i.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tablet packaging machine for packaging tablets by supplying the tablets to a plastic film in which pockets for storing the tablets are formed at regular intervals. The present invention relates to a tablet packing machine that uses a drum to supply and package at high speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, capsule tablets are supplied to a web-shaped plastic film in which pockets for storing tablets are formed at regular intervals, aluminum foil is adhered, and a tablet sheet is cut into a desired size. A tablet wrapping machine for manufacturing is used. Capsule-shaped tablets are not as easy to transport as round-shaped tablets, so in order to supply capsule-shaped tablets to a plastic film pocket, multiple rows of multiple recesses for accommodating capsules are formed on the outer circumference. The used drum is used. The drum is provided above the plastic film, rotates at a speed synchronous with the plastic film, and drops and supplies the capsule contained in the recess to the pocket of the plastic film. Further, with the speeding up of the tablet packing machine, it is not possible to supply with one drum, and therefore, two drums are used to supply capsules to every other pocket.

On the other hand, the method of supplying the capsules to the pocket of the drum is a method of supplying the capsules aligned by the parts feeder to the recesses of the drum by the chute. Here, comparing (1) supplying the capsule housed in the recess by the drum to the pocket of the plastic film and (2) supplying the capsule to the drum by the chute, (2) the chute to the drum is compared. It is more difficult to supply capsules and there are more troubles.
In the supply of (1), since the drum is rotating synchronously with the plastic film, the capsule drops stably, whereas in the supply of (2), the capsule stopped in the chute is It is considered that the behavior of the capsule is unstable because the capsule is dropped in the concave portion of the rotating drum.

In order to solve the trouble caused by the supply of (2), various proposals have been conventionally made. For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-16107 proposes a method of pressing a tablet, which is one tablet above the tablet to be dropped, among the tablets aligned in the chute with a lever. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-85519, it is proposed that the position of the chute with respect to the drum is provided in a range that advances by 45 degrees or more and 75 degrees or less in the rotation direction of the drum with reference to a perpendicular line passing through the rotation axis of the drum. There is. As a result, the vertical component of the rotation speed of the drum becomes larger than the horizontal component, so that the capsule in the chute is likely to enter the concave portion of the drum.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. That is, when the drum rotates and the concave portion of the drum comes to a position corresponding to the chute and the capsule drops, the capsule is stopped in the chute, so that there is variation in the time until the movement starts. Therefore, when it takes time to start moving, there is a problem that the capsule is sandwiched between the drum and the guide plate and the capsule is destroyed. This is promoted by the fact that powder or the like generated from the capsule adheres to the inside of the chute and delays the fall of the capsule.

In the conventional proposal to solve this problem, since the rotation speed of the drum is always synchronized with the conveying speed of the plastic film, the drum rotates at a high speed even when the capsule drops from the chute to the drum. However, there is a case where the capsule is sandwiched between the guides and broken, and there is a problem that the capsule is not stably supplied to the recess. On the other hand, in order to reduce the cost of the capsule sheet, speeding up of the tablet packaging machine is desired. Here, if the number of drums is increased to three or four, the rotation speed of each drum can be slowed down, and it becomes possible to stably supply the capsules from the chute to the recesses of the drum. It is difficult to achieve the rotation synchronization of three or more drums, and there is a problem that the packaging machine becomes large in size, which is difficult to realize.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a tablet packaging machine capable of stably supplying a capsule from a chute to a concave portion of a drum.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, the tablet packing machine of the present invention comprises a plastic film in which pockets for storing tablets are formed at regular intervals, and the plastic film is fixed in the horizontal direction. A transporting means for transporting at a speed of 1, a drum having a plurality of recesses for accommodating the tablets on the outer periphery for supplying the tablets to the pocket of the plastic film, and a chute for supplying the tablets to the recesses of the drum. A tablet packing machine having: (1) a first supply timing for supplying tablets stored in a recess of a drum to a pocket of a plastic film; and (2) a chute for supplying tablets to the recess of the drum. It has drum rotation speed changing means for rotating the drum at different speeds at two supply timings.

Further, in the tablet packing machine, the rotation speed of the drum at the second supply timing is slower than the rotation speed of the drum at the first supply timing. Further, in each of the above-mentioned tablet packaging machines, the drum rotation speed changing means is an index drive such as a roller gear, a barrel cam, or a parallel cam.

[0010]

The transporting means of the tablet packing machine of the present invention having the above construction transports the plastic film in which the pockets for storing the tablets are formed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction at a constant speed. Further, the drum moves in synchronism with the plastic film to supply the tablets accommodated in the concave portion on the outer periphery to the pocket of the plastic film. Further, the chute supplies the tablets aligned by the parts feeder to the concave portion of the drum. Further, the drum rotation speed changing means is (1) the tablet housed in the recess of the drum,
The drum is rotated at different speeds according to the first supply timing for supplying the pocket to the plastic film and (2) the second supply timing for supplying the tablet to the concave portion of the drum by the chute.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A tablet packing machine, which is one embodiment of the present invention, will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of the tablet packaging machine. A flat web-shaped plastic film 22 is supplied as a roll 21. The plastic film 22 passes through a heater 23 for heating the plastic film to a deformable temperature, and a molding machine 24 for molding four rows of five pockets 38 for accommodating the capsules 17 at a time, and pockets. A concave portion corresponding to 38 is intermittently conveyed by the intermittent drive roller 25 formed on the outer circumference. The reason why it is conveyed intermittently is that the operation of the molding machine 24 is intermittent.

The plastic film 22 in which the pockets 38 are formed is used to supply capsules via a dancer roller 26 and a feed roller 27 for adjusting the operation of the plastic film 22 between intermittent feeding and continuous feeding. It passes below the first drum 13A, the second drum 13B, and a chute 29 for supplying round tablets. The capsules 17 are alternately supplied to the pockets 38 of the plastic film 22 by the first drum 13A and the second drum 18B. When the capsule is supplied, the chute 29 is closed. On the other hand, capsules are supplied to the drums 13A and 13B by the parts feeders 28A and 28B for capsules via the chutes 18A and 18B.

Next, the aluminum foil 31 is put on the plastic film 22 supplied to the pocket 38, and the capsule 17 is sandwiched and adhered by the application rollers 32 and 33. In the process of supplying the capsule 17, the plastic film 22 is transported by the continuous transport roller 34 at a constant speed. The plastic film 22 that has passed through the continuous transport roller 34 is sent via a dancer roller 35 and a feed roller 36 to a punching machine 37 that cuts the plastic film 22 and the aluminum foil 31 into two rows of five continuous sheets. In the process of the punching machine 37, the plastic film 22 and the like left after punching are intermittently sent by a driving roller (not shown) that drives. The dancer roller 35 is for adjusting the intermittent feeding and the continuous feeding in the capsule feeding process.

Next, the structure of the peripheral portion of the drum 13, which is the main part of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. Since the two drums 13A and 13B have the same configuration, they will be described with common reference numerals. On the outer circumference of the drum 13, the capsule 1
9 recesses 14a, 14b, 14 for accommodating 7
c, 14d, 14e, 14f, 14g, 14h, 14i
Are formed in equal parts. The recesses 14 are formed in four rows in the axial direction of the outer circumference. The central axis of the drum 13 is connected to an output shaft of a roller gear 45 that is a drum rotation speed changing unit for rotating the drum 13 at different speeds. The rotation shaft of the servo motor 46 is connected to the input shaft of the roller gear 45. A guide 16 is attached to the left side of the drum 13 along the outer circumference to prevent the capsule 17 stored in the pocket 14 from dropping. The lower end portion 16 a of the guide 16 is in contact with the plastic film 22.

The angle 30 from the vertical line passing through the center of the drum 13.
A chute 18 is vertically provided at a position of about 40 degrees via a moving guide 43. The upper end of the chute 18
The capsule 17 is supplied to the chute 18 by being connected to a parts feeder (not shown). Inside the chute 18, the capsule 17 is continuous in the vertical direction. A stopper 41 for preventing the capsule 17 from dropping is provided near the lower end of the chute 18. The stopper 41 is normally biased by a pressing spring 43 in a direction to hold the capsule 17. Further, the stopper 41 is released from the biasing force applied to the capsule 17 in synchronization with the rotation of the drum 13 by a cam (not shown).

Next, the operation of the tablet packing machine having the above-described structure will be described. First, (1) the first supply action of supplying to the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22 of the capsule 17 housed in the concave portion 14 of the drum 13, which is the main part of the present invention, and (2) the chute 18 is the drum 1.
The second supply action of supplying the capsule 17 to the concave portion 14 of No. 3 will be described. FIG. 1 shows the rotation speed of the outer circumference of the drum 13. The vertical axis represents the movement amount of the outer circumference of the drum 13, and the horizontal axis represents the angle of the input shaft of the roller gear 45. Straight line 11
Indicates the conveyance amount of the plastic film 22.
The inclination of the straight line 11 indicates the speed of the plastic film 22, and the plastic film 22 is conveyed at a constant speed. A curve 12 shows the displacement amount of the outer circumference of the drum 13. The inclination of the tangent line at each point of the curve 12 indicates the speed of the outer circumference of the drum 13.

Further, the pitch of the pockets 38 in the plastic film 22 is 26 mm, and the tablet packing machine of this embodiment supplies the capsules 17 to the pockets 38 alternately by the two drums 13A and 13B. The plastic film 22 moves S = 52 mm for one cycle, and the drum 13 supplies the capsule 17 to the pocket 38 for each cycle. In FIG. 1, the movement amount of the plastic film 22 is S = 52 mm
At this time, the speed of the servo motor 46 is adjusted so that the input angle of the roller gear 45 becomes 360 degrees. Here, the diameter M of the drum 13 is M = 140 mm in the tablet packaging machine of the present embodiment, and the concave portion 14 is formed in nine places by dividing the outer circumference of the drum 13 into nine parts, so that the roller gear 45 Drum 1 when the input shaft rotates 360 degrees
The displacement amount H of the outer circumference of 3 is H = M * π / 9 = about 48.87.
mm. Therefore, the plastic film 22 is S =
The outer periphery of the drum 13 is H =
It moves 48.87 mm.

Next, the relationship between the displacement amount of the drum 13 and (1) the first supply timing for supplying the capsule 17 housed in the recess 14 of the drum 13 to the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22 will be described. FIG. 4 shows the displacement position of the drum 13, the transport position of the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22, and the behavior of the capsule 17 at the first timing. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the input angle of the roller gear 45 in FIG. 1 is B = about 190 degrees. (B) shows that the input angle of the roller gear 45 is A
= About 270 degrees is shown.

The state shown in FIG. 4 (a) is the timing when the tip of the capsule 17 housed in the recess 14 of the drum 13 falls into the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22. In the range before and after the input angle of the roller gear 45 of FIG. 1 is B, the slope of the tangent line of the curve 12 is larger than the slope of the straight line 11. That is, the speed of the outer circumference of the drum 13 is faster than the transport speed of the plastic film 22. Therefore, the concave portion 14 of the drum 13 is displaced so as to follow the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22, and the drum 1
When the recess 14 of No. 3 catches up with the pocket 38 up to the state of FIG. 4A, the tip of the capsule 17 housed in the recess 14 falls into the pocket 38. further,
When the recess 14 of the drum 13 follows the pocket 38 and the input angle of the roller gear 45 becomes A = about 270 degrees,
As shown in FIG. 4B, the positions of the recess 14 and the pocket 38 coincide with each other. At this time, the slope of the tangent line of the curve 12 becomes equal to the slope of the transport speed of the plastic film 22, as shown in FIG. That is, the moving speed of the recess 14 of the drum 13 and the conveying speed of the plastic film 22 become equal. As a result, the capsule 17 becomes
4 to the pocket 38. Where the capsule 17
Since the drop guide 15 enters the concave portion 14 to forcibly drop the capsule 17 when the capsule 1 is dropped,
7 drops are complete.

Next, the relationship between the displacement amount of the drum 13 and (2) the second supply timing at which the chute 18 supplies the capsule 17 to the recess 14 of the drum 13 will be described. Figure 2
The movement position of the drum 13, the position of the chute 18, and the behavior of the capsule 17 at the second timing are shown in FIG. 2A shows the state of the recess 14 of the drum 13 when the input angle of the roller gear 45 in FIG. 1 is about 280 degrees, that is, at the position indicated by a in the figure.
(B) shows the drum 13 when the input angle of the roller gear 45 is about 20 degrees, that is, when the roller gear 45 is at the position indicated by b in the figure.
Shows the state of. (C) shows the state of the drum 13 when the input angle of the roller gear 45 is about 95 degrees, that is, at the position shown by c in the figure.

In FIG. 2A, the tip of the capsule 17 near the outlet of the chute 18 is provided with the recess 14 of the drum 13.
It is the timing at the entrance end of. Next, FIG. 2B
Indicates the timing when the tip of the capsule 17 falls into the recess 14. FIG. 2 (a) to (b)
When changing to, that is, in the section indicated by L1 in FIG. 1, the tangent slope of the curve 12 becomes gradually smaller,
At the timing of b, the inclination is 0. Considering this in terms of speed, the speed of the concave portion 14 of the drum 13 with respect to the chute 18 gradually decreases from when the tip portion of the capsule 17 shown in FIG. Then, at the timing shown in FIG. 2B in which the tip of the capsule 17 falls into the recess 14, the speed of the recess 14 of the drum 13 with respect to the chute 18 is zero.

Next, when the curve changes from (b) to (c) in FIG. 2, that is, in the section indicated by L2 in FIG. 1, the slope of the curve 12 gradually increases. Considering this in terms of speed, the speed of the concave portion 14 of the drum 13 with respect to the chute 18 gradually increases after the tip portion of the capsule 17 shown in FIG. Then, at the timing when the capsule 17 shown in FIG. 2C falls into the concave portion 14, the outer peripheral speed of the drum 13 is equal to the conveying speed of the plastic film 22.
As described above, (2) the chute 18 is formed in the concave portion 1 of the drum 13.
The speed of the outer periphery of the drum 13 at the second supply timing for supplying the capsule 17 to
4 is slower than the speed of the outer circumference of the drum 13 at the first timing of supplying the capsule 17 stored in 4 to the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22, the capsule 17 stopped at the chute 18 When falling into the recess 14, the movement speed of the outer circumference of the drum 13 is low, the capsule 17 can drop with a margin, and the capsule 17 can be reliably dropped into the recess 14.

Next, the overall operation of the tablet packaging machine of this embodiment will be described. The flat web-shaped plastic film 22 is intermittently conveyed by the intermittent drive roller 25 and heated to a temperature at which it can be plastically deformed by the heater 23, and the recesses 14 in four rows and five rows are formed by the molding machine 24 at the stop timing. It is formed. Since the molding machine 24 is intermittently and sequentially molded, the recesses 14 are molded as four continuous rows. Plastic film 22 having recess 14 formed therein
The dancer roller 26 adjusts the intermittent driving and the continuous conveyance.

Next, when the capsule 17 is supplied as a tablet, the pocket 3 is formed by the two drums 1A and 13B.
The capsules 17 are alternately supplied to 8. At this time, the chute 29 for supplying the round tablets is closed. The capsule 17 is supplied by the two drums 13A and 13B because it takes time for the capsule 17 to drop on the chute 18 or the like, and the capsule 17 is supplied by the two drums 13A and 13B to shorten the entire cycle time. To improve production efficiency. Plastic film 2 by drum 13
The operation of supplying the capsule 17 to the second pocket 38 has been described above, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. When supplying a round tablet, the stopper 41 stops the supply of the capsule 17 to the drum 13, and the parts feeder 30 supplies the tablet via the chute 29.

The aluminum foil 31 is attached to the plastic film 22 in which the capsules 17 are housed in all the pockets 38 by the pair of attaching rollers 32 and 33. Plastic film 22 with aluminum foil 31 attached
The dancer roller 35 adjusts intermittent driving and continuous conveyance. Next, the plastic film 22
It is conveyed intermittently by a drive roller (not shown). Then, at the stop timing, the punching machine 37 punches the tablet sheets in two rows and five rows. The punched tablet sheets are stacked and conveyed by a collecting device (not shown). Also, the plastic film 2 left after punching
2 is collected by a trash box (not shown).

As described in detail above, according to the tablet packing machine of the present invention, (2) the outer peripheral speed of the drum 13 at the second supply timing when the chute 18 supplies the capsule 17 to the recess 14 of the drum 13, (1) Since the capsule gear 17 housed in the recess 14 of the drum 13 has the roller gear 45 for making the outer peripheral speed of the drum 13 at the first supply timing for supplying the pocket 38 of the plastic film 22 slower, The capsule 17 can be stably dropped from the chute 18 into the recess 14 of the drum 13, and troubles such as the capsule 17 being sandwiched between the guides and broken can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the case of supplying one type of capsule has been described, but when supplying different types of capsules by the drum, the pitch of the pockets 38 in the plastic film 22 is different, and thus the diameter is conventionally different. Since a drum is used, it took a lot of time to set up due to the replacement of the drum. In the tablet packing machine of this embodiment, since the roller gears 45A and 45B are driven by different servo motors 46A and 46B, even if the pitch of the pocket is changed, the servo motors 4A and 4B can be changed.
If 6A and 46B are synchronized with the plastic film 22, the capsules can be supplied and the setup time can be greatly shortened.

Although the motor control device of the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the present embodiment, the roller gear 45 is used as the drum rotation speed changing means, but the same is true if another index drive such as a barrel cam or a parallel cam is used. Further, in this embodiment, the two drums 13A and 13A
Although the case where B is used has been described, the same applies to the case where there is one drum, or where there are three or more drums.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the tablet packing machine of the present invention, (2) the outer peripheral speed of the drum at the second supply timing when the chute supplies the tablets to the concave portion 14 of the drum, (1) Since the drum rotation speed changing means for changing the outer peripheral speed of the drum at the first supply timing for supplying the tablet stored in the recess of the drum to the pocket of the plastic film is provided, The tablet can be stably dropped into the concave portion of the drum, and the occurrence of troubles such as the tablet being sandwiched by the guide and broken can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a data diagram showing a rotational displacement of a drum used in the tablet packing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship among a concave portion of a drum, a chute and a capsule.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration around a drum.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a pocket of a plastic film, a recess of a drum and a capsule.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of the tablet packaging machine of the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 13 Drum 14 Recess 17 Capsule 18 Chute 22 Plastic Film 34 Continuous Conveying Roller 38 Pocket 45 Roller Gear

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plastic film in which pockets for storing tablets are formed at regular intervals, and a transportation means for transporting the plastic film in a horizontal direction at a constant speed,
(1) A tablet packing machine comprising: a drum having a plurality of recesses for accommodating tablets formed on the outer periphery thereof for supplying tablets to the pockets of the plastic film; and a chute for supplying tablets to the recesses of the drum. The first supply timing for supplying the tablet stored in the recess of the drum to the pocket of the plastic film; and (2) the second supply timing for supplying the tablet to the recess of the drum by the chute. A tablet packing machine, characterized in that it has a drum rotation speed changing means for rotating the drum at different speeds. 2. The tablet packing machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the drum at the second supply timing is
A tablet packing machine, characterized in that the rotation speed of the drum at the time of the first supply is slower. 3. The tablet packing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the drum rotation speed changing means is an index drive such as a roller gear, a barrel cam, or a parallel cam.