JPH08230801A - Counting and charging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To charge odd tablets in a counting and charging machine for charging two lines of tablets supplied from a pocket drum into one container. CONSTITUTION: A large number of pockets 2 are formed in an outer peripheral surface of a drum 6. A tablet is loaded into each of the pockets 2 from a chute disposed above. The tablets contained in two line of the pockets are charged in one container. A comb-form shutter 40 is disposed upstream of a position where the tablets are charged into the pockets 2 of the drum 6 from the chute so as to be advanced and retracted. Projected parts 40a of the shutter 40 and cutout parts 40b in between are alternately disposed on the lines of the pockets 2 of the drum 6. By advancing the shutter 40, the projected parts 40a cover openings of the chute to arrest loading of tablets, and the cutout parts 40b permit loading of tablets. The shutter 40 is normally retracted, but is advanced when odd tablets are to be unloaded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a counting and filling machine for counting solids such as tablets and capsules and filling them in a container, and more particularly, in a plurality of rows of pockets formed on the outer peripheral surface of a rotary drum. The present invention relates to a counting and filling machine that fills two rows of loaded articles into one container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A counting and filling machine for counting a fixed number of solid substances such as tablets or capsules and filling them in a container has been known (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-18961 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6).
No. 3-13573, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-62402, etc.).

[0003] The above-mentioned first gazette (Act. Kokoku 59-18961)
No.) "Counting and filling device for tablets, capsules, etc."
Is equipped with a counting slat 9 having a large number of receiving holes 13 on an endless roller chain 5 and supplies tablets from the filling hopper 21 to the receiving holes 13 of the slat 9 at the slope A of the roller chain 5 having an upward slope. The state of the receiving hole 13 (presence or absence of the tablet) is confirmed by the detection device 24 at the sloped portion B of the downward slope, and the slat 9 is inverted at the lower limit of the sloped portion B of the downward slope so that the slat 9 is placed at the opening of the container. The counted tablets are put into a continuous chute 25 for filling, and there is a case where the tablets or capsules do not fall even when they come to the reversing position. Therefore, the protruding pin 29 is attached to the sprocket 2 of the reversing portion of the slat 9. The drum 28 is incorporated, and the tablet or capsule in the receiving hole 13 is forcibly removed by the protruding pin 29.

In addition, the second publication (Jitsuko Sho 63-1357).
The "tablet counting device" described in No. 3) has a predetermined number of depressions 1 on the surface of the slat 10 of the endless conveyor C.
3 is provided, and in the rising slope portion A of the conveyor C, the tablets are supplied from the supply hopper 3 to the depression 13 of the slat 10 so that the excess tablets are not conveyed. The excess tablets are dropped by 4 or the like, and only a predetermined number of tablets are sequentially transferred, and the predetermined number of tablets are discharged from the recess 13 at the reversing portion D of the conveyor C and packed in the bottle 5. If the tablets are conveyed to the hopper unit 3 again without slipping out of the depressions 13 at the time of reversal, the number of tablets to be put into the bottle 5 will be less than a predetermined number, so that at the position for bottling. The extruding member 20 is provided so that the tablets can be discharged reliably.

Further, the third publication (Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-624).
No. 02) describes a "confectionery weighing and filling device", in which a plurality of vertical filling pipes 19 each having an upper end connected to the lower end of a guide pipe 15 opening in the hopper 8 through an elastic material connection pipe 18 are provided. The lower opening 19a of the vertical filling pipe 19 is closed by the upper surface of the fixed plate 24 and the lower end is slidable. Further, the fixed plate 24 is provided with a drop hole 25. Further, a filling amount regulating member 28 facing the outer surface of the elastic connecting tube 18 when the lower opening 19a of the vertical filling tube 19 is aligned with the drop hole 25 of the fixing plate 24 is provided, and the guide tube 1
5, the elastic connection tube 18 and the vertical filling tube 19,
It is assumed that the inside diameter of the object to be filled such as confectionery is almost the same as that of the object to be filled, and when the filling amount regulating member 28 locally compresses the connecting tube 18 made of an elastic material, the confectionery or the like cannot pass through. is there.

[0006]

The above-mentioned conventional weighing and filling device is one in which the slats are inverted to drop tablets or the like from the receiving holes or the depressions (JP 59-18961 and JP 63-13573). Alternatively, the elastic conjunctive tube 18 connected to the vertical filling pipe 19 is compressed to make it impossible to drop the confectionery above it, and the confectionery below is dropped through the drop hole 25 for filling. JP-A-63-62402), and it was impossible to speed up any of them. Moreover, it has been difficult to perform accurate filling. In addition, when changing the size of tablets or the number of tablets to be filled in a container, the number of parts to be replaced is large, and it is difficult to make many uses.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it is possible to fill two rows of articles in one container to speed up the operation, and further, to make two rows of the articles into one container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a counting and filling machine for filling one container with which an odd number of articles can be taken out and filled in the container.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A counting and filling machine according to the present invention comprises a drum having a plurality of pockets for accommodating articles formed in a plurality of rows on the outer peripheral surface, a rotating means for rotating the drum, and the drum. A plurality of rows of chutes for respectively putting articles into the pockets of the respective rows, a guide for receiving the articles taken out from the pockets of the two rows of the drum and filling them into one container, and the above-mentioned two rows of pockets A shutter having a closing part that can close one of the two to prevent the entry of articles from the chute; and move the shutter back and forth between a position where the closing part closes the chute and a position where the chute is opened. And a driving means.

[0009]

In the above-described counting and filling machine, when an even number of articles are filled in each container, the shutter is retracted so that the closing portion does not close the opening of the chute, so that all pockets are filled. The articles are put into the container, and the articles in the pockets for two rows are filled into one container through the guide. Further, when an odd number of pieces are filled, the shutter is moved forward by the driving means when the pocket containing the last article of the predetermined number of pieces is rotationally moved below the chute, and the closing portion thereof is closed. The chutes in one row are closed by so that no articles are put in the pockets in one of the two rows.

[0010]

The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. 1 is a front view of a counting and filling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a side view thereof. In this counting and filling machine, a large number of pockets 2 are formed on the outer peripheral surface, a drum 6 mounted on a horizontal main shaft 4 is rotated, and each pocket 2 of the drum 6 is supplied from an upper parts feeder 8. A plurality of rows of chutes 12 into which tablets (or solid articles such as capsules) 10 are placed, and tablets 10 that are arranged below the drum 6 and that have fallen from the chutes 12 into the pockets 2 of the drum 6 and are accommodated are shown below. A filling guide 16 for receiving and filling the container 14 at the filling position, a container conveying conveyor 18 for intermittently conveying the container 14 filled with the tablets 10 through the filling guide 16, and the like.

Next, the configuration of each of the above parts will be described with reference to FIGS. The drum 6 is attached to the horizontal main shaft 4 supported by the machine frame 20, and is rotated by a driving means such as a servo motor (not shown). On the outer peripheral surface of the drum 6, pockets 2 for accommodating the tablets 10 one by one are provided.
Many are formed in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows. In this embodiment, the pockets 2 formed on the drum 6 are arranged in rows in the circumferential direction (vertical direction in FIGS. 3 and 4) and in rows in the axial direction (horizontal direction in FIGS. 3 and 4). I'll call it a row. As will be described later, the counting and filling machine according to the present embodiment is configured to simultaneously fill the six containers 14 with the tablets 10, and each container 14 has two rows of pockets 2.
It is designed to be filled from. Therefore, the drum 6
Includes 12 columns 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, at equal intervals.
Pockets 2 of 2F, 2G, 2H, 2I, 2J, 2K and 2L are formed. Further, a predetermined number (36 in this embodiment) of pockets 2 are formed in each row 2A to 2L at equal intervals (see FIG. 5). That is, pockets 2 of 12 columns and 36 rows are formed on this drum. In addition,
The number of rows of pockets 2 formed in the drum 6 is not limited to 12, and the container 1 that is filled in one filling process is used.
It is enough if there are twice as many rows as 4 and pocket 2
The number of lines can also be set as appropriate according to the capacity of the filling machine.

Above the drum 6, twelve chutes 12 which are the same as the number of rows of pockets 2 formed on the outer surface of the drum 6.
Are arranged almost vertically. The lower end opening of each chute 12 faces each pocket 2 of the row 2X (see FIGS. 4 and 5) located at the uppermost position of the rotating drum 6, and the tablets that have continuously dropped inside the chute 12. The first one of 10 drops into the pocket 2, is taken out by the rotation of the drum 6, and is housed in the pocket 2.

Below the drum 6, the tablets 1 which are housed in the pockets 2 of the drum 6 and are rotatably conveyed.
A filling guide 16 for receiving 0 and filling the container 14 is provided (see FIG. 2). The opening on the upper side of the filling guide 16 is provided in the pocket 2 provided in the drum 6.
2 are arranged so that the tablets 10 for two rows can be received, and the lower opening is arranged at a position corresponding to the mouth of one container 14 stopped on the container conveyor 18.

Below the lower opening of the filling guide 16,
Horizontally movable filling shutter 22 (see FIG. 2)
Is provided. Although not shown in detail, the filling shutter 22 is provided with a passage hole having substantially the same diameter as the lower opening of each filling guide 16 and a portion capable of closing the opening of the filling guide. When the filling shutter 22 is moved in the horizontal direction and the passage hole is aligned with the lower opening of the filling guide 16, the tablets 10 in the filling guide 16 fall and are filled in the container 14, except for the passage hole. When the portion of (1) coincides with the lower opening of the filling guide 16, this opening is closed and the filling from the filling guide 16 is stopped.

A container carrying conveyor 18 is provided below the filling guide 16 in parallel with the axial direction of the drum 6.
As shown in FIG. 6, the two screws 24 and 26 arranged on both sides with the phases shifted by a half pitch, and the guide member 28 arranged in the center of these screws 24 and 26.
The container 14 that has been conveyed in one row is divided into two rows, and the two rows of the containers 14 are conveyed with their front and rear positions displaced from each other by the rotation of both screws 24 and 26. The container conveyor 18 is designed to be operated intermittently, and a predetermined number (six in this embodiment) of filling in a filling position below the filling guide 16 in one step. The container 14 is carried in and temporarily stopped, and the stopped container 14 is filled with the tablets 10. Then, the container 14 is run again to discharge the six filled containers 14 from the filling position. The six containers 14 to be filled are carried into the filling position and stopped.

With the above construction, the tablets 10 for two rows of pockets 2 formed in the drum 6 are packed in one filling guide 1.
Since it is designed to be filled in one container 14 via 6, the tablets 10 in one row of pockets 2 are packed in one container 1.
It is possible to perform the filling at a higher speed than the case of filling the inside of the container 4. Further, the apparatus of this embodiment is a counting and filling machine for filling two rows of tablets 10 into one container 14, and is also configured to be able to fill an odd number of tablets 10 into each container 14. ing.

The structure for taking out an odd number of tablets 10 and filling them in the container 14 will be described below. A cylindrical rotating body 32 is rotatably supported via a bearing 30 on the outer periphery of a position (left side in FIG. 3) adjacent to the drum 6 of the main shaft 4 that rotates the drum 6. An arm 34 is integrally provided at an obliquely upper portion of the cylindrical rotating body 32. The arm 34 is located on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the drum 6 (direction of arrow R in FIG. 5) with respect to the chute 12, that is, on the right side in FIG. A spring 36 stretched between the two is constantly pulled in a direction opposite to the rotation direction (arrow R) of the drum 6. A stopper 38 is provided below the arm 34, and the arm 34 pulled by the spring 36 is provided.
Comes into contact with the stopper 38 and is stopped.

A shutter 40 for filling an odd number of pieces is attached to the side surface of the arm 34 on the drum 6 side.
On the outer peripheral surface of the. The shutter 40 is fixed to an end surface of the substrate portion 42 having a length substantially equal to the width (axial length) of the drum 6 on the chute 12 side,
It has a comb (comb) shape in which convex portions (closed portions) 40a extending toward the chute 12 side and cutout portions 40b are alternately formed.
The inner surface (the surface on the drum 6 side) of the base plate portion 42 and the shutter 40 have an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the drum 6 (see FIG. 5), and are reciprocally rotated by the cylindrical rotating body 32 and the arm 34. , Moves back and forth along the outer peripheral surface of the drum 6.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions 40a and the notches 40b of the comb-shaped shutter 40 are alternately provided at six places, and the protrusions 40a and the notches 40b are respectively provided. Each row 2A, 2B, 2 of the drum 6
C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 2I, 2J, 2
It is located on the pocket 2 of K and 2L. The convex portion 40a of the comb-shaped shutter 40 is located on one pocket 2 of the corresponding row to cover this pocket, and the notch 40b provided in the middle thereof is covered with the convex portion 40a. It is located on the pocket 2 next to, and this pocket 2 is open.

Further, the comb-shaped shutter 40 is in the non-operating position in which the cylindrical rotary member 32 and the arm 34 integral with the rotary member 32 are pulled by the spring 36 and abut against the stopper 38, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, one of the rows 2X of the pockets 2 located immediately below the opening of the chute 12 is located above the row 2Y on the upstream side, and every other pocket 2 of the rows 2Y is located. It is closed and the middle pocket 2 is open.

On the side surface of the drum 6 on the side of the cylindrical rotating body 32 (left side in FIG. 3), there are V-shaped engaging grooves 6a in the same number as the number of pockets 2 in each row (36 in this embodiment). Are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. On the other hand, an engaging claw 44 that engages with the V-shaped engaging groove 6a is provided at a position facing the wall surface of the drum 6 near the base of the arm 34 to which the comb-like shutter 40 is fixed. It is slidable in the direction. The engagement claw 44 is moved back and forth by the air cylinder 46, and the engagement groove 6a and the engagement claw 44 disconnect the connection between the drum 6 and the arm 34 (that is, the shutter 40). 48 are configured. Therefore, when the engaging claw 44 advances due to the operation of the air cylinder 46, the engaging claw 44 meshes with any one of the V-shaped engaging grooves 6a, and the tubular rotating body 32 is connected to the drum 6. When the engaging claws 44 retreat together, the engaging claws 44 are disengaged from the V-shaped engaging grooves 6a and separated from the drum 6 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. ing.

Next, the operation of the counting and filling machine having the above structure will be described. When the number of tablets 10 to be filled in the container 14 is an even number, the engagement claws 44 are retracted by the air cylinder 46 to leave the engagement with the V-shaped engagement groove 6a. In this case, the cylindrical rotating body 32 is separated from the drum 6, and is pulled by the spring 36 to be in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. That is,
The convex portion 40a of the comb-shaped shutter 40 has a row (2 in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) located upstream of the pocket 2 in the row (2X in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) into which the tablet 10 is loaded from the chute 12.
It is located above the pocket 2 of Y). Therefore, since the comb-like shutter 40 is not interposed between the chute 12 and the pocket 2, the tablets 10 are taken out from the chute 12 into all the pockets 2 of each row as the drum 6 rotates. It The tablets 10 accommodated in each of the pockets 2 are conveyed downward by the rotation of the drum 6, and the tablets 10 in the two rows of pockets 2 are put into one filling guide 16 and filled into one container. To be done.

The drum 6 is adapted to be intermittently rotated by a driving means such as a servomotor, and an angle set in advance according to the number of tablets 10 filled in the container 14 (this device). In this case, since one container 14 is filled with the tablets 10 in the pockets 2 for two columns, one row of the number of tablets 10 filled in one container 14 is half. It rotates by the number of pockets 2), pauses, and then rotates again by the set angle.
The container conveyor 18 also runs and stops in synchronization with the rotation and stop of the drum 6.

In this embodiment, the filling shutter 22 causes the opening below the filling guide 16 until half the number of tablets 10 to be filled in the container 14 falls and accumulates in the filling guide 16. Keep closed. When half the number of tablets 10 to be filled in the container 14 are stored in the filling guide 16, the filling shutter 22 is moved horizontally to match the passage hole with the lower opening of the filling guide 16. The tablets 10 stored in the filling guide 16 are filled in the container 14. After that, the filling shutter 22 is kept open until the predetermined number of fillings is reached, and the container 14 is filled.

The filling guide 16 is closed by the filling shutter 22 because if the tablet 10 is directly put into the container 14, the tablet 10 may be cracked, and conversely, the entire amount of the filling guide 16 may be broken. This is because the tablets 10 may not fall into the container 14 smoothly and become in a bridge state if they are stored in the container and charged into the container 14 at one time. Therefore, the number of tablets 10 stored in the filling guide 16 by the filling shutter 22 is not limited to one half of the filling number as described above, and the tablets 10 do not crack and smoothly enter the container 14. The filling shutter 22 may be opened and put into the container 16 after storing an appropriate number of drops.

The containers 14 conveyed by the container conveyer 18 are stopped at the filling position below the filling guide 16 and a predetermined number of tablets 10 are filled in the containers 14, and then the conveyer 18 is operated again. Then, the container 14 that has been completely filled is carried out, and the container 14 to be filled next is carried into the filling position. The above operation is performed while the container transport conveyor 18 is stopped to fill the tablets 10. As described above, when the number of tablets 10 filled in each container 14 is even, the comb-shaped shutter 4 for odd filling is used.
Fill without operating 0.

Next, tablets 1 to be filled in one container 14
The operation when the number of 0s is an odd number will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. The drum 6 is rotating in the direction of arrow R, and the tablets 10 are placed in the pockets 2 passing below the chute 12, respectively. Shoot 1 of the last one of the preset numbers to be filled in the container 14.
In the case of taking out from one of the two, the row (shown by the symbol P in FIGS. 7 to 10) having the pocket 2 for taking out one of them is the shoot 12.
At a point immediately before, the engaging claw 44 is advanced by the air cylinder 46 and meshes with the V-shaped engaging groove 6a on the side surface of the drum 6 to turn on the clutch 58 (FIG. 7).
State).

The drum 6 continues to rotate, and the engaging claw 44
Is engaged with the engaging groove 6a, and at the same time, the comb-like shutter 40 fixed to the arm 34 of the cylindrical rotating body 32 starts to rotate together with the drum 6. When the drum 6 rotates one pitch (one pocket line), the row P for taking out the last one tablet 10 moves directly below the chute 12, and the comb-shaped shutter 40 also rotates one pitch to form the comb-shaped shutter. The convex portion 40a of 40 enters between the opening of the chute 12 and the pocket 2 to prevent the tablet 10 from falling (state of FIG. 8). At this time, the convex portion 40 of the comb-shaped shutter 40
The pocket 2 located between the pockets 2 covered by a (the pocket 2 located on the other side of the paper surface of FIG. 8) is located between the convex portions 40a of the comb-shaped shutter 40. The tablets 10 are dropped from the chutes 12 corresponding to the pockets 2 through the notches 40b.

When the drum 6 continues to rotate and further moves by one pitch, the comb-like shutter 40 also moves by one pitch together with the drum 6, and its convex portion 40a covers the pocket 2 of the row P covered in FIG. Figure 9
Reach the position. Then, the pocket 2 of the row Q next to the pocket 2 of the row P from which only one piece is to be taken out is moved directly below the chute 12. Therefore, the pocket 2 of the above row P
Out of which 1 was covered by the convex portion 40a of the shutter 40
The third pocket 2 passes below the chute 12 in an empty state. The rotation of the drum 6 is stopped at this position. When the drum 6 is stopped, the comb-shaped shutter 40 is also connected to the drum 6 by the clutch 48, and therefore is stopped together with the drum 6.

Here, the engaging claw 4 is moved by the air cylinder 46.
Retreat 4. When the engaging claw 44 slips out of the V-shaped engaging groove 6 a and the clutch 48 is turned off, the cylindrical rotary body 32 to which the comb shutter 40 is fixed is separated from the drum 6. The cylindrical rotating body 32 is constantly pulled by a spring 36 in a direction opposite to the rotation direction R of the drum 6, and when separated from the drum 6, the cylindrical rotating body 32 rotates clockwise from the position of FIG. It escapes from below and returns to the state before operation (the position in FIG. 7), and the chute 12 has its opening opened. Then, the tablet 10 is loaded into the pocket 2 located below the chute 12. As a result, among the pockets 2 in the row P, the tablets 10 are not loaded into the pockets 2 that are rotated while being covered by the convex portions 40a of the comb-shaped shutter 40, and the pockets in the middle are in between. Since the tablets 10 are accommodated in the container 2, the tablets 10 in the pockets 2 for two rows are filled in one container 14 to be an odd number. Thus, by filling the tablets 10 in the two rows of pockets 2 into one container 14, high-speed filling can be performed while performing accurate counting.
In addition, an odd number of fillings can be performed with a simple configuration and without lowering the performance when performing even filling.

In the above embodiment, the shutter 40
Is connected to the drum 6 via the clutch 48 so as to rotate integrally with the drum 6. However, an independent drive means is provided, and the convex portion 40a is provided between the position where the opening of the chute 12 is closed and the position where it is opened. You may move it back and forth with. Further, the operation of the shutter 40 to close the opening of the chute 12 to prevent the tablets 10 from being put into the pocket 2 is not necessarily limited to the last one taking out, but one container. It may be carried out at any time from the start to the end of the filling. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the articles to be filled are not limited to the tablets 10.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, a drum having a plurality of pockets for accommodating articles formed on the outer peripheral surface in a plurality of rows, a rotating means for rotating the drum, and each row of the drums. A plurality of rows of chutes for respectively loading articles into the pockets, a guide for receiving articles in the pockets for two rows of the drum and filling the container into one container, and a chute by closing one of the two rows of pockets. Two rows of shutters are provided by including a shutter having a closing portion that can prevent the entry of articles from the inside and a driving means that moves the shutter back and forth between a position where the closing portion closes the chute and a position where the shutter opens. An odd number of fillings can be performed with the same capacity as an even number of fillings by the counting and filling machine for filling the articles supplied in 1. into one container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a counting and filling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the counting and filling machine.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing an odd number taking-out mechanism of the counting and filling machine.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of an odd number taking-out mechanism of the counting and filling machine.

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing a main part of an odd number taking-out mechanism of the counting and filling machine.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a container transport conveyor.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation when filling an odd number of tablets.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the operation when filling an odd number of tablets, showing the next stage of FIG. 7.

9 is a diagram for explaining the operation when filling an odd number of tablets, showing the next stage of FIG. 8. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the operation when filling an odd number of tablets, showing the next stage of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 pockets 6 drums 10 articles (tablets) 12 chutes 14 containers 16 guides (filling guides) 40 shutters 40a shutter closures (projections)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drum having a large number of pockets for accommodating articles formed in a plurality of rows on its outer peripheral surface, a rotating means for rotating the drum, and a plurality of rows of chutes for introducing articles into the pockets of each row of the drum. And a guide for receiving articles in pockets for two rows of the drum and filling the same in one container, and a closing portion capable of blocking one of the two rows of pockets to prevent the articles from being input from the chute. And a drive unit for moving the shutter forward and backward between a position where the closing part closes the chute and a position where the closing part opens the shutter.