JPH0886757A - Device for observing external appearance of powder-compressed molding - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a device for observing the external appearance of a powder-compressed molding, having a small number of part items for its conveyance means used for conveying tablets to be observed at their fronts and backs and having simple constitution for the conveyance means. CONSTITUTION: A turntable 23 having a plurality of feeding holes 25 therein is provided on a fixed base 22 having both a detecting part 26 and a tablet discharging part 27, and a first CCD camera 30 whose viewing field is the track of travel of the feeding holes is provided above the table and a second CCD camera 32 whose viewing field is the detecting part is provided below the fixed base. A molding supply means 29 which supplies tablets A one by one into the feeding holes is provided outside the table, and a suction head 28 which causes the tablets to float up from the base at the detecting part is provided. The tablets fed into the feeding holes and conveyed by the rotation of the table are photographed at their fronts by the first CCD camera under illumination, and then photographed at their backs using the second CCD camera under illumination for the observation of the fronts and backs of the tablets.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to appearance defects on the front surface and the back surface of a powder compression molded product such as tablets produced by a rotary powder compression molding machine such as a rotary tableting machine, that is, cracking, Appearance observation of powder compression molded products to obtain inspection information for inspecting for contamination or adhesion of foreign substances typified by chipping, sticking, oil stains, and metal pieces Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, the visual inspection of tablets manufactured by a rotary tableting machine is generally dependent on visual inspection, but some of them are CCD (charge coupled device) image sensors. An observation device is provided for obtaining inspection information using the.

As shown in FIG. 15, this observing apparatus comprises a pair of conveying drums 1 and 2, a tablet feeder 3, and a pair of CCs.
The D camera 4 and 5 and the pair of projectors 6 and 7 are provided. The pair of transport drums 1 and 2 are each formed by fitting a transport body 9 rotatable around its axis around a fixed drum base 8 having a cylindrical shape. Drum base 8
A suction chamber 8a having an arc-shaped outer wall with which the inner peripheral surface of the carrier 7 slides is formed in the peripheral part of the. The outer wall has a slit-shaped suction port 8b extending in the direction around the axis of the drum base 8.
And the exhaust port 8c of the suction chamber 8a communicates with a vacuum suction source (not shown).

Both transporting bodies 9 are synchronously rotated at the same speed in opposite directions (indicated by arrows E and F). Both carriers 9
Has concave suction concave portions 9a on its outer peripheral surface at regular intervals, and these suction concave portions 9a
It is formed with a ventilation path 9b extending to the bottom of the carrier and the inner peripheral surface of the carrier 9. An opening end of the ventilation passage 9b with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the carrier 9 is communicated with the suction port 8b.

Such a pair of conveying drums 1 and 2 are arranged vertically and obliquely with a gap between them sandwiching the tablet G therebetween. The tablet feeder 3 is provided right above the transport drum 1 at the upper position.

The tablets are carried by the two carrying drums 1 and 2 as follows. That is, when the transporting body 9 of the transporting drum 1 in the upper position is rotated (the rotation direction is indicated by E in FIG. 12), the ventilation passage 9 b communicates with the upper end portion of the suction chamber 8,
The tablet G located at the lowermost end of the tablet feeder 3 is sucked into the suction concave portion 9a connected to the ventilation passage 9b by exposing one surface of the tablet G by the vacuum suction force spreading through the ventilation passage 9b. Thereafter, the tablet G is transported according to the rotation of the transport body 9 of the transport drum 1. And the transport drum 1
When the air passage 9b reaches the lower end of the suction chamber 8, the transported tablet G is sandwiched in the narrowest portion between the transport bodies 9 of the upper and lower transport drums 1 and 2.

At this point, the suction recess 9a in the carrier 9 of the lower transport drum 2 that sandwiches the tablet G between the upper transport drum 1 and the suction recess 9a in the suction chamber 9b is connected to the suction recess 9a. Since it is communicated with the upper end of the tablet 8, the tablet G is sucked into the suction recess 9a. Immediately after this, the suction force for the tablets G by the upper conveying drum 1 disappears. In this way, the tablets are transferred from the upper transport drum 1 to the lower transport drum 2. From this point onward, the tablet G is transported according to the rotation of the transport body 9 of the transport drum 2 with the other surface exposed. Then, the tablet G is transferred to the transport drum 2.
When the air passage 9b reaches the lower end of the suction chamber 8, the air passage 9b is disengaged from the air intake chamber 8 of the transport drum 2 and the suction force for the tablet G disappears. It falls down by its own weight. As described above, the tablet G is transported in the S shape along the pair of transport drums 1 and 2.

The pair of CCD cameras 4 and 5 are cameras using a CCD image sensor in their light receiving parts.
One CCD camera 4 is arranged so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the upper conveying drum 1 and at a position where an image of one surface of a tablet conveyed by the drum 1 is imaged, and similarly the other CCD camera 5 is arranged on the lower conveying drum. It is arranged so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the tablet 2 and image the other surface of the tablet conveyed by the drum 2. One of the pair of projectors 6, 7 is a CCD
The field of view of the camera 4 is illuminated, and the other projector 7 illuminates the field of view of the CCD camera 5.

Therefore, as described above, the tablets G, which are conveyed one by one by obtaining the S-shaped path, have one surface on the outer peripheral surface of the upper conveying drum 1 under the illumination of the projector 6 under the illumination of the CCD. The image is taken by the camera 4, and the other surface is taken by the CCD camera 5 under the illumination of the projector 7 on the outer peripheral surface of the transport drum 2 on the lower side. By such observation, inspection information on the front and back surfaces of the tablet G can be obtained, respectively. The output signals (inspection information) from the CCD cameras 4 and 5 are processed by a signal processing unit (not shown), and the presence or absence of defects such as surface stains is detected thereby.

[0010]

In the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the tablet, which is a powder compression molded product, is transported through the S-shaped path and the front and back surfaces thereof are directed to the CCD cameras 4 and 5. It is necessary to use a pair of conveying drums 1 and 2 as a means, and there are problems that the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated.

Further, the suction concave portion 9 of each of the conveying drums 1 and 2
The shape and thickness of a need to be different for each type of tablet, but since the carrier 9 and the drum base 8 in which these recesses 9a are formed are assembled as one set, they correspond to the type of tablet. A pair of transport drums 1, 2
The whole must be replaced with a compatible one. In addition, the shortest distance between the transport drums 1 and 2 to which the tablets are inverted and delivered needs to be changed according to the thickness of the tablets. For this reason, the conventional device is suitable as an external appearance observing device for a certain specific type of tablet, but there is a problem in that it is not suitable as a device for observing the front and back surfaces of many types of tablets. An object of the present invention is to obtain an appearance observing device for a powder compression molded product, which has a small number of parts of a transporting means for transporting the powder compression molded product and can be simply constructed.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an appearance observing device for powder compression molding according to the present invention is provided rotatably in the vicinity of a fixed base and an upper surface of the fixed base. A turntable, a turntable driving unit that rotationally drives the table, and a plurality of transport holes provided on a circle drawn with a predetermined radius from the center of the turntable and spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the turntable. A detection unit provided on the fixed base over the upper and lower surfaces of the transfer hole so as to face the movement loci of the transport holes; and to face the movement locus apart from the detection unit on the front side in the rotation direction of the turntable. The turntable is placed between the molded product discharge section provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the fixed base and the detection section above the detection section, and is carried on the detection section. And a suction head for vacuum-sucking the powder compression molded products to float above the fixed base, and to supply the powder compression molded products one by one to the transfer hole at a position separated from the molded product discharge portion to the front side in the rotation direction of the turntable. And a molded product supply unit that is on the front side in the rotation direction of the turntable with respect to the supply position by the molded product supply unit and between the supply position and the detection unit above the turntable with the view of the movement trajectory. A back side of the powder compression molded product, which is arranged and has a first CCD camera for capturing an image of the surface of the powder compression molded product in the transfer hole, or the detection unit is located below the fixed base as a field of view and is adsorbed by the adsorption head. A first CCD camera for picking up an image through the detection unit, and the first CCD arranged above the turntable or below the fixed base. A first light projector for illuminating the field of view of the camera, is arranged the detecting portion as a viewing below the fixed base, a second imaging the back surface of the powder compression molding adsorbed to the suction head through the detection unit
A CCD camera, or a front side in the rotation direction of the turntable with respect to the detection unit, is disposed above the turntable with the movement path as a visual field between the detection unit and the molded product discharge unit, and the transfer hole is provided. A second CCD camera for taking an image of the surface of the powder compression-molded product inside, and a second projector arranged below the fixed base or above the turntable to illuminate the field of view of the second CCD camera.

[0013]

In the configuration of the appearance observing device, the compressed powder products such as tablets are supplied one by one by the operation of the molded product supply means to the respective transport holes of the turntable which are rotationally driven by the turntable driving unit. The goods are transported according to the rotation of the turntable. The fixed base arranged under the turntable supports the powder compression molded product in the transfer hole from below, except for the molded product discharge part and the detection part, and prevents the molded product from falling. . The suction head vacuum-sucks the powder compression molded product that has been moved to the detection unit from above to prevent this molded product from falling from the detection unit, and the molded product discharge unit moves the powder to the detection unit. The compression molded product is dropped and discharged from the turntable.

The first CCD camera picks up an image of the surface of the powder compression molded product in the transfer hole illuminated by the first floodlight from above the turntable between the supply position of the molded product supply means and the detection section, or An image of the back surface of the powder compression molded product, which is adsorbed by the adsorption head through the detection unit and illuminated by the first projector from below the fixed base, is captured. Second
The CCD camera picks up an image of the back surface of the powder compression molded product which is sucked by the suction head and is illuminated by the second projector from below the fixed base, or between the detection part and the molded product discharge part. An image of the surface of the powder compression molded product illuminated by the second floodlight is imaged from above the turntable.

Therefore, in this appearance observing device, the powder compressed product such as tablets supplied by the molded product supply means is the first CC.
At the stage of being brought into the field of view of the D camera, the inspection information on the front surface or the back side of the powder compressed product is obtained by the imaging of this camera, and at the stage when the powder compressed product is brought to the field of view of the second CCD camera, Inspection information about the back surface or the front surface of the powder compression product is obtained by imaging, and then the powder compression molding product is dropped from the molding product discharge section by its own weight and discharged, and then again unobserved at the supply position by the molding product supply means. Receive the powder compression molded product and repeat the above observation cycle.

According to such an observation operation, it is not necessary to invert the powder compression molded product in order to observe the front and back surfaces of the molded product. Therefore, there is no need for a pair of related transportation means for inverting the molded product, and the front and back surfaces of the powder compression molded product can be observed without changing the posture of the powder compression molded product during transportation on the turntable as one transportation means. Since the processing can be performed, the number of parts of the transfer means is small and the structure can be simplified.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is an example applied to a tablet appearance observing device for obtaining inspection information on the front and back surfaces of a tablet as a powder compression molded product, and is incorporated in, for example, a tablet manufacturing processing line whose core is a rotary tableting machine 11. It is provided in.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 is a turntable provided in the rotary tabletting machine 11, 13 is a die attached to the turntable 12, 14 is a lower punch provided by inserting a tip portion into a die hole of the die, A is a tablet tableted by the rotary tablet machine 11. The tablet A has, for example, a circular planar shape, and the front and back surfaces are bulged so as to form a part of a spherical surface, so that the tablet A is formed in a go-stone shape. Further, 15 is a sampling means. The sampling means 15 is operated at predetermined time intervals so that the rotary tabletting machine 1 is operated.
A predetermined number of tablets A compressed in 1 are taken out from the rotary disk 12 for the appearance observation of the front and back surfaces thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, the appearance observing device 21
Is a fixed base 22, a turntable 23, a turntable drive unit 24, a plurality of transport holes 25, and a detection unit 2
6, a molded product discharge unit 27, a suction head 28, a molded product supply means 29, a first CCD camera 30, a first light projector 31, a second CCD camera 32, and a second light projector 33. . In addition, reference numeral 35 in FIG. 1 denotes a signal processing unit that forms a tablet appearance inspection device together with the appearance observation device 21, and reference numeral 36 similarly denotes a selection mechanism that forms a tablet selection device together with the appearance inspection device 21.

The fixed base 22 is composed of a horizontally placed disc, and the inner portion surrounded by the peripheral portion is concave. The upper surface of the peripheral portion of the fixed base 22 is formed as a smooth surface in order to minimize the sliding resistance of the tablet A and prevent the back surface of the tablet A from being scratched by the sliding. The turntable 23 is a circular table having the same diameter as the fixed base 22, and the lower surface of the peripheral portion thereof is rotatably provided close to the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the fixed base 22.

The turntable 23 has a fixed base 22.
The turntables of different types are combined with the fixed base 22 and set. Here, the heterogeneous turntable is a table in which at least one of the elements determining the type such as the shape and arrangement of the plurality of transport holes 25 provided therein is different, and the turntable is different depending on the type of tablet to be observed. If necessary, the turntable is replaced and used.

The turntable drive unit 24 uses a motor as a drive source (not shown), and is provided with an intermittent transmission mechanism which is interlocked with the motor.
3 is given to the central axis 23a, for example. As a result, the turntable 23 is intermittently driven to rotate. The arrow B in the figure indicates the direction of rotation of the turntable 23. The rotation angle θ of the turntable 23 moved by this intermittent drive is equal to the angle (acute angle) sandwiched by the straight lines connecting the centers of the pair of adjacent transport holes 25 and the center of the turntable 23.

The plurality of transport holes 25 are formed in a larger size so that the tablet A can pass therethrough, preferably in a shape corresponding to the shape of the tablet A, for example, a hole having a circular planar shape. These transport holes 25 are provided so as to penetrate through the peripheral portion of the turntable 23 in the thickness direction, are located on a circle drawn with a predetermined radius r from the center of the turntable 23, and surround the turntable 23. Are provided with a predetermined pitch in the direction. The lower end opening of each of the transport holes 25 is provided with a gap equal to or smaller than the thickness of the tablet A to the fixed base 22.
The tablet A is located close to the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the tablet so that the tablet A does not come out from between them.

The detection unit 26 and the molded product discharge unit 27 are moved along the loci of the respective transport holes 25 (note that this is represented by the center line of the locus drawn by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1. The line coincides with the circle drawn with the radius r.) And is provided on the peripheral portion of the fixed base 22. The molded product discharging section 27 is provided with a turntable 23 for the detecting section 26.
It is provided at a position distant to the front side in the rotation direction. The detection unit 26 and the molded product discharge unit 27 are respectively the fixed base 2
The through hole provided in the peripheral portion of the upper and lower surfaces of the second portion has a circular shape in plan view (both are larger than the transport hole 25), but the fixed base is used instead of the through hole. It may be formed with a notch groove which is also opened on the peripheral surface of 22.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 8 to 10, the suction head 28 is disposed above the detection unit 26.
A turntable 23 is disposed between the two. The suction head 28 has a hollow box shape and is provided with a connection port 28b at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of a head main body 28a extending in an arc shape along the circumferential direction of the turntable 23, and an upper surface of the turntable 23. An intake port 28c is formed in the lower surface wall that is close to and opposed to the.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the intake port 28c is formed by an arcuate slit facing a part of the center line of the locus, and the intake port 28c is seen in a projection manner. The detector 26 is provided so as to pass through the center of the detector 26 and cross the detector 26. The connection hole 28b is connected to a vacuum suction source via an intake hose (not shown).

The molded product supply means 29 is provided with a molded product discharge section 27.
On the other hand, it is provided outside the turntable 23 at a position (supply position) apart from the front side in the rotational direction of the turntable 23, and supplies the tablets A one by one to the transport holes 25 at the supply position. . In this embodiment, the supply means 29 is formed by including a parts feeder 41, a supply plate 42, and a delivery mechanism 43 as shown in FIG.

The parts feeder 41 shown in FIG. 1 is of a vibration type, and the sampling means 1 is provided inside the parts feeder 41.
A predetermined amount of tablets A, which are appropriately sampled by 5, are supplied. This parts feeder 41 has a receiving bottom portion 41a at the lowest position, an outlet portion 41b at the highest position, and an ascending bottom surface 41c that gradually rises toward the outlet portion 41b while swirling from the receiving bottom portion 41b. This bottom surface 41c
A regulating portion 41d standing upright from the above and a vibrating means (not shown) for vibrating the entire feeder 41 are provided. The parts feeder 41 moves the tablet A supplied into the receiving bottom portion 41a toward the outlet portion 41b while climbing the rising bottom surface 41c by the vibration given by the vibrating means,
In the movement process, they are arranged along the regulating portion 41d.

At the outlet 41b of the parts feeder 41,
A gutter-shaped shooter 44 is attached so as to be continuous with this, and a shutter mechanism 45 is provided at the boundary between the shooter 44 and the outlet 41b. In addition, a receiving container 46 for receiving the surplus tablet is arranged below the inclined lower end portion of the shooter 44.

When the shutter operation for the outlet portion 41b by the shutter mechanism 45 is released, the outlet portion 41 is moved along with the transfer operation of the tablet A by the parts feeder 41.
Receiving container 4 for tablet A passing through b via shooter 44
6 can be supplied. Thereby, the sampling means 1
Among the tablets A supplied to the parts feeder 41 with a margin by 5, the remaining tablets A other than the predetermined number supplied to the turntable 23 can be taken out from the parts feeder 41 to the receiving container 46 as a surplus.

The shutter mechanism 45 is shown in detail in FIG. 6, and the mechanism 45 is formed by mounting a rotary solenoid 48 on a mechanism support plate 47 and a shutter plate 49 on a rotary shaft 48a of the solenoid 48. . The shutter plate 49 is reciprocally rotated by a predetermined angle by switching the application direction of the exciting current to the solenoid 48.

The shutter plate 49 is provided as a boundary between the shooter 44 and the outlet portion 41b as shown in FIG. 5, and normally closes the outlet portion 41b in order to prevent delivery of the tablet A from the outlet portion 41b. Although it is arranged at the position, when the surplus tablet is discharged, it is moved below the outlet portion 41b as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the supply plate 42 is disposed on the turntable 2 in the supply position.
3 is arranged close to the upper surface. In addition, 51 in FIG.
Is a support for a supply plate such as a pillar. The supply plate 42 is provided with an arc-shaped standby groove 52 along the movement locus. The standby groove 52 accommodates a plurality of tablets A, and the bottom surface thereof is inclined so as to become gradually deeper from the rear side in the rotational direction of the turntable 23 to the front side in the rotational direction. A supply hole 53 having a size that allows the tablet A to pass through is formed at the lowest end of the standby groove 52.

Therefore, a plurality of tablets A supplied to the supply plate 42 are waited in a line in the waiting groove 52 as shown in FIG. 4, and when the transport hole 25 is located directly below the supply hole 53, the stand-by is waited. Tablet A in supply hole 53 of groove 52
However, it is dropped by its own weight and supplied to the conveying hole 25 facing downward. Further, at a time other than this supply time, the upper surface of the turntable 23 faces the supply hole 53 and the upper surface prevents the tablet A from dropping, so that the supply operation of the tablet A is not performed.

The delivery mechanism 43 includes a parts feeder 41.
In order to transfer the tablets aligned by
It is provided over these and the structure is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This mechanism 43 has a mechanism base 61.
A suction arm 62, a lift 63, and a suction portion 64.

A guide shaft 65 is horizontally provided on the mechanism base 61, and a suction arm 62 is slidably fitted and supported on the shaft 65. The suction arm 62 is connected to a reciprocating means 66 such as an air cylinder, and this means 6
Along with the movement of No. 6, it slides in the axial direction of the guide shaft 65 and reciprocates between a first position and a second position described later.

The elevator 63, as shown in FIG.
It is formed of an air cylinder in which a lifting rod 63b is connected to the tip of the piston rod 63a. The elevator 63 is fixed to the suction arm 62. Note that 62
Reference numeral a is a sliding hole for guiding the lifting operation of the lifting rod 63b, and the lower portion of the lifting rod 63b projects from the lower end of the hole 62a. At the lower part of the lifting rod 63b, there are provided vent holes 67 that are opened on the peripheral surface and the lower end surface, respectively, and an intake tube 68 that is connected to a portion of the vent hole 67 that is opened on the peripheral surface. It is connected.

The air supply / exhaust tubes 69, 70 connected to the air inlet / outlet 68 and the air inlet / outlet of the elevator 65 are shown in FIG.
The air pressure unit 71 shown in FIG. The air pressure unit 71 generates a positive pressure and a negative pressure, and when the supply / exhaust tubes 69 and 70 are selectively applied with a positive pressure, the other is connected to the atmosphere. While performing, give a negative pressure to the intake tube 68,
Alternatively, it is adapted to switch to the atmosphere.

The suction portion 64 is fitted to the lower end portion of the elevating rod 63b and is detachably attached by a screw 72 so as to be replaceable. The suction portion 64 is provided with a suction concave surface 64a and a ventilation path 64b that connects the concave surface 64a and the ventilation hole 67, and the suction concave surface 64a is formed at the lower end surface of the suction portion 64. The suction concave surface 64a is provided in a shape corresponding to the shape of the tablet. Then, a plurality of suction portions 64 are prepared in advance according to the type of the tablet A, and one that is suitable for the type of the tablet A is selected from among them and the lifting rod 63 is selected.
It is screwed to the lower end of b.

The first position is the suction concave surface 64 of the suction portion 64.
a is the tablet A blocked at the outlet 41b
It is a position just facing directly above the tablet A located at the most distal end of the group, and the second position is such that the suction concave surface 64a has an inclined upper end in the standby groove 52 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is the position just opposite to the part just above.

Each time the sampled tablets A are supplied to the parts feeder 41, the molded product supply means 29 having the above-described structure operates as follows. Since the outlet part 41b of the parts feeder 41 is normally closed by the shutter plate 49 of the shutter mechanism 45, the vibrating means of the parts feeder 41 operates to move up the rising slope 41c from the receiving bottom part 41a to the regulating part 41d. The tablets A guided along are gradually aligned in a line in a predetermined posture, and then the shutter plate 4
The movement is hindered at 9 and the aligned state is maintained at the outlet portion 41b.

On the other hand, the suction arm 62 of the delivery mechanism 43
Is reciprocated along the guide shaft 65 between the first position and the second position by the operation of the reciprocating means 66. And
At the first position, negative pressure is introduced into the adsorption tube 68 so that the adsorption section 64 sucks air, and positive pressure is introduced into the piston lowering supply / exhaust tube 69 of the elevator 63 while piston raising / exhausting air is supplied. Since the tube 70 is opened to the atmosphere, the piston rod 63a is lowered, and thereafter,
Since the supply / exhaust tube 69 is opened to the atmosphere while positive pressure is introduced to the supply / exhaust tube 70, the piston rod 6
3a is raised. Further, in the second position, the piston rod 63a is first lowered and then raised by switching to the supply / exhaust tubes 69 and 70 similar to the above.
Moreover, prior to this ascending operation, the intake tube 68 is opened to the atmosphere, and the suction force at the suction portion 64 disappears.

Therefore, the tablet located at the extreme end of the tablet group aligned at the first position is sucked onto the suction concave surface 64a of the suction portion 64 which descends together with the piston rod 63a, and the suction portion 64 is absorbed. The suction arm 62 is moved from the first position to the second position in the state of returning to the raised position. In the second position, the piston rod 63
Since the negative pressure to the suction portion 64 which is descended together with a and comes closest to the inclined upper end portion of the standby groove 52 in the supply plate 42 is cut off and communicated with the atmosphere, the tablet A adsorbed to the suction portion 64 is Due to its own weight, it falls into the standby groove 52 and is stored. Then, the suction portion 64 is lifted together with the piston rod 63a. Next, by the operation of the reciprocating means 66, the suction arm 62 is returned from the second position to the first position along the guide shaft 65 while keeping the suction portion 64 in the raised position.

That is, 1 in the molded product supply means 29
The supply cycle is completed as described above, and the supply cycle described above is repeated until the predetermined quantity is reached, and one tablet A is supplied to the supply plate 42 in each supply cycle. The supply of the tablets A from the supply plate 42 to the transport holes 25 of the turntable 23 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first CCD camera 30 has a turn position on the front side in the rotational direction of the turntable 23 with respect to the supply position by the molded product supply means 29 and between the supply position and the detection unit 26. The moving path of the transport hole 25 is arranged above the table 23 as a visual field. This camera 30 has a one-dimensional or two-dimensional CCD (charge c
(upled device) image sensor 30a (see FIG. 7) is used, and the image sensor 30a outputs an electric signal of a voltage level according to the detected light amount.

FIG. 7 shows the first light projector 31.
The projector 31 is arranged between the turntable 23 and the first CCD camera 30 and uses the ring fluorescent lamp 31a as an illumination light source. The transport hole 26 for the first CCD camera 30 passes through the space surrounded by the lamp 31a. The surface of the tablet A in the inside can be imaged. The first floodlight 31 is used to obtain the brightness necessary for imaging the surface of the tablet A in the transport hole 25 and to emphasize the shadow (contrast) of the surface. In addition, 3 in FIG.
Reference numeral 1b denotes a ring-shaped light shield plate which is provided to prevent the light of the lamp 31a from directly entering the first CCD camera 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, the second CCD camera 32 is arranged below the fixed base 22 with the detection section 26 as the field of view. Like the first CCD camera 30, this camera 32 also has a one-dimensional or two-dimensional CCD (charge coupled device) as a light receiving element that receives light through a lens.
e) Image sensor 32a (see FIGS. 9 and 10)
The image sensor 32a outputs an electric signal having a voltage level corresponding to the detected light amount.

The second projector 33 is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This floodlight 33 has a fixed base 22 and a second C
It is arranged between the CD camera 32 and the ring type fluorescent lamp 33.
a is used as an illumination light source, and the back surface of the tablet A can be imaged by the second CCD camera 32 through the space surrounded by the lamp 33a. Second floodlight 33
Are used to obtain the brightness necessary for imaging the back surface of the tablet A and to enhance the shadow (contrast) of the back surface. In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, reference numeral 33b denotes a ring-shaped light shield plate, and the light of the lamp 33a is the second CCD.
It is provided so as not to directly enter the camera 32.

The first and second CCD cameras 30, 32
The electric signals output from the image sensors 30a and 32a included in the device are supplied to the signal processing unit 35 shown in FIG. The signal processing unit 35 includes a contour extracting unit, a comparing unit in which a certain threshold value is set, an area calculating unit, and an area comparing unit. The contour extracting means extracts the contour of the tablet A from the electric signal (imaging signal) supplied thereto. The comparing means compares whether or not the voltage level of the electric signal (imaging signal) for the inside portion of the extracted contour, that is, the tablet A is a value exceeding the threshold, and the electric level of the electric voltage of the threshold value or more is compared. The signal is recognized as a normal portion, and the electric signal having a voltage level below the threshold value is recognized as a defective portion.

The area calculating means calculates the area of the defective portion or the normal portion based on the number of elements of the image sensors 30a and 32a divided by the recognition.
The total surface area or the total back surface area of the tablet is input as an initial value (reference area value) in advance to the area comparison means, and this area comparison means calculates the ratio of the area value of the defective portion or the normal portion to the reference area value. Ask. Then, the area comparison means has an averaging unit for obtaining the average of the total of the above area ratios for a predetermined number of tablets in order to obtain the stability of defect detection, and the processing in this averaging unit By this, when the ratio of the defective portion exceeds a certain value or when the ratio of the normal portion falls below a certain value, an operation stop signal is sent to the rotary tabletting machine 11, based on which the rotary type tableting machine is operated. The operation of the lock machine 11 is stopped.

Further, the area comparison information on the individual tablets by the area comparison means is supplied to the selection mechanism 36 as a selection signal. That is, when the ratio of the defective portion by area comparison exceeds a certain value, or when the ratio of the normal portion is less than a certain value, it is determined that the tablet is a defective product, based on the area comparison information at that time. The area comparison means outputs a defective product discharge signal to the sorting mechanism 36, and since other tablets are determined to be non-defective, the area comparison means discharges the non-defective product to the sorting mechanism 36 based on the area comparison information. It is designed to output a signal.

The respective outputs of the signal processing unit 35 as described above are stored as production management information in an external storage device such as a printer, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk or the like (not shown) connected to the processing unit 35. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 11, the sorting mechanism 36 is attached to the lower surface of the fixed base 22 so as to cover the molded product discharge portion 27, and has a first passage 81a and a second passage 81b and forms a bifurcated shape. The chute 81 includes a chute 81, a rotary solenoid 82 attached to the outer surface of the chute 81, and a selection plate 83 connected to a rotation shaft 82a of the solenoid 82. The rotary solenoid 82 is adapted to reciprocally rotate its rotary shaft 82a by a predetermined angle by switching the application direction of the exciting current according to the selection signal. Sorting plate 83
Are arranged in the sorting chute 81 and have a first position for closing the first passage 81a as shown by a solid line in FIG. 11 and a second position for closing the second passage 81b as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is designed to be moved across.

As shown in FIG. 1, a first receiving container 84 is arranged below the first passage 81a, and similarly the second passage 8 is formed.
A second receiving container 85 is arranged below 1b. Then, for example, the first receiving container 84 is used as a non-defective product receiving, and the second receiving container 85 is used as a defective receiving product.

Therefore, according to this sorting mechanism 36,
When the selection signal is a defective product discharge signal, the rotary solenoid 82 indicates the selection plate 83 by the first line indicated by the solid line in FIG.
The tablet (defective product) that is placed at the position and drops from the molded product discharge unit 27 is discharged to the second receiving container 85 through the second passage 81b without being directed to the first passage 81a by the sorting plate 83. When the selection signal is a non-defective product discharge signal, the rotary solenoid 82 positions the selection plate 83 at the second position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
The tablets (defective products) falling from the
1st through the 1st passage 81a without going to the passage 81b
It is discharged to the receiving container 84.

In the above structure, the sampling means 15
When the sampling operation of 1 is started, the appearance observing device 21 is operated in conjunction with it. The supply operation of the tablet A by the molded product supply means 29 in the operation of the device 21 is as described above, while the turntable drive unit 24 is provided.
The operation causes the turntable 23 to rotate intermittently. The transport hole 25 of the table 23 is provided with the supply hole 53 of the supply plate 42 every time the rotation of the turntable 23 is stopped.
The tablets A waiting in the supply hole 53 each time fall due to their own weight into the conveying hole 25.

In this way, the tablet A at the supply position is operated by the operation of the molded product supply means 29 and the rotation of the turntable 23.
Are supplied to the respective transport holes 25 one by one, and the tablets A are transported according to the rotation of the turntable 23. At this time, the fixed base 22 arranged in proximity to the lower side of the turntable 23 supports the tablet A in the transport hole 25 from the lower side thereof, except for the molded product discharging section 27 and the detecting section 26. Prevent falling.

The surface of the tablet A conveyed as described above is at the first observation position defined between the supply position and the detection unit 26 (at this position, the rotation of the turntable 23 is stopped). Is illuminated by the first projector 31 from above the turntable 23.
An image is captured by electronic scanning with the CCD camera 30. The inspection information obtained by this imaging is sent to the signal processing unit 35,
By the signal processing here, it is detected whether the surface of the tablet A has a defect.

After that, the turntable 23 is intermittently rotated to a second observation position defined between the first observation position and the molded product discharge portion 27 (at this position, the turntable 2 is turned on).
The rotation of 3 is stopped. ) That is, when the tablet A is moved to a position where the detection unit 26 is present, the tablet A continues to be opposed to the suction head 28 from before that, so that the head 28 has been moved to the detection unit 26. Vacuum absorption of A from above is prevented to prevent the tablet A from falling from the detection unit 26. This state is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

At the second observation position, the back surface of the tablet A that is adsorbed by the adsorption head 28 and faces the detection section 26 is illuminated by the second projector 33 from below the fixed base 22, and the second CCD is illuminated under this illumination. An image is captured by electronic scanning with the camera 32. The inspection information obtained by this imaging is sent to the signal processing unit 35, and whether or not there is a defect on the back surface of the tablet A is detected by the signal processing here.

The tablet A whose both front and back surfaces are observed as described above is moved to the molded product discharging portion 27 after passing through the suction area of the suction head 28 by the subsequent intermittent rotation of the turntable 23 (at this position). Turntable 2
The rotation of 3 is stopped. ). Then, the tablet A is dropped by its own weight and discharged from the turntable 23 to the sorting chute 81 of the sorting mechanism 36.

By the way, the selection plate 83 of the selection mechanism 36.
11 is previously arranged at the position of the solid line or the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 11 based on the result of the defect inspection on the front and back surfaces. Therefore, when the inspection result is non-defective, the first receiving container 84 passes through the first passage 81a. When the inspection result is a defective product, it is sorted and stored in the second receiving container 85 through the second passage 81b.

The appearance observing device 21 receives the unobserved tablet A from the supply hole 45 of the supply plate 42 again at the supply position by the subsequent intermittent rotation of the turntable 23, and repeats the above observation cycle.

According to such an observation operation, it is not necessary to invert the tablet A in order to observe the front and back surfaces of the tablet A. Therefore, a pair of related transporting means for inverting the tablet A is not necessary, and the front and back surfaces of the tablet A are observed without changing the posture of the tablet A during the transport on the turntable 23 as one transporting means. Therefore, the number of parts of the conveying means is small and the structure can be simplified.

Further, in the structure of the appearance observing device 21, since the vacuum suction is not required for the transportation of the tablet A, the transportation hole 25 is not restricted by the size and shape of the tablet A, and the transportation hole 25 is not restricted. The tablets A having a size equal to or less than can be transported regardless of the shape. Therefore, the surface of various tablets A can be observed, and the versatility is high.

For tablets having a shape or size exceeding the adaptability of the transfer hole 25, the turntable 23 having the transfer holes 25 having different sizes is replaced and combined, and at this time, necessary. The suction base 64 may be replaced with a suitable one according to the above, and in these cases, the fixed base 22 is used as a common component as the transfer means. Therefore, as described above, the turntable 23
By exchanging, the appearance observing device 21 can be easily adapted to observe the front and back surfaces of many types of tablets.

Further, the appearance observing device 21 of the present embodiment is combined with the signal processing section 35 to form a defect inspection device incorporated in a tablet production line, and this inspection device is a rotary tableting machine as required. Since the machine stop signal for stopping the operation of 11 is output, by the defect detection based on the above appearance observation,
If necessary, the signal processing unit 35 can issue a machine stop signal to stop the operation of the rotary tabletting machine 11.
Therefore, manufacturing of defective products after that time can be prevented.

Further, in the present embodiment, the selection mechanism 36 is provided, and the position of the selection plate 83 is controlled by the signal processing section 35 in accordance with the inspection result, so that the good product and the defective product can be automatically selected. Good products of the collected tablets can be collected without waste, and visual inspection is not required for the collection. Moreover, since such automatic sorting can be performed, the appearance observing device 21 of the present invention can be used as an inspection / sorting device for inspecting 100% of the appearances of the tablets of each variety in the production of tablets of various types in small quantities. You can

Further, as described above, the back surface of the tablet A is imaged by adsorbing and holding the tablet from above by the adsorbing head 28.
The dust that is about to fall at 6 can be removed by suction with the suction head 28. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the dust from falling and adhering to the second CCD camera 32 and preventing the dust from interfering with imaging. Therefore, it is not necessary to fit the transparent glass for dust prevention into the detection unit 26, and therefore there is a problem when the transparent glass is fitted, that is, the tablet A slides on the surface of the transparent glass for long-term use. In the above, the problem that the glass surface is damaged or dust adheres and accumulates, which hinders the image pickup by the second CCD camera 32, can be solved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the fixed base 22 is provided with the detecting portion 26, and the appearance of the tablet A is observed at this position, so that the constitution is simple. That is, in the configuration in which the turntable 23 is rotated intermittently, a loading / unloading mechanism having the same configuration as the delivery mechanism 43 of the molded product supply means 29 is provided, and the turntable 2 is configured by this mechanism.
When the rotation of No. 3 is stopped, the tablets A in the transport hole 25 at the position corresponding to the detection portion are taken out by vacuum suction, and the back surface of the tablets A sucked and held by the suction portion 64 outside the turntable 23 is Even if the second CCD camera 32 takes an image under the illumination of the second floodlight 33, and then the tablet A is returned to the transport hole 25 at the position corresponding to the detection section by the loading / unloading mechanism, the appearance of the tablet A is not observed. It is possible. However, in the case of carrying out in this way, since the loading / unloading mechanism is required, the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated. However, in the configuration of the present embodiment, since the appearance can be observed inside the turntable 23, there is no need for the loading / unloading mechanism, and therefore, the number of parts is small and the configuration can be carried out with a simple configuration. .

In the present embodiment, the molded product supply means 29
The plurality of tablets A are placed on standby in the supply plate 42, and they are sequentially supplied to the transport holes 25 when the transport holes 25 face the supply holes 53 by their own weight.
Therefore, the rotation of the turntable 23 can be performed not by intermittent rotation but by continuous rotation.

FIG. 12 shows the essential parts of another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the arrangement of the first and second CCD cameras and the first and second light projectors, and the other structure is shown in FIG. 12 including parts not shown. 1 to 11 has the same configuration as that of the appearance observing apparatus of the one embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 11, and FIGS. With the same reference numerals,
Although the description of the configurations and the description of the operation and effects based on the configurations are omitted, these same portions also form a part of the configuration of the apparatus of the present embodiment.

In the other embodiment, the first CCD camera 30 is arranged below the fixed base 22 with the detection section 26 as a field of view, and the tablets sucked by the suction head 28 arranged above the detection section 26. The back side of A is imaged from below through the detection unit 26. The first light projector 31 is disposed below the fixed base 22 and illuminates the field of view of the first CCD camera 30. The arrangement of the first CCD camera 30 and the first light projector 31 corresponds to the arrangement of the second CCD camera 32 and the second light projector 33 in the above embodiment. The second CCD camera 32 is located on the front side of the detection unit 26 in the rotational direction of the turntable 23 and between the detection unit 26 and the molded product discharge unit 27.
Is arranged above the above as a field of view of the movement path of the transport hole 25, and the surface of the tablet A in the transport hole 25 is imaged from above.
The second light projector 33 is disposed above the turntable 23 and illuminates the visual field of the second CCD camera 32. The arrangement of the second CCD camera 32 and the second light projector 33 corresponds to the arrangement of the first CCD camera 30 and the first light projector 31 in the above embodiment. The configuration other than the above points is the same as that of the one embodiment.

In the other embodiment, when observing the front and back surfaces of the tablet A stored and moved in the transport hole 25,
The operation is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the first CCD camera 30 first images the back surface and then the second CCD camera 32 images the front surface. Therefore, also in this other embodiment, the first
It is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the embodiment, thereby achieving the intended purpose of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the sorting mechanism 36 may be omitted. Also,
When the turntable 23 is rotated intermittently, the supply plate 42 is omitted, and the tablets A are directly supplied to the transport holes 25 located at the supply position via the operation of the suction head 28 while the turntable 23 is stopped. By doing so, the structure of the molded product supply means 29 may be simplified.

[0075]

As described in detail above, according to the apparatus for observing the appearance of a powder compression-molded product according to the present invention, when observing the front and back surfaces of the powder compression-molded product, the means for carrying the powder compression-molded product is: Unlike the conventional case, there is no need for a pair of conveying means and only one turntable is required, so the number of parts of the conveying means is small and the structure can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a tablet appearance observation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a delivery mechanism of tablet supply means included in the appearance observation device according to the embodiment.

3 is a sectional view taken along line ZZ in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the outlet of the parts feeder of the tablet supply means according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a shutter mechanism provided at the outlet of the parts feeder according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a tablet surface observing unit included in the appearance observing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a configuration of a back surface observation unit of the tablet included in the appearance observation device according to the embodiment.

9 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line WW in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a tablet selection mechanism included in the appearance observation device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of a tablet appearance observation device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG.

14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line U-U in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a tablet surface observation apparatus according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 ... Appearance inspection device, 22 ... Fixed base, 23 ... Turntable, 24 ... Turntable driving means, 25 ... Conveyance hole, 26 ... Detecting unit, 27 ... Molded product discharge unit, 28 ... Suction head, 29 ... Molded product supply Means, 30 ... First CCD camera, 31 ... First light projector, 32 ... Second CCD camera, 33 ... Second light projector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fixed base, a turntable rotatably provided in the vicinity of the upper surface of the fixed base, a turntable drive unit for rotationally driving the table, and a predetermined radius from the center of the turntable. A plurality of transfer holes provided on the circle to be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the turntable, and a detection unit provided on the fixed base across the upper and lower surfaces thereof so as to face the movement loci of the transfer holes. And a molded product discharging section provided on the fixed base over the upper and lower surfaces of the fixed base so as to be separated from the detection section to the front side in the rotational direction of the turntable and to face the movement locus, and the detection section above the detection section. A suction head which is disposed by placing the turntable between the suction unit and the detection unit, and vacuum suctions the powder compression-molded product carried on the detection unit to float above the fixed base; Molded product supply means for supplying the powder compression molded products one by one to the transfer hole at a position distant from the discharge part to the front side in the rotation direction of the turntable, and the rotation direction of the turntable with respect to the supply position by the molded product supply means. A first CCD camera which is disposed on the front side between the supply position and the detection unit and above the turntable with the movement path as a field of view, and images the surface of the powder compression molded product in the transfer hole, or A first CCD camera disposed below the fixed base with the detection unit as a field of view and capturing an image of the back surface of the powder compression molded product adsorbed by the suction head through the detection unit; above the turntable or below the fixed base. A first CCD camera arranged to illuminate the field of view of the first CCD camera
A floodlight and a second CCD camera arranged below the fixed base with the detection unit as a field of view and imaging the back surface of the powder compression molded product adsorbed by the adsorption head through the detection unit, or the turn for the detection unit. It is arranged on the front side in the rotation direction of the table and above the turntable as a visual field between the detection unit and the molded product discharge unit, and images the surface of the powder compression molded product in the transfer hole. A second CCD camera and a second CCD arranged below the fixed base or above the turntable to illuminate the field of view of the second CCD camera.
An apparatus for observing the appearance of a powder compression molded product equipped with a floodlight.