JPH11137641A - Method and device for examining breakage and burr of tablet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an examining means excellent in versatility, low in cost and capable of judging the normal/defective condition of tablets caused by various factors. SOLUTION: This device is constituted of a means for supplying for a disk for examination 15 provided with pockets for examination 15a to house tablets one by one at its outer periphery at regular intervals and intermittently rotating, a CCD camera 17 for fetching the picture of the surface of a tablet arranged just over an examining station 31 which is set by the pockets 15a in the middle of a moving route stopping intermittently, a picture processing means processing a picture taken by the camera 17 to judge the normal/defective condition of the tablet, a tablet inversion mean provided under the examination station 31 and a control means continuing a pocket for examination 15a and a normal product ejecting port by an output signal at the time of being judged to be a normal product, stopping the operation of an automatic tablet machine and issuing an alarm by an output signal at the time of judging a defective tablet to continue the pocket 15a and a defective product ejecting port.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field related to a method and an apparatus for inspecting chips and burrs of tablets.

[Technical Background of the Invention] Automatic Tablet Machine (Machineless Tablet Manufacturing Machine)
During continuous production of tablets, powder adheres to the tableting punch, causing chip-shaped (concave) defects on the tablet surface, and fine burrs on the tablet surface due to breakage of the punch tip. May occur. In addition, when the tablet is defective, the tablet may collide with the scraper or the like when the tablet is discharged from the mortar, and fine chips or the like may be generated on the tablet surface. When the powder for tableting adheres to the punch and the tip of the punch breaks, the degree of the defect generally tends to grow and change with time. When the degree of powder sticking and breakage exceeds a certain amount, the automatic tablet machine is automatically stopped by a pressure sensor or the like. However, if the degree is very small, it is difficult to detect with a sensor. In addition, it is difficult to reliably detect minute defective tablets using a commercially available automatic tablet sorter (tablet appearance inspection). It is serious and causes a reduction in production efficiency and an increase in work load.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As means for solving such technical problems, the upper and lower punch surfaces during rotation are monitored by a small and high-performance CCD camera, and sticking, picking, cracking, chipping, etc. of the punch surface are performed. An image processing system that can be discovered early and recognize which punch has occurred has been developed and proposed.

[0004]

Such a system directly monitors (inspects) the punch for powder adhesion to the punch or breakage of the tip of the punch. However, failures caused by other factors may be detected. Because it cannot be detected and requires high-speed processing,
The economic challenge of expensive equipment still remains.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a versatile and inexpensive inspection means that can determine the quality of a tablet by various factors.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The tablet chip / burr inspection method and apparatus of the present invention for solving the problems of the prior art employs the following means.

[0007] The object is to sample a required number of tablets from a tablet discharge chute of an automatic tablet machine and remove the powder adhering to the front and back surfaces of the sampled tablets. In the second step, which is individually introduced into the inspection pocket provided on the outer periphery of the intermittently rotating inspection disk, and is sequentially and intermittently transported to the inspection station, the image of the tablet surface captured by the CCD camera at the inspection station is processed. After performing the pass / fail judgment, the tablet is reversed at that position, the back side of the tablet is image-processed, and the pass / fail judgment is made based on the overall judgment result of the front and back of the tablet. Is collected from the non-defective product outlet provided in the intermittent movement path of the inspection pocket.On the other hand, if it is determined that the tablet is defective, a defect determination signal is output and the automatic tablet machine is stopped. It is accomplished by comprising a fourth step of issuing.

The object of the present invention is to sample a required number of tablets from a tablet discharge chute of an automatic tableting machine, remove tablets adhering to the front and back surfaces of the tablet, and form an inspection pocket for accommodating one tablet at a time on the outer periphery. Means for supplying to an inspection disk provided at intervals and rotating intermittently, and an image of a tablet surface arranged immediately above an inspection station to be set in a movement path where the inspection pocket intermittently stops. A CCD camera for capturing, image processing means for processing images captured by the CCD camera to determine the quality of tablets, a reversing means for tablets provided at the lower portion of the inspection station, and an output signal when a good tablet is determined In this case, the inspection pocket and the non-defective product outlet are connected to each other, the operation of the automatic tableting machine is stopped by an output signal when it is determined that the tablet is defective, an alarm is issued, and the inspection pocket is turned on. It is accomplished by comprising a Tsu preparative and control means for conducting the defective discharge opening.

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing a tablet according to the second aspect.
In the burr inspection device, achieved by setting the inspection disk that rotates intermittently in an inclined position, providing a sampling tablet with a hopper structure at least on the outer periphery of the lower end of the inclination, and setting an inspection station at the upper end of the inclination. Is done.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein an inspection station and a CC are provided.
This can be achieved by providing an illumination means for irradiating the tablet surface with light from all directions without causing halation and blurring between the tablet and the D camera.

The above object is achieved by connecting the inclined lower end and the inclined upper end of the inspection disk to the lower part of the inspection pocket corresponding to the inspection station in the tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4. Sliding along the direction of the tilt axis, and disposing a reversing plate on which the tablet is mounted,
On the upper surface of one side of the reversing plate, a slanted step surface perpendicular to the slide axis direction of the reversing plate, the lower inclined side of the tablet falls down and engages with the lower inclined side, and the inclined lower end bottom surface of the tablet on the upper inclined side. It consists of a continuous structure of supported inclined steps,
In addition, this is achieved by forming a reversing action groove in which the tablets fall into engagement with each other, and on the other hand, forming an inclined surface for guiding the inclined upper end of the tablet upward at the outer wall edge constituting all the inspection pockets.

[0012] The object of the present invention is to provide the tablet
In the burr inspection apparatus, this is attained by making it possible to rearrange an inspection disk having an inspection pocket having a different size and an inversion action plate having an inversion action groove in accordance with the type of tablet.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a method and an apparatus for inspecting chips and burrs of a tablet according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a defective tablet, FIG. 1A shows a defective tablet 1 having a burr (convex) 1a, and FIG.
This is a defective tablet 1 with b.

Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic configuration of the apparatus will be described. Reference numeral 11 denotes an automatic tablet machine, which is automatically linked with an operation signal of the automatic tablet machine 11 from a tablet discharge chute 12 at regular intervals during exercise. The required number (number of punches + α) of tablets 1 is sampled. This sampling is performed by outputting a sampling signal at regular intervals (arbitrarily set) by a timer (not shown) provided in the apparatus.

The powder adhering to the entire surface of the sampled tablet 1 is a plurality of pipes 13 having a network structure.
The powder removing device 13 composed of the combination of a is flowed down and removed while being air-transported by the air transporter 14, and
The tablets whose surfaces have been cleaned are continuously conveyed by air to 15 parts of the inspection disk. As is clear from the drawing, the inspection disk 15 is provided at an angle θ, specifically, about 20 °, so as to be intermittently rotatable on the machine frame. In the drawing, reference numeral 16 denotes an intermittent rotation drive mechanism of the inspection disk 15, 17 denotes a CCD camera, 18 denotes a stand for supporting the CCD camera 17 so as to be vertically movable, 19 denotes an illumination device having a ring structure, 20 denotes a tablet reversing plate, 21
Is a drive mechanism that slides the reversing plate 20 in the up and down direction, 22 is a frusto-conical cup that disperses the supplied tablets without stagnation, and 23 is at least the outer periphery of the test disk 15 at the lower end of the inclination. It is a tablet pool having a hopper structure provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a mechanism associated with the inspection disk 15 and a CCD camera 17 are mounted and supported on a gantry 25 having casters 24.
In the drawing, reference numeral 26 denotes a tablet receiving box including a non-defective product collection box 26a, a defective product collection box 26b, and an unexamined tablet collection box 26c. Reference numeral 27 denotes control of a sequencer, a motor driver, a motor controller, a sensor amplifier, and the like. An operation panel comprising means, 28 is an image processing device, 29 is a monitor television, and 30 is a light source such as halogen.

Next, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a description will be given of an inspection disk 15 which is a main part of the present invention and a mechanism related thereto. A large number of inspection pockets 15a having a square planar shape are provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the inspection disk 15, and the inspection disk 15 is counterclockwise in FIG. It is configured to intermittently rotate in the direction. An inspection station 31 is set at the inclined upper end of the inspection disk 15, and the inspection pocket 15 a of the inspection disk 15 that rotates intermittently with the inspection station 31 is adapted to temporarily stop. The CCD camera 17 is located immediately above the inspection station 31.
The illumination device 19 having the ring structure is interposed between the CCD camera 17 and the inspection station 31, specifically, between the inspection pocket. This lighting device 19
From above, the surface of the tablet introduced into the inspection pocket 15a is irradiated with light from all directions, so that an image without halation or rash is captured by the CCD camera 17. The CCD camera 17 is configured to move up and down depending on the type of tablet so that focus adjustment can be performed.

Reference numeral 32 shown in FIG. 5 collects non-defective tablets in the non-defective tablet receiving box 26a and forms a disk (or a rotary disk) having a hole 33 formed on one side of the outer periphery, the hole 33 corresponding to an opening of a chute (not shown). The tablet is rotated at a signal determined to be a defective tablet at the inspection station 31 to close the hole 33 to prevent the recovery of the defective tablet, and then to return to the previous position. It is.

Reference numeral 34a denotes a closing plate which opens and closes an opening of a chute (not shown) for collecting a defective tablet in a defective product collection box 26b provided in the intermittent movement path of the inspection pocket 15a. Actuates the closing plate 34a according to the signal determined to be defective, opens the opening of the chute, and collects the defective lock. A chute opening for discharging an uninspected product is provided between the good product and the defective product chute, and when it is no longer necessary to continue the inspection after the defective lock is detected, the closing plate is signaled by the control means. The opening is opened by operating 34b, and all the remaining sampled tablets are collected in the uninspected collection receiving box 26c without being inspected.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 35 denotes an inspection pocket 15a.
The tablet which is intermittently conveyed in a state of being superposed on the inspection disk 15 or the inspection pocket 15a without being introduced into the inspection disk 15 is blown out, and is returned to the inclined lower part of the inspection disk 15 and the tablet skipping air nozzle, 36 detects a standing tablet. The tablet sensor 37, which is blown off by air, detects whether a tablet is introduced into the inspection pocket 15a and outputs a signal when there is no tablet. The CCD camera 17 and the reversing plate 20 are output from the output signal. This is a tablet presence / absence sensor for stopping the operation of the drive mechanism 21 and preventing unnecessary operation.

Next, a tablet reversing mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.

The inspection disk 15 having a large number of inspection pockets 15a formed on the outer periphery is inclined about 20 ° as described above, and is intermittently rotated by the intermittent rotation drive mechanism 16. However, as is clear from FIG. 7, at least the inspection pocket 1 of the inspection disk 15
The portion 5a is mounted and supported on the base plate 38, so that the tablet introduced and held in the inspection pocket 15a is reliably intermittently transferred.

At the lower part of the inspection station 31 set at the upper end of the inspection disk 15, the inspection is performed in the vertical direction, specifically, along the aa axis connecting the lower end of the inspection disk 15 and the upper end of the inclination. Reversing plate 20 for a tablet that slides by a fixed stroke along the inclined lower surface of disk 15
Are arranged. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the reversing plate 20 is exchangeably fitted and supported by a sliding support frame 39, is wider than the inspection pocket 15 a that fits the inspection station 31, and slides. It has a length that does not deviate from the inspection pocket 15a due to the movement, and is configured so that the tablet in the inspection pocket 15a can always be loaded and supported. A rack 39a is provided along the entire length of the central portion of the lower surface of the support frame 39 along the sliding movement axis thereof, and the rack 39a is engaged with a pinion 21a constituting the drive mechanism 21, and the rack 39a is engaged with the rack 39a. The reversing plate 20 can be slid in the up-down direction by forward / reverse drive.

As shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C, an inversion action groove 20a orthogonal to the a-a axis direction is provided on the upper surface of one side of the inversion action plate 20 over the entire width. The reversing action groove 20 has an inclined step surface 20b on which the side on the inclined lower side of the tablet falls and engages with the inclined lower side of the reversing action plate 20,
The tablet has a structure in which a lower surface of the lower tablet side is provided on the inclined upper side and an inclined step surface 20c which is supported by being lowered.

On the other hand, an inclined guide surface 15b for guiding the inclined upper end of the tablet upward is formed on the upper surface of the outer edge forming all the inspection pockets 15a.

[0027]

[Explanation of Operation] The operation including the chip / burr inspection means of the present invention will be described based on the tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus configured as described above.

Tablets formed by the automatic tableting machine 11 are:
It is collected through the tablet discharge chute 12, and the damper of the chute 12 is set at a fixed time by a timer (arbitrarily set).
To automatically sample tablets of a required number, specifically, the number of tablets + α. The sampled tablets fall into the pipeline of FIG. 1 and are air-transported to the powder removing device 13 by the air transporter 14. The powder adheres to the entire surface of the sampled tablet, but this powder is removed by the action of air and the network structure while passing through the pipes 13a having the network structure arranged in a plurality of stages, and the surface is removed. The cleaned tablets are supplied to a hopper-structured tablet reservoir 23 via a pipeline.

The tablet pool 2 at the inclined lower end of the inspection disk 15
The tablets supplied to 3 are individually introduced and held in the inspection pockets 15 a of the intermittently rotating inspection disk 15 and sent to the inspection station 31. On the way, tablets transported on the inspection disk 15 other than the inspection pocket 15a, tablets extraly intervened in the inspection pocket 15a, and the like are blown off by air jetted from the air nozzle 35. It is dropped downward and the inspection pocket 15 again
The tablets held by a and detected by the vertical tablet sensor 36 are similarly processed by the action of the jet air. If the tablet is not introduced and held in the inspection pocket 15a, the empty tablet is detected by the tablet presence / absence sensor 37. Even if the empty inspection pocket 15a reaches the inspection station 31 by this detection signal, the CCD camera 17 and the drive mechanism 21 of the reversing plate 20 do not operate.

The inspection pocket 15a reaching the inspection station 31, specifically, the tablet, is illuminated by halogen light projected from all directions by a ring-shaped illumination device 19, and a tablet image free from rash is captured by the CCD camera 17. The captured image is processed by the image processing device 28 to determine whether there is an abnormality such as chipping or burr on the front and back surfaces of the tablet. This image is on monitor TV 2
At 9, visual confirmation can be made.

Upon receiving a signal indicating that the image processing of the tablet surface, specifically one side, has been completed, the drive mechanism 21 operates, and FIG.
The tablet shown in c can be inverted. FIG. 8a shows the reversing plate 20.
Shows the posture at the start of the operation of. In the state of FIG. 8A, when the reversing action plate 20 advances obliquely in the direction of the arrow due to the rotation of the pinion 21a, the tablet follows the movement of the reversing action plate 20, and the upper end of the tablet tilts toward the inspection pocket 15.
a contacts the outer side wall. When the reversing plate 20 further advances, the inclined lower end of the tablet falls into the reversing groove 20a as shown in FIG. 8B, and at the same time, the inclined upper end of the tablet is guided on the inclined guiding surface 15b. When the reversing plate 20 is further moved upward as shown in FIG.
It is inverted in the direction of the arrow as shown by c. At this point, the movement of the reversing plate 20 is stopped and the pinion 21 is moved.
a rotates in the reverse direction, and the reversing plate 20 returns to the original position shown in FIG.

In the state where the tablet is turned over, image processing is performed on the back side of the tablet, specifically, on the other side, in the same manner as described above, and the acceptability of the tablet is comprehensively determined. That is, the respective results are comprehensively determined, and when it is determined that the tablet is non-defective, when the tablet reaches the non-defective collection chute according to the inspection signal, the disk 3
2 is operated to adjust the hole 33 to the chute opening, and the good lock is collected in the good product collection receiving box 26a. In addition, chip
When burrs or other abnormalities are detected, when the defective product collecting chute section is reached, including the stoppage of the operation of the automatic tablet machine 11, the closing plate 34 is opened and the defective tablet is removed from the defective product collecting box 26.
Collect in b. On the other hand, when a defective tablet is detected, it is not necessary to inspect the remaining sampled tablets, so that all the remaining tablets are collected in the unchecked tablet collection receiving box 26c, or all the tablets are removed by air.

Although not particularly shown, a reverse action groove 20a having different conditions is provided on the back surface of the reverse action plate 20, and one sheet of the reverse action plate 20 can be used for reversing two kinds of tablets. . Of course, a reversing plate 20 having a variety of reversing grooves 20a is prepared according to the type of tablet, and can be recombined for each tablet. Further, it is also possible to rearrange and use the test disks 15 having different sizes of the test pockets 15a to be used according to the kind of the tablet. By making the reversing plate 20 and the inspection disk 15 compatible as described above,
The versatility can be improved and the equipment cost can be reduced, for example, the quality of many types of tablets can be determined with a single inspection device.

When a defective tablet is detected, a new tablet can be sampled by the resampling mode signal and the above-described inspection performed, or the sampled tablet can be inspected again.

The inspection includes an inspection of whether or not there is an abnormality in the engraved portion such as alphanumeric characters and marks formed on the tablet, and is performed on both front and back surfaces except the side surface of the tablet.

The apparatus of the present invention is configured to be able to output information such as a reference value for determining a defective lock, a detailed determination result of a defective lock, the total number of inspections, and alarm items to a printer (such as an inspection record). .

[0037]

According to the configuration of the present invention as described above,
The following effects can be obtained. (A) The tablet itself is taken as an image and a pass / fail judgment is made by the image processing means without directly monitoring the punch as in the prior art in the defective product selection inspection of the tablet. The tablet can be inspected based on the factors, and the device itself is relatively inexpensive and versatile. (B) Since the reversing means of the tablet is provided in the inspection station, both sides of the tablet can be rationally inspected, and the results of both sides of the tablet are comprehensively determined. It can be done reliably. (C) Compatibility of the test disk and the reversing plate allows compatibility with different types of tablets with a simple device, and a single test device can test various types of tablets, making it extremely economical. is there. On the other hand, since the inspection apparatus can be reduced in size, there is an effect that movement between the work rooms can be freely performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side view of a defective tablet with burrs, and FIG. 1B is a side view of a defective tablet with chips.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing the entire inspection system device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the inspection device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the inspection device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part showing a reversing plate of the inspection device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a main part showing a reversing plate of the inspection device.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway front view showing a main part of the reversing plate.

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are flow charts of a reversing action plate showing a reversing operation of a tablet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Automatic tablet machine 12 Tablet discharge chute 13 Powder removal device 13a Pipe 14 Air conveyance machine 15 Inspection disk 15a Inspection pocket 15b Inclined guide surface 16 Intermittent rotation drive mechanism 17 CCD camera 18 Stand 19 Lighting device 20 Reversing action plate 20a Reversing action Groove 20b Inclined step surface 20c Inclined step surface 21 Drive mechanism 21a Pinion 22 Truncated cone cup 23 Tablet reservoir 24 Caster 25 Mount 26 Tablet receiving box 26a Good product receiving box 26b Defective product collecting receiving box 26c Uninspected tablet collecting receiving box 27 Operation panel 28 Image processing device 29 Monitor television 30 Light source 31 Inspection station 32 Chute 33 Hole 34a Closure plate 34b Closure plate 35 Tablet blowing air nozzle 36 Standing sensor 37 Tablet presence / absence sensor 38 Base plate 39 Support frame 39a Rack

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A first step of sampling a required number of tablets from a tablet discharge chute of an automatic tablet machine and removing powder adhering to the front and back surfaces of the sampled tablets, intermittently removing the powdered tablets. In the second step of individually introducing into the inspection pocket provided on the outer circumference of the rotating inspection disk and sequentially transporting it intermittently to the inspection station, the inspection station processes the image of the tablet surface captured by the CCD camera. After making a pass / fail decision, the tablet is reversed at that position, the back side of the tablet is image-processed, and a pass / fail decision is made based on the overall decision result on the front and back of the tablet. The pocket is collected from the non-defective product outlet provided in the intermittent movement path, and when it is determined that the tablet is defective, a defect determination signal is output, the automatic tablet machine is stopped, and an alarm is issued. 4. A method for inspecting chips and burrs of tablets, comprising: four steps: 2. A tablet for which a required number of samples are sampled from a tablet discharge chute of an automatic tableting machine, and a tablet from which powder adhering to the front and back surfaces has been removed, and an inspection pocket for accommodating tablets one by one on an outer periphery are provided at regular intervals. Means for supplying to an intermittently rotating inspection disc, and a CCD for taking in an image of a tablet surface disposed immediately above an inspection station for setting in a movement path where the inspection pocket intermittently stops A camera, an image processing means for processing images captured by the CCD camera and determining the quality of the tablets, a means for inverting the tablets provided at the lower portion of the inspection station, and an output signal when a good tablet is determined. The inspection pocket and the non-defective product outlet are connected to each other, the operation of the automatic tablet machine is stopped by an output signal when it is determined that the tablet is defective, an alarm is issued, and the inspection pocket and the inspection pocket are disconnected. And a control means for establishing electrical connection with a non-defective product outlet. 3. The tablet chip / burr inspection device according to claim 2, wherein the intermittently rotating inspection disk has an inclined posture, and at least a hopper-structured sampling tablet reservoir is provided on the outer periphery on the inclined lower end side. On the other hand, an inspection station is set at the upper end of the slant.
Burr inspection equipment. 4. The tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the tablet surface is irradiated with light from all directions without irregularity between the inspection station and the CCD camera.
An inspection device for chipping and burr of a tablet, comprising an illuminating means which does not cause halation or a macula. 5. The tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an inclined axis connecting an inclined lower end and an inclined upper end of the inspection disk is provided below the inspection pocket corresponding to the inspection station. Sliding along the direction, and, provided a reversing action plate on which the tablet is mounted, and on one side upper surface of the reversing action plate, orthogonal to the slide axis direction of the reversing action plate, and on the inclined lower side. The inclined lower surface side of the tablet has an inclined step surface in which the inclined lower surface is engaged and the inclined upper surface of the inclined lower surface of the tablet is supported on the inclined upper side. On the other hand, on the other hand, a tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus characterized in that an inclined surface for guiding the inclined upper end of the tablet upward is formed on the outer wall edge constituting all the inspection pockets. 6. The tablet chip / burr inspection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an inspection disk having an inspection pocket having a different size and an inversion action plate having an inversion action groove can be interchanged according to the type of the tablet. An inspection device for chipping and burr of tablets.