JPH1149351A - Article treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article treating device in which the main wheel side is arranged as rotating intermittently at intervals each corresponding to four pockets and the supply wheel is rotated while the main wheel is at a standstill temporarily. SOLUTION: A supply wheel 4 has a rotary plate 8 in a sector form, and four pockets 4a to hold a syringe 2 are furnished at the periphery of the rotary plate 8. The syringes 2 held by the four pockets are delivered over in the delivery position A one by one to the pockets 5a of the main wheel 3. Each pocket of the supply wheel 4 has a plate-form member 27, and that 27 of the pocket situated in the backmost about the rotating direction swings backward in the delivery position A, to hinder the syringe 2 stopped in the position A from interfering with a recess 27a provided in the plate-form member 27.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an article processing apparatus for transferring an article from a pocket of one wheel to a pocket of another wheel at a predetermined delivery position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an article processing apparatus for transferring an article held in a pocket of one wheel to a pocket of another wheel at a predetermined delivery position is known. In such a conventional apparatus, both wheels are configured to rotate continuously in synchronization with each other, and the wheel on the side where the article is delivered to the pocket at the delivery position is moved to each pocket in the subsequent rotation process. It is configured to perform required processing on the held articles.

[0003]

By the way, as a function of a wheel for delivering an article to a pocket at a delivery position and performing a required process on the article, there is provided a structure in which articles held in a plurality of pockets can be processed at one time. May be desired. For example, there may be a demand for a configuration in which an article is an empty container and four successive containers held in pockets are simultaneously filled with the filling liquid. In order to meet such a demand, it is necessary to rotate the wheel intermittently for each of the four pockets, but such a configuration causes the following problem. That is, at the transfer position, the articles are simultaneously held by the pockets of both wheels. Therefore, in a state where one wheel is intermittently rotated in units of a plurality of pockets and is temporarily stopped, if the other wheel is to be rotated continuously, the article stopped at the transfer position by the pocket of the other wheel will be lost. fall into disrepair. Therefore, in such a configuration,
When one wheel is paused, the other wheel must also be paused. In other words, in a configuration in which one wheel is intermittently rotated in units of a plurality of pockets, there is an inconvenience that the other wheel cannot be rotated while the one wheel is temporarily stopped.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-257745 is known as an article processing apparatus configured to transfer an article from one wheel that rotates continuously to another wheel that rotates intermittently. However, in the device of this publication, one of the wheels that rotates intermittently rotates intermittently at every pitch of the pocket, and does not rotate intermittently in units of a plurality of pockets.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In view of such circumstances,
The present invention has a large number of pockets provided at a constant pitch in a circumferential direction for holding articles, and the same number and a plurality of successive pockets among the large number of pockets are grouped to form the large number of pockets. A main wheel that divides the pocket into a plurality of sets, and rotates intermittently for each set of the pockets,
A supply wheel having a plurality of pockets provided at the same pitch as the pitch, and at least as many as the set of pockets and holding the articles, and synchronized with the rotation of the main wheel when the main wheel is rotated. An article processing apparatus configured to rotate the supply wheel by the set of pockets and sequentially deliver a set of articles held in the pocket of the supply wheel to the pocket of the main wheel at a predetermined delivery position. The pocket located on the rearmost side in the rotational direction of the pair of pockets provided in the supply wheel is configured to be splittable into a front part and a rear part in the rotational direction and is usually close to each other. In the transfer position, the rear portion is swung rearward in the rotation direction, so that the rear portion is held in the pocket of the main wheel. Engagement between the article and the rear portion to stop the transfer position is intended to provide an arrangement the article processing apparatus so as to cancel.

[0005]

According to the above-described structure, the main wheel can be rotated intermittently for each set of pockets, and the supply wheel also rotates in synchronization therewith. In addition, of the pair of pockets provided in the supply wheel, the rearmost pocket in the rotation direction swings rearward in the rotation position rearward at the transfer position. Therefore, even if the supply wheel is rotated while the main wheel is stopped, the article at the delivery position is not damaged by the rotating supply wheel-side pocket. Thus, the main wheel can rotate intermittently in each set of pockets, and the supply wheel can rotate while the main wheel is paused.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a syringe processing device. The syringe processing apparatus 1 includes a main wheel 3 that rotates intermittently in a clockwise direction and fills a syringe 2 with a chemical solution, and a supply wheel 4 and a discharge wheel 5 provided at positions adjacent to the main wheel 3. I have. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 11, the syringe 2 has the same configuration as that of a conventionally known syringe. That is, the entire syringe 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and one end in the axial direction is a distal end portion 2a having a reduced diameter, and the outer peripheral portion at the other end in the axial direction is provided with a flange portion 2b.

A pocket 3 for holding a syringe 2 is provided at equal circumferential positions on the outer peripheral portion of the main wheel 1.
The supply wheel 4 and the discharge wheel 5 are also provided with pockets 3a on the main wheel 1 side.
Pocket 4 to hold syringe 2 according to the pitch
a and 5a are provided. When the main wheel 3 is intermittently rotated clockwise, the supply wheel 4 and the discharge wheel 5 are rotated counterclockwise in synchronization with the rotation. Thus, at the transfer position A, the syringe 2 is supplied to each pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 from the pocket 4a of the supply wheel 4. At the discharge position E, the syringe 2 is discharged from the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 by the discharge wheel 5. Syringe 2 has its collar 2
b is held at each of the pockets 3a, 4a, and 5a so that the tip end 2a is at the lower end and is transferred (FIG. 3).
reference). Further, as will be described in detail later, the syringe 2 supplied from the pocket 4a of the supply wheel 4 to each pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 is preliminarily opened by the stopper mechanism on the supply wheel 4 side as shown in FIG. 2 to cap 6
(See FIG. 12).

The main wheel 3 is composed of four successive pockets 3a as a set and the four pockets 3a.
It is configured to intermittently rotate clockwise each time. When the four syringes 2 held in one set of four pockets 3a are temporarily stopped in the predetermined filling zone C in the process of intermittently rotating the main wheel 3, the filling zone C The four syringes 2 are configured to be simultaneously filled with a chemical solution by a filling nozzle (not shown) provided in (1) (see FIG. 13). After this,
The four syringes 2 filled with the chemical solution are further provided with a stopper mechanism (not shown) provided in the stopper zone D when the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped in the stopper zone D as the main wheel 3 rotates intermittently. The sealing member 7 is fitted to the upper opening by
Thereby, the upper opening is sealed (see FIG. 14). Thereafter, the syringe 2 fitted with the seal member 7 is configured to be sequentially discharged by the discharge wheel 5 from each pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 at the discharge position E with the intermittent rotation of the main wheel 3. I have. As described above, the main wheel 3 of the present embodiment is configured to intermittently rotate for each set of four pockets 3a, and the main wheel 3 held in each pocket 3a with the intermittent rotation. The operation of filling the syringes with the chemical solution is performed, and then the sealing members 7 are inserted into the upper end openings of the four syringes 2.
It is configured to plug.

In the present embodiment, each pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 at the transfer position A is synchronized with the operation of the main wheel 3 intermittently rotated as described above.
The syringe 2 can be supplied smoothly from the supply wheel 4 side. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the supply wheel 4 is provided with a rotating plate 8 having a fan shape instead of a circular shape. Is mounted horizontally on the top of Thus, the rotating plate 8 can rotate around the axis B of the rotating shaft 11 as a center of rotation. As shown in FIG. 1, four pockets 4 a are formed in the arc-shaped outer peripheral portion of the rotating plate 8 in accordance with the pitch of the pockets 3 a on the main wheel 3 side. The respective syringes 2 are suspended and held by these pockets 4a so that the collar 2b is at the upper end and the tip opening 2a is at the lower end. As shown in FIG. 6, a disk-shaped support member 12 is horizontally connected to an outer peripheral portion below the rotating shaft 11. A cylindrical member 14 is connected to the frame 13 in the vertical direction. The lower outer peripheral portion of the rotary shaft 11 is inserted into the cylindrical member 14, and the rotary shaft 11 and the support member 12 are rotatable by a pair of upper and lower bearings 15. It is pivoted.
The bottom of the support member 12 is slidably mounted on the upper end of the cylindrical member 14, and an annular gear 16 is attached to the outer periphery of the bottom of the support member 12. This gear 16
Are meshed with the gear 17 on the drive motor side (not shown). Therefore, when the drive motor is rotated, the rotating plate 8 and the supporting member 12 provided on the rotating shaft 11 are rotated by the rotating shaft 1.
It rotates about one axis B as a center of rotation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, a syringe chute 22 is provided in a predetermined position close to the movement locus of the pocket 4a when the rotating plate 8 is rotated.
Is provided. The syringe chute 22 is composed of a pair of left and right plate-like members 22A that are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction, and the tip 22a thereof gradually decreases in height. The height of the tip portion 22a is set to the same height as the upper surface of the rotating plate 8 (upper end of the pocket 4a).
The syringe 2 is inserted between the pair of left and right plate-like members 22A, and slides toward the distal end portion 22a of the syringe chute 22 with the brim portion b placed on the plate-like members 22A. Is configured. Also, as shown in FIG.
At the lower position on the side, an engaging screw 23 is rotatably provided along the longitudinal direction of the syringe chute 22. The engagement screw 23 is configured to rotate in a predetermined direction when a drive motor (not shown) is driven. As a result, the distal end portion 22a is suspended by the syringe chute 22.
Is engaged with the thread of the engagement screw 23, so that the successive syringes 2 are separated from each other. The pitch of the thread of the engagement screw 23 is set to be larger as it is closer to the distal end portion 22 a of the syringe chute 22. Therefore, the interval between the leading syringe 2 that is engaged with the engaging screw 23 and located at the distal end portion 22a of the syringe chute 22 and the subsequent second syringe 2 is maintained at a constant interval.

A drive motor (not shown) interlocked with the engagement screw 23 rotates the engagement screw 23 at the timing when the pocket 4a of the rotary plate 8 moves to the tip end 22a of the syringe chute 22. . Therefore, when the rotating plate 8 is intermittently rotated by one pitch in the rotation region before and after the distal end portion 22 a of the syringe chute 22, the subsequent pockets 3 a from the leading pocket 3 a in the rotation direction are sequentially moved from the syringe chute 22. Tip 2
When pausing at position 2a, these pockets 3a
The syringes 2 are sequentially supplied. The leading pocket 4a and the pockets 4a at the second and third positions in the rotation direction are formed by a semicircular recess 8a provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating plate 8 and a plate-like member 24 supported below the recess 8a. And a semicircular recess at the tip. As a result, the syringe 2 supplied from the syringe chute 22 to the pocket 4a at the head and the second and third positions engages with the semicircular concave portion 8a provided on the rotating plate 8, and contacts the upper end edge thereof. The collar portion 2b is mounted on the upper surface of the rotating plate 8 and the outer peripheral portion on the lower side is engaged with the concave portion of the plate member 24.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, the rearmost pocket 4a in the rotational direction located at the tip end portion 22a of the syringe chute 22 is the other three pockets 4a described above.
It has a different configuration. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the position of the rear end of the arc-shaped outer peripheral portion of the rotating plate 8 is notched to form a concave portion 8a 'that forms a quarter arc of a circle. A support shaft 25 is connected to the bottom of the rotating plate 8 close to the concave portion 8a 'by a bracket in a vertical direction. The central portions of a pair of upper and lower plate-like members 27 each having a U-shape are fitted to the upper and lower ends of the rod-like member 26, and the through holes 27a provided on the inner sides of the two plate-like members 27 in this state are supported by the support members. The shaft 25 is rotatably fitted. Since the upper plate-like member 27 is placed on the bracket on the side of the rotating plate 8, both plate-like members 27 are maintained at a predetermined height, and the upper plate-like member 27 is
It is located at the same height as the rotating plate 8 and at the rear side in the rotating direction adjacent to the concave portion 8a '. A concave portion 27b formed of a quarter arc of a circle is formed at a position of the upper plate-like member 27 facing the concave portion 8a '.
The lower plate-like member 27 also has a concave portion 27b similar to the upper one. One end of a lever 28 is connected to the outer periphery of the rod-shaped member 26, and a through hole formed in the center of the lever 28 is rotatably fitted to the support shaft 25. Then, a tension spring 31 is attached to the other end of the lever 28 and the rotating plate 8. Thus, the two plate-like members 27 are constantly urged counterclockwise about the support shaft 25 as the center of rotation. Therefore, the end surface of the upper plate member 27 on the side where the concave portion 27b is provided abuts against the end surface 8B on the rear side of the rotating plate 8 facing the end surface (FIG. 4). In this state, the concave portion 8a 'on the rotary plate 8 side and the concave portion 27b of the upper plate-like member 27 are
And a semicircular recess is formed by them. The semicircular recess and the lower plate-like member 27
Constitute the rearmost pocket 4a in the rotational direction.

The four pockets 4a provided on the rotating plate 8 are configured as described above. The rotating plate 8 is intermittently rotated by one pitch provided with the syringe 4a in the area before and after the syringe chute 22. With this, the syringe 2 is supplied to and held in each pocket 4a. Then, when the syringe 2 is held in the rearmost pocket 4a, the rotating plate 8 rotates to the position where the end face 8A on the front side in the rotation direction is indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. It is configured to be. An arc-shaped guide (not shown) is provided along the movement trajectory of the syringe 2 from the position of the distal end portion 22a of the syringe chute 22 to a position slightly before the transfer position A in a counterclockwise direction. The syringe 2 held from is prevented from falling off. When the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped, the rotating plate 8 that is stopped in the standby state described above is stopped as it is and is in a standby state, but the main wheel 3 has four pockets 3a for one set. When rotated by the amount, the rotating plate 8 is also rotated counterclockwise in synchronization with the rotation. Accordingly, the syringe 2 held in each pocket 4a of the rotating plate 8 is sequentially delivered to the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 at the delivery position A. When the main wheel 3 rotates by the amount corresponding to the four pockets 3a for one set, the main wheel 3 stops temporarily. Therefore, the fourth syringe 2 supplied to the main wheel 3 at the transfer position A is placed in the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3. At the same time as being held, it is held in the rearmost pocket 4a on the supply wheel 4 side.

Here, since the rearmost pocket 4a in the rotation direction on the supply wheel 4 side is configured as described above, the upper and lower plate-like members 27 are moved rearward in the rotation direction of the supply wheel 4 at the transfer position A. Side, the rearmost pocket 4a in the rotation direction does not interfere with the syringe 2 stopped at the transfer position A, and the supply wheel 4
Can be rotated. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a wedge-shaped fixed cam 32 is provided at a position lower than the rotating plate 8 of the supply wheel 4, and at a delivery position A and before and after the delivery position A. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, an annular cam follower 33 is fitted around the outer periphery of the rod-shaped member 26 to which the plate-shaped member 27 is connected. Accordingly, when the supply wheel 4 (rotary plate 8) is continuously rotated after the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped, the cam follower 33 engages with the cam surface of the fixed cam 32 with the rotation. .
Therefore, the upper and lower plate members 27 are opposed to the tension spring 31.
Is forcibly pushed back toward the rear side in the rotation direction of the rotating plate 8. Thereby, the concave portions 27b of the two plate-like members 27 engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the syringe 2 stopped at the transfer position A
Is separated from the syringe 2, so that, with the rotation of the rotary plate 8, the recesses 27 b of the two plate-shaped members 27 pass through the transfer position A without abutting on the syringe 2 at the transfer position A.

As described above, the recesses 27b of the two plate-like members 27 are provided.
By forcibly separating the syringe 2 from the transfer position A, the supply wheel 4 can be continuously rotated even after the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped. As shown in FIG. 2, a band-shaped fixed guide 30 is provided along the outer peripheral portion of the main wheel 3 to prevent the syringe 2 from falling off from the pocket 3a when the main wheel 3 rotates. ing. In the present embodiment, the tip 30a of the fixed guide 30
Are extended to the transfer position A. Thereby, the delivery position A from the pocket 4a of the supply wheel 4
The syringe 2 sequentially transferred to the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 at the transfer position A is also inserted between the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 and the fixed guide 30. Therefore, at the transfer position A, the rearmost pocket 4 of the supply wheel 4
a is separated from the syringe 2 at the delivery position A at which the syringe is stopped, the syringe 2 is held by the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 and the distal end 30a of the fixed guide 30. The syringe 2 does not fall out of the pocket 3a of the wheel 3. On the other hand, as described above, since the four syringes 2 are continuously supplied to the main wheel 3 at the transfer position A, the rotating plate 8 in which the pockets 4a are emptied is thereafter provided with the pockets 4a. The syringe chute 2 is rotated intermittently by the pitch.
At the position 2, the syringe 2 is supplied to each pocket 4a again. In this way, the supply wheel 4 holds the syringe 2 in the four pockets 4a by sequentially passing through the distal end portion 22a of the syringe chute 22, and then rotates to a position just before the transfer position A and then temporarily stops. And it goes into a standby state. When the main wheel 3 is further rotated by a predetermined amount from the stop state, the syringe 2 is rotated in synchronization with the rotation and transferred to the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 at the transfer position A and held in the four pockets 4a. Even if the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped, the supply wheel 4 continues to rotate as it is, and then intermittently rotates by one pitch before and after the distal end portion 22a of the syringe chute 22 again.

Next, as described above, the supply wheel 4 of the present embodiment also has a stoppering function for attaching the cap 6 to the distal end portion 2a of the syringe 2, which will be described below. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, a cylindrical guide 34 is vertically connected to the support member 12 below the pockets 4a. The shaft 35 is slidably penetrated from above. A block-shaped housing 36 is connected to the upper end of the elevating shaft 35.
A holding part 37 for holding the cap 6 by suction is formed on the upper surface of the head 6. The holding portion 37 is formed of a U-shaped recess formed on the upper surface of the housing 36. This holding part 37
Is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown) via a passage 38 provided in the housing 36, a conduit 41 connected thereto, and a pipe 42 connected to the passage 38 and penetrating through the rotary shaft 11. Therefore, a negative pressure is always introduced into the holding section 37, and when the cap 6 is supplied to the holding section 37, the cap 6 is sucked and held by the negative pressure. further,
An annular centering member 43 is horizontally provided on the housing 36 at a position close to and above the holding portion 37 via a bracket. Center of centering member 43 and holding part 3
7, the center of the centering member 43 and the syringe 2 held in the pocket 4a.
Are configured to be coincident with the axis of. In the rotation section of the rotating plate 8 from the transfer position A to the passing of the syringe chute 22 from the transfer position A, the elevating shaft 35 is located at the descending end position as shown on the left side of the center line in FIG. doing. On the other hand, in a rotation section in which the rotating plate 8 passes through the syringe chute 22 and moves to a position where the rotating plate 8 enters a standby state, the elevating shaft 35 is moved up and down by a predetermined amount by a cam mechanism described later. It has become. When the elevating shaft 35 is located at the lower end, the centering member 43 is located at a position close to and below the distal end 2a (lower end) of the syringe 2 held by the pocket 4a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the rotation section of the rotary plate 8 from the transfer position A to the point where the rotary plate 8 passes through the syringe chute 22 is one pitch from the tip 22a of the syringe chute 22 to the pocket 4a. A cap chute 44 for supplying the cap 6 to each of the holding portions 37 is provided at a position on the upstream side. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cap chute 44 is supported horizontally,
The distal end portion 44a is configured to be close to the outer peripheral portion of each housing 36 connected to the elevating shaft 35. The cap chute 44 is configured to be vibrated by a driving mechanism (not shown), so that each cap 6 moves toward the distal end portion 44a in a state in which the openings are vertically aligned in a line. I have. In this embodiment,
The leading end of the stopper 45 that can be swung causes the leading cap 6 located at the leading end 44 a of the cap chute 44 to move.
Is prevented from falling off, and when each housing 36 is moved to the position of the distal end portion 44a of the cap chute 44, the stopper 45 is retracted, so that each holding portion 37 is moved from the distal end portion 44a of the cap chute 44. The cap 6 is supplied. More specifically,
Below the distal end portion 44a of the cap chute 44, a support shaft 47 is rotatably supported in a vertical direction on a bracket 46 connected to a fixed frame. The stopper 45 is horizontally connected to the upper end of the support shaft 47.
A lever 48 is horizontally connected to the lower end of 7. The height of the stopper 45 is set at the tip 44 of the cap chute 44.
The height is adjusted so as to be the same as the height of the cap 6 located at a.

On the other hand, a tension spring 51 is attached between the lever 48 and the bracket 46, and the stopper 45 is urged by the tension spring 51 to rotate clockwise in FIG. The lever 48 is connected to the tip of an air cylinder 52 provided on the bracket 46. When the air cylinder 52 is not operated, the tip of the stopper 45 is engaged with the cap 6 of the tip portion 44a of the cap chute 44 by the tension spring 51. In this state, the top cap 6
From the tip 44a of the cap chute 44 to the holding portion 3
It cannot be supplied to the 7 side. On the contrary,
When the air cylinder 52 is actuated, the stopper 45 is pushed back to the position shown by the imaginary line against the tension spring 51 (FIG. 8).
4 is spaced apart from the cap 6 located at the tip 44a.
Therefore, in this state, the cap chute 44
The top cap 6 located at the front end portion 44a of the
7 is supplied. The air cylinder 52 is operated immediately before each holding portion 37 moves to the position of the tip end portion 44a of the cap chute 44, so that the rotating plate 8 is intermittently rotated. When the respective holding portions 37 are sequentially positioned at the position of the tip portion 44a of the cap chute 44, the cap 6 is supplied to the respective holding portions 37 from the tip portion 44a of the cap chute 44. Then, the cap 6 supplied to each holding portion 37 is
The suction is held by the negative pressure introduced into each holding portion 37 with the opening facing upward.

Next, a description will be given of a cam mechanism for raising and lowering each holding section 37 (elevation shaft 35). As shown in FIG.
A cam follower 53 is rotatably provided on a lower outer peripheral portion of each elevating shaft 35. On the other hand, the tapping zone F extends from a position below the movement trajectory of the cam follower 53 and from a position past the distal end of the syringe chute 22 in the rotation area of the rotary plate 8 to a position slightly before the above-mentioned standby state.
, A cam member 54 is provided. When the rotating plate 8 is rotated, the cam follower 53 of the elevating shaft 35 rolls on the cam member 54 and moves up and down along the cam surface. As shown in FIG. 10, the cam surface of the cam follower 53 gradually increases to the maximum height, and then the height is slightly lowered by making a depression at the center position in the longitudinal direction.
Then, after maintaining the maximum height again, it is gradually lowered. An arc-shaped cam member 55 is disposed above the central portion of the recess in the longitudinal direction along the arc of the recess. Accordingly, in the region where the cam member 55 is provided, the cam follower 53 is simultaneously engaged with the cam surface of the cam member 55 and the cam surface of the lower cam member 54 to move up and down (FIG. 10). When the lift shaft 35 is raised by the cam follower 53 and the cam member 54, the centering member 43 and the holding portion 37 are raised, so that the syringe 2 held in the pocket 4a is lifted.
The centering member 43 is fitted to the distal end portion 2a (lower end) and the upper outer peripheral portion thereof from below. This allows
After the center of the distal end 2a of the syringe 2 and the center of the cap 6 held by the holding portion 37 are aligned, the distal end 2
a.

In this embodiment, a holding plate 56 is provided on the upper surface of the rotating plate 8 in close proximity to each pocket 4a (rotating plate 8). Therefore, even if the cap 6 that is raised as described above is fitted into the distal end opening 2a of the syringe, and the entire syringe 2 is to be lifted upward from the pocket 4a, the flange 2b of the syringe 2 is pressed by the holding plate 56. , The syringe 2 is prevented from being pushed up relative to the pocket. Therefore, with the syringe 2 held in the pocket 4a, the cap 6 is attached to the distal end portion 2a with the rise of the cap 6. As described above, since the cam member 54 is provided with a recess at the center in the longitudinal direction and another cam member 55 is provided above the center, the cap 6 is attached to the distal end portion 2a. Later, the cap 6 attached to the syringe 2 and the holding portion 37 are separated smoothly. Then, at a position past the position of the cam member 55, the cam member 5
4 raises the holding portion 37 again, thereby pushing up the cap 6 twice toward the distal end opening portion 2a of the syringe 2 to thereby move the cap 6 into the syringe 2
So that it can be securely attached to the tip opening. In this manner, when the cap 6 is attached to the distal end opening 2a of the syringe 2, when the syringe 2 moves to the position of the rear end of the cam member 54 with the rotation of the rotary plate 8, each of the vertical movements follows the cam surface. The shaft 35 descends to the descending end position. As a result, the centering member 43 is located below the distal end portion 2a, which is the lower end of the syringe 2.

(Description of Operation of Supply Wheel 4) The operation of the supply wheel 4 based on the above configuration will be described. Here, for the sake of explanation, from the state where the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped and the rotary plate 8 has passed the transfer position A, the rotary plate 8 after passing the transfer position A is placed in each pocket 4a. Does not hold syringe 2. When the rearmost pocket 4 a of the rotating plate 8 is located at the transfer position A, the foremost pocket 4 a is located at the tip 44 a of the cap chute 44. From this state,
Since the rotating plate 8 is intermittently rotated in units of one pitch provided with the pockets 4a, the caps 6 are sequentially supplied from the tip of the cap chute 44 to each holding portion 37 provided below each pocket 4a with the intermittent rotation. (See FIGS. 1, 8, and 9). Further, with the intermittent rotation of the rotating plate 8 for each pitch, each pocket 4a is temporarily stopped at the position of the tip 22a of the syringe chute 22, so that the syringe 2 is sequentially transferred from the tip 22a of the syringe chute 22 to each pocket 4a. Are sequentially supplied (FIGS. 1, 3, and 7). As a result, the syringe 2 is inserted into the four pockets 4a of the rotating plate 8.
Are supplied, and the cap 6 is held by the holding portion 37 below them (FIG. 7).

Thereafter, the rotating plate 8 is further rotated from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 to the standby position shown by the imaginary line on the end face 8A of the rotating plate 8 and stopped. In the course of the movement of the rotating plate 8, each holding portion 37 is moved up and down by the cam member 54.
The cap 6 is fitted to the distal end opening 2a of each syringe 2 held at the position. The operation so far is performed while the main wheel 3 is temporarily stopped. When the main wheel 3 is rotated clockwise by a set of four pockets 4a from the standby state of the supply wheel 4 (rotary plate 8), the rotary plate 8 is rotated in synchronization with the rotation. A
The syringes 2 held in the respective pockets 4a of the supply wheel 4 (rotary plate 8) are sequentially transferred to the pockets 3a of the main wheel 3. Each syringe 2 held in the pocket 3a of the main wheel 3 has its tip end 2a
Is fitted with a cap 6. Main wheel 3
Is temporarily stopped when it is rotated by a set of four pockets 4a, but the supply wheel 4 is continuously rotated thereafter. Here, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the rearmost pocket 4a in the rotation direction of the supply wheel 4 is
Engages with the fixed cam 32, the plate member 27 swings rearward in the rotation direction with respect to the syringe 2 stopped at the transfer position A, and is separated from the syringe 2. Therefore, the supply wheel 4 can be rotated without damaging the syringe 2 at the transfer position A by the plate-like member 27 constituting the rearmost pocket 4a. Thereafter, the supply wheel 4 repeats the above-described intermittent rotation for each pitch, rotation and stop to the standby position, and further, rotation in synchronization with the main wheel 3 to repeat the syringe with the cap 6 attached to the tip end 2a. 2 is transferred to the main wheel 3.

According to the above-described embodiment, the main wheel 3 can rotate intermittently for each set of four pockets 3a, and the main wheel 3 is stopped and the syringe 2 exists at the transfer position A. In this state, the supply wheel 4 can be rotated. Further, in the present embodiment, the supply wheel 4 also has a function of attaching the cap 6 to the distal end 2a of the syringe 2 held in the pocket 4a. The installation space of the syringe processing device 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where the device for attaching the cap 6 is provided on the 2a.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the main wheel can rotate intermittently for each set of pockets, and the supply wheel can rotate even when the main wheel is temporarily stopped. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a lower portion shown in FIG. 3 and a portion continuous therewith;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a detailed plan view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows a cam follower 53 and a cam member 5 shown in FIG.
Diagram showing the relationship with 4,55

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a syringe 2 processed by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the syringe 2 with a cap attached in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a syringe 2 filled with a drug solution by the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the syringe 2 in which a sealing member has been plugged by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Description of Signs] 2 Syringe (article) 3 Main wheel 3a Pocket 4 Supply wheel 4a Pocket A Delivery position

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaken Tsunoda 58 Koshizawa Ozuda Honmachi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture Inside Shibuya Kogyo Co., Ltd. Inside Shizuoka Plant (72) Inventor Atsushi Ohara 588 Kanaya Kawahara, Kanaya-cho, Haibara-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside Shizuoka Plant, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A large number of pockets provided at a constant pitch in a circumferential direction for holding articles, and the same number and a plurality of successive pockets among the plurality of pockets are set as one set. Pockets are divided into a plurality of sets, a main wheel intermittently rotating for each set of the pockets, and a plurality of main wheels provided at the same pitch as the pitch, and provided at least as many as the number of the set of pockets. When the main wheel is rotated, the supply wheel is rotated by the set of pockets in synchronization with the rotation of the main wheel, and the supply wheel is held in the pocket of the supply wheel. An article processing apparatus configured to sequentially deliver a set of articles to a pocket of a main wheel at a predetermined delivery position, provided in the supply wheel. The rearmost pocket in the rotational direction of the set of pockets is configured to be splittable into a front part and a rear part in the rotational direction and is usually close to each other, and the rear part at the transfer position is By being swung to the rear side in the rotation direction, an engagement state between the article held in the pocket of the main wheel and stopped at the delivery position and the rear portion is released. Article processing equipment. 2. The supply wheel has a fan-shaped rotatable plate rotatably provided, and the plurality of pockets are provided in an arc-shaped outer peripheral portion of the rotatable plate. The front portion is constituted by the end on the side, and the rear portion is constituted by a plate-like member provided to be rotatable on the rotating plate, and the rear portion made of the plate-like member is brought closer to the front by a spring. In addition, a cam follower is provided on a shaft member integral with the plate member, and a fixed cam is provided at the delivery position, and the cam follower is engaged with the fixed cam, whereby the plate member is The article processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article processing apparatus is configured to swing.