KR102364915B1 - Inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(Task) During the operation of the device, the operator can check the status of the defective product by looking at the actual product.
(Solution Means) This tablet printing apparatus (inspection apparatus) includes defective article collection units (defective article storage units) 612 , 622 , guide units 613 , 623 , and opening/closing members 614 , 624 . Defective product collection units 612 and 622 store defective products judged to be defective as a result of the inspection among tablets (inspection objects). The guide portions 613 , 623 have guide passages for guiding the defective article from the conveyer to the defective article recovery portions 612 , 622 . The opening/closing members 614 and 624 can change their postures between an open posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is opened and a closed posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is closed. In this tablet printing apparatus, at least a part of the defective product collecting units 612 and 622 can be exposed to the outside of the inspection apparatus while the conveying conveyor is in operation and with the opening and closing members 614 and 624 in the closed position. Do.

Description

INSPECTION APPARATUS {INSPECTION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Conventionally, the inspection apparatus which test|inspects while conveying an inspection object by a conveyance apparatus is known. Such a test|inspection apparatus is disclosed by patent document 1, for example.

The tablet printing apparatus (inspection apparatus) described in Patent Document 1 performs inspection by imaging the tablet after printing while printing on the surface of the tablet as an inspection object. The tablet printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a conveying mechanism for conveying tablets while adsorbing and holding them by applying negative pressure to a plurality of adsorption units, a printing unit for discharging ink droplets on the surface of the tablet, and a printing unit disposed downstream of the printing unit. A printing inspection camera, a defective product determination unit that determines a target tablet to be recovered based on the captured image, and a blow mechanism for recovering defective printing products that cancels adsorption of the tablet by applying a positive pressure to the suction unit holding the target tablet; A printing defective product collection box is provided below the blow mechanism for recovering defective printing products. The blow mechanism for defective printing applies a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure only to a part of the adsorption section holding the target tablet, thereby canceling the adsorption of the target tablet held in the adsorption section. Thereby, the target tablet is collect|recovered in the printing defect collection|recovery box.

By the way, in the tablet printing apparatus as described in patent document 1, in order to improve the safety|security of an operator, the case where an interlock mechanism is provided is known. Specifically, the interlock mechanism locks the maintenance door on the side of the apparatus to the closed position so that the operator cannot access the inside of the apparatus while the tablet printing apparatus is in operation.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2019-72497

However, when the tablet printing apparatus is configured to include the interlock mechanism as described above, unless the operation of the tablet printing apparatus is stopped, the operator cannot check the actual tablet recovered in the defective printing product collection box. It was disadvantageous in that it did not exist. That is, there has been a need to enable the operator to check the inside of the printing defective product collection box even while the tablet printing apparatus is in operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to enable an operator to check the condition of a defective product by looking at the actual product during operation of the apparatus.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above, and next, means for solving the problems will be described.

In a first aspect of the present application, there is provided an inspection apparatus that inspects an object to be inspected while conveying it to the conveying apparatus. This inspection device includes a defective product storage, a guide, and an opening/closing member. The defective product storage unit stores defective products determined to be defective as a result of the inspection among the inspection objects. The guide section has a guide passage for guiding the defective article from the conveying device to the defective article storage section. The opening/closing member can change a posture between an open posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is opened and a closed posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is closed. In this inspection apparatus, at least a part of the said defective article storage part can be exposed to the outside of the said inspection apparatus in the state which made the said opening-and-closing member in the said closed position while the said conveyance apparatus is operating.

In a 2nd viewpoint of this application, in the inspection apparatus which concerns on a 1st viewpoint, the said defective-goods storage part is withdrawable to the outside of the said inspection apparatus.

In a 3rd viewpoint of this application, the inspection apparatus which concerns on a 2nd viewpoint WHEREIN: The side surface of the said inspection apparatus is smaller than the said whole side surface, and is equipped with the small window part from which the said defective article storage part can be pulled out.

In a 4th viewpoint of this application, the inspection apparatus which concerns on a 2nd viewpoint or a 3rd viewpoint WHEREIN: The mounting table on which the said inferior goods storage part is mounted is further provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present application, in the inspection apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the defective product storage portion is disposed on the upstream side in the withdrawal direction of the defective product storage portion than the defective product storage portion, and moves together with the defective product storage portion It further includes a blocking member that does.

In a sixth aspect of the present application, in the inspection apparatus according to a fifth aspect, when viewed in the direction in which the defective article storage portion is drawn out, the closure member overlaps the entire window of the small window portion.

In a seventh aspect of the present application, in the inspection apparatus according to any one of the second to the fourth aspects, the opening/closing member rotates in a direction perpendicular and horizontal to the withdrawal direction of the defective product storage unit It can be rotated around the axis.

In an 8th viewpoint of this application, the inspection apparatus which concerns on a 7th viewpoint WHEREIN: A blocking member and a roller are provided. The said closure member is arrange|positioned rather than the said inferior goods storage part on the upstream of the said inferior goods storage part in the drawing-out direction, and moves together with the said inferior goods storage part. The roller is supported by the blocking member so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending in a direction perpendicular and horizontal to the withdrawal direction. The roller is in contact with the opening/closing member.

In a ninth aspect of the present application, the inspection apparatus according to any one of the first to the eighth viewpoints is provided with a conveying apparatus, a printing unit, a printing inspection camera, and a defective product determination unit. The conveying apparatus conveys the tablet which is an inspection object. The printing unit prints on the surface of the tablet. The said print inspection camera images the said tablet after printing. The defective product determination unit determines whether or not the print result is defective based on the captured image.

According to the first to ninth aspects of the present application, the operator can check the state of the defective product by looking at the actual product while the device is in operation.

In particular, according to the first aspect of the present application, it is possible to expose at least a part of the defective article storage to the outside of the apparatus while the conveying apparatus is in operation, while receiving the defective article in the guide portion by the opening/closing member. Accordingly, during operation of the device, the operator can check the condition of the defective product by looking at the actual product.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present application, it becomes easy for the operator to take the defective product out of the apparatus.

In particular, according to the third aspect of the present application, the operator can easily and safely access the defective product storage portion by opening the small window portion on the side surface of the inspection device.

In particular, according to the 4th viewpoint of this application, when there are two or more inferior goods storage parts, for example, several inferior goods storage parts can be withdrawn together with a mounting table at once, and operability improves.

In particular, according to the 5th viewpoint of this application, by arrange|positioning a blocking member on the upstream of the withdrawal direction of a defective article storage part, it can prevent that an operator accesses a conveyance apparatus at the time of taking out a defective article storage part.

In particular, according to the 6th viewpoint of this application, it can prevent more effectively that an operator accesses a conveyance apparatus at the time of taking out a defective article storage part.

In particular, according to the seventh aspect of the present application, it becomes easy to link the withdrawing operation of the defective product storage and the change in the posture of the opening/closing member.

In particular, according to the eighth aspect of the present application, by integrally withdrawing the defective product storage and the closing member, the roller can act on the opening/closing member, and the opening/closing member can be switched from the open position to the closed position.

In particular, according to the ninth aspect of the present application, while the tablet is subjected to a printing process, the operator can confirm the state of the tablet determined to be defective and recovered to the defective product storage by looking at the actual product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is the figure which showed the schematic structure of a tablet printing apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the conveying drum of the tablet printing apparatus.
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the tablet printing apparatus in the vicinity of the second conveyer.
Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the head of the tablet printing apparatus.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the connection between each unit in the tablet printing apparatus and the control unit.
Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a side surface of one side in the width direction of the tablet printing apparatus.
7 : is a side view of a defective article storage part.
FIG. 8 : is a figure which shows the cross section taken along the line AA of FIG. 7 of the defective article collection|recovery part, and has shown the state before taking out the defective article storage part.
Fig. 9 is a view showing a cross-section of the defective article collection section taken along line AA of Fig. 7, and shows a state when the defective article storage section is pulled out.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described, referring drawings. In addition, in the following description, the direction in which a some tablet is conveyed is called "conveyance direction", and the direction perpendicular|vertical and horizontal with respect to a conveyance direction is called "width direction."

<1. Overall configuration of tablet printing apparatus>

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a tablet printing apparatus 1 which is an embodiment of the inspection apparatus according to the present invention. This tablet printing apparatus 1 conveys a plurality of tablets 9 which are one embodiment of an object to be inspected according to the present invention, and displays a product name, product code, company name, logo mark, etc. on the surface of each tablet 9. A device that prints images.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a supply mechanism 20 , a conveyance mechanism 30 , a printing unit 40 , an inspection mechanism 50 , a recovery unit 60 , and a control unit. (10) has

The supply mechanism 20 has a hopper 21 , a straight feeder 22 , a rotary feeder 23 , and an inclined feeder 24 . The supply mechanism 20 is a mechanism for delivering the tablet 9 injected|thrown-in in the apparatus to the conveyance mechanism 30 .

The hopper 21 is an injection|throwing-in part for taking in the many tablets 9 collectively in an apparatus. The hopper 21 is disposed at the top of the case body 100 of the tablet printing apparatus 1 . The hopper 21 has the opening part 211 located in the upper surface of the case body 100, and the funnel-shaped inclined surface 212 which converges gradually as it goes downward. The plurality of tablets 9 injected into the opening 211 flows into the straight feeder 22 along the inclined surface 212 .

The straight feeder 22 , the rotary feeder 23 , and the inclined feeder 24 are mechanisms for conveying the plurality of tablets 9 put into the hopper 21 to the conveying mechanism 30 . The straight feeder 22 has a flat plate-shaped vibration trough 221 . The plurality of tablets 9 supplied from the hopper 21 to the vibration trough 221 are conveyed to the rotary feeder 23 side by the vibration of the vibration trough 221 .

The rotary feeder 23 has a disk-shaped rotary table 231 . The plurality of tablets 9 that have fallen from the vibration trough 221 to the upper surface of the rotary table 231 are collected in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the rotary table 231 by centrifugal force due to the rotation of the rotary table 231 .

The inclined feeder 24 has a plate-shaped slope 241 obliquely extending downward from the outer periphery of the rotary table 231 to the later-mentioned conveying drum 31 of the conveying mechanism 30 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view including a part of the inclined feeder 24 , a conveying drum 31 , and a part of the first conveying conveyor 32 . As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance groove|channel 242 of several (eight in the example of FIG. 2) is formed in the upper surface of the slope 241. The plurality of tablets 9 conveyed to the outer periphery of the rotary table 231 are respectively supplied to any one of the plurality of conveying grooves 242 , and flow down obliquely downward along the conveying grooves 242 . In this way, the plurality of tablets 9 are dispersedly supplied to the plurality of conveying grooves 242 to be aligned in a plurality of conveying rows. And the some tablet 9 of each conveyance row is supplied to the conveyance drum 31 in order from the first thing.

The conveying mechanism 30 has the conveying drum 31, the 1st conveying conveyor (conveying apparatus) 32, the 2nd conveying conveyor (conveying apparatus) 33, and the carrying out conveyor 34.

The conveying drum 31 is a mechanism which conveys the some tablet 9 from the inclined feeder 24 to the 1st conveying conveyor 32. As shown in FIG. The conveying drum 31 has a substantially cylindrical outer peripheral surface. The conveyance drum 31 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the some adsorption|suction part 310 arrange|positioned at substantially equal intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance drum 31. As shown in FIG. The some adsorption|suction part 310 is the width direction position corresponding to each of the conveyance grooves 242 of the inclined feeder 24. WHEREIN: It is arranged in the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance drum 31.

The adsorption|suction part 310 is a through-hole formed in the surface of the conveyance drum 31, respectively. 3 : is a partial schematic which shows the structure of the conveyance drum 31, a part of the 1st conveyer 32, and the 2nd conveyer 33. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3 , a suction mechanism 311 is provided inside the conveying drum 31 . When the suction mechanism 311 is operated, a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure is generated in each of the plurality of adsorption units 310 . The adsorption|suction part 310 adsorb|sucks hold|maintains the tablets 9 supplied from the inclined feeder 24 one by one by the said negative pressure.

Moreover, the blow mechanism 312 for cancellation|release is provided in the inside of the conveyance drum 31. As shown in FIG. The blow mechanism 312 for release injects the gas pressurized locally from the inside of the conveyance drum 31 toward the 1st conveyer 32 side. The blow mechanism 312 for release makes the positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure act on the adsorption|suction part 310 arrange|positioned at the position opposite to the 1st conveyer 32, and the refinement|purification 9 in the said adsorption|suction part 310 is made. cancel the adsorption of

Thereby, in the adsorption|suction part 310 arrange|positioned at the position which does not oppose the 1st conveyer 32, the adsorption|suction part 310 which opposes the 1st conveyer 32, maintaining the adsorption|suction state of the tablet 9. ), the adsorption of the tablet (9) is canceled. The conveyance drum 31 rotates while adsorbing and holding the some tablet 9 supplied from the inclined feeder 24 in this way, and delivers these tablets 9 to the 1st conveyer 32.

Here, the surface adsorbed by the adsorption|suction part 310 while the tablet 9 is being adsorbed and held by the conveyance drum 31 among the front and back surfaces of the tablet 9 is called a 1st surface. In addition, among the front and back surfaces of the tablet 9, the surface on the opposite side to a 1st surface is called a 2nd surface. That is, the surface exposed to the outside while the tablet 9 is adsorbed and held by the conveyance drum 31 among the front and back surfaces of the tablet 9 is called a 2nd surface. When the tablets 9 are delivered from the conveying drum 31 to the first conveying conveyor 32 , the second surface of the tablets 9 faces the first conveying conveyor 32 . For this reason, the 2nd surface of the tablet 9 is adsorb|sucked by the 1st conveyer 32. As shown in FIG. Therefore, while being adsorbed and held by the 1st conveyer 32, the 1st surface of the tablet 9 is exposed to the outside. Thus, the front and back of the tablet 9 are inverted while being adsorbed and held by the conveyance drum 31 and while being adsorbed and held by the 1st conveyer 32. As shown in FIG.

The first conveyer 32 includes a pair of pulleys 321 , a conveyance belt 322 , and a suction mechanism 323 . The conveyance belt 322 is spanned annularly between a pair of pulleys 321 . A part of the conveyance belt 322 is disposed so as to be opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance drum 31 . One of the pair of pulleys 321 rotates with power obtained from a motor (not shown). Thereby, the conveyance belt 322 rotates in the direction of the arrow of FIGS. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 321 follows and rotates with the rotation of the conveyance belt 322 .

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, the some adsorption|suction part 320 is formed in the conveyance belt 322. As shown in FIG. The plurality of adsorption units 320 are through holes formed in the surface of the conveyance belt 322 , similarly to the adsorption units 310 of the conveyance drum 31 . The some adsorption|suction part 320 WHEREIN: In the width direction position corresponding to each of a some conveyance row, it is arrange|positioned in a conveyance direction. The distance in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the some adsorption|suction part 320 in the conveyance belt 322 is equal to the space|interval of the conveyance direction of the some adsorption|suction part 310 in the conveyance drum 31, and the width direction Do.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first conveyer 32 has a suction mechanism 323 . The suction mechanism 323 generates a negative pressure in the space inside the pulley 321 and the conveyance belt 322 . When the suction mechanism 323 is operated, a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure is generated in each of the plurality of suction units 320 . The adsorption|suction part 320 adsorb|sucks hold|maintains the tablets 9 carried over from the conveyance drum 31 one by one by the said negative pressure. Thereby, the 1st conveyer 32 conveys the some tablet 9 in the state aligned with the conveyance direction and the width direction.

Moreover, the blow mechanism 324 for cancellation|release shown in FIG. 3 is provided in the 1st conveyer 32. As shown in FIG. The blow mechanism 324 for release injects the gas pressurized locally from the inside of the conveyance belt 322 toward the 2nd conveyer 33 side. The blow mechanism 324 for release makes the positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure act on the adsorption|suction part 320 arrange|positioned at the position opposite to the 2nd conveyer 33, and the refinement|purification 9 in the said adsorption|suction part 320 is made. cancel the adsorption of Thereby, the adsorption|suction of the tablet 9 in the said adsorption|suction part 320 is cancelled|released, and the tablet 9 is transmitted from the 1st conveyer 32 to the 2nd conveyer 33. As shown in FIG.

Here, while the tablet 9 is adsorbed and held by the first conveyer 32 , the second face of the tablet 9 is adsorbed by the adsorption unit 320 , and the first face of the tablet 9 is moved to the outside. is exposed When the tablet 9 is delivered from the first conveyer 32 to the second conveyer 33 , the first surface of the tablet 9 faces the second conveyer 33 . For this reason, the 1st surface of the tablet 9 is adsorb|sucked by the 2nd conveyer 33. As shown in FIG. Therefore, while being adsorbed and held by the 2nd conveyer 33, the 2nd surface of the tablet 9 is exposed to the outside. In this way, the front and back of the tablet 9 are reversed while being adsorbed and held by the first conveyer 32 and while being adsorbed and held by the second conveyer 33 .

The second conveyer 33 includes a pair of pulleys 331 , a conveyance belt 332 having a plurality of adsorption portions 330 , and a suction mechanism 333 . A pair of pulleys 331 , a conveying belt 332 , and a suction mechanism 333 of the second conveyer 33 include a pair of pulleys 321 and a conveying belt 322 of the first conveyer 32 . And since it is a structure equivalent to the suction mechanism 323, description is abbreviate|omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the blow mechanism 334 for discharge|emission is provided in the 2nd conveyer 33. As shown in FIG. Below the blow mechanism 334 for discharge|emission, the chute 341 which connects the 2nd conveyer 33 and the discharge conveyor 34 is arrange|positioned. The blow mechanism 334 for discharge|emission injects the gas pressurized locally toward the chute 341 side from the inside of the conveyance belt 332. The blow mechanism 334 for discharge|emission makes the positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure act on all of the adsorption|suction part 330 arrange|positioned at the predetermined position opposing the chute 341, and the refinement|purification 9 in the said adsorption|suction part 330 is made. ) to cancel the adsorption of Thereby, the adsorption|suction of the tablet 9 in the said adsorption|suction part 330 is cancelled|released, and the tablet 9 is transmitted from the 2nd conveyer 33 to the discharge conveyor 34 .

The discharging conveyor 34 is a mechanism for discharging the plurality of tablets 9 after printing to the outside of the case body 100 of the tablet printing apparatus 1 . The upstream end of the unloading conveyor 34 is located below the chute 341 . The downstream end of the unloading conveyor 34 is located outside the case body 100 . The downstream end of the carrying-out conveyor 34 is connected with the packaging apparatus which packs the tablet 9 after a printing process, for example. A belt conveying mechanism is used for the carrying-out conveyor 34, for example. The plurality of tablets 9 transferred from the second conveyer 33 to the discharging conveyor 34 are discharged to the outside of the case body 100 by the discharging conveyor 34 .

The printing unit 40 includes a first printing unit 41 and a second printing unit 42 .

The first printing unit 41 is a processing unit for printing an image on the first surface of the tablet 9 . The 1st printing part 41 is arrange|positioned at the position opposite to the outer surface of the conveyance belt 322 of the 1st conveyance conveyer 32 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the first printing unit 41 is an inkjet head unit having four heads 411 . Each of the four heads 411 discharges ink droplets toward the first surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the first conveyer 32 . In addition, the four heads 411 discharge ink droplets of different colors (for example, each color of cyan, magenta, yellow and black). By superimposing monochromatic images formed by these respective colors, a multicolor image is recorded on the surface of the tablet 9 . In addition, as the ink discharged from each head 411, edible ink manufactured from raw materials approved by the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Food Sanitation Act, etc. is used.

4 is a bottom view of one head 411 . In FIG. 4 , a conveyance belt 322 and a plurality of tablets 9 held on the conveyance belt 322 are shown by a dashed-dotted line. As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 4 , a plurality of nozzles 410 capable of discharging ink droplets are formed on the lower surface of the head 411 . In the present embodiment, a plurality of nozzles 410 are two-dimensionally arranged on the lower surface of the head 411 in the conveyance direction and the width direction. Each nozzle 410 shifts a position in the width direction, and is arrange|positioned. In this way, when the plurality of nozzles 410 are two-dimensionally arranged, the positions of the respective nozzles 410 in the width direction can be made close to each other. However, the some nozzle 410 may be arranged in a line along the width direction.

The so-called piezo system in which ink in the nozzle 410 is pressurized and discharged by applying voltage to a piezoelectric element which is a piezoelectric element and deforming it is used for the ejection method of the ink drop from the nozzle 410, for example. The head 411 of this embodiment can switch the size of the ink drop discharged from the nozzle 410 according to the magnitude of the voltage applied to the piezo element. Specifically, any ink drop can be discharged from among the four types of ink drops ranging from "size 1", which is the smallest ink drop, to "size 4," which is the largest ink drop. However, 2 to 3 types may be sufficient as the size of the ink drop which can be ejected, and 5 or more types may be sufficient as them. In addition, the so-called thermal system may be used for discharging the ink droplets by energizing the heater and heating and expanding the ink in the nozzle 410 .

The second printing unit 42 is a processing unit for printing an image on the second surface of the tablet 9 . The second printing unit 42 is disposed at a position opposite to the outer surface of the conveyance belt 332 of the second conveyer 33 . The second printing unit 42 is an inkjet head unit having four heads 421 . Since the structure of the 2nd printing part 42 is equivalent to the 1st printing part 41, description is abbreviate|omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the inspection mechanism 50 includes a first external inspection camera 51 , a second external inspection camera 52 , a first print inspection camera 53 , and a third external inspection camera ( 54 ) and a second print inspection camera 55 .

The 1st external appearance inspection camera 51 is a camera which image|photographs the 2nd surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the conveyance drum 31.

The 2nd external appearance inspection camera 52 is a camera which image|photographs the 1st surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the 1st conveyer 32 in the upstream of the 1st printing part 41. As shown in FIG. The 1st print inspection camera 53 is a camera which image|photographs the 1st surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the 1st conveyer 32 in the downstream of the 1st printing part 41.

The 3rd external appearance inspection camera 54 is a camera which image|photographs the 2nd surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the 2nd conveyer 33 in the upstream of the 2nd printing part 42. As shown in FIG. The 2nd print inspection camera 55 is a camera which image|photographs the 2nd surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the 2nd conveyer 33 in the downstream of the 2nd printing part 42. As shown in FIG.

The recovery unit 60 includes a print defective product recovery unit 61 , a poor appearance product recovery unit 62 , a discharge sensor 63 , and a rear recovery unit 64 .

The defective-printed article recovery section 61 includes a blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective-printed articles and a defective-printed article collection box 612 . The defective article collection box 612 is an embodiment of the defective article storage unit according to the present invention. The blow mechanism 611 for printing defective article collection|recovery is arrange|positioned downstream of the 2nd printing inspection camera 55. As shown in FIG. Below the blow mechanism 611 for defective printing product collection|recovery, the printing defect collection|recovery box 612 is arrange|positioned. The blow mechanism 611 for defective printing collection ejects the gas pressurized locally from the inside of the conveyance belt 332 toward the printing defect collection box 612 side. The blow mechanism 611 for collecting defective printing is only for a part of the adsorption unit 330 holding the target tablet determined by the control unit 10 to be a defective product based on the photographed images of the print inspection cameras 53 and 55, A positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure is applied to cancel the adsorption of the target tablet as a defective product held in the adsorption unit 330 . Thereby, the target tablet is collected in the defective printing product collection box 612 .

The poor-appearance collection part 62 has a blow mechanism 621 for collection|recovery of an appearance-defective-goods thing, and the inferior-looking-goods collection box 622. The appearance-defective-goods collection box 622 is one Embodiment of the inferior-goods storage part which concerns on this invention. The blow mechanism 621 for collection|recovery of an appearance defect is arrange|positioned downstream of the printing defect collection|recovery part 61. As shown in FIG. Below the blow mechanism 621 for defective appearance collection|recovery, the defective appearance collection|recovery box 622 is arrange|positioned. The blow mechanism 621 for poor-appearance collection|recovery injects the gas pressurized locally toward the inferior-looking-goods collection box 622 from the inside of the conveyance belt 332. The blow mechanism 621 for collection|recovery of bad-appearance products is attached to the part of adsorption|suction part 330 which hold|maintains the target tablet which the control part 10 judged as an inferior-looking thing based on the captured image of the external appearance inspection cameras 51, 52, 54. Only for this, a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure is applied to cancel the adsorption of the target tablet as a defective product held in the adsorption unit 330 . Thereby, the target tablet is collect|recovered in the bad-appearance collection box 622.

In addition, in this embodiment, although the defective-printed-goods collection|recovery part 61 was arrange|positioned upstream of the appearance-defective-goods collection|recovery part 62, this invention is not limited to this. The poor-appearance recovery section 62 may be disposed on the upstream side of the poor-printed product recovery section 61 .

Further, in the present embodiment, the tablet printing apparatus 1 has two defective product recovery blow mechanisms: a blow mechanism 611 for recovering defective printing and a blow mechanism 621 for recovering defective products. not limited The tablet printing apparatus of the present invention may have a single defective product recovery blow mechanism and a defective product storage unit for collectively collecting defective products, and includes a different blow mechanism for collecting other types of defective products. You may have a blow mechanism and a defective article storage part.

The discharge sensor 63 is disposed on the downstream side of the defective printing product recovery section 61 and the appearance defective product recovery section 62 . The emission sensor 63 is a sensor which irradiates a laser to the adsorption|suction part 330, detects the reflected light, and detects the distance to an object. The discharge sensor 63 can detect whether the tablet 9 is hold|maintained by each adsorption|suction part 330 by detecting a reflection distance.

The regret-receiving unit 64 is located on the downstream side of the printing defective product recovery unit 61 and the appearance defective product recovery unit 62 . The regret water unit 64 includes a blow mechanism 641 for the regret water and a waste water box 642 . The waste water blow mechanism 641 is disposed on the downstream side of the discharge sensor 63 . Below the waste water blow mechanism 641, a waste water box 642 is disposed. The waste water blow mechanism 641 injects locally pressurized gas toward the waste water box 642 from the inside of the conveyance belt 332 . The waste water blow mechanism applies a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure only to the predetermined adsorption unit 330 holding the residual purification designated by the control unit 10 based on the detection result of the discharge sensor 63, and the adsorption unit ( 330), the adsorption of the tablet (9) is released. Thereby, the said tablet 9 is collect|recovered in the regret water box 642.

The control unit 10 is means for controlling the operation of each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1 . 5 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 10 and each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1 . As conceptually shown in Fig. 1, the control unit 10 is constituted by a computer having an arithmetic processing unit 101 such as a CPU, a memory 102 such as RAM, and a storage unit 103 such as a hard disk drive. . In the storage unit 103, a computer program P for executing print processing is installed.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the control unit 10 includes a linear feeder 22 , a rotary feeder 23 , and a conveying drum 31 (a motor, a suction mechanism 311 , and a blow mechanism 312 for release). , the first conveyer 32 (including a motor, a suction mechanism 323, and a blow mechanism 324 for release), a second conveyer 33 (a motor, a suction mechanism 333, a blow mechanism for discharging) 334 ), the unloading conveyor 34 , the four heads 411 of the first printing unit 41 , the four heads 421 of the second printing unit 42 , the first external inspection camera 51 . ), a second appearance inspection camera 52 , a first print inspection camera 53 , a third appearance inspection camera 54 , a second print inspection camera 55 , a blow mechanism 611 for recovering defective print goods, an appearance defective article It is connected so that communication with the blow mechanism 621 for collection|recovery, the discharge sensor 63, and the blow mechanism 641 for waste water is possible, respectively.

The control unit 10 temporarily reads and outputs the computer program P and data stored in the storage unit 103 to the memory 102, and based on the computer program P, the arithmetic processing unit 101 calculates. By performing the process, each of the above-mentioned units is operated and controlled. Thereby, the printing process and the inspection process with respect to the some tablet 9 advance.

That is, the control unit 10 conceptually has an appearance determination unit and a print quality determination unit. The appearance determination unit and the print quality determination unit are one embodiment of the defective product determination unit according to the present invention. The appearance determination unit and the print quality determination unit determine target tablets as defective products based on the images captured by the cameras 51 to 55 .

6 is a side view of the tablet printing apparatus 1 . As shown in FIG. 6 , the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a door 105 that can be opened and closed on one side surface of the case body 100 in the width direction. The door 105 is provided with an interlock mechanism. Specifically, the straight feeder 22, the rotary feeder 23, the conveying drum 31 (including the motor, the suction mechanism 311, and the blow mechanism 312 for release), the first conveyer 32 ( a motor, a suction mechanism 323, and a blow mechanism for release 324), a second conveyer 33 (including a motor, a suction mechanism 333, and a blow mechanism for discharge 334), and unloading It is possible for the operator to open the door 105 only when the conveyor 34 is stopped. Thereby, safety is improved.

Since the tablet printing apparatus 1 is provided with the interlock mechanism as described above, in general, unless the operation of the tablet printing apparatus is stopped, the operator collects the defective printing product collection box and the exterior defective product collection box. It is not possible to confirm the in-kind of the purified tablet. However, there is a need to enable the operator to check the inside of the defective printing product collection box and the appearance defective product collection box even while the tablet printing apparatus is in operation. On the other hand, in the tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, without sacrificing safety, even while the tablet printing apparatus 1 is in operation, the operator can use the defective printing product collection box 612 and the appearance defective product collection box 622 It has a unique configuration to make it possible to check the inside of the

<2. Detailed configuration of the defective product collection unit and the defective product collection unit>

Hereinafter, a more detailed configuration of the printing defective product recovery unit 61 and the appearance defective product recovery unit 62 unique to the present application will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 . 7 : is a side view of the defective-printed goods collection|recovery part 61 and the external appearance defect collection|recovery part 62. As shown in FIG. 8 : is a figure which shows the cross-section of the collection|recovery part taken along the line A-A of FIG. 7, Comprising: The state before the printing defect collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62 are taken out is shown. 9 : is a figure which shows the cross-section of the collection|recovery part taken along the line A-A of FIG. 7, and has shown the state when the defective-printing goods collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62 are withdrawn.

As shown in Figs. 7 to 9, the defective print recovery section 61 includes a guide section 613 and an opening/closing member ( 614).

The guide 613 has a guide passage for guiding the target tablet as a defective product from the second conveyer 33 to the printing defective product collection box 612 . The guide 613 is a so-called chute. The target tablet supplied to the guide part 613 falls vertically in the guide passage by its own weight.

The opening/closing member 614 is located directly below the guide part 613 . The opening-and-closing member 614 is supported by the lower end of the guide part 613 so that rotation is possible centering|focusing on the rotation axis extending in the direction perpendicular|vertical and horizontal with respect to the width direction. The opening/closing member 614 can change its posture between an open posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage of the guide portion 613 is opened and a closed posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is closed by rotating the opening/closing member 614 . Do. 7 and 8 , in a state in which no external force is applied to the opening/closing member 614, the opening/closing member 614 is held in the open position by its own weight.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 7-9, the bad external appearance collection|recovery part 62 opens and closes with the guide part 623 in addition to the blow mechanism 621 for external appearance bad|defective goods collection|recovery and the bad external appearance collection box 622 which were mentioned above. member 624 .

Since the structure and function of the guide part 623 are the same as that of the guide part 613, detailed description is abbreviate|omitted. In addition, since the structure and function of the opening-and-closing member 624 are the same as that of the opening-closing member 614, detailed description is abbreviate|omitted.

7 and 8, below the guide part 613, the printing defect collection box 612 is located. Moreover, below the guide part 623, the external appearance defect collection|recovery box 622 is located.

The printing defective article collection box 612 and the appearance defective article collection box 622 are placed on the mounting table 650 . The mounting table 650 is planar and spreads out horizontally. The mounting table 650 can be pulled out with respect to the case body 100 in the drawing-out direction together with the printing defective article collection box 612 and the appearance defective article collection box 622 by an operator. This extraction direction corresponds to the width direction. In front of the mounting table 650, a handle 650a for an operator to hold is formed.

The blocking member 660 shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is located inward from the space in which the printing defect collection box 612 and the appearance defect collection box 622 of the mounting table 650 are arrange|positioned. In other words, the closure member 660 is located on the upstream side of the drawing-out direction rather than the printing defective article collection box 612 and the appearance defective article collection box 622 . The closure member 660 is a planar shape extending perpendicularly|vertically with respect to the width direction. The lower end of the closure member 660 is being fixed with respect to the mounting table 650 . Therefore, when the mounting table 650 is withdrawn, the blocking member 660 is pulled out together with the printing defective article collection box 612 and the appearance defective article collection box 622 .

6 , 8 and 9 , the door 105 of the case body 100 of the tablet printing apparatus 1 has a small window portion 107 . The small window portion 107 is rotatable about an axis extending in the vertical direction. The small window portion 107 is formed at a position opposite to the printing defective article collection box 612 , the appearance defective article collection box 622 , and the mounting table 650 on the side surface of the case body 100 . The opening of the small window part 107 becomes large enough to allow the printing defective article collection box 612 , the appearance defective article collection box 622 , and the mounting table 650 to pass therethrough while having a slight gap.

When the small window portion 107 is viewed from the extraction direction, the closure member 660 overlaps the entire opening of the small window portion 107 . More specifically, the closure member 660 is arranged to protrude outward from the opening of the small window portion 107 when viewed in the width direction. Therefore, when the defective printing product collection box 612 and the appearance defective product collection box 622 are withdrawn together with the mounting table 650 in the withdrawal direction, the closing member 660 approaches the window of the small window portion 107, and the The window is substantially obscured by the occlusion member 660 . Thereby, it is prevented that an operator accesses the conveyers 32 and 33 etc. which are arrange|positioned rather than the obstruction|occlusion member 660 on the upstream of the extraction direction.

As shown in FIG.8 and FIG.9, the closure member 660 has the stay 660a extended to the upstream of the extraction direction. The stays 660a are formed in pairs at a position corresponding to the defective printing article collection box 612 and a position corresponding to the defective appearance article collection box 622 at intervals in the conveying direction. Rollers 661 and 662 are rotatably supported by the pair of stays 660a. The rollers 661 and 662 are rotatable about a rotational shaft extending in a direction perpendicular and horizontal to the drawing-out direction as a center. The rollers 661 and 662 are arranged in the width direction on the upstream side and the downstream side of a drawing-out direction, and are formed. In other words, the rotation axes of the rollers 661 and 662 are parallel to the rotation axes of the opening and closing members 614 and 624. When the closing member 660 moves in the drawing-out direction, the rollers 661 and 662 are able to contact the opening/closing members 614 and 624 .

In the tablet printing apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the small window portion 107 is not provided with an interlock mechanism. Therefore, the operator can open the door of the small window part 107 while operating the tablet printing apparatus 1 . When the door of the small window portion 107 is opened, the operator grips the handle 650a of the mounting table 650, and manually, the mounting table 650, the printing defective product collection box 612, and the appearance defective product collection box ( 622 and the closure member 660 can be integrated, and can be pulled out in a drawing-out direction.

In the process of the operator taking out the mounting table 650, the printing defective article collection box 612, the appearance defective article collection box 622, and the blocking member 660 in the drawing direction, the rollers 661 and 662 open and close the opening posture. members 614 and 624 are contacted. Thereby, the opening-and-closing members 614 and 624 rotate centering on a rotation axis, and it becomes a closed posture (refer FIG. 9). Therefore, even if a target tablet is supplied to the guides 613 and 623 while the defective printing product collection box 612 and the poor-appearance recovery box 622 are being pulled out, the target tablet is delivered to the opening/closing members 614 and 624. taken from below by Therefore, even if the operator checks the tablets 9 in the defective print collection box 612 and the defective appearance collection box 622 during operation of the tablet printing apparatus 1, the other tablets 9 are returned to the defective product collection boxes 612 and 622. ) is less likely to overflow to the outside of

In addition, after checking the inside of the defective printing product collection box 612 and the defective appearance product collection box 622, the operator took out the mounting table 650, the printing defective product collection box 612, the poor appearance product collection box 622, and the closure member. When the 660 is returned to the original position (the position before the withdrawal), the rollers 661 and 662 do not come into contact with the opening and closing members 614 and 624 . Thereby, the opening-closing members 614 and 624 return to an open position according to their own weight (refer FIG. 8). In this way, the tablet 9 passing through the guide passages of the guide portions 613 and 623 again is in a state in which the recovery boxes 612 and 622 are recovered.

<3. Summary>

As described above, the tablet printing apparatus (inspection apparatus) 1 according to the present embodiment includes a printing defective product recovery unit (defective product storage unit) 61 and an appearance defective product recovery unit (defective product storage unit) 62; Guide parts 613 and 623 and opening and closing members 614 and 624 are provided. In the tablet printing apparatus 1, the opening and closing members 614 and 624 are in the closed position while the first conveyer (conveyor) 32 and the second conveyer (conveyor) 33 are in operation. , it is possible to expose at least a portion of the printing defective product recovery unit 61 and the appearance defective product recovery unit 62 to the outside of the tablet printing apparatus 1 (refer to FIG. 9 ). Thereby, while the 1st conveyer 32 and the 2nd conveyer 33 are operating, the target tablet (defective product) is received in the guide parts 613, 623 by the opening-and-closing members 614 and 624, and a printing defect is collect|recovered. At least a portion of the portion 61 and the defective appearance recovery portion 62 may be exposed to the outside of the apparatus. Accordingly, while the tablet printing apparatus 1 is in operation, the operator can check the condition of the defective product by looking at the actual product.

In addition, in the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the printing defective product collection unit 61 and the appearance defective product collection unit 62 can be pulled out of the tablet printing apparatus 1 . This makes it easy for the operator to take out the defective product to the outside of the device.

In addition, the side surface of one side in the width direction of the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is smaller than the entire side surface, and a small window portion ( 107) (see FIG. 6). Thereby, when an operator opens the small window part 107 of the side surface of the tablet printing apparatus 1, it can access easily and safely to the defective-printed goods collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62.

Moreover, the tablet printing apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment is further equipped with the mounting table 650 on which the printing defect collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62 are mounted. Thereby, the printing defect collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62 which are a some inferior goods storage part can be taken out together with the mounting table 650 at once, and operability is improved.

Moreover, the tablet printing apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment is arrange|positioned on the upstream side of the drawing-out direction rather than the printing defect collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62, The printing defect collection|recovery part 61 and the bad appearance goods A closure member 660 that moves together with the recovery unit 62 is further provided. In this way, by disposing the blocking member 660 on the upstream side in the drawing-out direction of the defective printing product recovery section 61 and the poor appearance product recovery section 62, the defective printing section 61 and the poor appearance recovery section 62 are closed. It is possible to prevent the operator from accessing the first conveyer 32 and the second conveyer 33 at the time of taking out.

In addition, in the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when viewed from the drawing direction of the defective printing product recovery unit 61 and the poor appearance product recovery unit 62 , the blocking member 660 includes the small window portion 107 . overlapped with the global window of . Thereby, it can prevent more effectively that an operator accesses the 1st conveyer 32 and the 2nd conveyer 33 at the time of taking out the printing defect collection part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62. As shown in FIG.

Moreover, in the tablet printing apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment, the opening-and-closing members 614 and 624 are rotatable centering around the rotation axis extending in the conveyance direction. Thereby, it becomes easy to link the withdrawing operation|movement of the printing defect collection|recovery part 61 and the appearance defect collection|recovery part 62, and the attitude change of the opening-and-closing members 614 and 624.

Further, the tablet printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes rollers 661 and 662 . The rollers 661 and 662 are supported by the closure member 660 so as to be rotatable centering on a rotation shaft extending in the conveyance direction. The rollers 661 and 662 can contact the opening and closing members 614 and 624 . Thereby, the rollers 661, 662 are made to act on the opening and closing members 614, 624 by taking out the printing defective article collecting part 61, the appearance defective article collecting part 62, and the closure member 660 integrally, and the opening and closing member (614, 624) can be switched from the open posture to the closed posture.

<4. About Modifications>

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Unless it deviates from the meaning, it is possible to implement various changes with respect to the above-mentioned thing.

The tablet printing apparatus 1 printed on both sides of the tablet 9 by the first printing unit 41 and the second printing unit 42 . However, the inspection apparatus may be an apparatus that prints only on one side of the object to be inspected.

Further, in the tablet printing apparatus 1, defective printing and poor appearance are collected by different collection units 61 and 62, respectively. In this way, it is easy to determine whether a defect has occurred in the tablet 9 supplied to the tablet printing apparatus 1 or whether a defect has occurred in the tablet 9 in the tablet printing apparatus 1 . However, it is not limited to this, You may collect|recover a printing defect and an external appearance defect by a single collection|recovery part.

The "inspection object" in the present invention may be a thin disc-shaped tablet having a front surface and a back surface as shown in the above embodiment, or may be an oval tablet or the like. In addition, the "inspection object" is not limited to a tablet as a pharmaceutical, and may be a tablet as a health food such as a supplement, or a tablet such as ramune. In addition, the "test object" in the present invention is not limited to tablets, and is applicable to various known products.

Moreover, you may combine each element which appeared in the said embodiment or a modified example suitably in the range which does not generate|occur|produce a contradiction.

1: Tablet printing device (inspection device)
9: Tablets
10: control unit
20: supply mechanism
30: conveyance mechanism
31: conveying drum
32: first conveying conveyor (conveying device)
33: 2nd conveying conveyor (conveying device)
34: take out conveyor
40: printing unit
41: first printing unit
42: second printing unit
50: inspection mechanism
51: first visual inspection camera
52: second visual inspection camera
53: first print inspection camera
54: third visual inspection camera
55: second print inspection camera
60: recovery unit
61: printing defective product recovery unit
62: Appearance defective product recovery unit
100: case body
105 : door
107: small intestine
310: adsorption unit
330: adsorption unit
611: Blow mechanism for collecting defective printing products
612: Print defective product collection box (defective product storage unit)
613: information department
614: opening and closing member
621: Blow mechanism for recovering defective products
622: Appearance defective product collection box (defective product storage unit)

Claims (9)

An inspection device for inspecting while transporting an inspection object to a transport device, comprising:
A defective product storage unit for storing defective products determined to be defective as a result of the inspection among the objects to be inspected;
a guide portion having a guide passage for guiding the defective article from the conveying device to the defective article storage;
an opening/closing member capable of changing a posture between an open posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is opened and a closed posture in which the downstream end of the guide passage is closed;
The inspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the defective article storage unit can be exposed to the outside of the inspection apparatus while the conveying apparatus is in operation and the defective article is received by the opening and closing member in a state in which the opening and closing member is in the closed position. The method of claim 1,
The said defective article storage part is an inspection apparatus which can be withdrawn to the outside of the said inspection apparatus. 3. The method of claim 2,
The side surface of the said inspection apparatus is smaller than the said whole side surface, and is provided with the small window part from which the said inferior goods storage part can be pulled out. 3. The method of claim 2,
Inspection apparatus further comprising a mounting table on which the defective product storage unit is placed. 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The inspection apparatus which is arrange|positioned in the upstream of the said inferior goods storage part from the said inferior goods storage part in the drawing-out direction, and is further provided with the blocking member which moves with the said inferior goods storage part. 4. The method of claim 3,
Further comprising a blocking member disposed on an upstream side of the withdrawal direction of the defective article storage portion than the defective article storage portion, and moving together with the defective article storage portion,
The inspection device, wherein the closure member overlaps the entire window of the small window portion when viewed in a drawing direction of the defective product storage portion. 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The opening/closing member extends perpendicularly to a withdrawal direction of the defective product storage unit and is rotatable about a rotational axis extending in a horizontal direction. 8. The method of claim 7,
a blocking member disposed on an upstream side in the withdrawal direction of the defective article storage portion from the defective article storage portion and moving together with the defective article storage portion;
and a roller supported by the closure member to be rotatably rotatable about a rotational shaft extending in a horizontal direction while extending perpendicular to the withdrawal direction;
The roller is in contact with the opening and closing member, the inspection device. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
a conveying device for conveying tablets as inspection objects;
a printing unit for printing on the surface of the tablet;
a print inspection camera for imaging the tablet after printing;
An inspection apparatus comprising: a defective product determination unit that determines whether or not a print result is defective based on a captured image.

Images