KR20210038327A - Tablet printing apparatus and tablet printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a tablet printing apparatus, a tablet printing method, a tablet manufacturing apparatus, and a tablet manufacturing method, which are able to prevent tablets other than qualified tablets from being mixed in a box for recollecting the qualified tablets. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the tablet printing apparatus (1) comprises: an inspection processing unit (53) which inspects whether a printed tablet (T) is qualified or not; a qualified product recollection apparatus (43) which, when the tablet (T) is determined to be qualified, recollects the qualified tablet (T) from a returning belt (31a); a defective product recollecting apparatus (41) which, when the tablet (T) is determined not to be qualified, recollects the tablet (T) other than the qualified products from the returning belt (31a); a discharge checking sensor (41c) which detects whether the tablet (T) other than the qualified tablets is recollected or not by the defective product recollecting apparatus (41); and a re-inspected product recollecting apparatus (42) which, when the recollecting operation for recollecting the tablet (T) other than the qualified tablets by the defective product recollecting apparatus (41) is conducted and if it is detected that the tablet (T) other than the qualified tablets is not recollected by the discharge checking sensor (41c), recollects the tablet (T) other than the qualified tablets from the returning belt (31a).

Description

Tablet printing apparatus and tablet printing method {TABLET PRINTING APPARATUS AND TABLET PRINTING METHOD}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a tablet printing apparatus, a tablet printing method, a tablet manufacturing apparatus, and a tablet manufacturing method.

In order to print identification information (example of information) such as characters or marks on a tablet, a technique of performing printing using an inkjet head is known. In a tablet printing apparatus using this technology, tablets are conveyed by a conveying device such as a conveyor, and ink is discharged from each nozzle of an inkjet head disposed on the upper side of the conveying device toward the tablet passing under the inkjet head. Print the identification information on.

This tablet printing device performs inspection on tablets. In the inspection, the tablets on the belt of the conveying device are imaged by a camera, and based on the acquired image, whether there is chapped, cracked, or dirty, or whether the posture or position from which the tablets are conveyed is printable or not. By judging, it is judged whether or not to pass. Identification information is printed on tablets that pass this inspection. In addition, the printed tablets are inspected (good or bad print quality). It is determined whether or not the print pattern indicating the identification information is printed in a predetermined pattern at a predetermined position on the tablet, and the tablet judged that the print pattern has been printed in a predetermined pattern at a predetermined position is taken as a tablet of a good product that passed the inspection.

In accordance with the above-described inspection result, the tablet printing apparatus sprays air onto tablets other than good products on the belt, and removes tablets other than good products from the belt. However, there are cases in which all tablets other than good products cannot be removed by spraying of air and remain on the belt as they are. In this case, in addition to the purification of the good product, tablets other than the good product are also collected in the good product collection box, so that tablets other than the good product are mixed in the good product collection box.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 7-081050

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a tablet printing apparatus, a tablet printing method, a tablet manufacturing apparatus, and a tablet manufacturing method, capable of preventing mixing of tablets other than good products into a box for recovering tablets of good products.

Tablet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

A conveying belt for conveying tablets,

A print head device that prints on the tablets conveyed by the conveyance belt,

An inspection unit that determines whether the tablets conveyed by the conveying belt are good or not,

A good product recovery device for recovering the tablets of the good product conveyed by the conveying belt when the tablet is determined to be good product by the inspection unit;

A defective product collecting device for recovering the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt when it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablets are not good products;

A detection unit that detects whether or not the tablets other than good products have been recovered by the defective product collection device,

When a recovery operation of recovering the tablets other than the good products is performed by the defective product collection device and the detection unit detects that the tablets other than the good products have not been recovered, the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt Re-inspection product collection device to recover

It is equipped with.

Tablet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

A conveying belt for conveying tablets,

A print head device that prints on the tablets conveyed by the conveyance belt,

A tablet detection sensor located upstream of the print head device in a direction in which the tablet is conveyed, and detecting a position of the tablet;

An inspection unit that determines whether the tablets conveyed by the conveying belt are good or not,

A defective product collecting device for recovering the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt when it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablets are not good products;

A detection unit located downstream of the defective product collecting device in a direction in which the tablet is conveyed, and detecting the tablet passing through the defective product collecting device,

Re-inspection product collection device for recovering the tablets conveyed by the conveying belt when the detection unit detects that the tablets are present even though the tablets are not detected by the tablet detection sensor

It is equipped with.

Tablet printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention,

A step of conveying the tablet by a conveying belt, and

A step of performing printing by a print head device on the tablet conveyed by the conveying belt, and

A step of determining by an inspection unit whether the tablet conveyed by the conveying belt is good or not,

When it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablet is a good product, a step of recovering the tablet of the good product conveyed by the conveyance belt by a good product recovery device,

When it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablets are not good products, a step of recovering the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt by a defective product recovery device, and

A step of detecting by a detection unit whether or not the tablet other than the good product has been recovered by the defective product recovery device,

When a recovery operation of recovering the tablets other than the good products is performed by the defective product collection device and the detection unit detects that the tablets other than the good products have not been recovered, the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt Process of recovering by a re-inspection product collection device

Has.

The tablet manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention manufactures printed tablets by performing printing on the tablets using the tablet printing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment.

In a tablet manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a printed tablet is produced by printing a tablet using the tablet printing method according to the above-described embodiment.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, tablets other than good products can be prevented from being mixed in a box for collecting tablets of good products.

1 is a diagram showing a tablet printing apparatus according to a first embodiment.
2 is a plan view showing the first printing device according to the first embodiment.
Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a shutter of a reinspection product collection device according to a second embodiment and a discharge conveyance portion of the good product collection device.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a discharge/conveyance unit and a storage box of a non-defective product collection device according to a third embodiment.

<First embodiment>

A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

(Basic configuration)

As shown in Fig. 1, the tablet printing device 1 according to the embodiment includes a supply device 10, a first printing device 20, a second printing device 30, and a collection device 40. ) And a control device (control unit) 50.

The first printing device 20 and the second printing device 30 have basically the same structure. The supply device 10, the first printing device 20, the second printing device 30, and the collection device 40, which are components of the tablet printing device 1, are arranged in this order, and the tablets (T ) Is formed, and a series of processing of supplying, printing, and collecting tablets T is performed along the conveying path P. That is, the conveyance path P is a path through which the tablets T are conveyed by the tablet printing device 1, and the upstream of the conveyance path P is on the supply device 10 side, and the downstream side is the recovery device 40 side. to be. In addition, in this embodiment, two parallel rows of conveying paths P are formed.

The supply device 10 has a hopper 11, an alignment feeder 12 and a transfer feeder 13. The supply device 10 is configured to be capable of supplying the tablet T to be printed to the first printing device 20, and is positioned at one end side of the first printing device 20. The hopper 11 accommodates a plurality of tablets T, and sequentially supplies the tablets T to the alignment feeder 12. The alignment feeder 12 arranges the supplied tablets T in two rows, and conveys them toward the transfer feeder 13. The transfer feeder 13 sequentially sucks and holds each tablet (T) arranged in two rows on the alignment feeder 12 from the upper side of the tablet (T), and holds each tablet (T) as a first printing device. It conveys in two rows up to (20) and delivers it to the 1st printing apparatus 20. This supply device 10 is electrically connected to the control device 50 and its driving is controlled by the control device 50. As the alignment feeder 12 and the transfer feeder 13, it is possible to use, for example, a belt conveying mechanism.

The first printing device 20 includes a conveying device (conveying unit) 21, a detection device 22, a first imaging device (printing imaging device) 23, and a print head device (printing unit) 24. ), a second imaging device (an inspection imaging device) 25, and a drying device 26.

The conveying device 21 includes a conveying belt 21a, a driving pulley 21b, a plurality of driven pulleys 21c (three in the example of FIG. 1), a motor 21d, a position detector 21e, and a suction chamber ( 21f). The conveyance belt 21a is an endless belt and spans the drive pulley 21b and each driven pulley 21c. The drive pulley 21b and each driven pulley 21c are rotatably installed in the apparatus main body, and the drive pulley 21b is connected to the motor 21d. The motor 21d is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its drive is controlled by the control device 50. The position detector 21e is a device such as an encoder, and is attached to the motor 21d. This position detector 21e is electrically connected to the control device 50 and transmits a detection signal to the control device 50. The control device 50 can obtain information such as the position, speed, and movement amount of the conveyance belt 21a based on the detection signal. This conveyance device 21 rotates the conveyance belt 21a together with each driven pulley 21c by rotation of the drive pulley 21b by the motor 21d, and the tablet T on the conveyance belt 21a ) Is conveyed in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 1 (conveying direction A1).

A plurality of circular suction holes 21g are formed on the surface of the conveyance belt 21a as shown in FIG. 2. These suction holes 21g are through holes for adsorbing tablets T to the surface of the conveyance belt 21a, respectively, and are arranged in two rows in parallel along the conveyance direction A1 so as to form two conveyance paths P. Each of the suction holes 21g is connected to the suction chamber 21f through a suction path formed in the suction chamber 21f, and a suction force can be obtained by the suction chamber 21f. An intake device such as a pump is connected to the suction chamber 21f through an intake pipe (all not shown), and the inside of the suction chamber 21f is depressurized by the operation of the intake device. Moreover, the intake pipe is connected to the substantially center of the side surface (the surface parallel to the conveyance direction A1) of the suction chamber 21f. Further, the intake device is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its drive is controlled by the control device 50.

The detection device 22 has a plurality of detection units 22a (two in the example of FIG. 2 ). The detection unit 22a is a downstream side of the conveying direction A1 and a direction intersecting the conveying direction A1 in a horizontal plane (e.g., orthogonal Direction), one at a time for each conveyance path P, and is provided on the upper side of the conveyance belt 21a. The detection unit 22a detects the position of the tablet T on the conveyance belt 21a (the position of the tablet T in the conveyance direction A1) by the transmitted light of the laser light, and serves as a trigger sensor for each device located downstream. Functions. As the detection unit 22a, various laser sensors such as a reflective laser sensor can be used. Each detection unit 22a is electrically connected to the control device 50 and transmits a detection signal to the control device 50.

The first imaging device 23 has a plurality of imaging units 23a (two in the example of FIG. 2 ). The imaging unit 23a is arranged one by one for each conveying path P in a direction downstream of the conveying direction A1 than the position in which the detection device 22 is installed, and in a direction intersecting in a horizontal plane with the conveying direction A1 (for example, a direction that is orthogonal). , It is installed on the upper side of the conveyance belt 21a. This imaging unit 23a captures an image at a timing when the tablet T reaches just below the imaging unit 23a based on the positional information of the tablet T described above, and includes an upper surface of the tablet T. A desired image (an image for printing) is acquired, and the acquired image is transmitted to the control device 50. As the imaging unit 23a, various cameras having imaging elements such as a CCD (charge-coupled element) or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide film semiconductor) can be used. Each of the imaging units 23a is electrically connected to the control device 50 and their driving is controlled by the control device 50. Moreover, illumination for imaging is also provided as needed.

The print head device 24 has a plurality of print heads 24a (two in the example of Fig. 2) of an inkjet system. The print head 24a is one for each conveying path P in a direction downstream of the conveying direction A1 than the position where the first imaging device 23 is installed and intersecting in a horizontal plane with the conveying direction A1 (e.g., a direction orthogonal). It is lined up and provided on the upper side of the conveyance belt 21a. The print head 24a is provided with a plurality of nozzles 24b (8 in the example of Fig. 2, but actually about several hundred to several thousand), and individually discharges ink from these nozzles 24b. This print head 24a is provided so that the alignment direction in which the nozzles 24b are arranged intersect (eg, orthogonal) with the conveyance direction A1 in the horizontal plane. As the print head 24a, it is possible to use various inkjet printheads having driving elements such as piezoelectric elements, heat generating elements, magnetostrictive elements, and the like. Each print head 24a is electrically connected to the control device 50, and their driving is controlled by the control device 50.

The second imaging device 25 has a plurality of imaging units 25a (two in the example of FIG. 2 ). The imaging unit 25a is arranged one by one for each conveying path P in a direction downstream of the conveying direction A1 than the position where the print head device 24 is installed and intersecting in a horizontal plane with the conveying direction A1 (for example, in a direction that is orthogonal). And installed on the upper side of the conveyance belt 21a. This imaging unit 25a captures an image at the timing when the tablet T reaches just below the imaging unit 25a, based on the positional information of the tablet T described above, and includes the top surface of the tablet T. An image to be performed (an image for inspection) is acquired, and the acquired image is transmitted to the control device 50. As the imaging unit 25a, similarly to the imaging unit 23a described above, various cameras having imaging elements such as CCD or CMOS can be used. Each imaging unit 25a is electrically connected to the control device 50, and their driving is controlled by the control device 50. Moreover, illumination for imaging is also provided as needed.

Returning to FIG. 1, the drying device 26 is positioned on the downstream side of the conveying direction A1 from the position where the print head device 24 is installed, and is provided below the conveying device 21, for example. This drying device 26 is a drying device common to the two-row conveying paths P, and drying the ink applied to each tablet T on the conveying belt 21a. As the drying device 26, it is possible to use various drying units such as a blower for drying with a gas such as air, a heater for drying with radiant heat, or a blower for drying with hot air or hot air in combination with a gas and a heater. Do. The drying device 26 is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its driving is controlled by the control device 50.

The tablet T that has passed the upper side of the drying device 26 is conveyed in accordance with the movement of the conveying belt 21a, and reaches a position near the end of each driven pulley 21c side of the conveying belt 21a. . At this position, the suction action does not act on the tablet T, and the tablet T is released from the state held by the conveying belt 21a, and from the first printing device 20 to the second printing device 30. Delivered.

The second printing device 30 includes a conveying device 31, a detection device 32, a first imaging device (an imaging device for printing) 33, a print head device 34, and a second imaging device ( An inspection imaging device) 35 and a drying device 36 are provided. The conveying device 31 includes a conveying belt 31a, a driving pulley 31b, a plurality of driven pulleys 31c (three in the example of FIG. 1), a motor 31d, a position detector 31e, and a suction chamber ( 31f). In addition, since each element constituting the second printing apparatus 30 has a structure basically the same as the constitution element corresponding to the first printing apparatus 20 described above, the description thereof will be omitted. The conveyance direction of the 2nd printing apparatus 30 is the direction of arrow A2 in FIG. 1 (transport direction A2).

The collection device 40 includes a defective product collection device 41, a reinspection product collection device 42, and a non-defective product collection device 43. This collection device 40 is installed downstream of the conveyance direction A2 from the position where the drying device 36 of the second printing device 30 is installed. The recovery device 40 basically collects the tablets T of defective products by the defective product collection device 41, and recovers the tablets T of the reinspection product (to be described later) by the reinspection product collection device 42. , The tablet T of the good product is recovered by the good product recovery device 43.

The defective product collection device 41 has a plurality of injection nozzles 41a, a plurality of discharge sensors 41b, a plurality of discharge confirmation sensors (detection units) 41c, and an accommodation box (recovery box) 41d. . The discharge sensor 41b, the injection nozzle 41a, and the discharge confirmation sensor 41c are provided for each conveyance path P, and the accommodation box 41d is provided in common in each conveyance path P.

The injection nozzles 41a are arranged one by one for each conveying path P in a direction intersecting in a horizontal plane (for example, in a direction perpendicular to) in the conveying direction A1, and installed in the suction chamber 31f of the second printing device 30 do. The injection nozzle 41a injects gas (e.g., air) toward the conveyance belt 31a, for example, and causes the tablet T to fall from the conveyance belt 31a. At this time, the gas injected from the injection nozzle 41a passes through the suction hole (same as the suction hole 21g shown in Fig. 2) of the conveyance belt 31a and touches the tablet T. The injection nozzle 41a is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its drive is controlled by the control device 50.

The installation position of the injection nozzle 41a may be outside the suction chamber 31f of the second printing apparatus 30, for example, the injection nozzle 41a is provided under the conveyance device 31, and the conveyance belt ( The gas may be injected toward the side of the tablet T conveyed by 31a). At this time, it is possible to install the spray nozzle 41a inclined with respect to the vertical direction. In this case, the accommodation box 41d is provided in consideration of the gas injection direction of the injection nozzle 41a.

The discharge sensor 41b is arranged one by one for each conveying path P in a direction upstream of the conveying direction A2 than the position where the injection nozzle 41a is installed, and in a direction intersecting in a horizontal plane (for example, orthogonal to the conveying direction A2). , It is installed under the conveyance device 31. The discharge sensor 41b exists on the inlet side of the defective product collection device 41, and detects the presence or absence of the tablet T in the conveyance belt 31a by the transmitted light of the laser light. As the emission sensor 41b, various laser sensors such as a reflective laser sensor can be used. Each emission sensor 41b is electrically connected to the control device 50, respectively, and transmits a detection signal to the control device 50.

One discharge confirmation sensor 41c is arranged for each conveying path P in a direction downstream of the conveying direction A2 than the position where the injection nozzle 41a is installed and crossing the conveying direction A2 in a horizontal plane (for example, in a direction that is orthogonal). It is installed under the conveyance device 31. The discharge confirmation sensor 41c is present on the outlet side of the defective product collection device 41 and detects the presence or absence of the tablet T in the conveyance belt 31a by the transmitted light of the laser light. As the emission confirmation sensor 41c, various laser sensors such as a reflective laser sensor can be used. Each emission confirmation sensor 41c is electrically connected to the control device 50, respectively, and transmits a detection signal to the control device 50.

The accommodation box 41d is installed just below each injection nozzle 41a and below the conveying device 31. This storage box 41d receives and accommodates the tablets T dropped from the conveyance belt 31a by the gas sprayed from the injection nozzle 41a.

The reinspection product collection device 42 includes a shutter 42a, a motor 42b, a shutter detection unit 42c, and an accommodation box (collection box) 42d. This reinspection product collecting device 42 is installed downstream of the conveying direction A2 from the position where the defective article collecting device 41 is installed, and the shutter 42a and the receiving box 42d are commonly installed in each conveying path P. do.

The shutter 42a is provided at the end of the conveyance belt 31a on the side of each driven pulley 31c, that is, just below the position where the tablet T falls from the conveyance belt 31a. The shutter 42a is formed in a rectangular shape, for example. The width direction of the shutter 42a (a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction A1 in the horizontal plane) is a long direction, and the length in the width direction is substantially the same as the length in the width direction of the conveyance belt 31a. The shutter 42a is rotatably installed by the motor 42b, and the rotation shaft of the motor 42b is attached to the center of the shutter 42a in the short direction. The motor 42b is a motor capable of forward rotation and reverse rotation. The motor 42b is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its drive is controlled by the control device 50.

The shutter 42a is in an open state (the shutter 42a is in a state in which a part of the conveyance path P is formed) by a rotational operation by the motor 42b (so that the shutter 42a gradually approaches the quality collection device 43). Photo state: closed in a state in which the tablet T dropped from the conveying belt 31a in the state of the shutter 42a of the solid line in FIG. 1 is transferred to the good product collection device 43, and the conveying path P is blocked. In the state (a state inclined so that the shutter 42a gradually approaches the storage box 42d: the state of the shutter 42a shown in the broken line in Fig. 1), the tablet T that has fallen from the conveyance belt 31a is stored in the storage box ( 42d). That is, the shutter 42a is provided so that it can be opened and closed so as to be in an open state for delivering the tablets T to the good product collection device 43 and a closed state for delivering the tablets T to the accommodation box 42d.

The shutter detection unit 42c detects the stop position of the shutter 42a, and detects whether the shutter 42a is in a closed state. Usually, the shutter 42a is kept open. For this reason, the shutter detection unit 42c detects that the stop position of the shutter 42a is a predetermined stop position at which the shutter 42a is in the closed state, and detects that the shutter 42a is in the closed state. As the shutter detection unit 42c, a rotary encoder is used, for example. The shutter detection unit 42c is electrically connected to the control device 50 and transmits a detection signal to the control device 50.

The accommodation box 42d is positioned between the receiving box 41d of the defective product collecting device 41 and the good product collecting device 43, and is installed under the conveying device 31. This storage box 42d receives and accommodates the tablets T delivered from the shutter 42a.

The non-defective product collection device 43 has a gas ejection part 43a, an exhaust conveyance part 43b, a drying device 43c, and a storage box (recovery box) 43d. This good product collection device 43 is installed on the downstream side of the conveyance direction A2 from the position where the reinspection product collection device 42 is installed, and the gas ejection part 43a, the drying device 43c, and the accommodation box 43d are each It is commonly installed in the conveyance path P.

The gas ejection portion 43a is in the suction chamber 31f of the second printing device 30 and at the end of the conveying device 31, that is, at the end of each driven pulley 31c side of the conveying belt 31a. Is installed. The gas jetting portion 43a always jets gas (e.g. air) toward the conveyance belt 31a during, for example, printing processing, and causes the tablet T to fall from the conveyance belt 31a. At this time, the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion 43a passes through the suction hole (same as the suction hole 21g shown in FIG. 2) of the conveyance belt 31a and touches the tablet T. As the gas blowing portion 43a, it is possible to use an air blow having a slit-shaped opening extending in a direction (eg, a direction perpendicular to) intersecting in a horizontal plane to, for example, the conveying direction A2. The gas blowing portion 43a is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its driving is controlled by the control device 50.

Here, the tablet T that has passed through the defective product collection device 41 is conveyed in accordance with the movement of the conveying belt 31a, and reaches a position near the end of each driven pulley 31c side of the conveying belt 31a. do. At this position, the suction action does not act on the tablet T, but gas is sprayed onto the tablet T from the upper side of the tablet T by the gas ejection unit 43a, and the tablet T is transferred to the conveying belt 31a. Falls from ). Therefore, by providing the gas blowing portion 43a, the tablet T can be reliably dropped from the conveyance belt 31a. The tablets T dropped from the conveyance belt 31a reach the upper surface of the shutter 42a when the shutter 42a of the reinspection product collection device 42 is open, and follow the upper surface by the inclination of the upper surface. It moves and flows into the discharge conveyance part 43b. On the other hand, when the shutter 42a is in the closed state, the tablet T that has fallen from the conveyance belt 31a reaches the upper surface of the shutter 42a and moves along the upper surface by the inclination of the upper surface, and the receiving box ( 42d).

The discharge conveyance part 43b receives the tablets T flowing in from the shutter 42a, and conveys the received tablets T in two or more rows to the storage box 43d. Moreover, as the discharge conveyance part 43b, it is possible to use, for example, a belt conveyance mechanism. The belt (good product conveyance belt) of this discharge conveyance part 43b is an endless belt which has gas-passability. As the belt having gas permeability, it is possible to use a belt made of various materials having a plurality of through holes, such as a mesh belt or a belt having a plurality of round holes. The discharge conveyance part 43b is electrically connected to the control device 50, and its drive is controlled by the control device 50.

Moreover, there is a difference between the conveyance speed of the 2nd printing apparatus 30 and the conveyance speed of the non-defective product collection apparatus 43. Specifically, the conveyance speed of the non-defective product collection device 43 is slower than the conveyance speed of the second printing device 30. Thereby, it is possible to obtain a time for completely drying the ink printed on the tablet T on the quality product collection device 43.

In addition, the inclination angle of the shutter 42a and the length of the shutter 42a are adjusted according to the speed difference between the belt of the discharge conveyance section 43b and the conveyance belt 31a of the second printing device 30, and the shutter ( 42a) so that the moving speed and conveyance distance of the tablet T moving on the inclined surface of the upper surface of the tablet T are appropriate, that is, suppressing the rolling or falling of the tablet T so that smooth conveyance is possible. The ink film of the tablets (T) is peeled off due to collisions between the tablets (T), the ink between the tablets (T) is transferred to each other, or the ink of the tablets (T) is transferred to the belt by an impact caused by dropping. It is set to suppress doing.

In addition, as described above, when the conveyance speed of the tablets T in the good product collection device 43 is slower than the conveyance speed of the tablets T in the second printing device 30, the The tablets T are successively supplied on the belt, and the tablets T to be supplied next tend to collide with the tablets T existing in the good product collection device 43. In this case, by making the slope of the shutter 42a gentle and increasing the length along the conveyance direction A1 of the shutter 42a, the impact when the dropped tablet T collides with the belt can be weakened. .

The drying device 43c has an upper drying part 43c1 and a lower drying part 43c2. This drying device 43c uses a drying gas (for example, dry air) to dry the tablets T conveyed by the discharge and conveyance unit 43b by the upper drying unit 43c1 and the lower drying unit 43c2. . The upper drying part 43c1 is provided on the upper side of the discharge conveyance part 43b, and blows dry gas from the upper position of the discharge conveyance part 43b toward the lower side. The lower drying part 43c2 is provided in the inside of the discharge conveyance part 43b, and blows out the dry gas upward from the internal position of the discharge conveyance part 43b. These upper drying part 43c1 and lower drying part 43c2 are electrically connected to the control device 50, and their drive is controlled by the control device 50. As the upper drying unit 43c1 and the lower drying unit 43c2, in addition to a device for drying with a drying gas, a blower for drying with a gas such as air, a heater for drying with radiant heat, or a combination of a gas and a heater are used. Thus, it is possible to use various drying units such as a blower for drying by hot air or hot air.

The accommodation box 43d is positioned at the downstream end of the discharge conveying part 43b, that is, at the end opposite to the second conveying device 31 side in the discharge conveying part 43b, and the case of the tablet printing device 1 It is installed outside. This storage box 43d receives and accommodates the tablets T, in which ink has been dried by the drying device 43c, from the discharge/transport unit 43b.

The control device 50 includes an image processing unit 51, a print processing unit 52, an inspection processing unit (inspection unit) 53, and a storage unit 54. The image processing unit 51 processes an image. The print processing unit 52 performs processing related to printing. The inspection processing unit 53 performs processing related to inspection (to be described in detail later). The storage unit 54 stores various types of information such as processing information and various programs. Such a control device 50 controls the supply device 10, the first printing device 20, the second printing device 30, and the collection device 40, and further, the first printing device 20 or the first printing device 20 2 Position information of the tablet T transmitted from the respective detection devices 22 and 32 of the printing device 30, the individual imaging devices 23 of the first printing device 20 or the second printing device 30, Images transmitted from 25, 33, 35, detection signals transmitted from each of the sensors 41b, 41c of the defective product collecting device 41 of the collection device 40 are received. Further, the operating conditions are set in advance and stored in the storage unit 54. The control device 50 controls the defective product collection device 41 and the reinspection product collection device 42 of the collection device 40 based on the operating conditions stored in the storage unit 54.

(Recovery operation of defective products and re-inspection products)

Next, the recovery operation of the defective product collection device 41 and the recovery operation of the reinspection product collection device 42 will be described. For example, based on the operating conditions, the defective product collecting device 41 performs a recovery operation of blowing (gas injection) by each injection nozzle 41a, and the reinspection product collecting device 42 opens and closes the shutter 42a. The recovery operation to perform is performed. Each sensor (detection unit 22a of detection device 22, detection unit of detection device 32, discharge sensor 41b, discharge confirmation sensor 41c) is normally in the OFF state, and is turned on when the tablet T is detected. State (pulse waveform). Individual ON/OFF information of each sensor is stored for control of the blow or recovery operation by the shutter 42a.

As a result of the inspection, when the target tablet T is a defective product, blowing is performed. In addition, the blow is based on the detection result by the detection unit of the detection device 32 (the same as the detection unit 22a of the detection device 22, also referred to as a ``tablet detection sensor''), and the target tablet T is a spray nozzle. It is executed when it reaches just below (41a). This blow is performed to remove the target tablet T from the conveyance belt 31a. When the blown position on the conveyance belt 31a moves to the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c, when the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is ON, the tablets T other than the good products are collected. In order to prevent the device 43 from being recovered, the shutter 42a is closed and put into a closed state. When the target tablet T is delivered to the receiving box 42d of the reinspection product collecting device 42 by the shutter 42a, the shutter 42a is opened to enter an open state. That is, the shutter 42a is basically maintained in an open state. In addition, when the blown position on the conveyance belt 31a is moved to the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c after execution of the blow, when the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is OFF, the tablet T ) Has been successfully removed, and the shutter 42a remains open. In addition, when a predetermined time (the time required for the tablet T to be delivered to the receiving box 42d, determined in advance in an experiment) has elapsed after the shutter 42a is closed, the target tablet T is transferred to the receiving box 42d. ), and is set to be in an open state.

Although the tablet detection sensor is OFF and the presence of the tablet T is not detected, the position on the conveying belt 31a where the presence of the tablet T is not detected is the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c. When moving to, when the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is turned on, the shutter 42a is closed and is in a closed state, similar to the defective product. When the target tablet T is delivered to the receiving box 42d of the reinspection product collecting device 42 by the shutter 42a, the shutter 42a is opened to enter an open state. In this way, an object not detected by the tablet detection sensor and detected by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is treated as an unknown product. An unknown product is considered to be an object such as fragments or powder of the tablet T on the conveyance belt 31a. It is necessary to remove unidentified products such as fragments and powders of the tablets T from the conveyance belt 31a in order to prevent them from being recovered together with the tablets T of good products.

Further, in accordance with the result of the discharge sensor 41b, an unknown product may be detected and blown may be performed. That is, although the tablet detection sensor is OFF and the presence of the tablet T is not detected, the position on the conveyance belt 31a where the presence of the tablet T is not detected is the detection position by the discharge sensor 41b. When moving to, when the discharge sensor 41b is turned on, blowing is performed. This blow is performed in order to remove from the conveyance belt 31a objects such as fragments and powders of the tablets T described above may be present in the conveyance belt 31a, and may be present in the conveyance belt 31a. Objects are treated as unknown. When the blown position on the conveyance belt 31a is moved to the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c after execution of the blow, when the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is ON, it is possible to exclude unidentified products. It becomes a failure, and the shutter 42a is closed and is in a closed state. When the target tablet T is delivered to the receiving box 42d of the reinspection product collecting device 42 by the shutter 42a, the shutter 42a is opened to enter an open state. In addition, when the blown position on the conveyance belt 31a is moved to the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c after execution of the blow, when the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is OFF, the The removal is successful, and the shutter 42a remains open as it is. By detecting an unfamiliar product by the discharge sensor 41b in this manner, it is possible to blow and transmit the unfamiliar product to the storage box 41d of the defective product collecting device 41. In other words, in addition to the recovery from the receiving box 42d of the reinspection product collecting device 42, the collecting operation in the receiving box 41d of the defective product collecting device 41 can be performed, so that unfamiliar products are more reliably recovered. In addition, the incorporation of tablets T other than good products into the good product collection device 43 can be prevented.

As described above, after the target tablet T is blown, when the blown position on the conveyance belt 31a moves to the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c, the discharge confirmation sensor ( When 41c) is ON, that is, when the target tablet T is not removed from the conveyance belt 31a, the shutter 42a is closed. In addition, even though the tablet detection sensor is OFF, when the position on the conveying belt 31a moves to the discharge confirmation position by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c, when the discharge confirmation sensor is turned on, the blow is not performed. Even at this time, the shutter 42a is closed. The tablets T, which have to be removed from the conveyance belt 31a by blow, but are not excluded, and the unknown products described above fall from the end of each driven pulley 31c side of the conveyance belt 31a. The dropped tablets T are picked up by the shutter 42a in the closed state, moved along the shutter 42a, transferred to the receiving box 42d, and received by the receiving box 42d. That is, in the re-inspection product collection device 42, the defective or unidentified product detected by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c is collected as a "re-inspection product". In addition, the tablet (T) to be blown is a defective product or an unknown product, and is a tablet (T) other than a good product.

Further, when the shutter 42a is rotated, the shutter detection unit 42c detects the stop position of the shutter 42a, so that when the shutter 42a is closed, the shutter 42a fails and does not enter the closed state. There is a case to detect. For example, the shutter detection unit 42c detects that the shutter 42a does not exist at a predetermined stop position in the closed state within a predetermined time period of several seconds after the instruction to close the shutter 42a is issued, and the shutter 42a ) Does not enter the closed state. In response to this detection, the control device 50 stops the drive of the supply device 10 and stops supply of the tablets T to the conveyance belt 21a of the first printing device 20. Further, the control device 50 stops driving of the conveyance belt 21a of the first printing device 20 and the conveyance belt 31a of the second printing device 30, and discharges the non-defective product collection device 43 The supply of the tablets T to the belt of the conveyance section 43b (to be described later) is stopped. However, the control device 50 does not stop driving the intake device for the suction chamber 21f of the first printing device 20 and the suction chamber 31f of the second printing device 30, and the tablet T ) To continue the suction maintenance.

(Printing process)

Next, the printing processing and inspection processing performed by the above-described tablet printing apparatus 1 will be described. In the following printing process, a description will be given of double-sided printing in which identification information is printed on both sides of the tablet T on which the secant is formed on one side so as to be aligned with the secant (for example, parallel to the stretching direction of the secant).

First, various types of information such as print data required for printing are stored in the storage unit 54 of the control device 50. And, when a number of tablets T to be printed are put into the hopper 11 of the supply device 10, the tablets T start to be sequentially supplied from the hopper 11 to the alignment feeder 12, and the alignment feeder ( 12) is arranged in two columns and moves. The tablets T moving in these two rows are sequentially supplied to the conveyance belt 21a of the first printing apparatus 20 by the transfer feeder 13. The conveyance belt 21a rotates in the conveyance direction A1 by rotation of the drive pulley 21b and each driven pulley 21c by the motor 21d. For this reason, the tablets T supplied on the conveyance belt 21a are conveyed on the conveyance belt 21a in two rows in parallel at a predetermined movement speed. Moreover, the conveyance belt 31a also rotates in the conveyance direction A2 by rotation of the drive pulley 31b and each driven pulley 31c by the motor 31d.

In the first printing device 20, the tablets T are suction-held on the conveyance belt 21a, and the tablets T on the conveyance belt 21a are detected by the detection device 22. Thereby, the positional information (position of the conveyance direction A1) of the tablet T is acquired, and is input to the control device 50. The positional information of the tablet T is stored in the storage unit 54 and used in post-processing. Next, the tablet T on the conveyance belt 21a is imaged by the first imaging device 23 at a timing based on the position information of the tablet T described above, and the captured image is transferred to the control device 50. Is sent. Based on the individual images transmitted from the first imaging device 23, the positional shift information of the tablet T (e.g., the positional shift of the tablet T in the X direction, Y direction and θ direction in FIG. 2) Is generated by the image processing unit 51 and stored in the storage unit 54. Based on the positional shift information of the tablet T, printing conditions for the tablet T (such as ink ejection position and ejection speed) are set by the print processing unit 52 and stored in the storage unit 54. .

Subsequently, the individual tablets T on the conveyance belt 21a are at the timing based on the positional information of the tablets T described above, that is, the timing at which the tablets T reach the lower side of the print head device 24, Printing is performed by the print head device 24 on the basis of the above-described print data or print conditions. In each print head 24a of the print head device 24, ink is appropriately discharged from each nozzle 24b, and letters (e.g., alphabets, katakana, numbers) or marks (e.g., symbols) are applied on the upper surface of the tablet T. , Figure), etc. are printed in alignment with the secant line (for example, parallel to the stretching direction of the secant line).

The tablet T on which the identification information is printed is captured by the second imaging device 25 at a timing based on the positional information of the tablet T described above, and the captured image is transmitted to the control device 50. Based on the individual images transmitted from the second imaging device 25, print position information indicating the print position of the print pattern for each tablet T is generated by the image processing unit 51, and is stored in the storage unit 54. Preserved. Based on the print position information, the good or bad of the print quality for the tablet T (whether the tablet T is good or not) is judged by the inspection processing unit 53, and the good or bad print quality for each tablet T Print quality result information (inspection result information) indicating the result is stored in the storage unit 54. For example, it is determined by the inspection processing unit 53 whether or not the print pattern is printed in a predetermined pattern at a predetermined position of the tablet T. The tablet T judged that the print pattern is printed in a predetermined pattern at a predetermined position of the tablet T becomes a tablet T of a good product that has passed the inspection.

The tablets T after inspection are conveyed in accordance with the movement of the conveying belt 21a, and pass through the upper side of the drying apparatus 26 in the drying operation. At this time, the ink that has reached (landed) the tablet T is dried by the drying device 26 while the tablet T passes through the upper side of the drying device 26, and the tablet T in which the ink is dried is It is conveyed along with the movement of the conveyance belt 21a, and is located near the end of each driven pulley 21c side of the conveyance belt 21a. At this position, the suction action does not act on the tablet T, and the tablet T is released from the state held on the lower surface of the conveyance belt 21a, and the second printing device 30 from the first printing device 20 ).

Also in the 2nd printing apparatus 30, the tablet T is suction-held on the conveyance belt 31a, and printing processing and inspection processing are performed similarly to the above-mentioned. The tablets T after inspection are conveyed in accordance with the movement of the conveying belt 31a, and pass through the upper side of the drying apparatus 36 in the drying operation. Then, the tablet T in which the ink has been dried reaches the defective product collecting device 41. At this position, tablets T other than good (defective or unfamiliar) are dropped from the lower surface of the conveyance belt 31a by injection (blow) of the gas by the injection nozzle 41a, and fall into the accommodation box 41d. Is recovered by In addition, tablets T of good products or tablets T other than good products that have not fallen from the conveyance belt 31a by blow pass through the defective product collection device 41, and each in the conveyance belt 31a It reaches a position near the end of the driven pulley 31c side. At this position, the suction action stops acting on the tablet T and falls. Further, since gas is sprayed onto the tablet T from the upper side of the tablet T by the gas blowing portion 43a, the tablet T surely falls from the conveyance belt 31a. When the tablets T dropped from the conveyance belt 31a are tablets T other than good products, the shutter 42a is in a closed state, and the tablets T that are dropped from the delivery belt 31a are in the upper surface of the shutter 42a. It arrives, moves along the slope of the upper surface, flows into the accommodation box 42d, and is recovered by the accommodation box 42d. The tablets T recovered in the storage box 42d are handled as reinspection products. On the other hand, if the tablets T dropped from the conveyance belt 31a are tablets T of good quality, the shutter 42a of the reinspection product collection device 42 is open, and the tablets T that have fallen are shutters ( It reaches the upper surface of 42a), moves along the upper surface, and flows into the discharge conveyance part 43b.

The tablets (T) that have flowed into the discharge transfer unit (43b) are transferred by the discharge transfer unit (43b), and the upper drying unit (43c1) and the lower gun of the drying device (43c) in which the tablets (T) are dried during the transfer. It passes through (dry space) between the grandparents 43c2. Since drying gas is sprayed from the upper drying unit 43c1 and the lower drying unit 43c2 to the tablet T on the belt of the discharge conveying unit 43b, the ink on the tablet T is dried, and It stays dry. In addition, even if the tablet T contains moisture due to moisture in the conveying path P upstream from the discharge conveying part 43b, the tablet T is transferred to the bed drying part ( The ink on the tablet T can be reliably dried by 43c1) and the lower drying unit 43c2. At this time, since the conveyance speed of the discharge conveyance part 43b is very slow compared to the conveyance speed at the time of printing, the tablet T on the belt slowly passes through the space of the drying gas by about ten minutes, so that the tablet (T ), the ink will dry out. The tablets T dried by the drying device 43c are conveyed to the upper side of the receiving box 43d by the discharge conveying unit 43b, and fall from the downstream end of the discharging conveying unit 43b, and the receiving box ( It is recovered in 43d).

In such a printing process, tablets T other than good products (defective or unfamiliar products) fall from the lower surface of the conveyance belt 31a by injection of gas by the injection nozzle 41a, and the defective product collection device 41 It is collected in the accommodation box 41d. In addition, even when the tablets T other than the good products do not fall from the lower surface of the conveyance belt 31a due to the injection of gas by the injection nozzle 41a, the tablets T other than the good products are reinspected product collection device It is collected in the accommodation box 42d of (42). In other words, when the discharge confirmation sensor 41c detects the target tablet T, and detects that the target tablet T has not been recovered in the receiving box 41d, the shutter 42a is in a closed state from an open state. . The tablet T, which is a target that has reached a position near the end portion of each driven pulley 31c of the conveying belt 31a, disappears from the suction action and is caused by the spraying of the gas from the gas ejection portion 43a to the conveying belt 31a. Falls from ). At this time, since the shutter 42a is in a closed state, the tablet T that has fallen from the conveyance belt 31a reaches the upper surface of the shutter 42a, moves along the slope of the upper surface, and moves to the accommodation box 42d. It flows in and is collected in the accommodation box 42d. In this way, since the tablets T other than the good products are reliably recovered by the defective product collection device 41 and the re-inspection product collection device 42, the tablets T other than the good products are transferred to the non-defective product collection device 43 As a result, it is possible to prevent it from being collected in the storage box 43d of the non-defective product collection device 43. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the tablets T other than the good products from being mixed in the receiving box 43d for recovering the tablets T of the good products.

Further, when it is detected by the shutter detection unit 42c that the shutter 42a is not in a closed state when the shutter 42a is closed, the control device 50 determines that the shutter 42a has failed. When it is recognized that the shutter 42a has failed, the drive of the supply device 10 is stopped, and the supply of the tablets T from the supply device 10 to the conveyance belt 21a of the first printing device 20 is stopped. . In addition, the drive of the conveyance belt 21a of the 1st printing apparatus 20 and the conveyance belt 31a of the 2nd printing apparatus 30 is stopped, and it is good products from the conveyance belt 31a of the 2nd printing apparatus 30 The supply of the tablets T to the belt of the discharge conveyance section 43b of the recovery device 43 is stopped. Thereby, even if the shutter 42a remains open due to a malfunction of the shutter 42a, it is possible to suppress the supply of tablets T other than good products to the discharge and conveyance unit 43b, so that the shutter 42a Even if) is broken, it is possible to prevent the tablets T other than the good products from being recovered in the storage box 43d of the good product recovery device 43. Accordingly, even when the shutter 42a is broken, it is possible to prevent the tablets T other than the good products from being mixed in the receiving box 43d for recovering the tablets T of good products.

Here, the supply of the tablets T is stopped, and the driving of each of the conveying belts 21a and 31a is stopped (suction continues), but the belt of the discharge conveying section 43b of the good product collection device 43 is driven. Therefore, the tablets T of good products present on the discharge and conveyance section 43b are automatically collected in the storage box 42d. Thereby, the tablets T of good products can be recovered without being affected by the stopping of the driving of the conveyance belts 21a and 31a. In addition, it is also possible to stop the drive of the belt of the discharge conveyance part 43b, and collect the tablets T of good products existing on the belt of the discharge conveyance part 43b by a person. Further, as another control, it is possible to stop the supply of the tablets T, and to print on the tablets T existing on the conveyance belts 21a and 31a at that time. The tablets T existing on the belt of the conveyance belt 31a or the discharge conveyance part 43b are automatically recovered by an apparatus or by a person as described above.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, tablets T other than good products are collected by the defective product collection device 41, and tablets T other than good products are collected by the discharge confirmation sensor 41c. When a failure is detected, tablets T other than good products conveyed by the conveying belt 31a are collected by the reinspection product collecting device 42. As a result, even if the tablets T other than the good products are not recovered by the defective product recovery device 41 and remain on the conveyance belt 31a as they are, the tablets T are recovered by the reinspection product recovery device 42 do. Therefore, since it is possible to prevent the tablets T other than the good products from being recovered by the storage box 43d of the good product recovery device 43, the storage box 43d for recovering the tablets T of the good products The tablet (T) can be prevented from being incorporated.

In addition, even when the shutter 42a is not in a closed state due to a failure, since the driving of each of the conveying belts 21a and 31a is stopped, the refining (T) of good products existing in the belt of the discharge conveying section 43b The incorporation of tablets (T) other than good products can be suppressed. In the case where tablets T other than good products are supplied to the discharge and conveyance section 43b prior to the stop of the drive of the respective conveyance belts 21a and 31a, ) Is mixed with tablets (T) other than good products, but when the belt of the discharge conveying unit 43b is stopped, tablets (T) other than good products are mixed in the receiving box 43d of the recovery device 43 Can be avoided. In addition, when the drive of the belt of the discharge conveyance part 43b is stopped, only the tablets T present on the belt of the discharge conveyance part 43b are collected and inspected again by a person or automatically by a device. As a result, tablets (T) other than good products can be removed. That is, compared to the case where all of the belts of each of the conveying belts 21a and 31a and the discharge conveying section 43b are not stopped, the number of tablets T to be inspected again is small, and thus tablets other than good products (T ) Can be removed efficiently.

<Second Embodiment>

A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3. In addition, in the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment (the number of shutters, the number of belts in the discharge and conveyance section, and the belt arrangement) are described, and other descriptions are basically omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge conveyance part 43b according to the second embodiment has a plurality of belts 43b1. In Fig. 3, two belts 43b1 are provided, but the number is not particularly limited. Each of these belts 43b1 can be rotated individually to transport the tablets T, and a motor 42b and a shutter 42a are provided for each belt 43b1. The length of the shutter 42a in the width direction is substantially equal to half of the length of the conveyance belt 31a in the width direction. Each of these shutters 42a is rotatably provided by a motor 42b, and a rotation shaft of each motor 42b is attached to the center of each shutter 42a in the short direction, respectively. Each motor 42b is a motor capable of forward rotation and reverse rotation. These motors 42b are electrically connected to the control device 50, and their driving is controlled by the control device 50. The shutter detection unit 42c detects the individual stop positions of each shutter 42a, and detects whether each shutter 42a is in a closed state or not.

Here, when the shutter 42a is rotated, the shutter detection unit 42c detects the stop position of the shutter 42a, so that when the shutter 42a is closed, the shutter 42a is broken or is not in a closed state. There is a case to detect. When the shutter detection unit 42c detects that the shutter 42a is not in the closed state, the control device 50 stops the drive of the supply device 10 and the conveyance belt of the first printing device 20 ( 21a) and the conveyance belt 31a of the second printing device 30 are continued to be driven, and the driving of only the belt 43b1 provided with the shutter 42a detected by the shutter detection unit 42c as not in a closed state is stopped. . As a result, since the drive of the belt 43b1 provided with the failed shutter 42a is stopped, it is possible to prevent the tablets T other than good products from being recovered from the belt 43b1 to the storage box 43d. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tablets (T) other than the good products from being mixed into the tablets (T) of the good product. In addition, since the belt 43b1 on which the shutter 42a, which has not failed, is installed, is driven as it is, the tablets T of good quality on the belt 43b1 can be recovered to the receiving box 43d, so that the shutter 42a ) It is possible to recover the tablets (T) of good products without being affected by the stopping of the drive of the belt (43b1) on the side of the failure. In addition, tablets (T) of good products on the conveyance belt (31a) and tablets (T) of good products that have passed the inspection and printed from now on each of the conveying belts (21a, 31a) can be collected in the receiving box (43d). , Compared with the case in which all of the transport systems are stopped, the amount of recovery of tablets (T) of good products can be increased.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, it is possible to recover the tablets (T) of the good products in the storage box (43d) while preventing the mixing of tablets (T) other than the good products into the receiving box (43d) for recovering the tablets (T) of the good products. The recovery rate of the tablet (T) of can be increased.

In addition, since a plurality of shutters 42a are provided, even if one shutter 42a is in a closed state, the other shutter 42a can be recovered in an open state, so that the tablet on the side of the shutter 42a in the open state ( T) can continue the recovery operation, thereby increasing the recovery rate of the tablets (T) of good products.

In addition, even if tablets T other than good products are mixed in the tablets T of good products existing in one belt 43b1 due to a failure of the shutter 42a, the belt 43b1 on the failure side of the shutter 42a It is possible to remove the tablets (T) other than the good products by recovering only the tablets (T) present in the tablets (T) and re-inspecting them by a human or an automatic device. The tablet T present on the other belt 43b1 (the side where the shutter 42a is not broken) does not need to be inspected again. That is, compared to the case where there is only one shutter 42a or belt 43b1, since the number of tablets T to be retested is small, the operation of removing tablets T other than good products can be efficiently performed. .

<Third embodiment>

A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. In addition, in the third embodiment, a difference from the first embodiment (the number of discharge and conveyance units) is described, and other descriptions are omitted in principle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge conveyance part 43b according to the third embodiment is provided with a portion overlapping in the two vertical directions. In FIG. 4, although two discharge conveyance parts 43b are provided, the number is not specifically limited. These discharge conveyance parts 43b are provided side by side in the conveyance direction A1 so that the delivery of the tablet T is possible from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyance direction A1.

Here, when the shutter 42a is rotated, the shutter detection unit 42c detects the stop position of the shutter 42a, so that when the shutter 42a is closed, the shutter 42a is broken or is not in a closed state. There is a case to detect. When the shutter detection unit 42c detects that the shutter 42a is not in the closed state, the control device 50 stops the drive of the supply device 10 and the conveyance belt of the first printing device 20 ( 21a) and the driving of the conveying belt 31a of the second printing device 30 are stopped, and among the respective discharge conveying parts 43b, the driving of only the belt of the uppermost discharge conveying part 43b in the conveying direction A1 is stopped. do. As a result, since it is possible to collect the tablets T of good products on the belt of the discharging and conveying section 43b in which the drive has not been stopped, to the receiving box 43d, all the belts of the discharging conveying section 43b are stopped. Compared with the case of making it possible to increase the recovery amount of the tablets (T) of good products.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, it is possible to recover the tablets (T) of the good products in the storage box (43d) while preventing the mixing of tablets (T) other than the good products into the receiving box (43d) for recovering the tablets (T) of the good products. The recovery rate of the tablet (T) of can be increased.

In addition, even if tablets T other than good products are mixed in the tablets T of good products existing on the belt of the discharge conveying unit 43b on the upstream side due to a failure of the shutter 42a, the discharge and transfer on the upstream side Only the tablets T existing on the belt of the portion 43b are recovered, and the tablets T other than the good products can be removed by re-inspecting them by a person or an automatic device. It is not necessary to inspect the tablets T existing on the belt of the discharge conveyance section 43b on the downstream side again. That is, compared to the case where there is only one discharge and conveyance part 43b, since the number of tablets T to be inspected again is small, the operation of removing tablets T other than good products can be efficiently performed.

<Other Embodiment>

In the above description, printing is performed on the tablet T using any of the tablet printing apparatus 1 of each of the above-described embodiments. This can also be said in other words that the tablet T is printed by using any of the tablet printing apparatus 1 of each of the above-described embodiments to produce the printed tablet T.

In addition, in the above description, although the inkjet printhead device was exemplified as the printhead devices 24 and 34, it is not limited to this, and for example, a transfer printhead device using a transfer roll or a transfer pad is also used. It is possible.

In addition, in the above description, although the gradient of the shutter 42a is made gentle and the impact when the dropped tablet T collides with the belt is weakened, it is not limited to this, and for example, the tablet T By blowing gas (e.g. air) in a direction opposite to the falling direction of ), the impact when the dropped tablet T collides with the belt may be weakened.

In addition, in the above description, although it was illustrated that the inspection result information is generated by the good or bad print quality of the tablet (T), it is not limited to this, and the tablet (T) is chapped or broken, dirty, poor posture, etc. You may make it include the good part of.

Further, as for the shutter 42a, one shutter 42a may be provided in common to all the conveying paths P, or the shutter 42a may be provided for each of the plurality of conveying paths P. In some cases, damage such as cracking or cracking may occur due to the falling of the tablet T. Therefore, the chance of damage to the tablet T increases by performing re-inspection. Therefore, it is more preferable to install the shutters 42a for each of the conveying paths P, and by installing the shutters 42a for each of the conveying paths P, the same as the reinspection product, even though it is a good product that does not require reinspection. Since the shutter 42a is reached at the timing, the number of tablets T accommodated in the receiving box 42d of the reinspection product collection device 42 can be reduced, and the number of tablets T with damage can be reduced. Can be reduced.

In addition, in the above description, the "tablet detection sensor ON/OFF" (presence or absence of the tablet T) by the detection sensor that is the detection unit of the detection device 32 (same as the detection unit 22a of the detection device 22) Based on the detection result, it was illustrated that the execution of the blowing of the tablet T was judged, but it is not limited to this, and the detection result of "tablet detection sensor ON/OFF" by the detection unit 22a of the detection device 22 You may try to include.

In addition, although the tablet T is not detected by the detection unit 22a of the detection device 22, the detection unit 22a is on the conveyance belt 31a corresponding to the position where the presence of the tablet T is not detected. When the position is moved to the lower side of the detection unit of the detection device 32, when the tablet T is detected, the tablet T may not be printed, and a collection operation may be performed as a "unknown product". good.

In addition, in the above description (refer to the second embodiment), although it was illustrated that a plurality of belts 43b1 are provided and a shutter 42a is provided for each belt 43b1, the shutter 42a is not limited thereto. ) And the belt 43b1 may be provided in plural.

In addition, in the above description, although it was illustrated that the tablets T are conveyed in two rows, the number of rows is not limited to this, and the number of rows may be one row, or three or four or more rows, and the number of conveying paths P The number of conveyance belts 21a and 31a is not particularly limited. In addition, the shape of the suction hole 21g of the conveyance belts 21a, 31a is also not specifically limited.

In addition, in the above description, although it was illustrated that the print heads 24a are provided for each conveyance path P, it is not limited to this, and for example, two or more rows of tablets T are provided with one print head 24a. You may want to print it out.

Incidentally, in the above description, as the inkjet print head 24a, a print head in which the nozzles 24b are arranged in one row is exemplified, but is not limited to this, for example, a print head in which the nozzles 24b are arranged in a plurality of rows. You may try to use. In addition, a plurality of print heads 24a may be arranged and used along the conveyance direction A1.

In addition, in the above description, although the installation of the drying devices 26, 36, and 43c has been illustrated, the number is not limited. For example, without one drying device 26 and two drying devices 36 and 43c, it is sufficient that there are no two drying devices 26 and 36 and only one drying device 43c, and a drying device There is no (43c), and drying devices 26 and 36 may be provided. In addition, depending on the type of ink and tablet T, some drying devices are not required, so all three drying devices 26, 36, and 43c may not be required.

In addition, in the above description, although the first printing device 20 and the second printing device 30 are overlapped up and down to print both sides or one side of the tablet T, it is not limited thereto. For example, only the first printing device 20 may be provided, and only one side of the tablet T may be printed.

Here, the above-described tablet (T) may include tablets used for medicine, food, washing, industrial use, or aroma. Further, as tablets, there are uncoated (prescribed) tablets, dragees, film-coated tablets, enteric tablets, gelatin coated tablets, multi-layered tablets, nucleated tablets, and the like, and various capsules such as hard capsules and soft capsules can be included in the tablet. Further, as the shape of the tablet, there are various shapes such as a disk shape, a lenticular shape, a triangle, and an oval shape. Further, when the tablet to be printed is for medicine or food, an edible ink is suitable as the ink to be used. As this edible ink, any of synthetic dye ink, natural dye ink, dye ink, and pigment ink may be used.

As described above, several embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these embodiments have been presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and summary of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and their equivalent ranges.

1: tablet printing device 31a: conveying belt
34: print head device 41: defective product collection device
41c: emission confirmation sensor (detection unit) 42: reinspection product collection device
42a: shutter 42c: shutter detection unit
42d: accommodating box 43: good product collection device
43b1: belt 50: control device (control unit)
53: inspection processing unit (inspection unit) T: tablet

Claims (9)

A conveying belt for conveying tablets,
A print head device that prints on the tablets conveyed by the conveyance belt,
An inspection unit that determines whether the tablets conveyed by the conveying belt are good or not,
A good product recovery device for recovering the tablets of the good product conveyed by the conveying belt when it is determined that the tablet is a good product by the inspection unit;
A defective product recovery device for recovering the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt when it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablets are not good products;
A detection unit that detects whether or not the tablets other than good products have been recovered by the defective product collection device,
When a recovery operation of recovering the tablets other than the good products is performed by the defective product collection device and the detection unit detects that the tablets other than the good products have not been recovered, the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt Re-inspection product collection device to recover
To that, tablet printing apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The reinspection product collection device,
A receiving box for accommodating the tablets other than good products,
It is installed to be openable and closed, and in a closed state, it receives the tablets other than the good products falling from the conveyance belt and delivers them to the receiving box, and in the open state, receives the tablets of the good products falling from the conveyance belt And a shutter to deliver to the recovery device,
Shutter detection unit for detecting whether the shutter is in a closed state
Has,
When the recovery operation is performed by the defective product collection device, the detection unit detects that the tablet other than the good product has not been recovered, and the shutter detection unit detects that the shutter is not in a closed state, the conveyance belt Control device for stopping the supply of the tablets to
To that, tablet printing apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 2,
The control device detects that the recovery operation is performed by the defective product recovery device, that the tablet other than the good product has not been recovered by the detection unit, and that the shutter is not in a closed state by the shutter detection unit. In this case, the tablet printing apparatus is to stop the driving of the conveyance belt. The method of claim 2,
The non-defective product collection device has a non-defective product conveyance belt for receiving and conveying the tablets of the quality product from the conveyance belt,
The control device detects that the recovery operation is performed by the defective product recovery device, that the tablet other than the good product has not been recovered by the detection unit, and that the shutter is not in a closed state by the shutter detection unit. In this case, the tablet printing apparatus is to stop the drive of the good-goods conveying belt. The method of claim 4,
A plurality of the good product conveyance belts are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the tablets are conveyed in a horizontal plane,
The shutter and the shutter detection unit are provided for each of the good product conveyance belts,
Wherein the control device stops driving only the good-goods conveying belt provided with the shutter, which is detected by the shutter detection unit as not in a closed state. The method of claim 4,
A plurality of the good product conveyance belts are arranged in a direction in which the tablets are conveyed,
The control device, of the plurality of good product transport belts, stops driving only the uppermost good product transport belt in the direction in which the tablet is transported. A conveying belt for conveying tablets,
A print head device that prints on the tablets conveyed by the conveyance belt,
A tablet detection sensor located upstream of the print head device in a direction in which the tablet is conveyed, and detecting a position of the tablet;
An inspection unit that determines whether the tablets conveyed by the conveying belt are good or not,
A defective product recovery device for recovering the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt when it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablets are not good products;
A detection unit located downstream of the defective product collecting device in a direction in which the tablet is conveyed, and detecting the tablet passing through the defective product collecting device,
Re-inspection product collection device for recovering the tablets conveyed by the conveying belt when the detection unit detects that the tablets are present even though the tablets are not detected by the tablet detection sensor
To that, tablet printing apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 7,
The defective product collection device includes a spray nozzle for blowing to remove the tablet from the conveyance belt, and a discharge sensor positioned upstream of the injection nozzle in a direction in which the tablet is conveyed,
A tablet printing apparatus, characterized in that, even though the tablet is not detected by the tablet detection sensor, when the discharge sensor detects that the tablet is present, blowing is performed by the spray nozzle. A step of conveying the tablet by a conveying belt, and
A step of performing printing by a print head device on the tablet conveyed by the conveying belt, and
A step of determining by an inspection unit whether the tablet conveyed by the conveying belt is good or not,
When it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablet is a good product, a step of recovering the tablet of the good product conveyed by the conveying belt by a good product recovery device,
When it is determined by the inspection unit that the tablets are not good products, a step of recovering the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt by a defective product recovery device,
A step of detecting by a detection unit whether or not the tablet other than the good product has been recovered by the defective product recovery device,
When a recovery operation of recovering the tablets other than the good products is performed by the defective product collection device and the detection unit detects that the tablets other than the good products have not been recovered, the tablets other than the good products conveyed by the conveying belt Process of recovering by a re-inspection product collection device
Having a, tablet printing method.

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