TWI705931B - Article conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

A preparation conveying device includes a direction restricting cylinder for conveying a preparation received in a standing state and delivering it in an inverted state, the direction restricting cylinder including: a plurality of standing holding parts for holding the preparation in a standing state; and adjacently arranged in the foregoing A plurality of lodging holding sections that hold the formulations in an inverted state by raising the upstream side of each standing holding section in the conveying direction, and the formulation conveying device includes a suction mechanism having a posture change suction nozzle, the posture change suction nozzle is a restriction cylinder in the direction During the rotation, the preparation held in the upright holding part is sucked and moved to the falling holding part.

Description

Preparation delivery device

Invention field

The present invention relates to a preparation conveying device for conveying preparations, and more specifically, it relates to a preparation conveying device that changes the posture of the preparation during conveyance.

Background of the invention

As a device for conveying preparations such as tablets or capsules, for example, a solid preparation conveying device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7, the solid preparation conveying device 50 includes: a funnel 51 for storing the solid preparation 60; a guide part 52 provided at the bottom of the funnel 51 and used to restrict the direction of the solid preparation 60; The supply tube 53 of the first storage bag 53a for accommodating the solid preparation 60 guided by the guide part 52; and the restriction tube 54 of the second storage bag 54a for transferring the solid preparation 60 from the first storage bag 53a can be supplied by The tube 53 and the restriction tube 54 convey the solid preparation 60 stored in the hopper 51 to the groove 55.

The solid preparation 60 is stored in the first storage bag 53 a of the supply cylinder 53 in a state where it is aligned in the longitudinal direction by the guide portion 52. After that, the solid preparation 60 is stored in the second container of the restricting cylinder 54 while maintaining the vertical direction. The container bag 54a abuts against the V-shaped groove portion 56a of the restricting guide portion 56 during the conveyance of the restricting cylinder 54 and thereby falls down and remains in the horizontal direction in the second container bag 54a. In this way, the solid preparation 60 is delivered to the groove 55 in a lateral posture.

Advanced technical literature

Patent literature

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-271086

Summary of the invention

The above-mentioned conventional solid preparation conveying device 50 uses the restricting cylinder 54 to convey the solid preparation 60, and the posture of the solid preparation 60 can be changed from the upright state to the down state. However, because the solid preparation 60 falls down by and along the conveying direction Since the contact with the groove portion 56a having a narrow tip is performed, there is a possibility that a crack or a chip may be generated in the solid preparation 60 due to collision with the groove portion 56a.

Furthermore, in order to guide the solid preparation 60 to the groove portion 56a and smoothly fall down, it is necessary to ensure that the circumferential length of the restriction guide portion 56 reaches a certain level, so the solid preparation 60 slides on the inner surface of the restriction guide portion 56 for a long time. It is easy to wear, and not only that, since the wide range of the restricting cylinder 54 is covered by the restricting guide portion 56, there is a problem that the appearance inspection of the solid preparation 60 becomes difficult.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a preparation conveying device that can prevent damage to the preparation during conveyance and can easily and reliably change the posture of the preparation.

The aforementioned object of the present invention is achieved by the following preparation conveying device: a preparation conveying device including a direction restricting cylinder for conveying a preparation received in a standing state and delivering it in a fallen state, and the aforementioned direction restricting cylinder includes: A plurality of upright holding parts for holding the formulation in an upright state; and a plurality of upright holding parts arranged adjacent to the upstream side of the above-mentioned upright holding parts in the conveying direction to hold the formulation in a fallen state, and the formulation conveying device includes The suction mechanism of the posture change suction nozzle, wherein the posture change suction nozzle sucks and moves the preparation held in the upright holding portion to the falling holding portion during the rotation of the direction regulating cylinder.

In the aforementioned preparation conveying device, it is preferable that both the standing holding portion and the falling holding portion are formed in a concave shape, and the rising holding portion should preferably have an inclined surface inside the lower surface of the falling holding portion, and by The preparation is held along the aforementioned inclined surface and the preparation is raised in an inclined state.

In addition, the inclined surface is preferably inclined with respect to a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the direction regulating cylinder.

In addition, it is preferable to form a communication part for sucking and holding the preparation in each of the standing holding part and the falling holding part.

In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned falling-down holding part is formed with a thin tip toward the upstream side in the conveying direction.

In addition, the aforementioned posture change nozzle is preferably formed of a soft material.

In addition, the aforementioned suction mechanism should preferably be provided on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the aforementioned posture change nozzle to hold the preparation held in the aforementioned lodging holding portion The position of the adjustment nozzle is fine-tuned.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a preparation conveying device that can prevent damage to the preparation during conveyance and can easily and reliably change the posture of the preparation.

1: Preparation conveying device

2: funnel

3: Brush roller

4: camera device

5: Guide board

10: Supply cylinder

11: bag

12: Attract the flow path

13: connecting path

20: Direction limit tube

21: bag

22: Stand up holding part

23: Lodging holding part

23a: finer front end

23b: bottom surface

24: attract flow

25: attract flow

26: connecting path

27: connecting path

28: Inclined surface

30: Marker tube

31: bag

32: attract flow

33: connecting path

40: suction device

41: Posture change nozzle

42: Adjust the nozzle

43: body

50: Solid preparation conveying device

51: Funnel

52: Guiding Department

53: supply cylinder

53a: first containment bag

54: limit tube

54a: second containment bag

55: groove

56: Restriction guide

56a: V-shaped groove

60: solid preparation

A1: Attraction area

A2: Attraction area

A3: Attraction area

A4: Attraction area

A: Cut line

B: cut line

F: preparation

T: Transport direction

P: plane

θ: tilt angle

Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration diagram of a preparation conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of main parts of the preparation conveying device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of main parts of the preparation conveying device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of A-A in Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a B-B cross-sectional view of Figure 2.

Fig. 6(a)-Fig. 6(f) are cross-sectional views of main parts of the work for explaining the operation of the preparation conveying device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional preparation conveying device.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a preparation conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a part is shown in cross section. As shown in Fig. 1, the preparation conveying device 1 includes: a funnel 2 for storing preparations F such as tablets or capsules; a supply cylinder 10 for conveying the preparation F supplied from the funnel 2; and a supply cylinder 10 for conveying the preparation F supplied from the funnel 2 The direction restricting cylinder 20 for the supplied preparation F; and the marking cylinder 30 for conveying the preparation F supplied from the direction restricting cylinder 20, and further, is provided with a position close to the square The suction device 40 to the outer peripheral surface of the restriction cylinder 20. Any one of the supply cylinder 10, the direction restriction cylinder 20, and the marking cylinder 30 is a cylindrical member, and is arrange|positioned so that the axis may extend horizontally.

The funnel 2 is the same as the conventional funnel 51 shown in FIG. 7, and the guide part which makes the preparation F stand up in the longitudinal direction is provided in the inside. A plurality of concave pockets 11 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the supply cylinder 10, and the preparation F is contained in each pocket 11 in a standing state. The bags 11 are respectively formed along the axial direction and the circumferential direction of the supply cylinder 10. A brush roller 3 is provided near the outer periphery of the supply cylinder 10. The brush roller 3 returns the preparation F conveyed in the state of being not correctly contained in the bag 11 into the hopper 2.

Inside the supply cylinder 10, a plurality of suction flow paths 12 extending along the axis are formed. Each suction flow path 12 communicates with each of the plurality of bags 11 arranged along the axis through the communication path 13. The suction flow path 12 may be connected to a vacuum suction device (not shown). The suction flow path 12 passes through the suction area A1 by the rotation of the supply cylinder 10 to suck the inside of the bag 11, and the preparation F is held in the bag 11. Next, when the suction flow path 12 leaves the suction area A1, the suction in the bag 11 is released, and the preparation F is transported along the guide plate 5.

The direction restricting cylinder 20 is arranged close to directly below the supply cylinder 10 and is driven to rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the supply cylinder 10 as shown by the arrow. On the outer peripheral surface of the direction regulating cylinder 20, a plurality of concave pockets 21 are formed along the axial direction and the circumferential direction, respectively. The bag 21 includes a plurality of standing holding parts 22 for maintaining the formulation F in a standing state, and a plurality of falling holding parts 23 arranged adjacent to the upstream side of each standing holding part 22 in the conveying direction to maintain the formulation F in a fallen state. Near the outer periphery of the direction restricting tube 20, a camera is installed Like device 4. The imaging device 4 inspects the surface of the preparation F for defects such as nicks or cracks, and detects the direction of the preparation F based on the secant line of the preparation F.

The lodging state of the preparation F refers to the state in which the posture of the preparation F is the most stable on an imaginary plane in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the direction regulating cylinder 20 in the holding position of the preparation F. For example, if the formulation F is a disc-shaped lozenge, the state where the plane of the formulation F expands in the diameter direction is slightly parallel to the above-mentioned imaginary plane is a fallen state. If the formulation F is a cylindrical capsule, then the formulation F The state in which the axis direction is slightly parallel to the above-mentioned imaginary plane is a lodging state.

On the other hand, the standing state of the preparation F refers to a state other than the above-mentioned falling state. That is, not only the state in which the diameter direction or the longitudinal direction of the preparation F is orthogonal to the above-mentioned virtual plane, the inclined state is also included in the standing state.

A plurality of two types of suction flow paths 24 and 25 extending along the axis are formed inside the direction regulating cylinder 20, respectively. One of the suction flow paths 24 passes through the communication path 26 to communicate with each of the plurality of upright holding parts 22 arranged along the axis. The other suction flow path 25 passes through the communication path 27 to communicate with each of the plurality of lodging holding parts 23 arranged along the axis.

The suction flow paths 24 and 25 may be connected to a vacuum suction device (not shown). By restricting the rotation of the cylinder 20 by the direction, while one of the suction channels 24 passes through the suction area A2, the inside of the standing holding portion 22 is sucked by the communication passage 26, and the preparation F is held in the standing holding portion 22. Next, when one of the suction flow paths 24 leaves the suction area A2, the suction in the standing holding portion 22 is released. Moreover, by restricting the rotation of the cylinder 20 by the direction, the other While the single suction flow path 25 passes through the suction area A3, the inside of the lodging holding portion 23 is sucked by the communication path 27, and the preparation F is held in the lodging holding portion 23. Then, when the other suction flow path 25 leaves the suction area A3, the suction in the fall holding portion 23 is released.

The marking cylinder 30 is arranged to approach the obliquely downward direction of the direction restricting cylinder 20, and is driven to rotate in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the direction restricting cylinder 20 as shown by the arrow. On the outer peripheral surface of the marking tube 30, a plurality of concave pockets 31 are formed along the axial direction and the circumferential direction, respectively. Inside the marking cylinder 30, a plurality of suction flow paths 32 extending along the axis are formed. Each suction flow path 32 communicates with each of the plural bags 31 arranged along the axis through the communication path 33. The suction flow path 32 can be connected to a vacuum suction device (not shown). By the rotation of the marking cylinder 30, the suction flow path 32 is sucked inside the bag 31 while the suction flow path 32 passes through the suction area A4, and the preparation F is held in the bag Within 31. Moreover, when the suction flow path 32 leaves the suction area A4, the suction in the bag 31 is released. In the vicinity of the marking cylinder 30, a marking device (not shown) such as a laser marking device or an inkjet printing device is arranged. During the conveyance of the direction restricting cylinder 20, the direction of the preparation F detected by the imaging device 4 is followed. , Mark on the surface of formulation F.

The suction device 40 is installed in the suction part of the main body 43 connected to the vacuum suction device (not shown), and has a posture change suction nozzle 41 for sucking the preparation F that is transported to the vicinity by the direction restricting cylinder 20 and adjustment suction Mouth 42. It is preferable that both the posture change nozzle 41 and the adjustment nozzle 42 are formed of a soft material, so as to prevent damage to the formulation F reliably. Soft materials can exemplify the thermosetting properties of silicone rubber, ethyl formate rubber, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, etc. Elastomers, or thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester or polyamine. In this embodiment, the posture change suction nozzle 41 and the adjustment suction nozzle 42 are configured to continuously suck the preparation F, but it is also possible to intermittently suck at a desired cycle by controlling the opening and closing of an on-off valve not shown. Formulation F.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main part of a part of a plurality of bags 21 formed by the direction restricting cylinder 20 of the preparation conveying device 1 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bag 21. 4 and 5 are A-A cross-sectional view and B-B cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the bag 21 is formed by making the concave portion formed by extending in the conveying direction T deeper in the conveying direction upstream side, and the standing holding portion 22 and the falling holding portion 23 are respectively formed.

A part of the inner surface of the standing holding portion 22 serves as an inclined surface 28 that expands from the bottom toward the opening. The inclined surface 28 is inclined with respect to the bottom surface 23b of the falling and holding portion 23 described later, and the communication path 26 opens into the upright holding portion 22, and the preparation is sucked and held in a state of standing up along the inclined surface 28. As shown in FIG. 4, the inclined surface 28 is inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ (60° in this embodiment) with respect to a plane P orthogonal to the axis of the restricting cylinder 20 extending in parallel with the suction flow path 24, and The opening edge portion of the standing holding portion 22 is inclined inwardly toward the bottom, whereby the preparation can be rapidly inclined along the inclined surface 28.

The lodging holding portion 23 has a tapered leading end slender portion 23a with a tapered tip toward the upstream side in the conveying direction, and the communication hole 27 opens into the lodging holding portion 23, and the agent in the fallen state can abut against the leading end of the thin portion 23a Attracted and maintained in the state. The bottom surface 23b of the falling and holding portion 23 is formed as a plane that is slightly parallel to the imaginary plane that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the direction regulating cylinder 20 Faceted.

Next, the operation of the preparation conveying device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be explained. Most of the preparations F contained in the hopper 10 are conveyed in a standing state by the supply cylinder 10. The direction restricting cylinder 20 changes the posture of the preparation F received from the supply cylinder 10 in an upright state during conveyance, and delivers it to the marking cylinder 30 in an inverted state. After that, the preparation F conveyed in the fallen state is marked by the marking cylinder 30.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the process for explaining the posture change of the preparation F during conveyance by the direction restricting cylinder 20. As shown in FIG. 6(a), the disk-shaped preparation F that falls in the vertical direction from the supply cylinder 10 (refer to FIG. 1) to the upright holding portion 22 slides down along the inclined surface 28 as shown in FIG. 6(b) It stands up in an inclined state toward the front of the figure, and is conveyed by the direction restricting tube 20 while being sucked and held in the standing holding portion 22 by the communication path 26. Next, when the preparation F is conveyed to the vicinity of the posture change suction nozzle 41, the suction by the communication path 26 is released, and as shown in FIG. 6(c), the preparation F is adsorbed to the posture change suction nozzle 41.

The preparation F is in a state of being sucked by the posture change suction nozzle 41, and the rotation of the barrel 20 is restricted by the direction, as shown in FIG. 6(d), after moving to the lodging holding part 23, the front end of the lodging holding part 23 is thinner 23a , Take out from the posture change suction nozzle 41. In this way, the preparation F falls down along the bottom surface 23 b and is sucked and held by the communication path 27. Since the front-end thin portion 23a is formed in a tapered shape (V-shape), the positioning of the preparation F in the lodging holding portion 23 can be performed accurately.

Next, when the formulation F is transported to the vicinity of the adjustment nozzle 42, as shown in FIG. 6(e), the formulation F that has been sucked and held by the communication path 27 is By adjusting the stronger suction of the suction nozzle 42 to attract, the position and posture of the preparation F in the lodging holding portion 23 will be slightly adjusted. After that, as shown in FIG. 6(f), the preparation F is sucked and held in a fallen state through the communication path 27 again.

In this way, according to the preparation conveying device 1 of the present embodiment, during the rotation of the direction restricting cylinder 20, the posture change suction nozzle 41 sucks the preparation F held in the upright state of the upright holding portion 22 and moves it to the falling holding portion 23. The preparation can be brought down. Therefore, the preparation F does not collide with the restriction guide part and may be damaged as in the past, but the posture of the preparation F can be changed easily and surely.

In addition, by not restricting the guide part, as shown in FIG. 1, an imaging device 4 can be installed near the direction restricting tube 20 to perform appearance inspection or direction detection of the preparation F, so that the use of the preparation conveying device 1 can be expanded or Changes in layout.

In addition, the standing holding portion 22 can be configured to hold the preparation F along the inclined surface 28 inclined with respect to the bottom surface 23b of the falling holding portion 23, so that the preparation F from the supply tube 10 can be received smoothly and the preparation can be carried out reliably. The posture of the preparation F changed from the upright state to the down state. The inclined surface 28 is preferably inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ with respect to the plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the direction regulating cylinder 20 as in the present embodiment, so that it can be reliably performed from the upright holding portion 22 to the falling holding portion 23 Movement of formulation F. The tilt angle θ can be appropriately set in a range larger than 0° and smaller than 90°. When the tilt angle θ is too small, it becomes difficult to quickly and reliably change the posture of the preparation F from the upright state to the down state. On the other hand, when When the inclination angle θ is too large, the preparation F from the supply cylinder 10 becomes difficult to receive smoothly, so it should be in the range of 45~75° Surrounding.

From the perspective of the change in the posture of the formulation F being transported by the direction restricting cylinder 20, it is not necessary to adjust the suction nozzle 42, but the position and posture of the formulation F held in the lodging holding portion 23 can be adjusted by adjusting the suction nozzle 42 The adjustment can realize the lodging state of formulation F more reliably.

1: Preparation conveying device

2: funnel

3: Brush roller

4: camera device

5: Guide board

10: Supply cylinder

11: bag

12: Attract the flow path

13: connecting path

20: Direction limit tube

21: bag

22: Stand up holding part

23: Lodging holding part

24: attract flow

25: attract flow

26: connecting path

27: connecting path

30: Marker tube

31: bag

32: attract flow

33: connecting path

40: suction device

41: Posture change nozzle

42: Adjust the nozzle

43: body

A1: Attraction area

A2: Attraction area

A3: Attraction area

A4: Attraction area

F: preparation

Claims (7)

A preparation conveying device includes a direction restricting cylinder for conveying a preparation received in a standing state and delivering it in an inverted state. The direction restricting cylinder includes: a plurality of standing holding portions for holding the preparation in a standing state; and adjacently arranged at A plurality of falling holding parts that hold the formulations in a falling state by raising the upstream side of the holding parts in the conveying direction, and the formulation conveying device includes a suction mechanism having a posture change suction nozzle, and the posture change suction nozzle is restricted in the aforementioned direction During the rotation of the barrel, the preparation held in the upright holding part is sucked and moved to the falling holding part. The preparation conveying device according to claim 1, wherein either of the standing holding portion and the falling holding portion is formed in a concave shape, and the rising holding portion has an inclined surface inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the falling holding portion inside, And by holding the preparation along the aforementioned inclined surface, the preparation is raised in an inclined state. The preparation conveying device of claim 2, wherein the inclined surface is inclined with respect to a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the direction regulating cylinder. The preparation conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the above-mentioned upright holding part and the falling holding part are respectively formed with communication parts for sucking and holding the preparation. The preparation conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the falling-down holding portion is formed with a narrow tip toward the upstream side in the conveying direction. Such as the preparation conveying device of claim 1, wherein the aforementioned posture The potential change nozzle is made of soft material. The preparation conveying device of claim 1, wherein the suction mechanism is provided with an adjustment nozzle for finely adjusting the position of the preparation held in the lodging holding portion on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the posture change nozzle.

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