WO2019167364A1

WO2019167364A1 - Particulate supply device, print device comprising same, and particulate supply method

Info

Publication number: WO2019167364A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/043777
Authority: WO
Inventors: 信行中野; 邦利松田; 隆蒲
Original assignee: 株式会社Ｓｃｒｅｅｎホールディングス
Priority date: 2018-02-28
Filing date: 2018-11-28
Publication date: 2019-09-06
Also published as: KR20200096640A; KR102364911B1; CN111788131A; CN111788131B; JP2019147668A

Abstract

The invention suppresses damage to particulates and controls decreases in through-put of particulate supply by way of resolving particulate bridges in a transport route when same occur. A particulate supply device (23) comprises a transport route (231) and a threshing member. The transport route (231) is formed by a wire wound in a helical shape and is elastic in the vertical direction. The threshing member performs a first movement to move from a lower position toward an upper position disposed higher than the lower position while being in contact with the middle portion, in the vertical direction, of the wire forming the transport route (231).

Description

Granular material supply apparatus, printing apparatus including the same, and granular material supply method

The present invention relates to a granular material supply apparatus, a printing apparatus including the same, and a granular material supply method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a granular material supply apparatus and a granular material supply method for transferring a granular material downward according to its gravity.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a packaging machine for packaging granular materials (for example, a PTP packaging machine) or a printing apparatus for printing on granular materials (for example, a tablet printing apparatus), etc. It is known to use a transfer path formed by winding a wire in a spiral shape. This type of technology is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

The tablet filling device described in Patent Document 1 includes a chute (transfer path) for transferring a tablet as a granular material downward according to its gravity. The tablet filling device includes a mounting plate that supports the chute adjacent to the chute. One end of the chute is fixed to the mounting plate, and a vibration generator is attached to the mounting plate. In the tablet filling device described in Patent Document 1, the vibration is applied to the chute by this vibration generator. In the tablet filling device described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of bridging in the chute and reduce the loss time and the damage rate of the tablet by such a configuration.

The PTP packaging machine described in Patent Document 2 includes a spring pipe (transfer path) for transferring tablets as granular materials downward according to the gravity. The PTP packaging machine also includes a regulation guide means for regulating the downward movement of the tablet in the spring pipe. This regulation guide means has a pair of rolls and a moving means for moving the rolls. In the PTP packaging machine described in Patent Document 2, when the tablets of the filling device are supplied to the PTP packaging machine, the roll is moved by the moving means while the spring pipe is wound around the pair of rolls in a substantially N shape. Is moved from the upper side to the lower side so that the tablet in the spring pipe is slowly moved downward. In the PTP packaging machine described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to suppress the damage of the tablet transferred from the upper side to the lower side by such a configuration.

Thus, conventionally, in order to eliminate the occurrence of a granular material bridge in the transfer path, a simple vibration is applied to the transfer path, or the downward movement of the granular material in the transfer path is performed. Measures were taken such as intentionally slowing down.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-26302 JP 2006-62710 A

However, since the tablet in which the bridge is generated is pressed by another tablet filled above the bridge, the bridge is not formed by simply applying a vibration to the transfer path as in Patent Document 1. There was a case that did not resolve. On the other hand, when the granular material is intentionally slowed down in the transfer path as in Patent Document 2, there is a new problem that the throughput of the granular material decreases. Thus, the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 still have room for improvement.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its potential object is that when a granular material bridge occurs in the transfer path, the granular material is damaged by eliminating this. In addition, the present invention provides a granular material supply device, a printing apparatus including the granular material supply device, and a granular material supply method, which can suppress the decrease in the throughput of the granular material supply.

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

In the first aspect of the present application, there is provided a granular material supply apparatus that transfers granular materials downward according to the gravity thereof. This granular material supply apparatus includes a transfer path and a handling member. The transfer path is formed by winding a wire in a spiral shape, and has elasticity in the vertical direction. The handling member performs a first operation of moving from a lower position toward an upper position disposed above the lower position while contacting the upper and lower halfway portions of the wire forming the transfer path.

In a second aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to the first aspect, the handling member returns from the upper position to the lower position without contacting the wire forming the transfer path. The operation is repeated alternately with the first operation.

In the third aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the granular material is a tablet taken by a consumer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to the third aspect, the tablet is an oval tablet.

In the fifth aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, a plurality of the transfer paths exist. Further, the handling member acts simultaneously on the wire that forms the plurality of transfer paths.

In the sixth aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the handling member is made of resin.

In a seventh aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the handling member has a convex curved surface, and the curved surface is formed on the wire. Contact.

In an eighth aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect, the handling member has a frequency of 20 times / minute or more and 200 times / minute or less. Then, the first operation is repeated.

In the ninth aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the frequency with which the handling member repeats the first operation is the weight of the granular material. It can be changed according to

In a tenth aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect, the handling member is synchronized with the rotational motion output from the electric motor, The first operation is repeated.

In an eleventh aspect of the present application, in the granular material supply apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the handling member rotates about a rotation axis. Further, the handling member is arranged only at one phase position of the entire circumference of the rotating shaft.

In a twelfth aspect of the present application, there is provided a printing apparatus including the granular material supply apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects and a printing unit. The printing unit performs printing on the surface of the supplied granular material.

In the thirteenth aspect of the present application, there is provided a method of supplying a granular material using a granular material supply device including a transfer path and a handling member. The transfer path is formed by winding a wire in a spiral shape, and has elasticity in the vertical direction. The handling member can contact the upper and lower middle portions of the wire that forms the transfer path. In this granular material supply method, the following steps a) to c) are performed. In the step a), the granular material is supplied into the transfer path from the upper end of the transfer path. In the step b), the handling member is moved from the lower position to the upper position arranged above the lower position while the handling member is brought into contact with the upper and lower middle portions of the wire. In the step c), after the step b), the handling member is returned from the upper position to the lower position while separating the handling member from the wire.

In a fourteenth aspect of the present application, there is provided a granular material supply method in which the step b) and the step c) are alternately repeated.

According to the first aspect to the fourteenth aspect of the present application, it is possible to suppress the damage of the particulate matter by eliminating the bridge when the particulate matter occurs in the transfer path, and to prevent the particulate matter from being damaged. It can also be suppressed that the throughput of the supply of goods decreases.

In particular, according to the first aspect of the present application, when the wire is handled by being brought into contact with the handling member that performs the first operation, the spiral formed by the wire is extended, and in the transfer path through which the particulate matter passes. The passage is narrowed. Accordingly, the posture of the granular material is corrected and the bridge is eliminated. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the throughput of supplying the granular material, and it is possible to suppress damage to the granular material.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present application, the wire is brought into contact with the handling member and handled by the first operation, whereby the spiral formed by the wire is extended, and the granular material is longitudinally moved in the transfer passage. Aligned. After that, while the handling member performs the second operation, the spiral formed by the wire is contracted, and the granular material naturally falls in the transfer path according to the gravity. By repeating such a first operation and a second operation, the bridge of the granular material is eliminated, and the supply of the granular material is promoted.

In particular, according to the third aspect of the present application, it is possible to prevent the tablet from being damaged due to the occurrence of a bridge or the like in the process of being transferred using the granular material supply device. Therefore, high quality tablets can be provided to consumers.

Here, in general, oval locks are likely to rotate in the long axis direction, and thus bridges are likely to occur during the transfer process. In this regard, according to the fourth aspect of the present application, the bridge that tends to occur in the oval lock can be eliminated by the operation of the handling member.

According to the fifth aspect of the present application, a common handling member can simultaneously eliminate bridges that can occur in each of a plurality of transfer paths. Accordingly, a configuration for eliminating the bridge can be realized at low cost.

In particular, according to the sixth aspect of the present application, even if the handling member is worn due to repeated contact of the handling member with the wire, no metal powder is generated. Therefore, the troubles such as cleaning in the granular material supply apparatus can be reduced. For example, when the granular material is a tablet taken by a consumer, it is possible to prevent the metal piece from adhering to the tablet.

In particular, according to the seventh aspect of the present application, the handling member can be prevented from being caught at the contact portion with the wire. Therefore, the spiral formed by the wire can be stretched smoothly, and the posture of the granular material can be corrected smoothly.

In particular, according to the eighth aspect of the present application, the spiral formed by the wire rod is contracted by the extension of the spiral formed by the wire and the transfer path is narrowed. By widening the path, the cycle that the particulate matter in the transfer path falls according to gravity can be repeated at an appropriate period. In other words, the spiral formed by the wire material can be expanded and contracted with a sufficient stroke in order to send out the granular material deposited by forming a bridge in the transfer path.

In particular, according to the ninth aspect of the present application, for example, the lighter the weight of the granular material, the less frequently the first operation can be performed. Thereby, after correct | amending the attitude | position of the granular material in a transfer path | route, the time interval required in order to make it fall freely and to discharge outside can be ensured suitably according to the weight of a granular material.

Particularly, according to the tenth aspect of the present application, it is possible to easily repeat the first operation using the rotational motion output from the electric motor. As a result, it is possible to periodically eliminate the bridge of the granular material with a simple configuration.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present application, the spiral formed by the wire can be expanded and contracted with a sufficient stroke with a simple configuration.

According to the 12th viewpoint of this application, a granular material can be stably supplied to a printing part. As a result, it is possible to smoothly print on the granular material.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present application, when the wire is brought into contact with the handling member, the spiral formed by the wire is extended, and the granular material is aligned in the vertical direction in the transfer path. Thereafter, while the handling member is separated from the wire, the spiral formed by the wire is shrunk, and the granular material naturally falls in the transfer passage according to the gravity. In this way, the simple operation of the handling member eliminates the bridge of the granular material, and promotes the supply of the granular material.

In particular, according to the fourteenth aspect of the present application, the occurrence of bridging can be periodically eliminated by causing the handling member to intermittently repeat the operation of handling the wire.

It is the figure which showed the whole structure of the granular material printing apparatus provided with the granular material supply apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a transport drum. It is the perspective view which showed the structure of the lifting apparatus provided with the lifting member which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when the bridge | bridging of a granular material has arisen in the transfer path | route. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode in a transfer path | route when making a handling member perform 1st operation | movement from the state of FIG. 4A. A circle indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure indicates a handling member when in a lower position. The solid line circle in the figure indicates the handling member when it is in the upper position. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode in a transfer path | route when making a handling member make 2nd operation | movement from the state of FIG. 4B. The black arrow in the figure indicates the direction in which the granular material falls.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the direction in which gravity is applied to the granular material may be referred to as “downward”, and the opposite downward direction may be referred to as “upward”.

<1. Configuration of tablet printing device>
First, an overall configuration of a tablet printing apparatus (granular substance printing apparatus) 1 including a tablet feeding apparatus (granular substance supply apparatus) 23 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. To do. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a tablet printing apparatus 1 for printing on tablets 9 as granular materials. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the transport drum 30 and its surroundings.

The tablet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an apparatus that prints images such as product names, product codes, manufacturer names, and logo marks on the surface of each tablet 9 while conveying a plurality of tablets 9 that are granular materials. is there. As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a hopper 10, a feeder unit 20, a transport drum 30, a first printing unit 50, a second printing unit 60, a carry-out conveyor 70, and a control unit 80. .

The hopper 10 is an input unit for receiving a large number of tablets 9 in the apparatus. The hopper 10 is disposed at the top of the housing 100 of the tablet printing apparatus 1. The hopper 10 has an opening 11 located on the upper surface of the housing 100 and a funnel-shaped inclined surface 12 that gradually converges as it goes downward. The plurality of tablets 9 put into the opening 11 flows along the inclined surface 12 into a linear feeder 21 described later.

The feeder unit 20 is a mechanism for transporting the plurality of tablets 9 put into the hopper 10 to the transport drum 30. The feeder unit 20 according to the present embodiment includes a linear feeder 21, a rotary feeder 22, and a supply feeder (particulate material supply device) 23. The rectilinear feeder 21 has a flat vibration trough 211. The plurality of tablets 9 supplied from the hopper 10 to the vibration trough 211 are conveyed toward the rotary feeder 22 by the vibration of the vibration trough 211. The rotary feeder 22 has a disk-shaped rotary table 221. The plurality of tablets 9 that have dropped from the vibration trough 211 onto the upper surface of the turntable 221 are collected near the outer periphery of the turntable 221 by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the turntable 221.

The supply feeder 23 as a granular material supply apparatus according to the present embodiment conveys the tablet 9 from the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 221 to the conveyance drum 30. More specifically, the supply feeder 23 includes a transfer path 231 and a cutout unit 232 described later. 1 and 2, the transfer path 231 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The transfer path 231 is a cylindrical path through which the tablet 9 passes in order to transfer the tablet 9 downward according to its gravity. The transfer path 231 of the present embodiment is formed by winding a wire 231a such as a metal wire in a spiral shape. Therefore, the transfer path 231 can be expanded and contracted by enlarging / reducing the radial dimension of the spiral formed by the wire 231a. In other words, the transfer path 231 is configured as a spring chute (coil pipe) having elasticity.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of transfer paths 231 are arranged substantially parallel to each other so as to extend in the vertical direction. The plurality of tablets 9 transported to the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 221 shown in FIG. 1 are respectively supplied to any one of the plurality of transfer paths 231, and more specifically formed in the transfer path 231, more specifically, the wire 231 a. Fall in the spiral. Then, a plurality of tablets 9 are supplied into each transfer path 231. As described above, the plurality of tablets 9 are arranged in a plurality of (eight in the present embodiment) conveyance rows by being distributedly supplied to the plurality of transfer paths 231. Then, the plurality of tablets 9 in each conveyance row are cut out one by one by the cutout unit 232 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in order from the lower end. The extracted tablets 9 in each conveyance row are supplied to the conveyance drum 30.

The supply feeder 23 includes a handling device 90 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in addition to the above-described members. A specific configuration of the handling device 90 will be described in detail later.

1 and 2 is a mechanism for delivering the tablet 9 cut out by the cutting unit 232. The conveyance drum 30 has a substantially cylindrical outer peripheral surface. The transport drum 30 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2 around its central axis by power obtained from a motor (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of holding portions 31 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the transport drum 30. The holding unit 31 is a recess that is recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface of the transport drum 30. The plurality of holding portions 31 are arranged along the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the conveyance drum 30 at the position in the width direction corresponding to each of the plurality of conveyance rows described above. An adsorption hole 32 is provided at the bottom of each holding part 31.

A suction mechanism (not shown) is provided inside the transport drum 30. When the suction mechanism is operated, a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is generated in each of the plurality of suction holes 32. The holding unit 31 sucks and holds the tablets 9 supplied from the supply feeder 23 one by one with the negative pressure. In addition, a blow mechanism (not shown) is provided inside the transport drum 30. The blow mechanism blows locally pressurized gas from the inside of the conveyance drum 30 toward the conveyance conveyor 51 described later. Thereby, in the holding part 31 which does not oppose the conveyance conveyor 51, adsorption | suction of the tablet 9 is cancelled | released in the holding part 31 which opposes the conveyance conveyor 51, maintaining the adsorption | suction state of the tablet 9. FIG. In this way, the transport drum 30 rotates while adsorbing and holding the plurality of tablets 9 supplied from the supply feeder 23, and can transfer these tablets 9 to the transport conveyor 51.

A state detection camera 33 is provided at a position facing the outer peripheral surface of the transport drum 30. The state detection camera 33 images the tablet 9 transported by the transport drum 30 and transmits the obtained image to the control unit 80. Based on the received image, the control unit 80 detects the presence / absence of the tablet 9 in each holding unit 31 and the front and back surfaces and the rotation angle of the tablet 9 held by the holding unit 31.

The first printing unit 50 is a processing unit for printing an image on one surface of the tablet 9. The first printing unit 50 includes a conveyor 51, a state detection camera 52, a head unit 53, an inspection camera 54, and a fixing unit 55.

The transport conveyor 51 is a transport mechanism having a known configuration such as a belt conveyor. A part of the conveyor belt 512 of the conveyor 51 is arranged so as to face and face the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor drum 30. The conveyor belt 512 of the conveyor 51 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2 by power obtained from a motor (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport belt 512 of the transport conveyor 51 is provided with a plurality of holding portions 513. The holding unit 513 is a recess that is recessed inward from the outer surface of the belt of the conveyor 51. The plurality of holding units 513 are arranged in the transport direction at the position in the width direction corresponding to each of the plurality of transport rows. The intervals in the width direction of the plurality of holding portions 513 on the transfer belt 512 of the transfer conveyor 51 are equal to the intervals in the width direction of the plurality of holding portions 31 on the transfer drum 30.

An adsorption hole 514 is provided at the bottom of each holding portion 513. The conveyor 51 has a suction mechanism (not shown) inside the conveyor belt 512. When the suction mechanism is operated, a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is generated in each of the plurality of suction holes 514. The holding unit 513 sucks and holds the tablets 9 delivered from the transport drum 30 one by one with the negative pressure. Thereby, the conveyance conveyor 51 conveys the some tablet 9 hold | maintaining in the state aligned in the some conveyance row | space spaced in the width direction. Further, the transport belt 512 is provided with a blow mechanism (not shown). When the blow mechanism is operated, the adsorption of the tablets 9 in the holding unit 413 is released in the holding unit 413 facing the conveyance conveyor 61 described later, and the tablets 9 are delivered from the conveyance conveyor 51 to the conveyance conveyor 61.

The state detection camera 52 is a photographing unit that photographs the state of the tablets 9 held on the transport conveyor 51 on the upstream side of the head unit 53 in the transport direction. The state detection camera 33 and the state detection camera 52 photograph the opposite surfaces of the tablet 9. An image obtained by the state detection camera 52 is transmitted from the state detection camera 52 to the control unit 80. Based on the received image, the control unit 80 detects the presence / absence of the tablet 9 in each holding unit 513, the front and back of the tablet held in the holding unit 513, and the rotation angle.

The head unit 53 performs printing on the surface of the tablet 9 by ejecting ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet 9 that is transported by the transport conveyor 51. The head unit 53 has a plurality of heads 531 arranged along the transport direction. The plurality of heads 531 eject ink droplets of different colors toward the surface of the tablet 9. Thereby, a multicolor image is printed on the surface of the tablet 9.

The inspection camera 54 is an imaging unit for confirming the printing result by the head unit 53. The inspection camera 54 images the tablets 9 that are transported to the transport belt 512 on the downstream side of the head unit 53 in the transport direction. Further, the inspection camera 54 transmits the obtained image to the control unit 80. Based on the received image, the control unit 80 inspects whether the image printed on the surface of each tablet 9 is defective.

The fixing unit 55 is a mechanism for fixing the ink discharged from the head unit 53 to the tablet 9. For the fixing unit 55, for example, a hot air drying heater that blows hot air toward the tablets 9 conveyed by the conveyor 51 is used.

The second printing unit 60 is a processing unit for printing an image on the other surface of the tablet 9 after printing by the first printing unit 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the second printing unit 60 includes a transport conveyor 61, a state detection camera 62, a head unit 63, an inspection camera 64, a fixing unit 65, and a defective product collection unit 66. The transport conveyor 61 transports the plurality of tablets 9 delivered from the upstream transport conveyor 51 while holding them. The state detection camera 62 images the plurality of tablets 9 transported by the transport conveyor 61 on the upstream side of the head unit 63 in the transport direction. The head unit 63 ejects ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet 9 that is transported by the transport conveyor 61. The inspection camera 64 images the plurality of tablets 9 that are transported by the transport conveyor 61 on the downstream side of the head unit 63 in the transport direction. The fixing unit 65 fixes the ink discharged from each head unit 631 of the head unit 63 to the tablet 9.

About each structure and its function of the conveyance conveyor 61, the state detection camera 62, the head unit 63, the inspection camera 64, and the fixing | fixed part 65, the conveyance conveyor 51, the state detection camera 52, the head unit 53, the inspection camera 54, which were mentioned above, Further, since it is equivalent to the fixing unit 55, a duplicate description is omitted.

The defective product collection unit 66 collects the tablets 9 determined to be defective based on the photographed images obtained from the five

cameras

33, 52, 54, 62, and 64 described above. The defective product collection unit 66 includes a blow mechanism (not shown) disposed inside the conveyor 61 and a collection box 661. When the tablet 9 determined to be defective is transported to the defective product recovery unit 66, the blow mechanism sprays pressurized gas from the inside of the transport conveyor 61 toward the tablet 9. As a result, the tablets 9 are dropped from the conveyor 61 and are collected in the collection box 661.

The carry-out conveyor 70 is a mechanism that conveys the plurality of tablets 9 determined as non-defective products to the outside of the casing 100 of the tablet printing apparatus 1. The upstream end of the carry-out conveyor 70 is located below the transfer conveyor 61. The downstream end of the carry-out conveyor 70 is located outside the housing 100. For the carry-out conveyor 70, for example, a known belt conveyance mechanism is used. The plurality of tablets 9 that have passed through the defective product collection unit 66 are dropped from the transport conveyor 61 onto the upper surface of the carry-out conveyor 70 by releasing suction of the suction holes. Then, the plurality of tablets 9 are carried out of the housing 100 by the carry-out conveyor 70.

The control unit 80 is a means for controlling the operation of each unit in the tablet printing apparatus 1. The control unit 80 includes a computer having a processor such as a CPU, a memory such as a RAM, and a storage device such as a hard disk drive. A computer program and data for executing the printing process and the inspection process are stored in the storage device.

Further, the control unit 80 includes the above-described linear feeder 21, the rotary feeder 22, the transport drum 30, the state detection camera 33, the transport conveyor 51, the state detection camera 52, the head unit 53, the inspection camera 54, the fixing unit 55, and the transport conveyor 61. The state detection camera 62, the head unit 63, the inspection camera 64, the fixing unit 65, the defective product collection unit 66, the carry-out conveyor 70, and the like are communicably connected.

In addition to the above-described units, a clogging detection sensor 239 shown in FIG. 1 is also connected to the control unit 80 so as to be communicable. The clogging detection sensor 239 is a sensor that detects whether or not there is a tablet in the cutout part 232. The control unit 80 determines the presence or absence of clogging in the transfer path 231 based on the signal received from the clogging detection sensor 239. For example, it is determined that clogging has occurred in the transfer path 231 when the cutout unit 232 has no tablet for a predetermined time or longer. In this case, the control unit 80 generates, for example, an alarm sound or lights an alarm lamp (not shown) in order to notify the operator of the occurrence of clogging.

Here, in the supply feeder 23 as the granular material supply device, it is desirable that the tablet (granular material) 9 is transferred downward without any stagnation and supplied to the transport drum 30 in the subsequent stage. However, in a conventionally known transfer path such as a spring chute, clogging may occur and transfer may be delayed. More specifically, while the tablet passes through the transfer path, the tablet is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and a so-called bridge may occur in the transfer path.

More specifically, in order to smoothly transfer the tablet downward, it is necessary to pass through the transfer path with the longitudinal direction of the tablet directed in the vertical direction (vertical direction). However, depending on the shape of the tablet, the tablet may rotate during the transfer, and a bridge may be generated. The bridge is generated by stacking a number of tablets in a posture inclined with respect to the vertical direction in the vertical direction. In particular, when the tablet is an oval tablet, it is known that the tablet easily rotates in various directions, so that a bridge is more likely to occur. If a bridge occurs in the transfer path, it is desirable to eliminate it quickly. In this regard, the supply feeder 23 of the present embodiment includes a handling device 90 having a handling member 94 as a characteristic configuration for quickly eliminating a bridge generated in the transfer path 231.

<2. Configuration of handling device>
Below, the structure of the handling apparatus 90 containing the handling member 94 which concerns on this embodiment is explained in full detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 schematically shows the configuration of the handling device 90. The handling device 90 of this embodiment includes a motor 91, a rotating shaft 92, a pair of attachment plates 93, and a handling member 94.

The motor 91 is a drive source for the handling device 90. The rotating shaft 92 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 91. The rotating shaft 92 of this embodiment rotates integrally with the output shaft of the motor 91. The pair of mounting plates 93 are fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft 92. Specifically, the central portion of the plate surface of the mounting plate 93 is fixed to the end portion of the rotating shaft 92 so as not to be relatively rotatable. The handling member 94 is a long cylindrical member made of resin. The resin constituting the handling member 94 is, for example, any one of POM (polyacetal), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or a composite material containing at least one of them. Can be adopted.

The handling member 94 is bridged between the pair of mounting plates 93 in a state parallel to the rotating shaft 92. Specifically, both ends of the handling member 94 are attached to one end in the longitudinal direction of the pair of attachment plates 93. In addition, the handling member is not provided in the other end part of the longitudinal direction of the pair of mounting plates 93. In other words, the handling member 94 is provided only at one phase position of the entire circumference of the rotating shaft 92. As the rotating shaft 92 rotates, the handling member 94 rotates while drawing an arcuate locus.

As shown in FIG. 3, the handling device 90 is provided in the vicinity of the plurality of transfer paths 231. More specifically, the lifting device 90 is arranged so that the lifting member 94 can simultaneously contact the middle portions in the vertical direction of the plurality of transfer paths 231 within a predetermined rotation range. Strictly speaking, the handling member 94 is in contact with the middle part in the vertical direction of the wire (metal wire) 231a forming the transfer path 231.

Just before the handling member 94 comes into contact with the wire 231 a, the handling member 94 is disposed below the rotating shaft 92. The state of the transfer path 231, the tablet 9, and the handling member 94 at this time is shown in FIG. 4A.

After the state of FIG. 4A, when the lifting member 94 reaches a predetermined rotation position (hereinafter referred to as “lower position P1”) in the rotation range as the rotation shaft 92 rotates, the circumference of the lifting member 94 is increased. The surface 94a contacts the upper and lower middle portions of the wire 231a forming the transfer path 231. The state of the transfer path 231, the tablet 9, and the handling member 94 at this time is shown in FIG. 4B. In FIG. 4B, the handling member 94 at the lower position P1 is indicated by a two-dot chain line circle.

When the rotating shaft 92 further rotates from the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4B, a predetermined rotation position (hereinafter referred to as “upward”) in which the handling member 94 is disposed above the lower position P1 in the rotation range. Position P2 ") is reached. During the operation in which the lifting member 94 rotates from the lower position P1 toward the upper position P2 (hereinafter referred to as “first operation”), the circumferential surface 94a of the lifting member 94 forms the transfer path 231 in the vertical direction. It is kept in contact with the middle part. As a result, the wire 231a forming the transfer path 231 is handled upward. In FIG. 4B, the handling member 94 at the upper position P2 is indicated by a solid circle. Comparing FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, it can be seen that the wire 231 a is stretched along with the first operation of the handling member 94.

The diameter of the spiral formed by the wire 231a in the state shown in FIG. 4B is narrower than that of the spiral formed by the wire 231a in the state shown in FIG. 4A. In other words, when the handling member 94 performs the first operation, the wire 231a is stretched upward, and the passage in the transfer path 231 through which the tablet 9 passes is narrowed. Along with this, the posture of the tablet 9 is corrected from the bridged state as shown in FIG. 4A to the vertically aligned state as shown in FIG. 4B.

When the rotating shaft 92 further rotates from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 4B, the handling member 94 rotates in a direction away from the transfer path 231. More specifically, the handling member 94 performs an operation (hereinafter, “second operation”) that rotates while being separated from the transfer path 231 from the upper position P2 toward the lower position P1. Thereby, the rotational position of the handling member 94 returns from the upper position P2 to the lower position P1. The state of the transfer path 231 during the second operation is shown in FIG. 4C. While the second operation is being performed, the peripheral surface 94 a of the handling member 94 does not contact the wire 231 a forming the transfer path 231. As a result, the wire 231a handled as shown in FIG. 4B returns to the original state as shown in FIG. 4C. In other words, the passage in the transfer path 231 is widened by reducing the pitch of the spiral formed by the wire 231a. At this time, since the state where the tablets 9 are bridged is eliminated at the stage shown in FIG. 4B, the tablets 9 naturally fall down in the transfer path 231. Thus, the bridge between the tablets 9 is quickly eliminated, and the supply of the tablets 9 to the transport drum 30 is promoted.

In addition, the handling member 94 of the present embodiment alternately performs the first operation and the second operation using the rotational motion of the motor 91 when the motor 91 is driven. Thereby, the state in which the tablets 9 are bridged is periodically resolved, and the tablets 9 can be continuously supplied to the transport drum 30 stably.

In the present embodiment, the output shaft of the motor 91 is rotated at a rotation speed of 20 rotations / minute or more and 200 rotations / minute or less. Therefore, the handling member 94 repeats the first operation and the second operation at a frequency of 20 times / minute or more and 200 times / minute or less. Thus, the spiral formed by the wire 231a is stretched and the posture of the tablet 9 is corrected, and thereafter, the spiral formed by the wire 231a is contracted and the tablet 9 is dropped by its own weight at an appropriate cycle. it can.

However, in the present embodiment, the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 92 can be increased or decreased by software according to the weight of the tablet 9. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the lighter the tablet 9, the less frequently the handling member 94 performs the first operation. Thereby, the time interval required to drop the tablet 9 substantially freely and supply it to the transport drum 30 can be appropriately secured according to the weight of the tablet 9.

As described above, the supply feeder (particulate material supply device) 23 of the present embodiment has a handling path 231 formed by spirally winding a wire 231a such as a metal wire and a handling member 94. And a lifting device 90. The handling member 94 performs a first operation of moving from the lower position P1 toward the upper position P2 while contacting the upper and lower middle portions of the wire 231a forming the transfer path 231. As a result, the wire 231 a is brought into contact with the handling member 94, whereby the spiral formed by the wire 231 a is extended, and the passage in the transfer path 231 through which the tablet (granular material) 9 passes is narrowed. Accordingly, the posture of the tablet 9 is corrected and the bridge is eliminated. As a result, the tablet 9 can be prevented from being damaged, and the supply throughput of the tablet 9 can be prevented from being lowered.

Further, in the supply feeder 23 of the present embodiment, the handling member 94 repeatedly performs the second operation of returning from the upper position P2 to the lower position P1 alternately with the first operation without contacting the wire 231a. As a result, the wire 231a comes into contact with the handling member 94 and is handled, whereby the spiral formed by the wire 231a extends and the tablets 9 are aligned in the longitudinal direction in the transfer passage. After that, while the handling member 94 performs the second operation, the spiral formed by the wire 231a is contracted, thereby widening the passage through which the tablet 9 passes, and the tablet 9 naturally falls in the transfer path 231 according to its gravity. To do. By repeating such a first operation and a second operation, the bridge of the tablet 9 is eliminated and the supply of the tablet 9 is promoted.

In the present embodiment, the “granular material” is a tablet 9 taken by a consumer. In the structure of this embodiment, it can suppress that the tablet 9 is damaged by generation | occurrence | production of a bridge | bridging etc. in the process in which the tablet 9 is transferred using the supply feeder 23. FIG. Therefore, good quality tablets 9 can be provided to consumers.

In this embodiment, the tablet 9 can also be an oval tablet. Here, in general, the oval tablet is easy to rotate three-dimensionally. More specifically, since the oval tablet is likely to rotate in the major axis direction, bridging is likely to occur in the transfer process. In this regard, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the bridge that tends to occur in the oval lock can be eliminated by the rotational movement of the handling member 94. Alternatively, it is also advantageous to apply the present invention as a soft capsule that is particularly fragile.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, in the supply feeder 23 of this embodiment, there are a plurality of transfer paths 231. The handling member 94 acts simultaneously on the wire 231a of the plurality of transfer paths 231. As a result, the common handling member 94 can simultaneously eliminate bridges that may occur in each of the plurality of transfer paths 231. Accordingly, a configuration for eliminating the bridge can be realized at low cost.

In the present embodiment, the handling member 94 is made of resin. Thereby, even if the handling member 94 is worn by repeating contact with the wire 231a, no metal powder is generated. Therefore, the troubles such as cleaning in the tablet printing apparatus 1 can be reduced. Moreover, it can prevent that metal powder adheres to the tablet 9.

In this embodiment, the handling member 94 has a peripheral surface 94a as a convex curved surface, and the peripheral surface 94a contacts the wire 231a. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the handling member 94 from being caught at the contact portion with the wire 231a. Therefore, the spiral formed by the wire 231a can be smoothly stretched, and the posture of the tablet 9 is smoothly corrected.

In the present embodiment, the frequency at which the handling member 94 repeats the first operation is set to 20 times / minute or more and 200 times / minute or less. As a result, the spiral formed by the wire 231a is extended and the transfer path 231 is narrowed. Thus, after the posture of the tablet 9 in the transfer path 231 is corrected, the spiral formed by the wire 231a is contracted to widen the transfer path 231. Thereby, the cycle that the granular material in the said transfer path 231 falls according to gravity can be formed with a suitable period. In other words, the spiral formed by the wire 231a can be expanded and contracted with a sufficient stroke in order to send out the tablets 9 deposited and formed in the transfer path 231.

In the present embodiment, the handling member 94 repeats the first operation and the second operation in synchronization with the rotational movement output from the motor (electric motor) 91. Thereby, it is possible to easily realize the repetition of the first operation and the second operation using the simple rotational motion output from the motor 91.

Further, in the present embodiment, the handling member 94 rotates around the rotation shaft 92. Further, the handling member 94 is disposed only at one phase position of the entire circumference of the rotating shaft 92. Thereby, the period of the 1st operation | movement of the handling member 94 can be optimized, maintaining the rotation speed of a motor at a highly efficient rated rotation speed. As a result, the spiral formed by the wire 231a can be expanded and contracted with a sufficient stroke.

Moreover, the tablet printing apparatus 1 as a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a supply feeder (particulate material supply apparatus) 23 and

printing units

50 and 60. Thereby, the tablet 9 as an example of the granular material can be stably supplied to the

printing units

50 and 60. As a result, it is possible to smoothly print on the granular material.

<3. About modification>
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Is possible.

In the above embodiment, the handling member 94 is rotated in an arc shape in synchronization with the rotation of the rotating shaft 92, but is not limited thereto. The movement of the handling member does not necessarily have to be a rotational movement, and may be a linear movement using, for example, an air cylinder. That is, the first operation is not limited as long as the handling member moves while contacting the wire from the lower position P1 toward the upper position P2.

In the above-described embodiment, the first operation and the second operation of the lifting member 94 are periodically repeated. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the first operation and the second operation are irregularly performed. It may be performed. More specifically, only when the clogging of the tablet 9 in any of the transfer paths 231 is detected by the clogging detection sensor 239, the handling member 94 may execute the first operation and the second operation. Further, the first operation and the second operation may be performed by the control member 80 on the handling member 94 periodically or irregularly.

Alternatively, in order to sufficiently secure the repeated strokes of the first operation and the second operation in the handling member 94, for example, the rotating shaft 92 may be intermittently rotated.

The handling member 94 may be provided individually for each of the plurality of transfer paths 231.

The “particulate matter” in the present invention is not limited to a tablet as a medicine taken by a consumer, but may be a tablet as a health food such as a supplement or a tablet confection such as a ramune. Alternatively, the “granular material” may be a chip component supplied to the chip mounter.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the granular material supply device (supply feeder 23) according to the present invention is used in the tablet printing device 1 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, you may utilize the tablet supply apparatus as a granular material supply apparatus which concerns on this invention for a PTP packaging machine.

Further, the elements appearing in the above-described embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined within a range where no contradiction occurs.

1 Tablet printer (printer)
9 Tablet (granular)
23 Feeding feeder (particulate material feeding device)
50 First printing section (printing section)
60 Second printing section (printing section)
80 Control unit 90 Lifting device 91 Motor (electric motor)
92 Rotating shaft 94 Handling member 94a Peripheral surface (convex curved surface)
231 Transfer path 231a Wire 232 Cutout unit 232
239 Clogging detection sensor

Claims

A granular material supply device for transferring the granular material downward according to its gravity,
A wire that is formed by winding a wire in a spiral shape and having a stretchability in the vertical direction;
A handling member that performs a first operation that moves from a lower position toward an upper position that is disposed above the lower position while contacting the upper and lower middle portions of the wire that forms the transfer path;
A granular material supply apparatus comprising:
The granular material supply apparatus according to claim 1,
The granular material supply apparatus, wherein the handling member repeatedly performs a second operation returning from the upper position to the lower position without contacting the wire forming the transfer path, alternately with the first operation.
It is a granular material supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The granular material supply apparatus, wherein the granular material is a tablet taken by a consumer.
The granular material supply device according to claim 3,
The granular material supply apparatus, wherein the tablet is an oval tablet.
It is a granular material supply device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-4,
There are a plurality of the transfer routes,
The granular material supply device, wherein the handling member acts simultaneously on the wire forming the plurality of transfer paths.
It is a granular material supply device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-5,
The granular material supply apparatus, wherein the handling member is made of resin.
It is a granular material supply device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-6,
The handling member has a convex curved surface,
The granular material supply apparatus in which the curved surface is in contact with the wire.
The granular material supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The granular material supply apparatus, wherein the handling member repeats the first operation at a frequency of 20 times / minute or more and 200 times / minute or less.
It is a granular material supply device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-8,
The frequency with which the handling member repeats the first operation can be changed according to the weight of the granular material.
It is a granular material supply device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-9,
The said handling member is a granular material supply apparatus which repeats a said 1st operation | movement synchronizing with the rotational motion output from the electric motor.
It is a granular material supply device according to claim 10,
The handling member rotates around a rotation axis,
The granular material supply apparatus in which the handling member is disposed only at one phase position of the entire circumference of the rotating shaft.
The granular material supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
A printing section for printing on the surface of the supplied granular material;
A printing apparatus comprising:
A wire that is formed by winding a wire in a spiral shape and having a stretchability in the vertical direction;
A handling member capable of contacting the upper and lower middle portions of the wire forming the transfer path;
A granular material supply method for supplying a granular material using a granular material supply device comprising:
a) supplying particulate matter into the transfer path from the upper end of the transfer path;
b) moving the handling member from the lower position toward the upper position disposed above the lower position while bringing the handling member into contact with the upper and lower middle portions of the wire;
c) After the step b), returning the handling member from the upper position to the lower position while separating the handling member from the wire.
Granule supply method.
The method for supplying particulate matter according to claim 13,
The granular material supply method, wherein the step b) and the step c) are alternately repeated.