WO2023053986A1 - Article sorting device and article inspection device - Google Patents

Article sorting device and article inspection device Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023053986A1
WO2023053986A1 PCT/JP2022/034519 JP2022034519W WO2023053986A1 WO 2023053986 A1 WO2023053986 A1 WO 2023053986A1 JP 2022034519 W JP2022034519 W JP 2022034519W WO 2023053986 A1 WO2023053986 A1 WO 2023053986A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
inspection
transport path
article
capsule
guide portion
Prior art date
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PCT/JP2022/034519
Other languages
French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
亨輔 池内
Original Assignee
クオリカプス株式会社
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Publication date
Application filed by クオリカプス株式会社 filed Critical クオリカプス株式会社
Priority to JP2023551306A priority Critical patent/JPWO2023053986A1/ja
Publication of WO2023053986A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023053986A1/en

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
    • B07C5/36—Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/34—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor 
    • B65G47/46—Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyor  and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an article sorting device and an article inspection device.
  • a tablet appearance inspection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This device captures an image of a flat tablet while it is held in a holding pocket of a conveying drum and conveyed by an image pickup device, sorts the flat tablet into a good product or a defective product by a sorting device based on the obtained image data, and discharges it to the outside. is configured to
  • the above-described conventional article inspection device is configured so that the tablets after inspection can be sorted into two types, non-defective products and defective products.
  • the configuration will be complicated and the manufacturing cost will be high.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting device and an article inspection device that can sort articles in three directions with a low-cost and compact configuration.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting device for sorting articles supplied from a preset supply position in three directions, comprising: a support member; a supported rotating member; and a drive mechanism having an engaging portion that engages with the engaged portion of the rotating member, and rotating the rotating member forward and backward by advancing and retreating the engaging portion.
  • the rotating member has a first guide portion and a second guide portion that face each other and extend in the conveying direction, and the first guide portion and the second guide portion have a non-opposing surface side.
  • a first conveying path and a second conveying path are formed, respectively, and a third conveying path is formed between the facing surfaces of the first guide portion and the second guide portion. , the entrance of any one of the first transport path, the second transport path and the third transport path can be aligned with the supply position.
  • the interval between the first guide portion and the second guide portion is formed so as to widen toward the downstream side in the conveying direction.
  • L1 be the distance from the rotation axis to the engaging portion along a straight line perpendicular to the rotation axis, and let L1 be the distance from the rotation axis to the inlet side edge of the rotation member along the straight line.
  • L2/L1 is preferably 2.0 to 5.0 when L2 is used.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide an inspection section that inspects articles and conveys them to a supply position, a sorting section that sorts the articles conveyed to the supply position by the article sorting apparatus, and the inspection section. and a control device for controlling the operation of the sorting unit based on the inspection result of the above, and the inspection unit selects one of two types of non-defective items and a total of three types of non-defective items as inspection results. This is achieved by an output article inspection device.
  • the article sorting apparatus includes a passage confirmation sensor arranged so as not to detect the passage of the articles sorted as non-defective items, but to detect the passage of the articles sorted into two types other than the non-defective items. Further, it is preferable to have.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an article inspection device provided with an article sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a main part of the article inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1
  • FIG. 2 is a side view of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 1
  • 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 3
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the article inspection device shown in FIG. 1
  • FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 4
  • FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 4
  • FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 4;
  • FIG. 1 is a front view of an article inspection device provided with an article sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the article inspection apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an inspection unit 4 that inspects the articles that have been put into the input hopper 2 and supplied from the supply hopper 3, and a sorting unit 6 that distributes the articles inspected by the inspection unit 4. Further, a control device 70 such as a PC (personal computer) and a display device 80 such as a monitor are provided.
  • a control device 70 such as a PC (personal computer) and a display device 80 such as a monitor are provided.
  • the article to be inspected by the article inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment is the capsule 100 .
  • the capsule 100 is a hard capsule comprising a body 101 and a cap 102. By fitting the cap 102 onto the body 101, it can contain powdery or liquid medicines, foods, and the like. Capsule 100 may be in a state containing contents, or may be in an empty state without containing contents.
  • the inspection unit 4 includes a visual inspection unit 4a that performs a visual inspection of the capsule 100 and a mass inspection unit 4b that performs a mass inspection of the capsule 100.
  • the appearance inspection unit 4a includes a first image pickup device 11, a second image pickup device 21, and a third image pickup device 51, each of which is a line sensor camera or the like for capturing an image of the capsule, and the image pickup positions of these image pickup devices 11, 21, and 51.
  • a first visual inspection roller 10, a second visual inspection roller 20, and a third visual inspection roller 50 are provided for conveying the capsules.
  • the mass inspection unit 4 b includes a weighing device 43 that measures the mass of the capsule placed on the weighing pan 44 and a mass inspection roller 40 that conveys the capsule to the weighing pan 44 .
  • the sorting unit 6 includes an article sorting device 60 that sorts the capsules, which have undergone visual inspection and weight inspection by the visual inspection unit 4a and the mass inspection unit 4b, in three directions, and capsules that have been sorted into non-defective products by the product sorting device 60.
  • a good product conveyor 601 that conveys to the next process, a mass defective product box 602 that collects capsules that have been sorted by the product sorting device 60 with defective mass, and capsules that have been sorted by the product sorting device 60 with poor appearance.
  • a defective product box 603 is provided.
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the article inspection device shown in FIG.
  • the first appearance inspection roller 10 has a plurality of pockets 12 in which capsules 100 to be inspected are accommodated and formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface.
  • the pocket 12 is formed so as to extend radially inward from the outer peripheral surface of the first visual inspection roller 10, and the capsule 100 extends from the supply hopper 3 (see FIG. 1) in the axial direction indicated by the arrow A (the body). 101 and cap 102).
  • the capsule 100 is housed in the pocket 12 in an upright state so that one axial side of the capsule 100 (body 101 side in FIG. 2) is exposed.
  • the one axial side where the capsule 100 is exposed may be the cap 102 side.
  • the capsule 100 stored in the pocket 12 is intermittently driven in the arrow direction of the first visual inspection roller 10 to be conveyed to the imaging position of the first imaging device 11, and the top portion of the capsule 100 on one side in the axial direction is is imaged, it is conveyed along the guide member 13 toward the second appearance inspection roller 20 .
  • the second roller for visual inspection 20 has a plurality of pockets 22 extending radially inward from the outer circumferential surface thereof and formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer circumferential surface.
  • the capsule 100 supplied from the first visual inspection roller 10 is stored in the pocket 22 in an upright state so that the other side in the axial direction (the cap 102 side in FIG. 2) is exposed. 20 is intermittently driven in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is transported to the imaging position of the second imaging device 21. After the top of the capsule 100 on the other side in the axial direction is imaged, the capsule 100 is transported along the guide member 23.
  • the mass inspection roller 40 has a plurality of pockets 41 formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface. Each pocket 41 is formed horizontally along the rotation axis of the mass inspection roller 40 , and the capsule 100 is placed sideways so that the axial direction of the capsule 100 is parallel to the rotation axis of the mass inspection roller 40 . It is housed in pocket 41 . The capsule 100 in the pocket 41 is conveyed to the weighing pan 44 along the guide member 42 by the intermittent driving of the mass inspection roller 40 in the arrow direction.
  • the weighing pan 44 is formed in a V-shape when viewed from the front so that the center is recessed. 100 mass measurements are taken. After mass measurement, the capsule 100 is conveyed toward the third appearance inspection roller 50 by driving the mass inspection roller 40 .
  • a transfer roller 30 is provided between the second appearance inspection roller 20 and the mass inspection roller 40 .
  • the transfer roller 30 has a plurality of pockets 31 formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface. Each pocket 31 accommodates the capsule 100 in an upright state from the second appearance inspection roller 20 , and a portion of the capsule 100 protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the transfer roller 30 .
  • the capsule 100 accommodated in the pocket 31 abuts against the direction regulating member 32 by intermittently driving the transfer roller 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow. is supplied to the cleaning roller 40 .
  • the transfer roller 30 is not an essential component, and the transfer roller 20 may be provided if the capsule 100 can be laid down when the capsule 100 is supplied from the second appearance inspection roller 20 to the mass inspection roller 40. Alternatively, the capsule 100 may be directly fed without the
  • the third visual inspection roller 50 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is intermittently driven in the arrow direction so as to rotate along the outer circumference of a fixed cylindrical inner cylindrical body 52 .
  • a plurality of pockets 53 consisting of oblong through holes extending along the rotation axis are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction, and the pockets 53 are supplied from the mass inspection roller 40 .
  • the capsule 100 is accommodated in the pocket 53 while lying down.
  • a rotating roller 54 partially exposed through a window formed in the inner cylindrical body 52. As shown in FIG.
  • the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller 54 comes into contact with the capsule 100 that is accommodated in the pocket 53 and transported to the imaging position.
  • the circumference is imaged by the third imaging device 51 .
  • the captured capsule 100 is transported to the supply position P along the guide member 55 .
  • the article sorting device 60 includes a supporting member 64 fixed to a base 61, a rotating member 65 supported rotatably around a rotating shaft 66 with respect to the supporting member 64, and a rotating member 65 rotating. It has a drive mechanism 62 that dynamically drives to sort the capsules 100 and a passage confirmation sensor 63 that detects passage of the sorted capsules 100 .
  • Each pocket 12, 22, 31, 41, 53 provided in the first visual inspection roller 10, the second visual inspection roller 20, the transfer roller 30, the mass inspection roller 40, and the third visual inspection roller 50 are formed along the circumferential direction of each roller, and are formed along the axial direction of each roller.
  • FIG. 3 is a side view showing the article sorting device 60 shown in FIG. 2 together with the third appearance inspection roller 50
  • FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
  • the pockets 53 formed in the third visual inspection roller 50 are arranged in a plurality of rows at intervals in the axial direction.
  • a plurality of passage confirmation sensors 63 and rotating members 65 are provided corresponding to each row of pockets 53 .
  • the rotating member 65 includes a pair of side plates 651, and a first guide portion 652 and a second guide portion 653 sandwiched between the pair of side plates 651 so as to face each other. and
  • the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 are formed in a plate shape with a width slightly larger than the axial length of the capsule 100, and extend along the conveying direction.
  • the rotating shaft 66 is fixed to the support member 64 through the pair of side plates 651 and the first guide portion 652 .
  • the rotating member 65 is formed with an elongated engaged portion 654 on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the rotating shaft 66 along the first guide portion 652 .
  • the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 are provided on the non-opposing surface side opposite to the mutually facing surfaces, along the first transport path T1 and the second transport path T1, respectively.
  • T2 is formed, and a third transport path T3 is formed between the surfaces facing each other.
  • the entrances of the first transport path T1, the second transport path T2, and the third transport path T3 are arranged near the supply position P, and the capsules 100 supplied from the supply position P are shown in FIG. It guides toward a good product conveyor 601, a mass defective product box 602 and an appearance defective product box 603 shown.
  • the support member 64 includes a plurality of support plates 641, 641 arranged on both sides of the rotation member 65 and supporting both ends of the rotation shaft 66, a plurality of support plates 641, 641, A first guide portion 642 , a second guide portion 643 and a cover portion 644 sandwiched between 641 are provided.
  • the first guide portion 642 and the second guide portion 643 of the support member 64 extend downstream of the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 of the rotating member 65, respectively, to form the first transport path.
  • T1 the second transport path T2 and the third transport path T3 are extended.
  • Each support plate 641 is fixed by a connecting rod 645 extending along the rotation shaft 66 within the first guide portion 642 .
  • the drive mechanism 62 is composed of an electric actuator having a rod 621 that can move back and forth, and is attached to a mounting plate 611 erected on the base 61 .
  • the drive mechanism 62 includes a lever 622 extending forward from the tip of the rod 621 through the notches of the cover portion 644 and the second guide portion 643, and an engaging portion 623 provided at the tip of the lever 622. , and the engaging portion 623 can be advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction.
  • the engaging portion 623 protrudes laterally (in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 66) from the distal end portion of the lever 622, and engages with the long-hole-shaped engaged portion 654 of the rotating member 65 to hold the rotating member. 65 is rotated forward and backward.
  • the configuration of the drive mechanism 62 is not particularly limited as long as it can move the engagement portion 623 forward and backward.
  • the link mechanism may be driven by a servomotor to move the engagement portion 623 forward and backward. .
  • the passage confirmation sensor 63 is installed on the base 61 and detects capsules 100 passing through either the second transport path T2 or the third transport path T3 (see FIG. 2).
  • the passage confirmation sensor 63 of the present embodiment is a retroreflective photoelectric sensor, and the reflector provided in the first guide portion 642 passes through through holes formed in the second guide portion 643 and the cover portion 644. Reception or blockage of reflected light at 632 is detected.
  • the passage confirmation sensor 63 may be another photoelectric sensor such as a reflective sensor, or may be a sensor other than a photoelectric sensor such as an imaging sensor. Since detection by the passage confirmation sensor 63 is blocked by the first guide portion 642, the passage confirmation sensor 63 does not detect the capsules 100 passing through the first transport path T1.
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the article inspection device 1 shown in FIG.
  • the imaging data of the first imaging device 11, the second imaging device 21, and the third imaging device 51 provided in the visual inspection section 4a, and the mass measurement data of the weighing device 43 provided in the mass inspection section 4b are sent to the control device 70.
  • the control device 70 includes a quality determination unit 71 that determines whether the capsules 100 are good or bad, and controls the operation of the sorting device 60 and the display device 80 based on the determination result of the quality determination unit 71 .
  • the capsule 100 includes the first visual inspection roller 10, the second visual inspection roller 20, the transfer roller 30, the mass inspection roller 40 and the third visual inspection roller. 50 are transported in this order.
  • the first imaging device 11 and the second imaging device 21 capture images of the top portions of the capsule 100 on both sides in the axial direction. is imaged.
  • the pass/fail determination unit 71 compares the imaging data of both sides in the axial direction and the entire circumferential direction of the capsule 100 and the mass measurement data of the capsule 100 with the respective reference data, and determines that the capsule 100 is a non-defective product when all are satisfactory. determine that there is On the other hand, the quality determination unit 71 determines that the capsule 100 is defective in appearance when the capsule 100 has a defective appearance, and determines that the capsule 100 is defective in mass when the mass of the capsule 100 is defective.
  • the control device 70 displays the judgment result of the good/bad judgment unit 71 on the display device 80 for each capsule 100, and individually controls the driving of the rotating member 65 of the sorting device 60 to sort the capsules 100. . That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the capsules 100 determined as non-defective products are guided toward the non-defective product conveyor 601 (see FIG. 1) by aligning the entrance of the first transport path T1 with the supply position P. .
  • the control device 70 further retracts the rod 621 of the drive mechanism 62 to further rotate the rotating member 65 in the direction of the arrow.
  • the entrance of the second transport path T2 is aligned with the supply position P. This guides capsule 100 towards mass reject box 602 (see FIG. 1).
  • the capsule 100 passing through the second transport path T2 is detected by the passage confirmation sensor 63 via the through hole 644a formed in the cover portion 644. As shown in FIG.
  • the single driving mechanism 62 and the rotating member 65 provided in the sorting device 60 can reduce the size and cost of the capsule 100 while achieving a compact configuration. It can be distributed in three directions. As a result, it is possible to sort not only good products or defective products, but also defective products into products with defective appearance or mass, and finer sorting according to the determination result can be performed.
  • the capsules 100 can be sorted by a slight rotation of the rotating member 65.
  • the capsules 100 can be distributed at a high speed because the next capsule 100 can be prepared for distributing by rotating while passing.
  • the rotating shaft 66 and the engaged portion 654 are provided on the first guide portion 642 so as not to prevent passage of the capsule 100.
  • the arrangement of the joining portion 654 is not particularly limited.
  • the mass-defective capsule 100 passing through the second transport path T2 and the appearance-defective capsule 100 passing through the third transport path T3 are both detected by the passage confirmation sensor 63 at substantially the same timing. , collection of non-defective capsules 100 can be reliably detected by the single passage confirmation sensor 63 . Therefore, even with this configuration, the size and cost of the sorting device 60 can be reduced.
  • the interval S between the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 of the rotating member 65 is the narrowest on the entrance side and is formed so as to gradually widen toward the downstream side in the conveying direction. is preferred.
  • the capsules 100 can be smoothly passed through any of the first transport path T1, the second transport path T2 and the third transport path T3 (see FIG. 2), and the capsules 100 can be reliably sorted. be able to.
  • a space S between the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 is defined as the shortest distance from one inner surface to the other inner surface at each position along the transport direction.
  • the distance from the rotation shaft 66 along a straight line L orthogonal to the rotation shaft 66 to the engaging portion 622 is defined as L1, and the rotation from the rotation shaft 66 along the straight line L is assumed to be L1.
  • the value of L2/L1 is preferably 2.0 to 5.0, more preferably 2.5 to 3.0. If the value of L2/L1 is too small, the amount of movement of the engaging portion 622 required to rotate the rotating member 65 will be large, making it difficult to perform high-speed distribution. If it is too long, the positioning accuracy of the rotating member 65 will be lowered.
  • the engaging portion 622 is arranged on the downstream side of the rotating shaft 66 in the conveying direction, but is arranged on the upstream side of the rotating shaft 66 in the conveying direction (that is, on the entrance side of the rotating member 65).
  • the value of L2/L1 is the above-mentioned value over the entire rotating range of the rotating member 65. It is preferably within the numerical range.
  • the article to be inspected by the article inspection apparatus 1 is not limited to the capsule 100, and the present invention can be applied to inspection of various articles such as other solid preparations such as tablets, electronic parts, and mechanical parts. can do.
  • the inspection unit 4 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to sort out products with defective appearance and defective mass by performing visual inspection and mass inspection.
  • the type of inspection is not limited to visual inspection and mass inspection.
  • the type of inspection by the inspection unit 4 may be one, and the article sorting device 60 may be configured to sort the articles into either non-defective items, defective items, or uninspected items. In this way, the inspection unit 4 can be configured to output any one of two types other than non-defective items and a total of three types of non-defective items as inspection results.
  • the use of the article sorting device 60 is not limited to the sorting of articles after inspection. can also

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  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention comprises a support member 64, a turning member 65, and a driving mechanism 62. The turning member 65 includes a first guide part 652 and a second guide part 653 facing each other and extending in a transport direction. A first transport path T1 and a second transport path T2 are respectively formed on non-facing surface sides of the first guide part 652 and the second guide part 653, and a third transport path T3 is formed between facing surfaces of the first guide part 652 and the second guide part 653. The turning of the turning member 65 makes it possible to align an inlet of any one of the first transport path T1, the second transport path T2, and the third transport path T3 to a supply position P.

Description

物品振分装置および物品検査装置Article sorting device and article inspection device
　本発明は、物品振分装置および物品検査装置に関する。 The present invention relates to an article sorting device and an article inspection device.
　従来の物品検査装置として、例えば、特許文献１に開示された錠剤の外観検査装置が知られている。この装置は、偏平錠剤を、搬送ドラムの保持ポケットに保持して搬送する間に撮像装置により撮像し、取得した画像データに基づき振分装置により良品または不良品に振り分けて、外部に排出するように構成されている。 As a conventional product inspection device, for example, a tablet appearance inspection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This device captures an image of a flat tablet while it is held in a holding pocket of a conveying drum and conveyed by an image pickup device, sorts the flat tablet into a good product or a defective product by a sorting device based on the obtained image data, and discharges it to the outside. is configured to
特開２０００－９７８６５号公報JP-A-2000-97865
　上記従来の物品検査装置は、検査後の錠剤が良品または不良品の２種類に振り分けられるように構成されているため、例えば不良品を更に分類するためには振分装置を新たに設ける必要があり、構成が煩雑で製造コストが高くなるおそれがあった。 The above-described conventional article inspection device is configured so that the tablets after inspection can be sorted into two types, non-defective products and defective products. However, there is a risk that the configuration will be complicated and the manufacturing cost will be high.
　そこで、本発明は、低コストでコンパクトな構成により物品を３方向に振り分けることができる物品振分装置および物品検査装置の提供を目的とする。 Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting device and an article inspection device that can sort articles in three directions with a low-cost and compact configuration.
　本発明の前記目的は、予め設定された供給位置から供給される物品を３方向に振り分ける物品振分装置であって、支持部材と、前記支持部材に対して回動軸周りに回動自在に支持された回動部材と、前記回動部材の被係合部に係合する係合部を有し、前記係合部を進退させることにより前記回転部材を正逆回動させる駆動機構とを備え、前記回動部材は、互いに対向して搬送方向に延びる第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部を備えており、前記第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部の非対向面側に第１の搬送路および第２の搬送路がそれぞれ形成され、前記第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部の対向面の間に第３搬送路が形成され、前記回動部材の回動により、前記第１の搬送路、第２の搬送路または第３の搬送路のいずれかの入口を前記供給位置に合わせることができる物品振分装置により達成される。 The object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting device for sorting articles supplied from a preset supply position in three directions, comprising: a support member; a supported rotating member; and a drive mechanism having an engaging portion that engages with the engaged portion of the rotating member, and rotating the rotating member forward and backward by advancing and retreating the engaging portion. The rotating member has a first guide portion and a second guide portion that face each other and extend in the conveying direction, and the first guide portion and the second guide portion have a non-opposing surface side. A first conveying path and a second conveying path are formed, respectively, and a third conveying path is formed between the facing surfaces of the first guide portion and the second guide portion. , the entrance of any one of the first transport path, the second transport path and the third transport path can be aligned with the supply position.
　この物品振分装置において、前記第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部の間隔は、搬送方向下流側に向けて広がるように形成されていることが好ましい。 In this article sorting device, it is preferable that the interval between the first guide portion and the second guide portion is formed so as to widen toward the downstream side in the conveying direction.
　前記回動軸と直交する直線に沿った前記回動軸から前記係合部までの距離をＬ１とし、当該直線に沿った前記回動軸から前記回動部材の入口側縁部までの距離をＬ２としたとき、Ｌ２／Ｌ１が２．０～５．０であることが好ましい。 Let L1 be the distance from the rotation axis to the engaging portion along a straight line perpendicular to the rotation axis, and let L1 be the distance from the rotation axis to the inlet side edge of the rotation member along the straight line. L2/L1 is preferably 2.0 to 5.0 when L2 is used.
　また、本発明の前記目的は、物品の検査を行い供給位置に搬送する検査部と、上記の物品振分装置により前記供給位置に搬送された物品の振り分けを行う振分部と、前記検査部の検査結果に基づき前記振分部の作動を制御する制御装置とを備え、前記検査部は、検査対象となる物品を、良品以外の２種類および良品の合計３種類のいずれかを検査結果として出力する物品検査装置により達成される。 Further, the object of the present invention is to provide an inspection section that inspects articles and conveys them to a supply position, a sorting section that sorts the articles conveyed to the supply position by the article sorting apparatus, and the inspection section. and a control device for controlling the operation of the sorting unit based on the inspection result of the above, and the inspection unit selects one of two types of non-defective items and a total of three types of non-defective items as inspection results. This is achieved by an output article inspection device.
　この物品検査装置において、前記物品振分装置は、良品に振り分けられた物品の通過を検出しない一方、良品以外の２種類に振り分けられた物品の通過は検出するように配置された通過確認センサを更に備えることが好ましい。 In this article inspection apparatus, the article sorting apparatus includes a passage confirmation sensor arranged so as not to detect the passage of the articles sorted as non-defective items, but to detect the passage of the articles sorted into two types other than the non-defective items. Further, it is preferable to have.
　本発明によれば、低コストでコンパクトな構成により物品を３方向に振り分けることができる物品振分装置および物品検査装置を提供することができる。 According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an article sorting device and an article inspection device capable of sorting articles in three directions with a low-cost and compact configuration.
本発明の一実施形態に係る物品振分装置を備える物品検査装置の概略正面図である。1 is a schematic front view of an article inspection device provided with an article sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 図１に示す物品検査装置の要部を模式的に示す断面図である。FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a main part of the article inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1; 図１に示す物品振分装置の側面図である。FIG. 2 is a side view of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 1; 図３のＢ－Ｂ断面図である。4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 3; FIG. 図１に示す物品検査装置のブロック図である。2 is a block diagram of the article inspection device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 図４に示す物品振分装置の作動を説明するための断面図である。FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 4; 図４に示す物品振分装置の作動を説明するための断面図である。FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 4; 図４に示す物品振分装置の要部拡大図である。FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of the article sorting device shown in FIG. 4;
　以下、本発明の実施の形態について、添付図面を参照して説明する。図１は、本発明の一実施形態に係る物品振分装置を備える物品検査装置の正面図である。図１に示す物品検査装置１は、投入ホッパ２に投入されて供給ホッパ３から供給された物品の検査を行う検査部４と、検査部４により検査された物品を振り分ける振分部６とを備えており、更に、ＰＣ（パーソナルコンピュータ）等からなる制御装置７０、および、モニタ等からなる表示装置８０を備えている。 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of an article inspection device provided with an article sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The article inspection apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an inspection unit 4 that inspects the articles that have been put into the input hopper 2 and supplied from the supply hopper 3, and a sorting unit 6 that distributes the articles inspected by the inspection unit 4. Further, a control device 70 such as a PC (personal computer) and a display device 80 such as a monitor are provided.
　本実施形態の物品検査装置１が検査対象とする物品は、カプセル１００である。カプセル１００は、ボディ１０１およびキャップ１０２を備えるハードカプセルであり、ボディ１０１にキャップ１０２を外嵌することにより、粉状や液状の薬剤、食品等を収容することができる。カプセル１００は、内容物を収容した状態であってもよく、あるいは、内容物を収容しない空の状態であってもよい。 The article to be inspected by the article inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment is the capsule 100 . The capsule 100 is a hard capsule comprising a body 101 and a cap 102. By fitting the cap 102 onto the body 101, it can contain powdery or liquid medicines, foods, and the like. Capsule 100 may be in a state containing contents, or may be in an empty state without containing contents.
　検査部４は、カプセル１００の外観検査を行う外観検査部４ａと、カプセル１００の質量検査を行う質量検査部４ｂとを備えている。外観検査部４ａは、カプセルを撮像するラインセンサカメラ等からなる第１の撮像装置１１、第２の撮像装置２１および第３の撮像装置５１と、これらの撮像装置１１，２１，５１の撮像位置にカプセルを搬送する第１の外観検査用ローラ１０、第２の外観検査用ローラ２０および第３の外観検査用ローラ５０とを備えている。質量検査部４ｂは、計量皿４４に載置されたカプセルの質量を測定する計量装置４３と、計量皿４４にカプセルを搬送する質量検査用ローラ４０とを備えている。 The inspection unit 4 includes a visual inspection unit 4a that performs a visual inspection of the capsule 100 and a mass inspection unit 4b that performs a mass inspection of the capsule 100. The appearance inspection unit 4a includes a first image pickup device 11, a second image pickup device 21, and a third image pickup device 51, each of which is a line sensor camera or the like for capturing an image of the capsule, and the image pickup positions of these image pickup devices 11, 21, and 51. A first visual inspection roller 10, a second visual inspection roller 20, and a third visual inspection roller 50 are provided for conveying the capsules. The mass inspection unit 4 b includes a weighing device 43 that measures the mass of the capsule placed on the weighing pan 44 and a mass inspection roller 40 that conveys the capsule to the weighing pan 44 .
　振分部６は、外観検査部４ａおよび質量検査部４ｂにより外観検査および質量検査が行われたカプセルを３方向に振り分ける物品振分装置６０と、物品振分装置６０により良品に振り分けられたカプセルを次工程に搬送する良品コンベア６０１と、物品振分装置６０により質量不良に振り分けられたカプセルを回収する質量不良品ボックス６０２と、物品振分装置６０により外観不良に振り分けられたカプセルを回収する外観不良品ボックス６０３とを備えている。 The sorting unit 6 includes an article sorting device 60 that sorts the capsules, which have undergone visual inspection and weight inspection by the visual inspection unit 4a and the mass inspection unit 4b, in three directions, and capsules that have been sorted into non-defective products by the product sorting device 60. A good product conveyor 601 that conveys to the next process, a mass defective product box 602 that collects capsules that have been sorted by the product sorting device 60 with defective mass, and capsules that have been sorted by the product sorting device 60 with poor appearance. A defective product box 603 is provided.
　図２は、図１に示す物品検査装置を模式的に示す断面図である。第１の外観検査用ローラ１０は、検査対象となるカプセル１００が収容されるポケット１２が、外周面の周方向に沿って等間隔に複数形成されている。 FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the article inspection device shown in FIG. The first appearance inspection roller 10 has a plurality of pockets 12 in which capsules 100 to be inspected are accommodated and formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface.
　ポケット１２は、第１の外観検査用ローラ１０の外周面から径方向内方に延びるように形成されており、供給ホッパ３（図１参照）からカプセル１００が矢示Ａで示す軸方向（ボディ１０１とキャップ１０２との嵌合方向）に供給される。こうして、カプセル１００の軸方向一方側（図２においてはボディ１０１側）が露出するように、カプセル１００がポケット１２に起立状態で収容される。カプセル１００が露出する軸方向一方側は、キャップ１０２側であってもよい。 The pocket 12 is formed so as to extend radially inward from the outer peripheral surface of the first visual inspection roller 10, and the capsule 100 extends from the supply hopper 3 (see FIG. 1) in the axial direction indicated by the arrow A (the body). 101 and cap 102). Thus, the capsule 100 is housed in the pocket 12 in an upright state so that one axial side of the capsule 100 (body 101 side in FIG. 2) is exposed. The one axial side where the capsule 100 is exposed may be the cap 102 side.
　ポケット１２に収容されたカプセル１００は、第１の外観検査用ローラ１０の矢示方向への間欠駆動により第１の撮像装置１１の撮像位置に搬送されて、カプセル１００の軸方向一方側の頂部が撮像された後、ガイド部材１３に沿って第２の外観検査用ローラ２０に向けて搬送される。 The capsule 100 stored in the pocket 12 is intermittently driven in the arrow direction of the first visual inspection roller 10 to be conveyed to the imaging position of the first imaging device 11, and the top portion of the capsule 100 on one side in the axial direction is is imaged, it is conveyed along the guide member 13 toward the second appearance inspection roller 20 .
　第２の外観検査用ローラ２０は、第１の外観検査用ローラ１０と同様に、外周面から径方向内方に延びるポケット２２が、外周面の周方向に沿って等間隔に複数形成されている。第１の外観検査用ローラ１０から供給されたカプセル１００は、軸方向他方側（図２においてはキャップ１０２側）が露出するように起立状態でポケット２２に収容され、第２の外観検査用ローラ２０の矢示方向への間欠駆動により第２の撮像装置２１の撮像位置に搬送されて、カプセル１００の軸方向他方側の頂部が撮像された後、ガイド部材２３に沿って搬送される。 Similar to the first roller for visual inspection 10, the second roller for visual inspection 20 has a plurality of pockets 22 extending radially inward from the outer circumferential surface thereof and formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer circumferential surface. there is The capsule 100 supplied from the first visual inspection roller 10 is stored in the pocket 22 in an upright state so that the other side in the axial direction (the cap 102 side in FIG. 2) is exposed. 20 is intermittently driven in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is transported to the imaging position of the second imaging device 21. After the top of the capsule 100 on the other side in the axial direction is imaged, the capsule 100 is transported along the guide member 23.
　質量検査用ローラ４０は、外周面の周方向に沿って複数のポケット４１が等間隔に形成されている。各ポケット４１は、質量検査用ローラ４０の回転軸に沿って横長に形成されており、カプセル１００の軸方向が質量検査用ローラ４０の回転軸と平行になるように、カプセル１００が横倒し状態でポケット４１に収容される。ポケット４１内のカプセル１００は、質量検査用ローラ４０の矢示方向への間欠駆動によりガイド部材４２に沿って計量皿４４に搬送される。 The mass inspection roller 40 has a plurality of pockets 41 formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface. Each pocket 41 is formed horizontally along the rotation axis of the mass inspection roller 40 , and the capsule 100 is placed sideways so that the axial direction of the capsule 100 is parallel to the rotation axis of the mass inspection roller 40 . It is housed in pocket 41 . The capsule 100 in the pocket 41 is conveyed to the weighing pan 44 along the guide member 42 by the intermittent driving of the mass inspection roller 40 in the arrow direction.
　計量皿４４は、中央が凹むように正面視Ｖ字状に形成されており、質量検査用ローラ４０から横倒し状態で供給されたカプセル１００が計量皿４４に載置されて、計量装置４３によるカプセル１００の質量測定が行われる。質量測定後のカプセル１００は、質量検査用ローラ４０の駆動により第３の外観検査用ローラ５０に向けて搬送される。 The weighing pan 44 is formed in a V-shape when viewed from the front so that the center is recessed. 100 mass measurements are taken. After mass measurement, the capsule 100 is conveyed toward the third appearance inspection roller 50 by driving the mass inspection roller 40 .
　第２の外観検査用ローラ２０と質量検査用ローラ４０との間には、移送ローラ３０が設けられている。移送ローラ３０は、外周面の周方向に沿って複数のポケット３１が等間隔に形成されている。各ポケット３１には、第２の外観検査用ローラ２０からカプセル１００が起立状態のまま収容され、カプセル１００の一部が移送ローラ３０の外周面から突出する。ポケット３１に収容されたカプセル１００は、移送ローラ３０の矢示方向への間欠駆動により方向規制部材３２に当接し、ポケット３１内で横倒し状態となるように方向規制が行われた後、質量検査用ローラ４０に供給される。移送ローラ３０は必須の構成ではなく、第２の外観検査用ローラ２０から質量検査用ローラ４０にカプセル１００を供給する際に、カプセル１００を横倒しすることが可能であれば、移送ローラ２０を設けずにカプセル１００を直接供給してもよい。 A transfer roller 30 is provided between the second appearance inspection roller 20 and the mass inspection roller 40 . The transfer roller 30 has a plurality of pockets 31 formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface. Each pocket 31 accommodates the capsule 100 in an upright state from the second appearance inspection roller 20 , and a portion of the capsule 100 protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the transfer roller 30 . The capsule 100 accommodated in the pocket 31 abuts against the direction regulating member 32 by intermittently driving the transfer roller 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow. is supplied to the cleaning roller 40 . The transfer roller 30 is not an essential component, and the transfer roller 20 may be provided if the capsule 100 can be laid down when the capsule 100 is supplied from the second appearance inspection roller 20 to the mass inspection roller 40. Alternatively, the capsule 100 may be directly fed without the
　第３の外観検査用ローラ５０は、円筒状に形成されており、固定された円筒状の内筒体５２の外周に沿って回転するように矢示方向に間欠駆動される。第３の外観検査用ローラ５０には、回転軸に沿って延びる横長の貫通孔からなるポケット５３が、周方向に沿って等間隔に複数形成されており、質量検査用ローラ４０から供給されるカプセル１００が、横倒し状態のままポケット５３に収容される。第３の撮像装置５１による撮像位置の近傍には、内筒体５２に形成された窓部を介して一部が露出する自転ローラ５４が設けられている。自転ローラ５４の外周面は、ポケット５３に収容されて撮像位置に搬送されたカプセル１００に接触し、自転ローラ５４の矢示方向の回転によりカプセル１００が軸周りに回転して、カプセル１００の全周が第３の撮像装置５１により撮像される。撮像後のカプセル１００は、ガイド部材５５に沿って供給位置Ｐまで搬送される。 The third visual inspection roller 50 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is intermittently driven in the arrow direction so as to rotate along the outer circumference of a fixed cylindrical inner cylindrical body 52 . In the third appearance inspection roller 50 , a plurality of pockets 53 consisting of oblong through holes extending along the rotation axis are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction, and the pockets 53 are supplied from the mass inspection roller 40 . The capsule 100 is accommodated in the pocket 53 while lying down. In the vicinity of the imaging position of the third imaging device 51, there is provided a rotating roller 54 partially exposed through a window formed in the inner cylindrical body 52. As shown in FIG. The outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller 54 comes into contact with the capsule 100 that is accommodated in the pocket 53 and transported to the imaging position. The circumference is imaged by the third imaging device 51 . The captured capsule 100 is transported to the supply position P along the guide member 55 .
　物品振分装置６０は、基台６１に固定された支持部材６４と、支持部材６４に対して回動軸６６周りに回動自在に支持された回動部材６５と、回動部材６５を回動駆動してカプセル１００を振り分ける駆動機構６２と、振り分けられたカプセル１００の通過を検出する通過確認センサ６３とを備えている。 The article sorting device 60 includes a supporting member 64 fixed to a base 61, a rotating member 65 supported rotatably around a rotating shaft 66 with respect to the supporting member 64, and a rotating member 65 rotating. It has a drive mechanism 62 that dynamically drives to sort the capsules 100 and a passage confirmation sensor 63 that detects passage of the sorted capsules 100 .
　第１の外観検査用ローラ１０、第２の外観検査用ローラ２０、移送ローラ３０、質量検査用ローラ４０および第３の外観検査用ローラ５０が備える各ポケット１２，２２，３１，４１，５３は、各ローラの周方向に沿って複数形成されると共に、各ローラの軸方向に沿って複数形成されている。 Each pocket 12, 22, 31, 41, 53 provided in the first visual inspection roller 10, the second visual inspection roller 20, the transfer roller 30, the mass inspection roller 40, and the third visual inspection roller 50 , are formed along the circumferential direction of each roller, and are formed along the axial direction of each roller.
　図３は、図２に示す物品振分装置６０を第３の外観検査用ローラ５０と共に示す側面図であり、図４は、図３のＢ－Ｂ断面図である。図３に示すように、第３の外観検査用ローラ５０に形成されたポケット５３は、軸方向に間隔をあけて複数列に配置されており、上述した物品振分装置６０の駆動機構６２、通過確認センサ６３および回動部材６５は、ポケット５３の各列に対応して複数設けられている。 3 is a side view showing the article sorting device 60 shown in FIG. 2 together with the third appearance inspection roller 50, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the pockets 53 formed in the third visual inspection roller 50 are arranged in a plurality of rows at intervals in the axial direction. A plurality of passage confirmation sensors 63 and rotating members 65 are provided corresponding to each row of pockets 53 .
　図３および図４に示すように、回動部材６５は、一対の側板６５１と、一対の側板６５１の間に互いに対向するように挟持された第１のガイド部６５２および第２のガイド部６５３とを備えている。第１のガイド部６５２および第２のガイド部６５３は、カプセル１００の軸方向長さよりも若干大きい幅で板状に形成されており、それぞれ搬送方向に沿って延びている。回動軸６６は、一対の側板６５１および第１のガイド部６５２を貫通して支持部材６４に固定されている。また、回動部材６５には、第１のガイド部６５２に沿った回動軸６６よりも搬送方向下流側に、長孔状の被係合部６５４が形成されている。 As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotating member 65 includes a pair of side plates 651, and a first guide portion 652 and a second guide portion 653 sandwiched between the pair of side plates 651 so as to face each other. and The first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 are formed in a plate shape with a width slightly larger than the axial length of the capsule 100, and extend along the conveying direction. The rotating shaft 66 is fixed to the support member 64 through the pair of side plates 651 and the first guide portion 652 . Further, the rotating member 65 is formed with an elongated engaged portion 654 on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the rotating shaft 66 along the first guide portion 652 .
　図２に示すように、第１のガイド部６５２および第２のガイド部６５３は、互いに対向する面とは反対側の非対向面側に、それぞれ第１の搬送路Ｔ１および第２の搬送路Ｔ２を形成し、互いに対向する面の間に第３の搬送路Ｔ３を形成する。第１の搬送路Ｔ１、第２の搬送路Ｔ２および第３の搬送路Ｔ３は、それぞれの入口が供給位置Ｐの近傍に配置され、供給位置Ｐから供給されるカプセル１００を、それぞれ図１に示す良品コンベア６０１、質量不良品ボックス６０２および外観不良品ボックス６０３に向けて案内する。 As shown in FIG. 2, the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 are provided on the non-opposing surface side opposite to the mutually facing surfaces, along the first transport path T1 and the second transport path T1, respectively. T2 is formed, and a third transport path T3 is formed between the surfaces facing each other. The entrances of the first transport path T1, the second transport path T2, and the third transport path T3 are arranged near the supply position P, and the capsules 100 supplied from the supply position P are shown in FIG. It guides toward a good product conveyor 601, a mass defective product box 602 and an appearance defective product box 603 shown.
　図３および図４に示すように、支持部材６４は、回動部材６５の両側に配置されて回動軸６６の両端部を支持する複数の支持板６４１，６４１と、複数の支持板６４１，６４１の間に挟持された第１のガイド部６４２、第２のガイド部６４３およびカバー部６４４とを備えている。支持部材６４の第１のガイド部６４２および第２のガイド部６４３は、それぞれ回動部材６５の第１のガイド部６５２および第２のガイド部６５３の下流側に延びて、第１の搬送路Ｔ１、第２の搬送路Ｔ２および第３の搬送路Ｔ３を延長する。各支持板６４１は、第１のガイド部６４２内で回動軸６６に沿って延びる連結棒６４５により固定されている。 As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support member 64 includes a plurality of support plates 641, 641 arranged on both sides of the rotation member 65 and supporting both ends of the rotation shaft 66, a plurality of support plates 641, 641, A first guide portion 642 , a second guide portion 643 and a cover portion 644 sandwiched between 641 are provided. The first guide portion 642 and the second guide portion 643 of the support member 64 extend downstream of the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 of the rotating member 65, respectively, to form the first transport path. T1, the second transport path T2 and the third transport path T3 are extended. Each support plate 641 is fixed by a connecting rod 645 extending along the rotation shaft 66 within the first guide portion 642 .
　駆動機構６２は、進退可能なロッド６２１を備える電動アクチュエータからなり、基台６１に立設された取付板６１１に取り付けられている。駆動機構６２は、ロッド６２１の先端部からカバー部６４４および第２のガイド部６４３の切欠部を介して前方に延びるレバー６２２と、レバー６２２の先端部に設けられた係合部６２３とを備えており、係合部６２３を水平方向に進退させることができる。係合部６２３は、レバー６２２の先端部から側方（回動軸６６の軸方向）に突出しており、回動部材６５の長孔状の被係合部６５４に係合して回動部材６５を正逆回動させる。駆動機構６２の構成は、係合部６２３を進退可能であれば特に限定されるものではなく、例えば、サーボモータによりリンク機構を駆動して係合部６２３を進退させるように構成してもよい。 The drive mechanism 62 is composed of an electric actuator having a rod 621 that can move back and forth, and is attached to a mounting plate 611 erected on the base 61 . The drive mechanism 62 includes a lever 622 extending forward from the tip of the rod 621 through the notches of the cover portion 644 and the second guide portion 643, and an engaging portion 623 provided at the tip of the lever 622. , and the engaging portion 623 can be advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction. The engaging portion 623 protrudes laterally (in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 66) from the distal end portion of the lever 622, and engages with the long-hole-shaped engaged portion 654 of the rotating member 65 to hold the rotating member. 65 is rotated forward and backward. The configuration of the drive mechanism 62 is not particularly limited as long as it can move the engagement portion 623 forward and backward. For example, the link mechanism may be driven by a servomotor to move the engagement portion 623 forward and backward. .
　通過確認センサ６３は、基台６１に設置されて、第２の搬送路Ｔ２または第３の搬送路Ｔ３（図２参照）のいずれかを通過するカプセル１００を検出する。本実施形態の通過確認センサ６３は、回帰反射型の光電センサであり、第２のガイド部６４３およびカバー部６４４に形成された貫通孔を介して、第１のガイド部６４２に設けられたリフレクタ６３２での反射光の受光または遮断を検出する。通過確認センサ６３は、反射型など他の光電センサであってもよく、あるいは、撮像センサなど光電センサ以外のセンサであってもよい。通過確認センサ６３による検出は、第１のガイド部６４２で遮断されるため、通過確認センサ６３は、第１の搬送路Ｔ１を通過するカプセル１００は検出しない。 The passage confirmation sensor 63 is installed on the base 61 and detects capsules 100 passing through either the second transport path T2 or the third transport path T3 (see FIG. 2). The passage confirmation sensor 63 of the present embodiment is a retroreflective photoelectric sensor, and the reflector provided in the first guide portion 642 passes through through holes formed in the second guide portion 643 and the cover portion 644. Reception or blockage of reflected light at 632 is detected. The passage confirmation sensor 63 may be another photoelectric sensor such as a reflective sensor, or may be a sensor other than a photoelectric sensor such as an imaging sensor. Since detection by the passage confirmation sensor 63 is blocked by the first guide portion 642, the passage confirmation sensor 63 does not detect the capsules 100 passing through the first transport path T1.
　図５は、図１に示す物品検査装置１のブロック図である。外観検査部４ａが備える第１の撮像装置１１、第２の撮像装置２１および第３の撮像装置５１の撮像データ、ならびに、質量検査部４ｂが備える計量装置４３の質量測定データは、制御装置７０に入力される。制御装置７０は、カプセル１００の良否を判別する良否判別部７１を備えており、良否判別部７１の判別結果に基づいて、振分装置６０および表示装置８０の作動を制御する。 FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the article inspection device 1 shown in FIG. The imaging data of the first imaging device 11, the second imaging device 21, and the third imaging device 51 provided in the visual inspection section 4a, and the mass measurement data of the weighing device 43 provided in the mass inspection section 4b are sent to the control device 70. is entered in The control device 70 includes a quality determination unit 71 that determines whether the capsules 100 are good or bad, and controls the operation of the sorting device 60 and the display device 80 based on the determination result of the quality determination unit 71 .
　上記の構成を備える物品検査装置１は、カプセル１００が、第１の外観検査用ローラ１０、第２の外観検査用ローラ２０、移送ローラ３０、質量検査用ローラ４０および第３の外観検査用ローラ５０により、この順に搬送される。カプセル１００は、搬送過程において、第１の撮像装置１１および第２の撮像装置２１により軸方向両側の頂部が撮像され、計量装置４３により質量が測定され、第３の撮像装置５１により周方向全体が撮像される。 In the article inspection apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the capsule 100 includes the first visual inspection roller 10, the second visual inspection roller 20, the transfer roller 30, the mass inspection roller 40 and the third visual inspection roller. 50 are transported in this order. During the transportation process, the first imaging device 11 and the second imaging device 21 capture images of the top portions of the capsule 100 on both sides in the axial direction. is imaged.
　良否判別部７１は、カプセル１００の軸方向両側および周方向全体の撮像データ、ならびにカプセル１００の質量測定データを、それぞれの基準データと照合して、全てが良好な場合にはカプセル１００を良品であると判別する。一方、良否判別部７１は、カプセル１００の外観が不良の場合には外観不良品であると判別し、カプセル１００の質量が不良の場合には質量不良品であると判別する。 The pass/fail determination unit 71 compares the imaging data of both sides in the axial direction and the entire circumferential direction of the capsule 100 and the mass measurement data of the capsule 100 with the respective reference data, and determines that the capsule 100 is a non-defective product when all are satisfactory. determine that there is On the other hand, the quality determination unit 71 determines that the capsule 100 is defective in appearance when the capsule 100 has a defective appearance, and determines that the capsule 100 is defective in mass when the mass of the capsule 100 is defective.
　制御装置７０は、カプセル１００ごとに、良否判別部７１の判別結果を表示装置８０に表示すると共に、振分装置６０の回動部材６５の駆動を個別に制御して、カプセル１００の振り分けを行う。すなわち、良品と判別したカプセル１００については、図４に示すように、第１の搬送路Ｔ１の入口を供給位置Ｐに合わせて、カプセル１００を良品コンベア６０１（図１参照）に向けて案内する。 The control device 70 displays the judgment result of the good/bad judgment unit 71 on the display device 80 for each capsule 100, and individually controls the driving of the rotating member 65 of the sorting device 60 to sort the capsules 100. . That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the capsules 100 determined as non-defective products are guided toward the non-defective product conveyor 601 (see FIG. 1) by aligning the entrance of the first transport path T1 with the supply position P. .
　外観不良品と判別したカプセル１００については、図６に示すように、制御装置７０が駆動機構６２のロッド６２１を後退させることにより、回動部材６５を矢示方向に回動させて、第３の搬送路Ｔ３の入口を供給位置Ｐに合わせる。これにより、カプセル１００は外観不良品ボックス６０３（図１参照）に向けて案内される。第３の搬送路Ｔ３を通過するカプセル１００は、第２のガイド部６４３およびカバー部６４４に形成された貫通孔６４３ａ，６４４ａを介して、通過確認センサ６３により検出される。 For capsules 100 determined to be defective in appearance, as shown in FIG. The entrance of the transport path T3 is aligned with the supply position P. This guides the capsule 100 toward the appearance defect box 603 (see FIG. 1). Capsules 100 passing through third transport path T3 are detected by passage confirmation sensor 63 via through holes 643 a and 644 a formed in second guide portion 643 and cover portion 644 .
　質量不良品と判別したカプセル１００については、図７に示すように、制御装置７０が駆動機構６２のロッド６２１を更に後退させることにより、回動部材６５を矢示方向に更に回動させて、第２の搬送路Ｔ２の入口を供給位置Ｐに合わせる。これにより、カプセル１００は質量不良品ボックス６０２（図１参照）に向けて案内される。第２の搬送路Ｔ２を通過するカプセル１００は、カバー部６４４に形成された貫通孔６４４ａを介して、通過確認センサ６３により検出される。 For the capsule 100 determined to be defective in mass, as shown in FIG. 7, the control device 70 further retracts the rod 621 of the drive mechanism 62 to further rotate the rotating member 65 in the direction of the arrow. The entrance of the second transport path T2 is aligned with the supply position P. This guides capsule 100 towards mass reject box 602 (see FIG. 1). The capsule 100 passing through the second transport path T2 is detected by the passage confirmation sensor 63 via the through hole 644a formed in the cover portion 644. As shown in FIG.
　このように、本実施形態の物品検査装置１によれば、振分装置６０が備える単一の駆動機構６２および回動部材６５によって、構成のコンパクト化および低コスト化を図りつつ、カプセル１００を３方向に振り分けることができる。これにより、良品または不良品の振り分けだけでなく、不良品については外観不良品または質量不良品の振り分けが可能であり、判別結果に応じたより細かな振り分けを行うことができる。 As described above, according to the article inspection apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the single driving mechanism 62 and the rotating member 65 provided in the sorting device 60 can reduce the size and cost of the capsule 100 while achieving a compact configuration. It can be distributed in three directions. As a result, it is possible to sort not only good products or defective products, but also defective products into products with defective appearance or mass, and finer sorting according to the determination result can be performed.
　また、供給位置Ｐから回動軸６６までの距離をある程度確保することで、回動部材６５の僅かな回動によってカプセル１００の振り分けを行うことができると共に、回動部材６５を、カプセル１００が通過する間に回動させて次のカプセル１００の振り分けを準備することができるので、カプセル１００を高速で振り分けることができる。本実施形態の回動部材６５は、カプセル１００の通過を妨げないように、回動軸６６および被係合部６５４を第１のガイド部６４２に設けているが、回動軸６６および被係合部６５４の配置は特に限定されるものではない。 Further, by securing a certain distance from the supply position P to the rotating shaft 66, the capsules 100 can be sorted by a slight rotation of the rotating member 65. The capsules 100 can be distributed at a high speed because the next capsule 100 can be prepared for distributing by rotating while passing. In the rotating member 65 of the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 66 and the engaged portion 654 are provided on the first guide portion 642 so as not to prevent passage of the capsule 100. The arrangement of the joining portion 654 is not particularly limited.
　第２の搬送路Ｔ２を通過する質量不良品のカプセル１００、および、第３の搬送路Ｔ３を通過する外観不良品のカプセル１００は、いずれも略同じタイミングで通過確認センサ６３により検出されるため、良品以外のカプセル１００の回収を、単一の通過確認センサ６３によって確実に検知することができる。したがって、この構成によっても振分装置６０のコンパクト化および低コスト化を図ることができる。 The mass-defective capsule 100 passing through the second transport path T2 and the appearance-defective capsule 100 passing through the third transport path T3 are both detected by the passage confirmation sensor 63 at substantially the same timing. , collection of non-defective capsules 100 can be reliably detected by the single passage confirmation sensor 63 . Therefore, even with this configuration, the size and cost of the sorting device 60 can be reduced.
　図８に示すように、回動部材６５の第１のガイド部６５２および第２のガイド部６５３の間隔Ｓは、入口側が最も狭く、搬送方向下流側に向けて徐々に広がるように形成されることが好ましい。これにより、第１の搬送路Ｔ１、第２の搬送路Ｔ２および第３の搬送路Ｔ３（図２参照）のいずれにおいても、カプセル１００をスムーズに通過させることができ、カプセル１００を確実に振り分けることができる。第１のガイド部６５２および第２のガイド部６５３の間隔Ｓは、搬送方向に沿った各位置における一方の内面から他方の内面に向けた最短距離として定義される。 As shown in FIG. 8, the interval S between the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 of the rotating member 65 is the narrowest on the entrance side and is formed so as to gradually widen toward the downstream side in the conveying direction. is preferred. As a result, the capsules 100 can be smoothly passed through any of the first transport path T1, the second transport path T2 and the third transport path T3 (see FIG. 2), and the capsules 100 can be reliably sorted. be able to. A space S between the first guide portion 652 and the second guide portion 653 is defined as the shortest distance from one inner surface to the other inner surface at each position along the transport direction.
　また、図８に示すように、回動軸６６と直交する直線Ｌに沿った回動軸６６から係合部６２２までの距離をＬ１とし、当該直線Ｌに沿った回動軸６６から回動部材６５の入口側縁部までの距離をＬ２としたとき、Ｌ２／Ｌ１の値は、２．０～５．０であることが好ましく、２．５～３．０であることがより好ましい。Ｌ２／Ｌ１の値が小さすぎると、回動部材６５を回動させるのに必要な係合部６２２の移動量が大きくなって高速での振り分けが困難になる一方、Ｌ２／Ｌ１の値が大きすぎると、回動部材６５の位置決め精度が低下する。本実施形態においては、係合部６２２を、回動軸６６の搬送方向下流側に配置しているが、回動軸６６の搬送方向上流側（すなわち、回動部材６５の入口側）に配置してもよい。なお、回動軸６６から係合部６２２までの距離Ｌ１は、回動部材６５の回動に伴い若干変化するため、Ｌ２／Ｌ１の値は、回動部材６５の回動範囲全体で上記の数値範囲内であることが好ましい。 Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the distance from the rotation shaft 66 along a straight line L orthogonal to the rotation shaft 66 to the engaging portion 622 is defined as L1, and the rotation from the rotation shaft 66 along the straight line L is assumed to be L1. When the distance to the inlet side edge of the member 65 is L2, the value of L2/L1 is preferably 2.0 to 5.0, more preferably 2.5 to 3.0. If the value of L2/L1 is too small, the amount of movement of the engaging portion 622 required to rotate the rotating member 65 will be large, making it difficult to perform high-speed distribution. If it is too long, the positioning accuracy of the rotating member 65 will be lowered. In the present embodiment, the engaging portion 622 is arranged on the downstream side of the rotating shaft 66 in the conveying direction, but is arranged on the upstream side of the rotating shaft 66 in the conveying direction (that is, on the entrance side of the rotating member 65). You may Since the distance L1 from the rotating shaft 66 to the engaging portion 622 slightly changes as the rotating member 65 rotates, the value of L2/L1 is the above-mentioned value over the entire rotating range of the rotating member 65. It is preferably within the numerical range.
　以上、本発明の一実施形態について詳述したが、本発明の具体的な態様は上記実施形態に限定されない。例えば、物品検査装置１の検査対象となる物品は、カプセル１００に限定されるものではなく、錠剤などの他の固形製剤や、電子部品、機械部品等、種々の物品の検査に本発明を適用することができる。 Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, specific aspects of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the article to be inspected by the article inspection apparatus 1 is not limited to the capsule 100, and the present invention can be applied to inspection of various articles such as other solid preparations such as tablets, electronic parts, and mechanical parts. can do.
　また、本実施形態の検査部４は、外観検査および質量検査を行うことで、外観不良品および質量不良品を振り分け可能に構成しているが、物品に応じた２種類の検査を行う構成であればよく、検査の種類は外観検査および質量検査に限定されるものではない。更に、検査部４による検査の種類は１種類であってもよく、物品振分装置６０が、物品を、良品、不良品または未検査品のいずれかに振り分けるように構成することもできる。このように、検査部４は、検査対象となる物品を、良品以外の２種類および良品の合計３種類のいずれかを検査結果として出力するように構成することができる。 In addition, the inspection unit 4 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to sort out products with defective appearance and defective mass by performing visual inspection and mass inspection. The type of inspection is not limited to visual inspection and mass inspection. Furthermore, the type of inspection by the inspection unit 4 may be one, and the article sorting device 60 may be configured to sort the articles into either non-defective items, defective items, or uninspected items. In this way, the inspection unit 4 can be configured to output any one of two types other than non-defective items and a total of three types of non-defective items as inspection results.
　物品振分装置６０の用途は、検査後の物品の振り分けに限定されるものではなく、例えば、物品の種類や使用目的等に応じた物品の振り分け用として、物品振分装置６０を使用することもできる。 The use of the article sorting device 60 is not limited to the sorting of articles after inspection. can also
１　物品検査装置
４　検査部
６　振分部
６０　物品振分装置
６２　駆動機構
６３　通過確認センサ
６４　支持部材
６５　回動部材
６６　回動軸
６５２　第１のガイド部
６５３　第２のガイド部
７０　制御装置
１００　カプセル（物品）
Ｔ１　第１の搬送路
Ｔ２　第２の搬送路
Ｔ３　第３の搬送路
Ｐ　供給位置 1 article inspection device 4 inspection unit 6 sorting unit 60 article sorting device 62 drive mechanism 63 passage confirmation sensor 64 support member 65 rotating member 66 rotating shaft 652 first guide unit 653 second guide unit 70 control device 100 Capsule (goods)
T1 First transport path T2 Second transport path T3 Third transport path P Supply position

Claims (5)

  1. 　予め設定された供給位置から供給される物品を３方向に振り分ける物品振分装置であって、
    　支持部材と、
    　前記支持部材に対して回動軸周りに回動自在に支持された回動部材と、
    　前記回動部材の被係合部に係合する係合部を有し、前記係合部を進退させることにより前記回転部材を正逆回動させる駆動機構とを備え、
    　前記回動部材は、互いに対向して搬送方向に延びる第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部を備えており、
    　前記第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部の非対向面側に第１の搬送路および第２の搬送路がそれぞれ形成され、前記第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部の対向面の間に第３搬送路が形成され、
    　前記回動部材の回動により、前記第１の搬送路、第２の搬送路または第３の搬送路のいずれかの入口を前記供給位置に合わせることができる物品振分装置。     An article distribution device for distributing articles supplied from a preset supply position in three directions,
    a support member;
    a rotating member supported rotatably around a rotating shaft with respect to the supporting member;
    a driving mechanism having an engaging portion that engages with the engaged portion of the rotating member, and rotating the rotating member forward and backward by advancing and retracting the engaging portion;
    The rotating member includes a first guide portion and a second guide portion that face each other and extend in the conveying direction,
    A first transport path and a second transport path are formed on the non-facing surfaces of the first guide part and the second guide part, respectively. A third transport path is formed between
    An article sorting device capable of aligning the entrance of any one of the first transport path, the second transport path, and the third transport path with the supply position by rotating the rotating member.
  2. 　前記第１のガイド部および第２のガイド部の間隔は、搬送方向下流側に向けて広がるように形成されている請求項１に記載の物品振分装置。 The article sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the interval between the first guide portion and the second guide portion is formed so as to widen toward the downstream side in the conveying direction.
  3. 　前記回動軸と直交する直線に沿った前記回動軸から前記係合部までの距離をＬ１とし、当該直線に沿った前記回動軸から前記回動部材の入口側縁部までの距離をＬ２としたとき、Ｌ２／Ｌ１が２．０～５．０である請求項１または２に記載の物品振分装置。 Let L1 be the distance from the rotation axis to the engaging portion along a straight line perpendicular to the rotation axis, and let L1 be the distance from the rotation axis to the inlet side edge of the rotation member along the straight line. 3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein L2/L1 is 2.0 to 5.0 when L2 is used.
  4. 　物品の検査を行い供給位置に搬送する検査部と、
    　請求項１に記載の物品振分装置により前記供給位置に搬送された物品の振り分けを行う振分部と、
    　前記検査部の検査結果に基づき前記振分部の作動を制御する制御装置とを備え、
    　前記検査部は、検査対象となる物品を、良品以外の２種類および良品の合計３種類のいずれかを検査結果として出力する物品検査装置。     an inspection unit that inspects an article and conveys it to a supply position;
    a sorting unit that sorts the articles conveyed to the supply position by the article sorting apparatus according to claim 1;
    A control device that controls the operation of the sorting unit based on the inspection result of the inspection unit,
    The inspection unit outputs, as an inspection result, one of two types other than non-defective items and three types of non-defective items in total, as inspection results.
  5. 　前記振分部は、良品に振り分けられた物品の通過を検出しない一方、良品以外の２種類に振り分けられた物品の通過は検出するように配置された通過確認センサを更に備える請求項４に記載の物品検査装置。 5. The sorting unit according to claim 4, further comprising a passage confirmation sensor arranged so as not to detect passage of articles sorted as non-defective items but to detect passage of articles sorted into two types other than non-defective items. goods inspection equipment.
PCT/JP2022/034519 2021-09-30 2022-09-15 Article sorting device and article inspection device WO2023053986A1 (en)

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS61248853A (en) * 1985-04-18 1986-11-06 オランダ国 Switch for sorter and drive thereof
JPH0577475B2 (en) * 1988-03-31 1993-10-26 Tdk Electronics Co Ltd
JP2001348152A (en) * 2000-04-14 2001-12-18 Nexpress Solutions Llc Three-path point
JP2019030853A (en) * 2017-08-09 2019-02-28 株式会社ユタカ Shaft body inspection separating device

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS61248853A (en) * 1985-04-18 1986-11-06 オランダ国 Switch for sorter and drive thereof
JPH0577475B2 (en) * 1988-03-31 1993-10-26 Tdk Electronics Co Ltd
JP2001348152A (en) * 2000-04-14 2001-12-18 Nexpress Solutions Llc Three-path point
JP2019030853A (en) * 2017-08-09 2019-02-28 株式会社ユタカ Shaft body inspection separating device

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