WO2024241747A1 - 可食体のマーキング装置 - Google Patents

可食体のマーキング装置 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024241747A1
WO2024241747A1 PCT/JP2024/014625 JP2024014625W WO2024241747A1 WO 2024241747 A1 WO2024241747 A1 WO 2024241747A1 JP 2024014625 W JP2024014625 W JP 2024014625W WO 2024241747 A1 WO2024241747 A1 WO 2024241747A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
edible
unit
printing
conveying
bodies
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/JP2024/014625
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English (en)
French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
薫 大西
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Qualicaps Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Qualicaps Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Qualicaps Co Ltd filed Critical Qualicaps Co Ltd
Priority to JP2025521864A priority Critical patent/JPWO2024241747A1/ja
Publication of WO2024241747A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024241747A1/ja
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61J—CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE
    • A61J3/00—Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms
    • A61J3/06—Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms into the form of pills, lozenges or dragees
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61J—CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE
    • A61J3/00—Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms
    • A61J3/07—Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms into the form of capsules or similar small containers for oral use
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an edible object marking device that forms a marking pattern on edible objects such as medicines and food.
  • the inkjet head When marking edible objects using the inkjet method while they are being transported, the inkjet head needs to be brought close to the object. If the edible object is transported in an upright position that is different from its normal position, there is a risk that the object will collide with the inkjet head.
  • Patent Document 1 discloses a tablet printing device that is equipped with a movement mechanism for moving the conveyor belt or the inkjet head so that the distance between the inkjet head and a conveyor belt that conveys tablets in a single file in the conveying direction can be changed, and that is configured to reduce the conveying speed of the conveyor belt and increase the distance by controlling the movement mechanism when the height of the tablets on the conveyor belt exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
  • the present invention aims to provide an edible object marking device that can efficiently print on edible objects.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide a conveying device having a plurality of holding sections for holding edible bodies formed along both the conveying direction of the conveying surface and the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, a printing section for forming a marking pattern by inkjet printing on edible bodies conveyed by the conveying device, a height detection section for detecting the protruding height of the edible bodies held in the holding sections from the conveying surface before printing by the printing section, a recovery section for selectively recovering edible bodies that have passed the printing section, and a control section for controlling the operation of the printing section and the recovery section based on detection by the height detection section, and the printing section for printing on the edible bodies in a row along the width direction of the conveying device.
  • the inkjet head is supported so that it can move toward and away from the conveying surface, the height detection unit detects the presence or absence of edible bodies whose protruding height exceeds a predetermined value for each row in the width direction of the conveying device, and the control unit performs printing on edible bodies whose protruding height is equal to or less than the predetermined value with the printing unit, while separating the inkjet head from the conveying surface when an edible body whose protruding height exceeds the predetermined value passes through the printing unit, thereby allowing multiple edible bodies in the row including the edible body to pass without being printed by the printing unit and collected by the collection unit.
  • the height detection unit is a laser sensor that irradiates laser light in the width direction of the conveying device.
  • the conveying device is formed in a drum shape, and that a plurality of the holding portions are provided along both the circumferential and axial directions of the outer peripheral surface.
  • the edible object marking device of the present invention allows for efficient printing on edible objects.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an edible object marking device according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the edible object marking device shown in FIG. 1
  • 2 is a development view showing in plan view other essential parts of the edible object marking device shown in FIG. 1.
  • 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the edible object marking device shown in FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the edible object marking device shown in FIG. 1 .
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an edible body marking device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the edible body marking device 1 includes a supplying device 10 that supplies edible bodies, a first conveying device 20 that receives and conveys the edible bodies supplied from the supplying device 10, a second conveying device 30 that receives and conveys the edible bodies from the first conveying device 20, and a discharging device 40 that receives the edible bodies from the second conveying device 30 and discharges them to the outside.
  • the supply device 10 comprises a hopper 11 into which edible bodies having a fixed shape such as tablets, capsules, and empty capsules are fed, a guide 12 that aligns the edible bodies in the hopper 11, and a supply drum 13 that transports the edible bodies guided by the guide 12.
  • the edible bodies are supplied from the supply drum 13 to the first transport device 20 via an intermediate drum 14.
  • the supply drum 13 and the intermediate drum 14 each have a number of holding sections 13a, 14a consisting of recesses aligned along both the axial and circumferential directions of the cylindrical outer circumferential surface, and can suck and hold the edible bodies contained in the holding sections 13a, 14a and transport them.
  • the first conveying device 20 is formed in a drum shape like the supply drum 13 and intermediate drum 14, and corresponds to the conveying device of the present invention. As shown in a partially cut-away view in FIG. 2, the first conveying device 20 has a plurality of holding sections 22 arranged along the circumferential direction to hold edible bodies E.
  • the holding sections 22 have suction holes 24 formed in their bottoms, and the inside of the first conveying device 20 is depressurized by a vacuum suction device (not shown).
  • the edible bodies E accommodated in the holding sections 22 are suctioned and held by the suction holes 24, and are conveyed along the rotational direction of the first conveying device 20.
  • FIG. 3 is a development view showing a part of the outer peripheral surface of the first conveying device 20 in a plan view.
  • the holding portions 22 of the first conveying device 20 are formed in multiple rows along both the conveying direction of the outer peripheral surface 21, which is the conveying surface of the first conveying device 20, and the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. Each row of holding portions 22 along the width direction is arranged at equal intervals in the conveying direction.
  • the second conveying device 30 is configured in the same way as the first conveying device 20, and a holding portion 32 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum shape.
  • the edible objects conveyed by the first conveying device 20 are turned over when handed over to the second conveying device 30, and are conveyed by the second conveying device 30 toward the discharge device 40.
  • the edible body marking device 1 further includes a first height detection unit 50, a first detection device 210, a first printing device 220, a first side inspection device 240, a first printing inspection device 230, and a first recovery unit 60 near the first conveying device 20.
  • the edible body supplied from the supply device 10 to the first conveying device 20 passes through the first height detection unit 50, the first detection device 210, the first printing device 220, the first side inspection device 240, the first printing inspection device 230, and the first recovery unit 60 in sequence.
  • the first height detection unit 50 is a laser sensor including a light source unit 51 that irradiates laser light in the width direction of the first conveying device 20 and a light receiving unit 52 that receives the laser light irradiated from the light source unit 51, and corresponds to the height detection unit of the present invention.
  • the laser light irradiated from the light source unit 51 is set to detect a predetermined height in the radial direction from the outer circumferential surface 21 of the first conveying device 20, and does not detect edible bodies held in the holding unit 22 in the proper lying position, but only detects edible bodies in an upright position of abnormal height.
  • the first height detection unit 50 detects the presence or absence of edible bodies held in each holding unit 22 that are abnormally high, that is, edible bodies whose protruding height from the outer circumferential surface 21 exceeds a predetermined value, for each row in the width direction of the first conveying device 20. In other words, when there is at least one edible body in an improper upright position among the multiple edible bodies constituting any row, it detects that the row contains an edible body of abnormal height.
  • the first height detection unit 50 is preferably a laser sensor so that it can reliably detect edible objects of abnormal height regardless of their axial position, but any sensor capable of detecting edible objects of abnormal height may be used, such as a photoelectric sensor or ultrasonic sensor.
  • the first detection device 210 includes an irradiation unit 212 that irradiates illumination light onto the printed object transported to the detection area, and an imaging unit 214 such as a CCD area camera or a CCD line camera that images the printed object from a direction different from the irradiation direction of the irradiation unit 212.
  • the irradiation unit 212 is, for example, a ring light, and can uniformly irradiate the edible object from the entire circumference.
  • the first detection device 210 detects whether or not an edible object is held in the holding unit 22 of the first transport device 20, and if an edible object is held, performs a visual inspection and detects the secant line, recess, outline line, etc. of the edible object to determine the position and orientation of the edible object.
  • the first printing device 220 is equipped with an inkjet head 221 that forms a marking pattern by printing on edible objects using an inkjet method, and a forward/backward drive device 222 that supports the inkjet head 221 so that it can move forward and backward, and corresponds to the printing unit of the present invention.
  • the inkjet head 221 is disposed so as to cover substantially the entire width of the first conveying device 20, and has a large number of nozzles (e.g., several hundred) along the width on the surface facing the outer peripheral surface 21.
  • the inkjet head 221 prints on the surface of the edible body in rows along the width of the first conveying device 20.
  • the advance/retract drive device 222 is, for example, a linear actuator, and by advancing and retracting the inkjet head 221 in a direction toward and away from the outer circumferential surface 21 of the first conveying device 20, the inkjet head 221 can be moved back and forth between a printing position where printing can be performed on edible objects and a retracted position where edible objects of abnormal height can pass by without coming into contact with them.
  • the side surface inspection device 240 like the first detection device 210, is equipped with an irradiation unit 242 and an imaging unit 244, and uses multiple irradiation units 242 and multiple imaging units 244 to capture images of the entire circumference of an edible object having a side surface, such as a flat tablet, to inspect the side surface of the edible object.
  • the first print inspection device 230 is equipped with an irradiation unit 232 that irradiates illumination light onto the printed object transported to the inspection area, and an imaging unit 234 such as a CCD area camera or CCD line camera that images the printed object, and inspects the marking pattern formed on the edible object based on the position and orientation of the edible object detected by the first detection device 210.
  • an imaging unit 234 such as a CCD area camera or CCD line camera that images the printed object, and inspects the marking pattern formed on the edible object based on the position and orientation of the edible object detected by the first detection device 210.
  • the first collection section 60 includes a collection chute 61 and an abnormal height collection section 62 that drops the edible bodies to be collected into the collection chute 61, and corresponds to the collection section of the present invention.
  • the abnormal height collection section 62 performs air injection or rod pressure on the edible bodies held in the holding section 22, causing the abnormal height edible bodies to be collected to drop in rows from the holding section 22 and be selectively collected via the collection chute 61.
  • a second height detection unit 55, a second detection device 310, a second printing device 320, a second side inspection device 340, a second print inspection device 330 and a second recovery unit 80 are provided in sequence along the conveying direction of the second conveying device 30.
  • the configurations of the second height detection unit 55, the second detection device 310, the second printing device 320, the second side inspection device 340, the second print inspection device 330 and the second recovery unit 80 are similar to the configurations of the first height detection unit 50, the first detection device 210, the first printing device 220, the first side inspection device 240, the first print inspection device 230 and the first recovery unit 60, respectively.
  • the second height detection unit 55 detects the presence or absence of edible bodies whose protruding height from the outer circumferential surface of the drum-shaped second conveying device 30 exceeds a predetermined value for each row in the width direction of the second conveying device 30.
  • the second detection device 310 includes an irradiation unit 312 and an imaging unit 314.
  • the second printing device 320 includes an inkjet head 321 and a forward/backward drive device 322.
  • the second side inspection device 340 includes a plurality of irradiation units 342 and a plurality of imaging units 344.
  • the second printing inspection device 330 includes an irradiation unit 332 and an imaging unit 334.
  • the second collection unit 80 includes a first discharge chute 81, a defective discharge unit 82, and a second discharge chute 83.
  • a marking pattern is formed and inspected on the surface opposite to the surface on which the marking pattern was formed during conveyance by the first conveying device 20.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the inkjet marking device 1 described above.
  • the detection results of the first height detection unit 50, the first detection device 210, the first print inspection device 230, the first side inspection device 240, the second height detection unit 55, the second detection device 310, the second print inspection device 330, and the second side inspection device 340 are input to the control unit 70.
  • the control unit 70 controls the operation of the supply device 10, the first conveying device 20, the second conveying device 30, the discharge device 40, the first recovery unit 60, the second recovery unit 80, the first printing device 220, and the second printing device 320.
  • edible bodies supplied from the supply device 10 to the first transport device 20 are held in the holding section 22 and transported in the direction indicated by the arrow, and the presence or absence of abnormal height is detected for each row by the first height detection section 50.
  • inspection and printing are performed by the first detection device 210, the first printing device 220, the first side inspection device 240 and the first printing inspection device 230, and the bodies are transported toward the first collection section 60.
  • the inkjet head 221 of the first printing device 220 prints on the edible body E held in the holding unit 22 at the printing position. After printing, the edible body E passes through the first collection unit 60 without being collected.
  • the edible bodies that have passed through the first collection section 60 are handed over to the second transport device 30, and the presence or absence of abnormal height is detected for each row by the second height detection section 55.
  • the edible bodies are inspected and printed by the second detection device 310, the second printing device 320, the second side inspection device 340, and the second printing inspection device 330, and then transported toward the second collection section 80.
  • the second height detection section 55 does not detect an edible body E of abnormal height
  • the inkjet head 321 of the second printing device 320 prints on the edible body E at the printing position. After printing, the edible body E passes through the second collection section 80 without being collected, and is transported to the discharge device 40.
  • edible bodies that are determined to be good by the control unit 70 based on the inspection results of the first side inspection device 240, the second side inspection device 340, the first print inspection device 230, and the second print inspection device 330 are guided to the good product chute 48 via the defective discharge confirmation drum 41 and the discharge conveyor 45.
  • edible bodies that are determined to have a poor print or abnormal height are guided to the first discharge chute 81 by being blown out with air by the operation of the defective discharge unit 82, and edible bodies that are determined to have a poor appearance are guided to the second discharge chute 83 by the operation of the defective discharge unit 82.
  • the edible bodies transported by the defective discharge confirmation drum 41 are detected by a remaining detection unit 42 such as a sensor or CCD camera, and if any edible bodies determined to be defective remain in the defective discharge confirmation drum 41, they are guided to a waste chute 47 by a sorting unit 46.
  • a remaining detection unit 42 such as a sensor or CCD camera
  • the inkjet head 221 retreats from the printing position shown by the dashed line to the retracted position shown by the solid line at the time the edible body E passes, and the operation of the first printing device 220 is controlled so that the entire row of edible bodies E, including the edible body E of abnormal height, is allowed to pass without printing.
  • the edible bodies E that are allowed to pass without printing by the first printing device 220 may not only include the row containing the edible body E of abnormal height, but also the rows before and after it.
  • the multiple edible bodies E in the row that were not printed by the first printing device 220 are collected by the first collection unit 60 by controlling the operation of the first collection unit 60 at the time the edible body E passes through the first collection unit 60. If the second height detection unit 55 detects an edible body E of abnormal height, the second printing device 320 and the second collection unit 80 are subjected to operation control similar to the operation control of the first printing device 220 and the first collection unit 60 described above.
  • the holding parts 22 of the first conveying device 20 are formed not only in multiple positions along the conveying direction but also in multiple positions in the width direction, so that printing can be performed on a large amount of edible bodies without excessively increasing the conveying speed. Therefore, unlike the conventional method, there is no need to reduce the conveying speed even when an edible body of abnormal height is detected, and collisions between the inkjet head 221 and the edible body can be reliably avoided while maintaining a constant conveying speed, so that printing on edible bodies can be performed efficiently with high precision.
  • edible bodies that have not been printed on are collected separately from defective products, and can be re-introduced into the hopper 11 of the supply device 10. Therefore, even if edible bodies with normal postures are collected in the first collection section 60, as well as edible bodies with abnormal heights, the collected edible bodies can be re-printed without causing unnecessary waste.
  • the first conveying device 20 is formed in a drum shape, and is configured with multiple holding sections 22 provided along both the circumferential and axial directions of the outer peripheral surface, but the conveying device of the present invention may also be a belt conveyor that conveys edible objects in a straight line, and multiple holding sections can be formed along both the conveying direction of the conveying surface and the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.
  • First conveying device (conveying device) 210 First detection device 220 First printing device (printing unit) 221 Inkjet head 222 Advance/retract drive device 230 First print inspection device 240 First side inspection device 30 Second conveying device 310 Second detection device 320 Second printing device 321 Inkjet head 322 Advance/retract drive device 330 Second print inspection device 340 Second side inspection device 40 Discharge device 50 First height detection unit (height detection unit) 55 Second height detection unit 60 First collection unit (collection unit) 70 Control section 80 Second collection section

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Pharmacology & Pharmacy (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)
PCT/JP2024/014625 2023-05-24 2024-04-11 可食体のマーキング装置 Ceased WO2024241747A1 (ja)

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JP2023085582 2023-05-24

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Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2015146493A1 (ja) * 2014-03-27 2015-10-01 クオリカプス株式会社 インクジェットマーキング装置および方法
JP2020192080A (ja) * 2019-05-28 2020-12-03 第一実業ビスウィル株式会社 錠剤印刷検査装置
JP2022014987A (ja) * 2020-07-08 2022-01-21 マサミ産業株式会社 印刷システム
JP2023050476A (ja) * 2021-09-30 2023-04-11 芝浦メカトロニクス株式会社 錠剤印刷装置及び錠剤印刷方法
JP2023138353A (ja) * 2022-03-18 2023-10-02 芝浦メカトロニクス株式会社 錠剤印刷装置及び錠剤印刷方法

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2015146493A1 (ja) * 2014-03-27 2015-10-01 クオリカプス株式会社 インクジェットマーキング装置および方法
JP2020192080A (ja) * 2019-05-28 2020-12-03 第一実業ビスウィル株式会社 錠剤印刷検査装置
JP2022014987A (ja) * 2020-07-08 2022-01-21 マサミ産業株式会社 印刷システム
JP2023050476A (ja) * 2021-09-30 2023-04-11 芝浦メカトロニクス株式会社 錠剤印刷装置及び錠剤印刷方法
JP2023138353A (ja) * 2022-03-18 2023-10-02 芝浦メカトロニクス株式会社 錠剤印刷装置及び錠剤印刷方法

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