JP7686507B2 - Granular material moving device and granular material conveying device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a granular material moving device and a granular material conveying device.

Printing devices that use an inkjet system to print images on the surfaces of granular materials such as pharmaceutical tablets and tablet candies such as Ramune. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose printing devices that use an inkjet system to print on the front and back of tablets.

The printing device of Patent Document 1 includes an upstream conveying section (3), a downstream conveying section (4), a first printing section (201), and a second printing section (202). A tablet (T) is printed by the first printing section (201) while being conveyed by the conveying section (3). The tablet (T) is then passed from the conveying section (3) to the conveying section (4) in an inverted state. The tablet (T) is then printed by the second printing section (202) while being conveyed by the conveying section (4). In this way, printing is performed on both the front and back sides of the tablet (T).

In addition, Cited Document 2 discloses a granular material conveying device that includes a conveying mechanism for conveying granular material and an inversion mechanism for inverting the granular material. The inversion mechanism has a first inclined drum and a second inclined drum that are conical. The first inclined drum rotates while adsorbing the granular material (9) conveyed at a first position (W1) in the width direction of the conveying mechanism to a first suction hole (711) connected to a negative pressure source, and delivers the granular material (9) to the second inclined drum (72). The second inclined drum (72) rotates while adsorbing the granular material (9) received from the first suction hole (711) to a second suction hole (721), and delivers the granular material (9) to a second position (W2) in the width direction of the conveying mechanism.

JP 2015-223323 A JP 2020-069084 A

In Patent Document 2, a suction pipe is arranged inside the inclined drum to adsorb granular material into the suction holes of the inclined drum. In order to rotate the inclined drum relative to the suction pipe while connecting the suction holes to the suction pipe, various parts such as bearings and gears for transmitting the power of the motor to the inclined drum are sometimes used. In this way, when the number of parts that rotate the inclined drum increases, the amount of work required for assembling and maintaining the device increases. In addition, when the number of parts increases, the variation between devices due to the machining accuracy and assembly accuracy of the parts increases. For this reason, it is desirable to reduce the number of parts required to rotate the inclined drum.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a technology that can reduce the number of parts required to rotate an inclined drum.

In order to solve the above problem, a first aspect is a granular material moving device that adsorbs and moves granular material, comprising an inclined drum having a conical surface centered on a predetermined central axis and an outer surface having suction holes that adsorb the granular material, a suction piping that connects the suction holes to a negative pressure source, and a rotary motor that rotates the inclined drum about the central axis, wherein the rotary motor is a hollow motor having a through hole centered on the central axis, the suction piping is arranged within the through hole of the rotary motor , the rotary motor has a rotor that rotates about the central axis and a stator, the rotor is located on the inclined drum side of the stator, the inclined drum is fixed to the rotor, and the rotor of the rotary motor and the inclined drum rotate as a unit about the central axis .

A second aspect is a granular material moving device of the first aspect , further comprising an air cutting member having a closing portion that intermittently closes the suction hole rotated by the rotary motor on the suction piping side relative to the suction hole, and as the inclined drum rotates, the suction hole moves to a position where it overlaps with the closing portion and a position where it does not overlap with the closing portion, and when the suction hole does not overlap with the closing portion, the suction hole is connected to the suction piping.

A third aspect is a granular material conveying device comprising a conveying mechanism that conveys a plurality of granular materials in a predetermined conveying direction while holding the granular materials in a state of being aligned in the width direction, and a reversing mechanism that turns over the granular materials at a reversing position on a conveying path of the conveying mechanism and moves the position of the granular materials in the width direction, the reversing mechanism having a first granular material moving device of the first or second aspect and a second granular material moving device of the first or second aspect, and the inclined drum of the second granular material moving device is a reversing mechanism having a first granular material moving device of the first or second aspect. The first granular material moving device is adjacent to the inclined drum of the granular material moving device in the width direction, and rotates the inclined drum to move the granular material to a transfer position while adsorbing the granular material at a first position on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism into the suction holes, and the second granular material moving device rotates the inclined drum to move the granular material to a second position on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism while adsorbing the granular material placed at the transfer position by the first granular material moving device into the suction holes.

According to the granular material moving device of the first or second aspect, since a hollow motor is used as a power source for rotating the inclined drum, it is possible to reduce the number of parts such as bearings and gears for rotating the inclined drum relative to the suction pipe, and therefore the number of parts for rotating the inclined drum can be reduced.

According to the granular material moving device of the second aspect, the closing portion of the air cutter overlaps with the suction hole, thereby releasing the suction of the granular material in the suction hole.

According to the granular material conveying device of the third aspect, the granular material can be turned over.

1 is a schematic side view of a tablet printing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a top view of the tablet printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the tablet printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a conveying mechanism and a reversing unit as viewed from the direction of a white arrow VI in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the connection between a control unit and each element in the tablet printing device. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of a printing process in the tablet printing device. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a pair of moving units cut along a plane passing through each central axis. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a cross section of the air cutting member taken along line AA in FIG. 12 .

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the components described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those components alone. In the drawings, the dimensions and numbers of each part may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary for ease of understanding.

1. Embodiment
<1.1. Overall configuration of tablet printing device>
Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a tablet printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a top view of the tablet printing apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the tablet printing apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1.

The tablet printing device 1 is a device that conveys a number of tablets 9, which are granular objects, while printing images such as the product name, product code, company name, and logo mark on both sides of each tablet 9. The tablets 9 may be plain tablets (plain tablets), coated tablets such as sugar-coated tablets and film-coated tablets (FC tablets), or capsules. The tablets 9 may also be medicines or health foods. Furthermore, the printing target of the tablet printing device 1 is not limited to tablets 9, but may also be tablet candies such as Ramune.

In the following description, the direction in which the tablets 9 are transported in the tablet printing device 1 is referred to as the "transport direction." Additionally, the direction perpendicular to the transport direction and along the holding surface 220 of the transport belt 22 is referred to as the "width direction."

As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet printing device 1 includes a loading mechanism 10, a transport mechanism 20, a printing unit 30, a first camera 40, a second camera 50, a drying mechanism 60, an inverting unit 70, a discharge mechanism 80, and a control unit 90.

The carry-in mechanism 10 is a mechanism that carries multiple tablets 9 fed into the tablet printing device 1 to the conveying mechanism 20. The carry-in mechanism 10 has an alignment mechanism (not shown) composed of a vibrating feeder, a rotary feeder, a chute, etc., and an input drum 11. The multiple tablets 9 are aligned in multiple rows (three rows in this embodiment) by the alignment mechanism and supplied to the outer circumferential surface of the input drum 11. The input drum 11 rotates while adsorbing and holding each of the aligned tablets 9 in a state where they are separated one by one on the outer circumferential surface. As a result, the tablets 9 in each row are aligned at equal intervals in the conveying direction. In addition, the tablets 9 held by the input drum 11 are conveyed in an arc by the rotation of the input drum 11 and handed over to the conveying mechanism 20.

The conveying mechanism 20 holds a number of tablets 9 and conveys the tablets 9 along a circular conveying path. The conveying mechanism 20 has a pair of pulleys 21 and a conveying belt 22 stretched across the pair of pulleys 21. One of the pair of pulleys 21 rotates by power obtained from a conveying motor 23. This causes the conveying belt 22 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 21 is rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the conveying belt 22.

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the conveying mechanism 20. As shown in Figure 4, a plurality of suction holes 221 are provided in the holding surface 220, which is the outer peripheral surface of the conveying belt 22. The plurality of suction holes 221 are arranged at equal intervals in the conveying direction and the width direction. Also, as shown in Figure 1, the conveying mechanism 20 has a suction mechanism 24 that sucks out gas from the space inside the conveying belt 22. When the suction mechanism 24 is operated, the space inside the conveying belt 22 becomes negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. The plurality of tablets 9 are adsorbed and held by the suction holes 221 due to the negative pressure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conveying mechanism 20 has three first blow mechanisms B1 and one second blow mechanism B2. The first blow mechanism B1 is disposed inside the conveying belt 22. The first blow mechanism B1 faces the inclined drums 71, 73, and 75 through the conveying belt 22. The three first blow mechanisms B1 blow gas only to the suction holes 221 of the conveying belt 22 that face the inclined drums 71, 73, and 75. This causes the suction holes 221 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This gas blowing releases the suction of the tablets 9 in the suction holes 221, and the tablets 9 are transferred from the conveying belt 22 to the inclined drums 71, 73, and 75, respectively.

The second blow mechanism B2 is disposed inside the conveyor belt 22. The second blow mechanism B2 faces the discharge chute 81 (described later) via the conveyor belt 22. The second blow mechanism B2 blows gas only to the suction holes 221 of the conveyor belt 22 that face the discharge chute 81. This gas blowing causes the suction holes 221 to be at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This releases the suction of the tablets 9 by the suction holes 221, and the tablets 9 fall from the conveyor belt 22 into the discharge chute 81.

2 and 3, the holding surface 220 of the conveyor belt 22 has a first area A1 that holds the tablets 9 before they are inverted by the inverting unit 70 described later, and a second area A2 that holds the tablets 9 after they are inverted. The first area A1 and the second area A2 are adjacent to each other in the width direction. The first area A1 and the second area A2 are provided with a plurality of suction holes 221 in three rows in the width direction. The tablets 9 carried in by the above-mentioned carrying-in mechanism 10 are adsorbed and held by the suction holes 221 in the first area A1. In addition, the plurality of tablets 9 printed on both sides are delivered to the carrying-out mechanism 80 from the suction holes 221 in the second area A2.

The printing unit 30 is a processing unit that performs printing by an inkjet method on the surface of the tablet 9 conveyed by the conveyor belt 22. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the printing unit 30 has four heads 31. The four heads 31 are located above the conveyor belt 22 and are arranged in a row along the conveying direction of the tablet 9. Each head 31 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22. The four heads 31 eject ink droplets of different colors (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) toward the surface of the tablet 9. Then, a multi-color image is recorded on the surface of the tablet 9 by superimposing the monochromatic images formed by each of these colors. Note that the ink ejected from each head 31 is edible ink manufactured from raw materials approved by the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Food Sanitation Law, etc. Below the four heads 31, the tablet 9 is conveyed horizontally by the conveying mechanism 20.

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the head 31. In Figure 5, the conveyor belt 22 and the multiple tablets 9 held by the conveyor belt 22 are indicated by a two-dot chain line. As shown in Figure 5, the head 31 has an ejection surface 310, which is the bottom surface. The ejection surface 310 has multiple nozzles 311 capable of ejecting ink droplets. Specifically, the ejection surface 310 has multiple nozzles 311 arranged two-dimensionally in the conveyance direction and the width direction. Each nozzle 311 is arranged with its position shifted in the width direction. In this way, by arranging the multiple nozzles 311 two-dimensionally, the positions of each nozzle 311 in the width direction can be made close to each other. However, the multiple nozzles 311 may also be arranged in a line along the width direction.

The method of ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle 311 is, for example, the so-called piezo method, in which a voltage is applied to a piezo element to deform it, thereby pressurizing the ink in the nozzle 311 and ejecting it. However, the ink droplets may also be ejected using the so-called thermal method, in which electricity is passed through a heater to heat and expand the ink in the nozzle 311, thereby ejecting it.

The first camera 40 photographs the surface of the tablet 9 before printing. The first camera 40 is located downstream of the conveying path from the conveying drum 11 and upstream of the conveying path from the four heads 31. The first camera 40 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For example, a line sensor in which image pickup elements such as CCD or CMOS are arranged in the width direction is used for the first camera 40. The first camera 40 photographs the multiple tablets 9 conveyed by the conveyor belt 22. The image acquired by photographing is transmitted from the first camera 40 to the control unit 90 described later. Based on the image obtained from the first camera 40, the control unit 90 detects the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in each suction hole 221, the position of the tablet 9, and the attitude of the tablet 9. Based on the image obtained from the first camera 40, the control unit 90 also inspects whether each tablet 9 has defects such as chips.

The second camera 50 photographs the surface of the tablet 9 after printing. The second camera 50 is located downstream of the conveying path from the four heads 31 and upstream of the conveying path from the drying mechanism 60. The second camera 50 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. For example, a line sensor in which imaging elements such as CCD or CMOS are arranged in the width direction is used for the second camera 50. The second camera 50 photographs the multiple tablets 9 conveyed by the conveying belt 22. The image acquired by photographing is transmitted from the second camera 50 to the control unit 90 described later. The control unit 90 inspects the quality of the image printed on the surface of the tablet 9 based on the image obtained from the second camera 50.

The drying mechanism 60 is a mechanism for drying the ink adhering to the surface of the tablet 9. The drying mechanism 60 is located downstream of the conveying path from the second camera 50, and is located upstream of the conveying path from the inverting section 70 and the discharge chute 81 described below. The drying mechanism 60 extends in the width direction across both the first area A1 and the second area A2. The drying mechanism 60 may be, for example, a hot air supply mechanism that blows heated gas (hot air) toward the tablet 9 being conveyed by the conveyor belt 22. The ink adhering to the surface of the tablet 9 is dried by the hot air and fixed to the surface of the tablet 9.

The tablet printing device 1 has four processing sections: a printing section 30, a first camera 40, a second camera 50, and a drying mechanism 60. Each processing section performs a predetermined process, i.e., printing, photographing, and drying, on the surface of the tablet 9 at each processing position on the transport path in the transport mechanism 20.

The inversion unit 70 is a mechanism that inverts the tablets 9 transported by the transport belt 22 and moves the tablets 9 from the first area A1 to the second area A2. The inversion unit 70 is located downstream of the transport path from the discharge chute 81 described below, and is located upstream of the transport path from the feed drum 11.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing the transport mechanism 20 and the reversing section 70 as viewed from the direction of the outlined arrow VI in Figure 1. As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 6, the reversing section 70 of this embodiment has six moving units M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6. Moving units M1 to M6 have inclined drums 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, and 76, respectively.

In this embodiment, the moving unit M1 corresponds to the "first granular material moving device," and the moving unit M2 corresponds to the "second granular material moving device." The pair of moving units M1 and M2 also corresponds to the "inversion mechanism" that inverts the front and back of the tablets 9, which are granular materials.

The inclined drums 71 and 72 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction. The inclined drums 73 and 74 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction. The inclined drums 73 and 74 are arranged at a distance from each other downstream in the conveying direction relative to the inclined drums 71 and 72. The inclined drums 75 and 76 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction. The inclined drums 75 and 76 are arranged at a distance from each other downstream in the conveying direction relative to the inclined drums 73 and 74.

In the following description, the position on the transport path of the transport mechanism 20 where the inclined drums 71 and 72 are provided is referred to as the "first reversal position," the position where the inclined drums 73 and 74 are provided is referred to as the "second reversal position," and the position where the inclined drums 75 and 76 are provided is referred to as the "third reversal position."

The inclined drum 71 has an outer surface 710 that is a conical surface centered on a central axis C1 inclined with respect to the width direction. A portion of the outer surface 710 faces the first area A1 of the conveyor belt 22 with a small gap therebetween. The inclined drum 71 is fixed to the output shaft of a rotating motor 71M. When the rotating motor 71M is driven, the inclined drum 71 rotates around the central axis C1.

The inclined drum 72 has an outer surface 720, which is a conical surface centered on a central axis C2 inclined with respect to the width direction. The inclined drums 71 and 72 are disposed adjacent to each other in the width direction so that their tops face each other. A part of the outer surface 720 faces the second area A2 of the conveyor belt 22 with a small gap therebetween. The other part of the outer surface 720 faces the outer surface 710 with a small gap therebetween. The inclined drum 72 is fixed to the output shaft of a rotating motor 72M. When the rotating motor 72M is driven, the inclined drum 72 rotates around the central axis C2.

When viewed in the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism 20, the apex angle of the inclined drum 71 and the apex angle of the inclined drum 72 are both 90°. The inclination angle of the central axis C1 with respect to the holding surface 220 is 45°. The inclination angle of the central axis C2 with respect to the holding surface 220 is 45°. Therefore, the outer surfaces 710, 720 face each other at a position of 90° with respect to the holding surface 220. The inclined drums 71, 72 have the same shape, structure, and size. Therefore, the inclined drums 71, 72 may be made common parts. This reduces the manufacturing cost of the tablet printing device 1.

The inclined drums 73 and 74 have the same structure as the inclined drums 71 and 72, and are arranged adjacent to each other like the inclined drums 71 and 72. However, the inclined drums 73 and 74 are arranged at a second transfer position that is located downstream of the conveying path from the first transfer position where the inclined drums 71 and 72 are arranged. The inclined drums 73 and 74 are also arranged at a position shifted in the width direction by one of the widthwise arrangement intervals of the tablets 9 from the inclined drums 71 and 72. The inclined drum 73 is fixed to the output shaft of the rotary motor 73M, and the inclined drum 74 is fixed to the output shaft of the rotary motor 74M.

The inclined drums 75 and 76 have the same structure as the inclined drums 71 and 72, and are arranged adjacent to each other like the inclined drums 71 and 72. However, the inclined drums 75 and 76 are arranged at a third transfer position that is located downstream of the conveying path from the second transfer position where the inclined drums 73 and 74 are arranged. The inclined drums 75 and 76 are also arranged at a position shifted in the width direction by one of the widthwise arrangement intervals of the tablets 9 from the inclined drums 73 and 74. The inclined drum 75 is fixed to the output shaft of the rotary motor 75M, and the inclined drum 76 is fixed to the output shaft of the sixth rotary motor 76M.

Figure 7 is a top view of the inversion unit 70. In Figure 7, the transport trajectory of the tablet 9 is indicated by a dashed arrow. After the tablet 9 is held in the suction hole 221 at the first position W1 in the width direction of the conveyor belt 22, it is transported to the first inversion position and transferred from the conveyor belt 22 to the inclined drum 71. The inclined drum 71 rotates while suction-holding the tablet 9 received from the conveyor belt 22 in the suction hole 711 of the outer surface 710, and transfers it to the inclined drum 72. After that, the inclined drum 72 rotates while suction-holding the tablet 9 received from the inclined drum 71 in the suction hole 721 of the outer surface 720, and transfers it to the suction hole 221 at the second position W2 in the width direction of the conveyor belt 22. As a result, the tablet 9 moves in the width direction from the first position W1 in the first area A1 to the second position W2 in the second area A2, and the front and back of the tablet 9 are inverted.

Tilted drums 73 and 74, like inclined drums 71 and 72, move the widthwise position of tablet 9 on the conveying path from third position W3 in first area A1 to fourth position W4 in second area A2, and turn tablet 9 over. Tilted drums 75 and 76, like inclined drums 71 and 72, move the widthwise position of tablet 9 on the conveying path from fifth position W5 in first area A1 to sixth position W6 in second area A2, and turn tablet 9 over.

Returning to FIG. 1, the discharge mechanism 80 is a mechanism for discharging a plurality of tablets 9 from the conveying mechanism 20 to the outside of the tablet printing device 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the discharge mechanism 80 has a discharge chute 81 and a discharge conveyor (not shown). The discharge chute 81 is located downstream of the conveying path with respect to the drying mechanism 60 and upstream of the conveying path with respect to the reversing unit 70. The discharge chute 81 faces the second area A2 of the conveying belt 22. When the tablet 9 adsorbed to the suction hole 221 of the second area A2 reaches the position of the discharge chute 81, the tablet 9 is released from the adsorption by the second blow mechanism B2. As a result, the tablet 9 falls from the second area A2 of the conveying belt 22 through the discharge chute 81 to the upper surface of the discharge conveyor. The fallen tablet 9 is then discharged to the outside of the tablet printing device 1 by the discharge conveyor.

The control unit 90 controls the operation of each element in the tablet printing device 1. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 90 and each element in the tablet printing device 1. The control unit 90 is composed of a computer having a processor 91 such as a CPU, a memory 92 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 93 such as a hard disk drive. A computer program CP for executing the transport process and the printing process in the tablet printing device 1 is installed in the storage unit 93.

As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 90 is communicatively connected to the loading mechanism 10 (including the alignment mechanism and the loading drum 11), the transport mechanism 20 (including the transport motor 23, the suction mechanism 24, the first blow mechanism B1 and the second blow mechanism B2), the printing unit 30 (including the four heads 31), the first camera 40, the second camera 50, the drying mechanism 60, the reversing unit 70 (including the rotary motors 71M to 76M and the negative pressure source), and the unloading mechanism 80. The processor 91 temporarily reads out the computer program CP and data stored in the storage unit 93 to the memory 92. Then, the processor 91 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program CP. In this way, the control unit 90 controls the operation of each element in the tablet printing device 1. In this way, the transport process and printing process of the multiple tablets 9 proceed in the tablet printing device 1.

<Processing flow>
Next, a description will be given of the processing performed on one tablet 9 in the tablet printing device 1. The tablet printing device 1 processes multiple tablets 9 while sequentially conveying them. Therefore, in the tablet printing device 1, each processing on the multiple tablets 9 is performed in parallel.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing the flow of the printing process in the tablet printing device 1. When a tablet 9 is inserted into the tablet printing device 1, the loading mechanism 10 first loads the tablet 9 into the conveying mechanism 20 (step S1). The tablet 9 loaded into the conveying mechanism 20 is adsorbed and held by the suction hole 221 in the first area A1 of the conveying belt 22. The tablet 9 is then conveyed along the circular conveying path as the conveying belt 22 rotates.

In the following, when the tablet 9 is held in the suction hole 221 of the first area A1, the surface facing outward is referred to as the "first surface," and the surface of the tablet 9 that is suctioned into the suction hole 221 is referred to as the "second surface." Note that the "first surface" and the "second surface" are unrelated to the original front and back surfaces of the tablet 9. For example, when the tablet 9 has a score line on only one surface, the tablets 9 held in the first area A1 may include a mixture of tablets 9 whose surface with the score line is the first surface and tablets 9 whose surface without the score line is the first surface.

When the tablet 9 reaches below the first camera 40, the first camera 40 captures an image of the first side of the tablet 9. This allows image data of the first side of the tablet 9 to be acquired. The acquired image data is sent from the first camera 40 to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 also performs a pre-printing inspection of the first side based on the image data received from the first camera 40 (step S2). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 221, the front and back of the tablet 9, the rotational orientation of the tablet 9 around the vertical axis, the positional deviation of the tablet 9 relative to the suction hole 221, the presence or absence of shape defects of the tablet 9, etc. are inspected.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches below the printing unit 30, the four heads 31 eject ink droplets toward the first side of the tablet 9. This causes printing to be performed on the first side of the tablet 9. As a result, an image is printed on the first side of the tablet 9 (step S3). At this time, the control unit 90 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection results of step S2 described above. For example, from an image for the front side and an image for the back side, an appropriate image is selected according to the front and back sides of each tablet 9, and the selected image is rotated according to the rotational posture of each tablet 9. Then, a print signal is input to the head 31 based on the adjusted image. As a result, an image suitable for the first side of each tablet 9 is printed in an appropriate posture.

When the tablet 9 reaches below the second camera 50, the second camera 50 captures an image of the first side of the tablet 9. This allows image data of the first side of the tablet 9 to be acquired. The acquired image data is sent from the second camera 50 to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 also performs a post-printing inspection of the first side based on the image data received from the second camera 50 (step S4). Specifically, the control unit 90 determines whether the image printed on the first side of each tablet 9 is normal by, for example, comparing the image data received from the second camera 50 with data of a normal image prepared in advance.

When the tablet 9 reaches the position of the drying mechanism 60, the drying mechanism 60 blows hot air toward the first surface of the tablet 9. This dries the ink on the first surface of the tablet 9, and the ink is fixed to the first surface (step S5).

After that, when the tablet 9 reaches the first to third inversion positions, the inversion unit 70 moves the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction and inverts the tablet 9 (step S6). Specifically, the tablet 9 conveyed at the first position W1 in the width direction is moved to the second position W2 in the width direction by the inclined drums 71 and 72. The tablet 9 conveyed at the third position W3 in the width direction is moved to the fourth position W4 in the width direction by the inclined drums 73 and 74. The tablet 9 conveyed at the fifth position W5 in the width direction is moved to the sixth position W6 in the width direction by the inclined drums 75 and 76. As a result, the multiple tablets 9 move from the suction holes 221 in the first area A1 of the conveying mechanism 20 to the suction holes 221 in the second area A2. At this time, the tablet 9 is suctioned and held by the suction holes 221 in the second area A2 with the second surface facing outward.

When the tablet 9 reaches below the first camera 40, the first camera 40 captures an image of the second side of the tablet 9. This allows image data of the second side of the tablet 9 to be acquired. The acquired image data is sent from the first camera 40 to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 also performs a pre-printing inspection of the second side based on the image data received from the first camera 40 (step S7). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 221, the front and back of the tablet 9, the rotational orientation of the tablet 9 around the vertical axis, the positional deviation of the tablet 9 relative to the suction hole 221, the presence or absence of shape defects of the tablet 9, etc. are inspected.

Next, when the tablet 9 reaches below the printing unit 30, the four heads 31 eject ink droplets toward the second side of the tablet 9. This causes printing to be performed on the second side of the tablet 9. As a result, an image is printed on the second side of the tablet 9 (step S8). At this time, the control unit 90 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection results of step S7 described above. For example, from an image for the front side and an image for the back side, an appropriate image is selected according to the front and back sides of each tablet 9, and the selected image is rotated according to the rotational posture of each tablet 9. Then, a print signal is input to the head 31 based on the adjusted image. As a result, an image suitable for the second side of each tablet 9 is printed in an appropriate posture.

When the tablet 9 reaches below the second camera 50, the second camera 50 captures an image of the second side of the tablet 9. This allows image data of the second side of the tablet 9 to be acquired. The acquired image data is sent from the second camera 50 to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 also performs a post-printing inspection of the second side based on the image data received from the second camera 50 (step S9). Specifically, the control unit 90 determines whether the image printed on the second side of each tablet 9 is normal by, for example, comparing the image data received from the second camera 50 with data of a normal image prepared in advance.

When the tablet 9 reaches the position of the drying mechanism 60, the drying mechanism 60 blows hot air toward the second surface of the tablet 9. This dries the ink on the second surface of the tablet 9, and the ink is fixed to the second surface (step S10).

When the tablet 9 reaches the position of the discharge chute 81, the tablet 9 falls from the conveyor belt 22 through the discharge chute 81 onto the discharge conveyor. The tablet 9 is then discharged by the discharge conveyor to the outside of the tablet printing device 1 (step S11).

As described above, the tablet printing device 1 transports the tablet 9 along a circular transport path. A part of the transport path is provided with an inversion unit 70 that inverts the tablet 9 and moves the position of the tablet 9 in the width direction. Therefore, both sides of the tablet 9 can be photographed by the first camera 40, printed by the printing unit 30, photographed by the second camera 50, and dried by the drying mechanism 60 at the same position in the transport direction. Therefore, the number of parts in the tablet printing device 1 can be reduced compared to when these processes for the first side and the second side are performed at separate positions. The tablet printing device 1 can also be made smaller.

In addition, a pair of inclined drums is used to flip the tablet 9 over and move it in the width direction. This mechanism allows the tablet 9 to be flipped over and moved in the width direction without changing its position in the transport direction. Therefore, the length in the transport direction required for the flipping unit 70 can be reduced. This allows the tablet printing device 1 to be made more compact.

<Configuration for achieving suction and release of suction of a tablet>
Next, a configuration for realizing the attraction and release of the tablets 9 to the inclined drums 71 to 76 will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a pair of moving units M1, M2 cut along a plane passing through the central axes C1, C2. Moving unit M2 has substantially the same configuration as moving unit M1. Therefore, the following mainly describes the configuration of moving unit M1, and omits the description of the configuration of moving unit M2 as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 10, the moving unit M1 includes an inclined drum 71, a rotary motor 71M, a suction pipe 51, an air cutter 53, and a pressing member 55. The moving unit M1 also includes a housing 57 that houses the rotary motor 71M and the suction pipe 51.

As shown in FIG. 10, the rotary motor 71M is a hollow motor having a through hole 61 centered on the central axis C1. The rotary motor 71M has a rotor 63 that rotates around the central axis C1 and a stator 65 fixed to the housing 57. The rotor 63 is located closer to the inclined drum 71 than the stator 65. The inclined drum 71 is fixed to the rotor 63. Therefore, the rotor 63 and the inclined drum 71 rotate together around the central axis C1. The rotor 63 also rotates around the suction pipe 51. The suction pipe 51 is disposed in the through hole 61 of the rotary motor 71M. The suction pipe 51 is fixed to the housing 57 and cannot rotate.

Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the air cutting member 53. Figure 12 is a top view of the air cutting member 53. Figure 13 is a bottom view of the air cutting member 53. Figure 14 is a diagram showing a cross section of the air cutting member 53 at a position along the line A-A shown in Figure 12.

The air cutter 53 is a member for switching between a state in which the suction hole 711 sucks in air and a state in which the suction hole 711 stops sucking in air. As shown in FIG. 10, the air cutter 53 is disposed on the suction pipe 51 side of the inclined drum 71. The air cutter 53 is also disposed on the inside of the inclined drum 71 (the side closer to the central axis C1).

As shown in Figures 10 to 14, the air cutting member 53 is composed of a base portion 531 and a contact portion 533 that are connected to each other along the central axis C1. The base portion 531 is disposed on the suction pipe 51 side, and the contact portion 533 is disposed on the inclined drum 71 side. The base portion 531 is cylindrical. The contact portion 533 is formed in a generally truncated cone shape whose outer diameter gradually decreases toward the inclined drum 71 side.

As shown in FIG. 10, the outer surface of the contact portion 533 forms a conical surface that corresponds to the inner surface of the inclined drum 71 (the surface opposite the outer surface 710). The outer surface of the contact portion 533 is inclined at the same angle as the inner surface of the inclined drum 71 with respect to the central axis C1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the outer surface of the contact portion 533 can contact the inner surface of the inclined drum 71 without any gaps. The contact portion 533 has a closing portion 534. The closing portion 534 is a portion that closes the suction hole 711 of the inclined drum 71.

The contact portion 533 has an opening 535 on its outer surface. The opening 535 forms one of the openings of a communication hole 537 described below. As shown in FIG. 12, the opening formed by the opening 535 is substantially arc-shaped with a central angle of approximately 180° in the circumferential direction (the direction of rotation about the central axis C1).

The air cutter 53 has a communication hole 537. The communication hole 537 is a through hole that penetrates the base portion 531 and the contact portion 533. One end of the communication hole 537 is connected to the opening 535 on the outer surface of the contact portion 533. The other end of the communication hole 537 opens at the end of the base portion 531 on the suction pipe 51 side. In this way, the air cutter 53 is a hollow member with the communication hole 537, which is a through hole, formed on the inside. When the suction hole 711 overlaps with the opening of the opening 535 during rotation of the inclined drum 71, the suction hole 711 communicates with the suction pipe 51 via the communication hole 537. In other words, when the suction hole 711 does not overlap with the closing portion 534, the suction hole 711 communicates with the suction pipe 51.

As shown in Figures 10 and 12, the closing portion 534 and the opening 535 are on the same circumference centered on the central axis C1, and are arranged at different positions in the circumferential direction. In other words, the closing portion 534 and the opening of the communication hole 537 are arranged at different positions in the circumferential direction. When the rotation motor 71M rotates the inclined drum 71 around the central axis C1, the suction hole 711 of the inclined drum 71 moves alternately between a position overlapping with the closing portion 534 and a position overlapping with the opening of the opening 535 (communication hole 537). In other words, the suction hole 711 moves alternately between a position overlapping with the closing portion 534 and a position not overlapping with the closing portion 534.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the suction hole 711 overlaps with the communication hole 537 of the air breaker 53, the suction hole 711 communicates with the suction pipe 51 via the communication hole 537. This allows the suction hole 711 to adsorb the tablet 9. Also, when the suction hole 711 of the inclined drum 71 overlaps with the closing portion 534 of the air breaker 53, the connection between the suction hole 711 and the suction pipe 51 is blocked by the closing portion 534. In this way, the closing portion 534 intermittently overlaps with the rotating suction hole 711, thereby intermittently closing the suction hole 711. When the suction hole 711 is closed by the closing portion 534, the suction of the tablet 9 at the suction hole 711 is released.

As shown in Figures 11 to 14, the air cutting member 53 has an engagement recess 539. The engagement recess 539 forms a hole in the end face of the base portion 531 on the suction pipe 51 side, recessed toward the inclined drum 71 side. The engagement recess 539 is cylindrical and extends along the central axis C1. A rotation stop pin 517, which will be described later, is inserted into the engagement recess 539. The rotation stop pin 517 engages with the engagement recess 539, thereby preventing the air cutting member 53 from rotating. The engagement recess 539 is an example of an engagement portion.

<Suction piping>
10, the suction pipe 51 has a pipe main body 511, a flange portion 513, and a relay member 515. The pipe main body 511 is cylindrical and centered on a central axis C1. An end of the pipe main body 511 opposite to the inclined drum 71 is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown) such as a vacuum pump. By connecting the pipe main body 511 to the negative pressure source, the pressure inside the pipe main body 511 is maintained at a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure.

The flange portion 513 protrudes radially outward (away from the central axis C1) around the entire circumference from the peripheral edge of the end of the piping body 511 on the side of the inclined drum 71. The flange portion 513 has an annular shape.

The relay member 515 is attached to the flange portion 513. The relay member 515 has an annular plate portion 521 that is an annular plate centered on the central axis C1, an annular inner wall portion 522 that stands from the inner edge of the annular plate portion 521 toward the inclined drum 71 side, and an outer wall portion 523 that stands from the outer edge of the annular plate portion 521 toward the piping main body portion 511 side. The flange portion 513 is pressed into the inside of the outer wall portion 523 of the relay member 515. The inner wall portion 522 of the relay member 515 is inserted into the opening (communication hole 537) of the base portion 531 of the air breaker member 53. Therefore, the air breaker member 53 is connected to the tip of the suction pipe 51 on the inclined drum 71 side.

As shown in FIG. 10, the relay member 515 has a rotation stop pin 517. The rotation stop pin 517 is fixed on the surface of the annular plate portion 521 facing the inclined drum 71. The rotation stop pin 517 extends linearly toward the inclined drum 71 along the central axis C1. As described above, the rotation stop pin 517 is inserted into the engagement recess 539 of the air cutting member 53, so that the air cutting member 53 is engaged with the suction pipe 51 in a non-rotatable state. This prevents the air cutting member 53 from rotating together with the inclined drum 71. In other words, the rotary motor 71M can rotate the inclined drum 71 relative to the air cutting member 53 around the central axis C1.

It is not essential that the rotation pin 517 extends parallel to the central axis C1, and the rotation pin 517 may extend in a direction intersecting the central axis C1. It is also not essential that the rotation pin 517 is fixed to the relay member 515 of the suction pipe 51, and the rotation pin 517 may be fixed directly to a non-rotatable member other than the suction pipe 51 (such as the housing 57). The air cutter member 52 may have a rotation pin, and the suction pipe may have an engagement recess 539 (engagement portion).

<Pressing member>
The pressing member 55 is a member that presses the air cutting member 53 toward the inclined drum 71. The pressing member 55 is preferably an elastic member that is elastically deformable in the axial direction of the central axis C1. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the pressing member 55 is a leaf spring having an annular shape centered on the central axis C1, and is a wave washer that forms smooth wavy concaves and convexes alternately along the circumferential direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the pressing member 55 is disposed between the suction pipe 51 and the air cutting member 53. Specifically, the inner wall portion 522 of the relay member 515 is inserted inside the pressing member 55. The pressing member 55 is disposed between the annular plate portion 521 of the relay member 515 and the base portion 531 of the air cutting member 53.

By configuring the pressing member 55 from an elastic member such as a leaf spring, the air cutting member 53 can be pressed against the inclined drum 71 with an appropriate pressing force. Note that the pressing member 55 may be a leaf spring having a shape different from that of a wave washer. Also, the pressing member 55 is not limited to a leaf spring, and may be, for example, a helical spring.

The pressing member 55 presses the air cutter 53 toward the inclined drum 71. Then, the outer surface of the closing portion 534 of the air cutter 53 is pressed against the inner surface of the inclined drum 71. That is, the outer surface of the air cutter 53 is always in contact with the inner surface of the inclined drum 71. This makes it possible to eliminate the gap (clearance) between the inner surface of the inclined drum 71 and the outer surface of the air cutter 53. Therefore, when the suction hole 711 overlaps with the outer surface of the closing portion 534, the suction of air in the suction hole 711 can be almost completely stopped. Therefore, the suction of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 711 can be appropriately released. In this way, the suction of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 711 can be effectively released, so that the tablet 9 can be appropriately delivered. That is, the conveying accuracy of the tablet 9 by the moving unit M1 can be improved.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the closing portion 534 of the air cutter 53 in the moving unit M1 faces the opening 535 of the air cutter 53 in the moving unit M2. Therefore, when the tablet 9 moves to the transfer position P1 where it is transferred from the inclined drum 71 of the moving unit M1 to the inclined drum 72 of the moving unit M2, the suction of the tablet 9 in the suction hole 711 of the moving unit M1 is released, and the tablet 9 is adsorbed to the suction hole 721 of the moving unit M2. At this time, the air cutter 53 in the moving unit M1 is pressed against the inclined drum 71, so that the suction can be appropriately released. Therefore, the tablet 9 can be transferred from the suction hole 711 of the inclined drum 71 to the suction hole 721 of the inclined drum 72 with high accuracy.

Furthermore, by ensuring that the outer surface of the blocking portion 534 of the air cutting member 53 is always in contact with the inner surface of the inclined drum 71, it is possible to suppress variation in conveying accuracy between the moving units M1 to M6. Also, it is possible to suppress variation in the position of the air cutting member 53 relative to the inclined drum 71 during assembly. Therefore, even if the moving unit M1 is disassembled and then reassembled, it is possible to increase the repeatability of the position of the air cutting member 53 relative to the inclined drum 71. Also, by eliminating the need to adjust the position of the air cutting member 53 relative to the inclined drum 71, the work speed for assembling the moving unit M1 can be improved.

The air cutting member 53 is preferably made of resin. By making the air cutting member 53 out of resin, dust generation can be suppressed even when the air cutting member 53 slides against the inclined drum 71, and the occurrence of printing defects can be reduced. Furthermore, the air cutting member 53 is more preferably formed from polyoxymethylene (POM), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or polyether ether ketone (PEEK). By forming the air cutting member 53 from such a material, the air cutting member 53 can slide easily against the inclined drum 71, and the generation of dust can be significantly reduced.

It is also conceivable to use a non-hollow motor instead of a hollow motor as the rotary motor 71M (power source) that rotates the inclined drum 71. When a non-hollow motor is used, a bearing for rotatably connecting the inclined drum 71 to the suction pipe 51 and a gear for transmitting the power of the non-hollow motor to the inclined drum 71 may be provided. It is also conceivable to use a non-hollow motor instead of a hollow motor as the rotary motor 71M (power source) that rotates the inclined drum 71. However, when a non-hollow motor is used, a bearing for rotatably connecting the inclined drum 71 to the suction pipe 51 and a gear for transmitting the power of the non-hollow motor to the inclined drum 71 are required.

In contrast, if a hollow motor is used for the rotary motor 71M as in this embodiment, the suction pipe 51 can be arranged in the through hole 61 of the rotary motor 71M. Therefore, the inclined drum 71 can be directly fixed to the rotor 63 of the rotary motor 71M. Therefore, compared to the case where a non-hollow motor is used, the number of parts (bearings, gears, etc.) required to rotate the inclined drum 71 can be reduced. Therefore, the variation of the moving unit M1 due to the part accuracy and assembly accuracy can be suppressed. In addition, the amount of work required for assembling the moving unit M1 and the amount of work required for adjustment can be reduced. Therefore, the speed of assembly work and the speed of adjustment work for the moving unit M1 can be improved.

2. Modifications
Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, the inclined drums 71 to 76 have a conical side surface. However, the shape of the side surface of the inclined drums 71 to 76 may be a polygonal pyramid, such as a square pyramid, a hexagonal pyramid, or an octagonal pyramid.

In the above embodiment, the case where the tablet 9 is transported along a circular transport path has been described. However, the granular material transport device of the present invention may also transport granular material along a non-circular transport path, while flipping the granular material over in part of the transport path and moving the position of the granular material in the width direction.

Although this invention has been described in detail, the above description is illustrative in all respects and does not limit the invention. It is understood that countless variations not illustrated can be imagined without departing from the scope of this invention. The configurations described in the above embodiments and variations can be combined or omitted as appropriate as long as they are not mutually contradictory.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Tablet printing device 20 Conveying mechanism 51 Suction pipe 53 Air cutter 534 Closing portion 537 Communication hole 539 Engagement recess (engagement portion)
55 Pressing member 61 Through hole 70 Reversing section 71, 72 Inclined drum 710, 720 Outer surface 711, 721 Suction hole 71M, 72M Rotary motor 9 Tablet C1, C2 Central axis M1, M2 Moving unit (granular material moving device)

Claims (3)

A granular material moving device that moves granular material while adsorbing it,
an inclined drum having an outer surface that is a cone-shaped surface centered on a predetermined central axis and has suction holes for suctioning the particulate matter;
a suction pipe connecting the suction hole to a negative pressure source;
a rotation motor that rotates the inclined drum about the central axis;
Equipped with
the rotary motor is a hollow motor having a through hole centered on the central axis,
The suction pipe is disposed in the through hole of the rotary motor ,
The rotary motor includes a rotor that rotates around a central axis and a stator.
The rotor is located closer to the inclined drum than the stator,
The inclined drum is fixed to the rotor,
A particulate moving device , wherein the rotor of the rotary motor and the inclined drum rotate as a unit about the central axis . 2. The granular material moving device according to claim 1 ,
an air breaker having a closing portion that is rotated by the rotary motor on the suction pipe side with respect to the suction hole and intermittently closes the suction hole;
Further equipped with
By rotating the inclined drum, the suction holes move to a position where they overlap with the closing portion and a position where they do not overlap with the closing portion,
A granular material moving device, wherein the suction hole communicates with the suction pipe when the suction hole does not overlap with the closing portion. A granular material conveying device, comprising:
a conveying mechanism that conveys a plurality of granular objects in a predetermined conveying direction while holding the granular objects in a state of being aligned in the width direction;
a reversing mechanism that turns over the granular object at a reversing position on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism and moves the position of the granular object in the width direction;
Equipped with
The inversion mechanism includes:
A first granular material moving device according to claim 1 or 2 ;
A second granular material moving device according to claim 1 or 2 ;
having
The inclined drum of the second granular material moving device is adjacent to the inclined drum of the first granular material moving device in the width direction,
the first granular object moving device rotates the inclined drum while suctioning the granular object located at a first position on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism to the suction hole, and moves the granular object to a delivery position;
The second granular material moving device is a granular material conveying device that rotates the inclined drum while adsorbing the granular material placed at the transfer position by the first granular material moving device into the suction hole, thereby moving the granular material to a second position on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism.

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