JPS5834367B2 - Alignment separation method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to articles, mainly small articles, such as tablets, capsules, pills, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "tablets etc.").

), and further relates to the application of the alignment and separation method.

More specifically, the alignment and separation method of the present invention utilizes a device comprising a disk-shaped alignment turntable having several concentric grooves and several guide plates provided close to the top surface of the alignment turntable. do.

This alignment and separation device can be applied to various fields, and is extremely useful, for example, as a means for feeding objects to be measured one by one into a scale for measuring the weight of tablets and the like.

Hereinafter, a device for supplying tablets and the like to a weight measuring device, which is an application example of the present invention, will be explained in detail, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It is obvious that this includes devices that utilize this.

Weighing of tablets, etc. is carried out based on the weight deviation test method of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia.
Each piece must be fed to the scale.

Conventionally, this type of weighing involves taking 20 tablets, etc., placing them one by one on a scale, weighing them precisely, and calculating the average weight.
The deviation between this value and the weight of each individual tablet, etc. is determined and tested using a test method in accordance with the pharmacopoeia.

In this weight deviation test method, the operation of placing tablets, etc. on a scale one by one, and accurately weighing and calculating them is monotonous, but it requires human intervention, so this weighing work is a bottleneck in saving labor. It had been.

In order to automate this process, a means is first needed to transition from a state in which dozens of tablets, etc. form a group to a state in which they are separated one by one.

Conventionally, as this means, devices mainly applying vibrators have been used in various devices, but this method is expensive and requires control depending on the type of dosage form.

For this reason, it is used to separate many analytes of the same dosage form in production lines, but it is used to separate a large number of different types and a small number of weighing products (according to the Japanese Pharmacopoeia) in testing departments, etc. Currently, it is difficult to use.

Therefore, based on the development background described above, this device uses an alignment turntable and an alignment conveyor in combination, and aims to be able to reliably separate all dosage forms under the same conditions.

Embodiments of the basic apparatus and method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The apparatus described below is a supply system that sequentially supplies many types of samples (for example, tablets, capsules, etc.) one type at a time (maximum of one type in this example), and then weighs each tablet one by one. It is related to the device.

This device is roughly divided into sample hopper, alignment turntable,
It consists of an alignment conveyor, a detection photoelectric unit, and a discharge unit.

The sample hopper 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 has a structure in which a cylindrical container is divided into 12 parts, each of which contains a different type of sample. Sequential automatic constant rotation (3 in the case of 12 divisions)
00)L, which supplies the sample to the alignment turntable 2.

A gear 7 directly connected to the motor 6 by the drive motor 6
A gear 9 directly connected to an electromagnetic clutch/brake 10 via a large gear 8 is interlocked, and when the electromagnetic clutch/brake 10 receives a signal and is excited, the gear 11 rotates, the gear 12 interlocks, and the sample hopper 1 rotates.

In order to rotate the hopper 1 at a constant rate, photoelectric detection holes are formed in the gear 12 at regular intervals, and a photoelectric switch 13 detects the position, and a signal is generated to stop the hopper at a fixed position.

In other words, this fixed position is opened by one division out of 12, and by stopping the hopper 1 at this fixed position while rotating sequentially, various kinds of samples are supplied one by one to the alignment turntable 2 in an orderly manner. It has a structure.

The alignment turntable 2 is a chiffle for separating a plurality of samples of each type supplied from the sample hopper 1 one by one.

A large gear 8 connected to a gear 7 directly connected to the motor 6 is rotated by the drive motor 6, and an alignment turntable 2 fixed to the large gear 8 is driven.

As shown in the enlarged view of Fig. 4, several V-shaped grooves 20 are cut concentrically on the turntable surface to separate samples 21 from samples that tend to roll easily and are difficult to align and separate (pills, (capsules, etc.) can now be aligned and separated.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 12-22 and 3, several guide plates 14 are provided on the alignment turntable 2.

The guide plates 14 are arranged alternately, with one end fixed near the hopper 1 and the other with one end fixed outside the alignment turntable.

Specifically, the guide plate 14 protrudes forward from the hopper 1 side on the alignment turntable 2 in the rotational direction of the alignment turntable, and from outside the alignment turntable 2 on the alignment turntable 2 in the rotational direction of the alignment turntable. The ones protruding forward are arranged alternately.

At the same time, each guide plate 14 is provided close to the alignment turntable 2, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, when the samples are fed from the hopper 1 onto the alignment turntable 2 (state a in Figure 3), each sample is randomly overlapped, but as the alignment turntable rotates, each sample is placed on the guide plate. As they move in a zigzag pattern while colliding with 14, they are separated and aligned.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, at stage a, the samples are supplied from the sample hopper 1 and are overlapped and solidified.

In b, the separation effect has worked to some extent and the particles have been separated, in C, they are almost separated and aligned, and in d, they are completely separated.

Furthermore, the alignment turntable 2 is transferred to the alignment conveyor 3, and at e, the conveyor speed is set higher than the rotational speed of the turntable (by doing so, a more complete separation state is achieved).

Normally, the sample is aligned by making one revolution on the alignment turntable.

However, if the number of samples is large and separation is particularly difficult,
In the distribution indicated by 15 in 3, first, only one aligned row is carried onto the alignment conveyor 3 by the guide, and the other columns go around the alignment turntable again and are aligned before being transferred onto the alignment conveyor 3. By being transported, alignment and separation become complete.

Incidentally, FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the action of the guide 150 for distribution.

It goes without saying that if a bridging phenomenon occurs on the turntable, a stirring device (not shown) using an eccentric cam or the like may be provided.

When the articles are transferred from the alignment turntable 2 to the alignment conveyor 3, they fall onto the alignment conveyor 3 through a chute 20 that utilizes the height difference.

In FIG. 3, the alignment conveyor 3 is a conveyor for transporting the sample separated by the alignment turntable 2 through the detection photoelectric unit 4 to a weigher (not shown), and at the same time to make the separation more accurate.

By setting this conveyor at a feeding speed slightly faster than the circumferential speed of the alignment turntable 2, separation becomes more accurate.

Incidentally, by tilting the alignment conveyor 3, it is possible to advance the sample along the lower part of the alignment conveyor (in other words, the passing position of the sample can be narrowly limited). The detection error of the provided detection photoelectric unit 4 can be further reduced.

Aligned turntable 2. The alignment conveyor 3 works in conjunction with the detection photoelectric unit 4, and when the photoelectric switch of the detection photoelectric unit 4 detects one sample, it instantaneously stops and weighs each sample, and the next sample is detected after a certain period of time by the alignment turntable 2. After the alignment conveyor 3 starts moving according to the drive signal, the sample passes through the photoelectric switch and is detected.
This makes it possible to weigh individual pieces.

In other words, when weighing samples, the turntable separation method enables automatic feeding while taking time to measure each sample one by one.

After the samples carried by the alignment conveyor are detected one by one by the photoelectric unit 4, they are supplied to the weighing packet 16 and their weight is measured.

When one type of sample measurement is completed, the sample in the weighing packet 16 is discharged by the mechanism shown in FIG. 6 in preparation for the next type of measurement.

That is, the discharge shutter motor 17 is driven, and the shaft 18 that moves in conjunction with the eccentric cam is operated to release the weighed packet 1.
Gate 23 of No. 6 opens to discharge the sample from the weigher.

After a predetermined time, the gate 29 closes and the next type of sample measurement begins.

In addition, if you use a scale with an automatic return method (a method that allows the scale to be automatically zero-adjusted without discharging the weighed object after weighing), the same type of measurement can be performed by discharging one piece at a time. is not necessary.

Even when a non-automatic zero return type weighing device is used, automatic operation is possible by utilizing the above-mentioned discharge mechanism.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a plan view of the alignment turntable, Figure 2 is a sectional view of an example of the alignment and separation device of the present invention, and Figure 3 shows articles being aligned while moving on the alignment turntable and transferred onto the alignment conveyor. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the alignment turntable, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram regarding the guide for distribution on the alignment turntable, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram regarding the sample weighing section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An alignment turntable that rotates around a hopper equipped with an independently rotating mechanism provided in the center and has several concentric grooves cut into its surface, with one end near the hopper. The other end is fixed to several guide plates protruding in the circumferential direction, diagonally forward in the rotational direction of the disc, and close to the disc, and one end is fixed outside the disc, and the other end is fixed in the inside direction of the disc and close to the disc. By alternately arranging several guide plates protruding diagonally forward in the direction of rotation and close to the disk, the sample supplied onto the disk is moved forward while being transferred in a zigzag pattern as the disk rotates, thereby moving the sample onto the disk. Finally, one end is fixed to the outside of the disc, the other end is protruded in the direction of the inside of the disc and in the opposite direction to the rotational direction of the disc, and a guide plate is provided close to the disc. A method for aligning and separating articles, characterized by transferring samples out of a disk in an aligned state. 2. The hopper provided in the center is equipped with a mechanism that rotates independently of the alignment turntable, and has a structure in which it is divided by partitions extending in the circumferential direction from the center of the alignment turntable. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the article is characterized by an apparatus.