JPH0451465B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is directed to a PTP sheet conveyance line.
This relates to a PTP sheet reversing device.

[Prior Art] PTP (Press Through Packing) is generally a process in which a flexible plastic film is continuously heated and molded using vacuum or compressed air, and tablets or capsules are loaded into the molded pockets. This refers to a packaging form in which a metal sheet such as aluminum foil is coated with thermal adhesive and trimmed to the desired number of pockets. In addition, the PTP sheet is a general term for both continuous sheets obtained by the PTP method and individual trimmed sheet pieces, but the PTP sheet in the present invention refers to the latter individual sheet pieces. It is.

In PTP packaging machines, continuous sheets are trimmed into individual PTP sheets, and the PTP
While the sheets are continuously conveyed at predetermined intervals, they are reversed every other time, and the reversed and non-reversed PTP sheets are
An automated method in which PTP sheets are stacked face-to-face to form a pair of combined sheets, and multiple pairs of these combined sheets are further laminated to form a package, which is then wrapped with plastic film or the like to form a product. has been adopted.

Conventionally, the PTP sheet reversing device used in the automated PTP packaging machine mentioned above was
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 58-20849 is known.
This known PTP reversing device is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
As shown in the figure, a pair of reversing holder discs 51, 51 that perform intermittent 90 degree rotations around the rotation axis facing in the width direction of the transport line are provided in the middle of the transport line. , approximately on the opposite surface of 51
A pair of mounting tables 53 and 54 on which PTP sheets are placed are provided at two locations 180 degrees apart, respectively, protruding toward the inside of the conveyance line, and both discs 51 and 5
A pair of flat parallel guide plates 52, 52 extending approximately in the diametrical direction of the disks 51, 51 are disposed in the opposing gap of 1 to set a conveyance path.
A relatively short vertical sheet feeding drive piece 56 and a relatively long vertical sheet feeding driving piece 57, which are attached to the traction wire while projecting upwardly through a passage gap 55 between the vertical parts, are alternately arranged at regular intervals. The sheet holding plates 61, 62, which are pivotally connected to the respective disks, are supported by springs 58, 5 on the sheet placing surfaces of the respective placing tables 53, 54 on the opposing surfaces of both disks 51, 51.
9, and the disk 5
There are mounting tables 53, 5 on both sides of the conveyance path on the entrance side of 1, 51.
When the PTP sheet enters into 4, its holding plate 6
1 and 62 are provided with a swinging lever 60 that forcibly moves them away from the mounting surface against the springs 58 and 59.

In the conventional PTP sheet reversing device configured in this way, when reversing a PTP sheet, the upward direction conveyed by the shorter sheet drive piece 56 on the guide plates 52, 52 is
The state in which the front part of the PTP sheet is inserted between the mounting table 53 and the holding plate 61, which are forcibly opened by the swing lever 60, and the rear part of the sheet protrudes outside the disk. Rotate the disks 51, 51 clockwise by 90 degrees as shown in Figure 6 so that the PTP sheet is in a vertical position directly above, and then rotate the disks 51, 51 further to invert the PTP sheet. , an upper guide plate 6 where the protruding end of the inverted sheet on the outer peripheral side of the disk constitutes a two-stage conveyance path on the exit side;
The rotation of the discs 51, 51 is stopped at the position where the discs 51, 51 are placed on top of the discs 3.

The next PTP sheet is conveyed by the longer sheet driving piece 57 on the guide plates 52, 52, but this sheet is not to be reversed.
In this case, while the inverted holder disc is in the 90 degree rotated position, the PTP sheet is conveyed by the sheet driving piece 57 to the exit side on the guide plates 52, 52 while keeping the upward position, and is placed on the disc mounting table. It reaches directly below the preceding PTP sheet which is being held and reversed by 53 and 54.

This non-inverted PTP sheet is conveyed as it is by the longer sheet drive piece 57 on the lower guide plate 64 of the exit conveyance path, but at this time, this drive piece 57 is inverted on the upper guide plate 63. PTP
Push the seat along with it. In this manner, the reversible sheet and the non-reversible sheet are sent out from the output side of the reversing device at an interval approximately twice as long as the input side of the pair of upper and lower sheets, and are conveyed to the subsequent lamination process.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] The conventional PTP sheet reversing device as described above is
The PTP sheets that are sent upward are alternately reversed every other time, and the reversed sheets and non-reversed sheets are sent out as a pair with their faces facing up.In the later process, multiple pairs are stacked to form an even number of sheets. This method is suitable for packaging several PTP sheets together.

By the way, in recent years, with the diversification of packaging styles for PTP sheets, it has become possible for users to set any number of packaging sheets, to pack an odd number of sheets, or to stack and pack only non-reversible sheets on the same packaging line. The emergence of multifunctional systems is required.

To meet this request, PTP in the packaging line
It is necessary for the sheet reversing device to have the optional function of reversing or non-reversing, but conventional PTP sheet reversing devices are fixed to the function of reversing every other sheet and only send out pairs of two sheets. Therefore, in the end, the automated line could only stack an even number of PTP sheets, and was unable to meet the above requirements.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to arbitrarily select the order of inversion and non-inversion when packaging not only an even number of sheets but also any odd number of sheets in the lamination packaging process in the latter stage. Multi-functional
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a PTP sheet reversing device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the PTP sheet reversing device of the present invention has a conveyance path that supports the PTP sheet almost horizontally and guides it from side to side, and the conveyance path. Horizontal longitudinal grooves are arranged facing each other on both sides in the middle of the conveyance, and each side has a facing surface to receive both side edges of the PTP sheet being conveyed.
A pair of reversing holders selectively perform intermittent 180 degree rotation on both sides of the conveyance path, and a pair of reversing holders that rotate at regular intervals along the conveyance path to rotate the PTP sheet in the width direction of the conveyance path. a seat driving piece that can be pushed and moved from the upright state approximately in the center and selectively tipped backward from the upright state at the entrance side of the reversible holder; and selectively moved to the raised position at the entrance side of the reversible holder. an overturning control member that prevents the seat driving piece from overturning and maintains the upright state in the raised position, and allows the seat driving piece to fall backward from the upright position in the lowered position; The holder selectively takes a raised position and a lowered position between opposing surfaces, and in the raised position, the reversing guide is rotated so that the PTP sheet held in the longitudinal groove of the reversing holder does not fall off during rotation of the reversing holder. a seat stopper that projects a stopper surface concentric with the shaft onto the conveyance path and retracts the stopper surface below the conveyance path in a lowered position; A seat reversing operation in which the reversing holder is intermittently rotated as a raised position, and a seat non-reversing operation in which the overturning control member is placed in a raised position and the seat stopper is placed in a lowered position to maintain the reversing holder in a non-rotating state. It is characterized in that it can be selectively switched according to a program.

[Function] In the PTP sheet reversing device of the present invention, the conveyance path may be constituted by, for example, a horizontal guide plate supported by a frame of the device and wall-shaped horizontal guides erected on both sides of the horizontal guide plate. The PTP sheet is supported almost horizontally on the smooth surface of the guide plate, and the horizontal guide guides the sheet from side to side.
The PTP sheets are connected by wires, for example, and are pushed from behind by a dot-shaped drive piece to slide along the conveyance path.

A pair of reversing holders placed facing each other on both sides in the middle of this conveyance path have horizontal vertical grooves on their opposing surfaces for receiving both side edges of the PTP sheet being conveyed on the conveyance path, and inside these grooves. to
Intermittent 180 degree rotation can be selectively performed integrally on both sides of the conveyance path while receiving and holding the PTP sheet.

A sheet drive piece for pushing and moving the PTP sheet from behind along the conveyance path circulates at regular intervals, and this sheet drive piece stands up the PTP sheet on the conveyance path at approximately the center in the width direction of the conveyance path. It is possible to move the holder by pushing it in this state, and also to selectively fall it backwards from the upright state at the entry side of the reversible holder.

An overturning control member is disposed on the entrance side of the reversing holder, and this overturning control member selectively takes a raised position and a lowered position, and in the raised position prohibits the sheet driving piece from overturning and maintains the upright state. In the lowered position, the seat driving piece is allowed to fall backward from the upright position.

Further, a sheet stopper is arranged between the opposing surfaces of the reversing holder, and this sheet stopper selectively takes a raised position and a lowered position, and in the raised position, the PTP sheet held in the longitudinal groove of the reversing holder is reversed. In order to prevent the holder from falling off during rotation, a stopper surface that is concentric with the rotation axis of the reversing guide is projected onto the conveyance path, and in the lowered position, the stopper surface is retracted below the conveyance path to prevent the holder from falling off the conveyance path. to allow the PTP sheet to pass through as is.

This PTP sheet reversing device also includes a sheet reversing operation in which the reversing holder is intermittently rotated with the overturning control member in a lowered position and the sheet stopper in a raised position, and a sheet reversing operation in which the overturning control member is set in a raised position and the sheet stopper is lowered. The sheet non-reversing operation that maintains the reversing holder in a non-rotating position can be selectively switched according to a preset program, and the reversing and non-reversing of the PTP sheet can be done by switching between these operating states. It can be determined arbitrarily. Therefore, the PTP of the present invention
The sheet reversing device selectively inverts or non-inverts the PTP sheets that are sent one after another from the input side in a pre-programmed order, and sends them out in a line on the same conveyance path on the output side with the same spacing as on the input side. is possible.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Example] Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a PTP sheet reversing device according to an example of the present invention in a reversing operation state;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A--A in the previous figure, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along the line B--B.

In the figure, the left and right mount frames 1, 1 of the device
A flat guide plate 3 with horizontal guides 2, 2 is provided on both sides with a gap between them, and the PTP
A transport path is constructed in which the sheet S is supported on the guide plate 3 and can be moved in the direction of arrow a while being guided from side to side by the lateral guides 2, 2.

A pair of rails 4, 4 are attached to both sides of the lower part of the guide plate 3, and above the rails 4, 4, the guide plate 3
The sheet drive piece is used to push and move the upper PTP sheet S from the rear, and the upper part is the horizontal guide 2, 2.
A plurality of left and right L-shaped attachments 5, 5a protruding above the guide plate 3 from the gap between the two are arranged at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the conveyance path (direction of arrow a). This attachment 5, 5a is
It has a rotating shaft located at the corner of the shape, and the L-shaped lower piece is guided on the rails 4, 4 to connect the traction wire 6.
The robots are connected in series by rails 4, 4 and move around at a predetermined speed in an upright position.

Now, in the middle of the guide plate 3, a cut-out portion of the lateral guides 2, 2 is provided, and in this cut-out portion, instead of the lateral guides 2, 2, a pair of disk-shaped inversion holders 7 are placed on both sides of the guide plate 3. 7a are arranged facing each other. The reversing holders 7, 7a have bearings 9, 9a at their centers, respectively.
The holders are coaxially supported and rotatable, and their opposing surfaces have rotation axes so that they can be aligned at almost the same height as the guide plate 3 by rotating the holder 180 degrees. Sheet guides 8, 8a having two rows of parallel horizontal longitudinal grooves narrowing the
is provided, and when the holder is in a state where rotation is stopped, both side edges of the PTP sheet S fed from the entry side on the guide plate 3 are received into the lower longitudinal groove, and the PTP sheet is reversed in both directions. It can be held by holders 7, 7a or passed through to the exit side as is.

At the lower part of the reversing holders 7, 7a, a rotating shaft 10 is supported by the frames 1, 1 via bearings, and a sprocket 1 driven by a motor and a rotation transmission mechanism (not shown) is attached to the rotating shaft 10.
1 is installed. A pair of gears 12, 12a are also attached to the rotating shaft 10, and these gears mesh with gears 13, 13a provided on the reversing holders 7, 7a, respectively.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 indicates a seat stopper mechanism, which includes a guide rod 16 that is vertically movably guided by a guide holder 17 supported by the frames 1, 1, and a seat stopper mechanism that moves the guide rod 16 vertically via a lower stay 19. It consists of an air cylinder 18 for moving, a guide stay 20 fixed to the upper end of the guide rod 16, and a seat stopper 21 fixed to the guide stay 20. The upper end of the seat stopper 21 is a semicircular stopper surface, and when the air cylinder 18 is operated, the upper end of the seat stopper 21 is inserted into a hole provided in the guide plate 3 at approximately the center between the reversing holders 7 and 7a. It is designed so that it can appear and disappear above and below the guide plate 3 via. In the raised position of the seat stopper 21, the center of the semicircular stopper surface at the upper end is coaxial with the center of rotation of the reversing holders 7, 7a, and in the lowered position, the upper end of the stopper surface is retracted below the surface of the guide plate 3. The vertical stroke is determined as follows.

Attachments 5, 5a as sheet drive pieces
In the illustrated example, the fall control member is incorporated as an attachment fall guide 22, and this guide 22 is installed in the cutout of the rails 4, 4 on the entrance side of the position directly below the rotation center axis of the reversing holders 7, 7a. It is located. As shown in FIG. 1, the cutout is longer than the sum of the radius of the reversible holder and the length of the L-shaped lower side of the attachments 5, 5a from the position directly below the rotation center axis of the reversible holders 7, 7a. It is located over a long distance. The attachment tilting guide 22 is pivotally supported by a shaft 23 located directly below the rotation center axis of the reversing holders 7, 7a, and is pivoted by an air cylinder 24 to move between a raised position and a lowered position. It is now possible to take it selectively. The upper surface of the attachment tilting guide 22 forms a guide surface for the L-shaped lower side of the attachments 5, 5a in place of the rails 4, 4 at the cutout portion, and when it is in the raised position, as shown in FIG. The guide surface is made flush with the rails 4, 4 so that the incoming attachments 5, 5a can proceed to the exit side while being maintained in an upright state, and when in the lowered position, as shown in FIG.
As shown in , the guide surface is tilted downward on the entry side of the reversing holder, and the incoming attachments 5, 5a are tilted backward from the upright state about the rotation axis of the corner of the L-shape. ,after that,
Allow the patient to stand up gradually and move to the exit side.
The operation of the reversing device of this embodiment having the above configuration will be specifically explained below.

In the reversing device of this embodiment, the reversing holders 7, 7a
By selecting the presence or absence of intermittent rotational movement, the vertical position of the attachment tilting guide 22, which is a fall control member, and the vertical position of the seat stopper 21,
It is possible to perform the operation of reversing the PTP sheet and the operation of not reversing it in any order.

First, when reversing the PTP sheet S, first
As shown in the figure, the attachment tilting guide 22
is lowered by the air cylinder 24, and the seat stopper 21 is moved to the lower position by the air cylinder 1.
8 to the raised position, and then turn the reversing holders 7, 7
A is intermittently rotated 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow at a period corresponding to the moving speed of the attachments 5 and 5a.

The PTP sheet S, which is fed at regular intervals on the guide plate 3 by the attachments 5, 5a that move in an upright state by the rails 4, 4, is transferred to the reversing holder 7,
When reaching the entry side of PTP sheet 7a, the leading end of the PTP sheet S and its both side edges enter into the vertical groove on the lower side of the reversing holder 7, 7a sheet guide 8, 8a waiting in front, and then the attachment 5 , 5a, immediately before the front surfaces of the upright upper sides of the attachments 5, 5a come into contact with the reversing holders 7, 7a, that is, when the PTP sheet S is fully inserted into the longitudinal groove.
The rear ends of the lower sides of the rails 4, 4 fall onto the upper surface of the guide 22 in the lowered position, and the attachments 5, 5a tilt rearward.

Reversing holders 7, 7a are attachments 5, 5a
tilts backwards and at the same time rotates 180 degrees,
The PTP sheet S held by the sheet guides 8, 8a is inverted, and the inversion holder 7,
It is made to stand by in an inverted state in the vertical groove on the upper right side of the rotation axis of 7a. The attachments 5, 5a are continuously moving, and therefore the PTP sheet S is moved by the sheet guide 8 of the reversing holder 7, 7a as described above.
Since the attachments 5, 5a tilt backward when the insertion into the longitudinal groove 8a is finished, interference between the rear edge of the PTP sheet and the attachments 5, 5a immediately after the reversing holders 7, 7a start rotating is avoided. The action is accomplished.

While the reversing holders 7 and 7a are rotating, the front edge of the PTP sheet S slides into contact with the semicircular stopper at the upper end of the sheet stopper 21 in the raised position.
It rotates 180 degrees, so the PTP sheet S does not fall during this period.

In this way, in FIG.
The PTP sheet S, which is now waiting in an inverted state in the vertical groove on the upper right side of the rotation axis of the sheet 7a, is guided by the same attachments 5 and 5a on the guide 22 and gradually stands up, and then transferred to the inverted holder 7. ,7a
When it passes through the rotation axis, it is pushed again by the same attachments 5 and 5a which have returned to their upright state, and is sent onto the guide plate 3 on the exit side.

On the other hand, if you do not invert the PTP sheet S,
As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment tilting guide 22 is brought to the raised position by the air cylinder 24, the seat stopper 21 is brought to the lowered position by the air cylinder 18, and the reversing holders 7, 7a are brought to a stopped state. Keep it.

In this case, when the PTP sheet S, which has been fed at regular intervals on the guide plate 3 by the attachments 5 and 5a that are moved in an upright state by the rails 4 and 4, reaches the inlet side of the reversing holders 7 and 7a, the PTP sheet From the tip of S, both side edges begin to enter the lower longitudinal grooves of the sheet guides 8, 8a of the reversing holders 7, 7a waiting in front, but the attachments 5, 5a are in the raised position of the guides 22. PTP
The sheet S passes through the longitudinal grooves on the lower side of the sheet guides 8, 8a of the reversing holders 7, 7a in a stopped state and is sent out to the exit side, and therefore the PTP sheet S passes through the reversing device without being reversed. I will do it.

Therefore, the presence or absence of intermittent rotation of the reversing holders 7, 7a as described above, the vertical position of the attachment tilting guide 22, which is a fall control member, and the vertical position of the seat stopper 21 are selected according to a preset program. By operating the PTP sheets in combination at the appropriate timing and order, the following combinations of PTP sheets (1), (2), and (3) and lamination packaging can be selectively performed in the later lamination and packaging process. can be done.

(1) Lamination of an even number of sheets Alternately invert every other PTP sheet being conveyed, combine the non-inverted sheet and the inverted sheet so that their faces meet to form a pair, and stack these pairs in multiple pairs. .

(2) Lamination of an odd number of sheets The first PTP sheet is passed facing upward without being turned over, and the second and subsequent sheets are stacked.
The PTP sheets can be reversed every other sheet starting from the first sheet, and then stacked face-to-face, and these can be packaged together.Alternatively, the PTP sheets can be reversed alternately and multiple sheets can be stacked in the latter stage. Then, the last sheet is conveyed in an upward, non-inverted state, and these are laminated and packaged all at once.

(3) All the required number of stacked stacked PTP sheets are passed through the reversing holder and sent out to the exit side in the upward, non-inverted state.

In the embodiment illustrated here, two sets of transport lines are installed horizontally as shown in FIG. can be applied in the same manner, and the means for driving the attachment tilting guide and the seat stopper are not limited to the illustrated air cylinder, but may also be constructed using a hydraulic cylinder, a solenoid plunger, a motor, or the like. In addition, it goes without saying that the shapes and mechanisms of each part are not limited to the embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the seat reversing operation in which the reversing holder is intermittently rotated with the overturning control member in the lowered position and the seat stopper in the raised position; The sheet non-reversing operation that maintains the reversing holder in the raised position and the lowered position at the same time as the reversing holder can be selectively switched according to a preset program, so the PTP sheet can be reversed and non-reversed. can be arbitrarily determined by switching the operating state of each of these parts. Therefore, the PTP sheets sent one after another from the input side can be selectively reversed or non-reversed in a pre-programmed order,
It is possible to send out the sheets in a line with the same spacing as on the input side on the same conveyance path on the exit side, and in the lamination packaging process in the latter stage, not only an even number of sheets can be laminated, but also any odd number of sheets can be laminated and stacked. It is possible to provide a multifunctional PTP sheet reversing device that can arbitrarily select the order of reversing and non-reversing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a PTP sheet reversing device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a reversing operation state;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in the previous figure, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the main part taken along the line B-B, and Fig. 4 is a non-inverted PTP sheet reversing device according to this embodiment. Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operating state of the conventional
Plan view showing the main parts of the PTP sheet reversing device, No. 6
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along the line C--C in the previous figure. (Explanation of symbols of main parts), 3: Guide plate (transport path), 4: Rail, 5, 5a: Attachment (sheet drive piece), 7, 7a: Reversing holder, 8, 8
a: Seat guide (vertical groove), 15: Seat stopper mechanism, 21: Seat stopper, 22, 22
a: Attachment fall guide (fall control member).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A conveyance path that supports the PTP sheet almost horizontally and guides it from side to side, and a horizontal conveyor path that is disposed facing each other on both sides in the middle of the conveyance path and receives both side edges of the conveyed PTP sheet. Having longitudinal grooves on opposing surfaces,
A pair of reversing holders selectively and integrally rotate 180 degrees intermittently on both sides of the conveyance path, and a pair of reversing holders that rotate at regular intervals along the conveyance path to rotate the PTP sheet on the conveyance path approximately in the width direction of the conveyance path. a seat drive piece that can be pushed and moved in an upright position at the center and can be selectively tipped backward from the upright position at an entry side of the inversion holder; an overturning control member that prevents the seat driving piece from overturning and maintains the upright state in the raised position, and allows the seat driving piece to fall backward from the upright position in the lowered position; and the reversing holder; selectively takes a raised position and a lowered position between opposing surfaces of the reversing guide, and in the raised position, the rotation axis of the reversing guide is set so that the PTP sheet held in the longitudinal groove of the reversing holder does not fall off during rotation of the reversing holder. a sheet stopper that projects a stopper surface concentric with the center onto the conveyance path and retracts the stopper surface below the conveyance path in a lowered position; A sheet reversing operation in which the reversing holder is intermittently rotated as a position, and a seat non-reversing operation in which the overturning control member is placed in a raised position and the seat stopper is placed in a lowered position to maintain the reversing holder in a non-rotating position. A PTP sheet reversing device characterized in that it can be selectively switched according to.