Patent Application
20140318086
This application claims the foreign priority benefit under Title 35, United States Code, 119 (a)-(d) of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-095838 filed on Apr. 30, 2013, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-032965 filed on Feb. 24, 2014 in the Japan Patent Office, each disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for counting and filling, in which materials to be counted such as tablets, capsules, tablet type materials, and capsule type materials, are transported, counted, and filled into a container.
As a counting and filling apparatus for counting and filling tablets, the tablet being one of typical materials to be counted, there has been well known a counting and filling apparatus for transporting and counting tablets by using a vibration transport mechanism or a transport mechanism with a spiral groove rod and a vibration transport mechanism (see Patent Document 1 and Non-patent Document 1). However, since the vibration transport mechanism is used in any apparatus, the tablets rub against one another due to vibrations and easily generate powders, and there is a limit to the transport speed because the vibration transport mechanism is used.
Therefore, there has been conventionally proposed a counting and filling apparatus for transporting the tablets by using a transport mechanism with a spiral groove rod (see Patent Document 2). The transport mechanism of this tablet counting and filling apparatus receives the tablets supplied from a hopper, at a spiral groove position between the spiral groove rod which is rotated by a motor and guide rods which are positioned at the left and right of the spiral groove rod, and transports the tablets in the transport direction by the rotating spiral groove rod. The tablet counting and filling apparatus described above is also proposed to be configured to transport the tablets from the hopper to a filling position by the rotation of the spiral groove rods by including the spiral groove rods of two stages.
However, the conventional counting and filling apparatus leaves room for improvement as described below. Since the counting and filling apparatus receives the tablets directly from the hopper between the spiral groove rod and the guide rod, the tablets overlap near the outlet of the hopper depending on the shape of the tablet, and cannot be supplied smoothly from the hopper in some cases. Further, when the counting and filling apparatus uses the first stage and second stage transport mechanisms, and a plurality of first stage transport mechanisms with the spiral groove rods and the guide rods are arranged in parallel, the configuration becomes complicated and large, because a plurality of spiral groove rods are rotated via a gear box by one servomotor.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for counting and filling, each of which allows the materials to be counted to be supplied more smoothly from the hopper, and is hardly influenced by the shape of the materials to be counted, and further has a simple configuration.
In order to solve the above problems, a counting and filling apparatus according to the present invention aligns materials to be counted in a guide route while changing postures of the materials to be counted by a delivery mechanism provided below a supply port of a hopper, and delivers the materials to a transport route of a transport mechanism which has a guide rod and a spiral groove rod continuing to the guide route, and then transports, counts, and fills the materials into a container, wherein the transport mechanism includes the spiral groove rod which is disposed from the guide route to the transport route, and a lateral guide portion which is provided facing to a base end side of the spiral groove rod and along the axis of the guide rod, and forms the guide route, and wherein the counting and filling apparatus includes, between the supply port and the transport route, an adjusting unit which is provided so as to pass the materials supported via the lateral guide portion in the spiral grooves from the guide route to the transport route, and so as to prevent the materials excessively overlapped on the spiral groove rod or on the other materials from passing to the transport route and allow the materials to wait along the guide route.
With this configuration, the counting and filling apparatus aligns the materials to be counted through the guide route while changing the postures of the materials falling from the supply port of the hopper by the delivery mechanism, delivers the materials via the lateral guide portion to the spiral grooves which are positioned in the guide route side of the spiral groove rod provided in the transport route and the guide route, and sends the materials to the transport route by the rotation of the spiral groove rod. By the adjusting unit provided between the supply port and the transport route, the counting and filling apparatus passes the materials supported in the spiral grooves, and prevents passing of the other materials overlapped on the spiral groove rod and allows the materials to wait temporarily, and then sends out the materials supported properly in the spiral grooves to the transport route. The counting and filling apparatus is in a state capable of delivering the material to be counted, which are allowed to wait by the adjusting unit, if there is a vacant spiral groove of the rotating spiral groove rod. Note that, the counting and filling apparatus changes the postures of the materials to be counted, which fall by their own weight and have inappropriate postures, by a posture changing unit of the delivery mechanism, and aligns the materials to be counted, which have appropriate postures, in the guide route by a regulating unit of the delivery mechanism while keeping their postures.
The counting and filling apparatus may be configured such that the adjusting unit constitutes side walls of a partition frame portion, which is disposed so as to surround the guide route at a position adjacent to the supply port and above the delivery mechanism, by a frame-front side wall which is provided between the guide route and the transport route, a shield-rotating plate which is provided along the frame-front side wall, and frame-left and right side walls which are provided to support the frame-front side wall and are continuous from the supply port of the hopper, wherein the delivery mechanism includes, below the supply port and the partition frame portion, a regulating unit which regulates a guide route width for guiding the materials to be counted to the spiral grooves which are on the base end side of the spiral groove rod, and a posture changing unit which is disposed along the guide route, wherein the regulating unit includes, below the supply port and the partition frame portion, a central guide portion which is disposed just above the spiral groove rod, and the lateral guide portion which is provided to be opposed to a lateral side of the spiral groove rod, and guides the materials to be counted to the spiral groove rod, wherein the posture changing unit includes, above the lateral guide portion, a rotating roller which is provided to be opposed to the central guide portion across the guide route on a lateral side of the central guide portion, and a rotation drive unit which rotates the rotating roller in a direction different from a falling direction of the materials to be counted, wherein a notch portion for rotating the shield-rotating plate is formed on at least one of the frame-front side wall and the frame-left and right side walls, and wherein the shield-rotating plate is provided on a tip end side in the longitudinal direction of the rotating roller, and allows passing of the materials to be counted which are sent while being supported in the spiral grooves, while preventing passing of the materials to be counted which are excessively overlapped on the spiral groove rod or on the other materials to be counted.
With this configuration, in the counting and filling apparatus, the materials to be counted, which fall by their own weight from the supply port of the hopper, are overlapped in the delivery mechanism and after entering the guide route. The counting and filling apparatus changes the postures of the materials to be counted, which cannot pass through the guide route, while applying a frictional force in a direction different from the falling direction of the materials to be counted by the rotating roller as the posture changing unit provided along the guide route. Note that, if the materials to be counted take postures capable of passing through the guide route, the materials are aligned by falling by their own weight along the guide route without being changed the postures thereof by the rotating roller. In the counting and filling apparatus, the materials to be counted are aligned and supported in the spiral grooves of the spiral groove rod via the lateral guide portion. Further, some of the materials to be counted are sent toward the side of the frame-front side wall of the partition frame portion without being supported in the spiral grooves, however, by coming into contact with the shield-rotating plate, the materials are lifted temporarily in the rotation direction so that the postures thereof are changed, and are allowed to wait temporarily in the guide route surrounded by the partition frame portion. Then, the materials to be counted, which wait in the guide route in a range surrounded by the partition frame portion while being changed the postures thereof by the rotation of the rotating roller, enter to be supported in the spiral grooves when there is a vacant spiral groove, and are sent toward a transport end without being blocked by the shield-rotating plate and the front wall surface.
A method for counting and filling for solving the above problems is a method for counting and filling by use of the counting and filling apparatus, wherein materials to be counted inputted into a hopper are aligned in a guide route while the postures of the materials to be counted are changed by a delivery mechanism, delivered to a transport route of a transport mechanism, supported, transported, and sent out by a guide rod and spiral grooves of a spiral groove rod which are the transport mechanism, and the materials to be counted are counted by a counting unit, and filled into a container, wherein the method for counting and filling comprises following steps: an input step of inputting the materials to be counted into the hopper; a delivery step of allowing the inputted materials to be counted to fall by their own weight from the supply port of the hopper, and to be aligned in a guide route formed by use of a regulating unit of the delivery mechanism while changing the postures of the materials to be counted by rotating a rotating roller which is a posture changing unit of the delivery mechanism so as to apply a frictional force in a direction different from the falling direction of the materials to be counted, and delivering the materials to be counted to the spiral grooves of the spiral groove rod via the lateral guide portion of the regulating unit; a transport step of sending the materials to be counted, which are delivered to the spiral grooves of the spiral groove rod by the delivery mechanism, to the transport route of the spiral groove rod from the guide route by the rotation of the spiral groove rod, and transporting the materials to be counted to a transport end in a state of being supported in a support space region between the spiral groove rod and the guide rod; and a filling step of sending out the materials to be counted which are transported to the transport end, counting the materials by the counting unit, and filling the counted materials into the container. In the delivery step, by the adjusting unit provided between the supply port and the transport route, a pre-delivery step is performed together, the pre-delivery step including passing the materials to be counted, which are supported via the lateral guide portion opposed to the spiral grooves, to the transport route from the guide route, preventing passing of the materials to be counted, which are excessively overlapped on the spiral groove rod or on the other materials to be counted, allowing the materials to wait along the guide route, and delivering the material to a vacant spiral groove when there exists the vacant spiral groove of the rotating spiral groove rod.
By the above procedures, in the method for counting and filling, when the materials to be counted are inputted into the hopper, the materials fall by their own weight from the supply port of the hopper, and become in a state of being overlapped between the supply port and the delivery mechanism and after entering the guide route. Further, in the method for counting and filling, by applying the frictional force for the materials to be counted in the direction different from the falling direction of the materials to be counted by the rotating roller which is the posture changing unit of the delivery mechanism, the postures of the materials to be counted, which cause a bridge against the guide route, are changed, and become in a state of being aligned by the regulating unit. If the materials to be counted take postures capable of passing through the guide route, the materials are aligned by falling by their own weight along the guide route without being changed the postures thereof by the posture changing unit. Further, in the method for counting and filling, when the materials to be counted, which are supported in the spiral grooves by the rotation of the spiral groove rod, are transported from between the spiral groove rod and the lateral guide portion of the regulating unit to between the spiral groove rod and the guide rod, the materials supported in the spiral grooves are passed, and the materials not supported in the spiral grooves are prevented from passing to the transport route by the adjusting unit and allowed to wait temporarily along the guide route. When a vacant spiral groove of the rotating spiral groove rod comes to a position in the guide route where the materials to be counted wait, the materials to be counted are supported sequentially in the spiral grooves. In the method for counting and filling, the materials to be counted which have passed through the adjusting unit are supported by the support space region between the spiral grooves of the spiral groove rod and the guide rod and transported to the transport end. Further, in the method for counting and filling, the materials to be counted are sent out from the transport end by the rotation of the spiral groove rod, and the falling materials to be counted are counted by the counting unit and filled into the container.
A method and apparatus for counting and filling according to the present invention exhibit excellent effects described below. Since the adjusting unit is provided between the supply port and the transport route, the counting and filling apparatus is hardly influenced by the shape of the materials to be counted and can perform quickly and accurately the delivery of the materials to be counted from the guide route to the transport route. In the counting and filling apparatus, since the materials to be counted, which are not supported in the spiral grooves in the guide route, come into contact with the shield-rotating plate on the side of the frame-front side wall of the partition frame portion, the postures of the materials can be changed. Therefore, the materials to be counted, which are excessively overlapped on the spiral groove rod or the like, can be allowed to smoothly wait temporarily in the guide route in the range of the partition frame portion, and then delivered to the spiral grooves when there is a vacant spiral groove, even if the shape of the materials to be counted is an elongated shape such as a rugby ball shape and a capsule shape.
Further, by providing the shield-rotating plate at the tip end side of the rotating roller, the counting and filling apparatus allows the materials to be counted to wait in the guide route in the range of the partition frame portion while changing the postures of the materials to be counted which have not delivered to the spiral grooves by a delivery mechanism together with the rotating roller. Therefore, the counting and filling apparatus can realize that the materials to be counted are smoothly delivered from the delivery mechanism to the transport mechanism by a simple apparatus configuration compared with a conventional apparatus with a two-stage transport mechanism. Further, the counting and filling apparatus may be configured to have the guide rod in parallel with the spiral groove rod and on one side thereof, or to have a plurality of transport mechanisms disposed in parallel to one another, wherein the guide rods are disposed in parallel to each other on the left and right of the spiral groove rod, and thereby it is possible to accurately fill a number of materials to be counted at a high speed.
Further, by enclosing the lower side of the guide rod and the spiral groove rod by a region dividing portion and sucking the air in the region dividing portion by a suction mechanism, the counting and filling apparatus can collect dust such as friction particles generated from the materials to be counted, and by urging downward the materials to be counted which are sent by the transport route, the counting and filling apparatus can allow the postures of the materials to be stabilized. Therefore, the counting and filling apparatus can prevent falling of the materials to be counted during transport and perform accurate visual inspection by shooting the materials to be counted in the transport route.
The method for counting and filling aligns the materials to be counted by the guide route of the regulating unit while changing the postures of the materials to be counted which cannot pass thorough the guide route, by applying the frictional force for the materials which are inputted into the hopper by the posture changing unit, in the direction different from the falling direction of the materials which fall by their own weight from the supply port of the hopper. Further, the method for counting and filling supports the materials to be counted in the spiral grooves of the spiral groove rod in the guide route while allowing the material to wait temporarily in the guide route in the adjusting unit (in the range of the partition frame portion by the shield-rotating plate provided on the tip end side of the rotating roller). Therefore, since the method for counting and filling is hardly influenced by the shape of the materials to be counted and can smoothly deliver the materials to be counted from the delivery mechanism to the support space region between the spiral grooves of the spiral groove rod and the guide rod, thereby quickly transporting, counting, and filling a large amount of materials to be counted.
Hereinafter, a method and apparatus for counting and filling will be described with reference to drawings. Note that, in each drawing, a configuration in which capsule-type tablets as an example of materials to be counted are counted by a counting and filling apparatus will be described. As an example, the counting and filling apparatus will be described as a configuration in which five transport mechanisms including guide rods provided in parallel to each other on the left and right of a central spiral groove rod are disposed in parallel to one another. Further, a relationship between a size of the tablet to be used and that of each component of the counting and filling apparatus, or positions of the tablets with respect to each component of the counting and filling apparatus are appropriately deformed or schematically shown in the drawings in some cases.
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The counting and filling apparatus 1, in this case, uses a transport conveyor 50 for continuously transporting the containers V in which the tablets W transported by the transport mechanism 4 and counted by the counting unit 14 are filled. Further, the counting and filling apparatus 1 includes a first support holder 31 and a second support holder 32 for holding a spiral groove rod 5, guide rods 6, 6, and the like of the transport mechanism 4, a base 100 for supporting the first support holder 31 and the second support holder 32, and a holder moving mechanism 40 for moving the second support holder 32 close to or away from the first support holder 31 in order to adjust intervals of the guide rods 6, 6 with respect to the spiral groove rod 5. Note that, in the counting and filling apparatus 1, a guide route GR (see
A capsule is a specific example of the material to be counted as the tablet W which is an object to be counted by the counting and filling apparatus 1, however, the tablets to be counted such as a tablet of rugby ball shape, a round tablet, and a tablet of triangular rice ball shape, which have a curved portion in the external shape, are the objects. The material to be counted as the tablet W is, as areas commonly used, not specifically limited to areas such as medicine, supplement, and confectionary. If the tablet W has a curved portion in the external shape, in particular, a disc shape, a lens shape, a rugby ball shape, an annular shape like a troche, or a capsule shape, the tablet W can be rotated when transported, and can be stably transported at a high speed. Further, the tablet W, which is coated on the surface as a sugar-coated tablet or is not coated as a plain tablet, can be handled. The tablet W of capsule is transported in a state of rotating about a long axis as the long axis is in a horizontal direction.
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The driving force transmission unit 141 transmits the driving force to the linear moving unit 142 by the holder driving source 41 being operated, a rotation speed of the driving force being reduced by the transmission direction changing portion 43, the direction of the driving force being changed to the horizontal direction from the vertical direction by the transmission direction changing portion 43, and the rotating shaft 44 and the plural transmission gears 45 being rotated. The linear moving unit 142 has a driven gear 46 meshing with the transmission gear 45, a rotating shaft 47 to which the driven gear 46 is secured and which is provided in the base end support holder 32B rotatably via a bearing, nut portions 47c, 47d which support and mesh with threaded portions 47a, 47b formed on both ends of the rotating shaft 47, and rotating shaft guides 48, 49 (see
The linear moving unit 142 can move the base end support holders 32B, 32B along the holder guide plate 102 and the rotating shaft guides 48, 49, because the rotating shaft 47 is rotated together with the driven gear 46 driven by the rotation of the transmission gear 45, and the threaded portions 47a, 47b of the rotating shaft 47 are formed to have threads opposite to each other. Note that, the tip end holder moving mechanism 40A and the base end holder moving mechanism 40B can be operated synchronously or operated separately. The tip end holder moving mechanism 40A and the base end holder moving mechanism 40B can be operated separately in a range of tolerance of a supporting component part.
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Further, the frame-front side wall 19 of the partition frame portion 9 is formed with arc-shaped notch portions 19a, 19a, and is configured to cover the notch portions 19a, 19a with the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 to be described later. The shield-rotating plates 112, 112 to be described later is, for example, formed of a silicone resin and is provided so as not to damage the tablets W by momentum of the tablets W, which are conveyed in a state of overlapping on the spiral groove rod 5 and come into contact with the shield-rotating plates 112, 112. If the tablets W are not supported in the spiral grooves 5a, for example, in a state where the tablets W overlap at positions on the spiral groove rod 5 (not in the spiral grooves 5a), the tablets W cannot pass through the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 and are temporarily held in positions along the guide route GR in a range of the partition frame portion 9. Note that, a state in which the tablets W, which could not be delivered to the spiral grooves 5a of the spiral groove rod 5 via the delivery mechanism 30 from the supply port 2d, exist in at least one of the guide route GR on the lower side of the range of the partition frame portion 9 and a range surrounded by the frame-left and right side walls and the frame-front side wall 19 in the partition frame portion 9, is in some cases referred to as a storage, a hold, a reserve, or a wait, however, any word is used as a same meaning. Further, the range of the partition frame portion 9 means both or at least one of the guide route GR on the lower side of the range surrounded by the partition frame portion 9 and the range surrounded by the frame-left and right side walls and the frame-front side wall 19 in the partition frame portion 9.
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Therefore, only the tablets W which are supported in the spiral grooves 5a are delivered by the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5 through the outside of the shield-rotating plate 112, 112, from the guide route GR at the position where the spiral groove rod 5 and the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a are opposed to each other, to the transport route Sr at the position where the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6 are opposed to each other. The tablets W, which come into contact with the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 by being transported overlapped in the guide route GR, are changed the postures thereof by being temporarily moved along the rotation direction by the rotation of the shield-rotating plates 112, 112. In particular, when the tablet W has a laterally long shape such as a rugby ball type and a capsule type having a large ratio of horizontal to vertical, a state in which the tablet W enters between the tablets W supported in the spiral grooves 5a can be eliminated. Then, the tablet W is temporarily stored in the range of the partition frame portion 9 while the posture thereof is being changed by the rotating rollers 3a, 3a and the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, and waits for a vacant spiral groove 5a. The tablet W waiting in the range of the partition frame portion 9 is changed the posture thereof by the rotation of the rotating rollers 3a, 3a and the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, and thus the tablet W is in a state of being aligned in the guide route GR, and becomes easy to enter the vacant spiral groove 5a.
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The central guide block 11a is provided so that the lower portion of a concave curved surface is opposed to the spiral groove rod 5, and the flat side surfaces are opposed to the rotating rollers 3a, 3a. Further, the lower portion of the central guide block 11a is disposed to be in a state of being closer to the spiral groove rod 5 than the thickness of the tablet W. The central guide block 11a is provided such that the base end side in the longitudinal direction thereof is supported by the central block support portion 11b. The central block support portion 11b supporting the central guide block 11a is attached to the outside of the base end rotation support holder 31B. Since the central guide block 11a is close to the spiral guide rod 5, the central guide portion 11 does not allow the tablets W to enter between the central guide block 11a and the spiral guide rod 5 in the guide route GR, and prevents the tablets W from being bridged to each other.
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The lateral guide block 12a is disposed at a position of being opposed just below the rotating roller (posture changing unit) 3a and being opposed to the base end side of the spiral groove rod 5. As shown in
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Further, the guide space GS is set to be narrower than the interval of the guide route GR. At the position of the guide space GS, the tablets W are aligned in a row along the spiral groove rod between the spiral groove rod 5 and the block side surface 12b. Further, on the tablets W aligned in a row in the guide space GS, other tablets W are overlapped in a state of being aligned along the guide route GR. Then, since the spiral groove rod 5 rotates, the tablets W are sent to the transport route Sr in which the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rod 6 are opposed to each other, from the position of the guide space GS in which the spiral groove rod 5 and the block side surface 12b are opposed to each other. At this time, the tablets W overlapping between the spiral grooves 5a, 5a of the spiral groove rod 5 are sent by the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5 and enter the vacant spiral grooves 5a to be supported therein, or are sent as they are, to come into contact with the frame-front side wall 19 or the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, and forced to temporarily wait in the range of the partition frame portion 9. On the other hand, the tablets W sent to the transport route Sr are sent to the transport end while being supported in a support space region Ts (see
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Note that, at least one of the connecting portion 5c and the connection-rotating portion 5d, or at least one of a tip end of the thin shaft portion 5b and the connection-rotating portion 5d, is configured to be detachable by a connection structure such as a keyway, and urged to one side or in the center by an elastic member such as a helical spring. Therefore, by disconnecting the connection structure of the keyway or the like and pressing the spiral groove rod 5 against an urging force of the elastic member, the spiral groove rod 5 can be removed from the connection-rotating portion 5d.
The transport drive unit 5G for rotating the spiral groove rod 5 includes the transport drive motor 5f such as a servomotor, and the shaft connecting portion 5e connected to a rotating shaft of the transport drive motor 5f, and is supported by the base end rotation support holder 31B of the first support holder 31 via a rotating shaft connected to the shaft connecting portion 5e. Further, the rotating shaft connected to the shaft connecting portion 5e is connected to the connection-rotating portion 5d to transmit a driving force from the transport drive motor 5f, and rotates the spiral groove rod 5 at a predetermined speed by the transport drive motor 5f. The transport drive motor 5f is not limited thereto, as long as it can rotate the spiral groove rod 5 via the shaft connecting portion 5e and the connection-rotating portion 5d.
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Further, when the spiral groove 5a is changed in accordance with the type of the tablet W to be handled, the groove pitch, groove shape, and groove depth of the spiral groove 5a are changed by changing the spiral groove rod 5. Then, the interval adjustment of a space between the spiral groove 5a and the guide rod 6 (and the lateral guide block 12a) is performed by the holder moving mechanism 40. Note that the spiral grooves 5a are formed with the same groove pitch, but the groove pitch may be configured to be gradually enlarged.
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A surface of the guide portion 6a is preferably formed in a state of being polished such that the friction with the tablet W to be transported is small. Further, the guide portion 6a may be formed such that the friction with the tablet W is small by covering the surface thereof with a coating film such as fluorine. Although a resin rod is used here as the guide rod 6, however, a metal rod may be used. The guide-thin shaft portion 6b is formed at a position corresponding to the thin shaft portion 5b of the spiral groove rod 5, and is formed to have a diameter so that the tablet W that has been transported can fall through between the thin shaft portion 5b and the guide-thin shaft portion 6b.
Here, the outer diameter of the spiral groove rod 5 and the diameter of the guide rod 6 are formed in the same size, and the diameter of the thin shaft portion 5b of the spiral groove rod 5 and the diameter of the guide-thin shaft portion 6b of the guide rod 6 are also formed in the same size. Further, the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rod 6 are arranged to be in the same position in the height direction, and the interval therebetween is set such that the tablet W located in the spiral groove 5a of the spiral groove rod 5 does not fall through the interval. A space region between the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rod 6 when the interval therebetween is set as described above is referred to as the support space region Ts. In other words, the support space region Ts is set to the interval in which the tablet W can be supported between the spiral groove 5a of the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide portion 6a of the guide rod 6. Further, the support space region Ts is set to the interval in which it guides the tablet W along the rotating spiral groove 5a of the spiral groove rod 5 and can transport the tablet W along the transport route Sr to the transport end while the tablet W itself is rotating.
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Further, the first support holder 31 is provided at a position adjacent to the second support holder 32. Then, at the positions adjacent to the left and right of the tip end rotation support holder 31A of the first support holder 31, the tip end support holders 32A, 32A of the second support holder 32 are provided, and at the positions adjacent to the left and right of the base end rotation support holder 31B of the first support holder 31, the base end support holders 32B, 32B of the second support holder 32 are provided. Note that, on the base 100, the first support holder 31 and the second support holder 32 are provided on the holder guide plate 102 mounted on the mounting frame 101.
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Further, the rotating shaft guides 48, 49 (see
Here, the tip end support holder 32A and the base end support holder 32B of the second support holder 32 are, at the lower ends thereof, respectively provided with engaging portions 32c so as to be movable along a guide groove 102a provided in the holder guide plate 102. Therefore, the tip end support holder 32A and the base end support holder 32B are guided by the guide groove 102 and the rotating shaft guides 48, 49, and slide (move) along the holder guide plate 102. Further, the base end rotation support holder 31B (see
Since the transport mechanism 4 includes the configuration as described above, it is possible to input the tablets W from the hopper 2 into where the transport mechanism 4 is ready for transport by rotating the spiral groove rod 5 by the transport drive unit 5G, and deliver the tablet W via the delivery mechanism 30 (from the guide route GR) to the support space region Ts in the transport route Sr, and then transport the tablet W to the transport end. Then, as shown in
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Further, when detecting the tablets W, the counting unit 14 sets a first reference for counting the tablet W on the basis of an amount of light blocked in a light path, and counts the tablet W if the amount of light blocked reaches the reference. Here, the counting unit 14 sets two or more comparison values of the amount of light blocked or time of light blocked, so that the comparison value can be reduced stepwise from the above-mentioned reference when the light receiving unit receives the light.
Therefore, if the amount of light blocked or time of light blocked reaches the first reference, the tablet W passing through the counting unit 14 is counted as a tablet W, and if the amount of light blocked or time of light blocked reaches the second reference, the tablet W passing through the counting unit 14 is not counted as a tablet W. Note that, as shown in
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The container V is disposed below the counting path 15, and is for storing a predetermined number of tablets W. The shape, size, material, color, and the like of the container V are not particularly limited. Note that, a mounting base on which the container V is mounted may be configured such that an operator replaces the container V manually, or may be, as shown in
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The filling quantity and reference quantity inputted from the input unit 20a are outputted to the memory unit 20b. Note that, the reset signal to be described later, which is inputted to the input unit 20a, is outputted to the reset unit 20c. Further, the instruction for moving the second support holder 32, which is inputted to the input unit 20a, is outputted to the drive control unit 20f. The memory unit 20b is a common memory unit such as a hard disk, an optical disk, a memory. The memory unit 20b stores the filling quantity, the reference quantity, and the like, which are inputted from the input unit 20a.
The reset unit 20c receives the reset signal from the input unit 20a or a container sensor Vs, and sends a reset control signal to the comparison unit 20e, then resets the quantity counted by the counting unit 14 in the comparison unit 20e. When the reset unit 20c receives the reset signal indicating that the container V is replaced from the container sensor Vs, or receives the reset signal which is inputted via the input unit 20a by the operator, the reset unit 20c outputs the reset control signal for resetting the comparison unit 20e. In other words, when the reset control signal is outputted to the comparison unit 20e from the reset unit 20c, the comparison unit 20e resets the quantity of the counted tablets from the counting unit 14.
The image processing unit 20d is for processing the image inputted from the image capturing unit 22, and for example, extracts sampling image data sampled from captured images, or calculates brightness value data from the image, and sends the extracted sampling image data or the calculated brightness value data to the comparison unit 20e. The image processing unit 20d is not limited thereto, as long as it is configured to process the images by a well-known image processing means and compare the images with the reference data or reference values.
The comparison unit 20e receives the reset control signal from the reset unit 20c, or data from the counting unit 14, data from the image processing unit 20d, and compares the received data with each reference data stored in the memory unit 20b, and then controls the drive control unit 20f and resets numeric values of the counting unit 14. When the comparison unit 20e compares the predetermined filling quantity with the quantity of the tablets W currently counted by the counting unit 14, and they are equal to each other, the comparison unit 20e outputs a first control signal to the drive control unit 20f. Further, when the comparison unit 20e compares the reference quantity stored in the memory unit 20b with the quantity of the tablets W currently counted by the counting unit 14, and they are equal to each other, the comparison unit 20e outputs a second control signal to the drive control unit 20f. Furthermore, the comparison unit 20e resets quantity values sent from the counting unit 14 by the reset control signal from the reset unit 20c, and outputs a third control signal to the drive control unit 20f.
Further, when the comparison unit 20e receives the data from the image processing unit 20d, and compares the data with a reference image or a reference value and determines that the tablet W has a defect, the comparison unit 20e outputs a fourth control signal indicating the defect to the drive control unit 20f. When the comparison unit 20e determines that the tablet W has the defect, the comparison unit 20e subtracts one from count data sent from the counting unit 14, and then compares the subtracted data with the filling quantity or the reference quantity. By subtracting the number of the defective tablets W, the comparison unit 20e accurately calculates the number of the tablets W which are currently filled into the container V.
The drive control unit 20f controls the transport drive motor 5f of the transport mechanism 4, the roller drive motor 3c of the rotating roller 3a, the path switching flap 16, and the holder driving source 41 (holder moving mechanism 40) by the input signal or each control signal sent from the comparison unit 20e. When the drive control unit 20f is inputted the second control signal from the comparison unit 20e, the drive control unit 20f sends the control signal to the transport drive motor 5f, and controls the rotational speed of the spiral groove rod 5 to be lower than the predetermined rotational speed. When the predetermined rotational speed is, for example, 1000 rotation/min, the rotational speed is controlled to be 100 to 500 rotation/min.
Further, when the drive control unit 20f is inputted the first control signal from the comparison unit 20e, the drive control unit 20f sends the control signal to the transport drive motor 5f, and temporarily stops the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5. At this time, since the tablets W reaches the predetermined quantity, the container V is replaced by a new container V. Further, when the drive control unit 20f receives the third control signal from the comparison unit 20e, it outputs the control signal for controlling the transport drive motor 5f so that the rotational speed of the spiral groove rod 5 which has been temporarily stopped becomes the predetermined rotational speed. When the drive control unit 20f receives the fourth control signal from the comparison unit 20e, it controls the rotational speed for the transport by the transport drive motor 5f to be smaller than the predetermined rotational speed, and outputs the control signal so as to send the defective tablet W to the defective product discharge path 18 by controlling the path switching flap 16 to be switched when the identified tablet W falls. Note that, immediately after the defective tablet W is discharged, the drive control unit 20f switches the path switching flap 16 to the non-defective product path 17 of the counting path 15, and outputs the control signal so that the rotational speed of the transport drive motor 5f becomes the predetermined rotational speed for the transport. Further, the drive control unit 20f controls the holder moving mechanism 40 by use of the signal inputted from the touch panel 21 via the input unit 20a.
With the above configuration, the control unit 20 effectively performs the filling operation of filling the tablets W into the container V by controlling the transport mechanism 4. Here, as shown in
Next, the operation of the counting and filling apparatus 1 will be described with reference to
As shown in
As shown in
Therefore, when it is a proper posture that the longitudinal axis of the tablet W is horizontally supported in the spiral groove 5a, even if a tablet W has a posture where the longitudinal axis thereof is in the vertical direction and is fitted into between the tablets W supported in the spiral grooves 5a, the tablet W comes into contact with the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, and thus the tablet W can take a proper posture by changing the posture thereof by the rotation of the shield-rotating plates 112, 112. As described above, the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 come into contact with the tablet W sent by the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5 without being supported in the spiral groove 5a, and moves the tablet W in the rotation direction thereof to change the posture of the tablet W, and thus the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 can temporarily store (allow to wait) the tablet W not supported in the spiral groove 5a in the range of the partition frame portion 9 (in the range to the upper end of the partition frame portion 9 from above the spiral groove rod 5 below the partition frame portion 9).
When the spiral groove 5a is sent in a vacant state because of the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5, the tablet W waiting in the range of the partition frame portion 9 is fitted and supported in the vacant spiral groove rod 5a, and sent out to the transport route Sr through under the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 (pre-delivery step). Incidentally, the tablet W stored in the range of the partition frame portion 9 is waiting in the guide route GR at the position adjacent to the supply port 2d. In other words, the tablet W is waiting in an aligned state or while being changed the posture thereof, in a space between the central guide block 11a and the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, the rotating rollers 3a, 3a, and in a space between the spiral groove 5 and the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a opposed to the spiral groove 5. Therefore, if the spiral groove 5a is in a vacant state, the tablet W smoothly enters the vacant spiral groove 5a and is supported in the spiral groove 5a in the range of the partition frame portion 9. The tablet W sent out to the transport route Sr (see
Here, as shown in
As shown in
Note that, when the transport operation of the transport mechanism 4 is temporarily stopped, since almost all of the tablets W transported by the transport mechanism 4 are positioned in the spiral grooves 5a, the tablets W are not sent out due to inertia when the transport operation is stopped. When the container V is replaced with an empty one in the state where the transport of the tablet W is stopped, a signal is sent from the container sensor Vs, and a signal is sent again from the control unit 20 to the transport drive motor 5f, and then the transport operation of the tablet W is restarted.
Since the counting and filling apparatus 1 operates as described above, it can accurately count and fill the tablets W into the container V at a high speed. Further, when the container V is replaced, even if the transport operation in the transport mechanism 4 is stopped, the tablet W is in a state of being disposed and supported in the support space region Ts, and thus the tablet W hardly moves due to inertia in the transport direction, even if the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5 is stopped. Therefore, the counting and filling apparatus 1 performs counting of the tablets W in almost perfect condition. Further, even if there is a certain size fragment of the tablet W, since a space between the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6 is large in the transport route Sr, the counting and filling apparatus 1 can prevent the fragment from falling from the transport route Sr during transport to be filled into the container V, as well as can eliminate the fragment via the path switching flap 16 by the image capturing unit 22.
Further, in the counting and filling apparatus 1, the rotational speed of the spiral groove rod 5 of the transport mechanism 4 is constant, for example, 1000 rotation/min, and thus the count timing of the tablets W sent from each transport route Sr is constant, however, the counting and filling apparatus 1 may be, for example, configured to fill the tablets W into one container V from a plurality of spiral groove rods 5. As an example, the counting and filling apparatus 1 may vary a rotational speed of a spiral groove rod 5 from those of other four spiral groove rods 5. The counting and filling apparatus 1 may, in this case, count the tablets W and fill them into one container V through all five spiral groove rods 5.
Specifically, if the predetermined quantity is, for example, 1000 tablets, the counting and filling apparatus 1 operates all five spiral groove rods 5 until the quantity of the tablets W reaches 990 tablets, and stops four spiral groove rods 5 which have been rotating at a high speed by a signal from the control unit 20 when the 990 tablets are counted by the counting unit 14. Then, by performing the filling of 10 tablets remaining until 1000 tablets by a spiral groove rod 5 which is operating at low rotational speed, it is possible to reliably count the tablets W and fill them into the container V without miscounting the quantity. As described above, by varying the rotational speed of the spiral groove rod 5, the counting and filling apparatus 1 has an advantage capable of performing the operation in accordance with the quantity to be filled into the container V. Note that, as other examples of different configurations, the counting and filling apparatus 1 may be configured to rotate all five spiral groove rods 5 at a high speed and vary all the five to a low speed when the quantity reaches the reference quantity, or may be configured in different ways.
Further, when the type of the tablet W is changed, the counting and filling apparatus 1 adjusts the interval between the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6, and the interval between the spiral groove rod 5 and the lateral guide block 12a, 12a. The counting and filling apparatus 1 adjusts the intervals by the holder moving mechanism 40 via the control unit 20 by the input of the touch panel 21. The holder moving mechanism 40 drives the holder driving source 41, and thus rotates the coupling portion 42, the transmission direction changing portion 43, and the rotating shaft 44, and rotates the driven gear 46 by the rotation of the transmission gear 45. When the rotating shaft 47 rotates by the rotation of the driven gear 46, in the second support holder 32, the tip end support holder 32A and the base end support holder 32B move along the rotating shaft guides 48, 49 and the holder guide plate 102 (refer to arrows in
The guide rods 6, 6 supported by the second support holder 32 via the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a can be adjusted the intervals between the spiral groove rod 5 and themselves by a rotation number transmitted from the holder driving source 41 of the holder moving mechanism 40. The intervals between the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6, or the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a are preferably set in advance. In particular, the sizes and shapes of the tablets W are listed in a display screen of the touch panel 21, and by touching a position of an objective in the list, an output rotation number of the holder driving source 41 of the holder moving mechanism 40 is set and outputted, and thus the intervals are adjusted. Note that, as shown by imaginary lines in
As described above, since the counting and filling apparatus 1 delivers the tablet W through the delivery mechanism 30 to the transport mechanism 4 formed of the spiral groove guide 5 and the guide rods 6, 6, and transports the tablet W, the counting and filling apparatus 1 can count a number of tablets W at a high speed, and can accurately fill only non-defective tablets into the container. Further, since the counting and filling apparatus 1 uses the spiral groove rod 5 which is different from a transport by a conventional vibration mechanism, powders of the tablet W hardly occur, and a portion contacting the tablet W in the transport route is small, and thus cleaning or the like is facilitated. Further, since the counting and filling apparatus 1 has the delivery mechanism 30 as compared to a conventional apparatus including a spiral groove rod, the counting and filling apparatus 1 can smoothly deliver the tablets W to the transport mechanism 4, and thus can perform the steps from the input step until the filling step at higher speed. Furthermore, even if the tablets W has an elongated capsule shape or a rugby ball shape, since the rotating rollers 3a, 3a are provided with the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, the counting and filling apparatus 1 can change the posture of the tablet W and smoothly deliver them to the transport mechanism 4.
Note that, the counting and filling apparatus 1 may form the transport route Sr by using only one side guide rod 6 in the transport mechanism 4. Further, the counting and filling apparatus 1 has a capability equivalent to the conventional apparatus by setting the rotational speed of the spiral groove rod 5 to 300 rotation/min, and the capability difference from the conventional apparatus is increased each time adding a transport route Sr. Further, since the counting and filling apparatus 1 can set the rotational speed of the spiral groove rod 5 to 500 to 1500 rotation/min and transport the tablets, it has the filling speed more than or equal to several times of the conventional apparatus.
The counting and filling apparatus 1 has been described as an example that the spiral groove rod 5 is rotated at a speed slower than the predetermined rotation speed when the quantity reaches the reference quantity, and the rotation of the spiral groove rod 5 is stopped when the quantity reaches the filling quantity, however, the counting and filling apparatus 1 may be operated by setting only the filling quantity without setting the reference quantity as a matter of course. Further, although the guide rods 6, 6 have been described in a fixed state, they may be configured to rotate. Note that, since the guide rods 6, 6 serve for guiding the tablet W, and they can only guide the tablet W in a state of slipping against the tablet W, the rotation direction does not matter if they rotate. Further, the materials of the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6 may be metal, resin, or the like, and not particularly limited thereto.
As shown in
Note that, if the spiral groove 5a is formed inclined in an upper right direction to the transport direction (see
Further, as shown in
Further, if the delivery mechanism 30, 30B already described above can align the tablets W from the hopper 2 and deliver them to the base end side of the transport mechanism 4, the delivery mechanism 30, 30B may be configured to include protrusions or concave portions on the circumferential surface of the rotating roller 3a, 3a. Further, the vertical positional relationship between the rotating roller 3a and the lateral guide portion 12 has been described that they are provided to have central axes aligned in the vertical direction, however, their diameter may be changed or their placements may be changed such that the central axes thereof aligned in the vertical direction are shifted to the left or right, as long as the guide route GR can be formed. Further, the shape of the central guide block 11a of the regulating unit 13 is not limited thereto, as long as it can distribute the tablets W to the left and right, and it may be configured to lead the tablets W either to the left or right. Furthermore, in the counting and filling apparatus 1, the rotating rollers 3a, 3a, the central guide block 11a, and the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a (guide pieces 120, 120) have been described as the same length, however, they need not to be the same length, as long as their portions opposed to each other are just below the partition frame portion 9 and the supply port 2d.
Further, as shown in
Note that, even if the type of the material to be counted such as the tablet W which can be handled by the counting and filling apparatus 1 is, for example, an annular tablet W1, a disk-shaped tablet W2, or a tablet W3 of triangular rice ball shape, they can be transported while being rotated as shown by arrows in
Further, as shown in
The route-parallel wall surfaces 203, 204 are disposed in parallel to each other below the guide rods 6, 6 and the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a, and the upper end thereof is provided so as to be close to the guide rod 6 and the lateral guide block 12a. The route-parallel wall surfaces 203, 204 are formed in a predetermined thickness in this case, and each of them is formed so as to face each other just below the guide rod 6 and the lateral guide block 12a. The route-cross wall surface 205 is disposed below the spiral groove rod 5 or below the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6, and the upper end surface thereof is provided so as to be close to the spiral groove rod 5 or the spiral groove rod 5 and the guide rods 6, 6. The route-cross wall surface 205 is formed so as to be in a predetermined constant thickness in this case, and is formed integrally and continuously to one end portions of the route-parallel wall surfaces 203, 204.
The route-cross wall surface 206 is disposed below the spiral groove rod 5 or below the spiral groove rod 5 and the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a, and the upper end surface thereof is provided so as to be close to the spiral groove rod 5 or the spiral groove rod 5 and the lateral guide blocks 12a, 12a. The inner peripheral side of the route-cross wall surface 206 is formed along an arc shape of the suction connection opening 202 in this case, and the route-cross wall surface 206 is formed integrally and continuously to the other end portions of the route-parallel wall surfaces 203, 204. The route-bottom surface 207 is for sending the abrasion powders, damaged pieces, or the like of the tablet W to be transported, to the suction connection opening 202. The route-bottom surface 207 is formed so as to be inclined toward the suction connection opening 202 in this case. Further, on the route-cross wall surface 206 side of the route-bottom surface 207, the suction connection opening 202 is formed therethrough in a circular shape.
The dust collecting suction mechanism Bk is for sucking, collecting, and removing the abrasion powders or the like generated from the tablet W. The dust collecting suction mechanism Bk is not limited thereto, as long as it includes a dust collecting mechanism and a suction pump used when the tablet W is transported. The dust collecting suction mechanism Bk is allowed to face the suction connection opening 202 of the suction partition housing 201 by connecting a tip end of a suction hose Bp to a connecting portion formed in the base 100.
When performing suction operation via the region partition portion 200 by the dust collecting suction mechanism Bk, the atmosphere in the region partition portion 200 is sucked, and if the abrasion powders are generated from the tablet W in accordance with the transport, the abrasion powders are received by the route-bottom surface 207 of the suction partition housing 201 of the region partition portion 200, and moved by suction along the route-bottom surface 207, and then collected from the suction connection opening 202 via the suction hose Bp by the dust collecting suction mechanism Bk (or collected directly from the suction connection opening 202 via the suction hose Bp) (suction step). Further, when the dust collecting suction mechanism Bk performs the suction operation, the tablet W being transported is always urged downward (to the suction direction). Therefore, in the counting and filling apparatus 1, the tablet W is sent in a state of close contact with the spiral groove 5a of the spiral groove rod 5 in the transport route Sr or the guide route GR, and thus the transport posture of the tablet W is stabilized. Since the transport posture of the tablet W is stabilized, if the visual inspection is performed in the transport route, the counting and filling apparatus 1 can improve the accuracy of the inspection.
The counting and filling apparatus 1 described above is not limited to the configuration described above, as long as the regulating unit 13 and the posture changing unit 3 of the delivery mechanism 30 can align the materials to be counted (tablets W) by changing the posture thereof, and deliver them to the transport mechanism 4. Further, the configuration of the guide route GR formed by the regulating unit 13 is not limited thereto, as long as the guide route GR can align the materials to be counted and lead or guide them to the spiral groove 5a. Furthermore, the falling of the tablets W means that the materials to be counted fall, or proceed, or move by their own weight toward the delivery mechanism 30 from the supply port 2d, and when the materials to be counted fall, they may be either in a single state or an overlapped state. Further, the second holder 32 may be configured without providing the guide groove 102a and the engaging portion 32c shown in
The guide route GR has been described to be configured to have a constant interval between a lateral plane of the central guide block 11a and a lateral plane formed by the rotating roller 3a and the space guide protrusion 12c, however, the lateral plane of the central guide block 11a may be configured to be inclined toward the outer peripheral surface of the spiral groove rod 5 (refer to the spacer SP in
Further, the counting and filling apparatus 1 has been described to be configured to form the shield-rotating plates 112, 112 as the adjusting unit Sm along the frame-front side wall 19, however, it may be configured as shown in
Further, the counting and filling apparatus 1 may be configured to be provided with an inclined plate 300 shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The engaging mounting portion 303 is for mounting the inclined plate 300 detachably in the partition frame portion 9. Here, the engaging mounting portion 303 is formed such that the bottom surface of the inclined plate 300 is spaced apart from the rotating rollers 3a, 3a, and mounted in engagement with the central guide block 11a. As an example, the engaging mounting portion 303 is formed with an engaging concave portion engaged with a circular portion of the central guide block 11a, and is formed such that facing portions 304, 304 facing the rotating rollers 3a, 3a are spaced apart from the rotating rollers 3a, 3a. As an example, since the inclined plate 300 is formed in a size such that the side surfaces thereof come into contact with the frame-left and right side walls of the partition frame portion 9, the inclined plate 300 can be stably placed by mounting the engaging mounting portion 303 so as to be engaged with the central guide block 11a.
The above-described inclined plate 300 has the following functions. That is, when the tablets W are allowed to wait in the partition frame portion 9 by the frame-front side wall 19 or the shield-rotating plates 112, 112, the inclined plate 300 accumulates the tablets W between the rising plate 301 and the frame-front side wall 19 by the rising plate 301. When the accumulated tablets W ride on the inclined surface 302 beyond the height of the rising plate 301, the tablets W move by their own weight on the inclined surface 302, and thus the inclined plate 300 move the tablets W to the supply port 2d side. By moving the tablet W to a position close to the supply port 2d by the inclined plate 300, the tablet W can be easily housed in a vacant spiral groove 5a of the guide route GR.
As described above, since the inclined plate 300 can sequentially move the tablets W, which wait at the side of the frame-front side wall 19 of the partition frame portion 9, toward the supply port 2d side by use of the inclined surface 302, by providing the inclined plate 300 in the partition frame portion 9 as an intra-frame moving mechanism of the tablet W, the possibility of reducing the waiting time of the tablet W waiting in the partition frame portion 9 is increased. Note that, the inclined plate 300 can be secured to the central guide block 11a by engaging the engaging mounting portion 303 located in the center of the lower surface thereof with the central guide block 11a, and thus the inclined plate 300 can be also placed in a state of non-contact with the frame-left and right side walls. Further, when the inclined plate 300 is in the state of non-contact with the frame-left and right side walls, the inclined plate 300 may be in a state where the tablet W cannot enter the space therebetween.
Further, by preparing the inclined plates 300 having different angles in advance and using them switchably in accordance with the shape, size, or the like of the tablet W, the inclined plates 300 can move the tablet W in the partition frame portion 9 in accordance with the outer shape of the tablet W. Further, the inclined plate 300 has been described to be configured such that the tablets W move by their own weight, however, an unillustrated belt conveyor may be provided as the intra-frame moving mechanism in the partition frame portion 9 in the same positional relationship as the inclined plate 300, and a drive motor for the belt conveyor may be configured to be provided through either of the frame-left and right side walls of the partition frame portion 9.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-095838 | Apr 2013 | JP | national |
| 2014-032965 | Feb 2014 | JP | national |
