WO2018096860A1 - Transport device, print device, and transport method - Google Patents

Abstract

A transport device comprises a second transport conveyor (33) and a discharge conveyor (34). In the second transport conveyor (33), a transport belt (33C) is suspended across horizontally disposed pulleys (33A, 33B). The outer surface of the transport belt (33C) is provided with a plurality of holding units. When the holding unit moves to a transfer position, a tablet held by the holding unit is separated by blowing air from the holding unit with a blow mechanism (33D). The transfer position is a position on the outer circumferential face of the pulley (33A) above the vertical down direction and below the horizontal direction passing through the center point of the pulley (33A). The discharge conveyor (34) is disposed below the second transport conveyor (33) and transports the tablets separated from the holding unit.

Description

Conveying apparatus, printing apparatus, and conveying method

The present invention relates to a transport device for transporting granular materials such as tablets or tablet confectionery, and a printing apparatus and transport method for printing on the surface of the granular material transported by the transport device.

Letters, codes, marks, illustrations, and the like may be printed on the surface of pharmaceutical tablets or tablet confectionery (hereinafter referred to as “granular material”) using an inkjet printer. The printing apparatus performs a printing process by ejecting ink from the inkjet head while conveying the granular material by the conveyance mechanism. Such a printing apparatus is described in Patent Document 1, for example.

The printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 conveys tablets by suction and holding them in suction holes provided in the transport drum and the transport belt by applying a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure by a suction mechanism. Then, ink is ejected from the inkjet head to the tablets to be transported, and printing processing is performed on the tablets.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-223323

In the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the tablet is pulled away from the transport drum or the transport belt by blowing pressurized air to the tablet sucked and held in the suction hole by a blow mechanism. At this time, if there is no adsorption mechanism on the side where the tablets are delivered from the conveyance drum or the conveyance belt, the tablets delivered to the conveyance drum or the like may be further blown away by air from the blow mechanism. In this case, since the blown tablet is rubbed against another tablet, there is a possibility that the printed ink is transferred between the tablets.

This invention is made in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the conveying apparatus which suppresses the blow-off of the granular material at the time of conveyance, a printing apparatus provided with the same, and a conveying method.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention of the present application is a conveying device that conveys a granular material, and is arranged in a ring shape between a first pulley and a second pulley that are horizontally arranged, and the first pulley and the second pulley. A conveyor belt that is stretched over, and a plurality of holding portions that are provided on the outer surface of the conveyor belt to hold the granular material, and rotate at least one of the first pulley and the second pulley. Then, air is ejected from the first conveyance unit that moves the conveyance belt and the holding unit that has moved to the delivery position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley, and the particulate matter held by the holding unit is pulled away from the holding unit. A jetting section, and a second transport section that transports the granular material that is disposed below the first transport section and is separated from the holding section, and the delivery position is on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley, Vertically downward In the upper side of the, and, the position of the lower side of the horizontal direction passing through the center point of the first pulley.

2nd invention of this application is the conveying apparatus of 1st invention, Comprising: These holding | maintenance parts are arrange | positioned at intervals in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the said conveyance belt, and the said space | interval is the said delivery position. And a plurality of blown air prevention units that block air ejected from the jet part, and the particulate matter that is separated from the holding part passes between each of the plurality of blown air prevention parts. Is possible.

3rd invention of this application is a conveying apparatus of 2nd invention, Comprising: These air prevention parts are strip | belt-shaped, and are in the position lower than the height of the said granular material in the conveyance attitude | position in the said 2nd conveyance part. , Provided along the transport direction of the second transport unit.

4th invention of this application is the conveying apparatus in any one of 1st invention from 3rd invention, Comprising: The said holding | maintenance part is a recessed part provided in the outer peripheral surface of the said conveying belt.

The fifth invention of the present application is any one of the conveying devices from the first invention to the fourth invention, wherein the granular material is a tablet.

6th invention of this application is printing apparatus, Comprising: The conveying apparatus in any one of 1st invention to 5th invention, and the printing which discharges an ink drop with respect to the surface of the said granular material conveyed by the said conveying apparatus A part.

A seventh invention of the present application is a conveying method for conveying a granular material, and a) at least one of a first pulley and a second pulley arranged horizontally is rotated to annularly form the first pulley and the second pulley. And b) holding the granular material by a plurality of holding portions provided on the outer surface of the conveyor belt, and c) moving to a delivery position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley. Air is ejected from the holding unit, and the particulate matter held by the holding unit is separated from the holding unit, and d) is separated from the holding unit by a second conveyance unit disposed below the first conveyance unit. The granular material is conveyed, and the delivery position is a position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley that is above the vertically downward direction and below the horizontal direction passing through the center point of the first pulley. .

According to the first to seventh inventions of the present application, the particulate matter is transferred from the first transport unit to the second transport unit by suppressing the amount or pressure of air for pulling the particulate matter away from the holding unit. Can be prevented from being blown away by air. When the conveyor belt is bridged between the first pulley and the second pulley, the conveyor belt below the first pulley and the second pulley may hang downward. In this case, a gap is generated between the conveyor belt and the vertically downward portions of the first pulley and the second pulley due to the deflection of the conveyor belt. In this state, when the granular material is transferred from the first conveyance unit to the second conveyance unit at a position vertically below the first pulley, the air ejected from the ejection unit is equivalent to the gap generated by the deflection of the conveyance belt. The amount or pressure needs to be increased. As a result, the particulate matter may be further blown away by the air ejected from the ejection unit after being transferred to the second transport unit. Therefore, by avoiding the delivery of the granular material in the vertically downward direction of the first pulley, it is possible to suppress the amount or pressure of the air ejected from the ejection part.

In particular, according to the second invention of the present application, air blown from the holding portion spreads in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction by the air preventing portion provided at a position facing between the holding portion and the holding portion. Can be prevented. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the possibility that the particulate matter transferred from the one holding unit to the second transport unit is blown away by the air from the other holding unit adjacent to the one holding unit.

In particular, according to the third invention of the present application, it is possible to suppress the possibility that the granular material is blown sideways by the air from the lateral direction of the granular material conveyance direction.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view containing a part of supply feeder, a conveyance drum, and a part of 1st conveyance conveyor. It is a perspective view containing a part of 2nd conveyance conveyor and carrying-out conveyor. It is a figure for demonstrating a delivery position. It is a figure for demonstrating a conveyance correction lane. It is a figure for demonstrating a conveyance correction lane. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a connection between a control unit and each unit in the printing apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a direction in which a plurality of granular materials are conveyed is referred to as a “conveyance direction”, a direction that is perpendicular to the conveyance direction and a horizontal direction is a “width direction”, and perpendicular to the conveyance direction and the width direction This direction is referred to as the “height direction”.

<1. Configuration of printing device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The printing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that prints on tablets 9 while transporting a plurality of tablets 9 that are pharmaceuticals along a transport path. In the present embodiment, the tablet 9 has a circular disk shape or a lens shape in plan view. The printing apparatus 1 prints an image such as a product name, a product code, a company name, or a logo mark on the surface of the circular portion of the tablet 9. The tablet 9 may be an uncoated tablet (bare tablet) or a coated tablet such as a film-coated tablet (FC tablet). The tablet 9 may be a capsule including a hard capsule and a soft capsule. Moreover, the granular material to be transported in the present invention is not limited to tablets, and may be tablet confectionery such as ramune.

The printing apparatus 1 includes a supply mechanism 20, a transport mechanism 30, a printing unit 40, an inspection mechanism 50, and a control unit 10.

The supply mechanism 20 delivers the tablet 9 put into the printing apparatus 1 to the transport mechanism 30. The supply mechanism 20 includes a hopper 21, a rectilinear feeder 22, a rotary feeder 23, and a supply feeder 24.

The hopper 21 receives a large number of tablets 9 in a batch. The hopper 21 is disposed at the top of the casing 100 of the printing apparatus 1. The hopper 21 has an opening 211 located on the upper surface of the housing 100 and a funnel-shaped inclined surface 212 that gradually converges downward. The plurality of tablets 9 put into the opening 211 slide down the inclined surface 212 and flow into the linear feeder 22.

The linear feeder 22, the rotary feeder 23, and the supply feeder 24 convey the plurality of tablets 9 put into the hopper 21 to the conveyance mechanism 30. The rectilinear feeder 22 has a flat vibration trough 221. The plurality of tablets 9 supplied from the hopper 21 to the vibration trough 221 are conveyed to the rotary feeder 23 side by the vibration of the vibration trough 221.

The rotary feeder 23 has a disk-shaped rotary table 231. The plurality of tablets 9 that have dropped from the vibration trough 221 onto the upper surface of the turntable 231 are collected near the outer periphery of the turntable 231 by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the turntable 231.

The supply feeder 24 supplies the tablets 9 one by one to each of a plurality of holding units 310 (see FIG. 2) provided on the conveyance drum 31 of the conveyance mechanism 30 described later.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view including a part of the supply feeder 24, a transport drum 31, and a part of the first transport conveyor 32. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the supply feeder 24 extends in the vertical direction from the outer periphery of the turntable 231 to the transport drum 31 of the transport mechanism 30. A plurality of (eight in the example of FIG. 2) cavities 241 extending in the vertical direction are provided inside the supply feeder 24. Each of the plurality of tablets 9 conveyed to the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 231 is supplied to any one of the plurality of cavities 241 and falls in the cavities 241. Thus, the plurality of tablets 9 are distributed and supplied to the plurality of cavities 241. Then, the plurality of tablets 9 are supplied to the transport drum 31 in the order of dropping.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 30 includes a transport drum 31, a first transport conveyor 32, a second transport conveyor 33, a carry-out conveyor 34, and a transport correction lane 35.

The transport drum 31 delivers a plurality of tablets 9 from the supply feeder 24 to the first transport conveyor 32. The transport drum 31 has a substantially cylindrical outer surface 311. The conveyance drum 31 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2 around the rotation axis extending in the width direction by power obtained from a motor not shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer surface 311 is provided with a plurality of holding portions 310 arranged at substantially equal intervals in the transport direction and the width direction. The plurality of holding portions 310 are arranged on the outer surface 311 at the same interval as the plurality of hollow portions 241 of the supply feeder 24 in the width direction. The holding unit 310 is a recess that is recessed from the outer surface 311 to the inside of the transport drum 31. A through hole 312 is provided at the bottom of the holding unit 310. In addition, a suction mechanism and a blow mechanism (not shown) are provided inside the transport drum 31.

The suction mechanism applies a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure to each of the plurality of holding portions 310 via the through hole 312. When this suction mechanism operates, the tablets 9 can be sucked and held in each of the plurality of holding portions 310. The tablets 9 supplied from the supply feeder 24 are adsorbed and held in a transport posture one by one in each of the plurality of holding units 310. Then, the tablet 9 is conveyed to a position facing the first conveyor 32 by the rotating conveyance drum 31 while being held in the holding unit 310 by suction. The conveying posture refers to a posture in which the thickness direction of the tablet 9 is arranged substantially perpendicular to the outer surface 311 of the conveying drum 31 and the surface of the circular portion of the tablet 9 is adsorbed by the holding unit 310.

The blow mechanism blows pressurized air through the through holes 312 to the plurality of holding portions 310 at positions facing the first transport conveyor 32 to act a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. Let When this blow mechanism operates, air is blown onto the tablets 9 held by suction on each of the plurality of holding portions 310, and the suction holding of the tablets 9 is released. Thus, the suction of the tablets 9 sucked and held by the holding portion 310 facing the first transport conveyor 32 can be released while applying a suction force by the suction mechanism to each of the plurality of holding portions 310. Then, the tablets 9 are transferred from the transport drum 31 to the first transport conveyor 32. At this time, the surface of the tablet 9 sucked and held by the transport drum 31 and the surface of the tablet 9 sucked and held by the first transport conveyor 32 are different. For this reason, the front and back of the tablet 9 are reversed while being held by the transport drum 31 and while being held by the first transport conveyor 32.

The first conveyor 32 has a pair of pulleys 32A and 32B, a conveyor belt 32C, a suction mechanism and a blow mechanism (not shown). The pair of pulleys 32A and 32B are disposed substantially horizontally. The pulley 32 </ b> A is disposed to face the conveyance drum 31. The conveyor belt 32C is looped between a pair of pulleys 32A and 32B. A portion of the conveyor belt 32 </ b> C that spans the pulley 32 </ b> A is close to the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor drum 31. In the vicinity, the tablets 9 are transferred from the transport drum 31 to the first transport conveyor 32 as described above.

One of the pair of pulleys 32A and 32B is rotated by power obtained from a motor (not shown). As a result, the conveyor belt 32C rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 32A and 32B rotates following the rotation of the conveyor belt 32C.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of holding portions 320 are provided on the outer surface of the conveyance belt 32C at substantially equal intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction. The intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the plurality of holding units 320 are equal to the intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the plurality of holding units 310 in the conveyance drum 31. The holding unit 320 moves while facing the holding unit 310 of the transport drum 31. Similar to the holding unit 310 of the conveyance drum 31, the holding unit 320 of the conveyance belt 32C is a recess provided on the outer surface of the conveyance belt 32C, and a through hole 321 is provided at the bottom thereof.

As with the transport drum 31, the first transport conveyor 32 operates the suction mechanism to generate negative pressure in the spaces inside the pulleys 32A and 32B and the transport belt 32C, Adsorb and hold. Moreover, the 1st conveyance conveyor 32 operates a blow mechanism, and cancel | releases adsorption | suction of the tablet 9 hold | maintained at each of the some holding | maintenance part 320. FIG. Accordingly, the first transport conveyor 32 transports the plurality of tablets 9 while holding the plurality of tablets 9 by suction. Further, the first transport conveyor 32 releases the adsorption of the tablets 9 held by the holding unit 320 that has moved to the position facing the second transport conveyor 33. Then, the tablets 9 are delivered from the first transport conveyor 32 to the second transport conveyor 33. At this time, the surface of the tablet 9 adsorbed and held by the first conveyance conveyor 32 is different from the surface of the tablet 9 adsorbed and held by the second conveyance conveyor 33. For this reason, the front and back of the tablet 9 are reversed while being held by the first transfer conveyor 32 and while being held by the second transfer conveyor 33.

The configuration of the second conveyor 33 is almost the same as that of the first conveyor 32. The second conveyor 33 includes a pair of pulleys 33A and 33B, a conveyor belt 33C, a suction mechanism (not shown), and a blow mechanism 33D. The 2nd conveyance conveyor 33 is an example of the "1st conveyance part" of the present invention. The pulley 33A is an example of the “first pulley” in the present invention, and the pulley 33B is an example of the “second pulley” in the present invention. The transport belt 33C is an example of the “transport belt” in the present invention. The blow mechanism 33D is an example of the “ejection part” in the present invention.

The pair of pulleys 33A and 33B are arranged substantially horizontally. The pulley 33 </ b> A is disposed to face the pulley 32 </ b> A of the first transport conveyor 32. The conveyor belt 33C is looped between the pair of pulleys 33A and 33B. A portion of the conveyor belt 33 </ b> C that spans the pulley 33 </ b> A is close to the outer peripheral surface of the pulley 32 </ b> A of the first conveyor 32. In this proximity part, the above-described delivery of the tablets 9 from the first transport conveyor 32 to the second transport conveyor 33 is performed.

One of the pair of pulleys 33A and 33B rotates with power obtained from a motor (not shown). Thereby, the conveyor belt 33C rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 33 </ b> A and 33 </ b> B rotates following the rotation of the conveyor belt 72.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view including a part of the second transfer conveyor 33 and the carry-out conveyor 34. In addition, illustration of the 1st conveyance conveyor 32 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. Moreover, the arrow shown in FIG. 3 is a conveyance direction.

On the outer surface of the transport belt 33C, a plurality of holding portions 330 are provided that are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the transport direction and the width direction. The intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the plurality of holding units 330 are equal to the intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the plurality of holding units 320 (see FIG. 2) of the first conveyance conveyor 32. The holding unit 330 moves while facing the holding unit 320 of the first conveyor 32. The holding unit 330 is a recess provided on the outer surface of the conveyance belt 33C, and a through hole 331 is provided at the bottom thereof.

The suction mechanism causes a negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure to act on each of the plurality of holding portions 330 via the through hole 331. When this suction mechanism operates, the tablets 9 can be adsorbed and held in each of the plurality of holding portions 330. The tablets 9 delivered from the first transport conveyor 32 are sucked and held by the plurality of holding units 330 in a transport posture one by one. And the tablet 9 is conveyed to the delivery position which opposes the carrying-out conveyor 34 in the state hold | maintained at the holding | maintenance part 310 by adsorption. The delivery position will be described in detail later.

The blow mechanism 33D is provided in the pulley 33A. The blow mechanism 33D, like the other blow mechanisms, blows pressurized air to the plurality of holding portions 330 at the delivery position through the through holes 331, thereby generating a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. Make it work. When this blow mechanism operates, air is blown to the tablets 9 that are sucked and held in each of the plurality of holding portions 330, and the sucking and holding of the tablets 9 is released. Thereby, the suction of the tablet 9 sucked and held by the holding portion 330 located at the delivery position can be released while applying a suction force by the suction mechanism to each of the plurality of holding portions 330. And the delivery of the tablet 9 from the 2nd conveyance conveyor 33 to the carrying-out conveyor 34 is performed.

The following describes the delivery position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the delivery position. In FIG. 4, the conveyance correction lane 35 described later is not shown.

The delivery position is above the vertical downward direction of the center point O of the pulley 33A and below the horizontal direction passing through the center point O on the outer peripheral surface of the semicircular arc portion wound around the pulley 33A of the conveyor belt 33C. This is the position on the side (within the range of the arrow in FIG. 4). Here, the delivery position does not include a position vertically downward from the center point O and a position that coincides with the center point O in the horizontal direction. That is, the delivery position may be a position that is obliquely downward from the center point O. The blow mechanism 33D blows air from the center point O in an obliquely downward direction.

Here, the reason why the delivery position is set to a position obliquely downward from the center point O will be described. When the conveyance belt 33C is looped around the pair of pulleys 33A and 33B, the lower conveyance belt 33C of the pulleys 33A and 33B may hang downward. In this case, a gap S is generated between the conveyor belt 33C and the vertically downward portion of the pulley 33A due to the deflection of the conveyor belt 33C. In this state, when the position in the vertically downward direction of the pulley 33A is used as the delivery position, the amount or pressure of the air blown to the holding unit 330 by the blow mechanism 33D of the second transport conveyor 33 is equivalent to the clearance 33A. Compared with the place where the conveyance belt 33C is in close contact, it is necessary to make it larger. The carry-out conveyor 34 to be described later does not have a suction mechanism, and the tablets 9 are transported while being placed on the transport belt 34C. For this reason, if the air from the blow mechanism 33D is strong, the tablets 9 placed on the carry-out conveyor 34 may be blown away.

In this embodiment, the delivery position is set avoiding the vertically downward portion of the pulley 33A. Accordingly, the amount or pressure of air blown onto the holding unit 330 can be suppressed by the blow mechanism 33D. As a result, the tablet 9 can be prevented from being blown off after being delivered to the carry-out conveyor 34.

Return to Figs. 1 and 3. The carry-out conveyor 34 is disposed obliquely below the second transfer conveyor 33. The carry-out conveyor 34 carries the plurality of tablets 9 after printing out of the casing 100 of the printing apparatus 1. The carry-out conveyor 34 has a pair of pulleys 34A and 34B, and a conveyor belt 34C. The carry-out conveyor 34 is an example of the “second transport unit” in the present invention.

The pair of pulleys 34A and 34B are arranged substantially horizontally. The pulley 34 </ b> A is disposed obliquely below the pulley 33 </ b> A of the second transport conveyor 33. The pulley 34 </ b> B is located outside the housing 100. The conveyor belt 34C is looped between the pair of pulleys 34A and 34B. One of the pair of pulleys 34A and 34B rotates with power obtained from a motor (not shown). As a result, the conveyor belt 34C rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIGS. At this time, the other of the pair of pulleys 34A and 34B rotates following the rotation of the conveyor belt 34C.

The downstream end of the conveyance belt 34 </ b> C is located outside the housing 100. That is, the carry-out conveyor 34 carries out the plurality of tablets 9 delivered from the second transfer conveyor 33 to the outside of the housing 100. The downstream end of the carry-out conveyor 34 is connected to, for example, a packaging device for packaging the tablet 9 after the printing process.

The conveyance correction lane 35 is disposed between the second conveyance conveyor 33 and the carry-out conveyor 34. The conveyance correction lane 35 functions as an ejection air prevention unit that prevents the tablets 9 delivered from the second conveyance conveyor 33 to the carry-out conveyor 34 from being blown off by air from the blow mechanism 33D of the second conveyance conveyor 33. . The conveyance correction lane 35 also functions as a conveyance lane that corrects the tablets 9 so that they do not deviate from the conveyance path when the tablets 9 are conveyed by the carry-out conveyor 34.

The conveyance correction lane 35 is a plate-shaped metal plate, and has a plurality of (eight in FIG. 3) lane slits 35A formed in parallel along the width direction. Although not shown in FIG. 3, the upstream side and the downstream side of the transport correction lane 35 are fixed to the carry-out conveyor 34 or a part of the housing 100.

5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the conveyance correction lane 35. FIG. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the tablet 9 is sucked and held by the holding unit 330 of the second transport conveyor 33. FIG. 5B shows a state in which the tablets 9 are delivered from the second conveyor 33 to the conveyor belt 34C of the carry-out conveyor 34. Moreover, the arrow shown to FIG. 5B shows the air which blown off from the blow mechanism 33D (refer FIG. 1).

Each of the plurality of lane slits 35A is disposed opposite to the holding portions 330 arranged in the width direction at the delivery position. That is, a part of the conveyance correction lane 35 (hereinafter, referred to as a blown air prevention unit 35B) is opposed to a position facing the region between the holding unit 330 and the holding unit 330. Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the length of the tablet 9 in the width direction in the transport posture is represented by D1, and the distance of the width of the lane slit 35A is represented by D2, D1 <D2. Thereby, the tablet 9 to which the air of the blow mechanism 33D is blown is transferred from the holding unit 330 to the transport belt 34C through the lane slit 35A.

Further, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5B, even if the air of the blow mechanism 33D has directivity and the air blown from one holding part 330 spreads in the width direction, the blown air prevention part 35B Air that spreads in the width direction is blocked. Thereby, the influence which the tablet 9 delivered to the carrying-out conveyor 34 from the 2nd conveyance conveyor 33 receives with the air from the other holding | maintenance part 330 adjacent to the holding | maintenance part 330 holding the tablet 9 can be suppressed. .

The plurality of lane slits 35 </ b> A are belt-shaped and extend along the transport direction of the carry-out conveyor 34. The lane slits 35 </ b> A constitute a transport lane for the tablets 9 transported by the carry-out conveyor 34. That is, the tablet 9 conveyed by the conveyance belt 34C is conveyed along the lane slit 35A. Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the thickness in the thickness direction of the tablet 9 in the transport posture of the transport belt 34C is represented by D3, and the distance between the transport belt 34C and the transport correction lane 35 is represented by D4, D3> D4. It is. This transport posture refers to a posture in which the thickness direction of the tablet 9 is placed substantially perpendicular to the transport belt 34C. Thereby, for example, even if the air hitting the transport belt 34C is blown against the transported tablet 9 from the lateral direction of the transport direction, the tablet 9 hits the blown air prevention part 35B, so that the tablet 9 is blown away. Can prevent the risk of being damaged. Further, it is possible to suppress the possibility that the tablet 9 is pinched between the blown air prevention unit 35B and the conveyance belt 34C.

In addition, it is preferable that the distance between the conveyance correction lane 35 and the conveyance belt 33C of the second conveyance conveyor 33 is shorter. By bringing the conveyance correction lane 35 closer to the conveyance belt 33C, it is possible to further prevent the air jetted from the holding unit 330 from spreading. Further, when the tablet 9 sucked and held by the holding unit 330 is transferred to the carry-out conveyor 34, the possibility of being pinched between the conveyance correction lane 35 and the conveyance belt 33C can be suppressed.

Thus, the supply mechanism 20 and the transport mechanism 30 constitute a transport device for transporting the tablets 9.

Return to Figure 1. The printing unit 40 includes a first printing unit 41 and a second printing unit 42.

The first printing unit 41 prints an image on the surface of one side of the tablet 9. The first printing unit 41 includes a head unit 410 having four heads 400. Each of the four heads 400 performs printing processing by ejecting ink droplets toward the surface of the tablet 9 transported by the transport mechanism 30 by an inkjet method. The four heads 400 eject ink droplets of different colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). A multicolor image is recorded on the surface of the tablet 9 by superimposing single-color images formed by these colors. In addition, the edible ink manufactured with the raw material approved by the food hygiene law is used for the ink discharged from each head 400. FIG.

Although not shown, a plurality of nozzles capable of ejecting ink droplets are provided on the lower surface of the head 400. In the present embodiment, a plurality of nozzles are two-dimensionally arranged on the lower surface of the head 400 in the transport direction and the width direction. Each nozzle is arranged with its position shifted in the width direction. Thus, if a plurality of nozzles are two-dimensionally arranged, the positions in the width direction of the nozzles can be brought closer to each other. However, the plurality of nozzles may be arranged in a line along the width direction.

As a method for ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle, for example, a so-called piezo method is used in which a piezoelectric element, which is a piezoelectric element, is deformed by applying a voltage to pressurize and eject ink in the nozzle. Note that the ink droplet ejection method may be a so-called thermal method in which ink is ejected by energizing the heater and heating and expanding the ink in the nozzle.

The second printing unit 42 prints an image on the other side of the tablet 9. Since the configuration of the second printing unit 42 is the same as that of the first printing unit 41, the description thereof is omitted.

The inspection mechanism 50 includes a first appearance inspection camera 51, a second appearance inspection camera 52, a first print inspection camera 53, a third appearance inspection camera 54, a second print inspection camera 55, and a defective product collection unit 56. And have.

The first appearance inspection camera 51 images the surface of the other side of the tablet 9 transported by the transport drum 31. The second appearance inspection camera 52 images the surface of one side of the tablet 9 conveyed by the first conveyance conveyor 32 on the upstream side of the first printing unit 41. The captured images obtained by the first appearance inspection camera 51 and the second appearance inspection camera 52 are input to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 detects the presence / absence of the tablet 9 in each of the holding units 310 and 320, the presence / absence of the shape defect of each tablet 9, the orientation of each tablet 9, and the like based on the obtained captured image.

The first printing inspection camera 53 images the surface of one side of the tablet 9 conveyed by the first conveying conveyor 32 on the downstream side of the first printing unit 41. A captured image obtained by the first print inspection camera 53 is input to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 detects the presence or absence of a printing process by the first printing unit 41 based on the obtained captured image.

The third appearance inspection camera 54 images the surface of the other side of the tablet 9 transported by the second transport conveyor 33 on the upstream side of the second printing unit 42. A captured image obtained by the third appearance inspection camera 54 is input to the control unit 10. Based on the obtained captured image, the control unit 10 detects the presence / absence of the tablet 9 in each holding unit 330 of the second transport conveyor 33, the presence / absence of the shape defect of each tablet 9, the direction of each tablet 9, and the like.

The second printing inspection camera 55 images the surface of the other side of the tablet 9 conveyed by the second conveying conveyor 33 on the downstream side of the second printing unit 42. A captured image obtained by the second print inspection camera 55 is input to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 detects the presence or absence of a printing process by the second printing unit 42 based on the obtained captured image.

The defective product collection unit 56 collects the tablets 9 determined to be defective in shape and the tablets 9 determined to be defective in printing based on the captured images obtained by the five cameras 51 to 55 described above. The defective product collection unit 56 includes a pressurizing mechanism (not shown) and a collection box 561. The pressure mechanism releases the adsorption of the tablet 9 by blowing a locally pressurized gas from the inside of the second conveyor 33 to the holding unit 330 that holds the tablet 9 in which the defect is detected. To do. Thereby, the tablet 9 in which the defect is detected is collected into the collection box 561.

The control unit 10 is means for controlling the operation of each unit in the printing apparatus 1. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the connection between the control unit 10 and each unit in the printing apparatus 1.

As conceptually shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 10 includes a computer having an arithmetic processing unit 101 such as a CPU, a memory 102 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 103 such as a hard disk drive. In the storage unit 103, a computer program P and data D for executing a printing process are stored.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 10 includes a linear feeder 22, a rotary feeder 23, a transport drum 31 (including a motor and a suction mechanism blow mechanism), a first transport conveyor 32 (including a motor and a suction mechanism blow mechanism), Second conveyor 33 (including motor, suction mechanism and blow mechanism 33D), carry-out conveyor 34, head 400 of first printing unit 41 and second printing unit 42, first appearance inspection camera 51, second appearance inspection camera 52 The first print inspection camera 53, the third appearance inspection camera 54, the second print inspection camera 55, and the defective product collection unit 56 are connected to be communicable with each other.

The control unit 10 temporarily reads the computer program P and data D stored in the storage unit 103 into the memory 102, and the arithmetic processing unit 101 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program P, whereby each of the above-described units Control the operation. Thereby, the printing process with respect to the some tablet 9 advances.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the tablets 9 are delivered from the second conveyor 33 to the carry-out conveyor 34, the delivery position of the tablets 9 is set avoiding the vertically downward portion of the pulley 33A. ing. For this reason, the amount or pressure of air from the blow mechanism 33D can be suppressed. Thereby, since air is too strong, the possibility that the tablets 9 placed on the transport belt 34C are blown away can be suppressed. In particular, by providing the conveyance correction lane 35, it is possible to further prevent the tablets 9 delivered from the second conveyance conveyor 33 to the carry-out conveyor 34 from being blown off by the air from the blow mechanism 33D of the second conveyance conveyor 33. Further, the lane slit 35 </ b> A of the conveyance correction lane 35 can prevent the tablets 9 from being removed from the conveyance path when being conveyed by the carry-out conveyor 34.

<2. Modification>
As mentioned above, although main embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the holding portion for holding the tablet 9 is a concave portion, but is not limited thereto. For example, the conveyance belt 33C of the second conveyance conveyor 33 may be provided with only a suction through hole, and the tablet 9 may be adsorbed and held in the through hole. In addition, while the tablet 9 is being conveyed in a semicircular arc from the lower side to the upper side in the second conveying conveyor 33, the tablet 9 is delivered to the carry-out conveyor 34. The structure which delivers the tablet 9 to the carrying-out conveyor 34 on the way may be sufficient.

The printing apparatus 1 was an apparatus that performed printing on both sides of the tablet 9 by the first printing unit 41 and the second printing unit 42. However, the tablet printing apparatus of the present invention may be an apparatus that performs printing on only one side of the tablet 9.

In addition, the detailed configuration of the printing apparatus 1 may be different from the drawings of the present application. Moreover, you may combine suitably each element which appeared in said embodiment and modification in the range which does not produce inconsistency.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 9 Tablet 10 Control part 20 Supply mechanism 30 Conveyance mechanism 31 Conveyance drum 32 1st conveyance conveyor 33 2nd conveyance conveyor 34 Unloading conveyor 34A, 34B Pulley 34C Conveyance belt 35 Conveyance correction lane 35A Lane slit 35B Blowing air prevention part 40 Printing part 50 Inspection mechanism 241 Cavity part 330 Holding part 331 Through hole

Claims (7)

A conveying device for conveying granular materials,
The first pulley and the second pulley arranged horizontally, the conveyance belt looped around the first pulley and the second pulley, and the granular material provided on the outer surface of the conveyance belt are held. A plurality of holding portions, and a first transport portion that moves at least one of the first pulley and the second pulley to move the transport belt;
An ejection part for ejecting air from the holding part moved to the delivery position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley, and for pulling away the particulate matter held by the holding part from the holding part;
A second transport unit that transports the granular material disposed below the first transport unit and separated from the holding unit;
With
The delivery position is a position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley above the vertical downward direction and below the horizontal direction passing through the center point of the first pulley.
Conveying device. It is a conveying apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising:
The plurality of holding portions are arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the conveyor belt,
In the delivery position, a plurality of blown air prevention units that are arranged to face the gap and block air jetted from the jetting unit,
With
Between each of the plurality of blown air prevention units, the particulate matter separated from the holding unit can pass.
Conveying device. It is a conveyance apparatus of Claim 2, Comprising:
The plurality of air prevention units are:
It is in a strip shape and is provided along the transport direction of the second transport unit at a position lower than the height of the granular material in the transport posture of the second transport unit.
Conveying device. It is a conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1- Claim 3, Comprising:
The holding portion is a recess provided on the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt.
Conveying device. It is a conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1- Claim 4, Comprising:
The granular material is a tablet;
Conveying device. A transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
A printing unit that ejects ink droplets onto the surface of the granular material conveyed by the conveying device;
Having a printing device. A conveying method for conveying granular materials,
a) Rotating at least one of the first pulley and the second pulley arranged horizontally to move the transport belt that is looped over the first pulley and the second pulley,
b) Holding the granular material with a plurality of holding portions provided on the outer surface of the conveyor belt;
c) Blowing air from the holding part moved to the delivery position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley, pulling the particulate matter held by the holding part away from the holding part,
d) In the second transport unit disposed below the first transport unit, transport the granular material separated from the holding unit,
The delivery position is a position on the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley above the vertical downward direction and below the horizontal direction passing through the center point of the first pulley.
Transport method.

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