WO2024262956A2 - Tablet manufacturing system and tablet manufacturing method using same - Google Patents

Abstract

A tablet manufacturing system and a tablet manufacturing method using same are provided. The tablet manufacturing system comprises: a feeder for supplying raw materials; a blender for mixing the raw materials provided from the feeder; a tablet press for forming tablets by compressing the raw materials provided from the blender; a coater for coating the tablets; an analyzer which receives the tablets from the tablet press, acquires ingredient information, sorts defective tablets and normal tablets on the basis of the ingredient information, and provides the normal tablets to the coater; and a transfer unit for moving the raw materials or the tablets so that the raw materials or the tablets proceed in the order of the feeder, the blender, the tablet press, the analyzer, and the coater.

Description

Tablet manufacturing system and tablet manufacturing method using the same

The present invention relates to a tablet manufacturing system and a tablet manufacturing method using the same.

Continuous manufacturing of tablets refers to continuously carrying out the process from input of raw materials for tablets to tablet production. The continuous manufacturing method of tablets has recently been in the spotlight because it can inspect or correct only the relevant process when a problem occurs in a specific process, and it has the effect of reducing tablet manufacturing time, equipment costs, and operating costs. For continuous production of tablets, a full inspection system for the tablets produced can be introduced. The full inspection system checks whether the quality of all tablets produced is maintained consistently. Using the full inspection system, continuous production of tablets is possible, and not only can the work of selecting normal tablets and defective tablets and the tablet production process including this be automated, but also all tablets produced are inspected, so the defect rate can be significantly reduced compared to the method of sampling and inspecting some of the produced tablets.

For example, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) device can be used to analyze the uniformity and content of tablets, but it has the disadvantages of requiring a lot of time for sample preparation and analysis, and generating a large amount of waste such as organic solvents used in the analysis. In particular, since it takes several hours or more for tablet analysis using HPLC, it is impossible to inspect tablets during the manufacturing process of continuously produced tablets. In addition, since the tablet analysis method using HPLC destroys the sample tablet, it has the disadvantage of not being performed on all tablets being manufactured, and must be measured only on a small amount of sample. The above problems can be solved by a tablet inspection method using near-infrared (NIR), and a continuous production process of tablets using this is required.

Regarding the manufacturing process of tablets, a continuous production process of tablets is known, which supplies raw materials in a batch manner, mixes them, and presses them into tablets. However, a continuous production process of tablets, which includes all processes related to tablet production, from continuous supply of raw materials, mixing, pressing, full inspection of tablets, coating, and marking, is underdeveloped.

The present invention aims to provide a tablet manufacturing system capable of manufacturing tablets by supplying raw materials, mixing the raw materials, pressing the raw materials to form tablets, obtaining ingredient information of the tablets, sorting out defective tablets and normal tablets based on the obtained ingredient information, and providing normal tablets to a coating machine.

The technical problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to those described above, and other technical problems can be inferred from the following examples.

A tablet manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a feeder for supplying raw materials, a blender for mixing the raw materials provided from the feeder, a tablet press for pressing the raw materials provided from the blender to form tablets, a coater for coating the tablets, an analyzer for receiving tablets from the tablet press for obtaining ingredient information, sorting out defective tablets and normal tablets based on the ingredient information, and providing normal tablets to the coater, and a conveying unit for moving the raw materials or tablets so that the raw materials or tablets proceed in the feeder, blender, tablet press, analyzer, and coater in that order.

Additionally, the analyzer may include an internal conveyor that transports tablets supplied through an inlet end of the analyzer toward a discharge end of the analyzer, a component measurement sensor that obtains component information of tablets transported by the internal conveyor, and a blower configured to blow gas onto the internal conveyor to detach defective tablets selected based on the component information from the internal conveyor.

Additionally, the component measurement sensor may be provided to obtain spectral information by irradiating electromagnetic waves to the tablets transported by the internal conveyor.

Additionally, the spectral information may include spatially-resolved near-infrared (NIR) spectral information.

Additionally, the transport unit includes a first external conveyor for transporting the tablets provided from the analyzer to the coater, and an upstream end of the first external conveyor may be arranged lower than a discharge end of the analyzer, and a downstream end of the first external conveyor may be arranged higher than an inlet end of the coater.

Additionally, the tablet manufacturing system may further include a marking device that marks the surface of a tablet provided from a coating machine and provides the marked tablet.

Additionally, the marking device may include an inspection unit that photographs the tablet to inspect the appearance of the tablet.

Additionally, the transport unit includes a second external conveyor for transporting the tablets provided from the coating machine to the marking device, and an upstream end of the second external conveyor may be arranged lower than a discharge end of the coating machine, and a downstream end of the second external conveyor may be arranged higher than an inlet end of the marking device.

In addition, the transfer unit includes a transfer device that transfers tablets provided from the tablet press to the analyzer, the transfer device is provided to extend from an upstream end of the transfer device to a downstream end of the transfer device, and includes a guide surface that guides tablets discharged from the tablet press, and a pneumatic providing unit that blows gas onto the guide surface to guide the tablets by the guide surface and moves the tablets from the upstream end of the transfer device toward the downstream end of the transfer device, the upstream end of the transfer device may be arranged lower than the discharge end of the tablet press, and the downstream end of the transfer device may be arranged higher than the inlet end of the analyzer.

Additionally, the transport device may further include a depulping means for depulping the tablets transported by the transport device.

Additionally, the inlet end of the tablet machine may be positioned vertically below the discharge end of the blender, and the transport section may include a pipe connecting the inlet end of the tablet machine and the discharge end of the blender to each other.

Additionally, the feeder can be configured to continuously provide raw material based on a preset discharge rate.

In addition, the refined manufacturing system may further include a hopper for receiving raw materials from a feeder, inducing the raw materials to fall and provide them to a blender, and the hopper may include a body portion having a discharge end formed at the bottom that is vertically connected to an inlet end of the blender, a tapered surface formed on the inside whose inner diameter narrows toward the discharge end, and an ultrasonic vibrator for vibrating the tapered surface.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a tablet using a tablet manufacturing system may include a step of mixing raw materials to form a mixture, a step of compressing the formed mixture to form a tablet, a step of depulping the formed tablet, a step of transporting the depulped tablet to an analyzer by a transport unit, a step of obtaining component information on the depulped tablet by the analyzer, a step of selecting defective tablets and normal tablets among the depulped tablets based on the component information, and a step of providing normal tablets, a step of transporting the normal tablets to a coater by the transport unit, and a step of coating the provided normal tablets by a coater.

Additionally, the method for manufacturing a tablet may further include a step of marking the surface of the coated tablet.

Additionally, the method for manufacturing a tablet may further include a step of photographing the marked tablet to inspect the appearance of the marked tablet.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the present invention, it is possible to implement a continuous production process for tablets including all processes related to the production of tablets, from the supply of raw materials, mixing, tableting, full inspection of tablets, coating and marking, so that the manufacturing time for tablets is shortened compared to the batch method, the number of production personnel and space is reduced, and the time and cost for quality analysis are reduced.

In addition, according to the present invention, tablets are continuously inspected and defective tablets are selectively sorted out, so that tablets with guaranteed quality can be supplied.

In addition, according to the present invention, thousands to tens of thousands of tablets can be fully inspected and manufactured per hour, so that a large number of tablets with guaranteed quality can be manufactured in a short period of time. The effects of the invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims. Each of the effects mentioned above can be derived from various individual embodiments of the present invention or a combination thereof.

Figure 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a tablet manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a tablet manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a process for a tablet manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a part of an analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a part of a tableting machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates one embodiment of an external conveyor according to the present invention.

Figures 7 and 8 show a side view and a perspective view, respectively, of a transport device according to the present invention.

Figure 9 shows one embodiment of a method for manufacturing a tablet according to the present invention.

Figure 10 shows another embodiment of a method for manufacturing a tablet according to the present invention.

The embodiments described in the present invention are illustrative rather than limiting, and those skilled in the art can design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims. The terms used in the embodiments were selected from currently widely used general terms as much as possible while considering the functions in the present invention, but this may vary depending on the intention of a technician engaged in the relevant field, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. In addition, in certain cases, there are terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meanings thereof will be described in detail in the corresponding description section. Therefore, the terms used in the present invention should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the overall contents of the present invention, rather than the simple names of the terms.

As used herein, the singular expression includes both the singular and the plural, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

When it is said throughout this specification that a part "comprises" certain elements or steps, unless otherwise specifically stated, that does not mean that the part must include all of those elements or steps, nor does it exclude the inclusion of elements or steps other than those listed in the claims or throughout the specification, but only that the part may include more.

Also, terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. used in this specification may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms including ordinal numbers. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component in a portion of the specification in context. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component in another portion of the specification, and conversely, a second component may also be referred to as a first component in another portion of the specification, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In this specification, terms such as "mechanism", "element", "means", and "configuration" may be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations. The terms may include the meaning of a series of software processes (routines) in connection with a processor, etc.

The use of the term "above" and similar referential terms in this specification (especially in the claims) may refer to both the singular and the plural. In addition, when a range is described, it is intended to include individual values within the range (unless otherwise stated), and each individual value constituting the range is described in the detailed description. Finally, unless the order of the steps constituting the method is explicitly stated or stated to the contrary, the steps may be rearranged and performed in any appropriate order, and the order in which the steps are described is not necessarily limited. The use of all examples or exemplary terms (e.g., etc.) is intended merely to further illustrate the technical idea, and the scope is not limited by the examples or exemplary terms, unless otherwise stated by the claims. Those skilled in the art may add various modifications, combinations, and changes to the embodiments disclosed herein, depending on design conditions and factors, to form new embodiments falling within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of brevity of the specification and drawings, various functional components that are not relevant to understanding the present invention have been omitted from the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that various additional components may be included as part of specific embodiments of the present invention to enable additional functions not specifically described in the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a tablet manufacturing system (10) according to one embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the tablet manufacturing system (10) may include a feeder (11) for supplying raw materials, a blender (12) for mixing raw materials provided from the feeder (11), a tablet press (13) for pressing raw materials provided from the blender (12) into tablets, a coater (16) for coating tablets, and an analyzer (15) for receiving tablets from the tablet press (13), obtaining ingredient information, and selecting defective tablets and normal tablets based on the ingredient information, and providing normal tablets to the coater (16).

In one embodiment, the raw material can be supplied by a feeder (11). A plurality of feeders (11) can be provided. When a plurality of feeders (11) are provided, different types of raw materials can be fed into the blender (12) from each of the plurality of feeders (11). The feeder (11) can be provided so as to supply a fluid raw material in a powder form or a liquid or gas form to the blender (12).

In one embodiment, the feeder (11) may be configured to continuously supply raw materials based on a preset discharge speed. The raw material discharge speed of the feeder (11) may be controlled, and when a plurality of feeders (11) are provided, the discharge speed of each raw material may be controlled, thereby adjusting the mixing ratio of each raw material supplied from each of the plurality of feeders (11).

In one embodiment, the blender (12) can mix raw materials provided from the feeder (11) and provide them to the tablet press (13). The tablet press (13) can form tablets by pressing the raw materials mixed by the blender (12). However, if necessary (for example, when manufacturing single-component tablets), the tablet press (13) can also form tablets by directly receiving raw materials from the feeder (11). The tablet press (13) can be provided in a continuous manner so that the input of raw materials and the discharge of pressed tablets are performed simultaneously.

In one embodiment, the tablets transferred from the tablet press (13) to the analyzer (15) can be dedusted. By introducing the pre-dedusted tablets into the analyzer (15), the components of the tablets can be measured more accurately by the analyzer (15).

In one embodiment, the analyzer (15) can receive tablets from the tablet press (13), obtain ingredient information, and select defective tablets and normal tablets based on the ingredient information. The analyzer (15) can provide the selected normal tablets to the coater (16). In one embodiment, the defective tablets can be crushed by a crusher (not shown) or the like and recycled as raw materials. The analyzer (15) will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

In one embodiment, the coater (16) can coat the normal tablets provided from the analyzer (15). The coater (16) can coat the tablets by spraying a coating material on the surface of the tablets. The coater (16) can be provided in a continuous manner so that the input of tablets and the discharge of coated tablets are performed simultaneously.

In one embodiment, the tablet manufacturing system (10) may further include a marking device (17) that marks the surface of a tablet provided from a coating device (16) and provides the marked tablet. The marking device (17) may include a marking unit (17a). For example, the marking unit (17a) may include a laser, and characters or patterns, etc. may be marked on the surface of the coated tablet by the laser of the marking unit (17a).

In one embodiment, the marking device (17) may include an inspection unit (17c) that photographs the tablet to inspect the appearance of the tablet. For example, the inspection unit (17c) may include a sensor such as a camera, and the surface or appearance of the tablet may be inspected by the sensor of the inspection unit (17c). Inspection information of the tablet may be obtained from the inspection unit (17c), and defective tablets and normal tablets may be selected based on the inspection information.

FIG. 2 illustrates a tablet manufacturing system (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The tablet manufacturing system (100) may correspond to the tablet manufacturing system (10) shown in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the tablet manufacturing system (100) may include at least one of a feeder (110), a blender (120), a tablet press (130), an analyzer (150), a coater (160), and a marking device (170). The feeder (110), blender (120), tablet press (130), analyzer (150), coater (160), and marking device (170) may correspond to the feeder (11), blender (12), tablet press (13), analyzer (15), coater (16), and marking device (17) shown in Fig. 1, respectively. Therefore, descriptions of the functions of devices (110, 120, 130, 150, 160, 170) that overlap with the devices (11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17) shown in Fig. 1 are omitted.

In one embodiment, the tablet manufacturing system (100) may include a conveying unit (180) that moves the raw material or tablet so that the raw material or tablet proceeds in the following order: a feeder (110), a blender (120), a tableting machine (130), an analyzer (150), a coater (160), and a marking device (170). Specifically, the transfer unit (180) may include at least one of a hopper (181) that transfers raw materials discharged from the feeder (110) to the blender (120), a third pipe (182-3) that transfers raw materials discharged from the blender (120) to the tablet press (130), a transfer device (183) that transfers tablets discharged from the tablet press (130) to the analyzer (150), a first external conveyor (185) that transfers tablets discharged from the analyzer (150) to the coater (160), and a second external conveyor (186) that transfers tablets discharged from the coater (160) to the marking device (170).

In one embodiment, the discharge end (119) of the feeder (110) may be positioned higher than the inlet end (121) of the blender (120). Accordingly, the raw material discharged from the discharge end (119) of the feeder (110) may fall to the inlet end (121) of the blender (120), thereby enabling the transfer of the raw material without using additional external power.

In one embodiment, the tablet manufacturing system (100) may further include a hopper (181) for receiving raw materials from a feeder (110) and providing the raw materials by dropping them into a blender (120). Specifically, the hopper (181) may include a body portion (1811) having a discharge end (1811b) formed at the bottom that is vertically connected to an inlet end (121) of the blender (120), and a tapered surface (1811c) formed on the inside, the inner diameter of which narrows toward the discharge end (1811b).

The inlet end (121) of the blender (120) may be positioned lower than the discharge end (1811b) of the hopper (181), specifically, vertically below. Accordingly, the raw material discharged from the discharge end (1811b) of the hopper (181) may fall to the inlet end (121) of the blender (120).

The conveying unit (180) includes a second pipe (182-2), and the inlet end (121) of the blender (120) can be connected to the discharge end (1811b) of the hopper (181) through the second pipe (182-2). The second pipe (182-2) can prevent the raw material from flying due to wind or the like.

The discharge end (119) of the feeder (110) can be positioned higher than the inlet end (1811a) of the hopper (181), specifically, vertically. Accordingly, the raw material discharged from the discharge end (119) of the feeder (110) can fall to the inlet end (1811a) of the hopper (181).

The conveying section (180) includes a first pipe (182-1), and the discharge end (119) of the feeder (110) can be connected to the inlet end (1811a) of the hopper (181) through the first pipe (182-1). The first pipe (182-1) can prevent the raw material from flying due to wind or the like.

In one embodiment, the hopper (181) is provided with a plurality of inlet ends (1811a), and each of the discharge ends (119) of the plurality of feeders (110) can be connected to each of the plurality of inlet ends (1811a). Accordingly, each of the raw materials discharged from the plurality of feeders (110) can be collected into the discharge end (1811b) of the hopper (181) by the tapered surface (1811c).

In one embodiment, the hopper (181) may include a vibrator (1813) that vibrates the tapered surface (1811c). The vibrator (1813) may include an ultrasonic vibrator. By the vibrator (1813), the raw material, etc., attached to the tapered surface (1811c) is peeled off and falls to the discharge end (1811b), thereby preventing the raw material from being deposited in the hopper (181) or blocking the hopper (181).

In one embodiment, the inlet end (131) of the tablet press (130) is positioned vertically below the discharge end (129) of the blender (120), and the transfer unit (180) may include a third pipe (182-3) connecting the inlet end (131) of the tablet press (130) and the discharge end (129) of the blender (120) to each other. The third pipe (182-3) may prevent the raw material from flying due to wind or the like.

In one embodiment, the feeder (110) may be placed on the upper layer, and the tableting machine (130) may be placed on the lower layer. In this case, at least one of the first pipe (182-1), the second pipe (182-2), and the third pipe (183-3) may be provided to penetrate an interlayer dividing wall (e.g., a ceiling or a floor) between the upper and lower layers. For example, the feeder (110) and the hopper (181) may be placed on the second layer, and the blender (120) and the tableting machine (130) may be placed on the first layer. In this case, the second pipe (182-2) may be placed to penetrate an interlayer dividing wall (e.g., a second-floor floor or a first-floor ceiling) between the first and second layers. This enables the feeder (110), hopper (181), blender (120), and tablet press (130) to be placed appropriately vertically, enabling efficient spatial arrangement of each component, minimizing the transport distance of raw materials, and minimizing additional power input.

In one embodiment, the transport unit (180) may include a transport device (183) that transports a tablet provided from the tablet press (130) to the analyzer (150). The transport device (183) may be provided to transport the tablet by seating the tablet on a seating surface and moving the seating surface from an upstream end (183a) of the transport device (183) toward a downstream end (183b) of the transport device (183). For example, the transport device (183) may be a conveyor, etc.

As another example, the transport device (183) may be configured to transport the tablets from the upstream end (183a) of the transport device (183) toward the downstream end (183b) of the transport device (183) by pushing the tablets by gas or air pressure. An embodiment of such a transport device (183) is described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In one embodiment, the transport device (183) may further include a dedusting means for dedusting the tablets being transported by the transport device (183). For example, the dedusting means may include a vibrating means such as a vibrator or an air pressure providing means such as a blower.

In one embodiment, the upstream end (183a) of the transport device (183) may be positioned lower than the discharge end (139) of the oscillator (130), and the downstream end (183b) of the transport device (183) may be positioned higher than the inlet end (151) of the analyzer (150). Specifically, the upstream end (183a) of the transport device (183) may be positioned vertically below the discharge end (139) of the oscillator (130), and the downstream end (183b) of the transport device (183) may be positioned vertically above the inlet end (151) of the analyzer (150). Accordingly, tablets discharged from the discharge end (139) of the tablet press (130) can be fed by gravity into the upstream end (183a) of the transfer device (183), and tablets discharged from the downstream end (183b) of the transfer device (183) can be fed by gravity into the inlet end (151) of the analyzer (150). Accordingly, tablets can be fed from the tablet press (130) to the analyzer (150) with only a simple configuration.

In one embodiment, the upstream end (183a) of the transport device (183) may be provided lower than the downstream end (183b) of the transport device (183). That is, the transport device (183) may transport the tablet upward. Accordingly, the tableting device (130) and the analyzer (150) may be arranged at the same/similar height, thereby improving the arrangement efficiency of each device.

In one embodiment, the transport section (180) includes a first external conveyor (185) that transports the tablets provided from the analyzer (150) to the coater (160), and an upstream end (185a) of the first external conveyor (185) may be positioned lower than a discharge end (159) of the analyzer (150), and a downstream end (185b) of the first external conveyor (185) may be positioned higher than an inlet end (161) of the coater (160). Specifically, the upstream end (185a) of the first external conveyor (185) may be positioned vertically below the discharge end (159) of the analyzer (150), and the downstream end (185b) of the first external conveyor (185) may be positioned vertically above the inlet end (161) of the coater (160). Accordingly, the tablets discharged from the discharge end (159) of the analyzer (150) can be fed by gravity into the upstream end (185a) of the first external conveyor (185), and the tablets discharged from the downstream end (185b) of the first external conveyor (185) can be fed by gravity into the inlet end (161) of the coater (160). Accordingly, the tablets can be transferred from the analyzer (150) to the coater (160) with only a simple configuration.

In one embodiment, the upstream end (185a) of the first external conveyor (185) may be provided lower than the downstream end (185b) of the first external conveyor (185). That is, the first external conveyor (185) may transport the tablet upward. Accordingly, the analyzer (150) and the coater (160) may be arranged at the same/similar height, thereby improving the arrangement efficiency of each device.

In addition, in one embodiment, the transport unit (180) includes a second external conveyor (186) that transports the tablets provided from the coater (160) to the marking device (170), and an upstream end (186a) of the second external conveyor (186) may be positioned lower than the discharge end (169) of the coater (160), and a downstream end (186b) of the second external conveyor (186) may be positioned higher than the inlet end (171) of the marking device (170). Specifically, the upstream end (186a) of the second external conveyor (186) may be positioned vertically below the discharge end (169) of the coater (160), and the downstream end (186b) of the second external conveyor (186) may be positioned vertically above the inlet end (171) of the marking device (170). Accordingly, tablets discharged from the discharge end (169) of the coating machine (160) can be fed by gravity into the upstream end (186a) of the second external conveyor (186), and tablets discharged from the downstream end (186b) of the second external conveyor (186) can be fed by gravity into the inlet end (171) of the marking device (170). Accordingly, tablets can be transferred from the coating machine (160) to the marking device (170) with only a simple configuration.

In one embodiment, the upstream end (186a) of the second external conveyor (186) may be provided lower than the downstream end (186b) of the second external conveyor (186). That is, the second external conveyor (186) may transport the tablet upward. Accordingly, the coater (160) and the marking device (170) may be arranged at the same/similar height, thereby improving the arrangement efficiency of each device.

The tablets discharged from the discharge end (179) of the marking device (170) can be fed into an additional device for an additional process. At this time, the transfer unit (180) may further include an additional transfer means, such as a conveyor, to transfer the tablets to the additional device.

Figure 3 illustrates a process for a tablet manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Each component illustrated in Figure 3 may correspond to a component having the same name illustrated in Figure 1 or Figure 2.

According to step S301, raw materials in a powder or premix state can be fed into the raw material conveyor hopper.

According to step S302, raw materials in a powder or premix state can be transferred from a raw material transfer hopper to a feeder by a raw material transfer machine.

According to step S303, raw materials in a powder or premix state can be fed into the blender at a constant rate by one or more feeders.

According to step S304, raw materials discharged from one or more feeders may be blended by one or more blenders.

According to step S305, the raw material or mixture can be transported by the pipe and fed into the inlet end of the press.

According to step S306, a raw material or mixture may be compressed by a tablet press at a certain pressure to form a tablet in the form of a core tablet.

According to step S307, the feed may be separated by the transport device and fed into the inlet end of the analyzer.

According to step S308, the content of the tablet can be inspected or analyzed in real time by the analyzer, so that a judgment of suitability/unsuitability of the tablet can be made.

According to step S309, the coating material may be transported by a conveyor and fed into the inlet end of the coating machine.

According to step S310, a coating liquid may be sprayed onto the surface of a tablet by a coating machine to form a coated tablet.

According to step S311, the coating agent can be transported by the conveyor and fed into the inlet end of the marking device.

According to step S312, an imprint is engraved on the surface of the coating by a marking device, and inspection of the appearance, etc. can be performed.

Since all steps from step S301 to step S312 of FIG. 3 can be performed without the intervention of a worker, problems that may occur due to worker errors in the tablet manufacturing process can be prevented, ultimately reducing tablet production costs and shortening production time.

FIG. 4 illustrates a part of an analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates a part of the analyzer (150) shown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the analyzer (150) may include an internal conveyor (153) that transports tablets supplied through an inlet end (151) of the analyzer (150) toward a discharge end (159) of the analyzer, a component measurement sensor (157) that obtains component information of tablets transported by the internal conveyor (153), and a blower (158) configured to blow gas onto the internal conveyor (153) to detach defective tablets selected based on the component information from the internal conveyor (153).

In one embodiment, tablets supplied through the inlet end (151) may be placed on an internal conveyor (153). To place tablets on the internal conveyor (153) at regular intervals, a centrifugal feeder or the like may be used.

In one embodiment, the tablets may be arranged on the internal conveyor (153) aligned along the direction of travel of the internal conveyor (153).

In one embodiment, the ingredient measurement sensor (157) may be provided to irradiate electromagnetic waves to tablets transported by the internal conveyor (153) to obtain spectral information. For example, the ingredient measurement sensor (157) may be provided to irradiate electromagnetic waves to the first tablet (211) at the P location to obtain spectral information about the first tablet (211). Component information of the first tablet (211) may be obtained through the spectral information.

In one embodiment, the spectral information may include near-infrared (NIR) spectral information. Using a near-infrared sensor, thousands to tens of thousands of tablets can be inspected per hour, allowing full inspection of the contents of tablets within a continuous production process of tablets to reduce the defect rate of manufactured tablets. In one embodiment, the spectral information may include spatially-resolved near-infrared (NIR) spectral information. For example, the composition measurement sensor (157) may include a near-infrared spatially-resolved spectral (NIR SRS) sensor that obtains near-infrared spatially-resolved spectral information about the tablet. The composition information of the tablet can be identified through the spectral information. The composition measurement sensor (157) of the spatially-resolved spectral method can measure the composition of the tablet at a high speed. For example, the ingredient measurement sensor (157) can obtain ingredient information of thousands or tens of thousands of tablets per hour. Based on the ingredient information of the tablet, the tablet can be judged as defective or normal.

The measurement time interval of the component measurement sensor (157) of the present invention is about 10 ms or less, and 40,000 pieces of purified component information can be obtained per hour.

The measurement wavelength range of the component measuring sensor (157) of the present invention may be 940 nm or more and 1700 nm or less.

In one embodiment, the blower (158) can provide air pressure from the side of the tablet progression path on the inner conveyor (153) to detach a defective tablet. If the second tablet (213) at the Q position is a defective tablet determined based on the ingredient information acquired at the P position, the blower (158) can be operated to detach the second tablet (213) from the inner conveyor (153). Accordingly, the defective tablet is detached from the inner conveyor (153), so that the defective tablet is isolated from the normal tablet, and the normal tablet can be transported to the discharge end (159) by the inner conveyor (153).

FIG. 5 illustrates a part of a tablet press according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 5 may illustrate a part of the tablet press (130) shown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the tablet press (130) may measure a component of a raw material or a mixture fed into the tablet press (130). For example, the tablet press (13) may include a raw material component measuring sensor (137). The raw material component measuring sensor (137) may measure a component of the raw material or the mixture by irradiating near-infrared rays to the raw material or the mixture. The raw material component measuring sensor (137) may be provided in a diode array manner. For example, the measurement wavelength range of the raw material component measuring sensor (137) of the present invention may be 1100 nm or more and 2100 nm or less.

In one embodiment, the tablet inspection system may include a raw material component measurement sensor (137) and a component measurement sensor (157). In this case, since the components of the tablet are measured in both the raw material (or mixture) form and the tablet form, the accuracy of the measurement may be improved.

Specifically, the driving device (130) may include a shaft (133) that is provided to be rotated about a fixed axis, a plurality of radial side walls (134) extending radially from an outer surface of the shaft (133), at least one cell (135) partitioned by two adjacent radial side walls (134), and a lower plate (136) arranged at a lower portion of at least one cell (135).

For example, a raw material or mixture can be fed into a cell (135) through an inlet (132) of a shaft press (130). By rotating the shaft (133), the cell (135) also rotates. At this time, the raw material component measuring sensor (137) can measure the components of the raw material or mixture fed into at least one cell (135). A hollow (138) can be formed in the lower plate (136), and when the cell (135) is placed on the hollow (138) by rotating the shaft (133), the raw material or mixture inside the cell (135) is discharged downward through the hollow (138).

A plurality of sets of shafts (133), a plurality of radial side walls (134) and cells (135) may be provided. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the sets of shafts (133), a plurality of radial side walls (134) and cells (135) are provided adjacent to each other, and a mixing section is provided at the bottom of both sets for mixing raw materials, so that the two sets can share the mixing section. Raw materials discharged through the hollow (138) of the lower plate (136) of each set can be mixed in the mixing section and proceed to the next process.

Fig. 6 illustrates one embodiment of an external conveyor (585) according to the present invention. Since the external conveyor (585) illustrated in Fig. 6 may correspond to the first external conveyor (185), the second external conveyor (186), or the transfer device (183) illustrated in Fig. 2, a description of functions overlapping with the first external conveyor (185), the second external conveyor (186), or the transfer device (183) illustrated in Fig. 2 will be omitted.

In one embodiment, an external conveyor (585) can transport raw material, mixture or tablet discharged from the discharge end (519) of the first device (510) to the inlet end (521) of the second device (520). The first device (510) and the second device (520) can each be one of a feeder, a blender, a tableting machine, an analyzer, a coater and a marking device according to the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the upstream end (585a) of the external conveyor (585) may be positioned lower than the discharge end (519) of the first device (510). At this time, the first hopper (581) may be positioned between the discharge end (519) of the first device (510) and the upstream end (585a) of the external conveyor (585). Accordingly, the raw material, mixture or tablet discharged from the discharge end (519) of the first device (510) may be more effectively guided to the upstream end (585a) of the external conveyor (585).

In one embodiment, the downstream end (585b) of the external conveyor (585) may be positioned higher than the inlet end (521) of the second device (520). At this time, the second hopper (582) may be positioned between the downstream end (585b) of the external conveyor (585) and the inlet end (521) of the second device (520). Accordingly, the raw material, mixture or tablet discharged and falling from the downstream end (585b) of the external conveyor (585) may be more effectively guided to the inlet end (521) of the second device (520).

In one embodiment, the external conveyor (585) may include a first side wall (5855-1) and a second side wall (5855-2) that are arranged upright on both sides of the belt (5851). Accordingly, the raw material, mixture, or tablet conveyed by the belt (5851) of the external conveyor (585) may be prevented from being separated from the external conveyor (585).

In one embodiment, the external conveyor (585) may be provided so that the upstream end (585a) is lower than the downstream end (585b). That is, the external conveyor (585) may be provided upwardly. In this case, the belt (5851) may be formed with a mounting portion (5852) that protrudes outwardly. The raw material, mixture, or tablet may be mounted on the mounting portion (5852) to prevent it from flowing backward in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the belt (5851) that drives upwardly.

In one embodiment, the external conveyor (585) may be supported by a support (5857) that is upright with respect to the ground, and a movable member (5858) may be provided at the bottom of the support (5857). The external conveyor (5855) may be easily oriented by the movable member (5858).

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a side view and a perspective view, respectively, of a transport device (183) according to the present invention. Specifically, Figure 8 illustrates a perspective view of the transport device (183) cut along line TT' of Figure 7. The transport device (183) illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 may correspond to the transport device (183) illustrated in Figure 2.

In one embodiment, the transport device (183) may include a guide surface (1833) that extends from an upstream end (183a) of the transport device (183) to a downstream end (183b) of the transport device (183) and guides tablets discharged from the tablet press, and a pneumatically providing section that blows gas onto the guide surface (1833) so that the tablets are guided by the guide surface (1833) and move the tablets from the upstream end (1831) of the transport device (183) toward the downstream end (1832) of the transport device (183). The tablets discharged from the tablet press may be fed into the upstream end (1831) of the transport device (183), guided and moved along the guide surface (1833) by pneumatic pressure to the downstream end (1832), and discharged from the downstream end (1832).

The pneumatic providing unit may include a first inner cylinder (1835). Specifically, the transfer device (183) may include a first inner cylinder (1835), a second inner cylinder (1836), and an outer cylinder (1834) having the same central axis and different diameters. In addition, the transfer device (1833) may include a guide surface (1833) that extends from an outer surface of the first inner cylinder (1835) to an inner surface of the second inner cylinder (1836) and is formed in a spiral shape with the first inner cylinder (1835) as an axis. At this time, pneumatic pressure may be provided from an inner space of the first inner cylinder (1835) toward the outside of the first inner cylinder (1835). By the provided air pressure, gas is blown obliquely on the guide surface (1833), so that the tablet moves along the spiral guide surface (1833) toward the downstream end (1832) of the transport device (183). Accordingly, the tablet can be transported by the air pressure and decomposed by the air pressure at the same time. At least one hollow (1833a) can be formed in the guide surface (1833). The tablet can be transported and decomposed more effectively by the flow of air passing through the hollow (1833a).

In one embodiment, air can flow into a space between the second inner cylinder (1836) and the outer cylinder (1834). The space between the second inner cylinder (1836) and the outer cylinder (1834) can be in fluid communication with an air inlet end (1832) of the transfer device (183) and an air discharge end (1838) of the transfer device. Air including dust and the like decomposed from the purifier can be discharged from the air inlet end (1832) through the space between the second inner cylinder (1836) and the outer cylinder (1834) to the air discharge end (1838). For this purpose, the air discharge end (1838) side can be maintained in a vacuum or near-vacuum state.

Figure 9 shows one embodiment of a method for manufacturing a tablet according to the present invention.

In one embodiment, the method for manufacturing a tablet may include a step of mixing raw materials to form a mixture (S910), a step of compressing the formed mixture to form a tablet (S920), a step of depulping the formed tablet (S930), a step of transporting the depulped tablet by a transfer unit to an analyzer (S935), a step of obtaining component information on the depulped tablet by the analyzer, selecting defective tablets and normal tablets among the depulped tablets based on the component information, and providing normal tablets (S940), a step of transporting the normal tablets to a coater by the transfer unit (S945), and a step of coating the provided normal tablets by a coater (S950). At this time, the step of depulping the formed tablet (S930) may be omitted if necessary.

Figure 10 shows another embodiment of a method for manufacturing a tablet according to the present invention.

In one embodiment, the method for manufacturing a tablet may include a step of mixing raw materials to form a mixture (S1010), a step of compressing the formed mixture to form a tablet (S1020), a step of depulping the formed tablet (S1030), a step of transporting the depulped tablet by a transfer unit to an analyzer (S1035), a step of obtaining component information on the depulped tablet by the analyzer, and a step of selecting defective tablets and normal tablets among the depulped tablets based on the component information, and providing normal tablets (S1040), a step of transporting the normal tablet to a coater by the transfer unit (S1045), a step of coating the provided normal tablet by a coater (S1050), a step of transporting the normal tablet to a marking device by the transfer unit (S1055), a step of marking the surface of the coated tablet by the marking device (S1060), and a step of photographing the tablet marked by the marking device to inspect the appearance of the marked tablet (S1070). At this time, the step (S1030) of depulping the formed tablet as needed may be omitted.

The refined manufacturing system may include a control device. Each step of each of the methods described with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10 may be automatically performed by the control device.

Claims (16)

A feeder that supplies raw materials; A blender for mixing raw materials provided from the above feeder; A tablet press that forms tablets by pressing raw materials provided from the blender; A coater for coating tablets; An analyzer that receives tablets from the tablet press, obtains ingredient information, selects defective tablets and normal tablets based on the ingredient information, and provides normal tablets to the coating machine; and Including a conveying unit for moving the raw material or tablet so that the raw material or tablet proceeds to the feeder, blender, tableting machine, analyzer and coater in that order. Refinery manufacturing system. In the first paragraph, The above analyzer, An internal conveyor for transporting purified water supplied through the inlet end of the analyzer toward the discharge end of the analyzer; A component measurement sensor that obtains component information of tablets transported by the internal conveyor; and A blower configured to blow gas onto the internal conveyor to separate defective tablets selected based on the ingredient information from the internal conveyor. Refinery manufacturing system. In the second paragraph, The above component measuring sensor, Equipped to obtain spectral information by irradiating electromagnetic waves to the tablets transported by the above internal conveyor, Refinery manufacturing system. In the third paragraph, The above spectral information is, Contains spatially-resolved near-infrared (NIR) spectral information, Refinery manufacturing system. In the second paragraph, The above transfer part, A first external conveyor is included for transporting the purified product provided from the above analyzer to the above coating machine, The upstream end of the first external conveyor is positioned lower than the discharge end of the analyzer, and the downstream end of the first external conveyor is positioned higher than the inlet end of the coater. Refinery manufacturing system. In paragraph 5, Further comprising a marking device for marking the surface of a tablet provided from the above coating machine and providing the marked tablet. Refinery manufacturing system. In Article 6, The above marking device includes an inspection unit that inspects the appearance of the tablet by photographing the tablet. Refinery manufacturing system. In Article 6, The above transfer part, A second external conveyor is included for transporting the tablets provided from the coating machine to the marking device, The upstream end of the second external conveyor is positioned lower than the discharge end of the coating machine, and the downstream end of the second external conveyor is positioned higher than the inlet end of the marking device. Refinery manufacturing system. In the first paragraph, The above transfer part, A transport device is included for transporting the tablets provided from the above tableting machine to the above analyzer, The above transport device is, A guide surface provided to extend from the upstream end of the transfer device to the downstream end of the transfer device and guide the tablets discharged from the tablet press; and A pneumatic providing unit is provided to blow gas onto the guide surface to guide the tablet by the guide surface, thereby moving the tablet from the upstream end of the transport device toward the downstream end of the transport device. The upstream end of the transfer device is positioned lower than the discharge end of the pressure regulator, and the downstream end of the transfer device is positioned higher than the inlet end of the analyzer. Refinery manufacturing system. In Article 9, The above transport device is, Further comprising a depulping means for depulping the tablets transported by the above transport device. Refinery manufacturing system. In the first paragraph, The inlet end of the above-mentioned tablet is positioned vertically below the discharge end of the above-mentioned blender, The above transfer part, Including a pipe connecting the inlet end of the above-mentioned tablet machine and the discharge end of the above-mentioned blender. Refinery manufacturing system. In the first paragraph, The above feeder is configured to continuously provide raw materials based on a preset discharge speed. Refinery manufacturing system. In the first paragraph, Further comprising a hopper for receiving raw materials from the above feeder, inducing the raw materials and dropping them into the blender to provide them; The above hopper, A body part having a discharge end formed at the bottom that is vertically connected to the inlet end of the blender, and a tapered surface formed on the inside with an inner diameter that narrows toward the discharge end; and Including an ultrasonic vibrator that vibrates the above tapered surface, Refinery manufacturing system. In a method for manufacturing tablets using a tablet manufacturing system, A step in which raw materials are mixed to form a mixture; A step in which the formed mixture is pressed to form a tablet; The step of depulping the formed tablets; A step in which the purified product decomposed by the transfer unit is transferred to the analyzer; A step of obtaining component information on a tablet decomposed by the above analyzer, selecting defective tablets and normal tablets among the decomposed tablets based on the component information, and providing normal tablets; A step in which the normal tablet is transferred to the coating machine by the above transfer unit; and A step of coating the provided normal tablet by the coating machine, Method for manufacturing purified water. In Article 14, Further comprising a step of marking the surface of the coated tablet, Method for manufacturing purified water. In Article 15, Further comprising a step of photographing the marked tablet and inspecting the appearance of the marked tablet. Method for manufacturing purified water.

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