Capsule mass measuring device

Abstract

A capsule mass measurement device 1 is provided with a weighing device 20 having a conveyance roller 10 and a weighing tray 30. The conveyance roller 10 comprises a plurality of protruding parts 12 that protrude radially outward from a cylindrical body part 11 having a horizontal rotation axis 11a, and a plurality of accommodation sections 13 that are formed between adjacent protruding parts 12 and accommodate a capsule such that the longitudinal direction thereof lies along the rotation axis 11a. The weighing tray 30 is formed having a groove section 32 that has a V-shaped cross section for holding both width-direction sides of the capsule, and the capsule accommodated in the accommodation section 13 is arranged so as to be supplied to the groove section 32 via the rotation of the conveyance roller 10 during the period between passing through the lowermost point and rotating 45° therefrom. After the mass of the capsule is measured, the capsule is ejected from the weighing tray 30 by being contacted by a protruding part 12 due to the rotation of the conveyance roller 10.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the mass of a capsule. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a device for inspecting the mass of capsules, which includes a receiving roller that stores and transports preparations such as capsules supplied from a transport roller in a pocket, and a weighing device that measures the mass of the capsules transported by the receiving roller. The weighing device includes a weighing dish that receives the capsules stored in the pocket of the receiving roller, and an injection device that injects compressed gas onto the weighing dish, and the capsules placed on the weighing dish are discharged to the outside by gas injection from the injection device after weight measurement. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-135714 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-mentioned weighing device requires an ejection device to eject the capsules from the weighing dish, which can lead to a complicated configuration. There is also room for further improvement in terms of measuring the mass of the capsules at high speed.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a capsule mass inspection device that can measure the mass of a capsule quickly and reliably with a simple configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a weighing device comprising a conveying roller for conveying capsules, and a weighing device for measuring the mass of capsules supplied to a weighing plate by intermittent driving of the conveying roller, the conveying roller having a plurality of protrusions protruding radially outward from a cylindrical main body having a horizontal rotation axis, and a plurality of storage sections formed between adjacent protrusions for storing capsules such that their longitudinal direction is along the rotation axis, the weighing plate having a groove section with a V-shaped cross section for holding both sides of the capsule in the width direction, the capsules stored in the storage section being supplied to the groove section between the time when the conveying roller passes the lowest point and the time when the conveying roller rotates 45 degrees, the measuring plate is formed with a notch portion through which a tip end of the protrusion passes on at least one side of the groove portion in a width direction, and the groove portion is formed so that a longitudinal direction of the groove portion is parallel to the rotation axis, After the weight measurement, the capsules are transported by the rotation of the transport roller. Passing through the notch This is achieved by a device for measuring the mass of a capsule that comes into contact with the protrusion and is ejected from the weighing dish.

[0007] In this capsule mass measuring device ,before The projection is preferably formed to have a width shorter than the length of the capsule in the longitudinal direction.

[0008] The V-shaped angle of the groove is preferably 70 to 110 degrees.

[0009] The weighing dish preferably includes a pair of holders standing on either side of the groove in the longitudinal direction. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the capsule mass measuring device of the present invention, the capsule mass can be measured quickly and reliably with a simple configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a capsule mass measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a plan view showing a main part of the capsule mass measuring device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3]2 is an enlarged view showing another main part of the capsule mass measuring device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a capsule mass measuring device (hereinafter, simply referred to as "mass measuring device") according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the mass measuring device 1 includes a conveying roller 10 that conveys a capsule 100 supplied from a supplying device 50 by intermittent driving, and a weighing device 20 that measures the mass of the capsule 100 conveyed by the conveying roller 10. The capsule 100 is a hard capsule that includes a body and a cap, and can contain powdered or liquid medicine, food, etc. by fitting the cap to the body. The capsule 100 may contain contents, or may be empty without containing contents.

[0013] The conveying roller 10 includes a cylindrical main body 11 having a horizontal rotation axis 11a, a plurality of protrusions 12 protruding radially outward from the main body 11, and a plurality of storage sections 13 formed between adjacent protrusions 12 for storing capsules 100. The interval between adjacent protrusions 12 is approximately the same as the diameter of the capsule 100, and the bottom of the storage section 13 is formed into an arc-shaped cross section having approximately the same diameter as the capsule 100.

[0014] The supply device 50 includes a direction restricting roller 300 that restricts the direction of the capsule 100 supplied from a supply hopper (not shown) in the direction indicated by the arrow X. The direction restricting roller 300 has a plurality of pockets 310 formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer circumferential surface. The capsule 100 is stored in each pocket 310 in an upright state from the supply hopper (not shown), and a part of the capsule 100 protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the direction restricting roller 300. The capsule 100 stored in the pocket 310 comes into contact with a direction restricting member 320 by intermittent driving of the direction restricting roller 300 in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is then supplied to the storage section 13 of the conveying roller 10. If the capsule 100 can be made to lie down when the capsule 100 is supplied from the supply hopper (not shown) to the conveying roller 40, the direction restricting roller 300 may not be provided.

[0015] The capsule 100 contained in the container 13 is conveyed along the arc-shaped guide member 40 in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is supplied to the weighing device 20. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the vicinity of one end 41 of the guide member 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide member 40 is disposed so that one end 41 is substantially horizontal at substantially the same height position as the center of the conveying roller 10, and a notched conveying recess 42 is formed on the inner circumferential side of the arc shape. The conveying recess 42 guides the capsule 100 along the bottom wall 45 between a pair of side walls 43, 44. A notched relief portion 46 is formed in the center of the bottom wall 45 along the conveying direction of the capsule 100, and the tip of the protrusion 12 of the conveying roller 11 shown by the dashed line moves along the relief portion 46, so that the capsule 100 is pressed against the protrusion 12 and conveyed in the conveying recess 42.

[0016] The weighing device 20 includes a weighing dish 30 attached to a dish mounting portion of a built-in weighing mechanism, and measures the mass of the capsule 100 placed on the weighing dish 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the weighing dish 30 is disposed near the other end 47 of the guide member 40 so that the capsule 100 accommodated in the accommodation portion 13 of the conveying roller 10 rotating around the horizontal rotation axis 11a is supplied to the weighing dish 30 between the time when the conveying roller 10 passes the lowest point and the time when the conveying roller 10 rotates 45 degrees around the rotation axis 11a. That is, the angle α formed by the straight line connecting the center of the conveying roller 10 and the center of the capsule supplied to the weighing dish 30 with the vertical direction is usually set to be greater than 0 degrees and smaller than 45 degrees. This angle α is preferably 10 to 30 degrees.

[0017] Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the weighing dish 30 shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 3. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the weighing dish 30 has a V-shaped groove 32 formed in the upper part of a dish body 31 formed in a block shape, and both sides in the width direction of the supplied capsule 100 abut against the groove 32 to be held. A pair of holding parts 33, 34 are provided standing on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the groove 32, and the capsule 100 is reliably held in the groove 32 by being able to abut against the holding parts 33, 34 at the longitudinal ends of the capsule 100.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 3, notches 35 and 36 are formed on both sides in the width direction of the groove 32 in the weighing dish 30, through which the tip of the protrusion 12 intermittently driven in the direction of arrow B passes, and the capsule 100 after mass measurement is scooped up by contact with the protrusion 12 that has passed through the notch 35. In this way, the capsule 100 is discharged from the groove 32 as shown by arrow C without receiving an excessive load. As shown in Fig. 4, the width of the protrusion 12 along the longitudinal direction of the groove 32 is formed shorter than the longitudinal length of the capsule 100 to be supplied, and the protrusion 12 comes into contact with the longitudinal center of the capsule 100, so that the capsule 100 can be reliably discharged from the groove 32.

[0019] The V-shaped angle β of the groove 32 shown in FIG. 3 is not necessarily limited, but is preferably as small as possible within a range in which an excessive load is not applied to the capsule 100 when it is discharged, and this shortens the time until the capsule 100 supplied to the groove 32 stops and can be weighed, so that the mass measurement of the capsule 100 can be performed quickly. That is, if the angle β is too large, it takes a long time for the capsule 100 supplied to the groove 32 to stop and be weighed, while if the angle β is too small, the capsule 100 and the weighing device 20 may be damaged by excessive load when the capsule 100 is discharged. Therefore, it is preferable to set the angle β in the range of 70 to 110 degrees. The angle β may be set according to the angle α, and specifically, it is preferable to set the angles α and β (degrees) so as to satisfy the relationship 130>β>130-2α. In this case, it is more preferable that the angles α and β satisfy the above relationship and further satisfy 30>α>10 and 110>β>70.

[0020] In this embodiment, the notches 35, 36 are formed on both widthwise sides of the groove portion 32. However, since the protrusion portion 12 moves diagonally upward so as to scoop up the capsule 100, the notch 35 may be formed only on one widthwise side of the groove portion 32, which is upstream in the movement direction of the protrusion portion 12.

[0021] Furthermore, when there is no risk of damaging the capsule 100 or the weighing device 20, the capsule 100 can be discharged from the groove 32 by contacting the tip of the protrusion 12 with the portion of the capsule 100 exposed above the groove 32 without forming the notches 35 and 36. In this case, the shape and size of the protrusion 12 are not particularly limited, and for example, a partition between a plurality of storage sections each consisting of a pocket formed along the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the conveying roller 10 can be used as the protrusion.

[0022] 1 is not particularly limited, and for example, as disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, capsules put into a hopper may be vacuum-adsorbed onto the outer peripheral surface of an adsorption roller and then supplied to the conveying rollers 10. Alternatively, an appearance inspection device may be provided that uses an imaging device to capture an image of the capsule conveyed by the appearance inspection rollers, and the capsules after the appearance inspection may be supplied from the appearance inspection rollers to the conveying rollers 10 via the direction regulating rollers 300.

[0023] The capsules 100 after the mass measurement by the weighing device 20 are discharged to the outside along the discharge chute 60. The above-mentioned appearance inspection device may be provided downstream of the weighing device 20 in the conveying direction, and the capsules discharged from the weighing dish 30 can be supplied to an appearance inspection roller for appearance inspection. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1. Capsule mass measuring device 10 Conveyor roller 11 Main body 12 Protrusion 13 Storage unit 20 Weighing device 30 Weighing pan 32 Groove 33,34 Holding part 35,36 Notch

Claims

1. The capsule weighing device includes a conveying roller for conveying the capsules, and a weighing device for measuring the mass of the capsules supplied to the weighing plate by intermittent driving of the conveying roller. The conveying roller includes a plurality of protrusions protruding radially outward from a cylindrical main body having a horizontal rotation axis, and a plurality of storage sections formed between adjacent protrusions for storing capsules such that their longitudinal direction is along the rotation axis, The measuring dish is formed with a groove having a V-shaped cross section for holding both sides of the capsule in the width direction, and is disposed so that the capsule accommodated in the accommodation section is supplied to the groove during a period from when the capsule passes the lowest point by the rotation of the conveying roller until the capsule rotates 45 degrees. The measuring plate has a notch formed on at least one side of the groove in a width direction, through which a tip of the protrusion passes, The groove is formed so that a longitudinal direction of the groove is parallel to the rotation axis, A capsule mass measuring device in which the capsule after its mass is measured comes into contact with the protrusion that has passed through the notch as the conveying roller rotates, and is discharged from the weighing dish.

2. The capsule mass measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion is formed to have a width shorter than the length of the capsule in the longitudinal direction.

3. 3. The capsule mass measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the V-shaped groove has an angle of 70 to 110 degrees.

4. 4. The capsule mass measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the weighing dish includes a pair of holding portions standing on either side of the groove in the longitudinal direction.

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