Conveyor Belt and Conveyor Device

Abstract

To provide a conveying belt that can convey solid preparations in stabilized postures regardless of their shapes.SOLUTION: A conveyor belt 50 has an adsorption part 52 which is formed along the longitudinal direction of a strip-shaped belt body 51, and by adsorbing an adsorption part 52 from the back side of the belt body 51 can adsorb solid preparations 90 on the surface side of the belt body 51, the adsorption part 52 has a shape in which multiple space parts 53 having front side openings 54 and back side openings 56 are partially overlapped and linked in the longitudinal direction BL of the belt body 51, the space parts 53 have front side openings 54 communicating with each other through constricted parts 55 and have taper parts 57 tapered toward back side openings 56 inside thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveyor belt and a conveying device, and more particularly to a conveyor belt and a conveying device used for conveying solid preparations such as tablets and capsules.

Background Art

[0002] As a belt for conveying solid preparations such as tablets, Patent Document 1 discloses a conveyor belt 100 including a belt-shaped belt body 101, a groove 102 extending in the longitudinal direction of the belt body 101, and a plurality of air intake holes 103 formed on the bottom surface of the groove 102, as shown in a plan view in FIG. 8. By sucking from the back surface side of the belt body 101 through the air intake holes 103 and the groove 102, the conveyor belt 100 adsorbs and conveys tablets on the surface of the belt body 101, and inspections and printing of the tablets can be performed during conveyance.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As shown in a side view in FIG. 9, in the case where the solid preparation 110 has a curved surface 111, such as when the shape of the solid preparation 110 to be conveyed is elliptical in side view, when the curved surface 111 is adsorbed and held in the groove 102 of the conveyor belt 100, the solid preparation 110 contacts at two points on both sides in the width direction of the groove 102, so there is a risk that the solid preparation 110 swings back and forth in the conveying direction T during conveyance. For this reason, the posture of the tablets may change during inspection or printing of the solid preparation 110, and there is a risk that the inspection accuracy and printing accuracy may decrease.

[0005] In addition, dust, dirt, etc. may accumulate between the intake holes 103 formed in the groove 102, and if this becomes lumpy and blocks the intake holes 103, the adsorbing power of the solid preparation 110 will decrease, and thus the rocking of the solid preparation 110 may become larger.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor belt and a conveyor device capable of stably conveying a solid preparation regardless of its shape.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The above object of the present invention is a conveyor belt in which a suction part communicating the front and back is formed along the longitudinal direction on a belt-shaped belt body, and by sucking the suction part from the back surface side of the belt body, a solid preparation can be adsorbed on the front surface side of the belt body, and the suction part has a front surface side opening and a back surface side opening and the surface-side opening is circular It has a shape in which a plurality of space parts are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the belt body while partially overlapping, and in the plurality of space parts, the front surface side openings communicate with each other via constricted parts, and each has a tapered part that tapers toward the back surface side opening inside. and the edge portion on the surface side of the suction portion has a shape in which a plurality of arc-shaped portions are connected at the constricted portion It is achieved by a conveyor belt. The back surface side openings are preferably separated from each other.

[0008] In this conveyor belt , the The pitch of the circular arc-shaped part is preferably set to be smaller than the length in the conveying direction of the solid preparation to be conveyed.

[0009] In addition, the above object of the present invention is achieved by a conveyor device including the above conveyor belt, a first pulley and a second pulley, and a suction device, wherein the conveyor belt is formed in an endless shape with the front surface side exposed and wound around the first pulley and the second pulley, and in at least a part of the conveying path, a solid preparation is adsorbed on the conveyor belt by the suction of the suction device.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a conveyor belt and a conveying device that can stably convey solid preparations regardless of their shapes.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The conveying device 1 shown in FIG. 1 can adsorb and convey solid preparations 90 such as tablets and capsules supplied from a supply device 10.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the supply device 10 includes a disk 11 in the shape of a hat, an intermediate ring 12 that houses the disk 11, and a rotating ring 13 that houses the intermediate ring 12.

[0014] While the rotation axes 11a and 13a of the disk 11 and the rotary ring 13 extend in the vertical direction, the rotation axis 12a of the intermediate ring 12 is arranged to be slightly inclined with respect to the rotation axes 11a and 13a. The rotation axes 11a, 12a, and 13a are each connected via a speed reducer 11b, 12b, and 13b to a drive source (not shown), such as a motor, provided individually, and the disk 11, the intermediate ring 12, and the rotary ring 13 can be rotationally driven independently of each other.

[0015] On the upper portions of the intermediate ring 12 and the rotary ring 13, conveying portions 12c and 13c are respectively formed along the circumferential direction. The conveying portion 13c of the rotary ring 13 is covered by a ring-shaped protrusion 13d on the radially outer side.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the conveying device 1 includes a first pulley 21 and a second pulley 22 whose respective rotation axes 21a and 22a are horizontally arranged, an endless belt-shaped conveying belt 50 wound around the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22, and a suction device 24 arranged along the conveying direction of the conveying belt 50. The diameter of the second pulley 22 is smaller than the diameter of the first pulley 21. The straight portion of the conveying belt 50 located between the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22 is horizontal above the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22, and is inclined below the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the first pulley 21 is configured by connecting two disks 21b and 21c to each other with a space therebetween by a rotation axis 21a. Similarly, the second pulley 22 also includes two disks connected to each other with a space therebetween by a rotation axis 22a, like the first pulley 21. In the present embodiment, the first pulley 21 is used as a drive pulley connected to a drive motor (not shown), and the second pulley 22 is used as a driven pulley, but the first pulley 21 may be used as a driven pulley and the second pulley 22 may be used as a drive pulley.

[0018] The conveying belt 50 is a belt-shaped belt body 51 formed in a rectangular cross-section, and a suction portion 52 communicating the front and back is formed along the longitudinal direction of the belt shape. The suction portion 52 is disposed between the disks 21b and 21c of the first pulley 21. The conveying belt 50 can be formed of a soft material such as silicon rubber, for example.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the suction device 24 includes a straight portion 24a disposed immediately below the vicinity of the conveying belt 50 extending horizontally between the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22, and arc portions 24b and 24c provided on both sides in the conveying direction of the straight portion 24a, respectively. Each of the arc portions 24b and 24c is inserted between the two disks provided on the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22, and is formed to be curved in an arc shape along the conveying belt 50 wound around the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the suction device 24 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and a slit-shaped suction portion 25 is formed along the suction portion 52 at a portion where the suction device 24 faces the suction portion 52 of the conveying belt 50. The inside of the suction device 24 can be depressurized by the operation of a vacuum pump (not shown). By sucking the solid preparation 90 to the suction portion 25 through the suction portion 52 of the conveying belt 50, the solid preparation 90 can be adsorbed to the conveying belt 50 and conveyed together with the conveying belt 50.

[0021] FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the main part of the conveying belt 50, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 3(a). As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and (b), the suction portion 52 is formed at the center of the belt body 51 along the longitudinal direction BL by a plurality of space portions 53. The surface-side openings 54 of the plurality of space portions 53 communicate with each other through the constricted portions 55, and the solid preparation 90 indicated by the broken line is mainly supported in contact with both end edges of the constricted portion 55. The back-side openings 56 of the plurality of space portions 53 are separated from each other.

[0022] Inside each space portion 53, a tapered portion 57 that tapers from the front surface side toward the back surface side opening 56 is formed. Each tapered portion 57 communicates with the back surface side opening 56 through a cylindrical portion 58 with a constant cross-section.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a (a) plan view and (b) cross-sectional view for explaining in more detail the configuration of the suction portion 52 shown in FIG. 3. The plurality of space portions 53 shown in FIG. 4 are the plurality of space portions 53 constituting the suction portion 52 shown in FIG. 3, shown at intervals from each other. As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), in each space portion 53, the front surface side opening 54 is formed in a circular shape, and the tapered portion 57 is formed so as to have a reduced diameter from the front surface side opening 54 toward the upper end of the cylindrical portion 58.

[0024] The suction portion 52 has a shape in which the plurality of space portions 53 shown in FIG. 4 are arranged in the longitudinal direction BL of the belt body 51 with partial overlap. As shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the upper portions of adjacent tapered portions 57 are integrated and communicated with each other. The edge portions of the front surface side openings 54 of each space portion 53 are cut off at the portions indicated by the two-dot chain line due to partial overlap of adjacent ones, and arc-shaped portions 60 are formed on both sides in the width direction of the belt body 51. The edge portion on the front surface side of the suction portion 52 has a shape in which a plurality of arc-shaped portions 60 are connected at the constricted portion 55, and the arc-shaped portions 60 having a predetermined pitch P are continuously formed along the conveying direction T. In this way, since the suction portion 52 can be formed by arranging the space portions 53 of the same shape in the longitudinal direction BL, processing with respect to the belt body 51 is easy.

[0025] Next, the operation of the conveying device 1 having the above configuration will be described. With the disk 11, the intermediate ring 12, and the rotating ring 13 of the supply device 10 being rotationally driven in the same direction, a plurality of solid preparations 90 such as tablets and capsules are supplied onto the disk 11. As a result, the solid preparations 90 receive centrifugal force and move to the conveying portion 13c of the rotating ring 13 through the conveying portion 12c of the intermediate ring 12. In this way, the solid preparations 90 can be aligned in a row in the conveying portion 13c and conveyed in the rotational direction of the rotating ring 13.

[0026] In the supply device 10, the solid preparations 90 that are aligned and conveyed are sequentially adsorbed onto the conveyor belt 50 near the lower part of the first pulley 21 by the suction of the suction part 25 of the conveying device 1 and rise. While remaining in the adsorbed state, they are linearly conveyed above the first pulley 21 and the second pulley 22. As shown in FIG. 1, an appearance inspection device 30 for inspecting the appearance of the solid preparation 90 is arranged in the portion linearly conveyed by the conveying device 1. The appearance inspection device 30 includes a sensor 31 that detects the approach of the solid preparation 90 conveyed by the conveying device 1, and imaging devices 32 and 33 that image both horizontal sides of the solid preparation 90 detected by the sensor 31. By maintaining the state in which the solid preparation 90 is adsorbed on the conveyor belt 50 until the imaging positions of the imaging devices 32 and 33, the side inspection of the solid preparation 90 can be accurately performed. Alternatively, by arranging a printing device instead of the imaging devices 32 and 33, side printing on the solid preparation 90 can also be performed.

[0027] The suction device 24 only needs to be formed from the position where the solid preparation 90 is adsorbed onto the conveyor belt 50 in the arc portion 24b to the necessary portion of the linear portion 24a (for example, the portion where the appearance inspection or printing of the solid preparation 90 is completed). In at least a part of the conveying path, any configuration can be used as long as the solid preparation 90 is adsorbed onto the conveyor belt 50. After the appearance inspection, the solid preparation 90 falls from the conveyor belt 50 and is discharged from the discharge chute 100 shown in FIG. 1 and sent to the next process.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the solid preparation 90 adsorbed on the conveyor belt 50 is supported at four locations on both edge portions at the constricted portion 55 of the adsorption portion 52 (the sharp portion between the two arc-shaped portions 60 and 60 surrounded by the dotted circles). Thereby, even when the solid preparation 90 is adsorbed on the conveyor belt 50 in a state inclined with respect to the conveying direction, the rocking of the solid preparation 90 during conveying can be suppressed, and the posture of the solid preparation 90 can be stabilized and conveyed. Therefore, the inspection accuracy of the solid preparation 90 by the appearance inspection device 30 can be maintained well. Alternatively, when a printing device is arranged instead of the appearance inspection device 30, the printing accuracy of the solid preparation 90 can be maintained well.

[0029] At the edge of the suction part 52, the pitch P of the continuous arc-shaped part 60 of the suction part 52 shown in Fig. 5(a) is set to be smaller than the conveyance direction length L of the solid preparation 90 so that the solid preparation 90 is surely supported at the above four positions. Also, it is preferable that the diameter D of the surface side opening 54 of the space part 53 is also set to be smaller than the length L in the conveyance direction T of the solid preparation 90.

[0030] If the conveyance direction length L of the solid preparation 90 is too long with respect to the pitch P of the arc-shaped part 60, the solid preparation 90 is likely to swing. On the other hand, if the conveyance direction length L of the solid preparation 90 is too short with respect to the pitch P, the sinking of the solid preparation 90 into the pitch P becomes large, and it may be difficult to inspect and print the entire side surface of the solid preparation 90. Therefore, it is preferable that the pitch P satisfies L / 8 < P < L / 2.

[0031] Also, a tapered part 57 that tapers toward the back surface side opening 56 is formed inside each space part 53 that is connected so that a part thereof overlaps, whereby dust, dirt, etc. that have entered the suction part 52 can be smoothly discharged from the back surface side opening 56 along the tapered part 57. Therefore, it is possible to surely prevent a decrease in the suction force due to the retention of foreign matter in the suction part 52, and thereby, the posture of the solid preparation 90 during conveyance can also be stabilized. In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the tapered part 57 is linear, but it may be, for example, a curved shape that curves convexly or concavely.

[0032] The adsorption part 52 of this embodiment has a shape in which the surface-side openings 54 with circular shapes are arranged in the longitudinal direction BL of the belt body 51 while partially overlapping the space part 53. As a result, the edge part of the adsorption part 52 has a shape in which a plurality of arc-shaped parts 60 are connected at the constricted part 55, as shown in Fig. 5(a). When the solid preparation 90 is conveyed from the supply device 10 or other conveying devices to the conveying device 1, the arc-shaped part 60 serves as a guide by following the curved surface of the solid preparation 90, and the solid preparation 90 can be surely adsorbed at a predetermined position on the conveying belt 50. Further, since the arc-shaped part 60 does not have a corner part where stress concentration is likely to occur, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the strength of the belt body 51 and stabilize the solid preparation 90 at a predetermined position. However, the shape of the surface-side opening 54 of each space part 53 is not necessarily limited to a circular shape, and may be, for example, a polygonal shape such as a square shape shown in Fig. 6(a) or a hexagonal shape shown in Fig. 6(b), or an elliptical shape shown in Fig. 6(c).

[0033] In the conveying belt 50 of this embodiment, since the back-side openings 56 of the plurality of space parts 53 are separated from each other, the strength of the belt body 51 can be maintained well, and each tapered part 57 can be individually sucked to surely remove dust and the like. However, as shown in Fig. 7, it is also possible to communicate the plurality of back-side openings 56 with each other in the same manner as the surface-side openings 54, for example, by expanding the diameter in a tapered shape with the lower part of the tapered part 57 facing the back-side opening 56.

[0034] The conveying belt 50 does not necessarily have to be integral. For example, it is also possible to configure the conveying belt 50 by arranging a pair of symmetric split belts in parallel in the width direction, and the conveying device 1 can operate each split belt at a synchronized timing.

[0035] The type of the solid preparation 90 adsorbed and conveyed by the conveying belt 50 is not particularly limited, such as tablets or capsules, but it is particularly effective when it has a curved shape along the longitudinal direction which is the conveying direction, and soft capsules can be preferably exemplified.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0036] 1 Conveyor device 21 First pulley 22 Second pulley 24 Suction device 50 Conveyor belt 51 Belt body 52 Adsorbing part 53 Space part 54 Surface side opening 55 Constricted part 56 Back side opening 57 Tapered part 60 Arc-shaped part 90 Solid preparation

Claims

1. A conveyor belt in which a suction portion communicating the front and back surfaces is formed along the longitudinal direction on a belt-shaped belt body, and by sucking the suction portion from the back surface side of the belt body, a solid preparation can be adsorbed on the front surface side of the belt body, the suction portion has a surface-side opening and a back-surface-side opening, and has a shape in which a plurality of space portions having a circular surface-side opening are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the belt body while partially overlapping, the plurality of space portions communicate with each other through a constricted portion at the surface-side opening, and each has a tapered portion that tapers toward the back-surface-side opening inside, a conveyor belt in which the edge portion on the surface side of the suction portion has a shape in which a plurality of arc-shaped portions are connected at the constricted portion.

2. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein the back-surface-side openings are separated from each other.

3. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein the pitch of the arc-shaped portions is set to be smaller than the length in the conveyance direction of the solid preparation to be conveyed.

4. A conveying device comprising the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a first pulley, a second pulley, and a suction device, wherein the conveyor belt is formed in an endless shape so that the front surface side is exposed and wound around the first pulley and the second pulley, and a solid preparation is adsorbed on the conveyor belt by suction of the suction device at at least a part of the conveyance path.

Images