Twisting conveying machine, twisting conveying device using the same, and printing inspection device

Abstract

To provide a twisting carrier machine twisting objects to be carried while twisting them, a twisting carrier device using the same, and a print inspection device.SOLUTION: A twisting carrier machine of the present invention comprises: a pair of pulleys 41, 42 rotating around rotational shaft centers 90, 91 placed parallelly and intersecting each other as centers; a plurality of annular elastic belts 43, 43 rotatably and parallelly crossed over the pair of pulleys; a guide rail 50 having a suction groove continuously sucking objects to be carried 11 from between the plurality of annular elastic belts and a guide groove guiding the annular elastic belts along both of side edge parts of the suction groove, and placed inside of the annular elastic belts; and suction means for sucking the objects to be carried through the suction groove of the guide rail so as to bring the objects to be carried into close contact with the annular elastic belts and hold them. The objects to be carried in close contact with the plurality of rotating annular elastic belts is twisted while carrying them.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The torsional conveying machine according to the present invention can be applied to, for example, a torsional conveying device that can twist and turn upside down an object while conveying it. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as a conveying device, for example, a conveyed object inspection device has been proposed for inspecting tablets as conveyed objects while conveying them (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 61-211209 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, since the transported object inspection device only transports the object via a pair of transporting cables, it has the problem that it cannot twist and raise the transported object, and therefore cannot print characters continuously on the front and back surfaces to inspect them. In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a torsion conveying machine that can twist and raise an object while conveying it, and a torsion conveying device and a print inspection device that are combined with the torsion conveying machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A torsional conveying machine according to one aspect of the present invention includes: A pair of pulleys that rotate around rotation axes that are arranged parallel to each other and intersect each other; a plurality of annular elastic belts rotatably and parallelly wound around the pair of pulleys; a guide rail having a suction groove for continuously sucking the conveyed object between the plurality of annular elastic belts and a guide groove for guiding the annular elastic belts along both side edges of the suction groove, the guide rail being disposed inside the annular elastic belts; a suction means for sucking the object through the suction groove of the guide rail so that the object can be held in close contact with the annular elastic belt; The conveyed object, which is in close contact with the rotating plurality of circular elastic belts, is twisted and raised while being conveyed.

[0006] A torsional conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: Among the plurality of twisting conveying machines of the above aspect, the outgoing paths of the annular elastic belts of adjacent twisting conveying machines are arranged so as to be continuous with each other.

[0007] A print inspection device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: The torsion conveying device of the above aspect is provided. The print inspection device according to the present invention is a concept that includes devices that can be used as a simple printing device and a simple inspection device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the torsional conveying machine, the object to be conveyed can be twisted and raised while being conveyed via a plurality of annular elastic belts.

[0009] According to the twisting conveying device, the torsion conveying machine can twist and raise the conveyed object while conveying it via the plurality of annular elastic belts.

[0010] The print inspection device has the advantage that the torsional conveying device can twist and raise the conveyed object while conveying it via the plurality of annular elastic belts. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is an overall perspective view of a torsion conveying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention applied to a torsion conveying device and a print inspection device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first rectilinear conveying machine that constitutes the print inspection device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 2 is an overall perspective view of a twisting conveying device that constitutes the print inspection device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part of the twisting conveying device shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a perspective view of the main part of the twisting conveying device shown in FIG. 5, seen from the rear side. FIG. [Figure 7] 6 is a front view of a first twisting conveying machine constituting the twisting conveying device shown in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of the first torsion conveying machine shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the guide rails are removed from the perspective view of the main part shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the guide rail shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 11] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a guide block that constitutes the guide rail shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 12] 9 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a perspective view of a main part of the first torsion conveying machine shown in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of the partial vertical cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 9 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a perspective view of a main part of the first torsion conveying machine shown in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged view of the partial vertical cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 14. [Figure 16] FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the main part of the perspective view shown in FIG. 5, viewed from below. [Figure 17] FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the perspective view of the main part shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 18] FIG. [Figure 19]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a suction connecting pipe assembled into the drive pulley. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a suction connecting pipe assembled into the driven pulley. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of a torsion conveying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention applied to a torsion conveying device. [Figure 22] 22 is a front view showing the state in which the fixing table is removed from the twisting conveying device shown in FIG. 21. FIG. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a perspective view of FIG. 22 as seen from the rear side. [Figure 24] FIG. 23 is an enlarged perspective view of the first torsion conveyor shown in FIG. 22. [Figure 25] 25 is an enlarged perspective view of the partition plate shown in FIG. 24, seen from the inward surface side. FIG. [Figure 26] 25 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part showing a state in which guide rails are arranged inside the two annular elastic belts shown in FIG. 24. FIG. [Figure 27] 27 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the guide rail shown in FIG. 26, seen from the rear side. FIG. [Figure 28] FIG. 27 is an enlarged perspective view of the essential parts, showing a state in which the guide rails are removed from FIG. 26. [Figure 29] FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing only the guide rail shown in FIG. 26. [Figure 30] FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the guide rail shown in FIG. 29 as seen from the rear side. [Figure 31] 3A and 3B are explanatory views for explaining the external shape of a guide block according to the present invention. [Figure 32] FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the external shape of the guide block shown in FIG. 31. [Figure 33] FIG. 10 is an end view illustrating an internal structure for adjusting the suction force of the guide rail of the first torsion conveying machine. [Figure 34] FIG. 10 is an end view illustrating an internal structure for adjusting the suction force of the guide rail of the second torsion conveying machine. [Figure 35] FIG. 30 is a top perspective view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 36] FIG. 30 is a bottom perspective view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 37] FIG. 30 is a front view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 38] FIG. 30 is a rear view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 39] FIG. 30 is a plan view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 40] FIG. 30 is a bottom view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 41] FIG. 30 is a left side view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 42] FIG. 30 is a right side view of the guide block shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 43] FIG. 38 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 37. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A first embodiment of a torsion conveying machine according to the present invention will be described when applied to a print inspection device, as shown in Fig. 1. The print inspection device is a device for printing characters on the front and back surfaces of tablets, which are conveyed objects, and inspecting the characters, for example.

[0013] The print inspection device according to this embodiment generally includes an aligner 10 that aligns tablets, which are objects to be conveyed; a first rectilinear conveyor 20 that conveys the tablets received from the aligner 10 in a straight line; a torsional conveying device (30) that includes a first torsional conveying machine (40) and a second torsional conveying machine (60) and that inverts the tablet received from the first rectilinear conveying machine (20) by 180 degrees; and a second straight conveying device 80 that conveys the tablets received from the twisting conveying device 30 in a straight line.

[0014] In addition, above the first straight conveying machine 20, as shown in Figure 2, a printing machine (not shown) that prints characters on the surface of the tablet 11 (the surface marked with a capital letter Z) and an inspection machine (not shown) that inspects the printed characters are arranged sequentially along the conveying direction. Similarly, above the second straight conveying machine 80, a printing machine (not shown) that prints characters on the back side of the tablet 11 (the side marked with a capital letter A) and an inspection machine (not shown) that inspects the printed characters are arranged sequentially along the conveying direction.

[0015] The aligner 10 continuously supplies the tablets 11 one by one to the first rectilinear conveyor 20 .

[0016] 2 and 3, the first rectilinear conveying machine 20 has two annular elastic belts 23, 24 rotatably suspended in parallel between a driven pulley 21 and a driving pulley 22, whose rotation axes 21a, 22a are arranged parallel to each other on the same plane. A guide rail 27 is disposed along the inner side of the outward path of each of the two annular elastic belts 23, 24. 3, the guide rail 27 has a straight suction groove 27a formed along the conveying direction by combining a pair of opposing guide blocks 25, 26. Each of the guide blocks 25, 26 has guide grooves 25a, 26a, each with a V-shaped cross section, formed along both side edges of the suction groove 27a. The guide grooves 25a, 26a have position-regulating ribs 25b, 26b formed along their outer edges. The position-regulating ribs 25b, 26b are designed so that the height dimension of their tips is equal to or greater than the height dimension of the cross-sectional centers 23a, 24a of the annular elastic belts 23, 24. This is to prevent the annular elastic belts 23, 24 from falling out of the guide grooves 25a, 26a. In addition, the guide grooves 25a, 26a have suction holes 25c, 26c formed at a predetermined pitch in their bottom surfaces.

[0017] The suction groove 27a and the suction holes 25c, 26c are connected to a suction means (not shown). Therefore, by being sucked through the suction groove 27a from between the two annular elastic belts 23, 24, the tablet 11 is conveyed while being in close contact with the annular elastic belts 23, 24. Furthermore, by sucking the annular elastic belts 23 and 24 through the suction holes 25c and 26c, the annular elastic belts 23 and 24 can be prevented from flapping. Therefore, the first straight-line conveying machine 20 can convey the tablets 11 without dropping them during the conveying process in which letters are printed on the surface (the surface marked with a capital Z) of the tablets 11 received from the alignment machine 10 and inspected. Therefore, the driving pulley 22 and the driven pulley 21 are rotated by the motor 28, and the circular elastic belts 23 and 24 are rotated along the guide grooves 25a and 26a, whereby the tablet 11 is conveyed to the twisting conveying device 30.

[0018] 4 to 6, the twisting conveying device 30 has a first twisting conveying machine 40 and a second twisting conveying machine 60 fixed to a fixed base 31 and arranged along the same straight line. Furthermore, the first twisting conveying machine 40 and the second twisting conveying machine 60 are connected together by a connecting rod 32. In particular, the position of either the first torsion conveying machine 40 or the second torsion conveying machine 60 can be adjusted by shifting it along the same straight line. This is to accommodate the conveyance of objects 11 with different thicknesses.

[0019] 5 and 6, the first torsion conveying machine 40 twists the tablet 11 vertically while conveying the tablet 11 sucked up from the first rectilinear conveying machine 20. Then, the first torsion conveying machine 40 delivers the tablet 11 in a vertically twisted state to the second torsion conveying machine 60.

[0020] 7 to 9, the first torsional conveyor 40 has two annular elastic belts 43, 43 rotatably suspended in parallel between a driven pulley 41 and a driving pulley 42, whose rotation axes 90, 91 are parallel and perpendicular to each other. A guide rail 50 is disposed inside the outward path of the annular elastic belts 43, 43.

[0021] The driven pulley 41 is provided with two annular guide grooves 41a, 41a (see FIG. 9) having a substantially V-shaped cross section along its outer circumferential surface.

[0022] A motor 44 (FIG. 7) is attached to the drive pulley 42. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the drive pulley 42 has an annular suction groove 42a formed along its outer circumferential surface, and annular guide grooves 42b, 42b with a generally V-shaped cross section formed on both side edges of the annular suction groove 42a. Furthermore, the annular suction groove 42a communicates with suction holes 42d arranged concentrically on the side surface of the drive pulley 42. The annular guide groove 42b, which has a generally V-shaped cross section, is provided with position-regulating ribs 42c on both side edges. The height dimension of the tip of the position-regulating rib 42c is designed to be approximately equal to or greater than the height dimension of the cross-sectional center 43a (FIG. 16) of the annular elastic belts 43, 43. This is to prevent the annular elastic belts 43, 43, which are sucked together by the suction from the annular suction groove 42a, from colliding with each other and from falling off the annular guide groove 42b. 16, of the suction holes 42d of the drive pulley 42, the suction hole 42d located near the driven pulley 61 is blocked by a step 45a (FIG. 19) provided on the suction connecting pipe 45. Therefore, the suction force around the blocked suction hole 42d is reduced by the step 45a, and the holding force for the tablet 11 is low.

[0023] It goes without saying that the suction force of the annular suction groove 42a can be adjusted appropriately by changing the shape of the step portion 45a as required. Furthermore, the cross section of the annular guide groove 42b is not necessarily limited to a substantially V-shaped cross section, and it is needless to say that it may have, for example, a substantially U-shaped cross section or a rectangular cross section.

[0024] First and second auxiliary pulleys 46, 47 are arranged on the return path between the driven pulley 41 and the drive pulley 42 (see Figures 8 and 9). This is to apply a predetermined tension to the annular elastic belts 43, 43, prevent slack, and allow smooth rotation. For this reason, the first auxiliary pulley 46 is arranged in a position that can prevent the annular elastic belts 43, 43 from falling off the drive pulley 42. Furthermore, the second auxiliary pulley 47, arranged between the first auxiliary pulley 46 and the driven pulley 41, is arranged in a position that can prevent the annular elastic belts 43, 43 from falling off the driven pulley 41.

[0025] The annular elastic belts 43, 43 are, for example, belts made of silicone rubber and having a circular cross section, but are not limited to this and the material can be selected from a wide variety of materials as required. Furthermore, the cross section of the annular elastic belts 43, 43 is not necessarily limited to a circular cross section, but may be selected as required, for example, an elliptical, hexagonal, square, or triangular cross section.

[0026] The guide rail 50 is a component that guides the two annular elastic belts 43, 43 to rotate smoothly while maintaining a fixed distance from each other. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the guide rail 50 is disposed on the inside of the forward path of the annular elastic belts 43, 43 that are stretched between the driven pulley 41 and the driving pulley 42. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the guide rail 50 is made up of two sets of guide blocks 51, 51 having the same shape. That is, one guide block 51 is rotated 180 degrees back and forth and twisted 90 degrees before being combined with the other guide block 51, thereby forming one suction groove 52 having a twisted shape.

[0027] As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the guide blocks 51 have guide grooves 53, 53 with a generally V-shaped cross section formed along both side edges of the suction groove 52. The guide groove 53 has suction holes 54 formed at a predetermined pitch in its bottom surface. The guide groove 53 also has position-regulating ribs 55, 55 formed on both side edges. The height of the position-regulating ribs 55 is designed to be equal to or greater than the height of the cross-sectional center 43a of the annular elastic belt 43. This is to prevent the annular elastic belts 43, 43 from colliding with each other due to the suction force from the suction groove 52 and to prevent the annular elastic belts 43, 43 from falling off when the annular elastic belt 43 is rotated along the space formed by the guide groove 53 with a generally V-shaped cross section and the position-regulating ribs 55, 55. The suction groove 52 and the suction holes 54 are both connected to the suction means 48 (see FIG. 7). Therefore, by suctioning through the suction groove 52, the tablet 11 can be conveyed while being in close contact with the annular elastic belts 43, 43. Furthermore, by applying suction through the suction holes 54, it is possible to prevent the annular elastic belt 43 from floating up or flapping within the guide groove 53. In particular, since the guide groove 53 has a substantially V-shaped cross section, there is an advantage in that the annular elastic belts 43, 43 are sucked through the suction holes 54, thereby exerting an aligning effect. Therefore, by rotating the annular elastic belts 43, 43, the tablets 11 can be smoothly transported while being attracted to and held by the annular elastic belts 43.

[0028] 11, the guide block 51 has arc-shaped cutouts 56, 56 on both end faces thereof that fit over the driven pulley 41 and the driving pulley 42, respectively. Furthermore, flat portions 57 that serve as reference surfaces are formed on both ends of the position-regulating rib 55. Furthermore, the inclined surfaces 58, 58 of the guide blocks 51, 51 face each other while maintaining a predetermined distance between them, thereby forming a suction space that communicates with the suction groove 52 and the suction hole 54. The suction groove 52 of the guide rail 50 and the annular suction groove 42a of the drive pulley 42 are arranged to communicate with each other, and the tablets 11 are continuously sucked in. Therefore, the tablets 11 do not fall at the joint between the guide rail 50 and the drive pulley 42 during transport.

[0029] The suction grooves 52, guide grooves 53 and suction holes 54 of the guide rail 50 are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the shapes, dimensions, numbers, etc. can be changed as needed. For example, it goes without saying that they can be changed according to the cross-sectional shape of the annular elastic belt 43 or the shape and weight of the transported object 11.

[0030] The second torsional conveying machine 60 conveys the tablet 11 received from the first torsional conveying machine 40, twists it up by another 90 degrees, and then hands it over to the second rectilinear conveying machine 80. As a result, the front and back surfaces of the tablet 11 being conveyed are turned over. 5 and 6, the second torsional conveying machine 60, like the first torsional conveying machine 40, has two annular elastic belts 63, 63 rotatably suspended between a driven pulley 61 and a driving pulley 62 whose rotation axes are parallel to and perpendicular to each other. A guide rail 70 made up of guide blocks 71, 71 is disposed inside the outward path of the annular elastic belts 63, 63.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 16, the driven pulley 61 has the same shape as the drive pulley 42 of the first torsion conveyor 40. For this reason, the driven pulley 61 has an annular suction groove on its outer circumferential surface, and annular guide grooves are provided along both side edges of the annular suction groove. The annular suction groove communicates with suction holes 61d provided concentrically on the side of the driven pulley 61. The annular guide groove has a generally V-shaped cross section, and position-regulating ribs are provided on both side edges of the groove. The height dimension of the tip of the position-regulating rib is designed to be equal to or greater than the height dimension of the cross-sectional center of the annular elastic belts 63, 63 to prevent the annular elastic belts 63, 63 from falling off. However, unlike the drive pulley 42 of the first torsional conveying device 40, the driven pulley 61 is connected to a suction connecting pipe 65 (FIG. 20) without a step, and the suction hole 61d is not blocked. Therefore, the suction force of the driven pulley 61 is not reduced even in the area located near the drive pulley 42, and the suction force is not low. As a result, due to the difference in suction force between the drive pulley 42 and the driven pulley 61, the tablets 11 are sucked from the first torsional conveying device 40 to the second torsional conveying device 60.

[0032] The drive pulley 62 has the same shape as the driven pulley 41 of the first torsion conveyor 40, and as shown in Figure 5, is connected to a motor 64. The drive pulley 62 has two annular guide grooves, each with a substantially V-shaped cross section, along its outer circumferential surface.

[0033] First and second auxiliary pulleys 66, 67 are arranged on the return path between the driven pulley 61 and the driving pulley 62. By applying a predetermined tension to the annular elastic belts 63, 63, the occurrence of so-called slack is prevented and smooth rotation is achieved. In particular, the first auxiliary pulley 66 is disposed at a position that can prevent the annular elastic belts 63, 63 from falling off the drive pulley 62. Furthermore, the second auxiliary pulley 67, which is disposed between the first auxiliary pulley 66 and the driven pulley 61, is disposed at a position that can prevent the annular elastic belts 63, 63 from falling off the driven pulley 61.

[0034] The annular elastic belts 63, 63 are similar to the annular elastic belts described above, but they do not necessarily have to be the same and may be different as required.

[0035] The guide rail 70, like the guide rail 50, is a component that guides the two annular elastic belts 63, 63 to rotate smoothly while maintaining a fixed distance between them. The guide rail 70 is made up of guide blocks 71, 71 of the same shape as the aforementioned guide block 51, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] The suction grooves, guide grooves, and suction holes of the guide rail 70 are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment, and the shapes, dimensions, and numbers of holes can be changed as needed. For example, they can be changed according to the cross-sectional shape of the circular elastic belt or the shape and weight of the transported object. Furthermore, the guide rails 50, 70 do not necessarily have to be the same, and may of course be different as required.

[0037] The suction groove of the driven pulley 61 of the second torsional conveyor 60 and the suction groove of the guide rail 70 are arranged to communicate with each other. Therefore, the tablets 11 are continuously sucked in, and the tablets 11 do not fall at the joint between the driven pulley 61 and the guide rail 70.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1, the second rectilinear conveying machine 80 sucks the inverted tablet 11 from the twisting conveying device 30 by utilizing the difference in suction force. Then, the second rectilinear conveyor 80 prints characters on the back side (the side marked with a capital letter A) of the tablet 11 in the conveying process, and then inspects the printed characters before conveying the tablet 11 to the subsequent process. The second rectilinear conveying machine 80 has the same structure as the first rectilinear conveying machine 20, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0039] The second embodiment of the torsion conveying machine according to the present invention is applied to a torsion conveying device and a print inspection device, similar to the first embodiment described above. In particular, the twisting conveyor according to the second embodiment has a simplified structure and a smaller device size, as the return region of the annular elastic belt moves within the guide block.

[0040] As shown in Figures 21 to 23, the twisting conveying device 30 of the second embodiment is configured by connecting and integrating a first twisting conveying machine 40 and a second twisting conveying machine 60 arranged along the same straight line by fixing them to a fixed base 31 via mounting plates 33 and 34. In particular, the positions can be adjusted by shifting the mounting plate 33 of the first torsion conveying machine 40 and / or the mounting plate 34 of the second torsion conveying machine 60. This is to accommodate the conveyance of objects 11 with different thicknesses.

[0041] 24, the first torsion conveying machine 40, like the first embodiment, twists the tablet 11 sucked up from the first rectilinear conveying machine 20 vertically while conveying it. Then, the first torsion conveying machine 40 delivers the tablet 11 in a vertically twisted state to the second torsion conveying machine 60.

[0042] In the first torsional conveying machine 40, two annular elastic belts 43, 43 are rotatably suspended between a driven pulley 41 and a driving pulley 42, whose rotation axes 90, 91 are parallel to and perpendicular to each other. A guide rail 50 is disposed inside the annular elastic belts 43, 43. In particular, the annular elastic belts 43, 43 move in the outgoing path along guide grooves 53, 53 of the guide rail 50 (FIG. 29). Meanwhile, the annular elastic belts 43, 43 move in the returning path along opposing inclined surfaces 58, 58 of guide blocks 51, 51 (FIGS. 27 and 30). Therefore, the second embodiment does not require an auxiliary pulley, resulting in a simple structure and enabling miniaturization.

[0043] Similar to the first embodiment, the driven pulley 41 is provided with two annular guide grooves, each having a substantially V-shaped cross section, along its outer circumferential surface.

[0044] A motor 44 is attached to the drive pulley 42. As in the first embodiment, the drive pulley 42 has an annular suction groove 42a (FIG. 27) provided along its outer circumferential surface, and annular guide grooves with a generally V-shaped cross section provided on both edge portions of the groove. The annular suction groove 42a communicates with suction holes 42d arranged concentrically on the side surface of the drive pulley 42. The annular guide groove, which has a substantially V-shaped cross section, is provided with position-regulating ribs on both side edges, as in the first embodiment. The height dimension of the tip of the position-regulating rib is designed to be approximately equal to or greater than the height dimension of the cross-sectional center of the annular elastic belts 43, 43. This is to prevent collision between the annular elastic belts 43, 43 caused by the suction force from the suction groove 52 (FIG. 29) and to prevent the annular elastic belts 43, 43 from falling off. Unlike the first embodiment, the suction holes 42d of the drive pulley 42 are not closed.

[0045] It goes without saying that the suction force of the annular suction groove 42a may be adjusted by changing the shape of the step portion as required, similar to the first embodiment. The rest is almost the same as the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] The annular elastic belts 43, 43 are almost the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and are, for example, belts with a circular cross section made of silicone rubber, but this is not necessarily limited to this, and the material can of course be selected from a wide variety of materials as needed. 21 to 24, the annular elastic belts 43, 43 are guided via a partition plate 49 attached to a guide rail 50, which will be described later. As shown in Fig. 25, the partition plate 49 has a pair of guide cutouts 49a, 49a arranged side by side on the outer circumferential edge of its inward surface, and a partition rib 49b protruding along an extension of the guide cutouts 49a, 49a. The second torsion conveyor 60 also has a similar partition plate 69 attached to the guide rail 70, and the same parts are designated by numbers 69a and 69b in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted. The rest is almost the same as the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0047] The guide rail 50 is a component for guiding the two annular elastic belts 43, 43 to rotate smoothly while maintaining a certain distance between them. For this reason, the guide rail 50 is disposed inside the annular elastic belts 43, 43 that are stretched between the driven pulley 41 and the driving pulley 42, as shown in Figures 26 to 28. 29 and 30, the guide rail 50 is made up of two sets of identically shaped guide blocks 51, 51. That is, the guide rail is made up by rotating one guide block 51 180 degrees back and forth and twisting it 90 degrees to combine it with the other guide block 51. As a result, the guide rail 50 has one suction groove 52 with a twisted shape, and inclined surfaces 58, 58 face each other at a predetermined distance. In particular, the guide rail 50 is designed so that when the guide grooves 53, 53 are arranged facing each other with the reference line 93 between them, as shown in Figures 31 and 32, a single twisted suction groove 52 is formed between the guide grooves 53, 53.

[0048] The guide blocks 51, 51 are almost the same as those in the first embodiment, except that, as shown in Figure 30, a notched groove 59 is provided on the outward surface that is covered by the suction means 48. The notched groove 59 communicates with opposing inclined surfaces 58, 58 spaced a predetermined distance apart. 33, the opening area of ​​the notched groove 59 is reduced by fitting the air adjuster 51a into the notched groove 59 via the suction means 48. This is to adjust the amount of air passing through, thereby adjusting the suction force on the transported object 11. Similarly, in the second torsional conveying machine 60, as shown in Figure 34, an air adjuster 71a is fitted into a notched groove 79 provided in a guide block 71 via a suction means 68, thereby reducing the opening area of ​​the notched groove 79. This is to adjust the suction force on the conveyed object 11 by adjusting the amount of air passing through.

[0049] However, the opening area of ​​the notched groove 79 shown in Fig. 34 is larger than that of the notched groove 59 shown in Fig. 33. Therefore, even if the air is sucked by the suction means 48, 68 with the same suction force, the suction force of the first torsion conveying machine 40 is smaller than the suction force of the second torsion conveying machine 60. Therefore, the conveyed object 11 is sucked up from the first torsion conveying machine 40 to the second torsion conveying machine 60 and delivered. Other than that, it is the same as the first embodiment described above, so the same parts are given the same numbers and the explanation will be omitted.

[0050] The twisting conveying device according to the present invention is not limited to conveying the above-mentioned tablets, but may also convey small parts such as chips of semiconductor integrated circuits, for example. Furthermore, the twisting conveying device does not necessarily have to be a combination of two twisting conveying machines. For example, it is possible to use only one twisting conveying machine to twist the conveyed object to a desired angle, for example, 60 degrees or 80 degrees, while conveying the conveyed object. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the torsional conveying device is described as conveying the object with two annular elastic belts, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it is of course possible to twist and raise a long and thin object while conveying it with three parallel annular elastic belts.

[0051] In the twisting conveying device 30 according to the present invention, when the size, for example, thickness dimension, of the tablet 11 to be conveyed changes, the size can be adjusted by slightly shifting the first twisting conveying machine 40 and the second twisting conveying machine 60, which are arranged along the same straight line, along the conveying direction. Therefore, the twisting conveying device 30 according to the present invention has the advantage of being easy to use and not requiring a large installation area.

[0052] The first torsion conveying machine 40 and the second torsion conveying machine 60 are not limited to being arranged so that the conveying path is along a single straight line as in the above-described embodiment. For example, the first torsion conveying machine 40 and the second torsion conveying machine 60 may of course be arranged so that the conveying path is bent at an angle of, for example, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, or 90 degrees.

[0053] Of course, the twisting conveying device 30 may be configured with only one twisting conveying machine. The print inspection device of the present application is a concept that includes devices that can be used as both a simple printing device and a simple inspection device.

[0054] Various embodiments have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, and various aspects of the present invention will be described below. Note that in the following description, reference numerals will also be used as examples.

[0055] The torsion conveying machine 40 according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: A pair of pulleys 41, 42 that rotate around rotation axes 90, 91 that are arranged parallel to each other and intersect each other; a plurality of annular elastic belts 43, 43 rotatably and parallelly wound around the pair of pulleys 41, 42; a guide rail (50) having a suction groove (52) that continuously sucks the transported object (11) from between the plurality of annular elastic belts (43), and guide grooves (53) that guide the annular elastic belts (43) along both side edges of the suction groove (52), and the guide rail (50) is disposed inside the annular elastic belts (43); a suction means (48) for sucking the transported object (11) through the suction groove (52) of the guide rail (50) so that the transported object (11) can be held in close contact with the annular elastic belts (43, 43); The transported object 11, which is in close contact with the rotating plurality of circular elastic belts 43, 43, is twisted and raised while being transported.

[0056] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a second aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to the first aspect, The rotation axes 90 and 91 of the pair of pulleys 41 and 42 are parallel to each other and perpendicular to each other.

[0057] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a third aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to either the first or second aspect, wherein: A plurality of annular guide grooves 41a, 42b for guiding a plurality of annular elastic belts 43, 43 are provided in parallel on the outer circumferential surfaces of the pair of pulleys 41, 42.

[0058] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein: An annular suction groove 42a communicating with the suction means 48 is provided between the annular guide grooves 42b, 42b provided in the pulley 42.

[0059] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein: The suction groove 52 of the guide rail 50 is formed by combining guide blocks 51, 51 of the same shape.

[0060] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein: A suction hole 54 communicating with the suction means 48 is provided in the bottom surface of the guide groove 53 of the guide rail 50.

[0061] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein: A position-regulating rib (55) is provided along at least the inner edge of both side edges of the guide groove (53) of the guide rail (50).

[0062] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to the seventh aspect, The height dimension of the position regulating rib 55 is equal to or greater than the height dimension of the cross-sectional center 43 a of the circular elastic belt 43 .

[0063] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein: At least one auxiliary pulley 46, 47 is disposed to guide the return-side annular elastic belts 43, 43 of the annular elastic belts 43, 43.

[0064] A torsion conveying machine 40 according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein: Of the annular elastic belts 43 , 43 , the annular elastic belts 43 , 43 on the return path pass through the inside of the guide rail 50 .

[0065] The torsion conveying machine 40 of an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the torsion conveying machine 40 according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein: An annular suction groove 42a formed in the pulley 42 and a suction groove 52 provided in the guide rail 50 are in communication with each other.

[0066] A twisting conveying device 30 according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the twisting conveying machine 40, 60 according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, wherein: A plurality of twisting conveyors 40, 60 are provided, and are arranged so that the outward paths of the circular elastic belts 43, 63 of the adjacent twisting conveyors 40, 60 are continuous with each other.

[0067] A twisting conveying device 30 according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the twisting conveying device 30 according to the twelfth aspect, The outward paths of the circular elastic belts 43, 63 of the adjacent twisting conveyors 40, 60 are arranged so as to be continuous with each other along the same straight line.

[0068] A twisting conveying device 30 according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the twisting conveying device 30 according to either the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, further comprising: The transported object 11 is transferred from one torsional conveying machine 40 to the other torsional conveying machine 60 due to the difference in adhesion force between the transported object 11 and the circular elastic belts 43, 43 of one torsional conveying machine 40 and the transported object 11 and the circular elastic belts 63, 63 of the other torsional conveying machine 60.

[0069] A print inspection device according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention includes: The twisting conveyor 40 is provided as described in any one of the first to eleventh aspects.

[0070] A print inspection device according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention includes: The twisting conveying device 30 is provided as described in any one of the twelfth to fourteenth aspects. [Industrial Applicability]

[0071] The torsion conveyor according to the present invention is not limited to conveying objects such as tablets, but can of course also be applied to conveying electronic components such as integrated circuits. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 10 Alignment machine 11 Tablets (carried object) 20 First straight conveyor 21 Driven pulley 22 Drive pulley 23 Circular Elastic Belt 23a Center of section 24 Circular Elastic Belt 24a Center of section 25 Guide Block 25a Guide groove 25b Position control rib 25c suction hole 26 Guide Block 26a Guide groove 26b Position control rib 26c Suction hole 27 Guide rail 27a Suction groove 30 Twisting conveying device 31 Fixed stand 32 Connecting rod 40 First twisting conveyor 41 Driven pulley 42 Drive pulley 42a Circular suction groove 42b Annular guide groove 42c Position control rib 42d suction hole 42 Drive pulley 43 Circular Elastic Belt 43a Center of section 44 Motor 45 Suction connecting pipe 45a Stepped section 46 First auxiliary pulley 47 Second auxiliary pulley 48 Suction means 49 Partition 50 guide rail 51 Guide Block 51a Air conditioner 52 Suction groove 53 Guide groove 54 Suction hole 55 Position control rib 56 Notch 57 Flat area 58 Slope 59 Notched groove 60 Second twisting conveyor 61 Driven pulley 61d Suction hole 62 Drive pulley 63 Circular Elastic Belt 65 Suction connecting pipe 66 First auxiliary pulley 67 Second auxiliary pulley 68 Suction means 70 Guide Rail 71 Guide Block 71a Air conditioner 79 Notched groove 80 Second straight conveyor 91 Rotation axis 92 Rotation axis 93 Reference Line

Claims

1. A pair of pulleys that rotate around two rotation axes, the two being arranged so that a plane along the vertical direction including one rotation axis extending horizontally and a plane along the vertical direction including the other rotation axis twisted in any direction other than the horizontal direction are parallel to each other and intersect; a plurality of annular elastic belts rotatably and parallelly wound around the pair of pulleys; a guide rail having a suction groove for continuously sucking the conveyed object between the plurality of annular elastic belts and a guide groove for guiding the annular elastic belts along both side edges of the suction groove, the guide rail being disposed inside the annular elastic belts; a suction means for sucking the object through the suction groove of the guide rail so that the object can be held in close contact with the annular elastic belt; A torsional conveying machine characterized in that an object to be conveyed that is in close contact with a plurality of rotating annular elastic belts is twisted and raised while being conveyed.

2. 2. The torsional conveying machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotation axes of the pair of pulleys are parallel and perpendicular to each other.

3. 2. The torsional conveying machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of annular guide grooves for guiding a plurality of annular elastic belts are provided in parallel on the outer circumferential surfaces of the pair of pulleys.

4. 2. The torsional conveying machine according to claim 1, wherein an annular suction groove communicating with the suction means is provided between the annular guide grooves provided on the pulley.

5. 2. The torsional conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the suction grooves of the guide rails are formed by combining guide blocks of the same shape.

6. 2. The torsion conveyor according to claim 1, wherein a suction hole communicating with the suction means is provided in the bottom surface of the guide groove of the guide rail.

7. 2. The torsional conveyor according to claim 1, wherein a position-regulating rib is provided along at least an inner edge of both side edges of the guide groove of the guide rail.

8. 8. The twisting conveyor according to claim 7, wherein the height dimension of the position regulating rib is equal to or greater than the center of the cross section of the annular elastic belt and is lower than the top of the cross section of the annular elastic belt.

9. 2. The torsional conveying machine according to claim 1, further comprising at least one auxiliary pulley for guiding the return-way annular elastic belt of the annular elastic belts.

10. 2. The torsional conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the annular elastic belt on the return path passes through a guide rail.

11. 2. The torsional conveying machine according to claim 1, wherein the annular suction groove formed in the pulley and the suction groove provided in the guide rail are in communication with each other.

12. 12. A twisting conveying device comprising a plurality of twisting conveying machines according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the outgoing paths of the annular elastic belts of adjacent twisting conveying machines are arranged so as to be continuous with each other.

13. 13. The twisting conveying device according to claim 12, wherein the outward paths of the circular elastic belts of adjacent twisting conveying machines are arranged so as to be continuous with each other along the same straight line.

14. A torsional conveying device as described in claim 12, characterized in that the object is transferred from one torsional conveying machine to the other torsional conveying machine by the difference in adhesion force of the object to the annular elastic belt of one torsional conveying machine and the adhesion force of the object to the elastic annular belt of the other torsional conveying machine.

15. A torsional conveying device as described in claim 13, characterized in that the object to be conveyed is transferred from one torsional conveying machine to the other torsional conveying machine based on the difference in adhesion force between the object to be conveyed to the annular elastic belt of one torsional conveying machine and the object to be conveyed to the elastic annular belt of the other torsional conveying machine.

16. A print inspection device comprising at least one torsion conveying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

17. A print inspection device comprising the torsional conveying device according to claim 12.

18. A printing inspection device characterized by being equipped with the torsional conveying device described in claim 13.

19. A printing inspection device characterized by being equipped with the torsional conveying device described in claim 14.

20. A printing inspection device characterized by being equipped with the torsional conveying device described in claim 15.

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