Cutting device

Abstract

To provide a segmentation device capable of segmenting even a soft object without damage.SOLUTION: A segmentation device 10 comprises a segmentation unit 20 that is provided to face a carrying-out passage 18 for lining up and carrying out objects and that segments and sends out, one by one, the objects moving in the carrying-out passage 18. The segmentation unit 20 is provided with first and second gears 21 and 25 having teeth formed with pitch circles and the number of teeth similar to those of an outer peripheral part and arranged with the teeth facing each other in the carrying-out passage 18 and with rotary shafts 24 and 28 parallel to each other, and a drive unit 29 that rotates the gears. The first and second gears 21 and 25 are arranged side by side so as to match rotational phases of valleys and rotational phases of peaks with each other, have a gap for holding one object between the valleys, have teeth shapes, and are rotated in synchronization in a carrying-out direction by the drive unit 29.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cutting device for cutting out objects one by one. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of an apparatus equipped with the above-mentioned extrusion device is the foreign body detection device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-305745 (Patent Document 1 below). This foreign body detection device is composed of a hopper that stores a large number of medicine capsules to be inspected, a chute that sequentially sends the medicine capsules downward from the hopper at predetermined intervals, a judgment mechanism that takes images of the medicine capsules falling from the chute through a guide tube and judges whether they are irregular in shape, and a discharge mechanism that removes the medicine capsules from the falling path based on the judgment result of the judgment mechanism.

[0003] The capsules stored in the hopper are fed sequentially at regular intervals through a supply pipe into a chute, which consists of a cylinder pipe connected to the lower end of the supply pipe and a pair of stopper claws, one at the front and one at the back, which are alternately inserted and removed from the cylinder pipe from the front and rear.

[0004] The cylinder tube is inclined relative to the horizontal plane so that the medicine capsules pass through it, with the front stopper claw positioned further forward than the rear stopper claw. These stopper claws are driven by a drive mechanism consisting of a cam belt-driven by a rotating wheel in a gearbox, a roller arm that rolls on the outer periphery of the cam under the force of a spring, and a support base that is connected to the roller arm and journaled on a frame to support the bases of all the stopper claws in series, and oscillates back and forth in a constant cycle.

[0005] The pair of front and rear stopper claws alternately swing and are inserted and removed from the cylinder tube at regular intervals, appropriately preventing the medicine capsules from falling out of the cylinder tube, thereby delivering the medicine capsules successively to the guide tube below at predetermined intervals. Because the pair of stopper claws alternately stop the medicine capsules in two stages for a fixed period of time, the medicine capsules are delivered accurately and intermittently without being strung together.

[0006] In this way, in conventional foreign object detection devices, the extrusion device is made up of a pair of front and rear stopper claws and a drive mechanism that drives them, and one medicine capsule is extruded by the operation of this pair of front and rear stopper claws. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-305745 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, in the conventional cutting device described above, a pair of front and rear stopper claws alternately swing forward and backward along the object's falling path to cut out the object, which caused the following problems.

[0009] That is, for example, if the objects are successively retained upstream of the rear stopper claw while in contact with each other, when the rear stopper claw swings to insert the rear stopper claw between the object to be cut out and an object further upstream to separate them, there is a problem in that the rear stopper claw may collide with the upstream object and the object to be cut out, potentially damaging them.

[0010] If the object is hard, the problem may be minor, but if the object is soft, contact with the stopper claws may cause serious damage to the object, in which case the object will be deemed defective.

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a cutting device that can cut out an object without damaging it, even if the object is soft. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides: an alignment chute that aligns the supplied multiple objects in a line and carries them out; a feeder provided to face the discharge path of the alignment chute and configured to feed out the objects moving in the discharge path one by one, the cutting unit includes a set of first and second gears having toothed portions formed on their outer peripheries with the same pitch circle and the same number of teeth, the toothed portions facing each other in the discharge path, and arranged so that their rotation axes are parallel; and a drive unit that rotates the first gear and the second gear, the first gear and the second gear are arranged side by side so that the rotational phases of their respective roots and their respective crests coincide with each other, and are driven by the drive unit to rotate synchronously in the feed direction; Furthermore, the present invention relates to a cutting device characterized in that the first gear and the second gear have a gap between the valley portions and a tooth shape that allows one of the objects to be held.

[0013] According to the cutting device of this aspect (first aspect), a large number of objects are supplied to the alignment chute, and after being aligned in a line in the alignment chute, the objects are cut out one by one by the cutting section and sent downstream.

[0014] In the extrusion section, a first gear and a second gear having toothed portions with the same pitch circle and the same number of teeth on their outer peripheries are arranged so that the toothed portions face each other in the discharge path and the rotation axes are parallel to each other, and the first gear and the second gear are arranged side by side so that the rotation phases of their roots and crests match, and are driven by a drive section to rotate synchronously in the discharge direction. The first gear and the second gear have a tooth profile and a spacing between their roots that allows one of the objects to be held.

[0015] Thus, the objects aligned in a row in the discharge path of the alignment chute are successively held between the valleys of the first and second gears, which rotate synchronously, as they move, and the objects held between the valleys move downward as the first and second gears rotate, and are successively sent downstream between the spaced-apart valleys.

[0016] In this way, with this cutting device, the rotation of the pair of first and second gears holds the objects between their valleys and cuts them out one by one, so even if the objects move continuously in contact with each other, they can be cut out without being subjected to impact. Therefore, with this cutting device, even if the objects are soft, they can be cut out one by one without being damaged.

[0017] In the cutting device of the first aspect described above, at least one of the first gear and the second gear can be formed from two gears arranged side by side with a predetermined gap in the direction of the rotation axis.

[0018] According to the cutting device of this aspect (second aspect), the two gears arranged at a predetermined distance from each other can stably hold the object at their valleys, allowing the object to be stably cut out one by one.

[0019] In addition, in the cutting device of the first aspect and the second aspect, the object has a cylindrical or spherical shape; The root portions of the first gear and the second gear may be formed into concave curved surfaces having the same curvature as the radius of the object.

[0020] According to the cutting device of this aspect (third aspect), when the object has a cylindrical or spherical shape, it can be stably held between the valley portions of the first gear and the second gear, thereby allowing the object to be stably cut out one by one. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] As described above, with the cutting device according to the present invention, the rotation of a pair of first and second gears holds the objects between their valleys and cuts them out one by one, so even if the objects move continuously in contact with each other, they can be cut out without being subjected to impact. Therefore, with this cutting device, even if the objects are soft, they can be cut out one by one without being damaged. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a drop type inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the drop type inspection device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vibrating feeder and a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a front view taken in the direction of an arrow A in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cutting mechanism of the cutting device according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view taken in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0024] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the drop type inspection device 1 of this example is composed of a hopper 2 supported by a frame structure, a vibrating feeder 3, a feeder 10, an optical inspection device 40, and a sorting device 50. Note that Figures 1 and 2 show the state in which the outer wall covers have been removed in order to illustrate the internal structure. Also, in this example, a spherical capsule is used as an example of the object to be inspected (object) K, but naturally, the object to be inspected K is not limited to such a spherical capsule.

[0025] The hopper 2 is configured to receive a large number of objects to be inspected K and to supply a predetermined amount of the objects to be inspected K from its bottom opening to the vibrating feeder 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the vibrating feeder 3 is configured with a feed section 4 that receives the objects to be inspected K supplied from the hopper 2 and transports them forward (in the direction of arrow C) by vibration, and a discharge section 5 that is provided at the transport end of the feed section 4 and discharges the objects to be inspected K transported to the transport end by the feed section 4 diagonally downward along an inclined surface.

[0026] The discharging device 10 is composed of an alignment chute 11 and a discharging mechanism 20. The alignment chute 11 is installed in the vertical direction, and as shown in Fig. 4, includes a storage section 12 having a fan-shaped space that widens at the top and tapers at the bottom, an alignment section 13 connected to the bottom end of the storage section 12 and having a passage (discharge path 18) through which one inspection object K can pass, and a rotating roller 19 installed at the connection between the storage section 12 and the alignment section 13.

[0027] The storage section 12 and alignment section 13 are formed from components such as a support plate 14, upper guide plates 15a, 15b and lower guide plates 16a, 16b provided on this support plate 14, and a cover plate 17 provided on the upper surfaces of these upper guide plates 15a, 15b and lower guide plates 16a, 16b.

[0028] The thickness of the upper guide plates 15a, 15b and the lower guide plates 16a, 16b is slightly thicker than the diameter of the object K to be inspected so that the object K can move in the storage section 12 and the alignment section 13. The width between the lower guide plates 16a, 16b is slightly wider than the diameter of the object K to allow one object K to pass through. Thus, the space surrounded by the support plate 14, the lower guide plates 16a, 16b, and the cover plate 17 forms a carry-out path 18 through which the object K to be inspected falls. For ease of explanation, the cover plate 17 is shown as a transparent member in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0029] The rotating roller 19 is disposed between the upper guide plate 15a and the lower guide plate 16a with a gap allowing one test object K to pass through, and is driven by an appropriate motor (not shown) to rotate in the direction of arrow D.

[0030] Thus, according to this alignment chute 11, the objects K to be inspected that have been carried out from the discharge section 5 of the vibrating feeder 3 drop into the storage section 12, are stored in the storage section 12, are aligned in a row as they enter the discharge path 18 of the alignment section 13 connected to the lower end thereof, and then naturally fall downward through the discharge path 18 of the alignment section 13. The rotating rollers 19 play a role in releasing clogging caused by the objects K meshing with each other when the objects K to be inspected enter the alignment section 13 from the storage section 12, and as a result, the objects K to be inspected can enter the alignment section 13 from the storage section 12 without clogging.

[0031] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the cutting mechanism 20 is composed of a first and second set of gears 21, 25 arranged to face the discharge path 18 at the lower end of the alignment section 13 of the alignment chute 11, and a drive section 29 including a motor that rotates the first gear 21 and the second gear 25 via a rotation shaft 24 of the first gear 21 and a rotation shaft 28 of the second gear 25.

[0032] The first gear 21 is composed of a pair of front gear 22 and rear gear 23 arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 24, and similarly, the second gear 25 is composed of a pair of front gear 26 and rear gear 27 arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 28.

[0033] The first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) have toothed portions formed with the same pitch circle and the same number of teeth on their outer peripheries, and these toothed portions are arranged so as to face each other in the discharge path 18 of the alignment section 13, and the rotation axes 24, 28 are arranged so as to be parallel to each other.

[0034] Furthermore, the first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) are arranged side by side so that the rotational phases of their valleys and the rotational phases of their peaks match, and are driven by the drive unit 29 to rotate synchronously in the feed direction (arrows E and F), respectively.Furthermore, the first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) have a gap between their valleys that allows one test object K to be held, and the valleys of the first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) are formed into concave curved surfaces with a curvature that is the same as the radius of the test object K.

[0035] Thus, in this feed mechanism 20, the first gears 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27) provided at the lower end of the alignment section 13 of the alignment chute 11 rotate synchronously in the feed direction (arrows E, F) so that the rotation phases of the troughs of the gears coincide with each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the objects K to be inspected, which are aligned in a row in the carry-out path 18 of the alignment section 13 and stacked one after another in contact with each other, are fed upward in succession by the first gears 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27). As the wheels 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) rotate, the lowermost gear is fitted into and held between the valleys of the first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27), and the test object K held between the valleys moves downward as the wheels 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) rotate, and is successively released downward from between the mutually spaced valleys, and falls naturally downward.

[0036] Although detailed explanation will be omitted, the optical inspection device 40 is a device that takes an image of the test object K, which is cut out one by one by the cutting device 20 and falls downward, at a predetermined imaging position with a camera under appropriate lighting, analyzes the obtained image, and determines whether the appearance is appropriate.

[0037] The sorting device 50 is also equipped with a sorting mechanism such as an air nozzle, and is a device that sorts and stores the test objects K inspected by the optical inspection device 40 into a good product area, a reserved product area, and a defective product area by driving the sorting mechanism according to the inspection results.

[0038] According to the drop type inspection device 1 of this example having the above configuration, the inspection objects K stored in the hopper 2 are conveyed to the alignment chute 11 via the vibrating feeder 3. In the alignment chute 11, the inspection objects K conveyed from the discharge section 5 of the vibrating feeder 3 are stored in the storage section 12, and are aligned in a row as they enter the alignment section 13 from their lower ends. They then naturally fall downward within the discharge path 18 of the alignment section 13, and are successively stacked upward while making contact with the first gears 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27) of the feed mechanism 20.

[0039] In the cutting mechanism 20, the first gears 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27) rotate synchronously in the feed directions (arrows E and F), respectively, so that the stacked inspection objects K are fitted into and held between the valleys of the first gears 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27) one by one, starting from the bottom, by the rotation of the first gears 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27), and the inspection objects K held between the valleys move downward with the rotation of the 21 (22, 23) and the second gears 25 (26, 27), and are successively released downward between the mutually spaced valleys, and fall naturally downward. That is, the inspection objects K are cut out one by one by the cutting mechanism 20.

[0040] The object K to be inspected cut out by the cutting mechanism 20 is inspected for its appearance by an optical inspection device 40 installed below it, and after the inspection, the object K to be inspected is sorted into good products, retained products, and defective products by a sorting device 50 according to the inspection results.

[0041] Thus, according to the cutting device 10 (cutting mechanism 20) provided in the drop type inspection device 1 of this example, the synchronous rotation of a pair of the first gear 21 and the second gear 25 holds the inspection object K between their valleys and cuts it out one by one, so even if the inspection objects K move successively in contact with each other, they can be cut out without applying any impact to the inspection objects K. Therefore, according to this cutting device 10, even if the object K is a soft article, it can be cut out one by one without damaging it.

[0042] Furthermore, in the cutting device 10 (cutting mechanism 20) of this example, the first gear 21 is composed of a pair of front gears 22 and rear gears 23 arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 24, and similarly, the second gear 25 is composed of a pair of front gears 26 and rear gears 27 arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 28.Therefore, when the object to be inspected K is cylindrical, the object to be inspected K can be stably held between the valley portions by widening the distance between the front gear 22 and rear gear 23 and the distance between the front gear 26 and rear gear 27.

[0043] Furthermore, if the test object K is a sphere, by appropriately setting the distance between the front gear 22 and the rear gear 23, and the distance between the front gear 26 and the rear gear 27, the spherical test object K can be held in a supported state between the front gear 22 and the rear gear 23, and between the front gear 26 and the rear gear 27, and the test object K can be held stably between the valley portions.

[0044] Furthermore, the first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) have their valleys formed as concave curved surfaces with the same curvature as the radius of the test object K, so that in this sense too, if the test object K is a cylinder or a sphere, it can be stably held between the valleys.

[0045] Although one specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the aspects that the present invention can adopt are not limited to the above example, and other aspects can be adopted within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention.

[0046] For example, in the above example, the first gear 21 is composed of a front gear 22 and a rear gear 23, and similarly, the second gear 25 is composed of a front gear 26 and a rear gear 27, but this is not limited to this, and either the first gear 21 or the second gear 25 may be composed of a single gear, or both the first gear 21 and the second gear 25 may be composed of a single gear.

[0047] Furthermore, in the above example, the valley portions of the first gear 21 (22, 23) and the second gear 25 (26, 27) are formed into concave curved surfaces with the same curvature as the radius of the object K to be inspected, but this is not limited to this, and the curvature of the valley portions may be slightly larger than the radius of the object K to be inspected, or conversely, slightly smaller. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 Drop-type inspection device 2 Hopper 3. Vibration feeder 4 Feed section 5. Unloading section 10 Cutting device 11. Line-up shot 12 Storage section 13 Alignment section 14 Support plate 15a, 15b Upper guide plate 16a, 17b Lower guide plate 17 Cover plate 18 Export route 19 Rotating roller 20 Cutting mechanism 21 First Gear 22 Front gear 23 Rear gear 24 Rotation Axis 25 2nd gear 26 Front gear 27 Rear gear 28 Rotation axis 29 Drive unit 40 Optical inspection equipment 50 Sorting Equipment

Claims

1. A cutting device comprising an alignment chute and a cutting section, The supplied large number of spherical capsules are aligned in a line, and the spherical capsules moving within the conveying path are cut out and sent out one by one so as to fall downward by the cutout unit provided so as to face the conveying path of the alignment chute, and the spherical capsules are photographed as they fall downward; The cut-out portion is a first gear and a second gear; a drive unit that rotates the first gear and the second gear, each of the first gear and the second gear is formed of two gears, a front gear and a rear gear, arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the direction of the rotation axis thereof; Each of the front gears and each of the rear gears has a tooth portion formed on an outer periphery with the same pitch circle and the same number of teeth, the first gear and the second gear are arranged such that tooth portions of the front gears face each other in the discharge path, tooth portions of the rear gears face each other in the discharge path, and a rotation axis of the first gear and a rotation axis of the second gear are parallel to each other; the first gear and the second gear are arranged side by side such that the rotational phases of their respective roots and their respective crests coincide with each other, and are driven by the drive unit to rotate in a feed direction in synchronization with each other, Furthermore, the first gear and the second gear have a spacing and tooth shape between the valley portions that allows one spherical capsule to be held, and by matching the rotation phases of the four gears, the front gear and the rear gear of the first gear and the front gear and the rear gear of the second gear, the spherical capsule supplied from the alignment chute is held between the valley portions of the four gears and is cut out so that it falls downward from between the valley portions, characterized by the extrusion device.

2. 2. The extrusion device according to claim 1, wherein the roots of the first gear and the second gear are formed into concave curved surfaces having the same curvature as the radius of the spherical capsule.

Images