Granular printing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of suppressing contact of granular materials determined to be non-defective.SOLUTION: A granular material printing device includes: a conveyance mechanism of conveying granular materials along a conveyance path while holding the granular materials; a printing part for printing the surfaces of the granular materials on the conveyance path of the conveyance mechanism; and a discharge part for conveying the granular materials printed by the printing part to the outside of the granular material printing device. The discharge part includes a plurality of first conveyance paths, and in the case of collectively conveying the plurality of granular materials, conveys the plurality of granular materials by passing them through the first conveyance paths different for every granular material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a granular material printing apparatus for printing on granular materials.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, printing apparatuses for printing on the surfaces of granular materials such as tablets and lozenges have been known. Regarding conventional printing apparatuses, for example, they are described in Patent Document 1. The printing apparatus of Patent Document 1 prints an image on the surface of each tablet by an inkjet method while conveying a plurality of tablets by a conveyor.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the printing apparatus of Patent Document 1, the tablets 9 determined to be good products fall from the suction holes 421 of the suction belt 42 through the inside of the good product discharge port 114 and the good product chute 111 to the good product discharge conveyor 112. The plurality of tablets 9 that have fallen onto the conveyance belt 116 are carried out of the tablet printing apparatus 1 while being placed thereon.

[0005] In the printing apparatus of Patent Document 1, when a plurality of tablets 9 are discharged from the good product discharge port 114 at once, there is a risk that the ink attached to the tablets 9 may transfer to other tablets 9 due to contact between the tablets 9.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of suppressing contact between granular materials determined to be good products.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, the first invention of the present application is a granular material printing apparatus comprising: a conveying mechanism that conveys granular material along a conveying path while holding the granular material; a printing unit that prints on the surface of the granular material on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism; and a discharge unit that conveys the granular material printed by the printing unit toward the outside of the granular material printing apparatus. A discharge conveyor that transports the granular material to the outside by rotating the conveyor belt that supports the granular material, The discharge unit is equipped with a plurality of first transport paths, and when transporting a plurality of granular materials at once, the plurality of granular materials are transported by passing each granular material through a different first transport path. death , A discharge chute for supplying the granular material to the discharge conveyor, wherein the discharge conveyor is equipped with a plurality of second transport paths, and when transporting a plurality of the granular material at once, the plurality of granular material is transported by having the granular material supplied from the first transport path pass through a different second transport path for each type of granular material.

[0009] This application 2 The invention is, 1 The granular material printing apparatus of the invention is characterized in that the speed at which the discharge conveyor transports the granular material is greater than the speed at which the transport mechanism transports the granular material.

[0010] This application 3 The invention is, 1 Invention or the 2 The granular material printing apparatus of the invention is characterized in that the discharge conveyor is located vertically below the transport mechanism, and the discharge chute has an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

[0011] This application 4 The invention is, 1 Invention or the 2 The granular material printing apparatus of the invention comprises one or more partitions that divide the space above the conveyor belt at predetermined intervals in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the granular material, thereby forming the plurality of second conveying paths. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The first invention of this application 4 According to the invention, contact between granular materials that have been determined to be of good quality can be suppressed.

[0013] In particular, the first of this application 1According to the invention, the contact between the granular materials determined to be good products can be further suppressed.

[0014] In particular, the 2 According to the invention, the contact between the granular materials passing through the same second transport path can be suppressed.

[0015] In particular, the 3 According to the invention, by reducing the impact applied to the granular material when the granular material falls onto the discharge chute, the occurrence of damage to the granular material can be suppressed.

[0016] In particular, the 4 According to the invention, the space above the conveyor belt can be used as a plurality of second transport paths.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing the configuration of a tablet printing apparatus. [Figure 2] It is a partial perspective view of a conveyor. [Figure 3] It is a bottom view of one head. [Figure 4] It is a control block diagram of a tablet printing apparatus. [Figure 5] It is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions realized in the control unit. [Figure 6] It is a partial side view of a tablet printing apparatus. [Figure 7] It is a partial cross-sectional view of a tablet printing apparatus. [Figure 8] It is a cross-sectional view showing the A-A cross-section of FIG. 6.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] <1. Overall Configuration of Tablet Printing Apparatus> Figure 1 shows the configuration of the tablet printing device 1. This tablet printing device 1 is a device that transports multiple tablets 9, which are granular materials, and prints images such as the product name, product code, company name, and logo on both the front and back surfaces of each tablet 9. The tablets 9 may be uncoated tablets (unwrapped tablets), or coated tablets such as sugar-coated tablets or film-coated tablets (FC tablets). The tablets 9 may also be capsules, including hard capsules and soft capsules. Furthermore, the "granular material" in this invention is not limited to tablets as pharmaceuticals, but may also be tablets as health foods or candies such as ramune.

[0020] As shown in Figure 1, the tablet printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment comprises a supply mechanism 10, a first drum 15, a second drum 20, a conveyor belt 25, a first camera 30, a printing unit 35, a second camera 40, a drying mechanism 45, an inversion mechanism 50, a defective product discharge mechanism 60, a good product discharge mechanism 70, and a control unit 100.

[0021] The supply mechanism 10 is a mechanism that supplies multiple tablets 9, which have been fed into the tablet printing device 1, to the first drum 15. The supply mechanism 10 in this embodiment includes a bowl feeder 11, a first chute 12, a supply conveyor 13, and a second chute 14.

[0022] The bowl feeder 11 has a disc-shaped trough 110 that receives multiple tablets 9. The bowl feeder 11 vibrates the trough 110 to move the multiple tablets 9 and supply them to the first chute 12. The first chute 12 extends in an arc shape between the trough 110 and the supply conveyor 13. The first chute 12 has multiple supply paths. The bowl feeder 11 supplies tablets 9 to each supply path of the first chute 12. As a result, a large number of tablets 9 are aligned in multiple rows. That is, multiple rows of tablets 9 aligned in the transport direction are formed in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to the transport direction). The aligned tablets 9 are then supplied from the first chute 12 to the supply conveyor 13. Note that only one row of tablets 9 is shown in Figure 1.

[0023] The supply conveyor 13 is a mechanism for transporting tablets 9 from the first chute 12 to the second chute 14. The supply conveyor 13 has two pulleys 131 and an annular supply belt 132 stretched between the two pulleys 131. One of the two pulleys 131 rotates due to power from a motor (not shown). This causes the supply belt 132 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1. The other pulley 131 rotates in association with the rotation of the supply belt 132. In addition, a partition plate is provided at the top of the supply belt 132, extending along the boundary of the rows of tablets 9. The tablets 9 supplied from the first chute 12 are transported downstream in the transport direction by the rotation of the supply belt 132, while maintaining their alignment into multiple rows by the partition plate.

[0024] The second chute 14 extends linearly between the supply conveyor 13 and the first drum 15. The second chute 14 has multiple horizontal supply paths. Multiple tablets 9 supplied from the supply conveyor 13 are supplied to each supply path of the second chute 14. The tablets 9 in the second chute 14 are pushed downstream in the transport direction by subsequent tablets 9 transported by the supply conveyor 13. Then, the tablets 9 are supplied to the first drum 15 from the downstream end of the second chute 14 in the transport direction.

[0025] The first drum 15 is a mechanism for conveying multiple tablets 9 supplied from the second chute 14, holding them at regular intervals in the conveying direction. The first drum 15 has a substantially cylindrical outer surface centered on a first axis O1 parallel to the width direction. A motor (not shown) is connected to the first drum 15. When the motor is driven, the first drum 15 rotates around the first axis O1 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1. The first drum 15 conveys the tablets 9 from a first transfer position P1 near its upper end to a second transfer position P2 close to the second drum 20.

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, the first drum 15 has a drum body 16 and retaining rings 17. The drum body 16 has a cylindrical outer surface centered on a first axis O1. The drum body 16 is made of a metal such as stainless steel. The retaining rings 17 are attached to the outer surface of the drum body 16. Specifically, a plurality of retaining rings 17 are arranged at positions in the width direction corresponding to each row of tablets 9. The retaining rings 17 are made of a resin such as polyacetal.

[0027] The outer circumferential surface of each retaining ring 17 has a plurality of concave pockets 18. The plurality of pockets 18 are arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction centered on the first axis O1. The retaining ring 17 also has adsorption holes 19 at the bottom of each pocket 18 for adsorbing tablets 9. The adsorption holes 19 are through holes that penetrate the retaining ring 17.

[0028] The first drum 15 is connected to a suction mechanism (not shown in the figure). When the suction mechanism is activated, gas is drawn out from the internal space of the first drum 15 located within the angular range between the first delivery position P1 and the second delivery position P2. As a result, the internal space becomes a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. Negative pressure is also generated in the adsorption holes 19 that communicate with the internal space. Multiple tablets 9 supplied from the second chute 14 are adsorbed and held in the adsorption holes 19 of the holding ring 17 by this negative pressure.

[0029] The tablets 9 supplied from the second chute 14 are placed one by one into the pockets 18 and held by suction holes 19. At this time, the tablets 9 are drawn into the pockets 18 of the holding ring 17 by being pressed by the pressing mechanism 141. As a result, the spacing between the multiple tablets 9 in the transport direction becomes a predetermined spacing corresponding to the spacing of the pockets 18. Each tablet 9 is held by suction holes 19 in the pocket 18 and transported from the first transfer position P1 to the second transfer position P2 by the rotation of the first drum 15. When the tablet 9 passes the second transfer position P2, it moves out of the angular range of the internal space maintained by the negative pressure, and the suction of the tablet 9 is released. As a result, the tablet 9 is transferred from the first drum 15 to the second drum 20.

[0030] The second drum 20 is a mechanism for transporting the tablets 9 received from the first drum 15 to the conveyor belt 25. The second drum 20 has a substantially cylindrical outer surface centered on a second axis O2 parallel to the width direction. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the first drum 15 and the outer diameter of the second drum 20 are substantially the same. However, the outer diameters of the first drum 15 and the second drum 20 may be different. A motor (not shown) is connected to the second drum 20. When the motor is driven, the second drum 20 rotates around the second axis O2 in the opposite direction to the first drum 15. The second drum 20 transports the tablets 9 from a second transfer position P2 close to the first drum 15 to a third transfer position P3 close to the conveyor belt 25. The height of the third transfer position P3 is higher than the heights of the first transfer position P1 and the second transfer position P2.

[0031] As shown in Figure 1, the second drum 20 has a drum body 21 and retaining rings 22. The drum body 21 has a cylindrical outer surface centered on the second axis O2. The drum body 21 is made of a metal such as stainless steel. The retaining rings 22 are mounted on the outer surface of the drum body 21. Specifically, a plurality of retaining rings 22 are arranged at positions in the width direction corresponding to each row of tablets 9. The retaining rings 22 are made of a resin such as silicone.

[0032] Each retaining ring 22 has a plurality of suction holes 24. The suction holes 24 are through holes that penetrate the retaining ring 22. The second drum 20 is connected to a suction mechanism (not shown). When the suction mechanism is activated, gas is drawn out from the internal space of the second drum 20 located within the angular range between the second transfer position P2 and the third transfer position P3. As a result, the internal space becomes a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. Negative pressure is also generated in the suction holes 24 that communicate with the internal space. The plurality of tablets 9 transferred from the first drum 15 are held in place by suction in the suction holes 24 of the retaining ring 22 due to this negative pressure.

[0033] The tablet 9, held by adsorption in the adsorption hole 24, is transported from the second transfer position P2 to the third transfer position P3 by the rotation of the second drum 20. When the tablet 9 passes the third transfer position P3, it moves out of the angular range of the internal space maintained by the negative pressure, and the adsorption of the tablet 9 is released. As a result, the tablet 9 is transferred from the second drum 20 to the conveyor belt 25.

[0034] In this embodiment, multiple tablets 9 supplied from the supply mechanism 10 are transported to the conveyor belt 25 via two drums, a first drum 15 and a second drum 20. The first drum 15 holds the multiple tablets 9 at intervals in the transport direction. The second drum 20 transports the tablets 9 to the conveyor belt 25 while maintaining the intervals in the transport direction. At this time, the direction of transport (direction of rotation) of the tablets 9 is reversed between the first drum 15 and the second drum 20. This allows the tablets 9 to be sent from the second drum 20 to the conveyor belt 25 in accordance with the direction of operation of the conveyor belt 25.

[0035] The conveyor belt 25 is a mechanism that transports multiple tablets 9 received from the second drum 20 while holding them by suction. The conveyor belt 25 has a pair of pulleys 26 and an annular conveyor belt 27 stretched between the pair of pulleys 26. One of the pair of pulleys 26 is rotated by power obtained from a motor (not shown). This causes the conveyor belt 27 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1. The other of the pair of pulleys 26 rotates in association with the rotation of the conveyor belt 27. The conveyor belt 25 corresponds to the "conveying mechanism" of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the conveyor belt 25. As shown in Figure 2, the conveyor belt 27 has a plurality of suction holes 29. The plurality of suction holes 29 are arranged with spacing in the conveying direction and the width direction. Each suction hole 29 is a through hole that penetrates the conveyor belt 27. The conveyor belt 25 also has a suction mechanism (not shown) that draws gas from the space inside the conveyor belt 27. When the suction mechanism is operated, the space inside the conveyor belt 27 becomes a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. The plurality of tablets 9 are adsorbed and held one by one in the suction holes 29 by this negative pressure.

[0037] In this way, the multiple tablets 9 are held on the surface of the conveyor belt 27 in an aligned state in the conveying direction and width direction. The conveyor belt 25 then rotates the conveyor belt 27 to transport the multiple tablets 9 along the annular conveying path. Below the four heads 36, which will be described later, the multiple tablets 9 are held on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 27 and transported horizontally. Also, above the defective product discharge mechanism 60 and the good product discharge mechanism 70, which will be described later, the multiple tablets 9 are held on the lower surface of the conveyor belt 27 and transported horizontally.

[0038] As shown in Figure 2, the surface of the conveyor belt 27 in this embodiment has a first region A1 that holds the tablets 9 before they are inverted by the inversion mechanism 50, and a second region A2 that holds the tablets 9 after they are inverted. The first region A1 and the second region A2 are adjacent in the width direction. In this embodiment, multiple suction holes 29 are provided in three rows each in the width direction in the first region A1 and the second region A2. The tablets 9 supplied by the supply mechanism 10, the first drum 15, and the second drum 20 are held by suction in the suction holes 29 of the first region A1. Multiple tablets 9 printed on both sides are discharged from the suction holes 29 of the second region A2 to the defective product discharge mechanism 60 or the good product discharge mechanism 70.

[0039] The first camera 30 is a processing unit for photographing the tablets 9 before printing. The first camera 30 is located downstream of the third transfer position P3 and upstream of the printing unit 35 in the transport path. The first camera 30 extends in the width direction, spanning both the first region A1 and the second region A2. The first camera 30 uses a line sensor in which image sensors such as CCD or CMOS are arranged in the width direction. The first camera 30 photographs multiple tablets 9 being transported by the transport belt 27. The images acquired by the photography are transmitted from the first camera 30 to the control unit 100, which will be described later. Based on the images obtained from the first camera 30, the control unit 100 detects the presence or absence of tablets 9 in each suction hole 29, the position of the tablets 9, and the orientation of the tablets 9. The control unit 100 also inspects each tablet 9 for defects such as chips based on the images obtained from the first camera 30.

[0040] The printing unit 35 is a processing unit that prints an image on the surface of the tablets 9, which are transported by the transport belt 27, using an inkjet method. As shown in Figure 1, the printing unit 35 of this embodiment has four heads 36. The four heads 36 are located above the transport belt 27 and are arranged in a line along the transport direction of the tablets 9. Each head 36 extends in the width direction, spanning both the first region A1 and the second region A2. The four heads 36 eject ink droplets of different colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) toward the tablets 9. Then, by superimposing the monochrome images formed by these colors, a multicolor image is recorded on the surface of the tablets 9. The ink ejected from each head 36 is edible ink manufactured from raw materials approved under the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Food Sanitation Law, etc.

[0041] Figure 3 is a bottom view of one head 36. In Figure 3, a conveyor belt 27 and a plurality of tablets 9 held on the conveyor belt 27 are shown by dashed lines. As shown in the enlarged view in Figure 3, a plurality of nozzles 37 capable of ejecting ink droplets are provided on the bottom surface of the head 36. In this embodiment, the plurality of nozzles 37 are arranged two-dimensionally on the bottom surface of the head 36 in the conveying direction and the width direction. Each nozzle 37 is arranged with a staggered position in the width direction. By arranging the plurality of nozzles 37 two-dimensionally in this way, the positions of each nozzle 37 in the width direction can be brought closer to each other. However, the plurality of nozzles 37 may also be arranged in a single line along the width direction.

[0042] For the method of ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle 37, a so-called piezoelectric method is used, in which a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric element to deform it, thereby pressurizing and ejecting the ink inside the nozzle 37. However, the method of ejecting ink droplets may also be a so-called thermal method, in which the ink inside the nozzle 37 is heated and expanded by energizing a heater.

[0043] The second camera 40 is a processing unit for photographing the printed tablets 9. The second camera 40 is located downstream of the printing unit 35 and upstream of the drying mechanism 45. The second camera 40 extends in the width direction, spanning both the first region A1 and the second region A2. The second camera 40 uses a line sensor, for example, in which image sensors such as CCD or CMOS are arranged in the width direction. The second camera 40 photographs multiple tablets 9 being transported by the transport belt 27. The images acquired by the photography are transmitted from the second camera 40 to the control unit 100, which will be described later. The control unit 100 inspects the quality of the image printed on the tablets 9 based on the image obtained from the second camera 40.

[0044] The drying mechanism 45 is a mechanism for drying the ink adhering to the tablets 9. The drying mechanism 45 is located downstream of the second camera 40 in the transport path and upstream of the reversal mechanism 50, the defective product discharge mechanism 60, and the good product discharge mechanism 70, which will be described later. The drying mechanism 45 also extends in the width direction, spanning both the first region A1 and the second region A2. The drying mechanism 45 uses, for example, a hot air supply mechanism that blows heated gas (hot air) toward the tablets 9 being transported by the transport belt 27. The ink adhering to the tablets 9 is dried by the hot air and fixed to the surface or back surface of the tablets 9.

[0045] The inversion mechanism 50 is a mechanism that inverts the front and back sides of the tablets 9 being transported by the transport belt 27 and moves the tablets 9 from the first region A1 to the second region A2. The inversion mechanism 50 is located downstream of the drying mechanism 45 in the transport path. The inversion mechanism 50 has multiple pairs of inclined drums 51 arranged in the width direction. Each inclined drum 51 has a conical holding surface. Of the pair of inclined drums 51, one inclined drum 51 rotates while adhering to the holding surface of the tablet 9 being transported in the first region A1 and transfers the tablet 9 to the other inclined drum 51. The other inclined drum 51 rotates while adhering to the holding surface of the tablet 9 received from the other inclined drum 51 and transfers the tablet 9 to the second region A2. As a result, the front and back sides of the tablets 9 are inverted and the tablets 9 move from the first region A1 to the second region A2.

[0046] The tablets 9, transported from the supply mechanism 10 to the conveyor belt 25 via the first drum 15 and the second drum 20, are first held in the first region A1 of the conveyor belt 27. The tablet printing device 1 then transports the tablets 9 while holding them in the first region A1, and performs the following processes on one side of the tablets 9: photography by the first camera 30, printing by the printing unit 35, photography by the second camera 40, and drying by the drying mechanism 45. Subsequently, the inversion mechanism 50 inverts the front and back sides of the tablets 9 and moves them from the first region A1 to the second region A2. After that, the tablet printing device 1 transports the tablets 9 while holding them in the second region A2, and performs the following processes on the other side of the tablets 9: photography by the first camera 30, printing by the printing unit 35, photography by the second camera 40, and drying by the drying mechanism 45.

[0047] The defective product discharge mechanism 60 is a mechanism that discharges tablets 9 that have been determined to be defective from the conveyor belt 27. The defective product discharge mechanism 60 includes a defective product collection box 61 and a first blow mechanism 62. The defective product collection box 61 is located on the outside (bottom) of the conveyor belt 27. The first blow mechanism 62 is located on the inside (top) of the conveyor belt 27. The defective product collection box 61 and the first blow mechanism 62 are located opposite each other in the vertical direction via the conveyor belt 27.

[0048] The first blow mechanism 62 is a mechanism that blows pressurized gas toward the suction holes 29 of the conveyor belt 27. In accordance with a command from the control unit 100, the first blow mechanism 62 blows gas only toward the suction holes 29 of the conveyor belt 27 that hold the tablets 9 that have been determined to be defective. As a result, the suction of the tablets 9 in the suction holes 29 is released. Consequently, the tablets 9 that have been determined to be defective fall from the conveyor belt 27 and are collected in the defective product collection box 61.

[0049] The good product discharge mechanism 70 is a mechanism that discharges tablets 9 that have been determined to be good products from the conveyor belt 27. The detailed configuration of the good product discharge mechanism 70 will be described later.

[0050] The control unit 100 is a means for controlling the operation of each part within the tablet printing device 1. Figure 4 is a control block diagram of the tablet printing device 1. As conceptually shown in Figure 4, the control unit 100 is composed of a computer having a processor 101 such as a CPU, memory 102 such as RAM, and a storage unit 103 such as a hard disk drive. The storage unit 103 stores a computer program CP for executing the transport and printing processes of tablets 9.

[0051] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the control unit 100 is electrically connected to the bowl feeder 11, supply conveyor 13, first drum 15, second drum 20, transport conveyor 25, first camera 30, printing unit 35, second camera 40, drying mechanism 45, reversing mechanism 50, first blow mechanism 62 of the defective product discharge mechanism 60, and second blow mechanism 72 of the good product discharge mechanism 70, which will be described later.

[0052] The control unit 100 temporarily reads the computer program CP and data stored in the storage unit 103 into the memory 102, and the processor 101 performs calculations based on the computer program CP, thereby controlling the operation of each of the above-mentioned parts. As a result, the transport of the multiple tablets 9 and the printing process on each tablet 9 proceed.

[0053] Figure 5 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions realized in the control unit 100. As shown in Figure 5, the control unit 100 has an inspection unit 104. Each function of the inspection unit 104 is realized by the processor 101 described above operating according to the computer program CP. The inspection unit 104 determines whether each tablet 9 is good or bad based on images obtained from the first camera 30 and the second camera 40. That is, the inspection unit 104 distinguishes between good and defective tablets 9 that are transported by the transport conveyor 25. Based on the determination results of the inspection unit 104, the control unit 100 controls the first blow mechanism 62 and the second blow mechanism 72.

[0054] <2. Configuration of the good product discharge mechanism 70> Next, we will describe the configuration of the good product discharge mechanism 70 in more detail. Figure 6 is a partial side view of the tablet printing device 1. Figure 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the tablet printing device 1. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing section AA of Figure 6.

[0055] The good product discharge mechanism 70 is a mechanism for discharging tablets 9, which have been determined to be good products by the inspection unit 104, from the conveyor belt 27 at the discharge position P4 where the tablets 9 are discharged. The good product discharge mechanism 70 includes a good product discharge chute 71, a second blow mechanism 72, a good product discharge conveyor 73, and a good product discharge port 74. The good product discharge chute 71 is located on the outside (bottom) of the conveyor belt 27. The second blow mechanism 72 is located on the inside (top) of the conveyor belt 27. The good product discharge chute 71 and the second blow mechanism 72 are located opposite each other in the vertical direction via the conveyor belt 27.

[0056] The second blow mechanism 72 is a mechanism that blows pressurized gas towards the suction holes 29 of the conveyor belt 27. The second blow mechanism 72 blows gas into all of the suction holes 29 of the conveyor belt 27. As a result, the suction of the tablets 9 at all of the suction holes 29 is released. Consequently, the tablets 9 that were not discharged by the defective product discharge mechanism 60 (i.e., good tablets 9) fall from the conveyor belt 27 and are discharged into the good product discharge chute 71.

[0057] The good product discharge chute 71 transports the tablets 9 discharged from the conveyor belt 27 by the second blow mechanism 72 to the good product discharge conveyor 73. The good product discharge chute 71 has a cylindrical shape. The good product discharge chute 71 corresponds to the "discharge section" of the present invention. The good product discharge chute 71 is equipped with a divided section 711, an inclined surface 712, and a discharge port 713.

[0058] The dividing section 711 is a plate-shaped member that divides the internal space of the good product discharge chute 71 at predetermined intervals in the width direction. In this embodiment, the good product discharge chute 71 is provided with two dividing sections 711 (first dividing section 711A and second dividing section 711B). The number of dividing sections 711 may be one or three or more. As shown in Figure 8, the first dividing section 711A and the second dividing section 711B divide the internal space of the good product discharge chute 71 into a plurality of paths S11, S12, and S13. Paths S11 to S13 correspond to the "first transport path" of the present invention.

[0059] As shown in Figure 8, the positions of each path S11 to S13 coincide in the width direction with the positions of the adsorption holes 29A to 29C in each row provided in the second region A2. Therefore, the tablets 9A to 9C held in the adsorption holes 29A to 29C respectively fall into paths S11 to S13 at the discharge position P4. In other words, the tablets 9A to 9C discharged together at the discharge position P4 pass through different paths S11 to S13 for each tablet. This prevents the tablets 9A to 9C discharged together at the discharge position P4 from coming into contact with each other.

[0060] The inclined surface 712 is provided so as to span paths S11 to S13. As shown in Figure 7, the inclined surface 712 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical. Furthermore, the inclination angle of the inclined surface 712 changes in the middle. The tablets 9A to 9C that fall into paths S11 to S13 are transported to the discharge port 713 by sliding along the inclined surface 712 and supplied to the good product discharge conveyor 73. This reduces the impact on the tablets 9 when they fall into the good product discharge chute 71, thereby suppressing damage to the tablets 9.

[0061] The good product discharge conveyor 73 transports the tablets 9 supplied from the good product discharge chute 71 to the outside of the tablet printing device 1 by rotating the conveyor belt 732 that supports the tablets 9. The good product discharge conveyor 73 is located vertically below the conveyor belt 27 and the good product discharge chute 71. The good product discharge conveyor 73 corresponds to the "discharge conveyor" of the present invention. The good product discharge conveyor 73 comprises a pair of pulleys 731, a conveyor belt 732, a partition 733, and a cover 734.

[0062] The cover 734 is located between the good product discharge chute 71 and the conveyor belt 732, and covers the top of the conveyor belt 732. As shown in Figure 7, the cover 734 has a through hole 735. The through hole 735 is positioned to coincide with the discharge port 713 of the good product discharge chute 71. Therefore, the tablets 9 supplied from the good product discharge chute 71 to the good product discharge conveyor 73 pass through the through hole 735 and are placed on the conveyor belt 732.

[0063] One of the pair of pulleys 731 rotates using power from a motor (not shown). This causes the conveyor belt 732 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in Figure 7. The other pulley 731 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the conveyor belt 732. As a result, the tablets 9 placed on the conveyor belt 732 move together with the conveyor belt 732 in the conveying direction.

[0064] The partition portion 733 is a plate-shaped member and extends perpendicularly to the cover 734 toward the conveyor belt 732. The shape of the partition portion 733 is not limited to a plate shape. In this embodiment, the good product discharge conveyor 73 is equipped with two partition portions 733 (first partition portion 733A and second partition portion 733B). The number of partition portions 733 may be one or three or more. The first partition portion 733A and the second partition portion 733B partition the space covered by the cover 734 above the conveyor belt 732 at predetermined intervals in the width direction. As a result, the space covered by the cover 734 above the conveyor belt 732 is partitioned into multiple spaces. This forms multiple paths S21, S22, and S23. Paths S21 to S23 correspond to the "second conveying path" of the present invention.

[0065] Furthermore, the first partition section 733A and the second partition section 733B are positioned so as not to come into contact with the conveyor belt 732. Therefore, the first partition section 733A and the second partition section 733B do not interfere with the rotational movement of the conveyor belt 732, nor do they come into contact with each other and wear down.

[0066] As shown in Figure 8, the first partition 733A is located at the same position in the width direction as the first division 711A of the good product discharge chute 71. Similarly, the second partition 733B is located at the same position in the width direction as the second division 711B. That is, the paths S21 to S23 of the good product discharge conveyor 73 are in communication with the paths S11 to S13 of the good product discharge chute 71, respectively. As a result, tablets 9A to 9C supplied to the good product discharge conveyor 73 from each of the paths S11 to S13 of the good product discharge chute 71 are supplied to different paths S21 to S23 for each tablet. Specifically, tablet 9A that passes through path S11 is supplied to path S21. Tablet 9B that passes through path S12 is supplied to path S22. Tablet 9C that passes through path S13 is supplied to path S23. As a result, tablets 9A to 9C are transported to the outside of the tablet printing device 1 by the good product discharge conveyor 73 without coming into contact with each other.

[0067] Note that the first division section 711A and the first partition section 733A do not have to be located in the same position in the width direction. Also, the second division section 711B and the second partition section 733B do not have to be located in the same position in the width direction. The positions of each division section 711A, 711B and each partition section 733A, 733B can be changed as long as the tablets 9A to 9C can be supplied from S11 to S13 to S21 to S23, respectively, without coming into contact with each other.

[0068] The tablets 9 transported by the good product discharge conveyor 73 may move along the conveyor belt 732 due to the inertial force acting on the tablets 9 when the conveyor belt 732 rotates. At this time, if the distance between tablets 9 in the transport direction is small, there is a possibility that tablets 9 transported along the same path S21 to S23 may come into contact with each other. To solve this problem, the transport speed of the tablets 9 by the good product discharge conveyor 73 is greater than the transport speed of the tablets 9 by the conveyor belt 25. This increases the distance between tablets 9 traveling along the same path S21 to S23 in the transport direction. Therefore, contact between tablets 9 can be suppressed.

[0069] The tablets 9A to 9C, transported along paths S21 to S23, merge at the good product discharge port 74 and are discharged outside the tablet printing device 1. The ink applied to the tablets 9A to 9C is naturally dried while they are transported by the good product discharge chute 71 and the good product discharge conveyor 73. Therefore, even if the tablets 9 come into contact with each other at the good product discharge port 74, the ink applied to one tablet 9 will not transfer to another tablet 9.

[0070] As described above, in this tablet printing apparatus 1, when multiple tablets 9 that have been determined to be good are discharged together from the conveyor belt 25, each tablet 9 is guided through a different path S11 to S13. This suppresses contact between tablets 9 that have been determined to be good. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the transfer of ink applied to one tablet 9 to another tablet 9. In addition, since the amount of tablets deemed defective in the final inspection can be reduced, the amount of waste of pharmaceutical resources can be reduced.

[0071] <3. Variant> Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0072] In the above embodiment, the printing unit 35 was provided with four heads 36. However, the number of heads 36 included in the printing unit 35 may be one to three, or five or more.

[0073] In the above embodiment, the tablets 9 discharged from the conveyor belt 27 at discharge position P4 were supplied to the good product discharge conveyor 73 via the good product discharge chute 71. However, the good product discharge chute 71 may be omitted, and the tablets 9 may be supplied directly from the conveyor belt 27 to the good product discharge conveyor 73 at discharge position P4. In this case, the good product discharge conveyor 73 corresponds to the "discharge section" of the present invention, and the paths S21 to S23 correspond to the "first conveying path" of the present invention.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the partition portion 733 extended perpendicularly to the cover 734 toward the conveyor belt 732. However, the partition portion 733 may be provided on the surface of the conveyor belt 732. For example, the paths S21 to S23 may be partitioned by providing a plurality of protrusions aligned in the conveying direction on the surface of the conveyor belt 732 as the partition portion 733.

[0075] Furthermore, the elements that appear in the above embodiments and modifications may be appropriately selected and omitted, to the extent that no contradictions arise. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0076] 1: Tablet printing machine 9: Tablets 10: Feeding mechanism 20: Second drum 25: Conveyor 30: Camera 1 35:Printing Department 40: Second camera 45:Drying mechanism 50: Reversal mechanism 60:Defective product ejection mechanism 70: Good product ejection mechanism 71: Good product discharge chute 72: Second blow mechanism 73: Good product discharge conveyor 74: Good product outlet 100: Control Unit 711 :Divided part 712: Inclined surface 733: Partition section

Claims

1. A granular material printing apparatus, A conveying mechanism that conveys granular material along a conveying path while holding the granular material, On the transport path of the transport mechanism, there is a printing unit that prints on the surface of the granular material, A discharge unit that transports the granular material printed by the printing unit toward the outside of the granular material printing apparatus, A discharge conveyor that transports the granular material to the outside by rotating the conveyor belt that supports the granular material, Equipped with, The aforementioned discharge section is Equipped with multiple first transport paths, A discharge chute that, when transporting multiple granular materials at once, transports multiple granular materials by passing each granular material through a different first transport path, and supplies the granular materials to the discharge conveyor, The aforementioned discharge conveyor is Equipped with multiple second transport paths, When transporting multiple granular materials at once, the granular materials supplied from the first transport path are transported by passing each granular material through a different second transport path. Granule printing equipment.

2. A granular printing apparatus according to claim 1, The speed at which the discharge conveyor transports the granular material is greater than the speed at which the transport mechanism transports the granular material. Granule printing equipment.

3. A granular printing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, The discharge conveyor is located vertically below the transport mechanism. The aforementioned discharge chute includes an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. Granule printing equipment.

4. A granular printing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, The aforementioned discharge conveyor is By dividing the space above the conveyor belt at predetermined intervals in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the granular material, one or more partitions are formed to create the plurality of second conveying paths. Equipped with, Granule printing equipment.

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