JPH0451122Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention relates to an apparatus for stably filling tablets into extruded packaging (hereinafter also referred to as "PTP").

(Prior Art) Today, extrusion packaging bodies that are widely used mainly as simple packaging bodies for pharmaceutical tablets (including capsules) are of the type shown in Fig. 5, in which a forming drum also serves as one seal roller. There is also a type shown in FIG. 6 in which the forming drum and sealing roller are separate.

The former 1' has a heating roller 3 and a sealing roller 4 arranged around a central forming drum 2 and facing obliquely to the vertical bisector of the roller 2, and also has a tablet feeding means 5 on the upper part of the forming drum 2. It has been established. A film F made of polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene is attached to a heating roller 3 and a guide roller 6.
After passing around the roller 3 approximately once, pocket forming recesses 1 are formed equiangularly radially around the roller while going around the forming drum 2.
0, 10... are suctioned from the bottom surface to form desired pockets P, P..., and then tablets T are filled into each pocket P by the tablet feeding means 5 on the upper part of the roller 2, and then Seal roller 4
It is sealed with an aluminum foil/plastic film laminate (sealing material; S) to form a long strip. Thereafter, this strip is punched out with a knife to become a PTP product (not shown).

In the above device, as can be seen from the figure, the distance from when the target tablet, etc. is fed into the pocket along the vertical line PL-PL until it reaches the sealing position S _p is extremely short. A tablet that has fallen in an inclined position relative to the PL will reach the sealing position _Sp at a significant angle from its normal state (the center line of the tablet in the lateral direction coincides with or is close to the center line of the pocket). A situation arises. If the tablet is pressed too hard by the seal roller in such an inclined state, the tablet may be destroyed or the seal may be torn. Naturally, the occurrence of such defects becomes more significant as the operating speed of the machine is increased in order to improve productivity.

In the type shown in FIG. 6 that was developed there, the forming drum 1 and the pair of seal rollers 4, 4' are separate, so a sufficient distance can be maintained between them, and therefore, the tablet Although it is possible to take the necessary measures for posture correction and to improve the drawbacks of the device shown in Figure 5, the device is naturally large. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to modify the type shown in FIG. 5, which is most popular today, to the type shown in FIG. 6.

(Purpose of the invention) In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention is not only designed from the beginning, but also
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet feeding means for an extruded package, which can be easily modified from the type shown in the figure and which can accommodate target tablets in a pocket in a normal posture. An additional purpose of the present invention is to provide a means for performing secondary molding on the pocket.

(Means for Achieving the Object) In order to achieve the above object, the tablet feeding means for extruded packaging according to the present invention is provided with a phase adjusting roller in front of the forming drum in the extrusion packaging manufacturing apparatus. The film to be formed with pockets exiting the forming drum is configured to run and return to the forming drum again through the phase adjustment roller approximately horizontally, and the horizontal running surface of the film is placed close to the phase adjustment roller. The device is characterized in that a tablet supply means is provided opposite to the tablet. That is, the device of the present invention:
As schematically shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional format shown in FIG.
to the contact area with seal roller 4 (seal position S _p )
However, the film is configured so that it once passes through the adjustment roller 7 and returns to the sealing position S _p following a substantially horizontal trajectory.

According to this method, as in the case of the type shown in Fig. 6, sufficient space for supplying the tablets can be taken, so that the tablets can be stably inserted into the pocket (in other words, in a normal posture).
Not only can tablets be loaded, but even if tablets are loaded in an abnormal posture, it is easy to correct this to a normal posture by applying slight vibration to the film or other means. In addition, the conventional fifth
Since it is sufficient to add an adjustment roller 7 to the type shown in the figure, modification is very easy. In addition, the horizontal running part of the film F is placed on the lower guide table 8 to prevent phase deviation due to sagging.
It is preferable that the material be supported in a planar manner.

The phase adjustment roller 7 uses a finely adjustable speed change means such as "Harmonic Drive (registered trademark)" to slightly speed up or slow down the rotation of this roller so that the pocket of the shaped film is aligned with the seal roller. Although it is possible to adjust the roller to exactly match the pocket, this method is relatively expensive, so instead of changing the rotation speed of the roller, it is practical to add a horizontal fine movement mechanism to the roller. However, it is practical to make it possible to align the pockets by moving left and right.

As an additional function, the upper guide table can be provided with means for performing secondary processing on the pocket of the shaped film. A typical example of secondary processing is unidirectional drawing processing for pockets.
In this case, a plurality of pairs of ribs along the film running direction and heating means are added inside the table.
During travel, the pocket is compressed by the main rib in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction and undergoes a drawing process.

(Function) In the device of the present invention, a phase adjustment roller is provided in front of the forming drum in the extrusion package manufacturing device, so that the pocketed film to be formed after exiting the forming drum passes through the phase adjustment roller and returns to the forming drum. Since the tablet feeding means is arranged so as to run and rotate approximately horizontally, and the tablet feeding means is provided close to the phase adjustment roller and facing the horizontal running surface of the film, a forming roller and a sealing roller are provided separately. It is possible to take up sufficient tablet supply space without increasing the size of the device (that is, without increasing the size of the device),
This makes it possible to reliably correct the posture of a tablet that has been housed in the pocket in an abnormal posture before sealing.

(Examples) Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be explained with reference to Examples, but each example is of course for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the idea of the invention.

Embodiment 1 Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of the main parts showing a basic embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the guide table A and A, and a sectional view taken along line A-A. It is.

Device 1 includes vacuum suction and water cooling means (not shown)
and a heating roller 3 that faces obliquely to the vertical bisector PL-PL of the drum.
and a seal roller 4, a phase adjustment roller 7 located on the left side of the drum 2, a first guide roller 6 that contacts the heating roller 3 obliquely with respect to the vertical bisector PL-PL, and the drum 2. 3, a guide table 8 located below the upper common cutting line TL-TL between the drum 3 and roller 7, and a tablet feeding means 5 located above the cutting line. configured.

The upper forming drum 2 and phase adjustment roller 7 have
Conformal radial recesses 10, 1 each having an inner shape corresponding to the outer shape of the pocket to be molded on its circumferential surface.
0..., and each is rotated in the direction of the arrow by a driving means (not shown). In addition,
A left-right fine movement device is built into the rotating shaft of the roller 7, and fine left-right movement for phase adjustment is possible.

The film F moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 in the order of the first guide roller 6 → heating roller 3 → forming drum 2 → second guide roller 9 → adjusting roller 7 → forming drum 2. The pocket P is shaped by vacuum suction between roller 7 and roller 9.
The tablets T are loaded between the drum 2 and the drum 2, and finally the drum 2 is sealed.

The tablet supply means 5 is provided close to the phase adjustment roller 7, and among the tablets loaded into the pocket P by this means, those in an abnormal position are transferred to the forming drum 2 while traveling along the cutting line TL-TL. Before reaching the position, the posture is corrected to normal by mechanical vibration, etc.

The guide table 8 is provided in contact with the lower part of the horizontal running portion of the shaped film F' between the roller 7 and the drum 2, and is provided with a plurality of grooves 11, 11, . . . parallel to the running direction of the film. (See Figure 2).

The film F heated to the deformation temperature by the heating roller 3 is vacuum-suctioned and cooled on the circumferential surface of the forming drum 2 to form desired pockets P, and then passed through the adjusting roller 7 and filled into each pocket by the filling means 5. The molding drum 2 is filled with tablets T each time, and is moved horizontally again toward the forming drum 2 along the guide groove 11 of the guide table 8. Mechanical vibration during this period, especially when the left and right walls of the pocket are on both inner walls 11a, 11a of the groove 11.
Due to the slight impact caused by contact with the tablet, the posture of the abnormally positioned tablet in each pocket is corrected, and the tablet assumes a normal posture and is sealed with the sealing material S between the tablet and the sealing roller 4. At this time, by finely adjusting the rotational speed of the adjusting roller 7 as necessary to finely change the feeding speed of the shaped film F', the pocket P of the film that reaches the forming drum 2 can be moved to the drum. Match perfectly with the recess of 2.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the guide table in an example in which a pocket squeezing means is added to the device shown in the previous two FIGS. FIGS. 2A and 2B are enlarged plan views of the pocket that has been subjected to drawing processing by the drawing means of FIG.

The squeezing means of this example includes a heater 12 added to the front of the guide table 8 (behind the filling means),
It consists of a drawing die 13 standing vertically on the top surface of the table 8.

The latter drawing die 13 includes a plurality of template plates (guide rails) 13a to 13, and the gap between the bases of these templates extends from the front part (the upper part in FIG. 3A) to the rear part (the third
It gradually becomes narrower as it reaches the lower part of Figure A), and the gap _d1 at the entrance is equal to the outer diameter d of the pocket P.
Although slightly larger, the gap d ₂ at the outlet is significantly smaller than d. Therefore, the base of the pocket of the shaped film F' that is re-softened by the heater 12 is forcibly squeezed from both sides while passing through this gap, and as shown in FIG. It becomes a pocket. Such irregularly shaped pockets are effective in protecting medicines and the like contained therein from damage during transportation.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, the present invention allows the target tablet to be stored in the pocket in a normal posture without increasing the size of the device, and furthermore, the existing device can be easily modified. In addition, it is possible to contribute to the pharmaceutical industry and related industries through the fact that secondary molding processing can be performed on the pocket as necessary.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of the main parts showing a basic embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the guide table, Figs.
Figures A and A are partial plan views of the guide table in an example in which a pocket squeezing means is added to the device shown in the previous two figures, B is a sectional view taken along line B-B, and FIG.
Enlarged plan views A and A of the pocket subjected to drawing processing by the drawing means shown in the figure, sectional view B along the line C-C, and FIGS. FIG.
The meanings of the main symbols in each figure are as follows: 1... Entire tablet feeding device of the present invention, 2... Forming drum, 3... Heating roller, 4, 4'... Sealing roller (4' is the sixth Figure only), 5...tablet supply means,
6...First guide roller, 7...Adjustment roller, 8
...Guide table, 9...Second guide roller,
10... Recess of drum 2 and roller 7, 11...
...Guide groove of guide table 8, 12...Heater of 8, 11a...Inner wall of guide groove 11, 13...
...Drawing die, 13a to 13...Template 13, 1' and 1''...Known PTP manufacturing equipment (numerals 2 to 6, 8 and 10 are the same as 1), F'...Shaping film, P...
...F' pocket, S...sealing material, T...tablet.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A phase adjustment roller is provided in front of the forming drum in an extrusion packaging manufacturing device, so that the film to be formed with pockets exits the forming drum and passes through the phase adjustment roller again. Production of an extrusion package, characterized in that the tablet is configured to travel and return approximately horizontally to the forming drum, and is provided with a tablet feeding means adjacent to the phase adjusting roller and facing the horizontal traveling surface of the film. Tablet feeding device in the device. (2) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the horizontally running portion of the pocketed film to be formed is supported by a lower guide table. (3) The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide table is provided with ribs and a heater that are parallel to the traveling direction of the pocketed film to be formed and that can be clamped into the pockets of the film.