JPH0539698Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Purpose of the invention><Field of industrial application> The present invention relates to a device for identifying the quality of capsules for manufacturing pharmaceutical products and removing defective capsules. The present invention relates to a defective capsule removing device that removes defective capsules, such as capsules that have been crushed and deformed, or capsules in which the main body and the cap are separated, during the process of supplying the capsules to the drug filling process.

<Background of the invention> Two-piece capsules used for filling pharmaceuticals have a cap fitted over the body, and are aligned as they are fed to the filling head for the powdered and granular medicines that are their contents. This alignment process is necessary to feed the capsules to the capsule table, which intermittently transports them along a circular track during the filling process, but if a defective capsule that does not meet the specifications is mixed in, the process will proceed without the capsule being properly loaded onto the capsule table, causing problems in the subsequent processes.

<Technical matters attempted to be developed> The present invention was developed in view of this background, and is a novel defective capsule removing device that can effectively remove defective capsules during the supply of capsules. This is an attempt at development.

<<Structure of the invention>><Means for achieving the object> That is, the defective capsule removing device, which is the first invention according to the present application, is equipped with a vibrating sorting plate, and the sorting plate is provided with an exclusion hole having a diameter larger than the capsule diameter. In addition to providing a large number of vertically facing
A sorting guide part formed by recessing the upper surface of the sorting plate is formed at the periphery of the exclusion hole, and an inner circumference of the sorting guide part opposite to this outer circumferential end is formed on the center line from the outer circumferential edge of the sorting guide part. This device is characterized by comprising a separation capsule sorting device in which the dimension from the center of gravity of the capsule to the front end or the rear end of the capsule is set to a smaller value than either of the dimensions from the center of gravity of the capsule to the front end or the rear end of the capsule.

In addition, a second device for removing defective capsules according to the present application is provided with a vibrating sorting plate in addition to the first separating capsule sorting device, and the sorting plate has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the capsules. This device is characterized by a combination of a modified capsule sorting device equipped with a sorting hole.

These ideas are intended to achieve the above object.

<Operation of the invention> In the case of the present invention, when setting the dimensions of the exclusion hole formed in the sorting plate and the sorting guide part in the separation capsule sorting device, the diameter of the exclusion hole is made larger than that of the capsules, and This is because the dimension from the outer peripheral end of the guide part to the inner peripheral end of the sorting guide part, which is opposite to this outer peripheral end on the center line thereof, is smaller than the dimension from either the center of gravity of the capsule to its front end or rear end. When the capsules reach the sorting guide section, normal capsules do not fall into the exclusion hole but pass through this and are sent to the process one after another. When the separated capsules reach the sorting guide according to the present invention, they fall into the recesses of the sorting guide, and eventually fall downward through the removal hole and are sorted and collected.

According to the second invention of the present application, in addition to such sorting of separated capsules, when crushed deformed capsules are supplied, a sorting hole formed in a sorting plate in a deformed capsule sorting device is provided. The deformed capsule cannot pass through and remains.
It is prevented from being sent to the next process.

<Examples> The present invention will be specifically described below based on illustrated examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. First, the defective capsule removing device 1 of the present invention is incorporated into, for example, a filling device 2 for filling medicine. Of course, the defective capsule removing device 1 can be installed at any stage of supplying, so it does not necessarily have to be incorporated into the filling device 2. Since it is expected that defective capsules may occur during the transfer of the capsules, it is preferable to provide the capsules in a lined state immediately before supplying the capsules. That is, a filling device 2 which is an example to which the present invention is applied is provided with a defective capsule removing device 1 below a feed hopper 3 to which capsules C are supplied by an air flow, and further provided with an aligning and feeding device 4 at a subsequent stage.
A capsule table 5 and a drug filling head 6 are provided. Before explaining the present invention, the manufacturing process of the capsule C and the filling device 2 incorporating the present invention will be briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, the capsule C is of a so-called two-piece type consisting of a cap Ca and a main body Cb into which the cap Ca is externally fitted, and the deformed capsule in a collapsed state is designated as Cw. These are supplied to the feed hopper 3 by air flow, etc., and are supplied to the defective capsule removing device 1 to remove deformed capsules Cw and remove caps Ca.
A separated capsule in which Cb and main body Cb are separated is removed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the caps are aligned in a plurality of rows in the alignment and supply device 4, for example, with the caps Ca facing upward. Further, the capsules C are transferred from this aligning and supplying device 4 to a turntable-like capsule table 5, where the main body is transferred by a lower holder 5b.
Cb is held, while cap Ca is now supported by upper holder 5a. Then, the upper holder 5a moves out while holding the cap Ca, and
A predetermined amount of powdered medicine A is filled into the main body Cb side of the capsule C, which is open at the top at the intersection with the medicine filling head 6. After that, upper holder 5a
The upper holder 5a and the lower holder 5b approach each other again after matching their vertical positions, and the cap Ca is moved to the main body Cb.
The capsule C containing the drug A is completed by putting it over the capsule and integrating it. As can be understood from this point, if the capsule C transferred to the capsule table 5 is a defective capsule, the supply path will be clogged at the stage of the capsule table 5 or at the stage of the alignment and supply device 4 in the preceding stage. As a result, accidents occur that prevent subsequent processes from proceeding smoothly.

The defective capsule removing device 1 of the present invention incorporated into such a filling device 2 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. The defective capsule removing device 1 of the present invention is formed by combining a separating capsule sorting device 11 and a deformed capsule sorting device 12, for example. Although the order in which the two devices are installed is not particularly limited, generally the separated capsule sorting device is provided after the deformed capsule sorting device 12. First, the separation capsule sorting device 11 will be described. In this device, a movable frame 14 is attached to a guide rail 13 arranged almost horizontally with respect to a frame 10, and this device is moved horizontally by a vibration driving device 15. It has a mechanism that generates directional vibrations. Specifically, the vibration driving device 15 is a connecting rod 15 whose working end is attached to the movable frame 14.
a and a crankshaft 15b to which the other end of the connecting rod 15a is connected, the rotational motion of the crankshaft 15b is supplied as a reciprocating motion, and approximately horizontal vibration is imparted to the movable frame 14. Of course, this vibration direction may be not only the horizontal direction but also the vertical direction, or a combination of these directions. The point is that appropriate vibrations should be applied. The sorting plate 16 is provided on the movable frame 14, preferably in a downwardly facing state. Of course, depending on the direction in which the vibration is applied, the selection plate 1
Since the capsules C supplied onto the container 6 exhibit a state similar to a so-called vibrating conveyor, which can move upwardly on an incline, the direction of inclination can be set as appropriate depending on the correlation with the direction of vibration, etc. This sorting plate 16 is provided with a large number of exclusion holes 17, and the diameter of the exclusion holes 17 (hereinafter referred to as diameter dimension d) is the longitudinal dimension of the capsule C (hereinafter referred to as longitudinal dimension), as shown in FIG. It is sufficiently smaller than the capsule C (hereinafter referred to as the diameter dimension Dc), but at least sufficiently larger than the diameter dimension of the capsule C (hereinafter referred to as the diameter dimension Dc). Furthermore, this exclusion hole 17 has an upper end side,
That is, the upper surface of the sorting plate 16 is recessed, and a sorting guide part 18 shaped like a mortar, for example, is provided at the periphery of the exclusion hole 17.
is formed. The sorting guide section 18 is generally formed so that its center coincides with the exclusion hole 17. As a characteristic feature of the present invention, the dimensional relationship between the outer peripheral end 18a and the inner peripheral end 18b (the inner peripheral end 18b substantially forms a boundary with the exclusion hole 17) of the sorting guide section 18 is as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the dimension from the outer circumferential end 18a of the sorting guide section 18 to the inner circumferential end 18b that crosses the exclusion hole 17 on its center line and faces the outer circumferential end 18a (hereinafter referred to as the discrimination dimension _D1 ). is set to be smaller than either of the dimensions from the center of gravity Cp of the capsule C in a normal state to its front end or rear end (hereinafter referred to as the center of gravity dimensions Cd and Cd' of the capsule). This is a dimension setting to prevent normal capsules from falling through the exclusion hole 17 when the capsules C reach the sorting guide section 18, as will be described in detail later. Furthermore, regarding the angle θ ₁ determined by the sorting plate 16 and the sorting guide section 18,
In general, it may be about 4 to 6. Further, the number of exclusion holes 17 provided in the sorting plate 16 is not particularly limited, but generally the sorting guide portion 1 connected to the exclusion holes 17
The number may be such that the outer peripheral ends 18a of 8 are in contact with each other. Furthermore, there is an exclusion hole 1 below the sorting plate 16.
Since the cap Ca or main body Cb of the capsule separated from the capsule 7 falls, it is preferable to provide a collection trough 19 for collecting them. Next, a description will be given of the deformed capsule sorting device 12 for removing so-called deformed capsules Cw that are in a crushed state. This device also sorts deformed capsules Cw by applying vibrations as shown in FIGS.
Similarly, the guide frame 21 for the frame 10
is provided substantially horizontally, a movable frame 22 is supported thereon, and a vibration driving device 23 is connected to the movable frame 22. This vibration driving device 23
A suitable reciprocating vibration is applied to the movable frame 22 by the combination of the connecting rod 23a and the crankshaft 23b. As can be understood from this, when the separating capsule sorting device 11 and the deformed capsule sorting device 12 are combined in close proximity, they may be integrally configured and driven by one system of vibration driving. A sorting plate 24 is attached to the movable frame 22, and the sorting plate 24 is generally provided at the front stage of the separation capsule sorting device 11 and immediately below the feed hopper 3. This sorting plate 24 has a large number of sorting holes 25, the diameter of which (hereinafter referred to as gauge dimension _D2 ) is the outer diameter of a normal capsule in an uncrushed state, as shown in FIG. The diameter dimension Dc is very close to the diameter dimension Dc of the capsule C that allows the passage of
Approximately 0.05 to 0.15 mm DC may be added. Since this sorting hole 25 is for allowing normal capsules C to pass through and blocking the passage of deformed capsules Cw, the sorting hole 25 has a guiding taper above it so that the capsule C can be easily guided into the sorting hole 25. 26 is formed. The guide taper 26 is generally formed so that its center coincides with the screening hole 25. Incidentally, in the embodiment, the guide taper 26 has two taper angles, and has a tapered shape in which the outward opening state increases as it goes upward. The angle θ ₂ determined between the guide taper 26 and the sorting plate 24 may generally be about 40 to 50 degrees.
Further, the number of sorting holes 25 provided in the sorting plate 24 may be the same as that of the separation capsule sorting device 11. If necessary, a transfer trough may be provided below the sorting plate 24 in order to guide the capsules C to the separation capsule sorting device 11 which is the next step.

The device for removing defective capsules according to the present invention has the specific structure described above, and operates as follows to remove defective capsules. First, the capsule C supplied from the feed hopper 3 is
As shown in the figure, the deformed capsule sorting device 1 is fed into the deformed capsule sorting device 12.
2, a large number of capsules C are on the sorting plate 24.
is spread out in an expanded state. Then, the sorting plate 24 supported by the movable frame 22 is reciprocated by the vibration driving device 23 to give vibration, and the capsules C on the sorting plate 24 fall into the guide taper 26 and are further deformed. capsule
Those other than Cw pass through the sorting hole 25 and fall downward, and reach the next step, the separation capsule sorting device 11. Incidentally, since the deformed capsule Cw cannot pass through the sorting hole 25 in the sorting plate 24, it remains stuck there. This deformed capsule Cw
Since deformed capsules Cw do not necessarily occur very often, it is sufficient to remove them each time the machine is inspected. The capsule C that has reached the separation capsule sorting device 11 is a cap unless it is deformed.
Even if Ca and main body Cb are separated, they still pass through, and this is separated into capsule sorting device 1.
Sort in step 1. That is, its operating mode is first determined by the above-mentioned center of gravity dimension Cd of the normal capsule C or
Since both Cd' are larger than the discrimination dimension D ₁ of the sorting guide 18, the center of gravity of the capsule C that has reached the sorting guide 18 is at the sorting guide 1 as shown in FIG.
If the center of gravity is outside the outer peripheral end 18a of the sorting guide 18, it will not fall down, and if the center of gravity is inside the outer peripheral end 18a of the sorting guide 18, it will fall halfway into the recessed sorting guide 18. state. However, even in that case, both the center of gravity dimensions Cd and Cd' of the capsules are larger than the discrimination dimension D ₁ , so either the front or rear end of the capsule C will definitely fall into the sorting guide section 18 without falling into the exclusion hole 17. It becomes like getting stuck on an inclined surface. Then, by further applying vibration, the capsules C move through the sorting guide section 18 regardless of the existence of the exclusion hole 17, and are sent from the tip of the sorting plate 16 to the hopper of the aligning and feeding device 4, which is the next step. On the other hand, cap
When the capsule C in which Ca and the main body Cb are separated is supplied, this capsule is placed at the outer peripheral end 18a of the sorting guide section 18.
As the cap Ca or main body Cb moves further inside, the sorting guide 18 is vibrated and reaches the exclusion hole 17, from where it falls and the cap Ca or main body Cb is collected from the collection trough 19.

<<Effects of the invention>> The defective capsule removing device of the present invention has the dimensions of the sorting guide section 18 and the exclusion hole 17 set in relation to the dimensions of the capsules C when sorting separated capsules, which has been extremely difficult in the past. , capsules in which the normal cap Ca and main body Cb are integrally covered, and these separated capsules are reliably sorted and sent to the next process. Of course, according to the second invention of the present application, not only the separated capsule described above but also the deformed capsule Cw is reliably removed,
Only normal capsules C are supplied to the next process. As a result, the subsequent filling operation of medicine A is also performed reliably. Therefore, the present invention is useful as a device for removing defective capsules.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a filling device to which the defective capsule removing device of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a series of steps of the filling device, and Fig. 3 is a defective capsule removing device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the device; FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of the same skeleton; FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the side shape of the screening hole and a side view of the capsule; FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the center of gravity dimension of the capsule and the discrimination dimension. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Defective capsule removal device, 2...Filling device, 3...Feed hopper, 4...Aligning supply device, 5...Capsule table, 5a...Upper holder, 5b...Lower holder, 6...Drug filling head ,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Frame, 11... Separation capsule sorting device, 12... Deformed capsule sorting device, 13... Guide rail, 14... Movable frame, 15... Vibration driving device, 15a... Connecting rod, 15b...
Crankshaft, 16... Sorting plate, 17... Exclusion hole,
18... Sorting guide section, 18a... Outer peripheral end, 18b
... Inner peripheral end, 19 ... Collection trough, 21 ... Guide rail, 22 ... Movable frame, 23 ... Vibration drive device, 23a ... Connecting rod, 23b ... Crankshaft, 24 ... Sorting plate, 25 ...Sorting hole, 2
6... Guide taper, 27... Transfer trough, A...
Drug, C...capsule, Ca...cap, Cb...
...Main body, Cd, Cd'...Centroid dimension, Cp...Centroid point,
Cw... Deformed capsule, L... Capsule longitudinal dimension, Dc... Capsule diameter dimension, D ₁ ... Discrimination dimension, D ₂ ... Gauge dimension, d... Exclusion hole diameter dimension, θ ₁ , θ ₂ ……angle.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A vibrating sorting plate is provided, and this sorting plate is provided with a large number of exclusion holes having a diameter larger than the capsule diameter, oriented almost vertically, and at the periphery of the exclusion holes. A sorting guide part is formed by recessing the upper surface of the sorting plate, and the dimension from the outer peripheral end of the sorting guide part to the inner peripheral end of the sorting guide part opposite to this outer peripheral end on the center line is defined as a capsule. A device for removing defective capsules, comprising a separating capsule sorting device configured to have a dimension smaller than either the front end or the rear end of the capsule from the center of gravity of the capsule. (2) The separating capsule sorting device according to claim 1 is combined with a deformed capsule sorting device comprising a vibrating sorting plate and a sorting hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the capsule. A defective capsule removal device with special features.