Side face examination apparatus for pressed articles, conveyor for pressed articles and external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles

• US 5,750,979 A
• Filed: 08/21/1995
• Issued: 05/12/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Shionogi Qualicaps Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Japan Elanco Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawaguchi, Yosihisa, Yamamoto, Taizo, Yagyu, Motohiro, Nagao, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Stephone B.
• Application Number:
  US08/517,212
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: 209/540, 209/545, 209/576, 209/577, 209/701, 209/905, 209/919, 474/156, 250/223 R
• US Class Current: 250/223.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9508 Capsules; Tablets

Abstract

Pressed articles are arranged substantially vertical in guide grooves, and transferred to pockets of a conveying drum which is intermittently rotated. The pressed articles are rotated at least more than one turn by a pressed article rotating roller while the pockets are stopped at predetermined positions, and the whole side face of the pressed article is observed by an image pickup apparatus. After changing posture of the pressed articles to be substantially horizontal posture by a posture changing apparatus, front and rear surfaces of the pressed articles are observed by image pickup apparatuses while the pressed articles are held and conveyed on respective sides of equilateral polygons of conveying drums which have equilateral polygonal cross-sections.

Claims

1. A side face examination apparatus for pressed articles comprising:

an arranging apparatus for arranging pressed articles, which are supplied at random, in a manner so that a cross-section of one of said pressed articles having a largest area is substantially vertical, and having a plurality of guide grooves which have a width wider by a predetermined tolerance than a width of said pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section;

a conveying drum intermittently rotated around a horizontal axis, and having pockets arranged for facing said guide grooves and holding said pressed articles, which are arranged by said arranging apparatus, in a manner so that said cross-section is substantially vertical;

a pressed article rotating roller disposed at a predetermined position in the inside of said conveying drum, and rotating said pressed articles in said pockets stopped at said predetermined position more than one turn around their horizontal axes; and

an image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said conveying drum at said predetermined position, and picking up picture images of side faces of said pressed articles in said pockets.

2. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 1, wherein said conveying drum comprises a fixed hollow inner sleeve and an outer sleeve rotatably engaged with an outer surface of said inner sleeve with a predetermined tolerance;

said pockets are provided on said outer sleeve;

connection holes or slits are provided at portions of said inner sleeve facing said guide grooves; and

an inside of said inner sleeve is connected to a vacuum suction apparatus.

3. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 2, wherein said pressed article rotating roller is rotatably borne on said inner sleeve, and has a plurality of larger diameter portions corresponding to the arrangement of said pockets, said larger diameter portions are protruded from the outer periphery of said inner sleeve.

4. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 3, wherein a width of said larger diameter portions of said pressed article rotating roller in a direction parallel to a rotation axis thereof is wider than a width of said pockets in said direction, and centers of said larger diameter portions are inconsistent with centers of said pockets.

5. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 1, wherein openings of said pockets are formed substantially as parallelograms, a pair of parallel sides are parallel to said horizontal axis of said conveying drum and the other parallel sides are inclined against said horizontal axis of said conveying drum.

6. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of said guide grooves of said arranging apparatus includes a slanted portion and a straight portion, a width in said slanted portion becomes gradually narrower when the position progresses downward, a width in said straight portion is a width wider by a predetermined tolerance than a width of said pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section having the largest area, and a vibration is applied to said arranging apparatus.

7. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor for pressed articles comprises:

a conveying drum having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in a vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis; and

connection holes provided at predetermined positions on each side of said equilateral polygon for holding pressed articles by negative pressure via said connection holes in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed article having a largest area is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis.

8. The side face examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor for pressed articles comprises:

a conveying drum having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in a vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis; and

connection holes and wide use pockets provided at predetermined positions on each side of said equilateral polygon for holding pressed articles by negative pressure via said connection holes in said pockets in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed article having a largest area is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis.

9. A conveyor for pressed articles comprising:

a conveying drum having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in a vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis; and

connection holes and wide use pockets provided at predetermined positions on each side of said equilateral polygon for holding pressed articles by negative pressure via said connection holes in said pockets in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed article having a largest area is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis;

wherein each of said wide use pockets has a portion parallel to a rotation direction of said conveying drum and a substantially V-letter shaped portion having an apex angle of substantially 90 degrees which has an apex at a point which is a predetermined distance from center of said connection hole in said rotation direction.

10. A conveyor for pressed articles comprising:

a conveying drum having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in a vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis; and

connection holes and wide use pockets provided at predetermined positions on each side of said equilateral polygon for holding pressed articles by negative pressure via said connection holes in said pockets in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed article having a largest area is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis;

wherein each of said wide use pockets has a portion parallel to a rotation direction of said conveying drum and a substantially V-letter shaped portion having an apex angle of substantially 90 degrees which has an apex at a point which is a predetermined distance from center of said connection hole in said rotation direction, and further

wherein said wide use pockets are formed on a block having a substantially rectangular cross-section in each direction, and each block is interchangeably fixed on each side of said equilateral polygon of said conveying drum.

12. The conveyor for pressed articles in accordance with claim 10 or 11, wherein each of said guide grooves of said arranging apparatus includes a slanted portion and a straight portion, wherein a width in said slanted portion becomes gradually narrower when a position progresses downward, a width in said straight portion is a width wider by a predetermined tolerance than a width of said pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section having the largest area, and a vibration is applied to said arranging apparatus.

11. A conveyor for pressed articles comprising:

an arranging apparatus for arranging pressed articles, which are supplied at random, in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed articles having a largest area is substantially vertical, and having a plurality of guide grooves which have a width wider by a predetermined tolerance than a width of said pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section;

a first conveying drum intermittently rotated around a horizontal axis, and having first pockets arranged for facing said guide grooves and holding said pressed articles, which are arranged by said arranging apparatus, in a manner so that said cross-section is substantially vertical;

a posture changing apparatus disposed below said first conveying drum, having second pockets arranged for facing said first pockets, and changing posture of said pressed articles in a manner so that a direction of said cross-section of said pressed article having the largest area is changed from substantially vertical to substantially horizontal; and

a second conveying apparatus disposed below said posture changing apparatus, having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in the vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis, wherein connection holes are provided at predetermined positions facing said second pockets on each side of said equilateral polygon for holding said pressed articles in a manner so that said cross-section of said pressed articles is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis by negative pressure via said connection holes.

13. The conveyor for pressed articles in accordance with claim 11, wherein said first conveying drum comprises a fixed hollow inner sleeve and an outer sleeve rotatably engaged with an outer surface of said inner sleeve with a predetermined tolerance;

said first pockets are provided on said outer sleeve;

connection holes or slits are provided at portions of said inner sleeve facing said guide grooves; and

an inside of said inner sleeve is connected to a vacuum suction apparatus.

14. The conveyor for pressed articles in accordance with claim 11, wherein said posture changing apparatus comprises a rotating drum rotating around a horizontal axis and having said second pockets, and a guide plate provided for facing an outer surface of said drum with a predetermined tolerance, said guide plate has slanted grooves which contacts pressed articles protruded from said second pockets and slanted from a position on upper end of said guide plate where said second pockets are not covered to a position where said second pockets are completely covered.

15. A conveyor for pressed articles comprising:

an arranging apparatus for arranging pressed articles, which are supplied at random, in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed articles having a largest area is substantially vertical, and having a plurality of guide grooves which have a width wider a predetermined tolerance than a width of said pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section;

a first conveying drum intermittently rotated around a horizontal axis, and having first pockets arranged for facing said guide grooves and holding said pressed articles, which are arranged by said arranging apparatus, in a manner so that said cross-section is substantially vertical;

a posture changing apparatus disposed below said first conveying drum, having second pockets arranged for facing said first pockets, and changing posture of said pressed articles in a manner so that a direction of said cross-section of said pressed article having the largest area is changed from substantially vertical to substantially horizontal; and

a second conveying apparatus disposed below said posture changing apparatus, having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in the vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis, wherein connection holes and wide use pockets are provided at predetermined positions facing said second pockets on each side of said equilateral polygon for holding said pressed articles in a manner so that said cross-section of said pressed articles is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis by negative pressure via said connection holes.

16. The conveyor for pressed articles in accordance with claim 15, wherein each of said wide use pocket has a portion parallel to a rotation direction of said second conveying drum and a substantially V-letter shaped portion having an apex angle of substantially 90 degrees which has an apex at a point distant a predetermined distance from center of said connection hole in said rotation direction.

17. The conveyor for pressed articles in accordance with claim 15, wherein said wide use pockets are formed on a block having a substantially rectangular cross-section in each direction, and each block is interchangeably fixed on each side of said equilateral polygon of said second conveying drum.

18. An external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles comprising:

an arranging apparatus for arranging pressed articles, which are supplied at random, in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed articles having a largest area is substantially vertical, and having a plurality of guide grooves which have a width wider a predetermined tolerance than a width of the pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section;

a first conveying drum intermittently rotated around a horizontal axis, and having first pockets arranged for facing said guide grooves and holding said pressed articles, which are arranged by said arranging apparatus, in a manner so that said cross-section is substantially vertical;

a pressed article rotating roller disposed at a predetermined first position in the inside of said first conveying drum, and rotating said pressed articles in said pockets stopped at said predetermined first position more than one turn around horizontal axes;

a first image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said first conveying drum at said first predetermined position, and picking up pictures of side faces of said pressed articles in said first pockets;

a posture changing apparatus disposed below said first conveying drum, having second pockets arranged for facing said first pockets, and changing postures of pressed articles in a manner so that a direction of said cross-section of said pressed articles is changed from substantially vertical to substantially horizontal;

a second conveying drum disposed below said posture changing apparatus, having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in the vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis, wherein first connection holes are provided at predetermined positions facing said second pockets on each side of said equilateral polygon, and hold said pressed articles by negative pressure via said first connection holes in a manner so that said cross-sections of said pressed articles are substantially parallel to said horizontal axis;

a second image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said second conveying drum at a second predetermined position, and picking up pictures of first faces of said pressed articles;

a third conveying drum disposed below said second conveying drum, having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in the vertical direction and rotated around a horizontal axis, wherein second connection holes are provided at predetermined positions facing said first connection holes on each side of said equilateral polygon, and hold said pressed articles, which are received from said second conveying drum, by negative pressure via said second connection holes in a manner so that said cross-sections of said pressed articles are substantially parallel to said axis; and

a third image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said third conveying drum at a third predetermined position, and picking up pictures of second faces of said pressed articles, which are back sides of said first faces.

20. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 18 or 19, wherein said first conveying drum comprises a fixed hollow inner sleeve and an outer sleeve rotatably engaged with an outer surface of said inner sleeve with a predetermined tolerance;

said pockets are provided on said outer sleeve;

connection holes or slits are provided at portions of said inner sleeve facing said guide grooves; and

the inside of said inner sleeve is connected to a vacuum suction apparatus.

21. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 20, wherein said pressed article rotating roller is rotatably borne on said inner sleeve, has a plurality of larger diameter portions corresponding to the arrangement of said pockets, said larger diameter portions are protruded from the outer periphery of said inner sleeve.

22. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 21, wherein a width of said larger diameter portions of said pressed article rotating roller in a direction of the rotation axis is wider than a width of said pockets in the same direction, and centers of said larger diameter portions are inconsistent with centers of said pockets.

23. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 18 or 19, wherein openings of said pockets are formed substantially as parallelograms, a pair of parallel sides are parallel to the rotation axis of said first conveying drum and other parallel sides are inclined against the rotation axis of said first conveying drum.

24. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 18 or 19, wherein each of said guide grooves of said arranging apparatus includes a slanted portion and a straight portion, wherein a width in said slanted portion becomes gradually narrower when a position progresses downward, a width in said straight portion is a width wider by a predetermined tolerance than a width of said pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section having the largest area, and a vibration is applied to said arranging apparatus.

25. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 18 or 19, wherein said posture changing apparatus comprises a rotating drum rotating around a horizontal axis and having said second pockets, and a guide plate provided for facing an outer surface of said drum with a predetermined tolerance, said guide plate has slanted grooves which contacts pressed articles protruded from said second pockets and slanted from a position on an upper end of said guide plate where said second pockets are not covered to a position where said second pockets are completely covered.

26. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with one of claims 18 or 19, further comprising an inferior article removing apparatus which is disposed below said third conveying drum, has third pockets provided at positions facing said second connection holes or said second wide use pockets and having an area larger than a largest cross-sectional area of said pressed articles and has third connection holes provided in said third pockets, and removes a pressed article in which an inferiority is found on at least one of said side face, first surface and second surface by blasting compressed air through said third connection holes.

19. An external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles comprising:

an arranging apparatus for arranging pressed articles, which are supplied at random, in a manner so that a cross-section of said pressed articles having a largest area is substantially vertical, and having a plurality of guide grooves which have a width wider by a predetermined tolerance than a width of the pressed articles in a direction perpendicular to said cross-section;

a first conveying drum intermittently rotated around a horizontal axis, and having first pockets arranged for facing said guide grooves and holding said pressed articles, which are arranged by said arranging apparatus, in a manner so that said cross-section is substantially vertical;

a pressed article rotating roller disposed at a predetermined first position in an inside of said first conveying drum, and rotating said pressed articles in said pockets stopped at said predetermined first position more than one turn around horizontal axes of said pressed articles;

a first image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said first conveying drum at said first predetermined position, and picking up pictures of side faces of said pressed articles in said first pockets;

a posture changing apparatus disposed below said first conveying drum, having second pockets arranged for facing said first pockets, and changing postures of pressed articles in a manner so that a direction of said cross-section of said pressed articles is changed from substantially vertical to substantially horizontal;

a second conveying drum disposed below said posture changing apparatus, having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in the vertical direction, and rotated around a horizontal axis, wherein first connection holes and first wide use pockets are provided at predetermined positions facing said second pockets on each side of said equilateral polygon and hold said pressed articles by negative pressure via said first connection holes in a manner so that said cross-section of said pressed article is substantially parallel to said horizontal axis;

a second image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said second conveying drum at a second predetermined position, and picking up pictures of first faces of said pressed articles;

a third conveying drum disposed below said second conveying drum, having an equilateral polygonal cross-section in the vertical direction and rotated around a horizontal axis, wherein second connection holes and second wide use pockets are provided at predetermined positions facing said first connection holes on each side of said equilateral polygon, and hold said pressed articles, which are received from said second conveying drum, by negative pressure via said second connection holes in a manner so that said cross-section of said pressed article is substantially parallel to said axis; and

a third image pickup apparatus disposed for facing an outer surface of said third conveying drum at a third predetermined position, and picking up pictures of second faces of said pressed articles, which are back sides of said first faces.

27. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 19, wherein each of said first and second wide use pocket has a portion parallel to the rotation direction of said and third second conveying drums and a substantially V-letter shaped portion having an apex angle of substantially 90 degrees which has an apex at a point distant a predetermined distance from a center of said first and second connection hole in said rotation direction.

28. The external appearance examination apparatus for pressed articles in accordance with claim 27, wherein said first and second wide use pockets are formed on blocks having a substantially rectangular cross-section in each direction, and each block is interchangeably fixed on a side of said equilateral polygon of said second and third conveying drums.