Appearance inspecting device for solid formulation

• US 6,108,030 A
• Filed: 02/17/1998
• Issued: 08/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shionogi Qualicaps Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Japan Elanco Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Taizo, Yagyu, Motohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Application Number:
  US09/024,517
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 348/86, 348/91-92, 348/125, 209/938-939, 209/688-689, 209/690, 53/235, 53/240, 53/266.1, 53/285, 53/291, 53/900
• US Class Current: 348/91
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9508 Capsules; Tablets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/938 Illuminating means facilitating visual inspection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/939 Video scanning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 53/90 Capsules

Abstract

Disclosed is an appearance inspecting device for a solid formulation, including a supply section for continuously supplying solid formulations such as capsules; an inspecting drum for holding on its outer peripheral portion the solid formulations supplied from the supply section, carrying the solid formulations in such a manner as to allow the solid formulations to be intermittently revolved, and allowing the solid formulations to be rotated on their axes at a specific carrying position; an image pickup device for photographing surfaces of the solid formulations being thus rotated on their axes; a quality determining section for processing images of the solid formulations thus picked up from the image pickup device and determining whether the solid formulations are nondefective or defective; and a classifying section for classifying the solid formulations into defective and nondefective solid formulations on the result determined by the quality determining section and recovering the defective and nondefective capsules. The inspecting device is capable of achieving a high inspection accuracy being sufficiently satisfied in terms of practical use, and also of performing length inspection for a solid formulation.

Claims

1. An appearance inspecting device for inspecting appearances of solid formulations each having a shape being rotation-symmetric around a specific axis, comprising:

a supply section for continuously supplying said solid formulations;

an inspecting drum for holding on its outer peripheral portion said solid formulations supplied from said supply section and carrying said solid formulations in such a manner as to allow said solid formulations to be intermittently revolved, and rotating said solid formulations at a specific carrying position;

an image pickup device for photographing surfaces of said solid formulations rotated by said inspecting drum;

a quality determining section for processing images of said solid formulations picked-up by said image pick-up device and determining whether said solid formulations are defective or nondefective; and

a classifying means for classifying said solid formulations into defective capsules and nondefective capsules on the basis of the results determined by said quality determining section and recovering said defective and nondefective capsules;

wherein said inspecting drum includes a fixed inner cylinder, and an outer cylinder rotatably mounted on an outer periphery of said inner cylinder in such a manner as to be intermittently rotated along the outer peripheral surface of said inner cylinder;

a roller rotatable on a rotational axis extending along the axial direction of said inner cylinder is provided inside a portion of said inner cylinder in a state in which a surface of said roller is exposed from the outer peripheral surface of said inner cylinder;

the surface of said roller, exposed from the outer peripheral surface of said inner cylinder, is formed into a cross-sectional shape being tiled downward to one axial end side; and

said outer cylinder has lead-through holding pockets each being formed into an elliptic, oblong, or rectangular shape having a center axis offset a specific angle from the axial direction of said outer cylinder;

whereby said solid formulations are held in said lead-through holding pockets and carried by intermittent rotation of said outer cylinder;

said solid formulations in said lead-through holding pockets intermittently stopped at a specific carrying position are rotated on said roller being rotated on the rotational axis; and

outer peripheral surfaces of said solid formulations thus rotated are photographed by said image pickup device.

2. An appearance inspecting device according to claim 1, wherein a ring-like rubber member is circumferentially mounted at an edge portion of the surface of said roller on the downward tilted side.

3. An appearance inspecting device according to claim 1, wherein said solid formulation is a hard capsule including a cap and a body;

and

said supply section is provided with a direction restricting means for aligning said capsules with the cap sides being directed in a specific direction, whereby said capsules are carried while being contained in said lead-through holding pockets of said outer cylinder in states being restricted in a specific direction by said direction restricting means.

4. An appearance inspecting device according to claim 3, wherein said supply section comprises:

a supply hopper for containing a specific number of capsules once and sequentially supplying said capsules to a supply drum;

said supply drum which has a plurality of supply pockets aligned in its outer peripheral surface and is rotated around a horizontal axis, said plurality of supply pockets being adapted to contain said capsules in upright states with axial lines of said capsules being directed up and down;

a first direction restricting drum which is disposed under said supply drum in such a state that an outer peripheral surface thereof is in proximity to the outer peripheral surface of said supply drum and is rotated around a horizontal axis, and which first direction restricting drum has first direction restricting pockets aligned in the outer peripheral surface thereof at positions corresponding to those of said supply pockets, said first direction restricting pockets being adapted to perfectly contain capsules in laterally-turned states with axial lines thereof being directed in the horizontal direction and capsules in upright states with caps thereof being directed upward and also being adapted to receive capsules in upright states with bodies thereof being directed upward in such a state that the body portions project from the outer peripheral surface of said first direction restricting drum;

a first direction restricting guide which is provided along the outer peripheral surface of said first direction restricting drum and has a pushing portion slightly tilted from the rotational direction of said first direction restricting drum, said pushing portion being adapted to laterally push end portions of said capsules on the body sides projecting from the outer peripheral surface of said first direction restricting drum and hence to laterally turn said capsules in said first direction restricting pockets;

a second direction restricting drum which is disposed under said first direction restricting drum in such a state that an outer peripheral surface thereof is in proximity to the outer peripheral surface of said first direction restricting drum and is rotated around a horizontal axis, and which second direction restricting drum has second direction restricting pockets aligned in the outer peripheral surface thereof at positions corresponding to those of said first direction restricting pockets, said second direction restricting pockets being adapted to perfectly contain capsules in laterally-turned states and also being adapted to receive capsules in upright states in such a state that one-end portions of said capsules project from the outer peripheral surface of said second direction restricting drum; and

a second direction restricting guide which is provided along the outer peripheral surface of said second direction restricting drum and has a pushing portion slightly tilted from the rotational direction of said second direction restricting drum, said pushing portion being adapted to laterally push end portions of said capsules on the body sides projecting from the outer peripheral surface of said second direction restricting drum and hence to laterally turn said capsules in said second direction restricting pockets.