Patent ID: 6434911
Filing Date: 2002-08-20
Classification: A61J,B65G,G07F,Y10S

Abstract:
A defective capsule removing mechanism comprising:a transport drum having an outer circumferential face; a capsule pocket provided on said outer circumferential face of said transport drum for receiving a capsule therein, the capsule being transported by rotation of said transport drum so that the capsule may be discharged from said capsule pocket at a predetermined angle of rotation of said transport drum and transferred to a transporting unit at a hand-over point, the capsule having a body and a cap, said capsule pocket accommodating and holding the capsule in a horizontal lying state with the cap thereof directed in a fixed direction, said capsule pocket having one end formed as a cap holding portion which is wider than a diameter of the body of the capsule but narrower than a diameter of the cap of the capsule; a scraper insertion groove extending transversely over said capsule pocket and formed on said outer circumferential face of said transport drum along a circumferential direction of said transport drum; and a scraper having an end portion inserted in said scraper insertion groove, said scraped being disposed on a downstream side with respect to the hand-over point to the transporting unit in a direction of rotation of the transport drum, whereby when a capsule in a reverse horizontally lying state with the cap directed in an opposite direction is accommodated into said capsule pocket, the capsule is brought into a state wherein the cap is fitted into the cap holding portion of said cap pocket and cannot be pulled out readily so that the capsule is not discharged from said capsule pocket at the hand-over point to the transporting unit but is further transported to the downstream side in the direction of rotation of the transport drum, whereafter the capsule is scraped out and removed from said capsule pocket by said scraper, to thereby prevent a reverse capsule directed in the opposite direction from being mixed in a group of capsules to be transferred to the transporting unit.