Patent Description:
In pharmaceutical packaging and packaging technological process, and particularly in linkage packaging from blister packaging to cartoning for liquid preparations (prefilled syringes, penicillin bottles, and ampoule bottles), how to realize high-speed integrated linkage operation between the preceding blister packaging machine (for blister forming and packaging) and the following cartoning machine (for blister cartoning) in a relatively compact pharmaceutical packaging workshop has become a technical problem to the current core process in the pharmaceutical packaging industry. According to original solutions, plastic blister supports packaged by a blister packaging machine are conveyed to a hopper of a cartoning machine through a conveyor belt or to a feeding station of the cartoning machine through a conveyor chain. For the former method combined with the conveyor belt and the hopper, the plastic blister supports are conveyed forward by a frictional force of the conveyor belt. In this process, the plastic blister supports have a slipping phenomenon on the conveyor belt. Particularly in the high-speed conveying process, due to the frictional force and inertial slipping, the plastic blister supports cannot accurately enter the feeding region of the hopper in the cartoning machine. Hence, large-scale synchronous linkage integrated packaging cannot be effectively realized. For the latter method using the conveyor chain, the conveyor chain usually uses a synchronous belt as a conveying base material. Stops are equidistantly provided on a surface of the synchronous belt to form the annular conveyor chain. In case of a specification change in the preceding blister packaging, after a production batch and a packaging specification are changed, spacings between the plastic blister supports packaged by the blister packaging machine are not always the same, and the number of trimmed blister plastic supports also changes with an actual size of medicines, such that the whole conveyor chain is to be replaced. Moreover, the conventional conveyor chain using the synchronous belt that is difficult to be replaced needs to be calibrated for its origin in each replacement. This is inconvenient for the large-scale synchronous integrated linkage production in the pharmaceutical packaging and hardly adaptable to the integrated linkage packaging technological process in the whole pharmaceutical industry. <CIT> discloses a pitch changing device, a molding device having the same and a molding method capable of addressing diverse pitches between preforms. The pitch changing device includes N holding units capable of holding the preforms and arranged at a predetermined pitch in a predetermined direction, N being an integer equal to or larger than <NUM>; a coupling unit coupling the holding units adjacent to each other such that the pitch is changeable; drive unit configured to generate a predetermined drive force; and a drive force transmission unit configured to transmit the drive force to each of one end-side and the other end-side, in the predetermined direction, of the coupled N holding units, in which the one end-side and the other end-side are configured to be moved in the predetermined direction by the drive force to change the pitch.

In view of shortages in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device for realizing spacing-changing conveyance and a blister cartoning integrated machine using the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device.

A synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device includes a base, where a first slideway and a second slideway are provided side by side on the base; a plurality of first sliding seats are slidably provided on the first slideway; a first tray is provided on each of the first sliding seats; a plurality of second sliding seats are slidably provided on the second slideway; a second tray is provided on each of the second sliding seats; the first sliding seat is connected to a first hinge shaft with a rotation axis provided on the first sliding seat (<NUM>); two cross-connecting rods are hinged crosswise on the first hinge shaft; the second sliding seat is connected to a second hinge shaft with a rotation axis provided on the second sliding seat (<NUM>); two cross-connecting rods are hinged crosswise on the second hinge shaft; cross-connecting rods on two adjacent first sliding seat and second sliding seat are hinged crosswise in one-to-one correspondence; one of the first sliding seats is connected to a first transmission belt; the first transmission belt is in transmission connection with a first power source; one of the second sliding seats is connected to a second transmission belt; and the second transmission belt is in transmission connection with a second power source.

Preferably, a first supporting seat is provided on the first sliding seat; the first tray is provided on the first supporting seat; a first locating pin is provided on the first supporting seat; a first locating hole for allowing the first locating pin to insert into is formed in the first tray; a second supporting seat is provided on the second sliding seat; the second tray is provided on the second supporting seat; a second locating pin is provided on the second supporting seat; and a second locating hole for allowing the second locating pin to insert into is formed in the second tray.

Preferably, a first locating fixture is provided on the first supporting seat; a first locating groove for allowing the first locating fixture to enter is formed at a bottom of the first tray; a second locating fixture is provided on the second supporting seat; and a second locating groove for allowing the second locating fixture to enter is formed at a bottom of the second tray.

A blister cartoning integrated machine includes a blister packaging machine and a cartoning machine, where the blister packaging machine includes a discharging grid conveyor device for conveying packaged blisters out through the discharging grid conveyor device; the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device is provided in front of the discharging grid conveyor device; a blister discharging transfer manipulator for transferring blisters on the discharging grid conveyor device to the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device is provided above the discharging grid conveyor device; the blister discharging transfer manipulator includes a discharging vacuum nozzle; the cartoning machine comprises a feeding grid conveyor device for transferring packaged blisters from the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device to the cartoning station of the cartoning machine for cartoning; the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device is provided side by side with the feeding grid conveyor device; a blister feeding transfer manipulator for transferring blisters on the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device to the feeding grid conveyor device is provided above the feeding grid conveyor device; and the blister feeding transfer manipulator includes a feeding vacuum nozzle.

Preferably, the discharging grid conveyor device includes a conveyor rack, a grid plate, first pushing plates, a first pushing plate transmission mechanism, and a pushing power source; the grid plate is provided with a feeding channel; the first pushing plates each are provided with a pushing portion capable of being located in the feeding channel; the first pushing plate transmission mechanism includes a first conveyor belt; the first pushing plates are connected to the first conveyor belt; and the first conveyor belt is in transmission connection with the pushing power source, such that during operation blisters fall into the feeding channel of the grid plate, the pushing power source is configured to drive the first conveyor belt to move, the first conveyor belt is configured to drive the first pushing plates to move, and the pushing portions of the first pushing plates are configured to push the blisters in the feeding channel of the grid plate to move forward.

Preferably, the discharging grid conveyor device includes second pushing plates and a second pushing plate transmission mechanism; the second pushing plates and the first pushing plates are arranged at intervals; the second pushing plates each are provided with a pushing portion capable of being located in the feeding channel; the second pushing plate transmission mechanism includes a second conveyor belt; the second conveyor belt is provided side by side with the first conveyor belt; the second pushing plates are connected to the second conveyor belt; and the second conveyor belt is in transmission connection with the pushing power source, such that during operation blisters fall into the feeding channel of the grid plate, the pushing power source is configured to drive the second conveyor belt to move, the second conveyor belt (<NUM>) is configured to drive the second pushing plates (<NUM>) to move, and the pushing portions of the second pushing plates (<NUM>) are configured to push the blisters (C) in the feeding channel (<NUM>) of the grid plate (<NUM>) to move forward.

Preferably, an end of each of the second pushing plates and the first pushing plates is connected to a roller, and a roller walkway for allowing the roller to move is provided on the conveyor rack, such that the rollers are configured to move on the roller walkway while the pushing plates move.

Preferably, the discharging vacuum nozzle of the blister discharging transfer manipulator is provided on a rotating power source.

Preferably, the blister feeding transfer manipulator is configured to track blister suction and placement for realizing continuous conveyance between the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device and the feeding grid conveyor device.

The synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device provided by the present disclosure can realize spacing-changing conveyance. Therefore, the blister cartoning integrated machine using the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device realizes linkage more conveniently.

As shown in <FIG>, a blister cartoning integrated machine includes a blister packaging machine and a cartoning machine. The blister packaging machine includes discharging grid conveyor device <NUM>. The blister packaging machine packages articles (such as prefilled syringes, penicillin bottles, and ampoule bottles) into blisters, and then conveys the blisters out through the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM>.

The cartoning machine includes feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>. Packaged blisters are placed onto the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>, and conveyed by the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM> to a cartoning station of the cartoning machine for cartoning (carton packaging). The discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> has a different grid spacing from the feeding grid conveyor device. For the sake of matching between the two devices, synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> is provided in front of the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM>. The synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> is provided side by side with the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>. Blister discharging transfer manipulator <NUM> for transferring blisters on the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> to the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> is provided above the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM>. The blister discharging transfer manipulator <NUM> includes discharging vacuum nozzle <NUM>. Blister feeding transfer manipulator <NUM> for transferring blisters on the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> to the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM> is provided above the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>. The blister feeding transfer manipulator <NUM> includes feeding vacuum nozzle <NUM>.

The blister cartoning integrated machine has the following working principle: Blisters are conveyed out from the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> of the blister packaging machine. The blister discharging transfer manipulator <NUM> sucks the blisters on the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> through the discharging vacuum nozzle <NUM>, and transfers them to the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM>. While moving forward, the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> changes a spacing between the blisters (as shown in <FIG>), until the spacing is the same as the spacing of the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>. The blister feeding transfer manipulator <NUM> sucks the blisters on the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> through the feeding vacuum nozzle <NUM>, and transfers them to the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>. The feeding grid conveyor device <NUM> transfers the blisters to the cartoning station of the cartoning machine for cartoning. With the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device, the present disclosure can greatly improve the linkage production efficiency between the blister packaging machine and the cartoning machine, and solves the problem of hard matching between blister packaging and cartoning in a specification change.

Both the blister packaging machine and the cartoning machine are the prior art (refer to the patent application No. <CIT>). The blister discharging transfer manipulator is also the prior art (refer to the patent application No. <CIT>, in which the structure is the same, but the material to be sucked is different). The blister feeding transfer manipulator is also the prior art (refer to the patent application No. <CIT>). The blister cartoning integrated machine is novel for the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device and the linkage layout using the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device.

The following descriptions are made to the structure and working principle of the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> includes base <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, first slideway <NUM> and second slideway <NUM> are provided side by side on the base <NUM>. A plurality of first sliding seats <NUM> are slidably provided on the first slideway <NUM>. First tray <NUM> (the first tray <NUM> is provided with a placement groove into which a blister can be placed) is provided on each of the first sliding seats <NUM>. A plurality of second sliding seats <NUM> are slidably provided on the second slideway <NUM>. Second tray <NUM> (the second tray <NUM> is provided with a placement groove into which a blister can be placed) is provided on each of the second sliding seats <NUM>. The first sliding seat <NUM> is connected to a hinge shaft. Two cross-connecting rods <NUM> are hinged crosswise on the hinge shaft. The second sliding seat <NUM> is also connected to a hinge shaft. Two cross-connecting rods <NUM> are hinged crosswise on the hinge shaft. Cross-connecting rods <NUM> on two adjacent first sliding seat <NUM> and second sliding seat <NUM> are hinged crosswise in one-to-one correspondence (to form a scissor-type structure). One of the first sliding seats <NUM> is connected to first transmission belt <NUM>. The first transmission belt <NUM> is in transmission connection with first power source <NUM>. One of the second sliding seats <NUM> is connected to second transmission belt <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the second transmission belt <NUM> is in transmission connection with second power source <NUM>.

The synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM> has a following working principle: As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, after blisters are placed onto the first tray <NUM> and the second tray <NUM>, the first power source <NUM> drives the first transmission belt <NUM> to rotate. Since one of the first sliding seats <NUM> is connected to the first transmission belt <NUM>, the first sliding seats <NUM> move on the first slideway <NUM>. Likewise, the second power source <NUM> drives the second transmission belt <NUM> to rotate. Since one of the second sliding seats <NUM> is connected to the second transmission belt <NUM>, the second sliding seats <NUM> move on the second slideway <NUM>. The first sliding seats <NUM> are connected to the second sliding seats <NUM> through the cross-connecting rods <NUM>, so all of the first sliding seats <NUM> and all of the second sliding seats <NUM> move. Meanwhile, by adjusting outputs of the power sources, a certain difference is kept between a transfer speed of the first transmission belt <NUM> and a transfer speed of the second transmission belt <NUM>, and thus spacings between two adjacent ones of the first sliding seats <NUM> and the second sliding seats <NUM> change equidistantly, as shown in <FIG>. The blisters have a same spacing as the following feeding grid conveyor device <NUM>. After the blisters on the trays are taken away, the transmission belts move reversely, and the sliding seats are restored quickly for next receiving. The above process is repeated. With the synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device <NUM>, the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> of the preceding blister packaging machine can be matched with the feeding grid conveyor device <NUM> of the following cartoning machine, no matter how the specification of the discharging grid conveyor device changes.

For the blisters of different specifications, different trays are required. For the convenience of replacement of the trays to place the blisters of different specifications, as shown in <FIG>, first supporting seat <NUM> is provided on the first sliding seat <NUM>. The first tray <NUM> is provided on the first supporting seat <NUM>. First locating pin <NUM> is provided on the first supporting seat <NUM>. A first locating hole for allowing the first locating pin <NUM> to insert into is formed in the first tray <NUM>. When the first tray <NUM> is replaced necessarily, the first locating pin <NUM> is pulled out, and the first tray <NUM> is taken down, which is very convenient. Likewise, a second supporting seat is provided on the second sliding seat <NUM>. The second tray is provided on the second supporting seat. A second locating pin is provided on the second supporting seat. A second locating hole for allowing the second locating pin to insert into is formed in the second tray. When the second tray is replaced necessarily, the second locating pin is pulled out, and the second tray is taken down, which is very convenient.

To avoid rotation of the trays, first locating fixture <NUM> is provided on the first supporting seat <NUM>. A first locating groove for allowing the first locating fixture <NUM> to enter is formed at a bottom of the first tray <NUM>. The first supporting seat <NUM> is clamped onto the first locating fixture <NUM> through the first locating groove, thereby preventing the rotation of the first tray <NUM>. Likewise, the second supporting seat is connected to a second locating fixture. A second locating groove for allowing the second locating fixture to enter is formed at a bottom of the second tray <NUM>. The second tray <NUM> is clamped onto the second locating fixture through the second locating groove, thereby preventing the rotation of the second tray <NUM>.

The discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> of the blister packaging machine may use a common grid conveyor device. However, the present disclosure provides a novel grid conveyor device. As shown in <FIG>, the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> includes conveyor rack <NUM>, grid plate <NUM>, first pushing plates <NUM>, a first pushing plate transmission mechanism, and pushing power source <NUM>. The grid plate <NUM> is provided with feeding channel <NUM>. The first pushing plates <NUM> each are provided with pushing portion <NUM> capable of being located in the feeding channel <NUM>. The first pushing plate transmission mechanism includes first conveyor belt <NUM>. The first pushing plates <NUM> are connected to the first conveyor belt <NUM>. The first conveyor belt <NUM> is in transmission connection with the pushing power source <NUM>. During operation, trimmed blisters C fall into the feeding channel <NUM> of the grid plate <NUM>. The pushing power source <NUM> drives the first conveyor belt <NUM> to move. Since the first pushing plates <NUM> are connected to the first conveyor belt <NUM>, the first conveyor belt <NUM> drives the first pushing plates <NUM> to move, and the pushing portions <NUM> of the first pushing plates <NUM> push the blisters C to move forward.

For the blisters of different specifications, the grid spacing of the discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> can also be adjusted as required, so as to realize a most efficient output. The discharging grid conveyor device <NUM> in the present disclosure further includes second pushing plates <NUM> and a second pushing plate transmission mechanism. The second pushing plates <NUM> and the first pushing plates <NUM> are arranged at intervals. The second pushing plates <NUM> each are provided with a pushing portion located in the feeding channel <NUM>. The second pushing plate transmission mechanism includes second conveyor belt <NUM>. The second conveyor belt <NUM> is provided side by side with the first conveyor belt <NUM>. The second pushing plates <NUM> are connected to the second conveyor belt <NUM>. The second conveyor belt <NUM> is in transmission connection with the pushing power source <NUM>. The second pushing plate <NUM> a same pushing principle as the first pushing plate <NUM>, which is not repeated herein. When the grid spacing is adjusted necessarily, either or both of the first conveyor belt <NUM> and the second conveyor belt <NUM> are adjusted to change a spacing between the first pushing plate <NUM> and the second pushing plate <NUM>, thereby conveying the blisters of the different specifications.

To support the pushing plates, an end of each of the second pushing plates <NUM> and the first pushing plates <NUM> is connected to roller <NUM>. Roller walkway <NUM> for allowing the roller <NUM> to walk is provided on the conveyor rack <NUM>. While the pushing plates move, the rollers <NUM> walk on the roller walkway <NUM> of the conveyor rack <NUM>, thereby supporting the pushing plates and making the pushing plates walk more stably.

Claim 1:
A synchronous spacing-changing conveyor device, comprising a base (<NUM>), wherein a first slideway (<NUM>) and a second slideway (<NUM>) are provided side by side on the base (<NUM>); a plurality of first sliding seats (<NUM>) are slidably provided on the first slideway (<NUM>); a first tray (<NUM>) is provided on each of the first sliding seats (<NUM>); a plurality of second sliding seats (<NUM>) are slidably provided on the second slideway (<NUM>); a second tray (<NUM>) is provided on each of the second sliding seats (<NUM>); one of the first sliding seats (<NUM>) is connected to a first transmission belt (<NUM>); the first transmission belt (<NUM>) is in transmission connection with a first power source (<NUM>); one of the second sliding seats (<NUM>) is connected to a second transmission belt (<NUM>); and the second transmission belt (<NUM>) is in transmission connection with a second power source (<NUM>); characterized in that the first sliding seat (<NUM>) is connected to a first hinge shaft with a rotation axis provided on the first sliding seat (<NUM>); two cross-connecting rods (<NUM>) are hinged crosswise on the first hinge shaft; the second sliding seat (<NUM>) is connected to a second hinge shaft with a rotation axis provided on the second sliding seat (<NUM>); two cross-connecting rods (<NUM>) are hinged crosswise on the second hinge shaft; cross-connecting rods (<NUM>) on two adjacent first sliding seat (<NUM>) and second sliding seat (<NUM>) are hinged crosswise in one-to-one correspondence.