Patent Description:
As a mechanism for transporting solid pharmaceutical formulations such as tablets and capsules, for example, Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a configuration that includes two drums for retaining tablets on the circumferential surfaces by suction and is capable of delivering the tablets from one drum to the other drum. According to this configuration, it is possible to inspect the appearance of the front surface of the tablets during transportation of the tablets by one drum and inspect the appearance of the back surface of the tablets during transportation of the tablets by the other drum. Patent Literature <NUM> discloses an inkjet marking device having such a tablet transporting mechanism.

<CIT>
describes an apparatus for ordering, aligning and feeding correctly elongated bodies in position. The apparatus comprises a combined collecting, transfer and aligning device constructed as a profile body displaying ribs for aligning the elongated bodies on a two formation-forming paths of an oscillating conveyor channel. <CIT> describes a device for conveying shaped parts such as screw caps to a beverage filling device. The shaped parts are transported between an edge of an elastic transport strip and an opposing element. <CIT> describes a tablet printing apparatus configured to print on tablets. The tablets are transported parallel on inclined surfaces of a conveyer or above gaps of the conveyer. A first and a second printer print on the tablet of either a front surface or a back surface of the tablet. A reversing unit reverses the tablet so that a front and back side can be examined and printed during conveyance.

In the above conventional transporting mechanism, the exposed portion of a tablet during transport is limited to one of the front surface and the back surface, and when the tablet is transferred from one drum to the other, the front surface or the back surface of the tablet may be brought into contact with a drum. Accordingly, when this transport mechanism is applied to a device for printing on the front and back surfaces of a tablet, some of the ink applied to the tablet may be transferred to a drum, resulting in a printing failure. Moreover, when transporting tablets while accommodating them in drum pockets, the shape and size of the pockets need to match the shape and size of the tablets, and thus there is a problem in that it is difficult to manage transporting various tablets.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical formulation printing device capable of easily ensuring a large exposed area of a solid pharmaceutical formulation that is being transported and, moreover, another object is to provide a pharmaceutical formulation printing device that performs printing with a high degree of freedom on pharmaceutical formulations by using the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device.

The objects of the present invention are achieved by a pharmaceutical formulation printing device according to claim <NUM>.

In this pharmaceutical formulation printing device, it is preferable that at least either of the first pulley and the second pulley has a space for accommodating the held solid pharmaceutical formulation between a plurality of supporting parts around which the plurality of transport belts are respectively wound. Moreover, it is preferable that the pharmaceutical formulation printing device comprises retaining parts, wherein the retaining parts are connected to the supporting parts and retain second side surfaces of the transport belts.

It is preferable that the pharmaceutical formulation printing device further comprises guiding means, wherein the guiding means are disposed between the first pulley and the second pulley and guide the transport belts. The pharmaceutical formulation printing device can be configured such that the guiding means comprise guiding members having notched channels and a first sliding belt and a second sliding belt for sliding along the bottom surfaces and side surfaces of the respective channels, and the transport belts are thus in contact with the first sliding belt and the second sliding belt and integrally transported.

The pharmaceutical formulation printing device can comprise a feeding means for feeding the solid pharmaceutical formulation to a space between the plurality of transport belts, and a gap adjusting member for increasing a gap between the transport belts on the further upstream side in a transporting direction of the transport belts than a place where the solid pharmaceutical formulation is fed by the feeding means. It is preferable that the gap adjusting member comprises a tension pulley for applying tension to the transport belts. The gap adjusting member can act for gap adjustment on both of the transport belts for holding the solid pharmaceutical formulation, or can act for gap adjustment on only one of the transport belts for holding the solid pharmaceutical formulation. Moreover, the pharmaceutical formulation printing device can be configured such that the gap between the transport belts in a solid pharmaceutical formulation holding state is variable within a predetermined range, and the feeding means comprises a conveyor belt for transporting the solid pharmaceutical formulation. In this configuration, it is preferable that the width of the conveyor belt is smaller than the minimum gap between the transport belts, or the width of the conveyor belt is larger than the maximum gap between the transport belts.

The pharmaceutical formulation printing device can further comprise a plurality of pre-printing inspecting devices for inspecting the front and back of the solid pharmaceutical formulation before printing. It is preferable that the plurality of pre-printing inspecting devices are disposed on the upstream side of any of the plurality of printers in a transporting direction.

The plurality of transport belts can be configured to be wound around a plurality of pulleys including the first pulley and the second pulley. It is preferable that the plurality of printers are each disposed so as to print on the solid pharmaceutical formulation transported between any two adjacent pulleys. Alternatively, the plurality of printers are preferably each disposed so as to perform printing during transportation of the solid pharmaceutical formulation by any of the plurality of pulleys. The pharmaceutical formulation printing device may be configured to comprise the above pharmaceutical formulation transporting device and a printer for printing on a solid pharmaceutical formulation transported by the plurality of transport belts of the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device, wherein the printer is disposed so as to be capable of printing on the solid pharmaceutical formulation through a gap between the plurality of transport belts.

According to the present invention, a pharmaceutical formulation printing device can be provided that is capable of easily ensuring a large exposed area of a solid pharmaceutical formulation that is being transported.

Moreover, according to the present invention, a pharmaceutical formulation printing device can be provided that performs printing with a high degree of freedom on pharmaceutical formulations by using the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device. Brief Description of Drawings.

Below, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. <FIG> is a schematic front view of a pharmaceutical formulation printing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. A pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> includes a pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> for transporting pharmaceutical formulations, a feeding device <NUM> for feeding the pharmaceutical formulations to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>, printers <NUM>, <NUM> for printing on the pharmaceutical formulations during transport by the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>, and an ejector <NUM> for ejecting the pharmaceutical formulations transported by the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> as main components.

The pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> includes a first pulley <NUM>, a second pulley <NUM>, and two endless transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> wound around the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM>, and is capable of rotating the first pulley <NUM> in the direction indicated by the arrow by a drive motor (not shown) to move the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. As shown in the plan view of <FIG>, the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are disposed such that their linear portions are parallel to each other, and a gap is formed therebetween for holding solid pharmaceutical formulations such as tablets and capsules.

The transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> in the present embodiment are flat belts to suppress vibrations resulting from contact with the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM> and to reliably hold solid pharmaceutical formulations. The transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> may be V-belts, toothed belts, or the like. The material of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is preferably a soft material such as silicone rubber, silicone sponge, or urethane sponge to prevent damage to the held solid pharmaceutical formulations. Three or more transport belts may be provided to hold solid pharmaceutical formulations between the corresponding belts.

<FIG> is a side view of the first pulley <NUM> of <FIG> as viewed in the direction of arrow A. The transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are both wound in the circumferential direction of the first pulley <NUM> and disposed so as to be adjacent along a rotational shaft 11a, and a gap G therebetween has a gap adjusting member <NUM>. The gap adjusting member <NUM> is composed of a pair of gap-increasing rollers rotatably supported by a bracket (not shown) and disposed at substantially the same height as the rotational shaft 11a to increase the gap G between the passing transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. The gap adjusting member <NUM> is disposed on the further upstream side in the transporting direction than the place where solid pharmaceutical formulations are fed by the feeding means <NUM> that will be described below. Flange-like retaining parts 11b, 11b are formed on the respective sides in the axial direction of the first pulley <NUM>, and the outer side surfaces of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are retained by the retaining parts 11b, 11b, respectively. The gap adjusting member <NUM> may be a fixed wedge-shaped component or the like other than the gap-up rollers.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view of a principal part of the second pulley <NUM> of <FIG> as viewed in the direction of arrow B. The second pulley <NUM> has the same configuration as the first pulley <NUM>, and flange-like retaining parts 12b, 12b for respectively retaining the outer side surfaces of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are provided on the respective sides in the axial direction. The second pulley <NUM> has two supporting parts 12c, 12c around which the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are respectively wound, and a space 12d for accommodating a solid pharmaceutical formulation F held between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is formed between the supporting parts 12c, 12c. In order to reliably hold the solid pharmaceutical formulation F between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, it is preferable that the inner sides of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> project slightly more inward than the supporting parts 12c, 12c. Also, it is preferable that the places where the supporting parts 12c, 12c are fixed along the rotational axis are adjustable such that the size of the gap G between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be adjusted according to the shape and the size of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F. It is preferable to set the size of the gap G to be slightly smaller than the length of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F in the holding direction such that the solid pharmaceutical formulation can be reliably held by the elastic force of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. While the side surfaces of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> that are brought into contact with the solid pharmaceutical formulation are flat in the present embodiment, the side surfaces may have irregularities.

As shown in <FIG>, the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> further includes two guiding devices <NUM>, <NUM> disposed between the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM> to guide the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of the guiding device <NUM> of <FIG> as viewed in the direction of arrow B. As shown in <FIG>, the guiding device <NUM> includes two block-like guiding members <NUM> corresponding to the two transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively. The two guiding members <NUM> are spaced apart from each other, and notched channels 111a are formed in the upper parts of the respective opposing surfaces.

The guiding device <NUM> further includes a first sliding belt <NUM> and a second sliding belt <NUM> disposed to be slidable over the respective guiding members <NUM>. The first sliding belt <NUM> and the second sliding belt <NUM> are formed as endless belts, and wound around a plurality of pulleys 112a and 113a so as to slide along the bottom surfaces and the side surfaces of the respective channels 111a. The first sliding belt <NUM> and the second sliding belt <NUM> are in contact with the lower surfaces and the outer surfaces of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively, and driven to travel in the same direction as the transporting direction of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. In order to reduce friction between the inner surfaces of the channels 111a and the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, it is preferable that the guiding members <NUM> are formed of a highly slippery resin material or the like, or a coating is applied to the inner surfaces of the channels 111a. The guiding device <NUM> also has the same configuration as the guiding device <NUM> and includes two guiding members <NUM> and a first sliding belt <NUM> and a second sliding belt <NUM> disposed to be slidable over the respective guiding members <NUM>. In order to be capable of reliably transporting the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> that are in contact, the first sliding belt <NUM> and the second sliding belt <NUM> are preferably timing belts or the like, and it is thus possible to suppress a speed change caused by slippage of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> when the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are flat belts.

As shown in <FIG>, the feeding device <NUM> includes a hopper <NUM> into which solid pharmaceutical formulations are introduced, a constant-quantity feeding unit <NUM> composed of a linear feeder or the like for feeding a constant quantity of the solid pharmaceutical formulations fed from the hopper <NUM>, an aligning unit <NUM> composed of a bowl feeder, a turn table, or the like for aligning the solid pharmaceutical formulations fed from the constant-quantity feeding unit <NUM>, and a suction conveyor <NUM> for transporting the solid pharmaceutical formulations to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> by vacuum-sucking the solid pharmaceutical formulations aligned by the aligning unit <NUM> from above via the suction holes of a conveyor belt 34a. The transporting speed of the suction conveyor <NUM> can be set to be substantially the same as the transporting speed of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>.

As shown in the plan view of <FIG>, the solid pharmaceutical formulations F held from above and transported by the suction conveyor <NUM> are moved along the surface (the lower surface) of the conveyor belt 34a and positionally adjusted by a pair of centering guides 34b, 34c, and then guided into the gap G between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> from above. The gap G gradually narrows in the transporting direction T by the gap adjusting member <NUM> (see <FIG>), and therefore the solid pharmaceutical formulations F sucked onto the suction conveyor <NUM> are held between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> as the solid pharmaceutical formulations are transported, and are successively transferred to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>. In order for the suction conveyor <NUM> to be capable of reliably performing transfer to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> even when the solid pharmaceutical formulations have different heights (thicknesses), it is preferable that the suction conveyor <NUM> is supported such that the vertical position is adjustable.

The printers <NUM>, <NUM> are, for example, inkjet printers and are disposed above the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> respectively on the further upstream side and downstream side of the second pulley <NUM> in the transporting direction. Accordingly, when the solid pharmaceutical formulations F to be transported are tablets, both the front and back surfaces of the tablets can be printed on. A pre-printing inspecting device <NUM> for, for example, inspecting the appearance and detecting the features of the solid pharmaceutical formulations (such as the score angle of tablets) and a print inspecting device <NUM> for, for example, inspecting the print after printing are disposed on the respective sides of one printer <NUM> in the transporting direction. Also, a pre-printing inspecting device <NUM> and a print inspecting device <NUM> are disposed on the respective sides of the other printer <NUM> in the transporting direction. Other than the inkjet printers, the printers <NUM>, <NUM> may be, for example, laser printers, and, in this case, the printers can be disposed so as to print, from below, on the solid pharmaceutical formulations that are being transported. The two pre-printing inspecting devices <NUM>, <NUM> for inspecting the front and back surfaces of the solid pharmaceutical formulations F before printing are preferably disposed on the upstream side of both two printers <NUM>, <NUM> in the transporting direction as in the present embodiment and in the embodiments that will be described below. Accordingly, no matter if features such as the scores of the solid pharmaceutical formulations F are on either the front or back surface, letters, symbols and the like can be printed onto the front or back surface of the solid pharmaceutical formulations F according to the orientation of the features.

The ejector <NUM> includes an ejector conveyor <NUM> for transporting the solid pharmaceutical formulations transferred from the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>, a sorter <NUM> for sorting out good products from the solid pharmaceutical formulations transported by the ejector conveyor <NUM>, a good-product conveyor <NUM> for guiding good solid pharmaceutical formulations via a damper <NUM>, and an ejection chute <NUM> for ejecting good solid pharmaceutical formulations transported by the good-product conveyor <NUM>. A side-surface inspecting device <NUM> for inspecting the side surface other than the front and back surfaces when the solid pharmaceutical formulations are tablets are provided above the ejector conveyor <NUM>.

The sorter <NUM> determines whether the transported solid pharmaceutical formulations are good products or not based on the inspections by the pre-printing inspecting devices <NUM>, <NUM>, the print inspecting devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and the side-surface inspecting device <NUM>, and feeds solid pharmaceutical formulations determined as good products to the good-product conveyor <NUM> by blowing air. The damper <NUM> can be switched so as to feed to an external box <NUM> the solid pharmaceutical formulations fed from the sorter <NUM>. The ejector <NUM> further includes a defective-product ejection chute <NUM> for ejecting defective products among the solid pharmaceutical formulations that have passed through the sorter <NUM> to a defective-product box <NUM>.

According to the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> having the above configuration, the solid pharmaceutical formulations F introduced into the hopper <NUM> of the feeding device <NUM> are transferred to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> and transported, the solid pharmaceutical formulations are printed on and inspected during transport by the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> and then transferred to the ejector <NUM>, and thus only the good products can be recovered. The pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> maintains by means of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, a constantly held position of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F that is being transported, and therefore can ensure a large exposed area other than the held position of the solid pharmaceutical formulation. Accordingly, it is easy to print on a desired portion of the solid pharmaceutical formulation, there are little layout limitations of the printers <NUM>, <NUM> with respect to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>, and therefore printing can be performed with a high degree of freedom on the solid pharmaceutical formulation F.

Since the second pulley <NUM> has the space 12d between the two supporting parts 12c, 12c, the exposed portion of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F is unlikely brought into contact with the second pulley <NUM> even when the solid pharmaceutical formulation F held between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> passes through the second pulley <NUM>. Accordingly, the orientation of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F can be changed while maintaining a large exposed area of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F, and printing can be performed with a high degree of freedom on the solid pharmaceutical formulation F. Moreover, since the second pulley <NUM> has the retaining parts 12b, the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are reliably prevented from shifting outward or meandering, thus the gap G between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be maintained in a constant manner, and the solid pharmaceutical formulation F can be reliably transported.

The layout of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is not limited to that of the present embodiment, and can be variously changed according to the purpose. For example, when printing on the front and back surfaces of tablets, the front and back surfaces of the tablets can be simultaneously printed on by disposing the transport belts such that tablets with the front surface side being exposed and tablets with the back surface side being exposed are parallelly transported in an adjacent state. Also, when a time to dry the ink is required after printing, such a time can be easily secured by extending the lengths of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> to increase the transport distance.

Moreover, since the guiding devices <NUM>, <NUM> are disposed between the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM> so as to guide the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, the meandering, vertical movement, sagging, and the like of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> due to gravity are prevented, and thus the solid pharmaceutical formulations F can be reliably transported by the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. The guiding devices <NUM>, <NUM> includes the first sliding belts <NUM>, <NUM> and the second sliding belts <NUM>, <NUM> that slide on the guiding members <NUM>, <NUM>, therefore the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be moved integrally with the first sliding belts <NUM>, <NUM> and the second sliding belts <NUM>, <NUM>, and the straight-line stability of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be enhanced. On the other hand, the guiding devices <NUM>, <NUM> may be configured so as not to include the first sliding belts <NUM>, <NUM> and the second sliding belts <NUM>, <NUM> such that the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> directly slide on the guiding members <NUM>, <NUM>. Moreover, the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> may be configured so as not to include the guiding devices <NUM>, <NUM> when the interval between the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM> is small, when the rigidity of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is high, or the like.

The position of a tablet held by the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is not necessarily limited to the side surface, and, for example, the tablet may be held such that the front and back surfaces are held to cause the tablet to stand upright, and half of the circumferential part of the tablet side surface is exposed on either side of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. Also, other than tablets, the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can hold and transport capsules, and the position of a capsule to be held can be suitably determined according to the portion of the capsule to be printed on.

The pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> of the present embodiment is configured such that the solid pharmaceutical formulations fed from the feeding device <NUM> to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> are guided downward by the second pulley <NUM> and transported to the ejector <NUM>, but as shown in <FIG>, the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> may be configured such that the solid pharmaceutical formulations fed from the feeding device <NUM> to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> are guided upward by the second pulley <NUM> and transported to the ejector <NUM>. In the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> shown in <FIG>, components having the same functions as the components of the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> shown in <FIG> are given the same reference numbers (the same applies to the following drawings). The pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> shown in <FIG> has a simplified configuration wherein the feeding device <NUM> includes a transport conveyor <NUM> having a conveyor belt that carriers solid pharmaceutical formulations on the transport surface and feeds them to the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> in place of the suction conveyor <NUM> of the feeding device <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> includes a third pulley <NUM> in addition to the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM>, and the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are wound around these pulleys. Moreover, the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> includes a gap adjusting member <NUM>' composed of a tension pulley for applying tension to the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. The number of pulleys other than the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM> provided in the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM> is not particularly limited, and can be suitably changed according to the transport layout.

As shown in the plan view of <FIG>, the gap adjusting member <NUM>' is formed such that the diameter is increased from the center towards flanges 15b on the respective sides in the axial direction of a rotational shaft 15a in a tapered manner. As the gap adjusting member <NUM>' is rotated, force toward the opposite sides in the axial direction as indicated by the arrows acts on the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> wound around the gap adjusting member <NUM>, and therefore the gap G therebetween can be increased on the upstream side in the transporting direction of the feeding device <NUM>. While the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> are supported by one rotational shaft 15a, the rotational shaft 15a may be divided to apply tension individually to each transport belt <NUM>, <NUM>.

As shown in the plan view of <FIG>, the gap adjusting member <NUM>' may be configured to include a pair of tension pulleys <NUM>, <NUM> disposed such that their respective axes 151a, 152a intersect with each other, and thereby it is also possible to increase the gap G between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. Also, as shown in the plan view of <FIG>, the gap adjusting member <NUM>' may be configured to include a cylindrical tension pulley <NUM> having a space 153b in the central part of the rotational shaft 153a and gap-up rollers <NUM> provided in the space 153b. The gap-up rollers <NUM> are rotatably supported by a bracket (not shown) such that a rotational shaft 154a is parallel to the rotational shaft 153a of the tension pulley <NUM>, and thus the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be increased.

In the above-described pharmaceutical formulation printing devices <NUM> configured such that the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are wound around a plurality of pulleys including the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM>, a plurality of printers <NUM>, <NUM> are each disposed so as to print on solid pharmaceutical formulations transported between any two adjacent pulleys, thereby both surfaces of the solid pharmaceutical formulations can be printed on, and printing can be performed more liberally. Moreover, by increasing the intervals between two adjacent pulleys to dispose a large number of printers, it is possible to perform, for example, multicolor printing, and individual needs can be easily addressed.

On the other hand, as shown in <FIG>, it is also possible to dispose the printers <NUM>, <NUM> so as to perform printing during transportation of solid pharmaceutical formulations by any of the plurality of pulleys. In the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the printers <NUM>, <NUM> are respectively disposed such that printing is performed during transportation of solid pharmaceutical formulations by the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM>. For example, in the second pulley <NUM>, the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> are respectively wound around the two supporting parts 12c, 12c of the second pulley <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, and thereby stable transportation of solid pharmaceutical formulations is performed. In such a state, solid pharmaceutical formulations can be printed on with increased printing accuracy. Also, disposing the pre-printing inspecting devices <NUM>, <NUM> and the print inspecting devices <NUM>, <NUM> so as to inspect the solid pharmaceutical formulations during transportation of the solid pharmaceutical formulations by the first pulley <NUM> and the second pulley <NUM> can provide increased inspection accuracy. Concerning the configuration shown in <FIG>, further disposing a pre-printing inspecting device 74A on the upstream side of the first pulley <NUM> in the transporting direction makes it possible to detect the features, such as scores, of the solid pharmaceutical formulations before printing by the printers <NUM>, <NUM>. It is also possible to provide only one of the two pre-printing inspecting devices <NUM>, 74A.

A conveyor belt 35a of the transport conveyor <NUM> included in the feeding device feeds solid pharmaceutical formulations to the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, which is increased by the gap adjusting member <NUM>'. The gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> in a solid pharmaceutical formulation holding state is configured to be variable within a predetermined range so as to accommodate the shape and the size of various solid pharmaceutical formulations, and as shown in <FIG>, a width W of the conveyor belt 35a is set to be smaller than a minimum gap G1 that is at the smallest value of the gap. According to this configuration, even when the thickness of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F is smaller than the thicknesses of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, adjusting the height of the conveyor belt 35a such that the upper part of the conveyor belt 35a is inserted into the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> makes it possible to always hold the solid pharmaceutical formulation F at the center in the thickness direction of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, and therefore transportation of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F by the conveyor belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be reliably performed. Moreover, according to this configuration, the transport conveyor <NUM> can be disposed such that the conveyor belt 35a passes through the space formed in the central part in the axial direction of the gap adjusting member <NUM>' shown in <FIG>, and thus increased layout freedom can be provided. As with the conveyor belt 35a, a conveyor belt 51a of the ejection conveyor <NUM> included in the ejector can be formed to have a width W that is smaller than the smallest gap G1 between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. The space between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is increased by the gap adjusting member <NUM>', thus the state of the solid pharmaceutical formulations held by the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> is canceled, and the solid pharmaceutical formulations are transported by the conveyor belt 51a.

On the other hand, the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> shown in <FIG> is configured such that both the width W of the conveyor belt 35a on the feeding side and the width W of the conveyor belt 51a on the ejecting side are greater than a maximum gap G2 that is at the largest value of the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. According to this configuration, the entirety in the width direction of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F can be supported irrespective of the type of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F, and thus the solid pharmaceutical formulation F can be reliably fed and ejected. The pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> can also be configured such that the width W of the conveyor belt 35a on the feeding side is smaller than the minimum gap G1 between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, and the width W of the conveyor belt 51a on the ejecting side is larger than the maximum gap G2 between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>.

In the pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the gap adjusting member <NUM>' is not necessarily a tension pulley, and may be a component separate from the tension pulley. For example, it is possible that while the gap adjusting member <NUM> shown in <FIG> is interposed between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> wound around the third roller <NUM>, a plurality of the gap adjusting members <NUM>' provided so as to correspond to the transport conveyor <NUM> and the ejection conveyor <NUM> are replaced by commonly used tension pulleys or rollers that do not function to adjust the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. In this case, providing the gap adjusting member <NUM> only in one place makes it possible to perform both the feeding of solid pharmaceutical formulations by the transport conveyor <NUM> and the ejection of the solid pharmaceutical formulations by the ejection conveyor <NUM>, and thus the configuration can be simplified. The configuration and the placement of the gap adjusting member, roller, and tension pulley are not limited to those of the above-described embodiments, and can be suitably changed in consideration of the arrangement of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>, the layout of the printers <NUM>, <NUM>, and the like.

The gap adjusting members in the above-described embodiments, such as the gap adjusting member <NUM> shown in <FIG> and the gap adjusting member <NUM>' composed of a tension pulley shown in <FIG>, all act for gap adjustment on both transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> that hold pharmaceutical formulations and, as shown in <FIG>, evenly shift the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> toward and away from the right and left sides of the solid pharmaceutical formulations F relative to the transporting direction T, and thus the solid pharmaceutical formulations can be reliably fed and ejected. On the other hand, it is also possible as shown in <FIG> that only one transport belt <NUM> of the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> that hold the solid pharmaceutical formulations F is shifted toward and away from one side relative to the transporting direction T to adjust the gap G between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> without shifting the other transport belt <NUM>. Specifically, it is possible that the gap adjusting member <NUM> shown in <FIG> is engaged only with one transport belt <NUM> to act for gap adjustment only on one transport belt <NUM>. Alternatively, it is possible that the gap adjusting member <NUM>' shown in <FIG> is caused to act for gap adjustment only on one transport belt <NUM> and for tension application on the other transport belt <NUM> as with a commonly used tension pulley. According to these configurations, the gap G between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> can be easily adjusted only by one transport belt <NUM>.

The pharmaceutical formulation printing device <NUM> of each of the above-described embodiments includes a plurality of printers <NUM>, <NUM> that are configured to print on the front and back of solid pharmaceutical formulations, respectively. But, as shown in <FIG>, an irradiation part 70a of the printer <NUM> composed of a laser printer may be disposed such that a laser beam L is emitted in an oblique direction relative to the transporting direction T of the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>. According to this configuration, printing can be performed by irradiating the solid pharmaceutical formulation F with the laser beam L through the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM> of the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device <NUM>, thus a marking M can be formed on the front and back of the solid pharmaceutical formulation F by one printer <NUM>, and the configuration can be simplified.

It is sufficient that the printer <NUM> is disposed so as to be capable of printing on the solid pharmaceutical formulation F through the gap between the transport belts <NUM>, <NUM>. Instead of causing the irradiation direction of the laser beam L to be oblique relative to the transporting direction T, the laser beam L can also be emitted in the transporting direction T. For example, when printing on the solid pharmaceutical formulation F during transport by the second pulley <NUM> shown in <FIG> or the like, the printer <NUM> can be disposed so as to emit the laser beam L in the tangential direction of the second pulley <NUM>. The printer <NUM> may be another printer such as an inkjet printer.

Claim 1:
A pharmaceutical formulation printing device (<NUM>), comprising:
a pharmaceutical formulation transporting device (<NUM>) comprising a first pulley (<NUM>), a second pulley (<NUM>), and a plurality of endless transport belts (<NUM>, <NUM>) wound around the first pulley (<NUM>) and the second pulley (<NUM>), wherein the plurality of transport belts (<NUM>, <NUM>) being disposed so as to be capable of holding a solid pharmaceutical formulation (F) between respective first side surfaces; and
a plurality of printers (<NUM>, <NUM>) for respectively printing on a front and back of a solid pharmaceutical formulation (F) transported by the plurality of transport belts (<NUM>, <NUM>) of the pharmaceutical formulation transporting device (<NUM>).