Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure relates to an inspection device used to inspect a PTP sheet or a portion that eventually forms a PTP sheet, as well as to a PTP packaging machine including the inspection device.
Background
[0002] The PTP sheet includes a container film that has pocket portions filled with contents such as tablets or capsules and a cover film that is mounted to the container film such as to seal openings of the pocket portions. [0003] The PTP sheet is manufactured by a PTP packaging machine. The PTP packaging machine includes a pocket portion forming unit configured to form pocket portions in a strip-like container film; a filling unit configured to fill contents into the pocket portions; a sealing unit configured to mount a cover film to the container film and thereby obtain a strip-like PTP film; and a sheet punching unit configured to punch out the PTP film in the unit of sheets and thereby provide PTP sheets.
[0004] In a manufacturing process of the PTP sheet, an inspection device is provided along a conveyance path of the container film. The inspection device conducts an inspection of an inspection object that is a PTP sheet or a portion eventually forming the PTP sheet (for example, the contents and the container film). The inspection device includes an irradiator configured to irradiate the inspection object with light; an imaging unit configured to take an image of the inspection object irradiated with the light; and a quality judgment unit. The quality judgment unit determines whether the inspection object is defective or non-defective, based on inspection image data taken by the imaging unit. The inspection image data denotes data of a taken image of the inspection object and the like (inspection image). The inspection image data includes data with regard to respective pixels of the inspection image (for example, luminance data). The quality judgment unit detects the presence or the absence of any defect based on this data with regard to the respective pixels, so as to determine whether the inspection object is defective or non-defective.

daa and;h a:bu nman n;:paazand paay pvd!he
Summary Problem
[009 S mpy embedding attribute information into data of respective
pixels included in the inspection mage data, however, causes da change in

like p to cause mismatching of the results of the inspection with the
zzwn image data. measure writes the attribute information into header
information of the inspection image data, so as to cause the attribute information to be included in the nspection image data. With a view to
image pT«tware account the circumstances described above, an o p ect of the present disclosure is to pro d de an inspection device that
ZT ^Mlm ng describes each of various aspects provided
dbd a apat^^^L o Functions and also
"n n"h a e is provided an inspection device configured to
light; an imaging unit configured to take an image of the inspection object inspection object is defective or no m defective, based on inspection image

of respective pixels correspond to an inspection target area that is an corresponding to the non-inspection target area into attribute information
follow-up information of a sheet portion (portion of the container film or the
misa t"n"n h nn n h et:^:n n:man:!, ru e h p f age data an
[00 d pr ^pxrZxam n of the aspect da described above causes data of
object of determination by the quality judgment unit. Accordingly,
nh a of data of pixels correspond m to this non-n target area

enables the inspection image data to be processed by using a general mage h~g n mag In the inspection device hap in the aspect n a ove,
corresponding to the non h a ction target area located at the four corners of
foregoing to convert data of pixels with regard to the non-inspection target
occupied by the inspection target area. This configuration also enables a rocess o in^T
h a^2 abv may uh ^a describe n, in either the aspect 1 or

of the inspection image and that is extended throughout at least one of a height direction and a width direction of the inspection image. The check information adding unit may be configured to perform at least one of conversion of data of each of pixels included in one column corresponding to
included in one line corresponding to the non-inspection target area into the check information that is used to check for an error of data in each of other pixels located in an identical column with the each of the pixels when the non-inspection target area is extended throughout the width direction. [0025] The configuration of the above aspect 4 convers data of each of pixels included in one line or one column corresponding to the non-inspection target area, into the check information that is used to check for an error in data in an identical column or in an identical line with the each of the pixels. This configuration enables data of respective pixels to be checked in the unit of each line or in the unit of each column. This configuration further assures the reliability of information with regard to the inspection image
[0026] Aspect 5. There is provided a PTP packaging machine comprising

configuration of a PTP packagin machine; ^ electrical configuration of a first insp n n de sche and a diagram illustrating quential numbers of
sheet p Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating inspection mage data stored in the first inspection de schematic diagram illustrating an inspection image in the
inspect np. a diagram illustrating nspection image data stored in the
second Fg 11 is a shm and diagram illustrating an inspection mage in the
second inspection device.
dawng tionnf Mimbodiments nbes one embodiment with reference to h PTP A PTP sheet 1 is described firs m 3 As shown in h a pu and Fig. 2,

Sn ch as PP (polypropylene) an.PVC (po ma l chloride). The cover film 4 is,
[0033] The PTP sheet 1 is manufactured by punching sheets from a strip-shaped PTP film 6 (shown in Fig. 3) that is comprised of the strip-shaped container film 3 and the strip-shaped cover film 4.
m nkr m u r Fig. of the strip-shaped container film 3 is wound in a ro u The container film 3 is then laid on an intermittent feed roll 14 provided on a
sr r.,—g h.nvyan pah ,h ,nan .m 3 „

Th ab «, ng dv .,21 v a ide r.11ng un tk. aumaay „n h .
shutter at every predetermined time interval to drop the tablet 3 , in
device A that are sequentially provided as inspection devices from the container film 3 (sheet portion). The detailed con b urations of the
form and is placed on a most upstream side. 0^ in the roll form is guided
by a guide roll 24 to a heating roll 25. The heating roll 25 is pressed against The container film 3 and the cover film 4 pass through between the two rolls
^^^^^T^^ri^l^ZT14 is
portions 2. This series of operations manufactures the PTP film 6, such that the tablet 5 is filled in each of the pocket portions 2. [0042] The PTP film 6 fed from the film receiving roll 20 is sequentially laid on a tension roll 27 and an intermittent feed roll 28 in this order. The

configured to pull the PTP film 6 to the state of tension by an elastic force.
[0043]"1 The PTP film 6 fed from the intermittent feed roll 28 is sequentially laid on a tension roll 31 and an intermittent feed roll 32 in this order. The intermittent feed roll 32 is coupled with a motor rotating in an
The stamping device 34 serves to stamp marks at predetermined positions of the PTP film 6 (for example, in tag portions).
p h PT"h un
ZZ fi The PTP sheets 1 punched out by the sheet punching device 37 are conveyed by an extraction conveyor 38 and are once accumulated in a finished product hopper 39. In the case of defective judgment of the PTP sheet 1 by either of the inspection devices T 0 and A, a defect h signal is sent
defect an is separately discharged by the defective sheet discharge

punching device 37 is guided by the tension roll 35 and the continuous feed roll 36 and is subsequently led to the cutting device 41. A driven roll is pressed against to be in contact with the continuous feed roll 36, so that the
pocket portions 2. The surface of each roll, for example, the surface of the roll 14, has recesses that are formed to place the pocket portions 2 therein.
reliable intermittent feed operation and the reliable continuous feed
5
[0050] The first inspection device T1 is configured as a transmission-type inspection device to conduct an inspection from a protruded side of the
pocket portions 2 of the container film 3 (i.e., from a surface side of the
[0053] The lighting device 60 is configud adiate the tablets 5 and

an area of the container film 3 that eventually forms the PTP sheet 1 with predetermined light both from the opening side or from the protruded
emo^^^h camera 61 has sensitivity in a wavelength domain of the light employed as the camera 61 of the first inspection device T d . The first
p inspection dev fxr^^^
of light transmitted through the container film 3, out of the light hand, as the camera 61 of the second inspection device A. The second
portion side of the pocket portions 2. The other camera 61 (color CCD

a CPU and npuupu ,n aa 68 , a camera timing control device 67 and
[0062 xam ec The™ k d:v o Th ndition storage device 66 * n ag by,

imaging timing of the camera 61. The imaging timing is controlled in [0065] The CPU a. h..nan ■„m 3 .h „ p. n SP d ha
:=?p;n SP ha a angua .hap wh undd n:rk . h d ban i d d „,n mag daa .. Eah jh np „n dv based on

performed, based on the positions of the pocket portions 2 and the like obtained from the primary image data. The first inspection device T1 extracts certain data corresponding to at least the tablets 5 and their periphery from the primary image data, so as to obtain inspection image data D1. As shown in Fig. 7, this inspection image data D1 includes a header field H1 provided to store header information and a main field M1 provided subsequent to the header field H1 to store luminance values of respective pixels. In the main field M1, the luminance value of each of the pixels is expressed by, for example, 8 bits. The inspection image data D1 is obtained for each tablet 5, and each of the inspection image data D1 is stored in the form of one file in the image memory 63.
[0069] As shown in Fig. 8, an inspection image G1 expressed by the inspection image data D1 has a rectangular shape and includes an inspection target area TA1 corresponding to an area occupied by the tablet 5 and a non-inspection target area TB1 (dot patterned area) corresponding to a remaining area. The inspection target area TA1 denotes an area that is an object of quality judgment by the processing device 62 of the first inspection device T1. The non-inspection target area TB1 denotes an area that is not an object of quality judgment. The inspection image data D1 includes data of respective pixels corresponding to the inspection target area TA1 and data of respective pixels corresponding to the non-inspection target area TB1. Furthermore, the non-inspection target area TB1 is provided at edges of the inspection image G1 throughout the height direction and the width direction of the inspection image G1.
[0070] The following describes a procedure of obtaining inspection image data and an example of an inspection image obtained by using the inspection image data with regard to the second inspection device A. [0071] In the process of obtaining inspection image data, the second inspection device A first uses the processing device 62 to specify areas of the container film 3 (sheet portions SP) that eventually form the PTP sheets 1 as shown in Fig. 9. Such specification is performed, based on the positions of the pocket portions 2 and the tablets 5 in the primary image data. The position of the sheet portion SP is then corrected in the primary image data, such that the sheet portion SP is placed at a predetermined position in a window W set in advance. A correction amount of position misalignment of the sheet portion SP is provided as position follow-up information of the

provided subsequent to the header field H2 to store values of RGB components in respective pixels. In the main field M2, the value of each component of the RGB components is expressed by, for example, 8 bits. The
memory 63 As shown in Fig. 11, an inspection image G2 expressed by the inspection image data D2 has a rectangular shape and includes an
anZ"ud::i^^u The non-inspection target area TB2 denotes
data D2 inc TA2 es data of respective pixels corresponding to the inspection
rci rctta h nnn1™pixels corresponding to the
four corners of the inspection image G2 to be located outside of respective
the inspection image data D1 or D2 correspond bu to the non-inspection and A respectively serve as the attribute information adding unit.

to a modification, conversion into the attribute information may be
performed prior to the inspection process. 1 of conversion into attribute
information in the first inspection device T 1 . Information regarding an address of a predetermined storage field R (shown in Fig. 7) in the inspection image data D an is set in advance in the first inspection device T n .
attribute information in the second inspection device A. Information . 10
in the inspection image data D2 is set in advance in the second inspection device A. This storage field R2 is an area where the attribute information is written. According to the embodiment, the storage field R2 stores data of pixels corresponding to an attribute information zone Z2 of the non-inspection target area TB2 located at an upper right edge of the inspection image G2 and outside of a rounded corner of the inspection target area TA2 (as shown in Fig. 11). The processing device 62 of the second inspection device A converts data of a predetermined number of pixels in the
sheet 1) or the sequential numbers of the tablets 5, information indicating color or monochromatic of the inspection image data D1 or D2, information regarding results of the inspection, information regarding various

to the embodiment, the type of an inspection, the date and time of the
desc m bed later. According to a modification, conversion into the check
fields C1 and C2 respectively store data of pixels corresponding to check areas Y1 and Y2 (shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 11). According to the embodiment, the check areas Y and Y2 respectively denote partial areas of the non-inspection target areas TB1 and TB2 that are located at lowermost
;um atio T d"n m mati an n d C2 n h h rmat m'an d t n erfor a check except data of the check information storage field C a or C2. For example,

conversion into the attribute information or into the check information is stored in the form of one file in the image memory 63. Accordingly, the
inspection is the data prior to conversion into the attribute information wv
information The processing device 62 of each of the inspection devices T1 and A performs, for example, a masking process of the non-inspection target area TB1 or TB2, a binarization process of the inspection target area TA1 or TA2 remaining after the masking process, a mass processing of binarized image data obtained by the binarization process, and a defect judgment process of
inspection devices T1 and A determines that the PTP sheet 1 corresponding to the inspection object as defective. When there is no defective part, on the other hand, each of the inspection devices T1 and A determines that the PTP sheet 1 corresponding to the inspection object as non-defective.

based on set J.U ■„.,,„dv ,and n „h ROM u dv 1„, the main
inspection image data D1 and D2 accompanied with the stored attribute information and check information from the respective inspection devices T1 and A. The main control device 51 is configured to receive information
attribute information. The main control device 51 is further configured to
dp" np e i n mag G1 and G2 i^^:m
TB1 t T n abu l t man n h sl- nman n get area

inspection target area TA2 to convert data of pixels corresponding to this
information at a fixed position in the inspection image data D2. Certain pixel data having a predetermined address corresponding to the four corners of the inspection image G2 (data of the storage field R2) can thus be specified as the area where attribute information is written. This configuration
[0093] ^Ad proces n sing ,1:^ the check information further assures the reliability of information with regard to the inspection image D1 or D2.
Especially, according to the embodiment, data of respective pixels included in
o" u^™ngu t n u d h au o h f ab o^i:m^^

applied to an inspection device that conducts an inspection subsequent to mounting of the cover film 4 to the con h p er film 3. According to another
finished product. According to another modification, the technical concept nd b he attribute in m daa on and the che pndng on may be
d a p pn=part of h
non-inspection target area TB1 or TB2 other than the non-inspection target area TB1 or TB2 located at the upper right edge of the inspection image G1 or G2 and the non-inspection target area TB1 or TB2 located at the lowermost edge described in the above embodiment may be converted into the attribute information or into the check information. For example, data
h a er u n"
of respective pixels included in one line corresponding to the non-inspection target area TB a or TB2 throughout the width direction, into check
located in the same columns as the respective pixels. With regard to the non-inspection target area TB d or TB2 throughout the height direction, a

into check d n ation that is used to check for an error in data of the other
data D1 or D2 and further enhances the reliability of the inspection. [0098] Data of respective pixels corresponding to one line and data of
accordingly enables an inspection to be conducted by using data excluding the data of this identified pixel (i.e., an inspection with exclusion of the effect of the error) and the data error of this identified pixel to be corrected by using data of pixels located in the periphery of this identified pixel.
correspond n to one column or corresponding to one line into the check
n daa ba mation. a r:z'of data of one certain pixel may be
[0100] (d) According to the embodiment described above, the processing object and the image/ inspection condition storage device 66 configured to

4 is formed by using aluminum foil or the like as the base material. The materials of the respective films 3 and 4 are, however, not limited to these materials but may be other materials.
Reference Signs List
[0103] 1… PTP sheet, 2… pocket portion, 3… container film, 4… cover film, 5… tablet (content), 11… PTP packaging machine, 60… lighting device (irradiator), 61… camera (imaging unit), 62… processing device (quality judgment unit, attribute information adding unit, check information adding unit), T1… first inspection device (inspection device), A… second inspection device (inspection device), D1, D2… inspection image data, G1, G2… inspection images, TA1, TA2… inspection target areas, TB1, TB2… non-inspection target areas

1. An inspection device configured to conduct an inspection of an inspection object that is a PTP sheet or a portion eventually forming the PTP sheet in a manufacturing process of the PTP sheet configured such that a
taken by the imaging unit, wherein the inspection image data includes data of respective pixels corresponding to an inspection target area that is an
n t h"";ag a aa and:":" ti "r
tha ^h daa h nrpv p adding unit configured to convert at least
wh The inspection device according to claim 1, target and h nnnpn^ a h n r^mag—tion
located at the four corners of the inspection image, into the attribute area
information.

3. The inspection device according to either claim 1 or claim 2,
further comprising:
a check information adding unit configured to convert at least part of the data of the respective pixels corresponding to the non-inspection target area into check information that is used to check for an error in data of respective pixels included in the inspection image data.
4. The inspection device according to claim 3,
wherein the inspection image has a rectangular shape, and the non-inspection target area of the inspection image is an area that is located at an edge of the inspection image and that is extended throughout at least one of a height direction and a width direction of the inspection image, and
the check information adding unit is configured to perform at least one of conversion of data of each of pixels included in one column corresponding to the non-inspection target area into the check information that is used to check for an error of data in each of other pixels located in an identical line with the each of the pixels when the non-inspection target area is extended throughout the height direction, and conversion of data of each of pixels included in one line corresponding to the non-inspection target area into the check information that is used to check for an error of data in each of other pixels located in an identical column with the each of the pixels when the non-inspection target area is extended throughout the width direction.
5. A PTP packaging machine, comprising the inspection device
according to any one of claims 1 to 4.