Apparatus and method for applying bar codes to pellet-shaped articles
A conveyer mechanism ( 110 ) may include one or more composition inspection units provided along the intended product transport path. The product's composition, e.g., it's ink composition, is compared with a predetermined standard, to determine whether the product is acceptable. A bar code ( 48, 45.1, 47.1, 85 ) may be provided to an external surface of the article for identification/traceability purposes.
1 . A conveyer apparatus comprising:
a conveyer mechanism having a plurality of pockets configured to receive individual ones of a plurality of pellet-shaped articles, the conveyer mechanism being configured to convey the plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a predetermined path; and
a first near infrared (NIR) inspection unit proximal to the conveyer mechanism and configured to inspect each of the pellet-shaped articles being conveyed past the first NIR inspection unit along the predetermined path,
wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to detect a composition of a printed indicia on an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles.
2 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to inspect each of the pellet-shaped articles by detecting a composition of an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles.
3 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to compare the detected composition of the printed indicia on the exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles against a predetermined standard.
4 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the predetermined standard comprises the printed indicia occupying 1-4% of the exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles and 96-99% of the exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles being a medicine or a coating.
5 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising a controller configured to generate a signal indicating that a pellet-shaped article is acceptable if the detected composition of the printed indicia on the exposed side of the pellet-shaped article is within 90-95% of the predetermined standard.
6 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to detect size, shape, and consistency of a printed indicia on an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles.
7 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a processing unit proximal to the conveyer mechanism and configured to process each of the pellet-shaped articles.
8 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processing unit is a laser unit configured to laser drill a hole on an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles.
9 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the laser unit is configured to laser drill the hole to expose at least one inner layer of each of the pellet-shaped articles, and
wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to detect a composition of the at least one exposed inner layer of each of the pellet-shaped articles.
10 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to detect a composition of the exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles to determine a size of the hole.
11 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processing unit is a printer unit configured to print an indicia on an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles,
wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to detect a composition of the exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles and the indicia printed thereon.
12 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to inspect each of the pellet-shaped articles with NIR spectroscopy.
13 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the conveyer mechanism further comprises a conveyer loop and the predetermined path includes at least a portion of the conveyer loop.
14 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the conveyer mechanism further comprises at least one feed drum configured to receive and convey the plurality of pellet-shaped articles along the predetermined path.
15 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a hopper configured to store the plurality of pellet-shaped articles and direct the plurality of pellet-shaped articles to the conveyer mechanism.
16 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the conveyer mechanism further comprises a first feed drum configured to receive the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the hopper, a second feed drum configured to receive the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the first feed drum, and a third feed drum configured to receive the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the second feed drum, each of the first feed drum, the second feed drum, and the third feed drum being configured to convey the plurality of pellet-shaped articles along the predetermined path.
17 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is positioned proximal to the first feed drum to inspect an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles in the first feed drum,
wherein a second NIR inspection unit is positioned proximal to the second feed drum to inspect an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles in the second feed drum, and
wherein a third NIR inspection unit is positioned proximal to the third feed drum to inspect an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles in the third feed drum.
18 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the conveyer mechanism further comprises a first feed drum configured to receive the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the hopper and a second feed drum configured to receive the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the first feed drum, and
wherein the conveyer mechanism further comprises a conveyer loop configured to receive the plurality of pellet-shaped articles from the second feed drum and the predetermined path includes at least a portion of the conveyer loop.
19 . The conveyer apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the first NIR inspection unit is positioned proximal to the first feed drum to inspect an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles in the first feed drum,
wherein a second NIR inspection unit is positioned proximal to the second feed drum to inspect an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles in the second feed drum, and
wherein a third NIR inspection unit is positioned proximal to the conveyer loop to inspect an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles in the conveyer loop.
20 . A conveyer apparatus comprising:
a conveyer mechanism having a plurality of pockets configured to receive individual ones of a plurality of pellet-shaped articles, the conveyer mechanism being configured to convey the plurality of pellet-shaped articles along a predetermined path; and
a first near infrared (NIR) inspection unit proximal to the conveyer mechanism and configured to inspect each of the pellet-shaped articles being conveyed past the first NIR inspection unit along the predetermined path,
wherein the first NIR inspection unit is configured to detect size, shape, and consistency of a printed indicia on an exposed side of each of the pellet-shaped articles.