Deitz Pharmafill TC3, Operation Manual

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Rev 2022-03-08 Pharmafill Model TC3 User Manual
Deitz Company Inc. TC3 User Manual Page 52
Section 10 - TECHNICAL INFORMATION
10.1 - PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
The Pharmafill Model TC3 is an electronic pill counter/filler. It can count objects other than
pills, but the primary purpose is to count pills (tablets, capsules, caplets, most solid oral dose
products). The pills are counted using photoelectric sensing. Once counted the pills are
directed into pre-staged bottles. It may be used as a check counter, as a manual bottle-filling
machine (one bottle at a time), or as a fully automatic filler (one bottle after another,
continuously).
A supply of product to be counted is distributed to a rotating glass disc. A single-file stream
of pills is guided off the edge of the glass and down a curved chute, where the pills space out
as they fall. As the pills exit the chute, they pass though the counting window, containing a
light source and light receiver that are connected to a microprocessor-controlled Counting
Sensor. As each pill briefly blocks the light source, the Counting Sensor detects the change
in light level and sends a count signal to a programmable logic controller (PLC), which
maintains the tally.
The PLC compares the tally against three pre-set values: trap max count, slowdown count
and target count. The trap max count must be less than the slowdown count and the
slowdown count must be less than the target count. When the slowdown count is met, the
rotation speed of the glass disc slows down. This aids in the action of the divider flag (see
below). When the target count is matched, the glass disc resumes full speed.
After passing through the counting window, the pills strike the divider flag, which directs the
stream of pills into the active side of a 2-sided chamber. Both chambers converge at the
bottom to a single discharge point. The trap flag closes the chamber that is not active. When
the tally matches the target count, the divider flag switches sides, starting a new count at zero
into the closed chamber. The filled bottle will be released and a new bottle brought in.
The action of the divider flag is must be timed perfectly to split the stream of pills precisely
after last pill of the target count and before the first pill of the next count.
When a new bottle is detected under the discharge area, the trap flag switches sides, which
opens the active chamber and closes the inactive one. Should the bottle be removed during
filling, the trap flag switches sides again, closing the active chamber and filling is stopped.
In Run Mode, this process goes on continuously, except as stopped by error detection.
In Fill One Mode, the process will stop each time the target count is met. The divider flag
will flip and any excess pills will be tallied but the stream will stop.
In Check Count Mode, the process will only deliver and count the product. It will not
automatically reset to zero, flip the divider flag, nor the trap flag; the user must press RESET
or TRAP to do this. The Target and Slowdown counts are not used.